Today was the right day!!!

25 January 2012

Today was the right day at last.  At 10.45 I had my retinas photographed.  It's called Diabetic Retinal Screening and is done every year at my GP surgery.  The technician looked at the photos and he said it was all clear.  Mind you, I couldn't see anything in the colour image but when he changed it to the mono image everything was very clear.  Anyway, that's that done for another 12 months.

We have a neighbour who has lived in this street nearly as long as my family has.  Linn is very seriously disabled.  She had a fall or something and ended up being operated on by a guy at the Hussy Hospital.  She in now crippled.  My cousin was operated by the same man - and she too has been left crippled.  I know of at least six more people he has left in the same condition.  I saw him once and he referred me to another surgeon; I was operated on by that other surgeon and I'm not crippled.  My brother Dave was also referred by him to another surgeon, and no problems there.  A friend of ours in Bed'th is OK after being referred on is OK.  It annoys me that the surgeon in question is being paid a fortune to cripple these people and gets away with it.  Back to Linn ...

Her hubby Brian goes out to work early so from around 7am until he comes home at around 4pm, she sits in the front room by herself.  She is desperate for company.  Mr Husain next door to us calls in to see her when he is up to it, but at 80 he's not in the best of health.  Jan goes over when she can which isn't often really.  So most of the day she sits watching telly and doing puzzle books.  But it's got me wondering about just how many other people there are about the town in the same boat as Linn.  Far too many I think.

Dorktown town's poppy appeal total is around £50,000 for last year.  That's a record for the town.  On the occasions when various regiments have marched through town on return from Afghanistan, they always receive a very warm welcome back.  Sadly on one occasion the EDL tried to wreck the day by taunting the local Muslim community, but Dorktowners march to their own tune, not the crap the EDL plays!  It shows how high the town regards its service men and women.

The Hussy Hospital has at long last found a partner ... or might have ... in the shape of South Warwickshire NHS Foundation.  It is now hope that if link goes head children's and maternity services will remain here in Dorktown.  Not that it will make difference to me really seeing as most of my medical bits'n'bobs are done at the Walsgrave anyway. 

It looks like we will be having problems getting petrol and diesel soon.  Not only has that refinery shut down but some tanker drivers are out on strike.  There's a supply depot at Kingsbury, just off the M42 and close to Dorktown and there are pickets outside the gate.  I'm glad we filled both cars last weekend!  But how much will it cost in the coming months when Iran starts shouting the odds? 

What's that knocking I hear?  It is my knees at the thoughts of fuel prices rising to new record levels; or is it the military getting ready for another shooting war?

I like art, visual art that is.  With this in mind I have chosen today's photo as an example of what is out there for us all to enjoy.  Meet Bully ...

He stands at the entrance to the Bull Ring off New Street.  Some guys did some test on him once to see if there was any traces of coke and heroin on him ... and there was.  The test were done because there was a report that something about moist of the bank notes in circulation at that time held traces of illicit drugs.

And from the Sage ...

Two young guys appear in court after being arrested for smoking dope.

The judge says, "You seem like nice young men, and I'd like to give you a second chance instead of jail time. I want you to go out this weekend and try to convince others of the evils of drug use. I'll see you back in court Monday."

On Monday, the judge asks the first guy, "How did you do over the weekend?"

"Well, your honour, I persuaded 17 people to give up drugs forever."
"Seventeen people? That's wonderful. How did you do it? "

"I used a diagram, your honour. I drew two circles like this: O o. Then I told them that the big circle is your brain before drugs and the small circle is your brain after drugs."
"That's admirable," says the judge. Then he turns to the second guy. "And how did you do?"

"Well, your honour, I persuaded 156 people to give up drugs forever."

"Wow!" says the judge. "156 people! How did you manage to do that?"

"Well, I used a similar diagram," the guy says. "I drew two circles like this: o O. Then I pointed to the little circle and said, 'This is your asshole before
prison..................