2 August 2010

As on other overseas trips together, Michael and I  have already started to establish a routine of getting me up, showering and dressing me before breakfast, after which we spent the morning mainly doing our own thing.

In fact, today could be said to be the calm before the storm. Tomorrow, a German family, the Schneider’s, descend on us. The,  father, Andy is a successful gynaecologist, who Michael has known since his early medical days in Melbourne. He arrives with his wife, Delia (a talented musician) and five children – 10 years old Adrian,  9 year old Nils,, sisters Anika and Nora who are  7 an  5 respectively, finally there is little Laura, who is 2 ½…. in fact, I recall meeting and Delia with Michael in Melbourne in 2007 when I think they only had 3 children.

At present Michael has not really worked  out how, where and on what, they will all sleep, although he seems quite determined that he’s going to end up on the floor, something which he gdoes, not infrequently, when he invites his many friends from various parts of the world to stay in whichever home he happens to be in at the time. From this you can  gather that Michael is somewhat of an aesthete. I believe he would be just happy living in a cave, spurning the many creature comforts that most of us have come to expect, except in his case, he would require a voluminous library and a limitless supply of classical music.(and perhaps, whisky!). He reminds me of the opal mining cave dwellers, I saw, in the mid 50’s, in the Cooper Pedy,  -1000 miles north of the Woomera rocket  range, truly in the ‘great bugger all’ (as the Aussies describe it) in the centre of Australia. These cave dwellers were, on the whole a motley crew, whose past you did pry into assiduously if you valued by own  physical well being. In short .a good mixture of assorted characters. Some, certainly were fugitives from the law, but the police seemed happy to leave them there where they would keep  out of mischief. In addition, ,of course, there were genuine prospectors, amongst whom we counted ourselves., Many of these prospectors lived in underground caves, or dugouts, which they have created for themselves. Even 50 years ago. I could see the attraction in the little bunk bed  surrounded on three sides with books;  a goodly supply of tobacco (I smoked a pipe in those days)and a small kerosene run refrigerator to cool the beer. What more could you want in life.

Michael’s friend, Ruth, from Lindesberg, dropped in before lunch and we all went off to have soup at Anna’s Cafe, in Loa. For some inexplicable reason it was closed so we returned and had a salad back at the farm, eating outside in brilliant sunshine. Michael then went off to Kopparberg (Copperberg) for a big shop up in preparation for the the hoards about to descend on us. Ruth kindly stayed behind to keep an eye on me and we spent the afternoon basking in the warm sunshine chatting and listening to music.

Then, after Michael had returned, as the sun was setting, we opened our evening bottle, not our usual champagne, but an excellent sparkling Cremant de Bourgogne  to which I introduced Michael  when he was last with us in England.

This makes a very passable substitute for  champagne and costs substantially less.. The wine is made from grapes harvested in the Bourgogne (Pinot Noir & Chardonnay), fermented in the champagnoise  method . It is fairly described on the label,  that.. the bubbles …. enhance its creamy and full-bodied style with a a hint of alrmonds and a long aftertaste. This was followed by a splendid roast lamb supper, eaten al.fresco, prepared by himself.

The evening was rounded off by the arrival of Lillimor and Leonard. Two people I met on my previous visits both of whom I have become very fond. Leonard  was a much loved schoolteacher in Loa until he retired and then took up his second love, that of carpentry,. he simply adores building things. Indeed, as we arrived from the airport, he was just finishing a fine ramp which Michael had very kindly commissioned,  specifically to accommodate me at his  farmhouse dwelling. Lillimor and Leonard were  married at one stage and still live in the same house as great friends. Lillimor was the local bank manager until a second violent armed robbery forced her into retirement.

Loa is the only place in the world where I have been into a bank and had the manager emerge from her office to give me a big hug in the main hall. Imagine that happening in the UK! Lillimor is  a short round, cuddly kindly soul  ‘with a heart  as big as her head. After Michael and Leonard had completed their business discussion about some building works, to my great joy  the inevitable guitar was produced and we were dutifully entertained with some deep and soulful Swedish songs and one or two jolly ones.. The end to a perfect day

1 August 2010

 

I was under the impression, before we left England, that I would not be able to pick up broadband from Michael’s isolated Swedish farm, fortunately I was wrong and therefore am able to continue to do my daily blog entry..

