may-june 2014 books

More book stuff:

One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez): I’m rather ashamed to admit that I’d not read any Marquez books before now, so it’s good that it was chosen as our book group’s next book. It’s a long and complicated story of six generations of Buendia family in the mythical town of Macondo. It describes (at times, very amusingly) the outrageous, complex, fantastic life of Macondo going through laborious alternate cycles of prosperity, war and decay before finally being swept back into the swamp by a cyclone. Although I did enjoy the book, there were times when I found it rather too unrelenting in its detail and I certainly had great difficulty in trying to remember the names of the key characters (particularly as many of the names were repeated!).
Dear Life (Alice Munro): A collection of beautifully-written, melancholic, dignified, short stories (ending with four “not quite stories” that verge upon autobiographical reflections) set in post-war Canada. Unshowy, and yet, each one quite haunting and memorable. 
The Railway Detective (Edward Marston): Set in London at the time of 1851 Great Exhibition. As the name suggests, it’s crime novel (about a mail train robbery) and the blurb on the cover describes it as a “grand romp very much in the tradition of Holmes and Watson”. If only. Whilst it’s extremely readable (I read it in a day), I found the plot rather banal and the characters all appallingly stilted (the highlight of the book was a reference to Bradshaw’s railway guide!). If it’s as easy as this, I think I’m going to be a crime writer when I grow up…
The Quarry (Iain Banks): This is a book about a father dying of cancer. You’ll probably be aware that, tragically, Banks had almost finished the first draft of the book when he received news that he too was dying of the disease. I loved this book. It’s filled with the author’s gift for humour and, certainly for me, his rather left-of-centre political stance on life. As the book’s cover says: it’s about “a dying man and his only son, six old friends, a missing videotape and a reunion in a crumbling house on the edge of a quarry”. It might be about death (and at times I found it quite heartbreakingly sad) but, for me, I also found it incredibly hopeful and life-enhancing. I’m going to miss Iain Banks’ books a great deal.   
The Great Galloon: Voyage To The Volcano (Tom Banks): Another Banks’ book (Tom and Ian aren’t related!). As I noted in post about his first book, I wouldn’t normally include children books in my “reading diary”, but this one was written by our good friend Tom Banks… and is another excellent children’s book. It’s full of clever invention and is VERY funny (I’d love to hear an audio version with all Tom’s voices!)… my ONLY reservation is that I’m not a great lover of the illustrations. But hey!

hip-op progress report…

It’s just 9 days after my hip replacement and I’ve just returned from a half hour walk…

This isn’t any kind of boast (and I was on crutches and, ok, it did involve a café trip!), this is simply in keeping with the information outlined in the excellent “post hip replacement physiotherapy” booklet that I was given about a month before the operation.
Nevertheless, I do find it pretty amazing and all SO different to my mother’s hip operation experience – or at least my vague memory of it - (and my maternal grandmother had two hip replacements, I think?).
Although I’d promised that I would refrain from “going on” about my experiences, I wanted to make a few notes to remind ME of the process, together with some general observations:
1.       I checked in at the Emersons Green NHS Treatment Centre at 6.30am and taken up to theatre some time after 10am. I was duly briefed by the anaesthetists and the surgeon before being given an epidural spinal injection (which numbed the lower part of my body) and then a face mask (which put me out). I don’t remember being “brought round” but felt absolutely fine, perfectly coherent (well, no worse than normal) and could just start to feel my toes coming back to life.
2.       Taken to a recovery ward at 11.40am (I noted the time) and remained there being monitored by a nurse until I returned to my two-man ward at 12.40pm. The numbness had disappeared by 2.30pm and I felt fine (but obviously had to remain bed-bound). Fitted with electronic, pulsating leg wraps which provided a continuous rippling effect (to counter potential blood-clotting?).
3.       As you might imagine, the medication regime continues, but I’ve been really impressed that the emphasis has been on “pain avoidance” rather “pain relief”.
4.       I continue to do all my daily physiotherapy exercises (pre-operation exercises were also set up) and they stress the importance of these in ensuring a speedy, effective recovery. The one negative aspect of my own recovery has been a very swollen right leg (thigh/knee/calf)… my right leg is currently 50% bigger than my left(!) - but this is apparently not unusual (see the note below).
5.       I’m due to have my staples removed next week (a fortnight after the operation) and I should be able to drive again after 6 weeks. I’ve got a final check-up (hopefully) at Emersons Green after 8 weeks… after which, all the raised loo seats and frames, crutches, leg raiser (my favourite!), reacher equipment will be collected!
ALL the staff at Emersons Green have been simply brilliant – professional and friendly – and this was from the cleaners and food servers right through to the entire medical team. I have nothing but praise for their efficiency and ATTITUDE (not just during my stay but also during pre-op period… and beyond)… and also their humour!
Photo: I’ve posted this to amuse those of you who know me well! I’m very much a list-maker/schedule-maker and so, of course, with ALL those daily exercises to do, it seemed only sensible to have a schedule that I could mark off on a daily basis! Sad, but funny!
Note: The Royal College of Surgeon’s website states this about swelling legs after hip operations:  “Swelling of the leg is very variable and can be quite troublesome to some patients for several weeks. Swelling can cause the leg to ache and indeed make the leg feel very heavy. To avoid this, sitting for long periods is discouraged. In between frequent walks, it is better to be in a reclining position. Don’t worry if the leg becomes very bruised. This will settle in due course”. I hope so!

