Three months after rupturing my achilles tendon I'm now walking without the special boot that kept me from falling over, I felt so confident I even went up to London without it on Saturday.
I did take my patent wooden curved handled NHS walking stick though, given to me by the physio department at St Marys Hospital in Portsmouth. With a flat cap and green jacket I'd look like a cast member from Last Of The Summer Wine.
The walking stick is great it acts as a forcefield a kind of total exclusion zone around my leg, especially useful in Commercial Road, we all know how invisible we become when popping into town for a bit of shopping, nobody can see you. So when an oblivious texting teenager or self obsessed student approaches and doesn't move out of my way they are greeted by the stick out in front of the injured leg.
The stick was almost captured at Upton Park on Saturday, as I limped up to the turnstile an overzealous security man in a bright orange jacket said "leave that 'ere mate"......"no way" I replied.........then he added "you aint taking that in there" ......I could see a battle of wills developing here and even explaining about my injury to him he still wasn't allowing my stick to enter. I then felt a hand on my elbow, it was another orange jacketed man who began steering me to a huge gate "hello sir lets open the door for yer, can't av ya going froo the turnstile, ere Sally open the gate fer the gentleman and take his ticket, there yer go sir enjoy the game".
Well I just couldn't resist turning round and smirking at the first orange man, I nearly raised the walking stick and went "nerrrrrrrrr" at him but didn't think I should push my luck.
On the tube the stick also had magic properties a kind man gave me his seat on the district line, this did cause me a problem as the train was packed and in my good fortune I was now stuck because two stops on I had to change to the Jubilee and I couldn't get off. "Stick do your work", a few prods on feet and on the back of a leg or two saw a way through and like Moses parting the Red Sea the stick had got me a passage.
I don't expect you to condone this behaviour and in fact I ought to monitor my stick wielding antics as it seems to be prematurely ageing me. I caught myself watching Countdown the other day and pressing the mute button whenever an advert came on, especially a Christmas advert, what next, New Tricks? Deal Or No Deal?
Tuesday, 18 November 2008
Tuesday, 4 November 2008
We Must Remember Them
"At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them"
This line comes from the middle stanza of the poem “For the Fallen” by Lancashire-born poet Laurence Binyon. The whole of this middle verse is traditionally recited as part of Remembrance Day services throughout the United Kingdom. I myself have a big connection with Lancashire, my father was born in Farnworth near Bolton, one of four children whose father (my grandfather) was a miner at Lord Levers' colliery. The town of Farnworth was then a prosperous industrial town with cotton mills, foundries and mining employing the whole town, but in the Great War the menfolk of Farnworth were encouraged to join the local army unit The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, many of them never to return to the mill or the pit.
My Grandfather was just a young man not yet twenty when he took up the colours in 1914 and his service record for 1914-15 simply says "Theatre of War-Balkans". He often mentioned the Dardanelles which are the straits between Europe and Asian Turkey, it's also where you'll find Gallipoli, there in 1915 he was wounded in the back by shell fragments and by two bullets in his legs but after recovery resumed his service with the regiment. Known to all simply as Alec, Alexander Newsham also spoke of his service in France and Belgium, Ypres, Arras, Vimy Ridge, Passchendale, The Somme, Messines. All places you've heard of and in fact the regiment served in virtually every theatre of the war, so we know he saw some terrible things, things that prevented him from sleeping some nights. His cousin Joseph was killed on 23 July 1916 on The Somme near Thiepval, his body was never identified but his name is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial and no doubt lays in one of the thousands of un-named graves marked "A Soldier of The Great War".
The whole area of The Somme is dotted with cemetaries and memorials to the fallen, from 1st July to 18th November 1916 over a million men became casualties in the long and bitter struggle on the Somme. The offensive cost Britain and the Empire 419,654 casualties, 125,000 of them dead. The advance was spread along a thirty mile front but became a bloody stalemate in appaling conditions once the summer went into Autumn the rain came and so did the awful mud.
In Britain the impact of the losses was severe, particularly in the north of England where many of the pals regiments were formed, whole streets and places of work joined up as one and died almost as one. I cannot even begin to imagine the horror of those conditions but these men accepted their lot and carried on with their duties, though they would have been scared witless by the shelling and the forays into enemy held territory. Three more years of conflict ensued and nearing the end of the war Alecs unit were at the second battle of Kemmel Hill in April 1918 where the German forces counter attacked and succeeded in capturing part of the high ground. As sergeant he took charge of the company when all the officers were killed and with his leadership and bravery his troops held on to their position for four days before relief got to them. For his actions Alec received the Military Medal. I am proud, honoured and extremely thankful that I knew my grandfather for a few precious years when so many lost family members in the Great War.
Alec died in 1974, he never could forget the horrors of the war, all those friends he saw die or horribly mutilated. For me and my family he lives on, on his return from war he was presented with a beautiful gold fob pocket watch by the very grateful Guild and Townsfolk of Bolton, we have the newspaper cuttings to read and I am researching the regimental diaries, we were lucky that he returned from war, he was wounded three or four times (we're not sure) and as the Bolton Evening News described "survived many hairbreadth escapes in the field".
As we all know many thousands failed to return from "the war to end all wars" along with thousands more in the second world war and down the years. Please wear your poppy with pride this week and take the time on Sunday and next Tuesday at 11.00 to be silent and remember the fallen from all conflicts including the present.
“They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning. We will remember them.”
This line comes from the middle stanza of the poem “For the Fallen” by Lancashire-born poet Laurence Binyon. The whole of this middle verse is traditionally recited as part of Remembrance Day services throughout the United Kingdom. I myself have a big connection with Lancashire, my father was born in Farnworth near Bolton, one of four children whose father (my grandfather) was a miner at Lord Levers' colliery. The town of Farnworth was then a prosperous industrial town with cotton mills, foundries and mining employing the whole town, but in the Great War the menfolk of Farnworth were encouraged to join the local army unit The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, many of them never to return to the mill or the pit.
