It is 8.35 a.m. and I am just back from my morning wanderings along the banks of the Silverburn. I didn’t meet a soul this morning. The sun is shining and there is a gentle breeze from the southwest. Tonight I am hoping to take my boat Silverburn out to sea, to test out our seemingly dodgy engine. I have young Chris on standby and we shall sail at about 6.30 and if you hear my name and lifeboats read out in the same sentence, on Manx radio’s morning News tomorrow, there will be no blog.
I h
It is 9.30 a.m. and I only managed a quick walk with Skipper today so far. I have got to head for Peel this morning to buy fish for wild birds and then onto the hospital for an appointment for Barbara. We didn't manage to get to Port St. Mary in the boat yesterday as we broke down twice in Castletown Bay. The first time, she broke down just outside the harbour. The engine just slowly died away and then cut out. We got outboard going and headed back into harbour. The main engine restarted and aft
It is actually 8-05 p.m. on Saturday night. I have just opened my first tin of John Smiths as we draw to the end of a good day. We took my boat Silverburn out on sea trials this afternoon and managed two circumnavigations of Castletown bay. The wind was from the Northwest, blowing at about force 5 with sea conditions slightly choppy. Silverburn performed with flying colours and rode the waves nicely, shipped a little bit of spray but only managed a top speed of 6 knots with 5 people onboard. Non
10 a.m. It isn’t a bad day today. I was hoping for the wind to have died away as I would like to take my boat Silverburn out on her maiden voyage this afternoon. Thankfully that is the case, so later we will circumnavigate Castletown bay several times. This is because I think there might be around 10 passengers and I only have life jackets for 5 or 6, so I will do it in relays.
Dad is very much in my mind today, as he usually called on Saturday lunchtime. At 12 o’clock it would be nice if I
HAY FEVER SUFFERERS PUTTING HEALTH AT RISK
Thousands of Isle of Man hay fever sufferers could be taking inappropriate medicines, putting their health at risk. The Isle of Man branch of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) is encouraging people experiencing the symptoms of hay fever to visit their community pharmacist after new research revealed that the public often misdiagnose the condition and fail to get the correct treatment.
Allergic rhinitis, known as hay fever,
9.10 a.m. I'm just back from morning walk. Its raining and I never met a soul on my wanderings. I was really hoping to take my boat Silverburn out on her sea trials later this afternoon, however, those nasty men at Ronaldsway have forecast the wind will go round to the southwest and increase to about force 5 which will mean we put off our sea trials until tomorrow.
Listening to the radio this morning I hear that the 45 million pound extension to the runway at Ronaldsway is going ahead. It s
It is 8.22 a.m. I’m just back from my morning walk and there is a touch of rain in the air this morning. I have managed to get a 45 minute walk in without Skipper chasing anyone or harassing any other dogs. Mind you he still has his ASBO in place and I have to get up earlier and earlier to get my walks in, before the rest of the dog community on the island join me.
Today is going to be busy. We still have an aunt over from Dublin for Dad’s funeral. I have promised to take her out later this
It is 8.45 a.m. and I have just returned from walking two laps of Poulson Park with Skipper. In about half an hour, I will take a wander down through Golden Meadow Mill. I have woken up feeling better today. I have started to feel a bit breathless over the last 3 days or so and was getting a bit worried that the cancer might be returning. I started taking antibiotics yesterday and I do feel better this morning so hopefully we have had no more than a chest infection.
It is a lovely spring mo
Its 7.45am. Another day has arrived. Exactly one week ago today, at this precise time I was sat in this office doing exactly the same thing. I was writing the blog when the phone rang to tell me of my Father's death. That changed everything that day. However, it began just like any other day as this one has. I suppose it goes to show whatever plans we think we might have, we only play a very minor roll. The boss or whoever is up there in charge will pull all the strings.
Signs of spring are
There is only one way to begin this blog and that is to thank all of you who have contacted me over the last week with your kind words of support. I didn't know it was possible to have so many friends that I have never met.
This past week has been a long one, as indeed have been the last couple of months. I suppose with every storm that passes, there is at least one less to blow. Anyway the purpose of restarting the blog again is so I don't dwell. I know we have to move on and yes, we can a
GREEN MANN DIRECTORY
Watch out for the Green Mann.
Island 21 is launching its Green Mann Directory in spring 2008. This is a first attempt to help people find sources of local food and Fair-trade items. It also has information about recycling and renewable energy including solar and wind turbines. In fact it is a mine of information for low-impact living and ‘going green.’