“UKIP if you want to… this man’s not for kipping” (or words to this effect)…

I found the weekend’s EU election results - which saw UKIP emerge as the UK’s most popular(?) political party with some 28% of voters opting for them in a turn-out of just 34% - arguably the most depressing of my voting life.

It was a weekend full of euro-sceptical election results throughout the EU (with extreme parties on the left and right having successful campaigns). I feel sure that, over the coming days, newspapers will be full of political analysis which will express things far more lucidly than me. But, for what they’re worth, these are my own brief, knee-jerk, raw reactions:

1.       I personally despise UKIP and all it stands for (eg. its demands for the UK to pull out of the EU; its attitudes towards immigration – bordering on racist at times; its general jingoistic, little-Englander view of the world and this country in particular)… but, whatever your views, it hasn’t needed rocket-science for UKIP to come up with a successful political formula for the EU elections.

2.       UKIP was always going to appeal to those on the right of the Conservative party and, especially to the large numbers of euro-sceptics amongst them.

3.       The UK coalition government has been trying to tell us that the economy is recovering and everything is rosy (and, indeed, the rich have been getting much richer!) when, for the vast majority of the population, life has continued to be very tough financially. In such an economic climate, where secure jobs are still difficult to find and keep, it’s very easy for UKIP to point the finger at immigration.

4.       The weekend’s results could be seen as a vote against traditional politics (“nobody’s listening, nobody understands”?). The major parties obviously claim they’re listening but, in reality, they continue to do “their own thing” or actually “don’t get it”.

5.       The fact of the matter is that UKIP, despite a) having no members of parliament, b) making countless errors and making numerous inappropriate remarks (duly reported in the national media) and c) having no track record, has been able to make a simple, straightforward appeal to disillusioned voters.

6.       In the light of remarks coming from a UKIP representative excusing the party’s poor results in London being due to the fact that the electorate was “cultural, educated and young”, it would be far too easy, completely unfair (and yet very tempting) to describe the typical UKIP voter as possessing the opposite characteristics!

7.       Somewhat pathetically, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m rather opposed to democracy! Essentially, the electorate is composed of idiots (oh dear, grumpy old man!)… if we had a referendum on bringing back capital punishment or on withdrawing from the EU, the country would no doubt overwhelmingly approve.

8.       I voted Green in both the local and EU elections (the Greens gained a MEP in the south-west and our local council now has six Green councilors). The fact remains that the Greens are highly unlikely to feature as big-players at next year’s General Election.

9.       I’ve previously expressed my thoughts on the Labour Party and its leadership (this is one example from September 2012, but there are others if you want to be bothered to search!). My own political instincts are left-of-centre and, traditionally, the Labour Party should be my spiritual home. Unfortunately (as well as it no longer being “left-of-centre”), in my view, the Labour Opposition has fundamentally failed to communicate a coherent message. Given the political climate, it SHOULD have been the party who was pressing for change and highlighting key issues… it SHOULD have been the leading UK party in this weekend’s election by a long way. But it didn’t. Its performance, in my view, has been appallingly bad.

