Category Archives: medical

environment, history, links, medical, science, sexuality

Monthly Links

OK, guys & gals. Hold tight for this month’s ride through my links to items you may have missed the first time around.

Science, Technology, Natural World

We know surprisingly little detail about the landscape of our oceans as relatively little has been systematically surveyed, but now scientists have identified and accurately measured the depth of the deepest hole in each of the planet’s five oceans.

Two items on our friends the wasps. First in the Guardian on the importance of wasps. And secondly from Prof. Seirian Sumner of UCL on why she loves wasps and on their importance [LONG READ].

While on insects, an Australian school has been treated to the rare sight of a Giant Wood Moth – and yes, they really are huge!

In another pair of articles in New Scientist [£££] and Scientific American [£££] ecologist Suzanne Simard talks about discovering the hidden language of trees and how they communicate with each other.

A look at the chemistry of the fragrant flowers of viburnum.

Pharmaceutical chemist Derek Lowe takes a look at the how our genes are littered with apparently junk DNA.

We’re regularly told that red wine is good for us and it’s all down to a chemical called resveratrol. (Actually I’d maintain all wine is good for us!)

Health, Medicine

Many women have problems with the symptoms of the menopause. Journalist Kate Muir investigates the social impact, and what could (and should) be done to help.

While on women’s health, the Guardian‘s Emine Saner investigates the (apparently) new focus on the pelvic floor. (Hold on! What’s new here? Haven’t we known about this for several decades?)

Sexuality

So in these days of Covid concern, is oral sex safer than kissing, and other questions about dating?

In which a couple of young people talk about being polyamorous.

At the other extreme several young people talk about being asexual.

Environment

From the outside you’d not think that the River Thames is one of the cleanest rivers in the world, so how come it looks so awful.

One London woman has “adopted” three urban foxes who visit her garden, and they’re confident enough to let her touch them. (We don’t actually advise doing this, guys & gals; remember they’re wild animals with a nasty bite!)

History, Archaeology, Anthropology

Archaeologists claim to have identified the oldest known tattooing tools at an ancient site in Tennessee.

Back in Europe archaeologists think they may have identified one of the victims of Vesuvius at Herculaneum as a rescuer.

Back at home, we all know the legend about Lady Godiva; it seems it is all based on the real early medieval countess Godgifu.

And in another investigation it has been concluded that the Cerne Abbas Giant in Dorset was created in Anglo-Saxon times.

Medievalist Dr Eleanor Janega gave a short talk on the Black Death. [Video]

And Dr Eleanor Janega has also devised a new (pub?) game: Annoy a Medievalist Bingo.

Tudor historian Prof. Suzannah Lipscomb discovers what it is really like to wear early Tudor women’s clothes.

London

Still in historical context, the Tower of London’s baby raven has been named after a Celtic goddess in a “brilliantly ridiculous” ceremony.

Back down on the ground, London Reconnections takes a look at vehicle design, with special reference to that done for (the various guises) of London Transport.

Food, Drink

What do you mean, you didn’t know avocados are good for you? Here are five reasons you should eat avocado every day. (Disclosure: yes, I do!)

Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs

You know I’m not going to miss out on a chance to mention naturism … so here’s another look at why we’re better off unclothed. (Disclosure: yes, I am.)

People

Don’t underestimate or write off shy people: one such looks at how it has actually been a big benefit.

In other news, the Heritage Crafts Association has added hand kilt-making and glass eye making to list of the UK’s endangered crafts

And finally … from sewage works to cemetery, Guardian columnist Emma Beddington writes enthusiastically about the bleak local places in which we’ve found solace during lockdown.

current affairs, medical, personal, ramblings

Horrible Times 21: Lockdown 400

Today, Friday 30 April 2021, is our 400th day of Covid-19 Lockdown. And not a lot has changed since my last report on day 365.