The Green Mann Directory has been produced with help from the Royal So
Well here we are, just back from chemotherapy. Yesterday I didn’t know whether I would blog again and here I am already, at it again. I felt I had to write a quick blog just to thank all of you who have emailed me with your kind thoughts. You all given me so much encouragement, it is difficult to imagine not blogging again. I am not sure which of my therapies is doing the most for me at present, chemotherapy or the blogging therapy.
Dad’s funeral will be at 1pm on Saturday. A horse dr
It is actually 4.15pm on April 1st. Today began just like any other day. I woke at around 4 a.m and I noticed the birds were singing at 4.45 this morning which is the earliest so far this year. I came in to the office at around 8 a.m. this morning and began writing just like any other day. The phone went at about 8.15 which was my Mother to tell me that Dad had just died. He was not feeling too good the day before and yesterday morning I called an ambulance as he had been in pain all night. I wa
Well I am now just one day away from the 3rd chemotherapy course. It’s on a bit of a wing and a prayer at this stage, as to whether I pass the tests or not. There are a few blood tests to get through and a bit of a general health check. Even though I feel fit, you can never be sure about the blood tests.
Life does seem to be getting more and more bureaucratic these days. You can’t even open a bank account now without having to show passport and utility bills. Even if you have been a c
If patients want to purchase medicines over the internet, it is recommended by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society that they only purchase from GB registered pharmacies (not Isle of Man as we have our own register)where they will be dealing with a registered pharmacist.
Patients should look for the Society’s Internet Pharmacy Logo (see
www.internetpharmacylogo.org and check that the site is a GB registered pharmacy).
“Anyone who has concerns about the safety or appropriateness of their m
Its 9.50 a.m. and I'm just back from a walk. I only managed one lap of the park today with a bit of free running for Skipper along the river bank. The walk and talk lot come to the park between 10 and midday. Seeing as Skipper still has an ASBO on him, I thought I had better get out of the way. I have been thinking during the night about all the mistakes I have made and mistakes made by others regarding myself.
Last November I first visited the doctors because I felt generally unwell, short
Its Sunday morning 8.40 a.m. and this is a day that will be marked in history. Not only have the clocks gone forward but the smoking ban has arrived in all public places. I guess there will be quite a lot of grumbling going on in bars throughout the Island at lunchtime today. Well at least the brewery will hope there is, for if not, it will mean folks have stayed away. I do find it a bit strange though, how pubs will still be able to sell cigarettes. But then I suppose chemists sell condoms but
This meeting should be excellent in explaining our dependence on fossil fuels and the role of Peak Oil - don't know what this is?
Here is the opportunity to find out about it and the Transition Island project which looks like it is going great guns!
Positie Action Group
PRESS RELEASE
ISSUE DATE: 28th March 2008
PAG Public Meeting - Monday 31st March 2008
“ ENERGY ISLAND – ISLAND ENERGY ”
Isle of Man’s dependency on fossil fuel will be put under the spotlight on Monday
Today I want to begin with an apology. If you were the person walking along the Silverburn River yesterday morning minding your own business and all of a sudden some nutter came charging out from a gateway shouting “GO” and thereafter a mad looney of a Collie came charging after you, barking like mad and trying to bite your backside but couldn’t because of the muzzle, I am extremely sorry. Yesterday morning I walked Skipper alone. I walked through Poulson park and then through the gate that lead
It is actually Still Thursday the 27th. I'm cheating again and writing this blog on the day before. I have just returned from walking Skipper along the Silverburn. It is cold, raining and the wind is from the southeast. They are forecasting force 8 tonight and over an inch of rain. Of course we don't always take any notice of forecasts. When I smoked, I chose to ignore them and look what happened to me. I almost got blown on to the rocks. I did eventually and hopefully not too late, change cours
The Paediatric Medicines Expert Advisory Group and the Commission on Human Medicines have reviewed over-the-counter products used for treating cough and colds in children, and advised that certain medicines should no longer be used in children under the age of two. The following advice has been issued:
• Non-prescription cough and cold preparations containing any of the following active substances should not be used in children under 2 years: brompheniramine, chlorphenamine, dextrometorphan,
Well here we are now 6 weeks in to chemo therapy and time for a little review I think. I am just back from a walk around Langness so things can't be going to badly. I feel now just as fit as I did before I knew there was anything wrong.
At the start of chemo, I could hardly walk anywhere without difficulty. Stairs were becoming a problem, doing things around the house like lifting the washing basket and other simply little tasks were difficult to perform. Now life is almost back to normal.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain has just issued the following information to pharmacists. For further advice please ask your local pharmacist.
Good Practice in the Treatment of Coughs and Colds in Children
The Society is issuing this guidance in light of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) decision to review the sale and supply of cough and cold products to children less than 2 years of age.
The MHRA came to their decision to r