So, yes, over the next few days, all the major political parties will be telling us how they’ve been listening to the electorate and how everything’s  going to change… and, of course, it won’t (well, not enough to satisfy people like me).
For the Labour Party, in particular, a massive shake-up is required. I don’t anticipate a change in leadership (if ONLY it had opted for Alan Johnson as leader!), but it does need to communicate effectively. At present, the message is both lacklustre and incoherent (Alex Salmon or Nigel Farage could give lessons!)… Milliband is a decent bloke and earnest in his beliefs, but he often comes across as a lightweight - and not someone the country is looking for as a leader.
I feel very apprehensive about the outcome of the next General Election.
The Labour Party SHOULD be forming the next government but, as things stand, I can see the Tories winning – even in a coalition with UKIP (perhaps UKIP will have a dozen MPs by then? How depressing would that be!). What’s worse, in the absence of an effective Opposition, I can foresee the Tories becoming more right-wing and, eventually, pulling us out of the EU altogether.
Give us all the strength and determination to try to ensure this doesn't happen.

 

before the winter chill

On a bit of an impulse (you can do these things when you're retired, you know), I wandered down to the Watershed for a light lunch and then decided to see the afternoon (cut-price-for-oldies!) screening of Philippe Claudel’s latest film “Before The Winter Chill”. I just loved his 2008 film “I’ve Loved You So Long” – which, perhaps not surprisingly and like this film, also starred Kirsten Scott Thomas.

Essentially, it’s a rather elegant depiction of what the Watershed’s blurb describes as “slow rot in the French privileged classes”. Scott Thomas plays the part of the wife (Lucie) of a successful surgeon, Paul (Daniel Auteil). Paul starts receiving flowers every day from a beautiful young woman (Leila Bekhti) who claims they’re a thank-you for her successful operation…  at first, Paul is flattered, but it starts to get uncomfortably difficult when the young woman seems to be stalking him on a daily basis… putting pressure on Paul and Lucie’s comfortable existence.
As you might expect, it’s beautifully acted and impressively put together… BUT, to be honest, I found it incredibly unconvincing as a story.

banksy: the room in the elephant

If facebook is to believed, it seems that most of my friends were glued to the television last night watching the Eurovision Song Contest (personally, I avoid this stuff like the plague… but accept that I am the exception and probably a grumpy one at that!). Well, as a welcome alternative to the ESC, Moira+I, plus another full house, were at the Tobacco Factory Theatre to see Tom Wainwright’s play “Banksy: The Room in the Elephant”.

This is the scenario (a true story): Banksy was in LA for the Oscars when he sprayed ‘THIS LOOKS A BIT LIKE AN ELEPHANT’ on an old water tank. The tank was residence for a local legend, Tachowa Covington, who over seven years had furnished it with carpets, a stove – even CCTV. As news spread of Banksy’s latest work, a consortium of art dealers soon appeared to repossess the water tank. Suddenly, Tachowa was homeless again…
This one-man show features Gary Beadle - apparently he used to be in Eastenders… but then I wouldn’t know that, would I (because I’m a grumpy old bloke…) – who was completely brilliant!
Fascinatingly, the play was being performed as part of a double-bill, with Hal Samples’ film “Something From Nothing” (using a patchwork of material gathered over seven years – including, rather weirdly, footage of the play being performed on the Edinburgh Fringe!).
Really impressive, funny, sad and thought-provoking (a story telling a story about itself, telling a story about itself).
A brilliant, stimulating evening.
PS: The publicity given to the Banksy artwork (“Mobile Lovers”) that appeared in the doorway of the cash-strapped boys’ club seems only to have underlined the play’s poignancy.

april-may 2014 books

More book stuff:

This Boy (Alan Johnson): This is a remarkable, extraordinary account by Labour MP Alan Johnson of his childhood living in Notting Hill of the 1950s. He lived with his mother and his amazing, resourceful sister in condemned housing (no electricity, no running water and certainly no central heating!). His lazy, drunken, violent father abandoned the family for a barmaid when Alan was very young. His hard-working mother struggled with poor health and died, aged 42, when Alan was just 13 and his sister Linda 16. Johnson is only a year or so younger than me and so many of his childhood memories (post-war working class background, 1960’s music, football – but NOT, thankfully, the abject poverty) are also mine. It’s a moving and an uplifting story (with not a hint of self-pity) about the childhood of a man who was brought up in poverty and yet, despite this, later became General Secretary of the Communication Workers Union before entering parliament as an MP in 1997 (and, in my view, should have succeeded Gordon Brown as leader of the Labour Party). He’s an excellent writer and someone I greatly admire (even more so after reading this). I can’t wait for his next book.
On Beauty (Zadie Smith): This is the first Zadie Smith book I’ve read and, clearly, she’s a gifted writer (the book won the 2006 Orange Prize for Fiction). For me, however, although I found it entertaining and very readable, I thought it was actually an unremarkable book and another example, perhaps, of why I have a preference for reading non-fiction. Sorry!
Swimming In A Sea Of Death: A Son’s Memoir (David Rieff): Susan Sontag (American writer+filmmaker, professor, literary icon, political activist etc) died in December 2004, aged 72, and this is a courageous tribute of her final years by her son, David Reiff. She’d previously overcome two bouts of cancer, but was eventually diagnosed with an incurable form of leukaemia in 2004. In many ways, this book represents Reiff’s continuing process of grieving (which verges at times on self-pity)… and also an attempt to deal with his (as he sees it) guilt for perhaps not doing as much as he might have. It’s an elegant and profound book.
Hawthorn+Child (Keith Ridgway): Blimey, this is a strange, dark, uncompromising, unpredictable, but rather refreshing “detective” novel (except that it isn’t really). At times, I felt as if Ridgway had simply cut-and-pasted together unconnected stories he’d jotted down in his notebook. It’s a curious, very clever book (probably far too clever for me!) – well written and somewhat mesmerising.
I Was Born There, I Was Born Here (Mourid Barghouti): Barghouti is a Palestinian poet and writer. This powerful, angry and yet gentle, passionate and supremely eloquent book provides a tragic insight into the plight of Palestinians and their perspective on the conflict and the injustice and humiliation of living under Israeli occupation - the unjust deportations, the outrageous borders and checkpoints and simply trying to exist in a dangerous, fearful world waiting for electricity and water to come back on. It’s an absolutely beautiful book which, given its context, is surprisingly uplifting and encouraging. I think all politicians (especially from USA and Europe) should read this and get a proper sense of the injustice of the Israeli occupation.

 

HeadSpaceDance and London

Moira and I have just returned from a couple of days in London. Maybe it’s our age, but, these days, all our trips to the capital seem to involve overnight stays – we fit in a lot of activities, but at a pretty gentle pace!

The main reason for our visit was to see a performance by HeadSpaceDance (“If Play Is Play”) in the Linbury Studio Theatre at the Royal Opera House on Thursday evening - the final night of its run. One of the HeadSpaceDance directors, Charlie Broom, is the wife of actor Sam Alexander… who is a long-standing friend of our daughter Hannah and son-in-law, Felix (they were part of the wonderful Thame Youth Theatre back in their teens!)… hope you’re following all this?!
Anyway, back to the dancing…
Although I love live performance, I think I’ve only seen two or three professional dance performances in my life. However, I HAD seen some impressive video footage of some of their earlier productions and so had a sense that we might be going to see something very special… and that is EXACTLY how it turned out!
I know very little about dance but, from start to finish, was completely blown away by the sheer brilliance of the dancers and the programme of three dances they performed. I’ve been trying to think of appropriate words to do justice to the evening, but don’t think I can… mesmerizing, inventive, athletic, intricate, funny, articulate, delicate, powerful, unsettling, stunning… simply beautiful. I was completely “hooked” by the second piece (“Before The Interval”) in particular – in which three of the dancers take a tongue-in-cheek appraisal of themselves as performers (complete with dialogue!). Absolutely captivating to watch and very funny to listen to. Quite, quite brilliant!
As a former sporty person who’s now well past his sell-by-date and about to undergo a hip replacement, I found their flexibility, athleticism, humour, timing and elegance completely entrancing - even if I ended up feeling very old, stiff and inflexible - and just a “little” jealous of ALL their massive talents!
An exceptional evening (and great to meet up with Charlie+Sam again afterwards as well).

In an effort to save some money, we decided NOT to see the acclaimed Henri Mattise, David Bailey, Vikings exhibitions (and, no doubt, countless others)… but we DID visit the following (all free):

1.     BORO (at Somerset House): an exhibition on the Japanese textile tradition of boro – translated to “rags” in English.

2.     National Portrait Gallery (one of my favourite London galleries and spaces).

3.     Sir John Soane’s Museum (an amazing, bizarre house, designed by Soane himself, and filled with his antiquities and works of art).

4.     The British Museum (I particular love Norman Foster’s Great Court space – great for people-watching!)(we also spent over an hour doing the museum’s mini-tour – so MANY things to see, you could visit every day for a year and still see “new” things).

5.     And, of course, just walking around London is always an experience in itself – this time incorporating the Embankment, Covent Garden, Lincoln’s Inn Fields and loads, loads more.