We left home at 8.45 in Barry’s care and processed through Stansted airport to check in, and indeed, all the way to the aircraft  extremely smoothly. The airport provided a wheelchair as we had decided we would try to  alert Calero and there are year thank you are thank you very much and I’m very kind of you to ring hmanage at the farm with the gutter frame only and the manual UpEasy cushion which we managed to tape to it. The wheelchair seemed to open up every diplomatic channel — no queuing . Everyone was exceptionally kind and a disabled traveller seems to soften the hearts of the security people and the passport control etc I was then hoisted into the aircraft in a vast machine that could have taken a dozen wheelchairs. When we arrived in Sweden I was placed in a narrow chair and two mighty  Swedes actually carried it down the aircraft steps. I’m not sure that our health and safety people here would have approved but, nevertheless it worked and had the advantage of being speedy..

We arrived at Vasteras airport,  ostensibly Stockholm,  but in fact 100 plus kilometres away -a bit like Stansted airport being described as Stansted, London which unkindly impinges on the international traveller as it is an hours train journey away.. We picked up a nice car and  drove to Loa, which is about one half hours away from the airport, via Copperberg to pick up some provisions.

We have already set down some ground rules and started a process of routine involving meals, teeth cleaning and putting me to bed. I was able to find a classical radio station, and having brought my own clock radio, was are able to listen,  from time to time, during the night, as I do at home, waking as I do almost every hour.. The one thing that  had concerned me about this trip, was what would happen if I urgently needed a pee in the middle of the night, which would be unusual as I have managed almost every night at home to get through to 5 o’clock in the morning without disturbing Alice and I am determined not to disturb Mick’s sleep either, if it can be possibly avoided.. So we agreed that if he woke up naturally, in the middle of the night, he would pop down and check on me. On this first night he came down at three o’clock, having woken up, to check out on my need to pee, after which I was able to survive through to 7.30 when Mick got up.

I have a very nice set up with my own room and desk on which I’ve set up my laptop and microphone. On it I found a plastic coated comment from George Bernard Shaw, which I felt summed up our whole relationship and our joint approach to life which I think is well worthwhile sharing with all of my readers and certainly worth reading on a regular basis.

“This is the true joy in life: the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no ‘brief candle’ to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”

George Bernard Shaw

 

31 July 2010

Spent the first part of the morning packing and then Michael made a video of me giving a valedictory address to the students in China for this year’s lectures. Monti has very kindly agreed to make a DVD for me which I hope to have played before  this year’s lectures begin.

The Test match resumed at Trent Bridge  and Pakistan’s tail wagged well enough for them to knock up 182,   England started shakily losing 2 quick wickets,  captain Strauss for a duck  and Cook for12 but nevertheless as I close down for the night in order to finish my packing for Sweden, England look set for a comfortable win.

As I shall not be taking my laptop with me there will be no more entries until my return on 14 August when I hope to be able to give a reasonable account of my Swedish holiday.

30 July 2010

There was a very interesting report on Radio 4 this morning concerning the use of calcium supplements for patients with osteoporosis. Apparently, according a long-term survey carried out in New Zealand, involving something like 12,000 patients.  the continued use of calcium supplement increased the likelihood of a heart attack by 30% and of a stroke by 20%. Possibly even more interesting was that there was little or no discernible benefit for  the patients. i.e there was no noticeable increase in bone density. In any event, the survey concluded that most people did not need calcium supplements if they had a normal diet and a reasonable exposure to sunshine. I await with interest the outcome of my own bone density and the recommendations that come with it.

I was speaking to my deputy president of The Arbitration Club this morning, and having dealt with the matters of business we drifted onto extraneous matters and somehow congratulated each other on our good fortune, as much of anything having survived as long as we have and how ‘rich’ we were to be surrounded by people who  love and care for us (John having lost two wives from cancer but left with the great consolation of his darling daughter Molly).