My Grandfather was just a young man not yet twenty when he took up the colours in 1914 and his service record for 1914-15 simply says "Theatre of War-Balkans". He often mentioned the Dardanelles which are the straits between Europe and Asian Turkey, it's also where you'll find Gallipoli, there in 1915 he was wounded in the back by shell fragments and by two bullets in his legs but after recovery resumed his service with the regiment. Known to all simply as Alec, Alexander Newsham also spoke of his service in France and Belgium, Ypres, Arras, Vimy Ridge, Passchendale, The Somme, Messines. All places you've heard of and in fact the regiment served in virtually every theatre of the war, so we know he saw some terrible things, things that prevented him from sleeping some nights. His cousin Joseph was killed on 23 July 1916 on The Somme near Thiepval, his body was never identified but his name is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial and no doubt lays in one of the thousands of un-named graves marked "A Soldier of The Great War".
The whole area of The Somme is dotted with cemetaries and memorials to the fallen, from 1st July to 18th November 1916 over a million men became casualties in the long and bitter struggle on the Somme. The offensive cost Britain and the Empire 419,654 casualties, 125,000 of them dead. The advance was spread along a thirty mile front but became a bloody stalemate in appaling conditions once the summer went into Autumn the rain came and so did the awful mud.
In Britain the impact of the losses was severe, particularly in the north of England where many of the pals regiments were formed, whole streets and places of work joined up as one and died almost as one. I cannot even begin to imagine the horror of those conditions but these men accepted their lot and carried on with their duties, though they would have been scared witless by the shelling and the forays into enemy held territory. Three more years of conflict ensued and nearing the end of the war Alecs unit were at the second battle of Kemmel Hill in April 1918 where the German forces counter attacked and succeeded in capturing part of the high ground. As sergeant he took charge of the company when all the officers were killed and with his leadership and bravery his troops held on to their position for four days before relief got to them. For his actions Alec received the Military Medal. I am proud, honoured and extremely thankful that I knew my grandfather for a few precious years when so many lost family members in the Great War.
Alec died in 1974, he never could forget the horrors of the war, all those friends he saw die or horribly mutilated. For me and my family he lives on, on his return from war he was presented with a beautiful gold fob pocket watch by the very grateful Guild and Townsfolk of Bolton, we have the newspaper cuttings to read and I am researching the regimental diaries, we were lucky that he returned from war, he was wounded three or four times (we're not sure) and as the Bolton Evening News described "survived many hairbreadth escapes in the field".
As we all know many thousands failed to return from "the war to end all wars" along with thousands more in the second world war and down the years. Please wear your poppy with pride this week and take the time on Sunday and next Tuesday at 11.00 to be silent and remember the fallen from all conflicts including the present.
“They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning. We will remember them.”
Tuesday, 21 October 2008
The Great South Run
It's this Sunday, the day all those club runners, joggers and charity runners have been waiting for, or dreading, it's The Great South Run. Ten miles around the streets of Pompey and the open roads of Southsea seafront.
I was at Portsmouth Rugby Club on Saturday and there were several friends there who are entered in the run, they were all wisely avoiding playing rugby, with the race so close nobody wants an injury that will lay to waste five or six months of training. I was very envious of them, my ruptured achilles tendon injury will keep me off running for some time but I remembered the excitement and trepidation I had when my first Great South Run was getting closer and it got me thinking that I could pass on some helpful tips. There are always a lot of runners who've never run ten miles before never mind run in the Souths biggest road race and I have some advice to share with you if you havn't done the Great South before.
I'm not the worlds best runner in fact I'm a long way short of being a decent club runner as anyone at Portsmouth Joggers will confirm but I've got four medals and tee shirts in my collection, four Great South Runs. The first was in 2001 when I ran as a tribute to my dear departed father. He was struck down with cancer and died in May '01 and shortly after that I decided I'd run for the Imperial Cancer Research Fund raising over £300 in sponsorship. Thats the thing, the sponsor money, all those people now expect you to run ten miles before they'll hand over the cash. No escaping it, no bottling out.
Five months of pounding the seafront followed and as the race got closer I stepped up the training, until ten days before the race my training partner and I ran the route of the course except for the dockyard section. This run was around nine miles and it felt good, so then followed more than a week of rest, apart from some gentle cycling to work and back.
So firstly at least a week off training before the run will ensure you don't overdo it, then the night before make sure you eat some carbohydrates. Pasta is excellent, baked potatoes are good too but do make sure you eat your carbs and don't wash it down with any chilled white or fruity red wine because your body will hate you for it on Sunday when you set off partially dehydrated.
You have probably heard this before but allow yourself plenty of time to get down to Southsea, thousands of people all piling in to the city at once doesn't do a lot for the road system so have a plan and make sure you're in position with an hour to spare. By arriving in plenty of time you can meet up with your running friends and you'll also enjoy the camaradery with the other runners and the support, do join in the mass warm-up, it does exactly what it says on the tin.
By now you will have found your favourite most comfortable kit to run in, don't change it on the day, any tee shirt with an embroidered badge on the chest is to be avoided unless you want your left nipple to be reduced to an open sore. To avoid "joggers nipple" which is a most unpleasant chafing incident smear any chafe prone areas of the body with vaseline.
If you're running for a charity find out if they have a marquee or tent and locate it as soon as you can, the tents are great for storing your bag with a towel (in case it rains) and some warm clothing to change into, you can use the tent as a changing room and a meet point for any friends or relations who may be coming to cheer you on. You'll be hanging around a bit after the warm-up so while you're waiting on the road for your group start keep yourself warm, wear an old sweatshirt or jumper that you won't miss, then when the race starts just take it off and throw it away, also if it's rainy or damp a plastic bin liner with a hole in the bottom for your head makes a useful rain jacket to pull over your top half while you wait at the start.
