Think Yourself Fit - Avoid The Cold

 

It’s almost that time of year again when everyone around seems to be staring at you through watery eyes or coughing and sneezing in your face.

For some, it is a time of sharing while for those bathed in sneeze particles, it is complete annoyance.

However, a new study of over 1,000 people, claims that those who partake in regular exercise are less likely to suffer from the common cold than those who do not.

My first reaction to such claims is always that it is a concerted campaign, deliberately started, to convince us all we should buy ill fitting lycra, join expensive health clubs and suffer the humiliation of being entertainment to the bored fitness ‘gods’ and ‘goddesses’ who can then justify their own massive club fees, by the amount of laughs they are able to generate at our expense.

Personally I am not going to fall for it. I don’t want to look like a caricature of an oversized penis squeezed into an undersized condom.

Any surplus ‘unfit’ bits I might be carrying are going to continue being hidden under my normal everyday clothing and remain as far as I can keep them, away from the torture chamber that is a gymnasium.

Fortunately, though, the study revealed a useful finding that could be my saving grace: it is not just the reality of how fit you are but the perception of how fit you are. If you think you are fit, the severity of any symptoms of a cold can fall by up to 41 percent.

Just by taking a small amount of exercise and thinking you are fitter than you are, can boost your immune system and ward off the worst of the effects of a cold.

With that thought in mind, I am convincing myself I am a world class marathon runner and am going to saunter back into the kitchen and get myself another bacon sarnie.

Aaaaaaarrrchooooo!!……..Bless me!!

It really does seem to work!

Conservative's David Cameron - Suicide or Murder?

Results from several studies of the sleeping habits of over 1.5m people, released by Sleep journal, show that those getting less than six hours sleep a night are at serious risk of a premature death.

David Cameron is said to have been campaigning through the night in an attempt to claim every available floating voter he can find before tomorrow's election.

Could this mean he is committing political suicide? Or, is he guilty of attempted murder in trying to keep us all awake?

The jury is still out!

The Man With Two Faces!

In an operation lasting 24hrs and taking a team of 30 medical staff, a Spanish man has been given a new face in a Barcelona hospital.

Having lost his original features in an accident, he has now been given a complete new face including teeth, nose, cheekbones and skin.

I refrain from imagining what will happen in the event he gets a fit of sneezing, but it has now effectively buried the old 'put down' line "You can't be two faced or you wouldn't wear that one all the time"

Yet another nail goes into the coffin of cheap gags!

Good News, Bad News - The Planes Are Flying Again!

Finally, the planes are back in the air!

Whether this is good news, or bad news, is a matter of debate.

For those living under the flightpaths of the UK’s airports, or in towns threatened by the building of new runways, or concerned about the impact flights have on our environment, it will be bad.

Others, though, who are able to conveniently ignore such matters, will see it as good news. They have the freedom to travel wherever they like, whenever they like, returned to them once again.

We will be able to import ‘out of season’ foodstuffs directly into the supermarkets, allowing us to create those often exotic and ‘trendy’ recipes all year round.

Countries like Kenya, for whom 20 percent of their gross GDP is accounted for by the export and transportation of horticultural products, will breathe a sigh of relief once again.

A few things are certain though:

The political fallout could be far more devastating than the threat from the volcanic ash we were told to fear.

Stranded passengers are going to have huge mobile phone bills.

International lawyers are going to gather massive income from litigation against airlines and regulators - for possibly years to come.

The concept of ‘knee jerk’ health and safety shutdowns, based on inadequate information and evaluation, will be more closely examined in the future.

Personally, though, I enjoyed a peaceful few days!!

Grounded Flights - Volcano or Conspiracy?

It seems unbelievable that almost every flight in and out of the UK has been grounded since midday yesterday.

According to the air traffic control body, Nats, flights will not be able to resume until at least 1300hrs tomorrow.

Apparently, the groundings are because of the danger of engine failure in the event planes fly into the path of dust from the ash of the volcano that erupted in Iceland last week.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been stranded both in the UK and abroad and many have have not been covered against financial loss by their insurance because of the 'act of God' clause in most policies.

I do not remember a single occasion in my lifetime when air travel has been totally suspended before; even after the 9/11 attacks, international flights to countries other than the US were not affected to this extent.