John then quoted a saying that he believe sums it up ‘Lady luck never gives, it  only lends’ – I hope I got that the right way around!

England, starting the day at 331 for 4 quickly lost the two overnight not out batsmen Morgan and Collingwood and then suffered their not uncharacteristic collapse and were all out for 354. They then proceeded to annihilate Pakistan getting them  46 for 6 and ending the day 147 for 9, 8 short of avoiding a follow-on, should England decide to enforce

The good Dr Michael has just arrived from Paris, via Sweden and Brussells to pick me up and take me to Sweden on Sunday. We have a couple of days to sort out the minimal luggage that are allowed to take on Ryanair. In the meantime we will celebrate our reunion with our usual bottle of champagne

n

29 July 2010

I heard today from my friend who had previously written to me about her sister, dying from MND, who had decided to gradually restrict her food to a point where she would just fade away. I questioned my friend about the early stages of this process, whether or not she suffered from hunger pangs and she assured me she did not, but merely ate to keep up her strength. When she decided it was time to go she had an intravenous drip inserted which was intended to speed her on her way within 2 to 10 days — she died in four hours! As my dear friend says, she has sailed away, hopefully peacefully and without pain. This occurred in Canada and I wonder whether the same IV drip would be available and administered in the UK? Incidentally, this brave soul left her brain stem for research purposes. Nobody has ever asked me if I would be prepared to do the same but then perhaps I am too stupid and my brain stem would not yield much information.

At midday today my friend, Douglas Gordon -he of the open topped Rolls-Royce; see 7 June entry- picked me up and took me to the Axe and Compass for lunch. The owners, Thermos and Mrs T, being Greek Cypriots, make a very passable moussaka which washed down with a glass or two of merlot, made a very appetising lunch.

No problem getting in and out of the pub as one or other of the two sons of the house was available to assist Douglas to get me in and out of the car.

I have mentioned the E-reader in the past and explained why the Sony version is becoming difficult for me use as I’m finding it hard to press the right buttons. It was for this reason that I thought of the iPad which not only has the advantage of having a much larger screen but is very much easier to use, the pages being turned by wiping across the face of touch screen. This being so before I obtained an iPad I wanted to be sure that I could use my Waterstone’s card to purchase books. I was amazed to find that they do not support the iPad and were unable to tell me if and when they had plans to do so. A customer services lady, in the e-book division, was unable to give me any information about the iPad and refused to give me details of the Head Office where I could make an enquiry. I was certain that a company as big as Waterstones  certainly has a  policy concerning the iPad and if, and when, customers will be able to purchase books for it. I asked the Waterstone lady in customer services, whether or not Waterstone’s was a public company. She thought it was, so I said, in that case, I would obtain the head office details for myself. I telephoned Peter Long, my stockbroker and Caroline, a new member of  his team, rang me back in a matter of minutes saying that she had found information in The E-Book Magazine, 3  July issue, which confirmed that Waterstone’s intend to sell iPad compatible books from September. Why on earth could Waterstone’s customer services and not have give me this information and if they had not been told themselves, why not?

30

I heard today from my friend who had previously written to me about her sister, dying from MND, who had decided to gradually restrict her food to a point where she would just fade away. I questioned my friend about the early stages of this process, whether or not she suffered from hunger pangs and she assured me she did not, but merely ate to keep up her strength. When she decided it was time to go she had an intravenous drip inserted which was intended to speed her on her way within 2 to 10 days — she died in four hours! As my dear friend says, she has sailed away, hopefully peacefully and without pain. This occurred in Canada and I wonder whether the same IV drip would be available and administered in the UK? Incidentally, this brave soul left her brain stem for research purposes. Nobody has ever asked me if I would be prepared to do the same but then perhaps I am too stupid and my brain stem would not yield much information.

At midday today my friend, Douglas Gordon -he of the open topped Rolls-Royce; see 7 June entry- picked me up and took me to the Axe and Compass for lunch. The owners, Thermos and Mrs T, being Greek Cypriots, make a very passable moussaka which washed down with a glass or two of merlot, made a very appetising lunch.

No problem getting in and out of the pub as one or other of the two sons of the house was available to assist Douglas to get me in and out of the car.