The start is very congested but it still pays not to set off too quickly, In 2003 I tagged on to a similar looking runner as myself to use as a pacemaker but after doing the first two miles in a shade over fifteen minutes I was almost close to burn out and we were only at HMS Victory, I let him go on and slowed to my steady nine minute mile pace and recovered by the time I reached HMS Nelson. Have a go at celebrity spotting to take your mind off the running, "ooh look there's that bloke from The Bill" or "thats the girl from that cookery program". It's a great occasion full of noise and bands so aim to enjoy the atmosphere especially as you head into Old Portsmouth and Portsea, hundreds will be out to cheer you along, a good spot for friends and family to see you are by the Pembroke pub where the race slows for the tight corner and then when you're on the way back the wide road by The Queens Hotel is a good vantage point.
However, having said that there is no substitute for a bit of support in one of the less popular areas. In 2001 at the point where it becomes a bit bleak and lonely, every stride was a real struggle the legs felt so heavy and every part of my body hurt. I remember turning towards the seafront at Eastney and hearing someone shout "Go On Simon" I looked up and saw a couple of mates from the Rugby club shouting and clapping, well my heart lifted and so did my feet, I suddenly found my pace picking up rounding the bend at Eastney swimming pool and then hitting an icy wind full in the face. That wind didn't bother me as I'd had some encouragement from the crowd, my training partner was clearly struggling though and almost on cue we could hear people shouting her name, just before the Royal Marines Museum where the seafront is at it's most unforgiving. Well that was that, we both kicked on with encouragement ringing in our ears, if you can find someone to base themselves along there it will give you a tremendous lift at a point when you are feeling pretty low.
Make sure you drink plenty of water before and during the race and use all the water stops, I had a real treat last year at the water station along Eastern Parade, my girlfriend was a volunteer on the water stand, she was there with a bottle of water and a kiss which got me a lot of jealous jeering from the male runners around me. Heading back along the seafront is very rewarding unlike several years back when it just depressed me. The route used to go along in front of the golf course and cricket ground, I was heading towards Eastney but thousands of runners were heading towards South Parade Pier, with just a few feet between us, both sets of runners in a contraflow, a glance at the watch showed that those guys would be finished in an hour and five minutes while I had another twenty five to plod on. Nowadays the route goes behind the pitch and putt so the two groups don't meet which suits me, I don't want to see all those racing snakes glide past me the other way with not even a hint of hard breathing or a droplet of sweat.
Running towards the pier with the finish in sight is a fantastic moment and you should be feeling pretty good with less than a mile to go, however this part of the course is where many injuries occur. I've seen people so tired they've collapsed on the side of the road and one man last year didn't see a barrier and tripped over it cutting his legs to ribbons, you can avoid any hazards by sticking to the centre of the road, don't try and cut any corners a railing or a kerb may get you.
So there you have it, a few bits of advice to ensure you have a brilliant Great South Run, for those out there who've never run ten miles before you will have your own tale to tell and you'll get such a sense of achievement, those of you who have run it before I hope it's perfect weather so you can get yourself a personal best time.
One final word, you've deserved it so have a few pints afterwards to rehydrate, while proudly wearing the tee shirt in your local.
I was at Portsmouth Rugby Club on Saturday and there were several friends there who are entered in the run, they were all wisely avoiding playing rugby, with the race so close nobody wants an injury that will lay to waste five or six months of training. I was very envious of them, my ruptured achilles tendon injury will keep me off running for some time but I remembered the excitement and trepidation I had when my first Great South Run was getting closer and it got me thinking that I could pass on some helpful tips. There are always a lot of runners who've never run ten miles before never mind run in the Souths biggest road race and I have some advice to share with you if you havn't done the Great South before.
I'm not the worlds best runner in fact I'm a long way short of being a decent club runner as anyone at Portsmouth Joggers will confirm but I've got four medals and tee shirts in my collection, four Great South Runs. The first was in 2001 when I ran as a tribute to my dear departed father. He was struck down with cancer and died in May '01 and shortly after that I decided I'd run for the Imperial Cancer Research Fund raising over £300 in sponsorship. Thats the thing, the sponsor money, all those people now expect you to run ten miles before they'll hand over the cash. No escaping it, no bottling out.
Five months of pounding the seafront followed and as the race got closer I stepped up the training, until ten days before the race my training partner and I ran the route of the course except for the dockyard section. This run was around nine miles and it felt good, so then followed more than a week of rest, apart from some gentle cycling to work and back.
So firstly at least a week off training before the run will ensure you don't overdo it, then the night before make sure you eat some carbohydrates. Pasta is excellent, baked potatoes are good too but do make sure you eat your carbs and don't wash it down with any chilled white or fruity red wine because your body will hate you for it on Sunday when you set off partially dehydrated.
You have probably heard this before but allow yourself plenty of time to get down to Southsea, thousands of people all piling in to the city at once doesn't do a lot for the road system so have a plan and make sure you're in position with an hour to spare. By arriving in plenty of time you can meet up with your running friends and you'll also enjoy the camaradery with the other runners and the support, do join in the mass warm-up, it does exactly what it says on the tin.
By now you will have found your favourite most comfortable kit to run in, don't change it on the day, any tee shirt with an embroidered badge on the chest is to be avoided unless you want your left nipple to be reduced to an open sore. To avoid "joggers nipple" which is a most unpleasant chafing incident smear any chafe prone areas of the body with vaseline.
If you're running for a charity find out if they have a marquee or tent and locate it as soon as you can, the tents are great for storing your bag with a towel (in case it rains) and some warm clothing to change into, you can use the tent as a changing room and a meet point for any friends or relations who may be coming to cheer you on. You'll be hanging around a bit after the warm-up so while you're waiting on the road for your group start keep yourself warm, wear an old sweatshirt or jumper that you won't miss, then when the race starts just take it off and throw it away, also if it's rainy or damp a plastic bin liner with a hole in the bottom for your head makes a useful rain jacket to pull over your top half while you wait at the start.
