The Balance - career/children

          The government has attracted consternation by ruling that nursery workers must have at least grade C in Maths and English GCSE and that there need be less adults required to look after the children in the nursery. Each nursery worker will be able to look after 4 babies (under age two) where before it was 3.  The idea being to raise standards and make childcare cheaper - CRAZY!
         It made me think. Did I get the balance right between career and children? Mothers everywhere struggle with this issue and all end up feeling guilty and feeling a failure, either over their career or  over their children or both. Perhaps it was easier when there was no choice.
       Looking back -  I could have had a career as a part time GP alongside my children. I would have had much more money and I would have had a pension now.
What happened was not planned. At my interview for medical school I was asked
       "What will you do about having children"
I replied with complete conviction, that I would get a Nanny and carry on working.
       Then we moved to Canada, where I worked as a full time GP partner for 2 years . If I had got pregnant there, I would have taken maternity leave and later returned to part time GP work. But we came back to the UK, I quickly became pregnant and found that the system had changed. In order to work as a GP partner, I would have had to do a long training -about 3 years- rotating in different hospital jobs, with terrible hours, plus a year as a GP trainee. Not a nice prospect for a Mum with a new born baby.
        So - I decided to let my career go and to be a full time Mum.
        I did eventually retrain and return to very part time work, when all 3 children where happily in school, but it was what many doctors would consider - very menial - working as a school doctor.  It brought in almost less money than I had paid to retrain and no pension. Later I started a very small private clinic, working in 2 areas in which I had an interest. However I paid more in room  rental, than I earned in fees from patients
But
It was all very interesting and it did enable me to fulfill my original reason for doing medicine which was -
       "To help other people".
It also meant that, at a time when most doctors where burnt out and fed up with it all, I was still keen, interested and enthusiastic.
        So - having recently retired and looking back, would I have been happier and more fulfilled, if I had spent much less time with my children and worked all my life as a GP ?
 Living with  a husband who has just done that, I would say - NO
       The path that life put down for me, enabled me to 'do it all' - to be a proper Mum and to have a bit of an interesting career. How very very lucky I have been
      I am so glad that I am old and no longer have to worry and agonise over those choices. My heart goes out to all those women who do.

Make your own website

I am in the process of writing what is my 9th or possibly 10th website. It is such a fun thing to do, I wish that I could convince others how easy it is. It is not expensive either
Nowadays you don't need to know complicated computer stuff - anyone can do it.
There are 2 parts.
1. Get your domain name
         ie      www.something.co.uk
I get this now from 123reg as they are cheap and easy and have been around a long time.
I choose and buy the domain from them and then leave (park) it with them to look after for me.
So long as I remember to pay my yearly fee - no problem
http://www.123-reg.co.uk/domain-names/

2.  Make the website
I now use the brilliant Weebly They are just so easy that a child could do it. It is completely intuitive and the whole thing can be done in the time it takes you to type out whatever you want to put in. You can upload your own pictures and chose from loads of different styles
http://www.weebly.com

There is one tricky part
You have to get your domain name at 123reg to point to the website you have made at weebly.
But there is loads of help and it has worked like a dream each time I have done it

If this last part seems too tricky then just do parts one and two with Weebly

Antibiotic Crisis worse than Global warming

          Oh Dear, I have just read that in 20 years time when (if I am spared) I will be 80+ there will be no antibiotic that work to treat the pneumonia that I will get after I break my hip. The 'old ladies friend' will again be the old ladies friend.
         Before the days of antibiotics and before the days of over-zealous christian nurses, the elderly woman who was beginning to go a bit ga-ga and crumbly, fell, broke her hip and got lots of painkillers. Then she got pneumonia, due to too much inactivity lying on her back with suppressed respiration from the pain killers and - bobs-your-uncle, died a relatively pleasant death.
        The men died years before of lung cancer, heart attacks and strokes.
        Then medicine improved, many less men died early and no-one,  postoperatively, was allowed to lie around, zonked out on pain relief. Any hint of an infection and antibiotics were given, whether the poor patient was 'away with the fairies' or not.
         No wonder there is now such a problem with too many old people, especially too many old people with dementia. No-one is allowed to die
         So perhaps this news about antibiotics is good in a very tiny way.
         However - for those who are not geriatric it is terrifying. According to the Chief Medical Officer of Health for the UK -
               "The threat due to the rise in Drug Resistant infection is comparable to the threat of Global warming"
        She thinks that we may never see the effects of global warming because (she implies) we will already have been wiped out by infections we can do nothing about.
        Now - That is really frightening and not far away - 20 years!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21178718