  • In 400 days I’ve been off the premises just seven times: three to the dentist (one just to have some paperwork signed), for a flu jab, twice for vaccination, and one for blood tests. It really has been all the fun of the fair!
  • Noreen and I have now had both our injections of the Pfizer vaccine. Noreen went again to the Town Hall, whereas I went to the centre in deepest Southall. My experience was that this was not as well run as the Town Hall, and I seemed to spend most of the time moving from one queue to the next. Even so I was in and out in about 30 minutes. And Southall itself was grid-locked (well it was some Sikh holy day) and still the same dump that it always was. We now just await out booster in the autumn.
  • In less good news, I’ve had a really annoying bladder infection (I know, TMI already!). Yet again I’ve been impressed with our GPs’ being able to work with patients over the phone rather than face-to-face. This infection has resulted in two rounds of antibiotics (turns out the nasty little organism was resistant to the first antibiotic I was given), three rounds of urine tests and a visit to Ealing Hospital for an armful of blood tests (most of which were overdue for my annual diabetic check-up anyway). Amazingly most of the blood tests turned out to be OK.
    Ealing Hospital is the same appalling place it always was: a dismal ’70s concrete bunker which was never fit for purpose; badly signposted; and apparently staffed by the downtrodden. I hate the place and avoid it if at all possible; I just hope I never have to be treated there for anything serious.
  • Along the way I’ve also has two (different) Covid tests; both for research studies I’m signed up to. Luckily both were negative. Noreen has done one as well.
  • In good news the days are lighter, brighter and with longer daylight and the fruit trees and lilac are in flower. We’ve even had some warm sunshine, although it is still rather chilly unless the sun is out. The downside of this is that we’ve again suffered the daftness of changing the clocks. The garden was looking very ragged, but is coming under control now our friend Tom is allowed entry again and has done after several days work – although nothing much has been pruned over the winter.
  • Meanwhile the country continues to go to Hell in a handcart as our increasingly despicable government lies its way from one pathetic charade to the next. They keep getting caught out lying but seem not to care when any self-respecting government would have resigned long since and been banished.


Who knows what happens next?

I suspect the government will continue to ease the restrictions (regardless of the data) and I fear we’ll see a further spike in Covid cases over the summer and/or autumn when the great unwashed return from Costa Plenti. I can’t see us being clear of social distancing and mask-wearing this year. And we might even have another Christmas in lockdown – although I sincerely hope we don’t.

One tries to remain optimistic and cheerful through all the gloom, but as my father would have said “it’s hard to be optimistic with a misty optic”!

amusements, environment, history, links, medical, science, sexuality

Monthly Links

It’s again time for our monthly round up of links to items you may have missed. And there’s a lot in this month’s offering, so let’s get in …

Science, Technology, Natural World

Matter is complex, but that complexity has given rise to the good and the bad of nuclear physics. [LONG READ}

The secret of a rat’s sense of touch is all to do with the whiskers.

It seems a surprising number of sea monster sightings are actually whale boners.

Health, Medicine

A new understanding of how our ancient immune system works could help fight future pandemics. [£££]

On the strange cases of healthy children who won’t wake up.

Why are so many women ill-prepared for perimenopause? And how they needn’t be. [LONG READ]

Sexuality

As a special treat this month we have a collection of articles on medieval sex (and how it relates to our modern ideas) from our favourite medieval historian, Dr Eleanor Janega of Going Medieval …

On dildos and penance

On women having sex with themselves

Back in the day cuckolding wasn’t just a thing, it was a thing thast was bound to happen (for the rich, at least). [LONG READ]

On sexualising the “other”, ie. anything except cis white men!

On the medieval acceptance of sex work and the fallacy of “rescuing” sex workers.

Environment

The cherry blossom in Kyoto is earlier this year than ever previously recorded, and the trend over the last 100 years is for earlier and earlier dates.

Without the asteroid which wiped out the dinosaurs, we likely wouldn’t have the Amazon rainforest.

History, Archaeology, Anthropology

A slab of rock, engraved in the Bronze Age, is thought to be the oldest 3D map in Europe.

On the Ancient Egyptians and belief in the after-life.

Archaeologists have uncovered an important Roman site in Scarborough.

We’re going back to Going Medieval for the next two items …

On canonical hours, comfort, and daylight saving time.

On the commemoration of royal death.

Medlars were popular fruit in medieval times, but have fallen out of fashion.

John Spilsbury, the engraver behind the first jigsaw puzzle, a “dissected” map, died on 3 April 1769.

Anti-Vaxxers are nothing new: they’ve been around since Edward Jenner invented the first smallpox vaccine.