The start is very congested but it still pays not to set off too quickly, In 2003 I tagged on to a similar looking runner as myself to use as a pacemaker but after doing the first two miles in a shade over fifteen minutes I was almost close to burn out and we were only at HMS Victory, I let him go on and slowed to my steady nine minute mile pace and recovered by the time I reached HMS Nelson. Have a go at celebrity spotting to take your mind off the running, "ooh look there's that bloke from The Bill" or "thats the girl from that cookery program". It's a great occasion full of noise and bands so aim to enjoy the atmosphere especially as you head into Old Portsmouth and Portsea, hundreds will be out to cheer you along, a good spot for friends and family to see you are by the Pembroke pub where the race slows for the tight corner and then when you're on the way back the wide road by The Queens Hotel is a good vantage point.
However, having said that there is no substitute for a bit of support in one of the less popular areas. In 2001 at the point where it becomes a bit bleak and lonely, every stride was a real struggle the legs felt so heavy and every part of my body hurt. I remember turning towards the seafront at Eastney and hearing someone shout "Go On Simon" I looked up and saw a couple of mates from the Rugby club shouting and clapping, well my heart lifted and so did my feet, I suddenly found my pace picking up rounding the bend at Eastney swimming pool and then hitting an icy wind full in the face. That wind didn't bother me as I'd had some encouragement from the crowd, my training partner was clearly struggling though and almost on cue we could hear people shouting her name, just before the Royal Marines Museum where the seafront is at it's most unforgiving. Well that was that, we both kicked on with encouragement ringing in our ears, if you can find someone to base themselves along there it will give you a tremendous lift at a point when you are feeling pretty low.
Make sure you drink plenty of water before and during the race and use all the water stops, I had a real treat last year at the water station along Eastern Parade, my girlfriend was a volunteer on the water stand, she was there with a bottle of water and a kiss which got me a lot of jealous jeering from the male runners around me. Heading back along the seafront is very rewarding unlike several years back when it just depressed me. The route used to go along in front of the golf course and cricket ground, I was heading towards Eastney but thousands of runners were heading towards South Parade Pier, with just a few feet between us, both sets of runners in a contraflow, a glance at the watch showed that those guys would be finished in an hour and five minutes while I had another twenty five to plod on. Nowadays the route goes behind the pitch and putt so the two groups don't meet which suits me, I don't want to see all those racing snakes glide past me the other way with not even a hint of hard breathing or a droplet of sweat.
Running towards the pier with the finish in sight is a fantastic moment and you should be feeling pretty good with less than a mile to go, however this part of the course is where many injuries occur. I've seen people so tired they've collapsed on the side of the road and one man last year didn't see a barrier and tripped over it cutting his legs to ribbons, you can avoid any hazards by sticking to the centre of the road, don't try and cut any corners a railing or a kerb may get you.
So there you have it, a few bits of advice to ensure you have a brilliant Great South Run, for those out there who've never run ten miles before you will have your own tale to tell and you'll get such a sense of achievement, those of you who have run it before I hope it's perfect weather so you can get yourself a personal best time.
One final word, you've deserved it so have a few pints afterwards to rehydrate, while proudly wearing the tee shirt in your local.
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
Money Saving Ideas
The TV advert says "Washing machines live longer with______" well, you know what but I won't give them a free advert on here. Thats what the ad-men claim but if I were to tell you that there is a product out there that costs not a lot more than a pint of milk that can not only keep your machine free of limescale and will save you money by replacing half of your washing powder/tablets usage and doing damn near all of your household cleansing I bet you'd be interested?
You are? excellent then let me continue, Soda Crystals have been around for donkeys years but largely overlooked, at fifty four pence, yes thats 54p for 1kg bag they can save you a few thrifty pounds of your hard earnt, plus they are a Jack of all trades. Added to your wash in the detergent/powder compartment with just one tablet or half the powder it'll make your budget stretch. Adding the crystals makes a box of thirty six tablets go twice the distance and the crystals will keep your machine sparkling clean from the dreaded limescale. It can also clean ovenware and will clear gunged up sinks, pipes and drains, a diluted solution will clean floor and wall tiles, windows, mirrors, upvc window and doorframes, ovens, grillpans, kitchen worktops and even some metals and jewellery........ hang on I can't catch my breath.........so there you have it why waste £s and £s buying a different product for every cleaning scenario when all you need is Soda Crystals? Not all supermarkets stock them but Tesco and Waitrose do and if you're in Southsea then Robert Dyas have them too.
Next up, if you have a garden or outside space why not grow your own spuds and other vegetables? easily achieved in a garden with soil but also if you only have a patio or balcony, you can grow potatoes in a potato planter or cheaper still a large bag of compost will do the job, and I can guarantee you will enjoy the experience of growing and eating your own produce, go to the BBC website for more information. http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/grow_your_own/
Make your own birthday cards for your friends and family. I know what you're thinking "how tight is that?" well before I go any further let me tell that the greetings card market is worth £1.3bn annually. Thats more than the tea and coffee markets, 85% per cent of all cards are sent by women and each person sends on average 55 cards per year. A decent card, one with a nice picture or an intricate design will cost anything between three and six pounds each.Card is very cheap to buy from a handicraft shop and you can cut and paste in the traditional Blue Peter style with proper glue and pictures from magazines or the new fangled way from the internet and print it before cutting and creating your own truly individual cards. Photos of football players, club badges or pictures of the recipient and friends, flowers, exotic places you name it. Believe me a hand made card, to the recipient doesn't come across as cheap or tight-it actually means something special to receive one you know that your friend took the time, their own time to create something that will be unique, fitting and made with love.