Quartet - a brilliant film

          Yesterday we went to see Quartet, the new film about the inmates of an old folks home. Except this is no ordinary old folks home, it is one for old musicians and the cast is superb. The quartet itself is Billy Connelly,  Maggie Smith, Tom Courtney and Pauline Collins who are bullied into performance by another inmate,  Michael Gambon. The film is directed by Dustin Hoffman and most of the other members of the home are real, retired, amazing musicians.
          It makes you laugh a lot and it makes you want to cry a little and it is beautiful and uplifting.
          For me, the best was Pauline Collins. I so admire her because she has always been prepared to show herself as she is. Us oldies remember her as the gorgeous, sexy maid in Upstairs Downstairs. She made the program compulsive viewing for most men that I knew. Then in midlife, she was with Tom Conti in the wonderful film Shirley Valentine. Now in old age, she allows herself to be seen as she is, 'warts and all' so to speak. For a woman that is just so wonderful and brave. She plays Cissie, an old lady, beginning to dement,  but the most loved by all.
        Years ago, I read her book about letters she wrote to a child she was forced to give up for adoption called
                 "Letters to to Louise".
         It is one of the best books I have ever read. She is a truly remarkable lady

My new Tablet

Oh I am such a happy me
Got my Nexus 7 with 3G.

        After months of research and dither, I have taken the plunge. I feel a bit naughty, a bit immoral somehow. Surely pensioners do not really buy such things. They are toys for grown up kids. Well I guess it goes to show that some pensioners still want toys and still want to play.
      I am just thrilled with my new toy, it is even better than I had hoped, quite an amazing little machine.
      I have a mobile phone, but it is an ancient pay-as-you go, which I use for emergency contact only. I still like to use an old fashioned house phone for those rare occasions when I phone someone. I have a big laptop which I love and spend many happy hours at, with e-mail being my preferred method of communication.
So, my family argued
     1. Why don't you get an i-Pad?
     2.  And  -why do you want a tablet anyway?
Well - my answer to the first question is -
     I don't want an i-Pad because it is too big to carry in my handbag. An i-Phone or any smart phone is too small for my old eyes to read. There is now the 7 inch  i-Mini, but all the reviews say that the Nexus 7 is better and it is half the price. My Nexus can connect to stuff such as my laptop or a USB stick or my camera's flash card.
Also -
     Because I hate Apple. I hate their sleek, over-priced, corporate, superciliousness and their refusal to let their stuff work with anything else. I am old enough to remember when The PC was the big guy and Apple was the little tiddler, the underdog. If you wanted to be oppositional  and not go with the general flow, then you bought Mac. Well the situation has reversed. Apple is now the big fat cat and I am oppositional.
My answer to the first question is -
Because I want  to take it everywhere with me and play with it wherever I am.
      Why I am trying so hard to justify myself?

Horse burgers

Mary had a little lamb
And when she saw it sicken
She shipped it off to Packingtown
And now it's labelled chicken

           This was written in in 1906 when public outcry over dubious meat practices in American led to the passage of the Federal Meat Inspection Act of 1906
          In the UK in 1980 there was a 2 year investigation into the sale of horse, kangaroo, donkey, buffalo, knacker meat etc  and it was found to make up about 10-15% of meat used in products such a burgers and sausages.Legislation was introduced which was meant to prevent this happening again
          What has gone wrong.

English Whisky

Thank-you Letter to The English Whisky Co
From HM the Queen
         "Thenk you for the bottle of delicious English single malt. One adores it's lustrous ember colour, the peaty flavour and the serious slep in the chops of its very high percentage alcohol content. One had no idea we English made such a good whisky. One rather hopes the news does not leak out. It might cause people to ask what Scotland is for and thus threaten the unity of one's kingdom"
                                                                                                                  According to Giles Coren

Ruins being rebuilt

          When I was growing up in the Scottish Highlands there were many many ruins. All sorts of ruins from castles to crofts, the countryside was littered with them.
         Now when I go back and visit my mother (still living in the same place) I see, to my amazement, that not only have the ruins become smart, new lived-in houses, but there are also lots of new houses, where before there was nothing.
Now - this is all very splendid and I am very pleased
But - what do all these new people do?
        There is very little new industry and crofting is dying. All I can think of is that everyone must work in a service industry of some kind and they are all just working to service each other's needs without anyone actually doing something productive. Possibly not a sustainable model?

British Lamb should not cost more

            A few days ago there were articles in the press accusing most of our supermarkets of not stocking British Lamb. It would seem that British lamb is too expensive and the supermarkets import cheap foreign stuff. We Brits always like to buy the cheapest!
           However - what I don't understand is this. How is it possible for lamb from other countries to cost less than our own lamb? I mean sheep are all over the place. Our croft house in Sutherland is surrounded by them. They can exist and thrive anywhere even in the MAMBA country of the Scottish North (MAMBA = miles and miles of b*****r all). They don't require much input, although the lambing season is a time of sleep deprivation for farmers.  They manage to grow and get fat by endlessly consuming free stuff such as grass and heather (and any plants or trees that we foolishly try to grow).
          So - how do they become more expensive than foreign lamb, that has to be transported miles to get here from another country.  It is crazy.  But at least it is not horse.

