9 February 2012

I am happy to report yet another painless night, whether as a result of the good doctor’s additional painkillers or not we have still yet to prove. Having said that he reduced the amount of cortisone from 4 to 3 tablets and tonight we will go down to 2 and see what is the effect. In any event, I spent one of the best nights I’ve had for months as I was pretty exhausted by bedtime and was having some breathing difficulties. I really must try to take a rest after lunch, and remember the ‘Spoons full of energy’, test

Alice left in a flurry around 8.30 this morning, gushing out last-minute instructions to the good Dr as if she was to be away for at least a month and we were off to the North Pole! Fortunately the weather prospects of her drive to Wales looks fairly good and she should be able to miss all the snow and ice. Having said that, I’ve no doubt the weather will put off a few potential attendees, so I hope all the girls efforts will pay off. In any event, I shall be glad when it’s all over and possibly my’ lovely’ is back in the fold.

I read something in the Patients like Me, Newsletter, which I thought was a real relevance .Spelling it out in simple language, someone came up with the idea to get across to patientss like me that you start each day with a certain volume or amount of energy. Let us say a jug full. As the day progresses the more you are doing, the more spoon-fulls of energy you use up, until possibly, the jug is empty (which is what I suspect it was last night for me). The sensible thing to do is to keep an eye on the jug and ration, out your efforts retaining the odd spoonful of energy and go to bed with something still left in the jug. Good advice which I must heed.

I was delighted to catch a snippet of news on the radio the other evening, about a primary school somewhere in the south of England, where the head mistress (who I believe I have now to call the head teacher!) was accused of teaching elocution to primary school children. Since it seems that the powers that be decided some time ago that we were a multi cultural society, the BBC and other television programmes have, as a matter of policy, employed continuity staff, with regional accents, which is fine , except that some of them can scarcely pronounce the Queen’s English. I am not advocating going back to the days of the posh BBC language but applaud this head teacher for pointing out to children that the T existed in our alphabet. For example, asked one dear little chap, ,how would he spell ‘think’. ‘F I N k ,Miss’, he replied, and was amazed when the teacher pointed out the correct spelling. What is more, he was even more surprised when she explained that if he could put his tongue forward between his teeth, he could pronounce’ TH’ . He really did not know that such a sound existed.

So we can now expect these children instead of saying ‘be’er’, in future, sounding the ‘t’s’ and saying better. This teacher is to be congratulated. She has improved the employment prospects these children significantly in stroke.

Having written this I became curious as to the origin of the expression ‘ to a T’. I guessed it meant something. precise or accurate. Having searched my book of quotations, the only two I could find that I liked were ; Repetition does not turn I lie into truth -Franklin D Roosevelt and Classical music is the kind we keep thinking will turn into a tune; – Kin Hubbard (1868 – 1930). Well no joy there and none the wiser. I wondered who was this Philistine, Kin Hubbard?

At last I have received my allocation of tickets for the forthcoming cricket season at Lord’s. Whereas over the last 20 or 30 years I have taken up to 14 guests over the season, friends, as well as family, this year, as I am uncertain what state I shall be myself, I’ve cut it down to 6. My oldest friend Geoffrey Hanscombe (94); Steve Harrison; son-in-law, Karl and nephew Tom Grand and introducing my two grandsons Fred and Seb. for the match on 18 August (my 78th birthday -about being a tad optimistic, after all six months can be a lifetime for an MND patient!) Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful in the ballot and only got one adult and one juvenile for that day. My best chance now is to obtain the extra tickets under the wheelchair enclosure ballot which I do today.

Now for something quite different. Probably more for the boys than the girls but click here for the unique experience of a ride in the incredible U 2.the.the spy plane.