A Very Nice BT Engineer, Rain & Strawberries

Firstly, do I comment on the weather? Surely enough people have already done so. Is there any more that I can add to the many diatribes and doom-laden predictions that our Summer is ruined? I doubt it. One thing is certainly clear... our weather is changing. The government and environment agency need to wake up to this and begin identifying the areas of the country that are at risk of flooding and where flooding has already occurred. Whatever funds are available should be urgently focused on these areas to improve flood defences if we are not to have repeated misery for business and home owners such as that we have witnessed over the last couple of weeks.

The fiasco that is our banking industry is something I would normally comment on, but to be honest, enough has already been said in the media and across public forums. My views won't alter anything but I do wonder if all those Occupy protesters, somewhere amongst all the jumbled rhetoric were actually on to something.

I've been without my full set of toys for a few days due to what I'd assumed to be a faulty phone socket. This meant I had to move my ADSL router to another part of the house but in doing so, I had to disconnect it from the network I have running here. This meant I couldn't use any of my desktop computers or servers. I was though able to use a solitary laptop, but the service was very poor and intermittent. I did have a go at repairing the socket myself having been a novice network engineer in the past, but it beat me and I had to succumb to calling on the services of a local engineer. Luckily, he lives local just a few miles down the road and was able to visit yesterday. He diagnosed the fault in no time at all as water ingress which had corroded the junction box and damaged the connections. The whole lot including the extension to my office, upon which I rely so much, had to be replaced. To cut a long story short, it was replaced and I now have brand new sockets ready for fibre and fully functioning connections. Wonderful, and the whole lot for just £40! Of course I gave him an extra £10 which I thought was warranted given he'd been here for three hours and worked through a torrential thunderstorm. A job very well done indeed, and by an 'old school' engineer who takes pride in service and the quality of his work. Certainly a dying breed.
When you are used to things being there and working on demand, it is so difficult to function normally when things break down. I've always considered Broadband to be on a par with water and electricity. I think of it as a service and an important one at that. I know many would not, favouring pen and paper and letters over e-mail. But for a growing number of people, constant unrestricted access to the Internet is now a given.

Last Thursday saw our first A&D group gathering outside of our normal venue. We decided to meet at Ayscoughfee Hall Park in Spalding, a delightful place with five acres of landscaped gardens, lakes and a Grade 1 listed house and museum. It made a very nice change to meet somewhere else and we were extremely fortunate with the weather, remaining dry and sunny for the duration.
From next Thursday, we have a new venue in Spalding which has been provided free of charge. We will meet there each Thursday and at our normal venue on Tuesdays. I'm keen for us to do more outdoors so hopefully, weather permitting, we may be able to vary our venues in the coming months.

I'm sure I've mentioned this before and whilst trying to avoid a sales pitch for Morrison's, I do believe I have finally found my holy grail of beef burgers. Specifically they are 'Butcher's Hand-Made Steak Burgers' at 45p each currently. Add a little fried onion and they are simply wonderful.

We did the family pleasantries earlier and visited my parents. Now my mum simply loves baking and claims to find it therapeutic. We often come away laden with cakes and savouries, and very welcome they are too. Today's offering was quite exceptional and I simply had to take a photo before we cut into it...

And finally, this week I have been mostly eating... strawberries & Kelly's Cornish Ice Cream...

Our Little Piece of the Olympics

I'm not one to get very excited over the Olympics and until this morning, it really hadn't touched my life at all, and probably wouldn't have. However, I do confess now to feeling a tad impressed with the whole thing having seen for myself the torch relay as it came through Long Sutton here in South Lincolnshire. What really struck me was the sheer number of people who came to see it, lining the roads and cheering as the convoy of vehicles appeared led by various police vehicles and motorcycles.

The role of the police in all this has to be praised as they seemed to be having as much fun as everyone else and making a point of stopping to talk to the numerous groups of school children full of excitement and anticipation. A Coca-Cola and Samsung float served to further excite the crowds and heralded the arrival of the torch bearer who jogged past frantically waving at as many spectators as she could. The photos taken must number somewhere in the thousands as almost everyone tried to get that special shot. I managed to capture the whole thing on video which is now preserved for ever thanks to the wonderment of all things digital.
For me, the atmosphere felt electric. There's something about an event like this that does rally people and it was wonderful to see so many people gathered to witness the event. The significance of the whole thing was lost on the groups of 4-6 year old's from the local schools and they seemed more interested in the police vehicles and their playful sirens and flashing lights. Whether they will witness another Olympic Games here in the UK is difficult to know, but it's unlikely. Their memories will be bolstered by the countless numbers of photos and hours of video making today truly unforgettable.
Has it changed my view of the Olympic Games? Yes, I think it has...

