Congratulations Joan, Dorktown hospitals, and Jan's eye test

6 December 2012

We had a phone call from one of my OU friends this morning to say that she has at long last got her degree.  It's taken her a long time to get there and the relief was clear in her voice.  Joan's problem has been the exam every year.  She hasn't had any problems with the materials at all, but as soon as she sat down in the exam room she just fell apart.  She's not alone in that!  I rarely did as well in exams as I did in the course work assignments.  So, Well done Joan!

What do you make of the con in the hospital where Kate has been in?  I just can't believe that the staff fell for it!  I'm sure the queen just doesn't make phone calls like that.  Any calls she does make will have been prepared in advance by her advisors.  The time alone should have been enough to raise doubts.  Yes, I know that they may have been overwhelmed at hearing what they thought was her voice, but there must be some sort of protocol for such things.  Why didn't the staff know/implement them?

Dorktown used to have three hospitals.  The Manor Hospital on Manor Court Road had the A&E department and a number of wards.  The Hussy Hospital was for planned or medical admissions.  Finally there was Bramcote Hospital, a few miles outside the town and close to the local Army Barracks.  Bramcote used to be a children's hospital, my brother Dave was in the for around 4 months.  It then became all sorts of different things but finally closed some time ago.  The Manor had an huge amount of dosh spent on it and then was closed around three years later.  It is now a mental health facility but I don't think it takes in patients.  All other services are provided by the Hussy or the Walsgrave in Coventry. 

On the front page of the News this morning is a story about the possibility of the rehab services provide at Bramcote would be relocated at the Hussy in now unused Lydgate Ward.  There is a business plan being prepared to see if can be done.  Now I'm confused!  It's still not certain what the future of the Hussy is to be.  Children's services have already been closed and moved but the planned move of the maternity ward wasn't moved.  Now they want to open this new service.  Surely they could have kept the children's services and still have open this new one.  That would have helped to ensure the future of the hospital.  It seems to me that the current health service leadership is either incompetent or are just pulling ideas out of a hat to try to justify their rice bowl.  Either way, we Dorktowners need and deserve better from them!

Right now I am puppy watching while Jan is off to the Hussy for an eye examination at long last.  At her last eye test at Specsavers they found that the pressure in her eyes were high and they referred her on to check for glaucoma.  That was a couple of months ago.  Yesterday she had a phone call to ask if she could go up there this morning.  She should be being seen right now.  This will be the first of a number of appointments so hopefully they can still get it sorted before any lasting damage is done.

Today's photo might make you a tad squeamish ... 

it's a type of garden spider I got a few years ago.

And today's funny ...

A guy calls a company and orders their 5-day, 10 lb. weight loss program. The next day, there's a knock on the door and there stands before him a voluptuous, athletic, 19 year old babe dressed in nothing but a pair of Nike running shoes and a sign round her neck. She introduces herself as a representative of the weight loss company. The sign reads, "If you can catch me, you can have me."
Without a second thought, he takes off after her. A few miles later, Huffing and puffing, he finally catches her and has his way with her.
The same girl shows up for the next four days and the same thing happens.
On the fifth day, he weighs himself and is delighted to find he has lost 10 lb. as promised.  He then calls the company and orders their 5-day, 20 lb. program.
The next day there's a knock at the door and there stands the most stunning, beautiful, sexy woman he has ever seen in his life. She is wearing nothing but Reebok running shoes and a sign around her neck that reads, "If you can catch me you can have me."
Well, he's out the door after her like a shot! This girl is in excellent shape and it takes him quite a while to catch her but when he does, it's definitely worth every muscle cramp and wheeze. So for the next four days the same routine happens. Much to his delight, on the fifth day he weighs himself only to discover that he has lost another 20 lb. as promised.
He decides to go for broke and calls the company to order the 7-day 50 lb. program. "Are you sure?" asks the representative on the phone.
"This is our most rigorous program." "Absolutely," he replies, "I haven't felt this good in years."
The next day there's a knock at the door and when he opens it he finds This huge, muscular, 7ft man standing there, wearing nothing but pink running shoes and a sign around his neck that reads, "I'm Francis. If I catch you, you're mine..."