Dhaka muslin is an ancient Indian fabric which no-one knows how to make, but which a few weavers are trying to resurrect. [LONG READ]

London

The short stretch of the Hertford Union Canal in east London has been drained for repairs and is giving up its secrets.

When is a river actually a canal? When it’s the New River.

Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs

Nudity at home has become much more common during lockdown, so can naturism become the new trend?

Lockdown has changed quite a few women’s views on bras – both for and against what seems to this mere male to be nothing but a garment of torture.

Going Medieval (yes, again!) considers Jezebel, makeup, and other apocalyptic signs.

How to declutter your home as lockdown eases. Hint: you’ll need the biggest cardboard box you can find.

How the pandemic changed our hygiene habits: we bathe less, but are no more smelly.

Shock, Horror, Humour, Wow!

The mystery of the man who fell from the sky. [LONG READ]

And finally, it seems that big boat that got stuck in the Suez Canal is partly to blame for the UK’s shortage of garden gnomes.

environment, history, links, medical, natural history, science, sexuality

Monthly Links

OMG! Have we got a packed full box of links to items you may have missed this month. So let’s dive in …

Science, Technology, Natural World

Why do we find the quantum world weird? According to Carlo Rovelli we wouldn’t if we accepted that objects don’t exist. Prepare to have your mind addled! [LONG READ] [£££]

According to one expert extra-terrestrial life may not be all that alien.

Most of us have heard about near death experiences, and some have experienced them … but what do they mean? [LONG READ]

On carrots, colour, chemistry and vision.

Covid-19 variants may be causing heart problems in pets.

Catnip repels insects (and is loved by many cats). Scientists are beginning to unravel how the insect repellent action works.

Years ago, the Horniman Museum in south London bought a piece of rock, and unknowingly imported some prolifically breeding small shrimp with it. So they were feeding the shrimp to many of their fish. Turns out the shrimp was a hitherto unknown species!

Meanwhile Japanese scientists have looked at the bacteria in 100 million-year-old ocean sediment cores … and found the bacteria they contain can be brought back to life!

How does an octopus sleep? With short bursts of frenzied and colourful REM-like sleep.

From water … to air … Wisdom the albatross, the world’s oldest known wild bird, has another chick at age 70.

… to land … It is generally accepted that Tasmanian Tigers are extinct. But people still think they see them and that they’re still alive.

Health, Medicine

It is becoming well understood that reproductive problems in both men and women are increasingly common. Hormone disrupting chemicals in the environment seem to be at least partly to blame. [£££]

Sexuality

A look at asexuality and its recent increase.

While at the other end of the scale, many of us have declining libido, and want it back …

… One way might be to hang pubic hair paintings in your living room. [LONG READ]

Environment

New bye-laws ban trawl fishing off the Sussex coast with the aim of allowing the kelp forests to regenerate.

10 years on there have been a number of review articles about the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Here is a selection:
•  Japan marks 10 years since the disaster killed 18,500 people.
•  What happened at the nuclear plant?
•  How locals are returning after nuclear disaster. [£££]
•  UN report says Fukushima radiation did not damage health of local people.
•  But one ocean scientist is still worried.

History, Archaeology, Anthropology

Archaeologists in Egypt have found what may be the world’s oldest pet cemetery.

Scientists thing they’ve finally unlocked the secrets of the Antikythera Mechanism using computer modelling.

You always wanted to know the grisly details of Roman murder, didn’t you?

Still in Roman times … it has been calculated that when Vesuvius erupted in 79AD it killed the inhabitants of Pompeii in 15 minutes.

A group in Ireland is attempting to revive the ancient tradition of the sheela na gig.

On the Before- and After-Times.

Two looks at what chivalry is, and the dearth of whte knights.

Workmen at Tintern, in the Wye Valley, have found a hitherto unknown medieval tunnel system.

A look at the role of 14th-century working women in southern France.

On the other hand, medieval women put faith in things like birth girdles to protect them during childbirth.

On the crapness of medieval pickup lines.

A short life expectancy in days of yore is a myth – lots died as children, but survive that and many lived into old age. [LONG READ]

The National Archives have documents about the Gunpowder Plot written in invisible ink (lemon/orange juice).

Until the advent of the envelope in the western world letters were sealed by a technique called letterlocking. Researchers have now worked out how to use X-rays to read these letters without breaking the seals.

Charles II’s mistress Hortense Mancini was a trend-setter ahead of her time.