A Family Sized Challenge

I had a family christening to attend today, the youngest daughter of my sister-in-law. For me, it was another one of those awkward family gatherings that I used to cope so well with. Now it is just a struggle, something I never really enjoy and hours of wishing I was somewhere else. I do wonder if I manage to hide how I really feel. I've never really been any good at small talk and prefer for others to speak to me. I'm OK when that happens, but I simply don't have the courage any more to start a conversation myself. The confidence I once had has all but gone. This is how I am in 'family' situations. How different it is at my Tuesday A&D support group. I'm at ease there and I feel able to start a conversation and keep it going. I'm amongst friends there, people who were a few months ago complete strangers, but people who now know more about me than my family. I know this sounds mad, but it is true. For there is so much I am able to discuss with my friends that I wouldn't dream of mentioning in the presence of family. I know my friends feel the same way, so perhaps it is more common than I'd realised.
Alcohol does give me a degree of temporary false confidence, but it doesn't mix well with the tablets and I soon find myself becoming very drowsy and often get a headache. I do find that since my illness, I am left pretty much to myself and rarely does anyone attempt a conversation with me. I think this is a natural reaction - some people prefer to steer clear.
How relaxed I feel now I am set free and back in the safety of my own home. I can be myself here and jig my leg as much as I want without stares from those who like to judge. I can feel like this in one other place, each Tuesday amongst those who understand me and accept me. Why can't family be like this and why does it feel so foreign to be amongst them?

I have my father-in-law's notebook computer to repair. He's managed to get some kind of virus on to it. I know when he calls what to expect. It's always something to do with his computer, and my heart sinks at the prospect of having to help him. It's not so much the task, it's more the explaining why it has happened. How do I tell him he's simply downloading too much junk? How do I tell him not to click the download button on every game he comes across? It's such a dilemma and being the only 'IT guy' in the family, it's a burden I simply cannot escape.

We had a mini-tornado here last Thursday. The weather has been freaky all week and local events have been cancelled due to the heavy rain. I managed to capture the twister on my camera phone on the way back from a visit to the library. It had caused some damage which was evident from the number of roof repairs taking place the following day. It's not something you see every day...

I have a date for my NHS Volunteer Service interview - it's on the 3rd of July and being a Tuesday I'll be at the venue anyway. It's all a formality really as I've been in the role for some time, and like any similar role, a CRB check has to be completed.

Finally, it's an evening dominated by football once more and the roads around here are wonderfully quiet. Oh how I wish they could be like this all the time. Followers will know by now that I'm not exactly a fan of football, perhaps another reason why I feel so awkward around my football-loving family. I'll be checking the score of course, and if it goes Italy's way then tomorrow is sure to be a day of misery... If we do well, then we face Germany, and part of me does get ever so slightly excited by the prospect - but that's all!

The Courage to Talk

How marvellous it is that mental health is in the news and receiving much needed attention. Last week we heard during a Commons debate on mental health, two MPs talk openly about their struggles with depression and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Kevan Jones and Charles Walker showed enormous courage by speaking candidly about their individual experiences and by doing so did tremendous good for de-stigmatising the condition. Since then, mental health has been constantly in the news. There are newspaper campaigns and a renewed focus on health spending which has highlighted a deficit in mental health spending. This is all good and can only lead to better understanding of the problems caused by mental health issues and the support needed for all those who suffer the condition, in all its varying forms.
I have enormous respect and admiration for all those who talk openly about their condition as I am convinced that mental health problems are far more common than we think. By talking about it, we can understand it and hopefully encourage others to come forward. Help is there...

What a whopper...

My water butt has arrived... If you recall, I won it with Anglian Water a couple of months ago by answering some drought related questions on their website. They were giving away 5,000 of them to lucky winners and I was one of those lucky winners. The water butt is huge, much bigger than I imagined it would be, and it has a stand and all the bits needed to connect it to a down pipe. So I'm mighty impressed and a very happy bunny. Full marks to Anglian Water!