I have mentioned the E-reader in the past and explained why the Sony version is becoming difficult for me use as I’m finding it hard to press the right buttons. It was for this reason that I thought of the iPad which not only has the advantage of having a much larger screen but is very much easier to use, the pages being turned by wiping across the face of touch screen. This being so before I obtained an iPad I wanted to be sure that I could use my Waterstone’s card to purchase books. I was amazed to find that they do not support the iPad and were unable to tell me if and when they had plans to do so. A customer services lady, in the e-book division, was unable to give me any information about the iPad and refused to give me details of the Head Office where I could make an enquiry. I was certain that a company as big as Waterstones  certainly has a  policy concerning the iPad and if, and when, customers will be able to purchase books for it. I asked the Waterstone lady in customer services, whether or not Waterstone’s was a public company. She thought it was, so I said, in that case, I would obtain the head office details for myself. I telephoned Peter Long, my stockbroker and Caroline, a new member of  his team, rang me back in a matter of minutes saying that she had found information in The E-Book Magazine, 3  July issue, which confirmed that Waterstone’s intend to sell iPad compatible books from September. Why on earth could Waterstone’s customer services and not have give me this information and if they had not been told themselves, why not?

I heard today from my friend who had previously written to me about her sister, dying from MND, who had decided to gradually restrict her food to a point where she would just fade away. I questioned my friend about the early stages of this process, whether or not she suffered from hunger pangs and she assured me she did not, but merely ate to keep up her strength. When she decided it was time to go she had an intravenous drip inserted which was intended to speed her on her way within 2 to 10 days — she died in four hours! As my dear friend says, she has sailed away, hopefully peacefully and without pain. This occurred in Canada and I wonder whether the same IV drip would be available and administered in the UK? Incidentally, this brave soul left her brain stem for research purposes. Nobody has ever asked me if I would be prepared to do the same but then perhaps I am too stupid and my brain stem would not yield much information.

At midday today my friend, Douglas Gordon -he of the open topped Rolls-Royce; see 7 June entry- picked me up and took me to the Axe and Compass for lunch. The owners, Thermos and Mrs T, being Greek Cypriots, make a very passable moussaka which washed down with a glass or two of merlot, made a very appetising lunch.

No problem getting in and out of the pub as one or other of the two sons of the house was available to assist Douglas to get me in and out of the car.

I have mentioned the E-reader in the past and explained why the Sony version is becoming difficult for me use as I’m finding it hard to press the right buttons. It was for this reason that I thought of the iPad which not only has the advantage of having a much larger screen but is very much easier to use, the pages being turned by wiping across the face of touch screen. This being so before I obtained an iPad I wanted to be sure that I could use my Waterstone’s card to purchase books. I was amazed to find that they do not support the iPad and were unable to tell me if and when they had plans to do so. A customer services lady, in the e-book division, was unable to give me any information about the iPad and refused to give me details of the Head Office where I could make an enquiry. I was certain that a company as big as Waterstones  certainly has a  policy concerning the iPad and if, and when, customers will be able to purchase books for it. I asked the Waterstone lady in customer services, whether or not Waterstone’s was a public company. She thought it was, so I said, in that case, I would obtain the head office details for myself. I telephoned Peter Long, my stockbroker and Caroline, a new member of  his team, rang me back in a matter of minutes saying that she had found information in The E-Book Magazine, 3  July issue, which confirmed that Waterstone’s intend to sell iPad compatible books from September. Why on earth could Waterstone’s customer services and not have give me this information and if they had not been told themselves, why not?

England had a shaky start in the first of the series of Test matches against Pakistan, losing 4 wickets  for118 but recovered to 331 for 4, with a magnificent knock from Morgan, playing in his first test, finishing the day on 125 not out, with Collingwood bringing up the rear with 81 not out.