Of course, when things like this happen, conspiracy theories start to ferment. It seems this case is no exception, as even the nice woman controlling the checkout in my local Asda tonight, expressed the view that there 'must be more to it' and we were being kept in the dark by the government (which does not say a lot about our faith in our leaders).

It doesn't help when we hear that certain flights from Scotland and Ireland have now been allowed to resume. Iceland is nearer to both of those countries than either here or mainland Europe, so if they are out of danger, the cloud must already have passed over or missed them altogether.

If that is the case then why have we not been hit in the South yet? How come it is taking so long to drift the relatively short distance from Scotland down onto England?

Could there really be something more sinister going on?

So many questions without any answers but as they say in The X Files....The Truth Is Out There!

Update: Since writing this post on Friday, the restrictions on flights from Scotland and Northern Ireland have been re-imposed. Maybe they read my post LOL

Pubs, Politicians And The Benefits Of Global Warming

If there is one group of people who must relish the prospect of global warming, it is that of those who work in the pub trade.

They have been hit really hard over the last few years with unfair competition from the undercutting supermarkets and customers reducing their spending during the recession. Many pubs have simply gone to the wall, while others have had to diversify into new areas of the hospitality business.

What the above picture proves, however, is there's life in the old dog yet and once we feel a bit of warmth from the sun, we are prepared to venture out of our caves and be both generous and sociable.

I would bet our politicians are hoping that the weather is fine on May 6th and our mood is just as relaxed and generous!


-

Three Cheers For 'Brown The Bully'

Shock Horror!

It is being implied that our prime minister, Gordon Brown, is a bully and has been intimidating his staff by his rants and physical abuse.

An anti-bullying charity has stated it has received calls from No.10 personnel seeking comfort and advice about the upset they are suffering while at work.

Predictably, No 10 are denying the allegations and the Conservative Party are calling for an official enquiry. The Lib-Dems are doing what they always do and waiting to see which side to emulate before committing themselves to an opinion.

Guess what...it’s almost time for an election and all the parties will grasp at every opportunity to tarnish their opponents. None of them have any original policies or solutions, so it is better to start name calling to divert our attention away from that fact.

The story first broke because of a new book being publicised by a self promoting journo.

Personally, I am disappointed: by the charity for its lack of confidentiality; the Tories for their cheap attempt at character assassination; the journo for being a journo and the staff of No.10 for being pathetic spineless wimps.

The latter group are employed in the 'pump room' of what is supposed to be the 'heart' of our government. Their leader is supposed to be a man of iron who is ruthless in his decision making.

All leaders have to show their displeasure and frustration from time to time, otherwise nobody would do anything but sit around sharing coffee and doughnuts while discussing celebrity lifestyles.

I am pleased the PM has finally demonstrated some character; I have spent far too long waiting for such a sign.

If the workers in Downing Street find the temperature too hot for them, I can only suggest they get out of the 'hell' they think is the kitchen!

MMR Jab - The 'Proof' Is Still Out There!

One of the biggest decisions for parents of small children over the last decade, has been whether to have a child vaccinated with the MMR jab.

The triple vaccine is said to protect against Measles, Mumps and Rubella and is highly recommended by the officers of our nanny state who, of course, always know best. They do not take kindly to anyone questioning their self proclaimed wisdom and will take all the action they think necessary to quash any dissent.

One such dissenter is Dr Andrew Wakefield, a gastroenterologist who now faces being struck off as a physician by the General Medical Council (GMC) after a hearing said to have cost £1million and lasting 148 days.

The GMC, today, ruled that Dr Wakefield has ‘failed in his duties as a responsible consultant’ and ‘acted dishonestly’ after he published the results of his study questioning the safety of the MMR jab in The Lancet in 1998. He believed - and still does - he had uncovered a link between the MMR vaccine and bowel disease and autism.

Following publication of his claim, the uptake of the jab decreased by over 20% and he was blamed for panicking the public. It seems unsurprising then, that an attempt would be made to destroy his reputation.

Interestingly, Tony Blair, while in office as Prime Minister, refused to clarify one way or the other whether his own children had been given the vaccination and this did little to instill confidence amongst worried parents.

