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My day started washing floors in freezer room and store room. After lunch my daughter and I planted 2 Jasmine trees to cover a wall where we already have a rambling plant but with not having any rain for months its dried out. Then this afternoon I put 30 pansies in window boxes and planters. At least we have a bit of spring colour until the other plants are available in the garden centres.

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Just got back from QMC again........the last eight days have been a bit Traumatic to say the least,,...blood tests,,X-rays,,and today a visit to a Consultant........cut a long story short......problem

Result........CT Scans all clear......just got letter..been sweating for a fortnight......

Two years ago today..........my life changed forever,,,about this time i was on my way down to the operating theatre for what turned out to be a ten hour operation...........its been life changing in

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I’ve just bought 18 ring culture pots for my forthcoming tomato plants. They cost me £24. I could buy a lot of tomatoes for that price without the bother of looking after the plants but they’ll taste much better than the supermarket variety. I now have to buy 8 grow bags now for the cucumbers, peppers and aubergines. I don’t know why I bother really. We give more away than we can eat!

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@Alpha  I’m not naming any names!  He was a year younger than me and he did eventually notice me at a dance at the Co-op Hall (?) in Arnold.  After that we did ‘go out’ for a few months.

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Glad to see so many folks gardening now the weather is improving. Beware of those late frosts though guys. This year I am on my 6th generation of piccolo cherry tomatoes from some I originally bought in Tesco and liked them. I just save the seed from one tomato on kitchen paper to dry out, put it in an envelope till this time of year and then plant the paper on top of compost in a 1/2 seed tray. Cover with a thin layer of compost, water them and watch them grow! Pot them on to individual pots when big enough. Gives you about 30 plants so I have a lot to give away! Beautiful on the vine toms, great when just picked from my polytunnel.

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Once you have dried your seed, store them in seal able plastic bags and throw them in the freezer. I've grown seed that are several years old that were stored in the freezer with no problems.

Saving seed from store bought fruit and veggies is risky, as usually they are hybrids, and you never know what the crop will be like from them.

My late Gran used to always have a good veggie garden, her Toms she grew came from her own stock that she'd pollinated herself from different store bought varieties over the years before hybrids became popular. I recall in the 50's and 60's her tasty Toms!!

On freezing seed, I've never had one single failure, they always germinate.

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I've tried collecting Tommy seeds and laid them on kitchen towel paper until they've dried out, but alas I've never had any success. Couldn't even get them to germinate. Unfortunately, I'm just the same with cacti seed (bought as gifts). Not a bloody whisper. I'd really love to grow my own tomatoes. 

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Saving seed from bought produce is you are right always risky as the original is probably grown in very different conditions and does not always produce the same result, especially if it is a hybrid F1. I was lucky with my piccolos. Saving seed from grown in your own eco climate usually has better results. I’m not an expert on cactus or a fan I have to say but guess you would have more success in climates where it is grown than in the UK. Gardening is always a challenge and a joy when it is a success. 

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Mrs.B, my neighbour grows his own tomatoes. It was he who gave me some fruit, lovely big ones. I removed the seeds as already stated. Done this for a couple of seasons but to no avail. The cacti seeds came as a gift, with potting medium and a nice pot. Had two lots as birthday presents, just just got pretty pots with bugger all in.

Followed the instructions religiously too. B.

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You have got to have the magic touch big ears 

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Well Saturday was the day for the family meetup I don't think any of us had seen eah other for at least 2 years due to covid. Well what was amazing is that we had two long tables in the venue as there were 20 of us. We all got chatting and the younger ones all went on one table and the mature went on the other, when I say we had not seen each other for 2 years it was even longer for my son and his wife who  had two page boys,at there wedding who's ages about 6 and 7 on Saturday they met up and the boys were now in their 30s. All went well most enjoyable day. We now plan to have a meet up once a year. ps Remember the Town Arms Trent Bridge now it's the Brewhouse & Kitchen would not recomend it. 

