Overnight

Recently I had to visit the Leicester Royal Infirmary for a minor operation in the day surgery unit. I must admit the care I received there was excellent on the ward and the nursing staff were lovely, but something is wrong with the system and it all comes down to transport.

With the growth of large hospitals and the closure of more local hospitals and services they provide many people are left have to travel in excess of fifteen or twenty miles to the nearest large hospital for treatment, but there transport needs are never really considered. Take a patient who goes by ambulance to Accident and Emergency only to find once they are released and have been seen there is no way to get home. If you call your ambulance you are not likely to remember you need cash or debit card to buy a ticket for a bus or a train. Why would you when you have bigger things to worry about.

It is all right the hospitals saying they need save money for patient care, that goes without saying but people still need to get home. Not sure how much it costs to keep someone in overnight and then provide them with three meals but it has to be more than the cost of providing those that need it some form of transport to get them home. Not doing so make the whole system of day surgery really unworkable for a number of people, and especially so for older patients. 

In my own case, after day surgery I wasn't allowed to go home or allowed to drive for 24 hours. The hospital had no choice but to keep me there for that time and then find transport for me in the end to get me home after refusing to let me even use public transport 24 hours later. It wasn't like I could even drive to the hospital in the first place and stay 24 hours, the cost of car parking is prohibitive and so limited in a city centre hospital that even the staff have trouble driving to work and parking. 

The Government really need to think about there health care policies and think of the consequences of centring all hospital care in large city hospitals and the effects it is having on the population, especially those who don't have access transport or who are on low income. I can image if you are a lone parent, you don't drive and live in Oakham and you have to go to Accident and Emergency in Leicester at ten at night, getting you and the child home could cost you a reasonable part of a weeks ESA payment.

Spring has Sprung

With temperatures reaching a lovely 18 degrees it was a real taste of what we have to come as we head towards the summer. Who would have thought that in early march we would have even one day as hot as a day in late spring.

In fact it reminded me of when I first came to the village and that was the may school half term, it was just as lovely then as it was today in the afternoon sunshine and that will be over six years ago in May when life was full of promise. 

I can't wait for the village to bust into flower again and the churchyard to be full of daffodils and tulips. It looks so pretty, especially on a quite sunny spring morning in the crisp air with the birds singing their springs songs, full of the joys of life. 

It is really a time of renewal when the world comes alive again after the drabness of the winter months and the cold long nights and short days.

Dancing on Ice - The Ultimate Final

After nine series of Dancing on Ice the show came to an end to day with the crowning of the ultimate winer of the final show, Ray Quinn the former winner of Series 4 back in winter of 2009. Given how good he was and how committed he was he had to be the favorite from the start and the opposition did keep him on his toes. 

For those that need reminding of how good he was back in the winter of 2009 I have found a video of all the routines he danced that year. You can watch it below or on YouTube. Remember when you watch the first routine it was the first time he had been on the ice, and make a note of watching the flying performance which is about 54 and half minutes into the video.

Of course it would only be fair to include a full video of all his routines of the final series of Dancing on Ice, so here it is, again you can watch it on YouTube, where you can select the quality you watch it at. 

I'm going to miss the show. It was one of the winter highlights of a Sunday night that it became a family favorite. The good thing is there are a lot of clips out there to watch on sites like YouTube, and you could always go and see the final live shows. Goodbye "Dancing on Ice", it has been so much fun since I started watching the show. Thank you Torvill and Dean and all the people that have made it a goos show over the years.

Daivd Boiwe the Brits

David Bowie last won a Brit award back in 1984, when the awards were called the BPI awards, some 30 years ago. That was until he one a a Brit at this years awards at the age of 67 fighting off he commentaries for the best male artist. He is now the oldest ever winner of a Brit a award and for good reason.

What David Bowie has always brought to the industry, even in his advancing years is, is artistic daring, intellectual brilliance, sexual allure, emotional punch, crowd-pleasing appeal and simple musical genius.None of this has left him as the years have gone on. He is everything a popular music artist should be and he have combined that with longevity.

I have always loved his music and saw him live many years ago in an incredible concert that blew me away at the time and left me with memories that have never faded. On of my all time favorite songs goes back to his first album and is a song called "Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud". The lyrics are below rather than a video because YouTube always decide to stop sharing the videos after awhile.

"Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud"

Solemn faced

The village settles down

Undetected by the stars

And the hangman plays the mandolin before he goes to sleep

And the last thing on his mind

Is the Wild Eyed Boy imprisoned

'Neath the covered wooden shaft

Folds the rope

Into its bag

Blows his pipe of smolders

Blankets smoke into the room

And the day will end for some

As the night begins for one

Staring through the message in his eyes

Lies a solitary son

From the mountain called Freecloud

Where the eagle dare not fly

And the patience in his sigh

Gives no indication

For the townsmen to decide

So the village Dreadful yawns

Pronouncing gross diversion

As the label for the dog

Oh "It's the madness in his eyes"

As he breaks the night to cry:

"It's really Me

Really You

And really Me

It's so hard for us to really be

Really You

And really Me

You'll lose me though I'm always

really free"

And the mountain moved its eyes

To the world of realize

Where the snow had saved a place

For the Wild Eyed Boy

from Freecloud

And the village Dreadful cried

As the rope began to rise

For the smile stayed on the face

Of the Wild Eyed Boy

from Freecloud

And the women once proud

Clutched the heart of the crowd

As the boulders smashed down from the mountain's hand

And the Magic in the stare

Of the Wild Eyed Boy said

"Stop, Freecloud

They won't think to cut me down"

But the cottages fell

Like a playing card hell

And the tears on the face

Of the Wise Boy

Came tumbling down

To the rumbling ground

And the missionary mystic of peace/love

Stumbled to cry among the clouds

Kicking back the pebbles

From the Freecloud mountain

It was great to see him win something again and it is only right. Popular muisic is just that music that is popular with a majority of the public and not exclusive to the younger generations. Awards are about good music and should be given on artistic merit. David Boiwe ticks all the boxes and it is nice to see someone in the music business for so long winning an award again.

Horse and Jockey - Manton

Not often do I get to go out for a meal, finances don’t allow for such luxury accept for  once in a while, which is a shame when I actually love going out for a meal or going somewhere special to have some fun. This weekend I managed to go to the Horse and Jokey in Manton in Rutland, near Rutland Water.

The pub itself is full of character and the staff were pleasant. It was a good thing we booked because the pub was very busy and we were about to find out why. The food was very good and going by the number of awards I'm sure the beer was too, but driving I wasn't tempted other than having a non-alcoholic shandy which isn't quiet the same. 

I went for the Roast Beef and I wasn't disappointed. The meat was cooked to perfection and it came with all the usual trimmings, what was excellent was the horseradish which was just a perfect balance of hotness to go with the meat. Looking around me I could only see happy faces and people with contented tummies. I can well recommend the pub and the food if your in the area and you want a Sunday off from cooking the Sunday Lunch.