Today’s ruling has not found Dr Wakefield guilty of being wrong but guilty of using the methods he did when carrying out his research.

The children in his study, were aged between three and ten and all had enjoyed a life of normal development, before having the vaccination. However, soon after having the MMR jab, they were found to suffer intestinal problems including diarrhoea and constipation. Nine of the group were diagnosed with autism.

According to the research team, subsequent study of a further 48 children revealed that 46 followed the same pattern.

However, the GMC has not questioned the results of the study but the methods used by Dr Wakefield’s team.

Amongst the accusations were: ‘subjecting vulnerable children to inappropriate and invasive tests’, of ‘being in breach of some of the most fundamental rules in medicine’ and accusing Dr Wakefield of not having paediatric qualifications and not having worked as a clinician for a number of years.

Finally, the GMC claimed the children did not meet the criteria for inclusion in the research and that the doctors did not have ethical approval to investigate them.

Surely, one of the most ‘fundamental rules' of a medical researcher, is to voice concern when there is doubt about something that could be so harmful to those most vulnerable.

All of the above accusations are, really, just technicalities and designed to distract from the main point.

Dr Wakefield has not been found guilty of being wrong but has been found guilty of questioning the word of those who are too arrogant to believe they could ever be wrong.

Science is, by its very nature, a subject of continual questioning and we must never just give in to things we are given as 'fact'.

After all, it was not that many years ago we were told, as 'fact', the earth was flat!

The future health of our children is even more important.

It's 'Butter' To Reduce The Prices!

One of the UK's leading heart surgeons has called for a ban on butter and some high fat foods, in an attempt to halt the rise in coronary disease and its related problems.

Oh that life were so simple.

The fact is, the things that are bad for us are often the very things we can all afford (and they taste just as good).

After all, despite the adverts and claims of the cholesterol reducing alternatives, it is highly unlikely that many people can afford the high prices that such 'goodness' will cost.

A tub of 'healthy' stuff to spread on our sarnies is almost four times the cost of that of its 'unhealthier' alternative.

Unless the government introduces measures to make the healthy alternatives affordable to all, it is unlikely that a ban on butter alone will make any difference.

In the long term, though,the cost to the health service is far greater than any of us can afford!

Coincidence Of Child Deformities In Iraqi Town Of Falluja?

A baby born with two heads, many with multiple tumours and others with extensive damage to the central nervous system.

It sounds like the kind of horror to be found in the plot of a science fiction film but is, in reality, what is happening in the Iraqi town of Falluja.

The level of chronic deformities in infants is up to fifteen times what was considered to have be 'normal' and the health authorities are struggling to cope. Falluja General Hospital used to see two admissions every fortnight but now they have two admissions every day.

It seems hard to believe it is just coincidence that the town, which was the setting of one of the fiercest battles of the Iraq war, is now showing such abnormalities occurring amongst its young.

One can only speculate on the nature of the weapons deployed in the battle (I am sure the US will not be forthcoming with any answers) but it seems their effects will not be easily forgotten!

Life On Planet Concussion!

It has been a while since I last posted on here, following my spectacular dive down the stairs and my teeth numbing stop, using my head as a brake, against a doorframe.

Since my unplanned flight, I have been living on Planet Concussion. It is a strange world I entered after needing the rather confusing quality of service available from the NHS (could do better – maybe more written later) and where I have imagined strange things to be happening all around me.

For instance, I had visions of the leader of the over hyped and allegedly racist BNP being grilled on Question Time while outside the studios, demonstrations were taking place ; of MPs being made to re-pay and apologise for the expenses they had inadvertently claimed while “just following the rules”; of X Factor contestants taking up more space in newspapers than proper journalism; of footballer’s wives miraculously being able to give birth to babies; of even more of our troops losing their lives in a mystical land called Afghanistan; of senior scientific advisors to the government being sacked for not agreeing with the political will of our rulers; of bankers being curbed from receiving huge bonuses for doing what they are already paid to do and of the next prime minister of our great country performing a complete U-turn over holding a referendum over Europe.

The weirdest vision of all was the one where Transport for London insisted that actress Kelly Brook should have her own 'buns' concealed with...even bigger buns on a poster advertising the play Calender Girls on London's underground trains.