Awareness & Prevention

Yesterday I attended my first session of NHS training in Lincoln with my colleague Emma. The subject matter is rather dark - specifically suicide - how to spot the signs and how to prevent it. The numbers of those contemplating or attempting suicide are truly frightening and as life for many becomes increasingly stressful, these numbers are increasing.
The session was very well attended by volunteers, carers and mental health staff from across Lincolnshire. The chap who gave the training, Jeff, delivered the session very well explaining how he used to work in the special forces and having become injured, lost the use of his legs. Coming to terms with his disability after many years of being so active eventually took its toll and he decided he couldn't go on. Thankfully he was saved and has regained the use of his legs following an operation. He subsequently decided to use his experience to help others and prevent needless deaths from suicide in Lincolnshire.
His story was too much for one of our group and she left after just an hour. The subject matter was just too dark and she was clearly unprepared. It is understandable. We all went very dark places during the session, which was necessary to fully understand those we were being empowered to help.
The training 'SafeTalk', is the first part of an initiative the NHS are trying to roll out countrywide. The second part is called 'Asist'. So far, I have learnt how to identify the signs of suicide and how to confront someone I suspect to be suicidal. Once the act has been prevented, the concerned is passed to someone who is 'Asist' trained. These people have the skills to intervene and get the necessary help from specialists who are able to provide long term care and solutions. In effect, the aim of the initiative is to provide a network of skilled individuals who are available to provide help whenever needed. A register provides the details of all those with SafeTalk and Asist skills and this ensures that the help gets to those who need it, and fast.
I think this is a vitally important initiative and one that has been in place in Canada and the US for some time. In fact this is actually Canadian-born, but its concept is one that can be easily implemented in any country.
My involvement and that of my colleagues is important as we will come into contact with people who suffer with mental health problems and thoughts of suicide. I will also be able to provide help anyone in my area and literally intervene to save their life. It sounds dramatic I know, but this is exactly what it is. It is spotting and preventing someone from taking their own life, and showing them there is another way out.
Some would ask why I would want to get involved with suicide prevention. Well, in short, I've been in their position and I was able to prevent myself from following through with the act of suicide. For me, it felt there was no way out of my situation. In truth, there is always a way out and thankfully I found it in time. I understand them as I have been them. If I can save someone then that's a good thing.

Getting My Throat Back...

My goodness, I've been poorly this last week and today is the first time I've felt able to write anything. My son had been suffering for some time with a cold he'd picked up from school. Schools are a breeding ground for all kinds of illness and there really isn't one week that passes when at least one member of his class isn't poorly. I normally do quite well by avoiding colds and viruses, in fact it's been over a year since I've had anything significant. Wherever this particular virus came from, it had my name on it and a payload designed to incapacitate. I don't think I've ever actually felt so ill. I knew I was coming down with something a week ago. It's that feeling you get that tells you a cold is on its way, or that precursor to a sore throat. Within a couple of days, it had properly hit but went straight for my throat rather than start in the nose or the chest. I'd wake feeling as though I'd swallowed a handful of razor blades, and so this continued all week. Unable to swallow, I've certainly lost some weight, which isn't a bad thing I suppose.
As it hadn't cleared by Friday, I made myself an appointment and popped along to the health centre to be told what I already knew, that I had a temperature and a chest infection. Amoxcillin was prescribed and plenty of fluids. It's certainly working. My throat is almost back to normal but I do have a chesty cough. But it does seem to be on the way out, thank goodness.

A busy week ahead (for me). Tomorrow I have some NHS training to attend in North Hykeham. I'm taking with me another support team volunteer as she doesn't drive so I'll need to collect her en-route from Spalding. I checked the route on Google Maps and it dawned on me how far we'll need to travel. It's a 120 mile round trip in total and I just hope the weather will be better tomorrow than it is right now.
I will attempt to write-up the training session and add to my website where I now have a small section on Health.

We've seen more flooding across the UK, most notably in Wales where rivers have breached their banks causing many thousands of pounds worth of damage. This morning there are reports of flooding in Sussex and frankly if this persistent rain doesn't stop, I see this being repeated here. I'm really getting fed up with writing about the weather. It is just so bad at the moment and so changeable. I know people for whom weather like this can make all the difference between getting up and about or staying in bed. It affects their mood greatly. I did pop out briefly to get a top-up voucher for my mobile and to drop off a pair of ear plugs I'd promised to a member of our group last week. He suffers with broken sleep due to noisy neighbours so I've recommended he use them. For the short time I was out, I got soaked so was glad to get back home in the dry.

I have a couple of computers to work on this week, from the same customer. One of them is a laptop, the same laptop I'd repaired a few weeks ago replacing the keyboard. This time, the laptop has been dropped and has a fault as a result. It'll need stripping down to find out what has become dislodged. The other is just a general tune-up.
I've also been asked to provide some basic computer tuition, but I am struggling with this as the person I will be teaching has absolutely no skills or knowledge, but is at the same time and expert when it comes to his own computer and the Internet, despite the fact he's not even connected(!) I just know this is going to be difficult and I wonder how my sanity will hold-up. I have for now managed to put him off due to my 'man-flu' but I just know I will have to bite the bullet at some point...