Joints for joints?

     In my misspent youth as a student in London in the late 60's, in the era of "hippies and flower power, make love not war, sex drugs and rock and roll"   - we would sit about, gently stoned, passing round a joint, listening to Pink Floyd and the Beatles and discussing anything and everything.
      One of those discussions was about old age and old folks homes, perhaps inspired by the Beatles "When I'm sixty four". We wondered what our generation's old folks homes would be like. Would we be sitting around in our wheel chairs, pleasantly stoned and listening to Pink Floyd? (Certainly the Homes I have visited recently are not like that, but they are for old pensioners and I am still a very young pensioner). But - Sadly I think not. Pink Floyd perhaps but Cannabis  - No.
                There is a new report out by ARUK on alternative options for treating arthritis, something that affects most pensioners eventually.
      It is what makes us make those embarrassing little groaning noises as we get out of a chair or bend to pick something up. The joints become a bit stiff and hurt a bit when moved. Like an old engine that needs some oil. The problem is OA -osteoarthritis
The report speaks very highly of something I've never heard of called - SAMe or
S-adenosylmethionine, although warns not to take it with blood thinning stuff.
Fish oils gets - 1 star for Osteoarthritis (but for rheumatoid arthritis 5 stars)
Chondroitin  - not so good at 2 stars
Glucosamine  - bottom of the heap 0 stars
Magnets - a possible 2 star but Copper bracelets  - 0 stars
Acupuncture - 5 stars
Bottom of the heap - Aromatherapy, Reflexology, Craniosacral therapy - 0 stars
BUT
Top marks for things involving exercise such as Tai Chi and Yoga, which makes complete sense. It has long been known that it is important to keep moving even if it hurts.
This brings me back to the beginning.
Smoking Cannabis would definitely help with the pain. It has been shown to act on the part of the brain that determines one's perception of pain - that would be good.
BUT
Can you image a whole lot of stoned geriatrics - exercising. There would be falls and broken hips all over the place.
And
It is well known that a broken hip is the old person's way out the exit door of life's departure lounge which is what an old folks homes is.
Joints for joints? - No

Sell Ecstasy in Chemists

        A group of highly placed MPs and Peers chaired by Baroness Meacher have reported that certain drugs such as
                              Cannabis (low strength) and Ecstasy
should be sold in Chemists (suject to similar rules to alcohol and tobacco)
This would remove those buying it from the need to make contact with drug dealers.
It would ensure that the drugs were uncontaminated.
It would hit drug dealers who would lose that market.
It might lure young people off alcohol and dangerous legal highs.
        New Zealand is about to do go down this path - I think we should too. The present system is not working

Currency Union

Alex Salmond and his SNP can't decide what to do, if they win Independence
        1. Join the Euro
        2. Have a new currency
        3. Keep the pound
1. The Euro seemed a good idea before it began falling apart. Now it is to be avoided at all costs.
2. Making a new currency sounds good, but there would be no central bank to support it, so it is bonkers
3. Keeping the pound is equally mad. An independent Scotland would be entering a currency union with a Britain in which it had no say. To quote Alistair Darling
       "Entering into a currency union would mean, that we would have, what would be a foreign country (Britain), being required to approve Scotland's budget and they would also have a say on Scotland's spending"
      Britain would control an Independent Scotland's money and Scotland would have no power over what was done --- BONKERS

Tax for old age

 If your tax bill came with an itemised statement, it would tell you, roughly that -

1.  You work for a fifth of the year paying for other people’s pensions and

2.  Another fifth paying for other people’s health care.

3.  And another couple of months more or less paying for all the miscellaneous benefits – job seekers, disability and all the rest

And you do this in a country, where a future in which other people ultimately pay for your pension and healthcare, seems pretty unlikely.

(Extract from Hugo Rifkind)

Once you retire (having worked and contributed as above) – if your tax bill came with an itemised statement it might tell you that-

1. Your state pension to which you have contributed all your working life and

2.  Any other benefits given to you as pensioners such as winter fuel allowance

Are all quietly taken away from you - as tax

Could we have a Catholic monarch?