Photo: Christopher Akrill and Gemma Nixon performing “Two”.    

april 2014 books

More book stuff:

Stoner (John Williams): This is our book group’s latest book and it’s absolutely brilliant. Probably the saddest book I’ve ever read. I just knew, from the time I’d read John McGahern’s introduction, that it was going to be “my kind of book”. Published in 1965, it tells the story of a life-long academic who taught at the University of Missouri for over 40 years. It deals with the value and purpose of academe but it also tells of a life of frustration, hurt, love and responsibility. It’s utterly compelling and quite beautifully-written.
Welcoming The Way Of The Cross (Barbara Mosse): This was the Lent book used by our Ithaca group and it provided daily readings, reflections and prayers covering the period from Ash Wednesday to Easter Day. Although she writes well, I didn’t really find that Mosse’s book engaged me and I read it more “out of duty” than desire! Maybe my own current spiritual wilderness had something to do with this?
The Artist’s Way (Julia Cameron): This book provides a 12-week course in “discovering and recovering your creative self”. Frankly, I didn’t really feel the need for either, but had been intrigued to read it after hearing lots of positive things about the book from people whose opinion I value. Although I frequently found Cameron’s writing style annoying (and somewhat dated)(she’s a rather too over-the-top American for my taste!), much of what she had to say was thought-provoking and useful. I’m afraid I hardly did ANY of her suggested exercises – I merely cherry-picked stuff that appealed or felt pertinent. However, I DID write out 3 pages of her suggested daily “Morning Pages” for a month.
The Cross In The Market Place (Dave Broom): Dave was the sacristan (and residential staff member) at Iona Abbey during my time with the Community in 2012. This is an Easter resource book from Iona in two parts: the first is an Easter pilgrimage (around Iona) and the second part consists of services marking the events of Holy Week. Although it’s a book that can be used by a group or congregation, it can also be read by an individual (which is how I used it). I’m not a great lover “acted out scripts”, but actually found them both relevant and useful as the first part of the book imagines a journey to Jerusalem for the festival of Passover (and I loved being able to relate these Iona pilgrimage readings to places I knew on the island). The services for Holy Week were all beautifully put together – and very powerful in content. I found the seven meditations for Good Friday (“people on the margins”) particularly helpful – with the added bonus that some of the pieces had been written by staff members from the Iona Community who became very good friends during my stay on the island. A lovely resource book that I know I’ll continue to use over future years.
The House Of The Mosque (Kader Abdolah): This is a simply glorious book. It’s a novel set in Iran; it starts just before the overthrow of the Shah and proceeds to tell the intricate, on-going story of an Islamic family in the province of Senejan who live next to the mosque. Although it’s a novel, it’s based on historical fact… and embellished by the art of a truly magical story teller. I learnt a lot about Islam (and the beauty of parts of the Koran)… but also more about the politics of the times (and its on-going affects), about tradition, respect, power, belief and trust. It’s a captivating, enchanting and beautifully written book… just wonderful.   

65 days of birthday presents

It was 65^th birthday back at the beginning of February - it seems absolutely AGES ago now (I’m much older now)… but I commented on facebook at the time about a rather beautiful, unusual birthday present given to me by my lovely daughters, Ruth Hannah+Alice.

