Another early start today but this one was dog related. Mrs C woke me up before 4 a.m. to report an unholy mess downstairs involving said dog and diarrhoea. There was shit everywhere! We spent the next twenty minutes cleaning up, applying bleach and sundry other cleaning agents and I thanked the gods I bought in extra kitchen roll yesterday. This happened despite me ensuring she went outside just before midnight. Sadly, this may another sign that age is fast catching up with her although it might be that she has eaten something disgusting picked up outside or in the garden.  Poor old pooch.

Despite going back to bed and grabbing a further couple of hours sleep I find I am tired and struggle to fire on all cylinders after a disrupted sleep. A bacon bun and a pint mug of home brewed coffee was the answer and now I feel much improved. I am expecting a friend's return from France this weekend and I can catch up on the news as to how things are over there. The mainstream media is slow, unreliable and works to their own agenda so hearing about it from a friend who has been out there for the last two weeks will be interesting.
The situation at work may be resolved as I spoke with my boss yesterday and the missing person has been located. I also finally got paid after a couple of phone calls and then an apology for a 'glitch' which had caused this issue. A glitch must be another name for someone who forgot to put my time sheet in for processing! A delightful colleague in the pay department sorted it all out.Now to kick that fourth cylinder into life and crack on with the day.
TTFN.

Phew! A busy three days at work and I am very glad to have left it behind. Yesterday was particularly bad as I was the only nurse on duty as a result of leave, secondment and sickness. Unfortunately, umpteen nurses were required to attend to umpteen jobs and my planned admin day rapidly disappeared. On top of my regular work I was covering for colleagues on leave and a situation arose involving the police and crisis team. 5 p.m. could not come soon enough and I have to admit I ended up having a sleepless night, getting up very early and I feel dreadful this morning. I shall inevitably be phoning up this morning for an update as to the situation. On top of all that I discover I have not been paid for last months efforts and they still haven't sorted out my mileage. My goodwill has now run out and I will be having a chat with the team manager about this.

It is unlikely that some of you will be able to see this link which is an episode from '999: What's your emergency?'  but it gives a taste of what is happening in mental health services today. The police and the paramedics do a sterling job when it comes to mental health and they are absolutely correct. When 5 pm comes there is bugger all in most areas for mental health patients. The local crisis team is a name only and hardly anyone has a good thing to say about it. Sadly, it is not the fault of most of the crisis staff but comes down to funding and mismanagement. All in all a sad state of affairs.
On a brighter note...

TTFN.

It appears I may have acquired a follower on twatter who reads my blog and makes the occasional snide comment about it. It's quite amusing really but indicative of the sad inadequate life this individual leads. I don't link this blog to social media primarily because of my work although I say very little about the work itself on here. Another reason is that I retweeted something about a notorious media whore and within ten minutes I was being followed by several bot accounts all of which I blocked, as well as blocking the notorious media whore who is male and of a quasi religious bent. I have no desire to knowingly invite such characters to my blog. Hey ho! The weird and wonderful world of social media eh?
TTFN.

                                          Courtesy of Rachisaurus


No.1 son has been showing me Pokemon go on his mobile as he has joined the throng currently hunting these imaginary critters. He was out last night with several friends on the hunt and I can understand the appeal but I shan't be joining them. I have heard criticism of this craze but when people are killing others in the supposed belief of serving their imaginary friend I think, well at least this craze is relatively harmless and brings the benefits of fresh air and exercise.

I made the mistake of enjoying a libation or two on Friday evening when I drank some St. Lucian rum. Goodbye Saturday and my plans for going out. I never learn that an excess of spirits leads to a deflation of my spirits the following day. However, the weekend spent pottering (seated and reading) around the garden has not been wasted and I am enjoying the variety of colourful flowers. Balm for tired sore eyes. I shall do more of the same today as well as catch up on the FutureLearn course I am currently enrolled in (The many faces of Dementia).

TTFN.

I opted for days off as the pooch is struggling in this weather and I am also struggling with it. As I have aged my hay fever has not abated or reduced in its effects upon me. Rather the reverse and in this recent hot weather it has become more than a nuisance. The pooch, Sandy, is also struggling with her breathing so much so that the last two evenings we have stayed up into the early hours to keep her company as well as endeavouring to keep her cool. Happily, the house remains very cool and she sleeps sprawled out on the back room floor. We have again increased her steroids and as I have often stated, she has shown affection, loyalty and brought joy to us over the past nearly thirteen years. So I repay her in kind and ensure her final years are comfortable for her. In other news. the small pregnant 'feral' cat we have adopted has gone off to the cat rescue foster home to have her kittens. Once they are weaned she should be returning to us in approximately eight weeks time. She is very small and just about six months old. Surprisingly, she is litter trained and anything but feral so we believe she must have had a home somewhere.

The two boys were slowly becoming acclimatised to her although understandably there was wariness on both sides. I am happy to have another tuxedo cat!

I am also fed up with technology as the TV is now history and we had to buy a new one. It was intermittently losing sound and after googling the particular unknown make I discovered hundreds of similar complaints. We bought it cheap from Sainsbury's  and it is out of warranty. The new one is smaller and a well known reliable make. I would happily live without a TV and stick to books, computers and my hobbies but Mrs C was adamant a replacement was needed. She can return to watching cop programmes about wives who kill their husbands...

