Nurses, a day off out and a bumpy ride

27 September 2013

Yesterday I was all over the place.  Right up to the evening I was convinced that yesterday was Friday so kept saying today would Saturday.  It happens at times to most people but not to get the message after so many times of telling was very annoying indeed!  Anyway, we went out to do some birding at Rutland Water.  Arriving there we went into the visitor centre to have a quick look out over the water and saw very few birds.  So we decided that it perhaps wasn't worth while getting the scooters out for a ride around.  As we got back to the car two birders met up beside the car park and we overheard one of them saying there's very little about.  That was enough for us.

From Rutland we headed off to a place I drove past a few years ago, Grimsthorpe Hall.  I've been fancying a trip there to get some shots of it so off we went.  On the way I suggested that we stop off at Stamford for a look around but when we got there most of the town centre streets were cobbled with very narrow pavements; neither any good for scooter riders.  So we left there and forgot about Grimsthorpe.  Another day perhaps ... ... ...

The last few days I've been reading a book called Confessions of a Male Nurse by Michael Alexander.  It was on offer one time at Waterstones one time so for £2.99 I thought it worth trying.  I'm glad I did!  Alexander is a New Zealander who came to live and work in various London hospitals.  I know that he may have a different outlook to nursing than a British nurse might but even so, if only half of the tales he tells in the book are true, then there's a really serious problem in London.  Poor patient care by even poorer nurses; doctors who won't listen to nurses about their concerns; nurses covering their own backs instead of doing the job they are paid to do; low staffing levels ... and so on.  The whole thing comes to head on an afternoon shift where he was the only registered nurse looking after 16 patients.  After a row with the senior nurse on duty he walked out and left the UK soon after.  The book is easy to read even if it does makes uncomfortable reading.  I'm sure we all know there is a real problem within the NHS right now, but even so, how many of knew it might be this bad?  What Alexander would think of it now I just don't know.

I did managed to get 40+ shots while we were out yesterday and they were all 'keepers'.  None of them are really particularly very arty or good shots in themselves and are really just record shots of pub signs and real ale pump signs.

This one is the best of them ... 

St Peter's Parish Church in Tinwell I think it is.

And a funny ...

My wife found out that our dog (a Schnauzer) could hardly hear, so she took it to the veterinarian. The vet found that the problem was hair in the dog's ears. He cleaned both ears, and the dog could then hear fine.

The vet then proceeded to tell Andrea that, if she wanted to keep this from recurring, she should go to the store and get some "Nair" hair remover and rub it in the dog's ears once a month.
Andrea went to the store and bought some "Nair" hair remover. At the register, the pharmacist told her, "If you're going to use this under your arms, don't use deodorant for a few days."
Andrea said, "I'm not using it under my arms."
The pharmacist said, "If you're using it on your legs, don't use body lotion for a couple of days."
Andrea replied, "I'm not using it on my legs either. If you must know, I'm using it on my Schnauzer."
The pharmacist says, "Well, stay off your bicycle for about a week."