Off Topic Other Stuff (anything you want to share)

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Scruffy dressed postmen is surely down to management being scared of union leaders.

I can remember a Postman acquaintance not really a friend.....thankfully...telling me a few years back how they had a nice little fiddle going on with Sunday working.....every week two of them would clock in and go back home....they had a rota going....a new chap started and he said it was dishonest and he wouldn't do it....they got him sacked within a month.
 
Did you report them or just go along with it quietly? It clearly urks you. So an entire workforce of postmen, sorry postpersons, go to work scruffy en mass just so they can intimidate the management who are powerless to do anything because they are scared. Well that's a story and a half to invent isn't it. I will repeat to you in case you didn't get it first time. They wear the uniform they are issued with by the management. If the clothes are old and worn then it is down to the employer to issue newer stuff. Just as an aside, I don't know where you worked but wherever it was are you telling me that some of the works people didn't pull a bit of a scam here and there against the rules? Unless you were self emplyed I would suggest that was highly unlikely.
 
Back to work drive shelved until 2025....by Government with no back bone.


"A crackdown on sickness benefit claims will not come into force until 2025, the Work and Pensions Secretary has admitted.

Under plans unveiled by the Government yesterday, hundreds of thousands of people are expected to find it harder to claim they are too sick to work. The claimants has risen to almost three million since the pandemic.

However, Mel Stride, the Cabinet minister in charge of the brief, accepted yesterday that any changes would only take place in 2025 at the earliest....after the general election.

The delay has surprised many Conservatives, as the ballooning cost of the welfare budget has been blamed for undermining economic growth and restricting the ability to cut taxes".

Supporting people deemed too sick to work will cost the taxpayer £26 Billion this year alone, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), £6 billion more in real terms than before the pandemic.

Daily Telegraph...Wednesday...06/09/2023.


After next years general election will be the answer to any vote losing decisions that this Government makes this year.....making it more impotent than it actually is now.
 
The relentless march of wokism and political correctness continues to grow in strength.

Doctors and staff at a world-renowned children's hospital have been advised not to use terms such as "girls" and "boys" in diversity guidance.

The advice for staff at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) urges them to "stop using gender language" in conversation, and suggests the wrong pronouns can make people feel "disrespected, invalidated, dismissed, triggered, alienated, or often, all of these things".

In a section entitled general guidance, the advice cites "gender language" that staff should stop using includes "things like 'guys', 'girls', 'boys', 'ladies', 'gents', 'dudes'. etc. when addressing groups...even informally"..Instead it suggests words such as "team", "all", or "everyone".

It also warns that any member of staff who deliberately uses the wrong pronoun for a colleague will be seen as "acting in a harassing and / or discriminatory manner and may be subject to disciplinary procedure".

"A hospital dedicated to caring for vulnerable children is no place for lectures on gender identity...especially as these beliefs are not evidence-based. It is time for the NHS to crack down on this madness.

The hospital said the document had been written by members of its LGBT community to help staff navigate what could be a "complex landscape". and said the references to girls and boys related to staff rather than patients.

Paragraphs taken from todays (07/09/2023)...Daily Telegraph.


I will not comment on this article....but I will comment about our local Healthcare....Mrs Plym has sterile dressings on both legs protecting huge water blisters from infection....her kidneys are not working properly and excess water in her body burst out through water blisters....these need changing regularly.....every day would be preferred.....but they will only come twice a week....Sundays and Wednesdays......yesterday (Wed)... no District Nurse turned up....and of course the office is closed by then.

Phoned this morning first thing....and was told my call would be answered when a operator was available...never happened...went on to answering machine...later I did get a reply....and was told that Mrs Plym was on their Wednesday list....but the Nurse was rather confused where we lived and never turned up....I bit my tongue before answering ...why they just did nothing in the end.....we where added to todays list....I said that Mrs Plyms legs had deteriorated because of being soaked with fliud in bandages that should have been changed 24hrs ago and she had difficulty walking now when she had been fine yesterday,....I tried to say that shouldn't she now be a priority ....without be aggressive....but to no avail...she'll get added to the list which probably means on the end of an existing one....which means after 6pm this evening

It all brings back memories of my mother and her care workers....and her having no cover over one weekend....one carer finished her week on a Friday and the other one whose week started on a Monday morning....an office cock-up....must at times lead to a fatality I would think.....I would pop in to see mum now and again....and even though she had razor sharp memories of the 1910's/20's....she couldn't remember if the carer had been that day or if meals on wheels had brought her her dinner....I had to check out the bin to see if there was a new tinfoil container having been placed in it.