The peas have all been picked and were delicious with some being passed over to our neighbour. I have also picked a huge amount of garlic which is now stored away for use over the next year. With chives, mint, rosemary, sage and thyme all growing well we can also be reasonably self sufficient in herbs as well. I have plans to rearrange the garden this autumn and next year I intend to grow more flowers for colour and scent.

Work wise I am increasingly disillusioned with what is happening within mental health services and I have been looking at other work prospects. However, I shall hold off on that until next year as three days per week plus good money in this current job means I can save towards some time off next year for some travelling. I am mindful that we only have one life and it is best to live and enjoy it. Fingers crossed for some warm but pleasant days in August as I feel the urge to visit Whitby and finally walk a small part of Hadrian's Wall.

TTFN.

I think it hit the high twenties celsius today. It is currently 27 C and it is lovely although very humid. Unlike the above picture the pooch and I stayed indoors in the shade at midday. To top it off I opted for a homemade beef Jalfrezi with some extra chillies. I've changed my t shirt once already after going shopping and then the meal brought me out in a sweat but I may need a cool shower and train the dog to use her tail as a punkawallah. Summer at long last, at least for a day or two until the thunderstorms arrive. I have been ignoring social media and the news by burying my nose in a good book and this time a real book rather than kindle.

Sadly back to work tomorrow on what may be an even hotter day. I shall endeavour to spend the day on visits rather than be stuck in a dreary office. I am sorely tempted to say "Sod it!" and spend the day on the beach at Cleethorpes but people are expecting me to see them tomorrow. Hopefully you all have good weather and may make better use of the weather than me.

TTFN.

Is there no end to these fucking murderous islamic bastards?
Will we now hear the cry "Aux armes citoyens!"

With each atrocity which is the work of Islam, a supposedly peaceful religion bastardised or not, there is a greater risk of a backlash. The head of French security suggested a risk of civil war but I think it will be reframed as a war against a barbarous primitive religion which sadly will harm lots of innocent and peaceful people of all beliefs. Time to remove the poison and deport the terror preachers, the extremists and the criminals who use their beliefs to attack others. Stop making excuses and remove these people because if it is not addressed now, the words of Monsieur Calvar will become a reality. It took six years and millions of lives destroyed to remove the nazi's when it could have been addressed earlier. Are we going to sleepwalk into something similar? The following images offend these evil primitive bastards so please enjoy and Vive la France!

 TTFN.

Satiated! A home made Tarka Dhal with rice made from scratch including home grown chillies and peas. Dried chillies from last years crop as this years have gone the way of dust thanks to many inches of glorious sunshine soaking the soil. The peas picked directly from the garden and very tasty, very sweet. I fancied a homemade curry and after last weekends 'problem' I opted for a vegetarian, nay even a vegan one. Very tasty it was too, I may even have a second bowl later. Last Friday I made a chicken curry which we all enjoyed. Come Saturday and the great white throne of Armitage Shanks became my permanent home for the next three days. The cooked curry was fine but I must have inadvertently transferred uncooked salmonella from chicken to my gob during the cooking process. It is one way to lose 3/4 stone in three days but not one I would recommend. Passing battery acid focuses the mind somewhat, particularly on cold water and ice applications. All in all, a lost weekend for all the wrong reasons.
The past week has been a busy one at work as, inevitably, assessments means paperwork and lots of it. Also, a day spent on the single point of access triaging any and all referrals to the service which was extremely busy. I clocked on at nine and when I next checked the time it was one p.m. The afternoon was even busier with an occasional surreal twist to it. I would love to say more about what I did but confidentiality necessitates we move on. Getting home for a shower and a large glass of cold cloudy lemonade was much needed as was the takeaway we ordered as I was too knackered to cook anything. Three days gone very quickly and the pleasant four days off starting today. Inevitably I slept in and spent the day attending to all the necessary chores that have built up over the past week. Boring, mundane and infinitely preferable to the violence, anger and crass stupidity dominating the worlds media. Tonight, a couple of beers, music, feet up and a good book.
TTFN.

I am having a quiet day after the shenanigans of the past week. I have just checked the garden and tidied up some rubbish but the weather is overcast and cold. Where has the summer gone? Apart from the occasional hot and sunny day it has been wet, cold and grey. The peas are thriving and they taste wonderfully sweet. The tomato plants are flowering and hopefully there will be some sort of a crop. The roses do look good but little in the way of scent. But overall, not a good year so far for the garden. I shall have to set aside some time for a trip to the council recycling tip as there is a lot of rubbish in the garden, plastics and wood mainly although the latter I burn off when autumn comes round. It feels positively autumnal today!
Work wise, I have agreed to three days per week to review, transfer and close cases. I have acquired a 'fire fighter' role as well in that a crisis develops and I am sent out to assess and review service response. I quite enjoy it as I don't have a caseload and it is close to the work I used to do in crisis teams. What is shocking is that accessing any other resources is difficult. It is a time of change and later this year with the old guard gone it might well improve... For me, work until the end of the year and another break over the new year for a few weeks although the thought occurs. Build up a pot of savings and take next spring / summer off for travelling. I promise every year to travel and don't do it. No excuses this time as I have time to prepare for it and Hadrian's Wall is calling me!
Back to the motley as shopping required and it won't do it itself.
TTFN.