28 July 2010

A plethora of people here today on ‘my lovely’s weekly day off. Jane (the sheep) – who  appropriately brought a two-week old lamb with her, the runt of the litter, which she has been hand feeding every two hours for the past 14 days  – keeping an eye on me and ensuring I get my lunch, coffee, tea  etc as well as massaging my hands and stretching my arms. ‘ Bill and Ben’ (Bill and Paul) arrived to carry out a number of small jobs for me. The most important of these was fitting the large rubber wheels to my gutter frame. I must say it makes a great difference and I think will prove to be an outstanding  success. They also removed the central drawer from my office desk and cut a   kneehole in the breakfast table so that, in each case, I can get closer to either my laptop or my food. We are extremely lucky to have these ‘boys’ as they will turn their hand to almost anything.

2

27 July 2010

A couple of days ago I received a very nice response from the chairman of Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Dr Mary Archer, to the letter  which I had sent her following my stay in hospital. At least she had the courtesy to reply, a month after I had sent my letter. I guess she is really busy with other more pressing matters . I have you not  received a reply either from the Chief Executive of the hospital or the chairman of the PCT, in fact neither of them has yet even acknowledged receipt of my letter.

Being a Tuesday I hardly need to tell the regular reader that I went to the geriatric golf meeting at Worlington today, very kindly transported by Peter Murphy to and from the course and around it by Griggsy. As usual it was a great deal of fun and I enjoyed every minute of it. The members, are to a man, immensely kind and considerate. I do not differentiate between them. Whoever happens to be around can help me  get to my feet ; dress me up for lunch, cut up my food and even feed me when things get difficult. Wearing a skirt (kilt) the ladies having given me dispensation to use their loo, which means I do not have to negotiate any steps. The great advantage of this is that  even the most squeamish of members only have to slide their hands up under the kilt from behind, and lower my pants sufficiently for me to have a pee, and then pull them up again, with no loss of dignity or embarrassment on either side. This, of course, was my key objective in purchasing the kilt in the first place. This week this delicate operation was carried out by Griggsy.

26 July 2010

The last week before I fly off to Sweden with the good doctor and suddenly there seems to be lots to do. For example, not being able to go upstairs to my dressing room, or to pack for myself, I had to prepare packing lists for the 15 kg check-in suitcase and a separate list for the 10 kg  carry on case allowed by Ryanair. Michael has already warned me any overweight can be very expensive with this particular airline.

Another job I did was to draft a valedictory address to my students in China. I hope to get the good doctor to take a video of it on Friday and then persuade Monti to make me a DVD which can be played, in my absence, to the students the beginning of the lectures in October.

Readers will recall me going to the hygienist recently to have my teeth de-scaled and not being very impressed by the thoroughness of the operation. Accordingly, my erstwhile private dentist very kindly looked in today to inspect my teeth and give me his opinion on the quality of the ‘clean’. I am glad to say that he agreed with me, indeed he confirmed that it was a very poor job am offered to speak to the Teeth Commissioner on my behalf, following which I shall probably have to make a formal complaint. Apart from anything else I was told that the general clean cost £16 under the NHS and the £45 odd that we paid is what we should have been charged for dental work other than a clean.

24 July 2010

After all this medical talk the readers deserve some light relief. Accordingly I have added the following:

(note: None of the below can be opened by clicking on to title is highlighted in red)

Jokes

Deeply profound so described by my friend who sent it to me. A sexually incorrect joke for the male chauvinist.

Deaf wifeb. This is one of the girls getting their own back.

Nokie Green naughty but funny

Good Italian story not to be read by any one under the age of 18.

Jenny Craig from men yet another dieting story.

Photos

The Front Row  Five. A photograph taken by Graham Morris, the Times photographer, of yours truly with four of his mates at me Australia v Pakistan  Test match, at Lord’s, on July 2010.

You’ll Love This .I defy even the hardest hearted person not go soft over this.

Photos of the Third Reich rarely seen

Sublimmephotosdechi.pps Some cool pictures.

Canadian Billboards Some of these need to be read to be believed..