I was a fit an healthy 84 yr old five/six weeks ago....but I could soon be the patient having to fight the powers that be.

Another little pressure point.....Prescriptions.....if the consultant prescribes any medication...never...never...get it through your surgery (prescription clerk only works between 8am/1pm)....they have a cast iron principle that NO ONE can expect a prescription to be e-mailed to your pharmacy within THREE DAYS of receiving it....ALWAYS make sure the consultant gives you a prescription that you can get from the Hospital Pharmacy there and then.
 
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I feel your pain Plym. I've never forgotten the GP, now left the area as far as I know, who refused to put my Dad in hospital when it was plain to us he needed intravenous antibiotics to clear up leg ulcers. We couldn't cope with it and within a few weeks, he was dead.

This morning, I've been taxi-driving a 90+ year old who my other half has taken under her wing. She has similar problems and they spent 8 hours in A&E yesterday waiting for triage. She's been sent to an out-patients clinic at Derriford today. The wait for an ambulance on a Thursday morning is 12 hours believe it or not, so I got the call.
 
We're not too bad around here for ambulance waiting time.
Only once have I needed an ambulance. 1973 with a broken leg playing footie.
 
That’s made my day. Armed police rushed to a UK leisure centre yesterday after passers-by reported seeing several people lying dead through the centre’s large windows. On entering the building, police discovered a yoga class practicing relaxation postures.
 
England football team were awful today. If they played any slower they would go into reverse. Deserved nothing out of the game and came away with a point.
 
Plym, i was in GOS Hospital for a few weeks in February with my son, yes they use those terms .. mate, dude guys.. i dint have a problem i was more interested in him getting his operation done and sorted . the care was top class so they are welcome to call him as they wish in my view no complaints .. the staff were amazing, helpful and very caring to us all ..

yeh well The nhs in general is not good now.. i waited 3 weeks to have a telephone chat with the gp all i wanted was an xray.. but once i spoke to him he sorted that out.. now have to wait as im on a list for a face to face appointment.. whats happened .. is all this caused by Covid? im unsure

Sorry to here about your wife plym . dude :emoticon-0140-rofl:

You done a good deed there not distant , i do mine saturday mornings getting shopping for a 78 year old lady ... i never get the money for it either its all a few bits but seem to add a bit more each week.. :emoticon-0143-smirk
 
The sad thing is that she doesn't really want to accept medical treatment. She says she's "had enough". There, but for the grace of God, go we all.

To be fair to Southgate, he was without Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jack Grealish from his original squad. Having said that, he included Kalvin Phillips, who hasn't been anywhere near the Man City team since he signed for them, and persists with Jordan Henderson, who's taken the Saudi petro-dollars and who at 33, playing in an retiree's league, surely can't have a future in the England squad. And Bellingham at left-wing? Really? Probably the most promising midfielder on the planet at left wing?
 
I don't particularly want to be fair to any of the England set up. Manager nor players. They were woeful and it was a complete bore. They spent 60% of the possession they had going back and forth at the back in their own half. 20% going back from the opposition penalty area and the rest wasting the ball with poor touches. There were no bright patches to be seen.
 
i watched the first half that was to much, i watched the rugby that started bad with a red card and i though oh its going to be a bad saturday ,.. but wow what a game well done after all the **** they have had lately .. semi finals at least now how it changes

Scotland tomorrows game.. i just got back from edingburgh a shame it was not this week i was there .. or may be not .. what a great place for a 4 day break..
 
I watched the whole match and wish I hadn't. I also turned over to the Rugby and noted first off that we were down a man. However, have to say as a way to manage a game England were first class in that one. I haven't got a shed load of interest in rugby but I may just be forced to watch another game at some point.