Food, Drink

Seafood fraud is happening on a global scale and sleuths are using DNA techniques to fight back. Meanwhile, how good are you at spotting whether your fish a fake?

Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs

It is time that men got a grip and made a stand to end violence against women (and men!).

One woman’s experience of the evolution of nude black women in art. [LONG READ]

Shock, Horror, Humour, Wow!

And finally a pair of researchers have worked out how to make a hippogriff and angels that could fly. [£££]

current affairs, medical, personal, ramblings

Horrible Times 20: One Year!

Midday today marked exactly 365 days of, partly self-imposed, isolation. What a strange year it’s been! Who could have guessed it would be thus. In the last 365 days:

  • I’ve been off the premises just four times. Twice to go to the dentist. Once for a flu jab and blood test. And most recently for my first Covid vaccination.
  • Noreen has done a little better in that she’s been making forays to the postbox and occasionally the post office.
  • I’ve generally been well. That’s apart from the depression which is, if anything, worse – but then who’s surprised about that?! But it does make motivating oneself to do anything a struggle. It hasn’t been helped by my back and a lot of tension across my neck and shoulders; unrelieved as I’ve not been able to get any massage.
  • However Noreen has had a nasty cellulitis infection and shingles. The former required many trips to the hospital.
  • We’ve been totally dependent on online shopping, and luckily have had no problems with supermarket delivery slots (except in the very early days when things were being sorted out). Everyone in the food supply chain has been doing heroic work through all this.
  • And we’ve been using our supermarket deliveries to also get provisions for our friend across the road, who is also isolating.
  • We’ve both managed to get our first Covid vaccination – something which wasn’t even a possibility this time last year. And we’ve been mightily impressed with the way the NHS has coped with all this. We await jab number two.
  • We’ve lost my aunt (to Covid, although aged 90 and with dementia), and three or four friends (apparently not to Covid). How odd are “Zoom funerals”?!
  • Needless to say face-to-face meetings and events have not happened. We’ve managed to continue some over Zoom, which is not a problem for me as I’ve been used to teleconference meetings since before the millennium.
  • We’ve added some extra, informal, meetings for our doctor’s patient group (of which I’m Chairman) just to enable people to keep in touch and have some additional social contact.
  • Meanwhile the house is a disgusting rat’s nest – which really doesn’t help the depression. When Covid struck we were trying to dredge the accumulated silt of 40 years, three parents, two jobs, and voluntary work. That has stalled, mainly because we cannot shift stuff out of the house: charity shops are closed and not taking donations, and without transport we can’t get anything to the tip.
  • The garden is pretty much a wreck. Although we managed to keep it roughly in order last summer, without our regular gardener the winter maintenance and pruning has gone by the board. The lawn is a meadow which comes half way up our fox. Besides it is so wet out there (yet more rain as I write this) the ground is like jelly, which makes working on it impossible.
  • On the good side, we’re both still plugged into life supply.
  • And we’ve been able to have some good food and wine – something we’ve made sure we do more of to add a little joy to the misery.

So what happens next?

The government is clearly keeping its fingers crossed and hoping for the best. Meanwhile everyone is expecting the worst with the medical experts warning:

All in all I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re still in this same position a year hence. It will be immensely depressing and disheartening, but I wouldn’t find it surprising. This, of course, assumes we’re still receiving supplies of life force!

Jolly times!

amusements, current affairs, history, medical, science, sexuality

Monthly Links

Welcome to this month’s collection of links to items you may have missed the first time round and might want to catch up on.

Science, Technology, Natural World

The Black-Browed Babbler, known only from a 180 year old stuffed specimen, has finally been seen in Borneo.

So you always thought those little vials used for vaccines were any old glass, or even plastic? Well think again!

More on vaccines … Here’s a series of articles on Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing and distribution.
First, Derek Lowe on some myths about vaccine manufacture.
And a detailed look at some of the supply chain challenges for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. [TECHNICAL and VERY LONG READ]
Another item on the challenges of setting up manufacturing and distribution. [LONG READ]
Understanding the vaccine source code, or how to build a vaccine at the molecular level. [LONG READ]
Yes, these are all long, and in places rather technical, reads but worthwhile nonetheless if you want to understand just what the pharmaceutical industry has achieved in the last year.