Planet Concussion is a scary place to be and I am really looking forward to returning to the real world, where things like these would never happen!!

Support World Mental Health Day - You Would Be Mad Not To!

Today, is World Mental Health Day.

It has been organised to try to stimulate discussion on what seems to be one of the most stigmatised areas of modern medicine: mental illness.

Most people would rather own up to having a serious sexual disease than admit they suffer from the most common form of mental disorder - depression.

It is a disease that brings a feeling of isolation to the sufferer but then feeds off the darkness of that same isolation. It is so easy to sink into the dark fog of loneliness, but to put it all into perspective, one person in four is likely to suffer from some sort of mental illness in their lifetime - governments have been elected with a smaller percentage than that!

More importantly, the percentage amongst children is growing, so it is even more essential we remove the taboo surrounding mental illness as soon as possible.

Almost as worrying, according to recent surveys, only about 25 percent of employers say they would give work to someone they knew had a mental illness. In most cases that just does not make sense and combined with the negative reporting in the press of people who suffer with extreme mental problems, it seems the quicker we all educate ourselves and tame our fears, the quicker the stigma attached to the disease will die.

I am going to start by admitting to the world that I have suffered from depression and received medication to control the imbalance in the chemicals that make up my thought processes. I feared people knowing about it - even though I have not been in such a bad way ever since I sought out medical advice. I was lucky, I had a superb and understanding GP who supported me throughout the whole slow healing process but I know some people are not so lucky.

Nowadays, when the 'black cloud' starts to descend, I go for a long walk and take action to reduce the stressful parts of my life that I know fuel the fire of my problem. I find it therapeutic to write about the things I used to think about; that is one of the reasons I maintain this blog.

I know it is manageable but I still fear that one day it might not be.

It is for all these reasons, I applaud and support any attempt to make such an illness socially acceptable, for sufferers need to be able to discuss and, thereby, share the burden that is mental illness.

So, please show your support for World Mental Health Day, for if you don't ... you really are mad!!

Is Our Prime Minister Depressed Or Just Useless?

There has been an increasing level of discussion in the 'world of blogs' over the last week about whether Gordon Brown, our Prime Minister, is suffering from depression and whether he is being treated with medication.

To my knowledge, the mainstream media have not, so far, made reference to the theory but I am sure they are fully aware and are just waiting for the right moment.

If it were true, it might help to explain why we have seen so little of the PM over the last few months and why, when we have, he has seemed so unconvincing. It might also explain why the likes of Lord Mandelson and David Miliband are taking so much of the limelight and announcing initiatives that by right should be publically introduced by the PM.

If GB is depressed, it is fully understandable and should not be interpreted as a weakness. There are few of us who can honestly say they have never suffered from the ailment at some point in our lives - especially at times of stress.

Sadly, though, depression is a mental illness and anything that has the word 'mental' in it, is instantly judged as something we should all fear. However, many successful and brilliant people have lived with the condition for most of their lives and despite their personal burden, the public have not even noticed.

When it comes down to it, depression is really just a 'flu of the mind' and can easily be eradicated or controlled.

If the stories are true, I hope that the PM will 'come clean' and help to educate everyone who would stigmatize those who suffer from mental problems.

If they are not, then maybe he is just useless as a Prime Minister after all?

Dying To Negotiate A Bargain!

According to a report in today's Independent, the average cost of bidding farewell to one's dear departed, is now £7,018 taking into account legal costs, funeral expenses and flowers etc. This is a rise of 42 percent over the last five years.

The funeral industry says the cost of new environmental procedures has been largely responsible for the steep increase, but others say it is a lack of competition amongst funeral directors, since many have been taken over in recent years by larger companies.

Another factor is that bereaved families are often loathe to haggle over the price at such a distressing time.

It seems that we no longer just have to struggle to survive financially when we are living but now we have to worry when we are dead too!

I think I have the answer....

I am going to refuse to die unless they give me a good price first!

Michael Jackson 'Homicide' - What The Coroner Found..

The much revered Michael Jackson, who died after suffering a cardiac arrest in June, had a cocktail of drugs in his body which included Midazolam, Diazepam, Lidocaine, Lorazepam and Ephredrine.

