CitroJim's AX, C3 Picasso, Cycling and Running Tales

[Stickyfinger]

[Zelandeth]

I have just experienced the most amazing conjunction of remarkable happenings...

So remarkable, I feel the need to do the lottery on Wednesday

It kicked off with a very good and successful visit to Tesco and feeding Strawberry with a nice drop of Finest Momentum 99

But that wasn't it...

I had cause to see my GP this morning. I was seen a full two minutes before the appointment time... Not so lucky for her next patient as we well over-ran.

She ordered me to immediately attend the hospital. There and then she made a walk-in appointment.

I drove to the hospital and immediately found a parking space - a happening so unusual it often makes headlines on the local news.

I then settled in for a prolonged stay in a waiting room absolutely stuffed to the gills. I nearly fell off my chair after being called forward barely ten minutes after my arrival. All was done and dusted and I was on my way home in 20 minutes...

Totally unbelievable! And that was the good old NHS, not private...

That said, I'm still waiting for an appointment with the vampires... I'm not looking forward to that one. I can cope with other people's blood when I need to deal with injuries but go very queasy at the sight of my own... I have to warn the phlebotomist and look away

Sorry to hear that you've needed to deal with hospitals etc Jim, but glad you've managed to negotiate the system seemingly seamlessly!

It's astonishing how different things can be depending where you are, even by a few miles.

I *finally* actually got a telephone consultation a week or two back. Was immediately told that I needed to see them in person. Yes, that's what I asked for, but you only offered me a phone consultation. We're *well* over a year in by this point as you've kept failing to actually MAKE said calls and/or cancelling on me the day before.

"Fine. Can you book an appointment for me then?"
"Oh no, we're not taking appointments by phone. You'll need to request one through the web portal. Bye!" *Click*

So I duly filled in an appointment request through their glitchy web portal. Including the notes about how this needed to be an in person appointment as per the surgery's request.

About an hour later I get an email. I've been offered an appointment at the end of May (which I can't make)...and it will be a telephone consultation.

*Bashes head on nearest wall.*

[Skull]

..... About an hour later I get an email. I've been offered an appointment at the end of May (which I can't make)...and it will be a telephone consultation.

*Bashes head on nearest wall.*

Nightmare

[CitroJim]

That is turning into a right saga Zel and smacks of gross incompetence and dereliction of duty. I feel for you

There is absolutely no need for all of the mucking around as in our locality, a face-to-face appointment can be made directly by the doctor during a telephone consultation. I watched in astonishment as the doctor made an immediate hospital appointment so it proves it can be done.

Keep pestering and badgering them until they get their act together.

Our on-line system, Accurx, seems to work perfectly in my experience... It's a different one from a while back - that one was a bit of a pain...

[CitroJim]

Things are very quiet here, I'm not at all well with the ME well in ascendence and it looks like I'm in for a long, slow and very careful recovery. Physically I can't do much and mentally/cognitively, I have only a few 'good' hours early in the day...

To keep the boredom at bay I've had a massive digital clear-out of my current and archived data and a tidy-up of all my devices. That's included clearing out a lot of old, random photos and reorganising how I keep them; I've also reviewed all aspects of my social media and made significant changes.

Speaking of photos, my browsing of our local Willen Hospice eBay shop revealed a Canon EOS film camera body going for a song so I grabbed it - a film camera that uses the same lenses as my Canon EOS digital - result

I had to collect it from the Hospice offices and therein discovered their 'inner sanctum' where potentially valuable donations are assessed by knowledgeable (and friendly) volunteers for premium sale on eBay and other places. I get the feeling that all you see in their high-street shops is largely the tat and all the goodies are intercepted long before they reach the shops. I believe Willen are not unique in this approach and who can blame them? Hence why you never see desirable and potentially valuable vinyl records in charity shops any more for example.

They had a few items of interest to me and for a small donation I grabbed this:

It's faulty; it has a locked-up shutter and deemed by the charity to be beyond their fixing skills.

Happily, it's a known problem with this and related models and full service information and experience is available on-line.

The problem is often degraded/disintegrating foam 'bumpers' on the shutter mechanism. It's quite fixable but needs the camera to be totally dismantled. Not a trivial job.

I've made a start - after having to buy some special tools for the job...

Given my limited time when I'm able, this may be quite a slow burner...

[myglaren]

The ME is a bugger Jim but you are still managing to forge ahead and get some useful stuff done.
The other ME looks challenging but worthwhile too, excellent find.

[CitroJim]

The ME is a bugger Jim but you are still managing to forge ahead and get some useful stuff done.