Here’s Derek Lowe again, this time looking at drug discovery and the immune system.

Sexuality

And now to things which are a bit less intellectually demanding …

So how about a piece on the way the penis has influenced scientific research, as well as a lot else! [£££]

Or a journalist writes about her experiences of reporting on the porn industry. [LONG READ]

Social Sciences, Business, Law

The Guardian seems to have just discovered that the Queen has more power than we thought – and they’re highly indignant.

History, Archaeology, Anthropology

A 17,000 year old conch shell hs been found in a French museum – and also found to be a musical instrument.

Two reports on the supposedly dramatic discovery that some of the stones of Stonehenge were previously a stone circle in Wales – one report from BBC, the other from the Guardian. Well I must say they haven’t convinced me: it all just seems to be no more than circumstantial evidence.

Oh, no! We’re back with the penis again! Amongst many archaeological finds during the building of the A14 trunk road upgrade in Cambridgeshire, there was a rare Roman penis carving.

Meanwhile on the Isle of Man a metal-detectorist has uncovered some rare Viking jewellery.

When is a history not a history? When it’s a chronicle. Eleanor Janega explains the differences between history and chronicles, with some history along the way.

Coming almost up to date, here, in two parts, is the story of one WWII SOE Resistance agent, found in the National Archives. Part 1 and Part 2.

London

The slightly curious history of the Priory Church of the Order of St John in Clerkenwell.

Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs

Researchers are suggesting that feeding our pet cats meatier meals and playing with then more will reduce their toll on wildlife. Here are two reports, from Science News and the Guardian with slightly different takes on the results.

And finally … Oh, God, we’re back with sex again! … It appears that the Jewish community have lost sight of the fact that the Purim Hamantaschen cookies look like the female pudendum. No, I didn’t know either, but then why would I?

current affairs, medical, thoughts

Horrible Times 19: Easing Lockdown

So our dearly unbeloved Boris thinks he’s going to end all lockdown restrictions on 21 June. All I can say is that like everything which emanates from BJ’s mouth this is either madness or fiction – and quite possibly both. Let’s take a look.
[Links to some relevant BBC News reports at the end.]

  1. Lockdown ends on 21 June. But all UK adults aren’t going to be offered their first vaccination until 31 July. When do they get their second jab? Well at least 3-4 weeks later, which takes us effectively until the end of August, or 8+ weeks after 21 June. So we have a minimum period of 8 weeks with no lockdown and with the UK not as fully vaccinated as it can be. Does not compute.
     
  2. Can we hit the 31 July target? Given that the rate of vaccination is reported to have fallen in recent days, partly due to a lack of vaccine supply, this seems unlikely. Moreover the priority sequence for those under 50 has not yet been decided. Yes, it might be possible if we get the volume of vaccine we need. But there’s many a slip ‘twixt cup and lip.
     
  3. That is ignoring that we don’t yet have very much data on the effectiveness of the current vaccines against the new variants of the virus. Nor are there updated vaccines available (or even nearly so).
     
  4. So lockdown is eased in five steps on 8 March, 29 March, 12 April, 17 May and 21 June. (The media are reporting this as four stages by lumping together the two March dates.) These appear to be the earliest dates for each round of eased restrictions. They will only happen if four conditions are met:
    • The coronavirus vaccine programme continues to go to plan
    • Vaccines are sufficiently reducing the number of people dying with the virus or needing hospital treatment
    • Infection rates do not risk a surge in hospital admissions
    • New coronavirus variants do not fundamentally change the risk of lifting restrictions

    WTF do these conditions mean? They are flabby and woolly at best. Without specific numbers against them, published up-front, they’re worthless as the government can flex them any-which-way it likes. They’re about as ethereal as mist.

  5. When they return to school, secondary school children will be required to have two Covid (lateral flow) tests a week. It seems the first three will be conducted in school but thereafter parents will be expected to administer the tests at home and report the results to the school. How many parents will (a) bother administering the tests, (b) do the tests properly, and (c) report the results accurately? This is going to end well, isn’t it!?

I’m not even going to talk about the rest of contents of each round of restriction easing. As you’ll realise from the above it is all rather academic when we don’t know the detailed baselines and criteria being used.

But what I will say is that if this timeline is adhered to, we’ll most likely have an up-tick in cases in May (as a result of schools going back) and another one in August (due to incomplete vaccine coverage).

