In the papers today

Hello Peter,

I'm so unaccustomed to strong sunshine that it has shut me up. An uncommom thing that.

Yes, I think that the doctors were surprised that the people who had a lotof platelets went on to develop other cancers more often than people with normal levels.

Fishing? Oh dear me no. I'm a very boring vegetarian and a stander-upper for animal rights. Even the greenfly in the garden just get a stern talking to.

The Dove valley is very pretty but too busy and popular with visitors for my  liking. I prefer the quieter spots which are a bit of a walk from any car park.

Hi Angela,

Perhaps you know of Happy Valley in your area. Friend of mine took me to the river there and showed me the wooden foot-bridge he designed and built acrosss the river for the benefit of the locals.  He was the Senior Ranger and had a great military career before this.  He lived nearby but sadly he and his wife are no longer with us.  It is called the Bardell Bridge after him.  I trust you do not have a fly swat.

Peter

 

Ah, I had to look up Happy Valley. There are no happy valleys round these parts or, if there are, people keep that information to themselves. I think you muat be speaking of Cheshire. I am in Derbyshire. I did go to Cheshire once though.

Pretty good to have a bridge named after oneself.

No, I don't possess a fly swat. Flies get shooed out of the house. I am, I suppose, looking at myself as others must look at me, quite bizarre in my avoidance of damage to other things. I have no religion but, if I were ever to take the unlikely step of joining in with other people's organised rules and rituals, I should maybe go for Jainism. It seems to be the closest thing to how I look out at the world.

The sun is going down on what has been a beautiful day.

Hi Angela,

I may have remembered the name wrongly and I remember signposts to the area. Nearer Sheffield than Chesterfield.  One must admire a person who lives by their own designs.  Don't change Angela, it would be boring if we were all the same.  More sunshine to come I believe.

Peter.

Hi Angela,

Discovered the place is called Hope Valley at Bamford.  Sorry for the confusion.

Peter

Ah, the Hope valley. Yes, of course. I can see where the confusion arose.

There are two villages in the Hope valley, one called Hope (not surprisingly) and the other called Castleton. There is a local saying, "Live in Hope, die in Castleton".

Thanks for that Angela.  Local knowledge at a premium.  I have a sneaking suspicion that phrase had been said to me before but I can't remember now.

I am sure we visited Castleton briefly (passed through) but I don't think I will tarry there in the future.

Enjoy your weather, the sun is nationwide at the moment if the met-people are on ball.

Peter.

Hello Peter,

What a hot day it's been today. 26°C in Derbyshire! The sheep are all looking exhausted. Me too. I have been sitting out in the sun, soaking up the rays. Just as well I'm not due to see anybody of the medical persuasion as they would be muttering "plethora, plethora" and shaking their heads. I look like a beetroot!

Not much to see in Castleton to be honest. A big cave called The Devil's Arse, which used to be where they made ropes. Now they have carol concerts in it and I am told that the acoustics are excellent.

Hope you had a decent day.

Now do be careful with that hot sun Angela.  I spent quite a number of years   in hot climes and on the sea where it is difficult to get away from the UV and heat.  Have suffered for it too.  Some medications we take can affect things too.  Always check your drug literature supplied with the drugs.  Now you have created some interest in Castleton cave.  I wonder who gave it that

name.  Don't post it as it could be censored.  Had a quieter day yesterday after a couple of visits to the local surgery.  Things seem to be on the up, even the weather, which helps.   Keep well.

Peter.

Thanks for the concern Peter but I am only on aspirin. I refused the consultants' offers of big pharma products when they first mooted the idea. So I just pootle along with my ringing ears. Hubby says that I was selectively deaf before so there isn't much change there!

We have an old friend who was in the Merchant Navy for years and he still has a permanent suntan.

How the cave got its name? Well, I don't imagine that it was any of the gentry. Probably the locals who had to work in the place!

Another scorcher here, but very windy. A grand day for drying clothes.

Have a good day.

 

Another blip. What did I say?

Hi Angela, 

I doubt you'll ever know.  Perhaps you referenced someone or thing outside the forum.  It isn't difficult to do in all innocence.  Just keep happy.

Peter

You too.

Laughter is the best medicine, I find

Hi Angela,

Yes in large quantities too.  I think you will happily survive.  Very hot in SW today but still managed to cut the grass despite the heat.  I am back with the Haematologist next Tuesday for my 4 weekly visit.  I do not expect any significant changes.  Am running on water!   

Oh, would it be S W London or SW England?

We lived in SW London for quite a time. First in Balham, then Tooting Bec, then Southfields and finally back to Balham.

I know nothing of SW England except my grandfather came from a place called Crewkerne, ran away from home and never returned!

