God bless the NHS (They might be listening)

[PierrePanache]

Just a quick hello - still have my nether regions in a sling so although alive - not quite kicking yet! I had probs getting back to Pierre but was me not quite on the ball (Totally inappropriate expression to use as I feel like an express train - has steamed through both of mine!)
I hope you're all fit & well & shall be back posting as soon as I get my sense of humour back & stop MOANING! Take care Rod A-S London England.

[yogi]

Glad to see that you sorted out the login problem. Not glad to learn about your aches and pains. Although, I can honestly say that I feel your pain. Several years back the prostate gland of mine did a number on me. I don't even want to think about the catheter ...

I don't believe your sense of humor ever dissipated. It might be dormant for the moment, but you never lose it altogether.

[PierrePanache]

I'm still 'all thumbs' so not sure if this posting OK. Anyone in UK browsing this site who has a prostate - get it checked - PRONTO! Yogi & KM have obviously done just that & if my family GP had not started early detective work because of unexplained older male family illnesses - I would have departed long ago. I was lucky enough to be in the right place/time etc to get the relatively new Cryotherapy treatment - if in the UK do not let the NHS palm you off with possibly unnecessary biops & radio/chemo therapy! Anyone in the UK that this may affect please pm me & I shall explain that rather sweeping statement!
I'm due for a 5th Covid booster jab & intend to get it done shortly. Although it would appear that most Brits think Covid is history - I'm not so sure it;s all over.
It is a rather sad time all over in England at present due to the passing of our Queen. I shall be back to posting in my usual light-hearted style when I consider that it will not cause offence.

[yogi]

It is only due to some comments by my doctor's nurse that I am still alive and able to talk about my encounter with stage 4 cancer in the prostate gland. There were signs well beforehand, but as you must know it's a topic many men are in denial about. My doctor was overlooking the obvious and I simply didn't know better. Fortunately, a robot was able to remove the entire gland and all its malignant parts. It was the only option at the time. I don't think Cryotherapy was available 12 years ago so that I know nothing about it. Perhaps you might be willing to give a general overview of what that involves.

Covid's pandemic effects are no longer a major problem, but the virus will never go away entirely. I stopped at three jabs, but being the age I am it's probably prudent for me to get more boosters. Some folks are testing a more inclusive form of a vaccine that supposedly will conquer all the variants we now see in the wild. If and when that becomes publicly available, I'll be first in line to try it out.

Regarding the monarchy and the passing of The Queen, I want to express my most sincere condolences. I have known more than a few Brits in my time and they all had some special admiration and high regard for The Queen. Her passing is a great loss and she will be dearly missed on the world stage. There is some irony I see in this country. We are a country because at some point in the distant past some folks decided they had enough of the monarchy of those days and came here to get away from it all. Today most of the media here are giving tributes and news coverage probably not unlike what is going on in Great Britain. I'm not sure it's all about the title. Her majesty Queen Elizabeth II was a most remarkable woman and deserving to be long remembered by historians.

And, one final comment for this post. I personally enjoy and admire British humor. I don't always get it, but I know it when I read it. LOL Please do not hesitate to bless us with your unique and special insights. There are only a few of us left here, and perhaps what you have to say would be entertaining to a larger crowd. Bring it on!

[Kellemora]

Our condolences to the loss of your queen, she was well loved on this side of the big pond.

No jabs here for me!

[ocelotl]

Glad to know you're still around, and hope your condition improves quickly. Since I've already passed the half century threshold, I've been thinking about the same area for a bit, but seeing no real issues have presented to my ancestors, I'm thinking of checking about it as a prevention mainly.

Condolences also for your loss. I'll refrain to say more, due to my cultural background being more tilted towards opposing viewpoints as those of your country.

[yogi]

Good to see you posting again Juan. As far as prostate problems go, it's just a matter of getting a PSA blood test to assure the levels remain low. It would be something a doctor would likely do during your annual well being check up. Most people survive any cancers, but the treatments can be a pain in the groin and best to avoid or keep to a minimum if you possibly can.

[PierrePanache]

I shall post re cryotherapy & the UK expert on the procedure - Prof Hamid Ahmed - soon but have covid complications in my little 3 person family unit. My w*fe - who still communicates with the dead & wishes to kill me - fell ill almost a week ago after visiting our grandchildren. She has tested positive for covid & sure enough both my daughter & I have followed suit! My w*fe & I have had 4 vaccines & are due for an autumn boost. All 3 of us seem to have just the equiv of a nasty cold so assume that maybe covid is getting weaker - or that the vaccines are damn good. Either way having had 2+ years of worry & let us hope there is light at end of the tunnel. Be back soon & you all take care.

[yogi]

Apparently the vaccines are doing what they are intended to do, which is keeping the suffering at a minimum. There is a common misconception espoused by anti-vaxxers that the vaccine will somehow prevent you from acquiring the COVID virus. That, of course, is not its intended purpose. In any case I hope your family recovers from this plague quickly and fully. I also hope those spirits with whom your wife communicates are friendly spirits. I"d hate to see anything nasty happen to you.