Now don’t get me wrong. I want to see lockdown removed just as much as anyone else. But I want to see it done safely. For everyone’s sake.

Links
What’s the roadmap for lifting lockdown?
Lockdown review: What are the risks of schools, pubs and shops reopening?
Covid: When will schools reopen?
Covid: Why can’t we unlock more quickly?
Number of UK Covid vaccinations falls by a third as vaccine supply dips

current affairs, medical

Social Murder?

Murder is an emotive word. In law, it requires premeditation. Death must be deemed to be unlawful. How could “murder” apply to failures of a pandemic response? Perhaps it can’t, and never will, but it is worth considering.

Thus opens an interesting and thought-provoking editorial from Kamran Abbasi in BMJ (PDF) on 4 February. As always I bring the tl;dr key points.

When politicians and experts say that they are willing to allow tens of thousands of premature deaths for the sake of population immunity or in the hope of propping up the economy, is that not premeditated and reckless indifference to human life?
… … …
At the very least, covid-19 might be classified as“social murder,”as recently explained by two professors of criminology.
… … …
If not murder or a crime against humanity, are we seeing involuntary manslaughter, misconduct in public office, or criminal negligence?
… … …
More than a few countries have failed in their response to the virus; the global missteps are many and well documented by the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response.
… … …
But the global picture does not absolve individual leaders and governments from responsibility.
… … …
[M]uch of the media is complicit too, trapped in ideological silos that see the pandemic through a lens of political tribalism, worried about telling pandemic truths to their readers and viewers, owners, and political friends … truth has become dispensable as politicians and their allies are allowed to lie, mislead, and repaint history, with barely a hint of a challenge.
… … …
The most important lessons from this pandemic … are less about the coronavirus itself but what it has revealed about the political systems that have responded to it.

However necessary, basically nothing is going to happen.

environment, food+drink, history, links, medical, natural history, science

Monthly Links

OMG! Just what is going on round here? We’re already at the end of January! That means it is only 328 days to Christmas, so better start that shopping now. But before you do here is my monthly collection of links to items you may have missed.

Science, Technology, Natural World

First of all here’s yet another look at whether the universe was made just for us.

Much more fun though here is a physicist who is unravelling the knotty problem of knitting.

Meanwhile scientists are still trying to work out what is causing the exploding craters in Siberia. [LONG READ]

Scientists think they have finally solved the mystery of why wombats shit cubes.

Here’s another apparent oddity: some eagle rays in New Zealand have produced young despite no obvious male input.

London’s Natural History Museum finds 3800-year-old beetles preserved in a long-neglected bogwood specimen.

XKCD provides a remarkable insight into the world of bird and dinosaur evolution.

Health, Medicine

As usual I am avoiding all the articles on Covid-19, ‘cos you hear enough of that without me adding to the deluge.

However it is interesting to understand how we cope (or not) during a year without hugs.

Sexuality

Apparently we shouldn’t do it just before going to sleep.

Environment

There are all sorts of projects wanting to reintroduce lost species to the UK. We know about wolves and beavers, but now there’s a project which wants to reintroduce lynx to the Scottish Highlands.

There is also a movement to bring back Britain’s wonderful flower meadows.

History, Archaeology, Anthropology

A drawing of a pig in Indonesia may be one of the oldest cave paintings ever found.

There is increasing evidence that in ancient times female warriors were not uncommon. The first from Science News and the second from the New York Times.

Here’s Going Medieval on slavery, propaganda, and the politics of history. [LONG READ]

Leprosy was a feared disease in medieval times, but the leper had a conflicted existence of both good and evil.

What do you do when there isn’t a common, stable currency? Well, of course, you use eels?

While sodomy was considered more sinful, clerical sodomy presented considerably fewer challenges to the Medieval Church than clerical marriage.

Here’s a short history of the Tudor Whitehall Palace. [LONG READ]

Food, Drink

Absinthe has never been hugely popular in the UK, and unlike many European countries it has never been banned here. Despite that it is only now that London has it’s own Absinthe distillery.