You are? excellent then let me continue, Soda Crystals have been around for donkeys years but largely overlooked, at fifty four pence, yes thats 54p for 1kg bag they can save you a few thrifty pounds of your hard earnt, plus they are a Jack of all trades. Added to your wash in the detergent/powder compartment with just one tablet or half the powder it'll make your budget stretch. Adding the crystals makes a box of thirty six tablets go twice the distance and the crystals will keep your machine sparkling clean from the dreaded limescale. It can also clean ovenware and will clear gunged up sinks, pipes and drains, a diluted solution will clean floor and wall tiles, windows, mirrors, upvc window and doorframes, ovens, grillpans, kitchen worktops and even some metals and jewellery........ hang on I can't catch my breath.........so there you have it why waste £s and £s buying a different product for every cleaning scenario when all you need is Soda Crystals? Not all supermarkets stock them but Tesco and Waitrose do and if you're in Southsea then Robert Dyas have them too.
Next up, if you have a garden or outside space why not grow your own spuds and other vegetables? easily achieved in a garden with soil but also if you only have a patio or balcony, you can grow potatoes in a potato planter or cheaper still a large bag of compost will do the job, and I can guarantee you will enjoy the experience of growing and eating your own produce, go to the BBC website for more information. http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/grow_your_own/
Make your own birthday cards for your friends and family. I know what you're thinking "how tight is that?" well before I go any further let me tell that the greetings card market is worth £1.3bn annually. Thats more than the tea and coffee markets, 85% per cent of all cards are sent by women and each person sends on average 55 cards per year. A decent card, one with a nice picture or an intricate design will cost anything between three and six pounds each.Card is very cheap to buy from a handicraft shop and you can cut and paste in the traditional Blue Peter style with proper glue and pictures from magazines or the new fangled way from the internet and print it before cutting and creating your own truly individual cards. Photos of football players, club badges or pictures of the recipient and friends, flowers, exotic places you name it. Believe me a hand made card, to the recipient doesn't come across as cheap or tight-it actually means something special to receive one you know that your friend took the time, their own time to create something that will be unique, fitting and made with love.
Friday, 26 September 2008
You Snapped What? Ooh That Must Have Hurt
Those of you who know me have probably heard about my achilles tendon injury, for those of you who don't, I 'm going to tell you anyway.
Allow me to elucidate, it happened playing football in August last year I'd just sent a pass upfield then went to run up the pitch and bang, it happened. I thought someone had kicked me in the back of the ankle, ouch, but when I turned around to punch whoever did it there was nobody near me, my leg just gave way, I couldn't bear any weight on it. The other players were wondering why I was on my knees.
I knew what I'd done, I'd seen it happen to someone before, the pain was indescribable, I can only liken it to having a shopping trolley crashed into the back of your ankle. I started to crawl off the pitch being watched by my team mates who thought I was being a drama queen, one of them Dave, helped me off and then the duty PTI came over with an icepack and the accident book, very efficient I thought. To keep my spirits up he kept telling me I hadn't snapped my achilles tendon but probably torn a muscle, but I had self diagnosed the injury, I knew it had gone.
A quick phone call to my girlfriend and within thirty minutes I was in QA with an orthopaedic surgeon pulling at my foot asking, "does this hurt?"... "only a lot" says I.... "what about if I do this?" says the doctor... "arggggggggggh" I replied..... "yes it looks as though you have ruptured your achilles tendon" I could have told him that. So began ten days in a plastercast right up to the top of my thigh, it weighed a ton but it kept my foot pointing straight down which relaxed the tendon and stopped any further damage. Ten days of getting to grips with crutches, one legged shaving, washing, tea-making and pulling the curtains down were highlights. There are two ways of treating achilles tendon rupture, one is conservative the other is surgery where the tendon is stitched together, I was told I would be treated conservatively.
This cast was removed when the bruising and swelling had subsided then I had a scan which showed the damage was up near the calf muscle which thankfully for a scaredee cat like me meant they couldn't go down the surgery route. I was put in a "pot" a cast from below the knee to the toes with my foot in the equinus or ballerina position for a fortnight to allow the tendon to knit back together. Two weeks later another cast with my foot being moved to halfway and another cast two weeks after that, I chose purple for the first two casts which isn't as much of a talking point as this latest pink one.
So now I'm in the neutral position and it was quite sore after they bent my foot up and the pot went on but it calmed down after a couple of days. The worst of it is having to use crutches to get around, I can't put any weight on the injured leg and I would recommend not leaving a bank statement in a plastic wallet on your living room floor, see through plastic wallets and crutches don't get on, luckily for me the tv set was in the way to stop me flying or I'd have been back up to A&E. I've learned a few useful tips such as wearing cargo shorts means you can carry stuff around from the kitchen to the living room, flasks of tea and bottles of wine especially.
So thats where I am, I've been off work for six weeks so far and probably another six to come, thank god the Olympics was on for the first two weeks and for sports and documentary channels keeping me occupied, I've also been learning guitar but it's slow progress. I wasn't going to let it get me down, even though I'm very active, walking, cycling and rugby are a big part of my life but I accepted what has happened to me in the first week, I told myself I've just got to get on with it and get better, my girlfriend has been fantastic and my friends have all rallied round, work have also been brilliant, they haven't pressured me to come back even if I was able to.
Guidance about my recovery was vague, I had to do a lot of fact finding for myself, there was no information from the hospital or my doctor. I have a good friend Ian who is a climber and outdoor activity organiser for Sheffield Council he had the same injury last year, he was able to give me loads of advice and put me on to a website forum http://www.marfell.me.uk/ where other ATR sufferers can share their stories and advice. This has been invaluable for me and I'd thoroughly recommend anyone who has this injury to trawl through the site and glean the information from it.