[PierrePanache]

Well the last 5 days or so have not been a pleasant experience - but nowhere near as bad as I was expecting. I'm still testing positive on the lateral flow test & all apart from the rotten 'cold' symptoms I am still feeling apathetic, lazy & extremely tired. Everything seems to take ten times the usual to complete & my share of the household chores seem to take forever. It will be good to get some energy back.
My w*fe is a Christian Spiritualist. She believes that her time with me is a living hell & that putting up with me will mean that eventually the Good Lord will allow her into heaven in her next life!! I have tried to point out that this belief also coincided with a certain 'change of life' but she is with a group of batty old folk - all of the same mind (& hormones)!
Oh well I'm back off to bed. The Cryotherapy procedure I had was relatively painless - but the 'Turps' procedure was not pleasant. However - if successful - it will save wasted trips to hospital where I need to be accompanied. I'm not yet explaining too well so I shall explain all when I'm a bit more ship shape. Take care.

[yogi]

You are writing very well for a person under stress and duress due to an invasion of COVID. I don't know what to expect from it either. I have heard stories in the dire extreme as well as stories about people who are asymptomatic. Apparently it all has to do with the immune system and it's natural ability to fight off the offending virus.

I have known a few spiritualists in my life and can say they are relatively harmless people if not also a bit weird. To this day I get e-mail from some spiritualist society in England, I believe, and find it all quite entertaining. They offer such things as podcasts and virtual seminars which is quite an improvement over the traditional seance I am more familiar with. Apparently technology has reached into the spirit world, odd as that seems.

Do take care of yourself Rod, and hopefully full recovery is close at hand. It's nice to see you up and about, but you probably should not overdo things.

[PierrePanache]

Forgive my laziness - I have just been in a trance-like state just coping with day to day gumpf. I keep myself clean & tidy, beard trimmed & nose & ears deflocked. My weight is under 12stone (168lbs) for the 1st time in ages & so I can say that every cloud def does have a silver lining! It would be nice if I regained full use of my dictafone (etc) but in that department I still appear to be twixt a rock & a (not very) hard place. My w^fe is spiritually delighted! We have minor probs with both cars - slow puncture & defective electric window & so I must don overalls & get cracking. You lads take care & be safe. If ever you come to London don't forget to take in the daily 'Changing of the guards' in the morning & then the changing of the Prime Minister at lunchtime!!

[yogi]

If ever you come to London don't forget to take in the daily 'Changing of the guards' in the morning & then the changing of the Prime Minister at lunchtime!!

I would bet that sort of makes you long for the good old days when Maggie was in charge. And from what I read, she WAS IN CHARGE!

Keeping healthy does seem to occupy a lot of time for us old timers. Then again, what else is there for us to do? You can always find comfort in the fact that you have fans and admirers around the world. So when you need to chat it up, we are here for you. In the mean time get that old Rolls Royce of yours to be road worthy again. You never know when you might be able to afford petrol for it.

[Kellemora]

My step-daughter visited Merry Old England a couple of times, and she got to watch the Changing of the Guards, and many other things while there. And that is why I never could afford to go myself, hi hi.

I had plenty of gas, but my Camaro decided to die right after I turned off the highway. Thankfully it was a stick shift and I had a new battery in it. I used the starter motor to get me over a hill, then changed gears and made it to a gas station. I'm surprised I didn't burn out the starter or the battery, the cables to the battery were hot and smoking when they opened the hood.
Thankfully, they had the fuel filter in stock and after replacing it, I still had enough power in the battery to start the car. The starter and battery lasted for at least another 3 years after that.
Albeit, petrol was only like 45 cents a gallon back then too, hi hi. Heck, now the taxes on a gallon petrol are higher than that.

[ocelotl]

At least your politicians have the decency to resign fast... Hope your health improves from here. Greetings from good ol' Mexico City.

[Kellemora]

I don't know Oceloti, some of our poly-TICK-ians have been in office for close to 50 years, and have never done anything other than being a poly-TICK-ian.

[yogi]

I think Juan is talking about the Prime Ministers over in Great Britain. Their politicians often resign at the hint of a scandal, unlike American politicians who try to see who can outdo one another at the expense of the taxpayers. They have a whole different attitude over there in Europe.

[Kellemora]

I do know they just changed Prime Ministers again, and the folks are not to happy about it.
I think it takes place a few days from now. If it hasn't already.

On our side of the big pond, we need term limits to get those Rhino's out of office sooner.

[yogi]

The fascinating part about British politics is that the Prime Minister can be removed from office by a vote of confidence from their parliament. That in effect is better than term limits in that any bad decisions can cost you your job. The down side is that the dominant political party picks the Prime Minister and not the voters. The voters only choose what would be our congressmen. The dominating party then picks a leader who becomes PM. The previous PM lasted only 44 days because she made some bad policy decisions regarding the budget. They replaced her already with an ethnic black man. That seems to be going over about as well as it did over here when we put Obama in office.

[ocelotl]

It may be that in Europe they are more used to have more power in their congresses, and not in the "Frontman"... When their politicians appear in the news, you see them more often speaking to their respective congresses, and in some cases, the Head of the Congress is more powerful than the President, if they have one.

In fact I'm referring to British Prime Ministers. Even when we use to have terms down here, there are many politicians that keep around for decades. Now we have reelections at lower Congress and at Municipal level. Here in the municipality I live in, we didn't reelect the last mayor, neither the congress representative. Yet the one that got to the municipal presidency had been elected 15 years before. At least in my memory 3 different people have done the same. Also some of them have hold office at different times under different parties.

Most "career"politicians here in Mexico jump from position to position. They may begin as part of a municipal council, or at a government office, and as they rank higher in their respective parties, they rank up positions, either to the state congress, to the federal congress, back to a municipal presidency, then to the senate, then either to a governorship or to a state secretariat, then to a federal office... I can assure you that many of those that blame past administrations can trace their career to a position at the time they are speaking about.