So what really are the origins of haggis? Is it truly a Scottish delicacy or did the Scots appropriate it? [LONG READ]

Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs

This Guardian article on atheism contains some really bizarre manifestations of non-belief. [LONG READ]

And finally … The curious and spellbinding history of cheese and witchcraft.

medical, personal, ramblings

Horrible Times 17: Surreal

Yesterday was Day 323 of self-isolation for me. And it turned out to be quite a surreal experience because I got my first Covid-19 vaccination.

As regular readers will know I turned 70 earlier this month, so I’m (just) in the 15 million people the PM is promising will be vaccinated by mid-February. Until the last few days this had looked pretty unachievable to me.

On Wednesday of last week, at a PPG** meeting, our GP’s Practice Manager said that they had almost finished inviting the over-75s for vaccination – which I found slightly surprising – and implied they would start calling the over-70s in a week or so. OK, I thought, if I’m lucky I may get invited in 2-3 weeks time.

Imagine my surprise when the next day I received a text inviting me to book my jab. Follow the link to make a booking, it said. Knowing this was the preferred approach, I did. I was offered a slot for yesterday afternoon at the Town Hall (one of two centres doing vaccinations in the borough). It’s a taxi ride away so I wasn’t overjoyed, but I booked.

A local London black cab driver is offering local people fixed price wait-and-return trips to vaccine centres. He quoted me what I knew was a good price and I booked him to take me.

Come the day, I’m a bit concerned. This will be only the fourth time in 323 days I’ve been off the premises. I don’t know the cab driver (except on social media). And I have to mix with hundreds of the great unwashed at the Town Hall. I made this worse by not leaving myself enough time to get ready at ease (because I went to sleep after lunch – as you do) so I was a bit flustered. But we got there. Paul the cab driver was bang on time, friendly and helpful. He got me to the appointment 15 minutes early, so I expected to wait.

There is no queue! Check in at the front desk. Go to the Waiting Area, be checked in again. I’m still expecting to wait, but after a couple of minutes I’m called. Check in a third time at another desk and be given my official card; sit and wait in another area.

Now go to that station where a nurse asked the usual questions (date of birth, allergies …) and stuck a needle in my arm. I hardly felt it, less even that a flu jab. Then because I’ve had the Pfizer vaccine, go to another room to sit for 15 minutes to make sure I’m OK. And then home.

I was out of the house for no more than 60 minutes, including a 15-20 minute taxi ride each way and 15 minutes “under observation”.

But it was so weird. I find our Victorian Town Hall bizarrely labyrinthine at the best of times. But having hardly been out for a year, being among so many people, having to be careful of social distancing, and not having been in a black cab for well over a year … plus mask, gloves and hearing aids … and (let’s be honest) what is still by normal rules an experimental vaccination … well it was all rather surreal.

What made it worse was that having got home, and changed, I still felt contaminated for the rest of the day, which was partly the Town Hall, but mostly the proximity to the number of people. And that was quite unexpected!

The after-effects? So far after 24 hours, effectively none. My arm was a bit sore last night, less so this morning and now it has almost gone. That’s all.

So what was my impression of the NHS’s running of the programme? Absolutely astonished and gobsmacked, in a good way.

At first sight, from the outside, it looked as disorganised as I feared it might be. But it wasn’t! It was actually well organised, efficient, great care over safety, well staffed. I didn’t count, but there were around two dozen NHS people there. Of them about 10 were clinicians (two preparing injections and 6-8 actually administering them). The rest were checking people, shepherding, helping those with mobility problems, and generally watching over social distancing. It wasn’t frantically busy but steady; enough that no-one was under pressure or rushed – which makes for good care and safety. Everyone was helpful, friendly and in a good humour; I heard no-one grumbling.

Yes, it was well organised. For just one centre like this, for at least 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, with NHS staff volunteering for the work in addition to their normal jobs … getting the vaccine supply and patient supply to match up … well the logistics is not easy. To do that countrywide, in the time available, is a huge achievement.

From what I saw, the IT systems behind it all are good, especially given the scale. Everything the centre needs seemed to be there, it works, and seems pretty slick. The IT is sufficiently complex that I also don’t know how it’s been put together in the time available. There may be a load of swans paddling furiously under the surface, but if there are it doesn’t show.

I know we all moan about the NHS’s ability to get things done, and done properly, but from a patient’s perspective this one looks like a resounding success. I was really impressed.

** Patient Participation Group for a GP Practice. I’m Chairman of our group.