Well the New Year has arrived and bought with it the same old problems that were hanging around at the end of last year. I want to know why people always think it will bring new possibilities? Its just another day in the continuing circle of seasons.
The next few months are going to be very difficult. The Trust, after many years of successfully staving off a funding crisis, is going to struggle to find funding to continue. The removal f funding that was started under Brown has continued under the Condem alliance. Meaning that in 3 short months I could be out of work and picking up jobseekers. I shall be 50 by then and I would like to bet that my chances of getting back on the career ladder will be slim, and I have just heard that slim has just left town.
Well we have had Nells Mum living with us for the last few weeks and so far it has been not too bad.
After our week away in Scotland I had a further week off and we moved her up from Bristol. Nell then had the next 3 weeks off to help her settle in.
Nell has been back at college working for the last 2 weeks, the carers have been coming in twice a day and things are going pretty well.
Having said that we have had one or two sticky moments were Nell's Mum has suddenly declared "ok I think I will go home now..." to which the best answer seems to be a straight "You live here with us now Nonna" which normally gets the response "oh, I have shit brains, I don't remember anything".
Toms back from his hols and whilst he is looking for a job he is keeping an eye on "Nonna" and making sure the house is locked up when the carers leave.
Has been a strange few months, Nells Dad passing away with cancer, struggling to find funding for the Trust and Nell having a nightmare at work with redundancies and OFSTEAD doing a snap inspection and targeting her department.
Now the dust is starting to settle we are starting to make arrangements for Nells Mum, Lucia, to come and live with us. This is going to be a life changing event for both us and for Lucia. Lucia has Alzheimer’s and is struggling to live by herself in Bristol, she keeps locking herself out of her house, refuses to let the carers in and is constantly scared that someone is coming in and stealing her stuff.
So it is with the impending arrival of Lucia we have decided to go away for a week before she gets here. We are off to Scotland, we first visited there last year (see earlier blog) and loved it so we are going back. Last time we travelled round, touring as much of the country as we could but this time we are going to stay put and have rented a cottage on the banks of Loch Awe and if the photos are to be believed we are in for a treat ☺.
Cheers
Rupe
I have an interview in Bristol this coming Friday and I am a little apprehensive to say the least. Its not that I am nervous about it or even concerned as to whether I am up to the task. No my apprehension is about moving away from the Midlands. I would have to stay in Bristol during the week and come home at weekends, staying with in-laws during the week.
Now I have lived in Brum or near Brum since I was about 13 only moving to satellite towns but always being in reach and it’s a hard thing to do.
Mind you I have not got the job yet so this concern may be academic.
On the plus side it would mean that I could keep my partners mother company during the week, ensuring she is at least safe during the working week (she has alzhiemers).
The job would be an interesting step side ways and Bristol is a lovely city, perhaps its just hard taking the Brummie out of Brum.
The transfer window is almost shut and it looks like, after the signing of Michel for £3million from Sporting Gijon, Craig Gardener, £3.5million from Aston Villa and youth signing Eddy Gnahore, that the final signing comes down to Pavlyuchenko or Dindane.
Pavlyuchenko is a Russian player who is contracted at Spurs but has fallen out of favour since "appy arry" Redknap has become their manager. He had a successful season last year scoring 14 goals in 36 games.
Dindane is an Ivory Coast striker who has been on loan from Lens to Portsmouth this season. With Portsmouth being in such financial difficulty Blues could nip in and take him off their hands. He has scored 4 goals in 10 games.
Well come Monday we shall know!
I can't think of two nastier or crueller diseases, one robs the mind of its memories and slowly destroys the memories of the relatives as they watch the sufferer drift away, the other slowly destroys the body and makes you wish for a swift end for your loved ones so that they no longer suffer.
Add to the mix the totally inept National Health Service and you really have a roller coaster ride ahead of you.
For the last couple of days we have been in Bristol trying to sort out hospital/hospice care and trying to push the NHS into doing something/anything to help.
Salvatore is suffering with cancer in the area between his bladder and back passage. This was diagnosed on Christmas Eve, he was suffering before this date and in fact he was already very frail and infirm. However the local GP, a Dr Parrot, refused to admit him to hospital saying he was very capable of staying at home and looking after Lucia, his wife, and administering the drugs that help with her Alzheimer’s, despite the very obvious, well obvious to everyone including the district nurse and the palliative care nurse, that he was incapable of looking after himself let alone looking after Lucia.
We stayed with them all over Christmas to make sure they were ok and for large parts they were ok but we had to return to work as did other relatives which meant leaving Salvatore and Lucia to do what the Doctor thought was capable of them.
Cut to Sunday and we get a phone call from Lucia’s visitor saying he was very concerned about Salvatore as he seemed to be “fitting”. We called for an ambulance and rushed down and spent 4 hours in the Bristol Royal Infirmary’s accident and emergency department and to be fair the care there was very good. After some investigation the on duty Doctor decided he had pneumonia and gave him paracetamol and antibiotics which bought his temperature down and stopped his agitation (twisting, gnawing and involuntary noises) and making him a little more coherent.
He was then transferred to a ward for the rest of the night and we were promised that he would be fine and that no they didn’t need his medication as they had a full history and had everything they needed right there.
We went back to Salvatore and Lucia’s house where Lucia was being looked after by her carer, a very nice chap called Ben, and eventually went to bed around 2am.
Monday morning, before we can get to the hospital, we get a call from a visiting Aunt saying that Salvatore had been moved from the ward he was placed in to a new one and that he had not had any medication (remember he is in pain from the cancer and the pneumonia and confused from his high temperature and the original cancer drugs) and that the night before, because he was agitated, they had given him antipsychotic drugs to knock him out! His ward is over crowded, 1 nurse and 1 nursing assistant to 10 beds and everyone passing the buck!
To say we are angry would be an understatement!
Its high time I made a comment on the fantastic run the boys in Royal Blue are having.
13 games unbeaten, 12 of them in the prem has lifted us to the lofty position of 8th in the prem, just a few points from safety and with £40 million burning a hole in Alex's pocket who would bet on us doing what all the pundits said we would do and go straight back down?
However, the last Blues team to have a run like this did just that, back in 1908 Blues had a run of 11 games unbeaten and were still relegated.
Well I don't think that will happen this time but i guess you never know.
Alex McLeish has been awarded Premiership Manager of the month. this normally brings with it a string of bad results, but, so far, this has not happened.
Our last game saw us with a very creditable draw against Man Utd, in fact I felt we were unlucky not to win so perhaps the curse as kicked in.
KRO