There have been disappointments, I missed out on the company sportsday in York something I'd been part of in the planning stages and I had to cancel a hill walking week in the Lake District so that will be a definate trip I'll rearrange as soon as I'm ready. It will be a long road to full recovery, months of physiotherapy will follow, I'm back to hospital on the third of October when they tell me I'm getting an Aircast Boot, it looks like a leg from a Star Wars stormtrooper and hopefully will mean I can bear some weight on my leg and learn to walk again.
Slow but sure will be my mantra.
Allow me to elucidate, it happened playing football in August last year I'd just sent a pass upfield then went to run up the pitch and bang, it happened. I thought someone had kicked me in the back of the ankle, ouch, but when I turned around to punch whoever did it there was nobody near me, my leg just gave way, I couldn't bear any weight on it. The other players were wondering why I was on my knees.
I knew what I'd done, I'd seen it happen to someone before, the pain was indescribable, I can only liken it to having a shopping trolley crashed into the back of your ankle. I started to crawl off the pitch being watched by my team mates who thought I was being a drama queen, one of them Dave, helped me off and then the duty PTI came over with an icepack and the accident book, very efficient I thought. To keep my spirits up he kept telling me I hadn't snapped my achilles tendon but probably torn a muscle, but I had self diagnosed the injury, I knew it had gone.
A quick phone call to my girlfriend and within thirty minutes I was in QA with an orthopaedic surgeon pulling at my foot asking, "does this hurt?"... "only a lot" says I.... "what about if I do this?" says the doctor... "arggggggggggh" I replied..... "yes it looks as though you have ruptured your achilles tendon" I could have told him that. So began ten days in a plastercast right up to the top of my thigh, it weighed a ton but it kept my foot pointing straight down which relaxed the tendon and stopped any further damage. Ten days of getting to grips with crutches, one legged shaving, washing, tea-making and pulling the curtains down were highlights. There are two ways of treating achilles tendon rupture, one is conservative the other is surgery where the tendon is stitched together, I was told I would be treated conservatively.
This cast was removed when the bruising and swelling had subsided then I had a scan which showed the damage was up near the calf muscle which thankfully for a scaredee cat like me meant they couldn't go down the surgery route. I was put in a "pot" a cast from below the knee to the toes with my foot in the equinus or ballerina position for a fortnight to allow the tendon to knit back together. Two weeks later another cast with my foot being moved to halfway and another cast two weeks after that, I chose purple for the first two casts which isn't as much of a talking point as this latest pink one.
So now I'm in the neutral position and it was quite sore after they bent my foot up and the pot went on but it calmed down after a couple of days. The worst of it is having to use crutches to get around, I can't put any weight on the injured leg and I would recommend not leaving a bank statement in a plastic wallet on your living room floor, see through plastic wallets and crutches don't get on, luckily for me the tv set was in the way to stop me flying or I'd have been back up to A&E. I've learned a few useful tips such as wearing cargo shorts means you can carry stuff around from the kitchen to the living room, flasks of tea and bottles of wine especially.
So thats where I am, I've been off work for six weeks so far and probably another six to come, thank god the Olympics was on for the first two weeks and for sports and documentary channels keeping me occupied, I've also been learning guitar but it's slow progress. I wasn't going to let it get me down, even though I'm very active, walking, cycling and rugby are a big part of my life but I accepted what has happened to me in the first week, I told myself I've just got to get on with it and get better, my girlfriend has been fantastic and my friends have all rallied round, work have also been brilliant, they haven't pressured me to come back even if I was able to.
Guidance about my recovery was vague, I had to do a lot of fact finding for myself, there was no information from the hospital or my doctor. I have a good friend Ian who is a climber and outdoor activity organiser for Sheffield Council he had the same injury last year, he was able to give me loads of advice and put me on to a website forum http://www.marfell.me.uk/ where other ATR sufferers can share their stories and advice. This has been invaluable for me and I'd thoroughly recommend anyone who has this injury to trawl through the site and glean the information from it.
There have been disappointments, I missed out on the company sportsday in York something I'd been part of in the planning stages and I had to cancel a hill walking week in the Lake District so that will be a definate trip I'll rearrange as soon as I'm ready. It will be a long road to full recovery, months of physiotherapy will follow, I'm back to hospital on the third of October when they tell me I'm getting an Aircast Boot, it looks like a leg from a Star Wars stormtrooper and hopefully will mean I can bear some weight on my leg and learn to walk again.
Slow but sure will be my mantra.
Wednesday, 24 September 2008
Value For Money
The Help For Heroes rugby game from Twickenham on Saturday was fine entertainment, a host of former England and Wales internationals were on parade, Lawrence Dallaglio, Colin Charvis, Scott Gibbs, Will Greenwood and Martin Johnson to name a few.
A match to raise money for soldiers injured in Afghanistan and Iraq was never going to be taken lightly, add to that a crowd of more than 50,000 and the scene was set for a cracking game. The rugby was quality and so was the pre-match and half-time entertainment.
At the interval electric string quartet Escala kept the crowd spellbound. Escala are the four young ladies you may have seen on Britains Got Talent or more lately the Sky Sports Premier League football trailer. Their instruments may look like something from a Science Fiction movie but are in fact two electric violins, a cello and a viola.
It got me thinking as to when I last saw any half time entertainment at a football match, in fact I can't recall there even being any at the FA Cup Final in May but I was so nervous I wasn't really paying attention to the pitch at half time. In the past I can remember the occasional parachute display, brass bands, drum majorettes twirling and dropping batons and kids in penalty shoot-outs. I presume those two spoilsports Heath and Safety have a lot to do with it. Burnley recently had a parachutist who got caught in the roof of the stand and one parachutist actually hit the roof of the stand at Villa Park nine years ago and was severely injured so I can see why that particular avenue of entertainment may have been curtailed. Nigel Rogoff was one of several RAF skydiving Santas descending into Villa Park in blustery conditions. Aston Villa fan Robert McEvoy continues the tale: "This gentleman hit the stand, and was promptly dragged off by his parachute, landing on the track in front of the Main Stand. To say the ground went quiet was an understatement, the worst bit, apart from watching a man fall approximately the height of two houses, was that there were six other parachutists behind him, and the man on the PA system was shouting for them to land elsewhere. As Villa Park is surrounded by terraced houses and the M6, they had little choice but to land on the pitch. Parachutist Number two had seen his mate hit the stand, and in trying to avoid that he missed the opposite stand by inches, as everyone in the stadium held their breath. The other five landed in goals, on corner flags and anywhere but the cross in the middle of the pitch."