In fact, it wasn’t just one present – it was 65 (yes, SIXTY-FIVE) presents.
These were to be opened one day at a time and, today (on what, rather fittingly, would have been my father’s 93^rd birthday), I’ve opened the last of them.
They’ve been a source of great love, pleasure, fun and amusement.
This is the list:
1.       Bottle of Cava
2.       CD: Laura Mvula
3.       Mr Benn first class stamp
4.       Toblerone chocolate
5.       Roast chicken with saffron, hazlenuts +honey recipe
6.       Book: “Of Human Bondage” W Somerset Maugham
7.       Apple
8.       Badge(made by Iris)
9.       6B drawing pencil
10.   Fortune Cookie (“persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement”)
11.   Videos from Iris+Rosa
12.   String of Hearts
13.   February Stars+Planets: Night Sky
14.   Large Packet of Balloons
15.   Crane origami instructions/paper/YouTube video
16.   Packet of Scabious seeds
17.   A4 bound Sketchbook
18.   Letter (from Hannah)
19.   Party Poppers
20.   Bunch of Daffodils
21.   Book: “On Beauty” Zadie Smith
22.   Chewing Gum
23.   Pebble
24.   Rook (by Stu)
25.   Bunting (incorporating “65”!)
26.   Pack of Postcards
27.   A Gig Ticket
28.   Recommended Books to Borrow
29.   Large 3-D Letter “S”
30.   Video (from the Buckleys/Buckeroos)
31.   Letter (from Ruth)
32.   Lottery Ticket
33.   Four Handwritten Jokes (from Iris)
34.   “Urban Wildlife” linoprint
35.   Invitation to Home-Cooked Meal
36.   Date to go on a Family Walk
37.   Zig Drawing Pen
38.   Coffee in a Café
39.   DVD (The Darjeeling Limited)
40.   A Poem (by Tomas Transtromer)
41.   Windy Miller Camberwick Green first class stamp
42.   Chewing Gum
43.   Candle
44.   Chocolate Cupcakes
45.   Watershed Cinema Voucher
46.   Compilation CD
47.   Red Egg (Rattlesnake shaker)
48.   Charcoal Sticks
49.   Paperchase Notebook
50.   Black Sheep Ale
51.   Googly Eyes
52.   CD (Daughter)
53.   Letter (from Alice)
54.   Charity Shop £1 Challenge
55.   DVD (The Winter Guest)
56.   Packet of Love Hearts
57.   Drawing (Hannah)
58.   Great Uncle Bulgaria first class stamp
59.   Book (The Men Who Stare At Goats) plus “Heads or Tails Adventure Walk”
60.   Video from Ursa (+Hannah!)
61.   Sarah’s Artichoke Tartlets recipe
62.   Chocolate Money
63.   Mars Bar
64.   Free-writer Notebook
65.   Bottle of Red Wine

Simply lovely. I feel rather overcome by their generosity (and sense of fun), much loved and very, VERY blessed. X
Photo: these were just a few of the presents – all stored in an old family suitcase…

arcadia

Moira+I went to see the “Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory” (SATTF) Company’s version of Tom Stoppard’s play “Arcadia” last night at the Tobacco Factory Theatre (hope that’s not too confusing?). In truth, I’m not a massive lover of Stoppard’s work (no doubt, my loss some would say). This play is a very clever alternation of scenes set in the same room of Sidley Hall, Derbyshire 200 years ago and in the present day… and combines Enlightenment values, Byron, landscape and literature with chaos theory, the second law of thermodynamics and the quest for knowledge (not surprising then that it takes three hours to put this across to the audience!).

Given the SATTF’s fine reputation, the cast is predictably strong (although I personally didn’t warm to Piers Wehner’s depiction of Septimus Hodge or Jack Wharrier’s Valentine - again, my loss perhaps?) - I thought Hannah Lee, as the precocious, vibrant and tender Thomasina, was excellent.
Moira+I both agreed that the production had been “really quite good”(!). Not the best theatre we’ve seen this year, but a thoroughly entertaining and stimulating evening nevertheless.
Photo: courtesy of SATTF website (Graham Burke).
PS: Although I knew the play itself, I’d completely forgotten (how awful!) that we’d actually seen it performed at the Bristol Old Vic ten years ago!

hip-hop (or actually hip-op)…

Went along to the Emersons Green NHS Treatment Centre this morning, following up the latest of my “doctor referrals” relating to my hip/knee issues. I was anticipating being offered a cortisone injection as a source of pain relief/improved mobility.

In fact, I’ve been booked in for a hip replacement on 21 May instead!
I have to say, I was incredibly impressed by the speed, efficiency and scope of my appointment (at 7.45am and no waiting!):
1.       Saw the consultant – who decided on more hip xrays (plus, this time, some knee xrays).
2.       Sent down the corridor for xrays.
3.       Met again with consultant – who showed me the resulting xrays and how my hip had considerably worsened over the past year. He had no hesitation in recommending an immediate hip replacement.
4.       Sent to see the admissions team to run through my questionnaires (sent to me in advance for prior completion) plus various other medical checks.
5.       Sent to see one of the administrative assistants to book an operation date (letter completed and handed over to me there and then).
6.       Sent to see one of the physiotherapy staff members to run through another questionnaire (again, sent to me in advance for prior completion) plus explanations of on-going physiotherapy issues post-operation.
All finished and on my way home by 10am (I just hope the operation is as efficient!).
Very impressed.
Photo: from “The Origins of Hip-Hop Music/BlogLet” (I was going to post a picture of me in similar pose, but decided against it!).