I expect you have it quite a bit hotter there.

Strange about that.  My parents were on their way to Crewkerne when my father suffered a fatal heart attack at Yeovil station.  Long time ago now.  Left my mother very distressed.  I refer to the weather in SW England now but I am no stranger to London by any means.  I know well the places you mention.  Don't think much of the area now, it has changed dramatically from what it used to be as have many other areas there.  Expecting thunderstorms tonight (maybe) and rain Sunday.  Seems like most of UK will be affected so hide your sunbed and get out the umbrella.  My wife is from Devon.  Now subject to huge over-development in SW parts.   The very things that people visit the SW, Somerset, Devon etc. for, are being systematically destroyed.  It really angers the locals. How does Derbyshire fare Angela ?

Time to relax for the day.  Best wishes.

I take it you had a fairly sleepless night last night? I looked at a website that shows thunderstorms and lightning strikes as they occur at about 1.30 this morning and your part of the world was just a mass of hits. We are still waiting, tin hats on. Well, maybe that wouldn't be a good idea. Maybe plastic hats.

Development? We are lucky to be in the National Park so it is very tightly controlled here, almost to the point of being utterly ridiculous. They let mining go on -you can dig out half a hillside for commerce- but you can't have double glazing if your house is in a conservation area or is deemed to be of historic interest.

I don't know what is going to happen if builders continue to build on farmland rather than brownfield sites. The country will eventually just be one big pile of rubble and mess with the occasional "beauty spot" left for the millions of urban and suburban dwellers to visit for entertainment.

Heigh ho. This is getting gloomy. Time to go and see if our little Great Tits have fledged het. We have a camera nestbox and it keeps us entertained every spring.

There was plenty of lightning during the night so I guess the storms were further away as thunder and rain rarely figured.  Much cooler today with rain forecast tomorrow.  Would sooner it passed through before Tuesday as I have to see the haematologist then.  Just routine.  The Ruxolitinib has surely been very favourable for me, and maybe others too.  Still some way to go before the long-term effects can be fully evaluated.  It needs to drop in price before it becomes universally issued though.  More flexible in UK but elsewhere there seem to be the cost factor hindering both doctors and patients.  I wish I could get away with just aspirin as you have done.  Your stage partner seems very quiet Angela.

Peter.

Glad to hear that you weren't kept awake all night with the thunder. We have been so lucky - not a single rumble. I love to look at a website which shows the lightning around the world in real time. If I put its name on here it will probably cause a hiccup but it is lightning maps (all one word) dot org. Quite mesmerising.

Good luck with the visit on Tuesday. Nobody wears galoshes any more, do they?

Yes, I take aspirin and self medicate. It's such a trial - not! - 100 g of dark chocolate, 100 g of tahini and a bottle of real tonic water per day. For the last six visits my platelet counts had been falling steadily and the other numbers were doing well. And then I went and fell over in the garden and it all went up the spout. So I am back on the choc/sesame/tonic trail with a song in my heart and fingers crossed to try and get back to where I was. I have also thrown out the gardening boots which were responsible for the upending. And a stern note to self to look where I am going, daft bat!

All the best.

 

Hi Angela,

What induced you to sustain an Aspirin only treatment, could it have been vegetarianism or just that you liked dark chocolate which is said to be very beneficial in the right amounts.  Before the dreaded PV struck me I had always been active and healthy with a sensible diet which I maintain kept things under control until PV began to substantially affect my existence.  Our garden is always kept in a fine shape, not so much by me but by Mrs. Greenfingers. I think it is in her genes.  I keep the grass under control and the heavier tasks too.  It seems to be so easy to come unstuck with gardening.  Always when you least expect it.  Generally I am left to be the home craftsman about the place with a talent for most things that make the place tick over.  Keeps me active and the grey matter from becoming displaced.  Must see where the chocolate is stored!!  Yes, the dark type too.  

Good wishes.   

Peter.

Hello,

No gardening for me at all today as it has been very very windy and I can't be doing with that. Still no rain or any party tricks by whoever the god of thunder and lightning is. Maybe time to play the bit in Beethoven's Pastoral when the storm gets going. That might bring it on.

I worked out the choc/sesame/tonic diet based on what I had picked up about platelet creation and aggregation in various medical extracts and reports.

I have a bit of a thing about artificial drugs and have always avoided them. I can just about cope with the aspirin as it is essentially an extract from a plant, with only a bit of tweaking in a factory. So I am keeping well away from things with odd-looking chemical compound structures and sticking to my daft diet for as long as I can. 

Regards to Mrs Greenfingers. 

All the best.

Managed to view your weather site.  As you say Angela - mesmerising if you study it properly.

Peter.