Rogoff lost his leg in the accident but has since made a good recovery and even married the nurse who cared for him in the months after.
I remember a very amusing incident three seasons ago at Dean Court when covering an AFC Bournemouth match. The Royal Marines from Poole were giving an exhibition of unarmed combat, six mats were put out in the corners and on the halfway lines then six teams of four Bootnecks took it in turn to knock hell out of each other. An interested onlooker was Bournemouths mascot Cherry Bear, who was looking somewhat closely at the action, after a while he went up behind a Marine and swung a huge furry legged kick at the marines' backside, down he went and then all the Royal Marines went for the man in the oversize ursine head. Cherry Bear dispatched the rest of the Marines with consumate ease using a selection of throws, kicks, punches and a swipe with a baseball bat that left his assailant gasping for breath. The pitch was littered with fallen Bootnecks and the stands were full of people falling about with laughter.
West Brom had a race on Sunday between some of the west midlands teams mascots, the five participants had to run one width of The Hawthorns' pitch. Ladbrokes had been taking charity bets in the run-up to the race and raised £2,204, all of which will go to the BBC West Midlands Kidney Kids Appeal, Wolfie the Wolf saw off the challenge of Villa's Hercules the Lion, Albion's Baggie Bird, Walsall's Swifty and the BBC WM Wonder Moose, who finished second through to fifth, respectively.
That was good value for the paying customer but these days all we get is a kickabout by some of the fringe players or the reserve goalkeeper having a bit of practice. Not what you'd call "worth the admission fee" which being £38 at Fratton Park you'd feel a bit mugged by not getting anything other than deafening music and incoherent announcements. The officialdom gets in the way of entertainment too, referees are very quick to punish players who "over-celebrate" scoring a goal, surely this is what the punter expects to see, a goal a celebration it's what they pay for?
Come on football clubs give us a brass band at half-time, a shoot out, a hit the crossbar challenge or maybe even a Police Dog Display team, they were always good value. The cost of a weeks shopping is what it takes to go and see a football match these days and that to me is not giving value for money for ninety minutes football (plus added on time) and no unarmed mascot combat.
A match to raise money for soldiers injured in Afghanistan and Iraq was never going to be taken lightly, add to that a crowd of more than 50,000 and the scene was set for a cracking game. The rugby was quality and so was the pre-match and half-time entertainment.
At the interval electric string quartet Escala kept the crowd spellbound. Escala are the four young ladies you may have seen on Britains Got Talent or more lately the Sky Sports Premier League football trailer. Their instruments may look like something from a Science Fiction movie but are in fact two electric violins, a cello and a viola.
It got me thinking as to when I last saw any half time entertainment at a football match, in fact I can't recall there even being any at the FA Cup Final in May but I was so nervous I wasn't really paying attention to the pitch at half time. In the past I can remember the occasional parachute display, brass bands, drum majorettes twirling and dropping batons and kids in penalty shoot-outs. I presume those two spoilsports Heath and Safety have a lot to do with it. Burnley recently had a parachutist who got caught in the roof of the stand and one parachutist actually hit the roof of the stand at Villa Park nine years ago and was severely injured so I can see why that particular avenue of entertainment may have been curtailed. Nigel Rogoff was one of several RAF skydiving Santas descending into Villa Park in blustery conditions. Aston Villa fan Robert McEvoy continues the tale: "This gentleman hit the stand, and was promptly dragged off by his parachute, landing on the track in front of the Main Stand. To say the ground went quiet was an understatement, the worst bit, apart from watching a man fall approximately the height of two houses, was that there were six other parachutists behind him, and the man on the PA system was shouting for them to land elsewhere. As Villa Park is surrounded by terraced houses and the M6, they had little choice but to land on the pitch. Parachutist Number two had seen his mate hit the stand, and in trying to avoid that he missed the opposite stand by inches, as everyone in the stadium held their breath. The other five landed in goals, on corner flags and anywhere but the cross in the middle of the pitch."
Rogoff lost his leg in the accident but has since made a good recovery and even married the nurse who cared for him in the months after.
I remember a very amusing incident three seasons ago at Dean Court when covering an AFC Bournemouth match. The Royal Marines from Poole were giving an exhibition of unarmed combat, six mats were put out in the corners and on the halfway lines then six teams of four Bootnecks took it in turn to knock hell out of each other. An interested onlooker was Bournemouths mascot Cherry Bear, who was looking somewhat closely at the action, after a while he went up behind a Marine and swung a huge furry legged kick at the marines' backside, down he went and then all the Royal Marines went for the man in the oversize ursine head. Cherry Bear dispatched the rest of the Marines with consumate ease using a selection of throws, kicks, punches and a swipe with a baseball bat that left his assailant gasping for breath. The pitch was littered with fallen Bootnecks and the stands were full of people falling about with laughter.
West Brom had a race on Sunday between some of the west midlands teams mascots, the five participants had to run one width of The Hawthorns' pitch. Ladbrokes had been taking charity bets in the run-up to the race and raised £2,204, all of which will go to the BBC West Midlands Kidney Kids Appeal, Wolfie the Wolf saw off the challenge of Villa's Hercules the Lion, Albion's Baggie Bird, Walsall's Swifty and the BBC WM Wonder Moose, who finished second through to fifth, respectively.
