Catching up with the New Year

With all that's been going on, I'd almost forgotten about my blog. I've just been so busy with the work I do for Blue Skies and a few other jobs I'm doing for other people. In fact the work I do for Blue Skies is pretty much a full time job - unpaid of course as I am an NHS volunteer - and payment for me is seeing people leaving the group in a better state than when they arrived.

So much has happened since my last post. The weather has figured enormously and much of the country is still under water, especially the west where much of the Somerset Plains are submerged with villages literally cut off. As I type this, I see that Somerset have declared a 'major incident' and with the forecast predicting more heavy rain in the coming days, the situation there can only get worse. It's not good. There was something I was planning to write about, but it's gone completely out of my mind - as many things do. Unless I write things down and remember where I left the book or piece of paper I wrote them on, I forget. It's getting worse. My mind constantly malfunctions. If it were a computer, I would have thrown it out or sought an upgrade ages ago!

A bout of depression over New Year left me feeling there was little point to 2014. It took a long time for me to 'see sense' again and realise there's lots to look forward to. For the first time in over four years, I have a little money coming in. I'm being paid to look after social media accounts and a website for a friend who is trying to launch his business selling cosmetics and health & beauty products. I will also earn a little money spending time with a dear disabled friend of mine and I have my meagre expenses payments each month. I'm grateful to my friends who have all rallied round to help me which has enabled me to keep going with my volunteering work and avoid having to look for a job - a job I would have no hope of getting given my health problems. I'm in a 'good place' at the moment. There's so much going on in my head, I can't get myself adequately organised to formulate a proper post, but this can be seen as a stop-gap until I'm back in blogging mode once more. rest assured, there's plenty to come...

Final Thoughts on Savile & More Volunteering

The extent of the alleged abuse perpetrated by Jimmy Savile has been made public in a report published today. Though we've known for some months of the crimes claimed to have been committed by the late presenter and personality, one cannot fail to be shocked by the details that have emerged. Jimmy Savile is dead and cannot answer for his crimes and it should be remembered that these are allegations and though there is no reason to doubt any of the testimonies, they cannot be proved.
Good has to come out of something like this. There have clearly been major failings that allowed the alleged abuse to carry on unchecked and unchallenged. The warnings voiced by certain individuals were ignored. The question being asked by so many people is 'why?'. It is difficult to understand how nothing was done, with the most recent opportunity lost in 2009 when the Crown Prosecution Service dropped a case against him, clearly failing in their duty.
Hopefully there will be a greater emphasis from now on to investigate rumours and allegations and to take children seriously.

This afternoon I responded to a plea sent out from SHINE Lincolnshire for volunteer PEAT (Patient Environment Action Team) inspectors. Apparently they are very short of volunteers, who's role it is to go visit inpatient hospital departments and inspect levels of cleanliness and hygiene among other things. As with most things nowadays, there is no reward apart from having expenses paid, but there's always the possibility of it leading to something more concrete.

I had my pre-diabetic clinic blood test this morning. I always have to take a wee sample with me which they check there and then. Unsurprisingly they found sugar in it so it's been sent off to be analysed at King's Lynn QEII Hospital. They very kindly booked me a diabetic clinic appointment for the 25th, a Friday. I expect I will be advised to move onto an injectable form of medication rather than the (many) tablets I currently take each day.