I have less than fond memories of Scotland as a place to visit. Mind you when I tell you where I have been you may understand why. Back in my Naval days I was on a Survey ship which was doing a survey in the Scilly Isles. Excellent and I had 6 weeks onshore there living in an old cinema on a camp bed. I then rejoined the ship in Greenock. So my trip was the ferry to Penzance and then a milk train from there (no sleeper for me) to Glasgow. It took what seemed forever. I got to Glasgow at 7am in the morning and had 45 minutes to wait for a train to Greenock. Went for a breakfast on the station to be greeted by two blokes having a barny and one of them getting a bottle over his head. Decided to forgo the breakfast. Greenock is about 40 minutes outside Glasgow and is a port town. Nothing to see there. The next experience was at sea where we had a force 12 off the top of Scotland and almost ended up on the beach it was so strong. Next visit was to the Isle of Lewis and the town of Stornaway for a weekend. It closes on Sunday and when I say closes I mean everything. We were not even allowed to kick a ball around on the local green. It just blew a gale all weekend and rained for half of it. The final place was Scappa Flow where the German fleet was scuttled. It's basically a bay with nothing there but a Jetty and a whole load of sheep. We played football in a field but the sheep were too good and won 11 - 10. No idea why we were sent there but it was top secret and if I knew I'd have to kill myself no doubt. I have never been to Scotland since.
 
sensiblegreeny said:
I watched the whole match and wish I hadn't. I also turned over to the Rugby and noted first off that we were down a man. However, have to say as a way to manage a game England were first class in that one. I haven't got a shed load of interest in rugby but I may just be forced to watch another game at some point.

I have less than fond memories of Scotland as a place to visit. Mind you when I tell you where I have been you may understand why. Back in my Naval days I was on a Survey ship which was doing a survey in the Scilly Isles. Excellent and I had 6 weeks onshore there living in an old cinema on a camp bed. I then rejoined the ship in Greenock. So my trip was the ferry to Penzance and then a milk train from there (no sleeper for me) to Glasgow. It took what seemed forever. I got to Glasgow at 7am in the morning and had 45 minutes to wait for a train to Greenock. Went for a breakfast on the station to be greeted by two blokes having a barny and one of them getting a bottle over his head. Decided to forgo the breakfast. Greenock is about 40 minutes outside Glasgow and is a port town. Nothing to see there. The next experience was at sea where we had a force 12 off the top of Scotland and almost ended up on the beach it was so strong. Next visit was to the Isle of Lewis and the town of Stornaway for a weekend. It closes on Sunday and when I say closes I mean everything. We were not even allowed to kick a ball around on the local green. It just blew a gale all weekend and rained for half of it. The final place was Scappa Flow where the German fleet was scuttled. It's basically a bay with nothing there but a Jetty and a whole load of sheep. We played football in a field but the sheep were too good and won 11 - 10. No idea why we were sent there but it was top secret and if I knew I'd have to kill myself no doubt. I have never been to Scotland since.
Click to expand...

Very interesting Mr S. Glad i missed out on those adventures.
At 15 i was an apprentice in Cabinet Making Joinery.
Played football every Saturday or Sunday and watched Argyle.
I also joined a Rifle Club and im still shooting even now.
 
Sensible, great times you had. well i have toured the North coats the nc 500 in my van in july amazing places, then glasgow which was nice. last week edinburgh which was great also nice weather nice people . so thats the first visits to scotland , i was pleasantly surprised . flying up was nice took an hour driving the van was 11 hours but both were fun. well im glad you have the memories of your visist, also Bc has some fine memories also ..
 
You should consider yourself lucky. In theory, I've been to large parts of Europe, but in practice that means I've seen airports, the insides of aeroplanes, taxis, offices, hotels and back to airports. Alternatively, motorways, the inside of a LeShuttle wagon and more motorways.

At least you got to commune with tartan sheep and play football.

I can be chatting away and someone says "oh, we're going to XYZ". And I say "oh I've been there" and they say "what's it like?" and I say "I've got no idea".
 
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Not a good seven days for us.

Last Friday I took Mrs Plym to our lovely small local Hospital to see the Consultant Renal Specialist down from Kings (Denmark Hill)....we had all the usual things happen....blood pressure, blood sample taken, urine sample taken before seeing the consultant.....she was pleased how Mrs Plym was progressing....and to finish she got the nurse to change her leg dressings which where protecting the burst water blisters.