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Purchased some underpants'' this morning on Bulwell Market.......

Lady would'nt let me try em on first.........:(

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@mary1947yes I remember the Town Arms, I was at a disco there in 1967 where the ultraviolet lights made a crown I had on a front tooth look a funny colour.  I dumped my boyfriend that night because he told me he smoked cannabis.  He’d just bought me a Beach Boys LP as well ……!  Nowadays one could easily get high just walking through Nottingham City Centre.  

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On 3/19/2022 at 9:25 AM, MargieH said:

@DJ360  sorry you’re not feeling too good.  At least the weather is sunny and warm (well, it is here!) so you can sit outside and soak up the spring sunshine.

 

Well Margie...thereby hangs a tale:.....

 

Do you recall the famous monologue about Why Paddy's Not At Work Today? The one involving the barrel and the bricks? This is similar, but mercifully without the physical injuries.

 

Last Sunday I decided to do an 'eConsult' with the Doc's.  It's a system where you put your symptoms etc. in an online message to them and they get back to you.. From past exerience they undertake to get back to you by the 'end of business' on the following day at the latest.  However.. previous eConsults have resulted in a reply on the same day.

 

So..I tried to do the eConsult but... 'computer says no'.. 'Only during surgery opening hours...' Kind of defeats the object in my view but...

 

Monday last.  I spent the best part of and hour completing the eConsult.  This in itself is something of a trial because the 'form' essentially works back to front.

 

"What do you want..? (You have 500 characters)" So.not knowing/remembering what future opportunities the form presents.. I pack in all possible info..

 

" I have sinusitis,..It's gone on a bit..very painful..very smelly.. etc.. blah blah.. Not resolving. Need to get this sorted before THIRD pre op for surgery.. etc.)"

 

"NEXT>"

"What are your symptoms?"

 

So I start completing symptoms and decide to use the "BACK" button to slim down the first 500 characters I did on the previous screen...

 

"NEXT" 

 

What I had composed on the screen before going back..has disappeared...

 

The whole form effectively works back to front..forcing you to repeat yourself Ad Nauseam and by the time you get down towards the end it gets positively farcical..

 

"How do you know it's Sinusitis..?  Have you had it confirmed by a Doc? How SURE are you on a scale of 1-10?".  They might as well add: "We haf vays..." 

 

But I eventually reached the end and pressed 'Submit'.

 

"Thank you. You have successfully submitted your eConsult. We will get back to you by 18:30 tomorrow at the latest."

 

Fast forward to 18:25 'tomorrow'.

 

" Hello?  Yes.. I sent in an eConsult yesterday and have not had a reply"

"Let me just check DJ.."

......five minutes on hold.....

" We haven't received an eConsult from you.. are you sure you pressed 'Submit'?

"Yes.. and I received an acknowledgement and a response deadline"

"Oh.. maybe a glich in the system but we definitely haven't received it.

"Well then I can only congratulate 'The System' on replying to a message which it didn't receive... Now what?"

" I'll speak to the Doctor and get someone to call you but it will be tomorrow now as we are just closing"

"Thank you"

I don't even have the energy to be annoyed, because I've had a catalogue of 'cock ups' from the NHS lately.. mostly caused by assorted 'professionals' failing to communicate with each other, or with me, talking to each other about me..but not talking to me... etc..

 

'Tomorrow'..

Hello DJ, you'll need to go to an appointment at our 'Out of Hours' Clinic in St Helens.. we've got various appointments. (I choose 17:45 pm)

"Will you be able to get there?"

"I'm not sure..."

"How come?  What's the problem?"

" You haven't told me where it is...."

"Oh.. It's behind the big Asda.."

 

(At this point I'm mentally rehearsing the frequent conversations I have with Mrs Col.  "Dearest..have you seen the whatever...?"

"It's in the drawer"

"The drawer in which room Dearest?"