The Los Angeles coroner has now announced the official cause of death as 'homicide due to intoxication by anaesthetic' with the primary drugs responsible being Propofol which is the powerful anaesthetic and Lorazepam, a sedative.

His personal physician, Conrad Murray has strenuously denied any wrongdoing and said that MJ had been given the drugs as part of his treatment for insomnia.

It certainly seems to have worked!!

Lockerbie Bomber Leaves More Questions Than Conviction!

The only man convicted over the Lockerbie bombing 20 years ago, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, has, as expected, been released from his life sentence on compassionate grounds.

Megrahi is said to be suffering from prostate cancer and is not expected to live for more than a few months.

No one can deny the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988 was a terrible act. The deaths of the 270, both aboard the plane and in the town, was unforgivable and the sheer audacity of the attack rightly shocked the world.

It is only natural that the families of the victims have been vocal in their criticism of Megrahi's release.

However, I am one of several people who has severe reservations about the legitimacy of his conviction and the circumstances of his release - it all seems to be a little bit too neat.

The evidence against him at his trial in the Netherlands was said to be mostly circumstantial. Indeed, one of the UN observers openly expressed his concern over the fairness of the proceedings and spoke of the possibility of a spectacular miscarriage of justice.

Despite such reservations, the governments - and their intelligence agencies - on both sides of the Atlantic needed someone on whom to focus the blame. Megrahi was convicted and sentenced to life in a Scottish prison. He has been there for the last eight years.

The timing of his compassionate release, therefore, seems to be a little convenient coming at a time when he had served so little of his sentence and just before his second appeal was to have been heard by the court.

His defence team were convinced they could present new arguments proving that much of the evidence at the original trial had been fabricated.

No one has ever explained how Megrahi managed to carry out such an attack on his own, his motivation for carrying it out or who financed his action. Surely those three questions would have been the first asked in the original investigation?

He just does not seem to fit the accepted profile we have come to accept of a radical terrorist.

Perhaps, it is because an appeal could have proved embarrassing in certain quarters, that a deal was done for him to drop his action in return for an early release.

Perhaps, the need to quench our thirst for Libyan oil is seen as being more important than the incarceration of a terrorist bomber whose conviction raises questions.

The fact is, a doubt has been left that makes me ask those questions

Megrahi has, throughout, been consistent in maintaining his innocence and today said:

"The remaining days of my life are being lived under the shadow of the wrongness of my conviction. I have been faced with an appalling choice: to risk dying in prison in the hope that my name is cleared posthumously or to return home still carrying the weight of the guilty verdict, which will never now be lifted.

Sometimes, the overwhelming need to see justice done overcomes the need for truth.

I hope that today's events will not mean that the full and complete story will now be buried with the deaths of both Megrahi and his appeal!

NHS - In Sickness Or In Health?

Right wing politicians in the USA have been knocking our NHS system and predictably, our own political leaders have been very vocal in, rather hastily, jumping to it's defence.

While it is admirable for them to do so, a cynic might focus on the fact that almost 1.4 million people are employed by the NHS and they will represent a considerable number of votes when the next general election takes place.

Few can deny, the NHS is a fantastic part of the UK's foundation and most of us are grateful for the right of access to what we are told is free medical treatment. However, what we often forget is that it is not really free at all and it is certainly not a perfect system. We all pay for our treatment through our taxes and National Insurance.

The NHS is a system that has, like government, grown to be an unwieldy and ever costly organisation that is open to abuse and wastage.

Treatment is not consistent throughout the UK and it is often misused by 'medical tourists' from abroad.

The costs of administering the NHS are massive and it probably has more managers and admin staff than those in the front line medical areas.

While the government keep reminding us that the waiting times for treatment have gone down over recent years, operating theatres are still not used to their maximum potential and are sometimes left 'on standby' for at least one day a week because the surgeons do not want to work on those days.

Hospital consultants are often at odds with their local management about basic working procedures and frequently try to resist attempts to introduce more efficient working methods.

In short, it is far from being a perfect system and has, over the years, naturally become a political football between the parties.

It is an organisation made up of 'the haves' and the 'have nots'. Some make a very comfortable living from working for the NHS while to many, it has to be thought of as more of a vocation, with long hours and a poor financial reward.