The nightmare begins.........one leg uncovered showed that her water blisters had an infection and patches of her leg were bright red with the infection.....the nurse immediately called the consultant back in who was horrified.....and decided to send us home and pack an overnight bag and then go to A&E at the PRUH (Princess Royal University Hospital)....which is only 5 minutes from us....She in the meanwhile phoned the A&E registrar and told him that a very serious case was coming in and needed priority treatment.

Cutting a long story short ...the priority treatment meant that 9hrs later Mrs Plym got admitted to Hospital.......and I left at 2.45am.....the reason it took so long was a specialist doctor was required to see her and in this huge hospital one wasn't available until the A&E shift changed at mid-night.....of course the desk staff never told us that so we waited over 7 hrs without any chance of being seen....of course if we left and came back in the morning we would be at the beginning of the process again.

Mrs Plym spent 4 days in a medical ward.....the consultants and doctors were very good....the day to day care on the ward was very poor and very stressful for patients who had their wits about them.....some of the patients were very elderly and couldn't look after themselves so at times didn't get the treatment they needed on time.....the ward was unbearably hot....86f by the thermometer on the wall so they kept most of the lights off to help.

Medication never came on time....one medication Mrs Plym needed for her arthritis (4 tabs a day) a controlled drug had to have two doctors signatures....she was restricted to only two tablets a day which left her in pain.....the bandages on her legs where never changed on time and became sodden within in 6 hrs.....and this could have been the reason for the infection in the first place.

Maximum stay was only 4 days.....you got moved on to Kings if need be.....and that is a terrible journey....with no parking available the other end.

So we escaped on the Tuesday afternoon..... after I found a wheel chair and have a district nurse coming in every day to change the dressings.....arranged through the consultant....I doubt if we would have got anywhere without her.

What is noticeable is the animosity between the PRUH and Kings.......the PRUH was one of those new builds (2003) that hung the cost of building it around their necks like a noose.....so financially they where stymied from day one money wise.

The PRUH went bust and they were taken under the wing of the Kings Trust who dug them out of their predicament....although the continuing debt is still there.

The smaller Orpington Hospital... Kings use it as a day clinic outlet and have their specialists come along....that is where we will be going after lunch.....nearly every week the PRUH phone us to tell us it is off......staffing shortages...no nurse available etc.....I then phone Kings Renal Department and check....to be told that the clinic is on and please turn up....and it is always adequately staffed.......it is all too much at times and is enough to make a well man ill.

The one draw back of Orpington Hospital is it hasn't got a Pharmacy.....so you use the PRUH's or you own surgery.

Using you own surgery is dreadful......the minimum time to get a prescription is never shorter than three days and generally longer...the prescription clerk only works between 9am and 1pm so a small window of opportunity there then....and any urgency just ends up as an unseen e-mail till the next day.

The consultant's prescription is only usable through an Hospital's Pharmacy and you can get it by turning up and waiting for it.
 
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I’d like to know why everything has to go through A&E. These sorts of cases are neither accidents nor emergencies in the sense of heart attacks or road accidents.

I think I wrote some time back about my partner, who had a bout of severe shoulder pain. This wad almost certainly due to bad injuries she suffered before I met her when a race horse she was exercising ran amok and threw her into a gate post. She saw the GP who sent her for an X-Ray - which meant A&E of course. She wasted hours only to have the A&E nurse countermand the GP and refuse her an X-Ray. What’s that all about?

My mum worked at a GP surgery when I was young and back then, when a GP decided someone needed to see a specialist consultant, they arranged it directly. No need to waste valuable A&E time and effort. What’s more, the consultants did regular clinics at the local cottage hospital, so most patients didn’t have to travel to the big hospitals. Only emergencies were sent straight down to Truro. What went wrong with that system?

My advice to you Plym is to keep your wife out of hospital if you possibly can. The level of care you’ve seen is, I’m afraid, not an isolated incident.
 
One other little problem this week is we had a wasps nest under the eaves.....and to make matters worse around the back of the property there only was another one ?

The Councils answer was....just wait till November and they will die.....so keep your windows closed....you must be joking......Bromley Council pride themselves that they have the lowest rates in Greater London.....they don't cut the grass verges anymore saying it is environmental friendly.

So I had to find a professional to do it......the one bright moment here was the second wasp nest came at half-price.
 
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