"In the Dining Room"

"Do you mean in the dresser Dearest..?  Only there are 7 drawers, 4 cupboards and 4 shelves in the dresser...."

"The top one.."

"There are four 'top ones' dearest......"  Etc..etc..)

 

I switch to mentally musing on which part of the whole of North and West St Helens Town centre falls technically under the geographical description of 'Behind the Big Asda.', before asking.

"Which street is it in.."

"The one behind the big Asda"

"There are quite a few streets behind the big Asda.. does it have a name?"

"Oh.. I'll have to look..hang on.... Yes..Albion Street.."

"Thank you.. you've been very helpful..."

 

So by 6:00 pm I'm being seen by a lady who I assume to be a 'Nurse Practitioner'.

"Are you sure it is sinusitis?

I stay calm.. resist the urge to say "Don't you start.." and reply jovially. "I'd bet my life on it."

 

After prodding my face, she agrees that I have Sinusitis and prescribes a 7 day course of Doxycycline..... which is labelled:

 

" Protect Skin From Sunlight"

"Do Not Use Sunbeds"

 

:wacko:

 

 

 

 

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I’ve just been to the butchers’ in Southwell. A man came in wanting a nice loin of beef for Sunday. ‘How many are you?’ ‘Just three of us’. So the butcher goes to the chiller cabinet and hauls out a piece of beef almost the size of a dustbin lid. ‘How much?’. ‘£33’. ‘O.K and can I have a small sausage roll as well please?’ Only in Southwell!

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Has anyone had any dealings with Patients Know Best ?  smile2 Excuse the mirth!

 

A friend of mine has undergone two ops for a double inguinal hernia. Brilliant surgeon, no complaints at all about him. Two ops because the hernia was too bad to be done in one fell swoop. That left a longstanding epigastric hernia to be dealt with.
 
My friend receives a letter from the hospital, asking him to set up a Patients Know Best account, complete with all the access codes, etc.  This facility is meant to be a place where all medical information is stored and where appointments, test results, treatments, etc can be viewed in one simple procedure! No more paper letters as the electronic diary records appointments. I'm all for that. Sounds good.
 
Said friend isn't into setting up things like this, so asks me to do it! Mug that I am, I set it up...not without some difficulty.
 
A year goes by. Silence.  One day, recently, I get a junk email. There's a notification in your (ie his) Patients Know Best account.  I look and...lo and behold...so there is.  He has a pre op assessment appointment one month hence.  I tell him about it. Two days later, he gets a letter...hang on, I thought we'd gone paperless???? 
 
Friend attends the appointment and has full thyroid screen, plus other blood tests.  He asks the pre op nurse if she will put the test results in the Test Results section of his Patients Know Best account. Nurse's eyes glaze over. Friend: You've never heard of it have you?  Nurse: No! (I've won my first bet!)
 
Yesterday, he received another letter.  I checked. It wasn't on the Patients Know Best account (I've won my second bet)!  Could he ring the hospital to book date for op? He rang. Date arranged in April.  Date is not on electronic calendar of Patients Know Best account. I've given up betting... it's too easy.
 
What bl**dy use is this rubbish and why do I even bother with it?
 
Anyone else heard of it?
 
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1 hour ago, Jill Sparrow said:

Has anyone had any dealings with Patients Know Best ?

 

Short answer, no, but reading their mission statement  it worries me somewhat as a step towards privatisation.

 

 

Patients Know Best is our social mission. We believe we will achieve this mission when every person:

  1. Owns a copy of all their health information
  2. Understands what this information means
  3. Uses this understanding to make shared decisions with family members or carers and healthcare professionals.

"As the company founded and underpinned by the belief that patient access and ownership of health records can unlock the potential to greater health outcomes and experiences, our aim is for every person to have the ability to access their personal health record, control who can see it and use this information to manage their health and care".