What would really help at this time, is if our politicians would pause for thought and consider some of the criticism before they go into 'auto pilot' in creating sound bites that defend a system of which they personally have little experience.

After all, when was the last time our political leaders chose a night waiting for treatment in the local casualty department over using the benefits of their private health insurance?

Most of the rest of us live with the real life flaws of an NHS we would never want to lose but we pray will keep getting better and better!

Paramedic Struck Off After Oral Sex!

A much needed paramedic who was caught during the act of being given oral sex in the car park of a hospital, was today struck off the register.

The chair of the disciplinary panel hearing his case said the act would:

"offend the morals of any right-thinking member of the public"

Had the 53 year old paramedic been spotted by a member of the public the comment might hold some truth but he was not. He might as well have been accused of offending Martians, for it was 11pm at night and he was spotted by security officers who watched his actions on their CCTV cameras.

Describing the incident, they said it looked like "a performance of oral sex" as the woman's head moved up and down in the man's lap.

Hardly a damning indictment but then I am sure they spent some considerable time adjusting their 'controls' before confronting the guilty parties.

It's good to know that yet another 'spy' camera has been put to such good use to protect us all against the threat of a serious crime by consenting adults.

Meanwhile, I wonder if the morally upright chair of the tribunal would have refused the paramedic giving him treatment in the event he was to suffer a serious health failure....me thinks not!!

Michael Jackson - Controversial To The End!

The King is dead - well the much celebrated 'King of Pop' anyway!

In the unlikely event you have been hidden away in a cave and not heard the news, singer, dancer and musician, Michael Jackson, passed away during Thursday evening (UK time) from what is said to have been a heart attack.

The media, of course, are questioning if this was brought on by the excessive use of painkillers and whether one such drug was administered by his 'personal physician' a short while before his death.

Whatever the outcome, MJ ended his life as he had lived through most of it - in chaos.

He is a spectacular advert for not pushing your children into the world of showbusiness at an early age. His life seemed to be, at best, unrelated to reality, and at worst seedy and questionable. Both his unhealthy fascination with young people and his obsession with changing his appearance through the use of the surgeon's knife clearly demonstrated a mind that was not at ease within it's own framework.

Commentators are saying we will all remember where we were when MJ died. Personally, I will not.

He was unquestionably a great entertainer and had a knack of grabbing the headlines whenever he wanted. That is as far as it goes for me - but then I do not share the fascination for celebrity misfits that many people do.

It could be argued he was seen as a role model by many of his fans but surely a lifestyle like his is not something to be envied or aspire to?

It seems that Jackson has departed this earth as he lived his life - in a huge mess that others are going to spend years cleaning up.

R.I.P. MJ!

Queuing For The Right To Die!

Today, I was shocked to learn that over eight hundred people in the UK have added their names to a waiting list - to die.

They are queueing to attend special clinics in Switzerland, where the law permits assisted suicides and where they will be helped to end their lives with dignity.

Of course, most of these people are suffering from terminal illnesses and they do not want to remain in the UK where the present law forbids assisting in the ending of a life. They do not want to cause undue suffering on themselves or their loved ones, by waiting for the inevitable to run its course; they want to end their lives while they still have some control.

The House of Lords is presently debating whether UK law should be changed to allow assisted suicides to be made legal here. The reality, is that for years, many doctors have been assisting in speeding up the ending process. It is not done officially but is achieved through prescribing heavier than needed doses of drugs to those with little hope of living a quality life and who deserve some compassion and humanity.

Predictably, many of those of a religious nature are outraged at the possibility of assisted suicides becoming legal. They frequently argue their point, by mentioning the 'word of God' and by saying no-one has the right to decide their own end - except, of course, the Good Lord himself.

I do not know whether there really is a God or not. For me it is purely an academic argument.

I do know, there is a suffering that many people do not deserve to experience and if they can find a peaceful way to end their pain, they should surely be given the ultimate decision over their own destiny.

The act of suicide is not, as many would argue, a cowardly one.

To decide to cross the point of no return takes incredible courage and determination. It is not an attention seeking exercise but a final act of desperation and we should, surely, try to respect the views and the wishes of those who feel they no longer have a choice.