My readers may recall me saying that in order to ensure that I had the full attention of my Chinese students, at the beginning of my lectures, I often started with something totally unexpected — a Latin quotation; a saying from Confucius,  or with an outrageous comment.
Therefore, when I received the following joke this morning I couldn’t resist reproducing it here to demonstrate the point. I know that this  it’s a little rude and I thought for a brief second that I might substitute the word  ‘arsehole’ with ‘anus’, but then realised there this will not have the same impact, or indeed be quite so funny. The prurient can always skip the joke.
Professor Higgins at the University of Sydney was giving a lecture on ‘Involuntary Muscle Contraction’ to his first year medical students. Realising this was not the most riveting subject, the professor decided to lighten the mood slightly.

He pointed to a young woman in the front row and said, ‘Do you know what your arsehole is doing while you’re having an orgasm?’

She replied, ‘Probably out fishing with his mates!’

It took 45 minutes to restore order in the classroom.

This reminds me of a lesson that I learnt early on in my arbitration career that is taught to every advocate, Never ask a question to which you do not already know the answer.

Now that I have finally made the decision that it is impossible for me to give my lectures in China this year, the reader may recall that I raised the subject of the possibility of one final sunshine holiday, with the good doctor Long. Having considered Dubai and Cyprus, both of which I have been to on very many occasions, we opted for Hua Hin and the Anantara, resort. (See video section – The Beautiful and Anantara) I agreed with Mick that I would sound out the  possibility with the hotel. The Hotel Manager. Director of Operations, Tim Boda, could not have been more welcoming or enthusiast. He went to great lengths with his staff to demonstrate. through photographs, how we could manoeuvre the wheelchair to the various parts of the site that I used regularly.

He also offered the choice of two downstairs rooms, both of which get an element of either morning or afternoon sunshine, which was one of my requirements. He even offered to put the odd ramp  in place and to cut back bushes and flowers, where necessary, to allow access for wheelchair. How can we possibly not accept such a kind offer and I suspect that when the good doctor arrives next Friday we will research various flights and take a chance and book for mid-October in the hope that I have not gone that much further down hill in the i -Intervening year and a half months.

23 July 2010

I learned something today, about MND, which has puzzled me for some time and that is, how Prof Hawkins has managed to survive for so long.

Indeed, it is a question I am  asked frequently but I merely repeat what I have been told myself in the past, and that is what he has a different strain to that which  I have. However, having read a very interesting article in the ALS newsletter about a young man called David Jayne, in the US, I am now led to believe it is all to do with ventilation due to the failure of the muscles in the diaphragm which operate the lungs. It seems that  “A minority of patients, 10%, or fewer, opt to prolong their lives through surgery which allows them to breathe through a tube inserted in their trachea and connected to a ventilator. With “venting” they may live for years or, like Jayne or the famous physicist Steven Hawkins, even decades

Of course, there are various stages before one gets to such invasive surgery. For example, a face mask or vents inserted into the nostrils. In fact, a friend of mine actually plays golf wearing this contraption, disconnecting his oxygen bottle before each stroke. Then there is the invasive surgery involving an insert which stimulate the muscles in the diaphragm.

Millions of people, with or without MND, know Prof Hawkins, and may have asked themselves what  quality of life can be enjoyed by someone like that who, it appears, cannot move a muscle. I know how frustrated I get with my relatively minor disabilities. David Jayne, who contracted the disease when he was 27 and is now 49. He bravely decided to survive for the sake of his two children. He cannot speak or move his body, except for one finger and a few muscles in his face. He eats through a feeding tube, inserted just above his belly button.

He is wheelchair-bound and cannot to perform even simple tasks without the help of others. Apparently he has a Bluetooth -enabled   sensor in his jaw which enables him to use his computer and communicate with friends and others. According to the article, other people, in the latter stages of ALS, can type or speak electronically by directing keys to the cursor with their eyes in what is called an eye gaze system. (Costing between $15,000 — $18,000)  There is apparently an even more  bizarre device, currently being researched, for use when even the eye muscles fail, that it is hoped will create a brain – computer interface that will translate electrical activity within the skull into dialogue when users concentrate on characters on a monitor.  It all sounds very fascinating and something of which I must not lose sight. That is if ever I find myself that disabled and being prepared to carry on. Who can possibly say how one would react under such circumstances? (I am grateful to journalist Anya Martin, Market Watch, for this article entitled High-Tech tools are a lifeline for ALS patients.)

2