           Prince Charles is being accused of interfering, by pointing out that if the ancient law of inheritance is changed to allow females to inherit the crown,  it will also (by default) change it to allow the heir to marry a Catholic. It apparently is all part of the same ancient law.
           He points out that a Catholic spouse would mean Catholic offspring, a Catholic heir and then a Catholic monarch - shock horror. Prince Charles is not against it, he just feels that  there should be an open discussion in case anyone is.
        The other complication is that the monarch is also the head of the Church of England and you cannot be that and be a Catholic, so discussion is definitely needed
        However -  there is some degree of urgency. William and Kate are expecting a baby and it may be a daughter and it's birth won't wait while the different factions argue.
          I was born a Catholic and caused a stir by wanting to marry the son of a Presbyterian minister. Catholic law states that if you marry a non-catholic, you must promise to bring any children up as Catholic.
       I knew this would cause a marital / in-law crisis, so I sought advice from our wonderful local priest. He thought a minute and then asked me
        "What roughly is the dictionary definition of catholic?"
After a moment thought I answered
         "Universal"
Well  he said
       "Would you be able to take a vow promising to bring your children up in a universal faith"
I decided that I had no problem with that at all.
       Our marriage has been long and happy and our children are deep thinking individuals who each in their own way has a deep universal faith and tries to make the world a better place.

   

An Ode to Drumochter

Oh Drumochter high high in the hills

Through your wild passage I must go

Despite the wild weather, snow and wind

And the temperature well below

Oh Drumochter high high in the hills

You strike fear in travellers on the A9

When weather is bad you toy with us all

You decide who passes each time

Oh Drumochter high high in the hills

Where armies marched in times long gone

Now all is left but one soldier’s head

Up on high carved out of stone

Oh Drumochter high high in the hills

Be kind to me and let me get by

Let me past all your snow, ice and wind

Let me home to my bed to lie

Riots in Belfast could Edinburgh be next

         Days of violent riots in Belfast in Northern Ireland and 10 policeman injured. Their secretary of State Theresa Villiers talks out -
               "The terribly damaging thing is the image being projected around the world whilst Ireland is in a  global race for investment and jobs"
                   
                  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-20915975

And all because of a flag (The British Union Jack) hoisted at the top of a council building for a couple of days less a week.
But -
How would I feel if our Edinburgh District Council decided that the Union Jack should be up less often than before?
Well
I would be very upset and so would many others who do not want Scottish Independence.
Would it lead to riots?  - Possibly
And like Northern Ireland, Scotland is also in a global race for investment and jobs and it would detract from that in a big way.
Everything about this Independence issue detracts from the real issues for a prosperous, healthy and happy Scotland

Life of Pi - in 3D

Wow - what a brilliant film
I read the book years ago and loved it. I was horrified when I heard they were making a film as I thought it would be impossible to film a boy in a boat with a tiger and make it in any way realistic.
But they have done it.
Pi and Mr Parker shipwrecked in the middle of an ocean that throws everything at them.
And seen in 3D - Wow - Psychedelic hallucinations with no chemicals

No freedom in China

         A woman was opening a box of decorations made in China. Amongst the decorations she found hidden a note. It was from the workers in the factory where they had come from. They wanted the purchaser in the West to know that they had been made by political and religious prisoners. Prisoners of consience who were forced to work 15 hour days, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
        We may have our problems here and I have been heard to rant a wee bit about the lack of democracy under the SNP in Scotland. But what we have, must seem so wonderful to those poor prisoners.  Democracy and freedom is so precious.

          

Plastic Surgery texts to 16 year olds

      I was a female hippy in the swinging 60's. We discovered that we could be ourselves, we could be quite natural - no bra, no corset, no makeup, long 'undone' hair and weird clothes defying any previous ideas of convention.
     It was OK to have hairy arm pits and hairy legs and no-one except the Muslims had yet dreamt up the idea of shaving your pubic hair - yuk.
      The exception to this was childbirth, when to our howls of protest, our pubic area was shaved before the dreaded enema.
      Before all that, a woman was expected to 'always make the best of herself - of her appearance',   - because if she didn't, she might get left on the shelf and there was no worse disgrace except to be a single mother.
      What has happened to society now? There has been a complete turn around and the situation is even worse than it was before the hippy revolution. I read that cosmetic surgery companies are texting 16 year old girls with messages such as
            "Only two years until you can have your plastic surgery"
I find this unbearably sad.
How can women (and men) learn again to accept and like themselves  - as they are?
How can they also be taught not to worry about aging?
I am old now and I promise you - it is OK

This is not democracy

       It has emerged that our government in Scotland - The Scottish Nationalist Party  - has again overruled - trampled underfoot - the wishes of local Scottish people and their elected councils.
       A third of wind farm applications, which had been rejected by their local communities and their local councils, were then given the go ahead later by SNP ministers.
      The SNP on 20 occasions has overruled local authorities on wind farm and wind turbine applications since last January,
      Previously Alex Salmond and his SNP had overruled the local Aberdeen Authorities, giving Donald Trump permission to build his golf course, on land that was meant to have special protection for it's outstanding beauty and wild life.
      At the same time it has emerged that the SNP has paid £20 million, out of our taxes, to their spin doctors - those shady figures - whose job it is to brainwash us into believing that the SNP is good for us.
     The SNP propaganda machine costs us money that could be spent on much needed basics such as employing more nurses and teachers