Thanks Steve, yes...

I'm not sure it's truly useful but it's what's keeping me from going totally bats**t with boredom and tedium

Even talking and socialising, much as I love it and need it, is absolutely wrecking me. If I make it to the planned FCF meetup on Tuesday I fear most of Wednesday will be a write-off - as was most of the late morning and afternoon after a coupe of hours at parkrun today, an hour of which was spent in a café being social

And all I was doing at parkrun was marshalling - standing on a corner and taking a few photos... Actual running just isn't happening

[MattBLancs]

Get well soon Jim
Good work on the camera task

[CitroJim]

Get well soon Jim
Good work on the camera task

Thanks Matt

[CitroJim]

Today I've been knifed in the back and seen more of Milton Keynes University Hospital than I have for some time...

It was initially to look at a mole my GP was concerned about. Being on my back I'd not seen it until today and gosh! It was both huge and looked a bit iffy, even to my eyes

Seems it was, I was called back same day to have it surgically removed. In between that, I had a visit to my GP for bloods to be taken to see if there's any root cause of my other problems or if it's just a bad ME relapse...

The surgeon described what he carved out of me as looking 'very suspicious'. I await the results of the biopsy... Chances are it'll be all benign and I'm not worried. There will be plenty of time for that if it's not, if you get my drift...

Can't fault the hospital and the excellent service received today. The only thing is, this may be one of two as another mole of concern has been found and I have to go through all the same process again: raise an appointment with my GP, get referred and so on... There's no 'buy one, get one free' and 'lets get this second one done whilst I have a warm scalpel in my hand' in today's NHS... Back to the beginning

Ahh well, the consultant, surgeon and his nurse are all absolutely lovely and I'll be happy to see them again

Huge and special thanks to Zel today for taking me to and from the hospital twice today The best patient transport ever, especially when one of the trips was in this awesome vehicle

This car, a MK II 1300 Vanden Plas, is truly amazing. It rides almost as well as the finest Citroen and it's a rather lovely place to be - very comfy and very classy It was a real treat Thanks so much Zel!

It was just as well Zel provided transport as I'm now well and truly stitched-up and not able to drive for a few days. In fact, for the next few days I can't do much at all. Rest is enforced.

All this is likely my past catching up with me and my utter contempt for the sun when I travelled the world and lived in warm and sunnier climes. I have suffered some truly epic sunburn far too many times. I'm fair-skinned and don't tan. I go from white to pink to red in quick time with no brown stage in between.

So please, keep rubbing the Factor 50 all over you when the sun shines

[DHallworth]

Sorry to hear of your health woes, Jim. I really hope it all turns out to be nothing serious and you can continue to focus on recovering from your ME relapse.

David.

[CitroJim]

Sorry to hear of your health woes, Jim. I really hope it all turns out to be nothing serious and you can continue to focus on recovering from your ME relapse.

Thanks David

[Skull]

Best Wishes Jim

[Vic Evans]

Today I've been knifed in the back and seen more of Milton Keynes University Hospital than I have for some time...

It was initially to look at a mole my GP was concerned about. Being on my back I'd not seen it until today and gosh! It was both huge and looked a bit iffy, even to my eyes

Seems it was, I was called back same day to have it surgically removed. In between that, I had a visit to my GP for bloods to be taken to see if there's any root cause of my other problems or if it's just a bad ME relapse...

The surgeon described what he carved out of me as looking 'very suspicious'. I await the results of the biopsy... Chances are it'll be all benign and I'm not worried. There will be plenty of time for that if it's not, if you get my drift...

Can't fault the hospital and the excellent service received today. The only thing is, this may be one of two as another mole of concern has been found and I have to go through all the same process again: raise an appointment with my GP, get referred and so on... There's no 'buy one, get one free' and 'lets get this second one done whilst I have a warm scalpel in my hand' in today's NHS... Back to the beginning

Ahh well, the consultant, surgeon and his nurse are all absolutely lovely and I'll be happy to see them again

All this is likely my past catching up with me and my utter contempt for the sun when I travelled the world and lived in warm and sunnier climes. I have suffered some truly epic sunburn far too many times. I'm fair-skinned and don't tan. I go from white to pink to red in quick time with no brown stage in between.

So please, keep rubbing the Factor 50 all over you when the sun shines

My missus was an avid sun worshipper in her youth & during the last year or so it's caught up with her so she's has had a few 'brown' things removed.
All of them were benign so fingers crossed for you Jim.

[CitroJim]

All of them were benign so fingers crossed for you Jim.

Thanks Vic and delighted all your other half's were benign