 

I read the wording carefully and my suspicious mind interprets it as, "we need to get the infrastructure in place before patients start shopping around for treatment"

 

I wonder how valuable such a massive database would be to a medical insurance company?

 

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I am registered on ‘My Chart ‘ with Addenbrookes hospital and get info. On there about my eye clinic appointments but this site obviously doesn’t liaise with my other medical sites ‘Ask my GP’ and ‘SystmOnline.’ 
I know this because I had one of my meds changed about a year ago by the GP and. ‘My Chart won’t let me add it.

Having said that, I love Askmygp as it’s so easy to book appointments with the doctor of your choice who rings back that day to have a chat and decide if you need a face-to-face appt

Systm online is also very good to order repeat meds.

 

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Patients Know Best, My Chart, Ask my GP, SystmOnline, and none synched, why I wonder?

I can only assume they are competitors and if so, there must be something worth competing for.

We can discount altruism as the reason for their being – add in the fact they are free at the moment, and what are we left with? At least one is owned by an insurance company...

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Here's another monumental waste of money. My Patients Know Best friend is due for a thyroid medication review. His GP is Derbyshire based.  Friend has just had a full thyroid screen ahead of the hernia operation and the pre op nurse sent him a print out of the results. The hospital that did the tests is in Nottinghamshire.

We've been here before. GP will insist on a thyroid test. He'll be told that my friend has literally just had one and will be given the results. GP will say he wants his own blood test which will be analysed by a Derby hospital.

Why? What purpose is served by paying for another thyroid screen with rapidly diminishing NHS funds?  We have enough medication to last for months, so said GP will very likely be advised to go and explore his orifices. I cannot believe he can waste money and time like that for no good reason.
 

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It's all a bit of a mess isn't it?

 

I used 'eConsult' the other day and it failed, though it's worked in the past. As far as I can tell eConsult is an NHS system, which is accessed via a link from the GP Practice website.

 

I'm registered with 'Patient Access'. this is the second online system offered by my GP surgery..can't recall the name of the other. It is clearly a 'commercial' system, though quite how it makes its money is unclear.

 

Patient Access allows me to order my repeat meds.  This works well. I can also inspect much of my medical record.

 

It used to be possible to book appointments online, but that is now limited to booking in for blood tests.

 

The Practice web site offers a lot of advice, links etc, and has a system for enquiring via email, for stuff like GP letters etc.

 

It seems that in practice the only way to get an appointment with an actual Doc is to phone the surgery. Getting an 'urgent' or 'same day' appointment is all but impossible, and my GP Surgery is far, far better than the shambles I left a couple of years ago.

 

I was quite surprised,. and a bit disturbed, to find that my 'Out of Hours' appointment the other day was actually handled by a Nurse Practitioner. In the case of Sinusitis, it's not difficult to diagnose, but I'd be concerned taking some other issues to them. Whilst I've never yet come across a Nurse Practitioner I would describe as incompetent.. the whole system smacks of the de-skilling and routinisation which has afflicted much of Public Service and which was applied to my own profession with particular zeal by those who persist in regarding that which they refuse to understand, as a simple, mechanistic process, which any fool can be quickly trained up to perform.

 

Slightly off topic.. but I was looking at some facebook job ads by the remnants of what used to be the Careers Service, I worked for.  It is now a 'registered charity', but is essentially a commercial organisation bidding for any and every Govt. contract to deliver 'employment services' etc. It too is now a box ticking and bean counting exercise, employing poorly trained people on poor salaries, to deliver Govt. contracts designed to do nothing more than massage employment figures.  I was shocked, but not surprised, to see a name I recognised from 20 years ago.  A woman who at the time was barely literate, woefully lacking in education and with no discernible academic capability. Even back then she was ridiculously ambitious, to the extent that she was universally regarded as something of a joke. To be blunt, she was too thick to recognise how thick she was.  And yet yesterday I learned that she is not only still working for the organisation, but has actually been nominated for some sort of award.  You couldn't make it up.

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