That was good value for the paying customer but these days all we get is a kickabout by some of the fringe players or the reserve goalkeeper having a bit of practice. Not what you'd call "worth the admission fee" which being £38 at Fratton Park you'd feel a bit mugged by not getting anything other than deafening music and incoherent announcements. The officialdom gets in the way of entertainment too, referees are very quick to punish players who "over-celebrate" scoring a goal, surely this is what the punter expects to see, a goal a celebration it's what they pay for?
Come on football clubs give us a brass band at half-time, a shoot out, a hit the crossbar challenge or maybe even a Police Dog Display team, they were always good value. The cost of a weeks shopping is what it takes to go and see a football match these days and that to me is not giving value for money for ninety minutes football (plus added on time) and no unarmed mascot combat.
Monday, 15 September 2008
The Truth Is Out There
The Large Hadron Collider was switched on last week amid lots of ill informed speculation and scaremongering from those claiming that the end of the world is nigh, the use of the web to spread fears that flicking the switch on the LHC could create a Black Hole that could swallow up the Earth was of concern to inventor of the internet Sir Tim Berners-Lee. Okay so the switch-on did happen to coincide with earthquakes in Iran and China but thats all it was, coincidence, in fact both stories were hardly reported. I found out about the Iranian quake by text message as it was happening from a friend in Dubai who had to leave her office block when it started to shake, the tremor was felt right across the Gulf States.
The Worldwide Web is the catalyst for wrong information, when Sir Tim invented the web I bet he hadn't reckoned on Wikipaedia for instance. A great idea in concept, someone posts a definition or an article about a subject or a famous person and anyone, yes anyone else can go into that article and add to it or embellish the definition. Many entries have found to be false, thus making the whole thing a website of misinformation, I have been told by a senior lecturer that some university students have actually copied and pasted wikipaedia extracts into their coursework. Thats not to say Wikipaedia is all bad, the majority of information in there is valid but some is wide of the mark.
There are also plenty of conspiracy theory websites out there, full of circumstantial, anecdotal and photographic evidence but how can we the web users separate the truth from fantasy? As the web evolves the user needs reassurance that what they are reading is factually accurate. When making a purchase online the safety certificate and the "padlock" logo both give you the signs that it is safe to use that site similarly a certificate or logo from the Worldwide Web Consortium could give a credibililty grading to a site, stars out of ten perhaps? The BBC getting nine and the Daily Mail with three, you get the picture? I found a story where John Terry was the FA spokesperson for a Respect Referees Campaign, surely some mistake?
Many millions of people use the web for information every day and the not so well developed countries are in the early stages of using the web, for an African schoolchild logging on and finding a site that claims the HIV/AIDS virus is manmade by the CIA could be potentially harmful to a developing society.
The most popular conspiracy theories at present are The US Government planned the 11th September attacks, Princess Diana was murdered by the British Royal Family, The Apollo Moon Landings (my favourite this one, as I don't believe the Americans actually landed on the Moon). Global Warming or Climate Change was invented by scientists when the Cold War ended so they wouldn't lose their funding, and most unbelievable of all Arcadi Gaydamak, the Jerusalem based Russian-Israeli businessman, has said for the first time that he, rather than his son Sacha is the owner of Portsmouth Football Club. He claims that the club are up for sale for £300m and that the new stadium will be built in conjunction with the Dubai Royal Family (£300m! a tad overpriced?)
So we'll wait and see where the Hadron Collider takes us, it may be that the Cern scientists will discover free renewable energy from their LHC experiments and pass the benefits onto mankind, now then that's a conspiracy theory that I'd like to start.
The Worldwide Web is the catalyst for wrong information, when Sir Tim invented the web I bet he hadn't reckoned on Wikipaedia for instance. A great idea in concept, someone posts a definition or an article about a subject or a famous person and anyone, yes anyone else can go into that article and add to it or embellish the definition. Many entries have found to be false, thus making the whole thing a website of misinformation, I have been told by a senior lecturer that some university students have actually copied and pasted wikipaedia extracts into their coursework. Thats not to say Wikipaedia is all bad, the majority of information in there is valid but some is wide of the mark.
There are also plenty of conspiracy theory websites out there, full of circumstantial, anecdotal and photographic evidence but how can we the web users separate the truth from fantasy? As the web evolves the user needs reassurance that what they are reading is factually accurate. When making a purchase online the safety certificate and the "padlock" logo both give you the signs that it is safe to use that site similarly a certificate or logo from the Worldwide Web Consortium could give a credibililty grading to a site, stars out of ten perhaps? The BBC getting nine and the Daily Mail with three, you get the picture? I found a story where John Terry was the FA spokesperson for a Respect Referees Campaign, surely some mistake?
Many millions of people use the web for information every day and the not so well developed countries are in the early stages of using the web, for an African schoolchild logging on and finding a site that claims the HIV/AIDS virus is manmade by the CIA could be potentially harmful to a developing society.
The most popular conspiracy theories at present are The US Government planned the 11th September attacks, Princess Diana was murdered by the British Royal Family, The Apollo Moon Landings (my favourite this one, as I don't believe the Americans actually landed on the Moon). Global Warming or Climate Change was invented by scientists when the Cold War ended so they wouldn't lose their funding, and most unbelievable of all Arcadi Gaydamak, the Jerusalem based Russian-Israeli businessman, has said for the first time that he, rather than his son Sacha is the owner of Portsmouth Football Club. He claims that the club are up for sale for £300m and that the new stadium will be built in conjunction with the Dubai Royal Family (£300m! a tad overpriced?)
So we'll wait and see where the Hadron Collider takes us, it may be that the Cern scientists will discover free renewable energy from their LHC experiments and pass the benefits onto mankind, now then that's a conspiracy theory that I'd like to start.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
