Autumn 2014
Affiliated to the British Heart Foundation and Arrhythmia Alliance - The Heart Rhythm Charity
ÂŁ2 Free to Members
Here to help Poole Community Health Centre Shaftesbury Road, Poole BH15 2NT Telephone: 01202 683363 ext. 133 Telephone manned Mondays and Thursdays: 1:30-3:30pm www.poolehsg.org.uk
POOLE HEART SUPPORT GROUP MAGAZINE Poole Community Health Centre Shaftesbury Road, Poole BH15 2NT Telephone: 01202 683363 ext. 133 Telephone manned Mondays and Thursdays: 1:30-3:30pm www.poolehsg.org.uk PRESIDENT: Dr. ANDREW MCLEOD Vice Presidents: Dr CHRISTOPHER BOOS MBBS, Dip IMC, RCS (Ed), MD, FRCP, RAMC. Dr. DIANE BRUCE MB, Bsc (Hons), FRCP ROBERT PAYNE RGN, RHV, Bsc (Hons), PG Dip PGCE MAGGIE RICHARDSON : JIM WAINE : GEOFFREY WALKER OBE, JP, MA, RGN
PHSG COMMITTEE KEITH MATTHEWS DAVID ANDERSON RITA HOLMES GEORGE LLEWELLYN JAN MESHER DEREK POPE ROBIN PRINGLE ROGER RIDOUT GEOFF LAWRENCE JOHN OFFER GEORGE WILKINSON PAM BAILEY LESLEY BRADSHAW
Chairman Secretary Treasurer Social Events Office Manager Database Exercise Coord Purbeck Liaison Member Member Member BHF Rep. Co-opted
keith@poolehsg.org.uk david@poolehsg.org.uk rita@poolehsg.org.uk geoll@poolehsg.org.uk jan@poolehsg.org.uk derek@poolehsg.org.uk robin@poolehsg.org.uk roger@poolehsg.org.uk geoff@poolehsg.org.uk john@poolehsg.org.uk
lesley@poolehsg.org.uk
01202 855001 01202 697376 01202 743960 01202 605455 01202 250108 01202 889070 01202 884250 01929 423079 01202 888438 01202 386674 01202 740374 01202 574944 01202 691339
If you know a member who is ill, please tell us by contacting Mavis Terry, Welfare Support, on 01202 874760
OTHER CONTACTS JOHN DEFTY CYRIL MARTIN DAVID ANDERSON JIM WAINE
Chat Stops Walking Group Website Founder and VP
david@poolehsg.org.uk jim@poolehsg.org.uk
01202 760350 01202 733956 01202 697376 01202 871532
Please send magazine articles and photos to: Editor, 10 Hill View Road, Ferndown, Dorset BH22 9QY or by e-mail to; editor@poolehsg.org.uk Tel. 01202 855001 Magazines are published 1st March, 1st June, 1st September and 1st December. Print Deadlines are 10th April, 10th May, 10th August, 10th November COVER PICTURE: Autumn at Canford Š Keith Matthews
Chairman’s Letter Another issue rolls around during a quiet period for PHSG. Holidays and summertime take precedence and so it should be. Stay calm, keep happy and stay “in the zone”. Eagle-eyed readers will notice two new names on the committee list opposite. Oh all right then, I know you don’t look there but do take a look now. You’ll see that Geoff Lawrence has joined the committee as from the AGM . He has already started to give a hand with the Office and will find his feet soon. We welcome him aboard. Lesley Bradshaw joins us as a co-opted member too. Most of us know Lesley and have been to one of her classes. She has always been our lead trainer and has introduced many of the other trainers to the group. Robin Pringle and the committee have arranged for Lesley to take on some of the co-ordination of the training and exercise programmes and to understudy Robin with his slowly expanding workload so we will feel more comfortable with someone sharing the work. Lesley will of necessity have access to the membership records and so joins us on the committee formally. At the risk of being boring about the subject, we really would like to see some new faces helping out. I know this is a request common to every club or society that I’ve been involved in, but if you feel you could offer some help, on the committee with publicity, writing a page for this Magazine, or helping out in the office from time to time, or just generally, I’m sure you’ll actually find it quite enjoyable. Take a look at the Office advertisement on Page 13 or give me a call or an email if you’d like to discuss it. One thing we’d really like just now is someone who has a little bit of storage space and who would be prepared to run the bookstall at the Chatstop meetings. I have all the books now and have laid them out alphabetically in flat boxes so they can be sold from the display. A small job for a few hours during winter months but one that members really appreciate. Also if someone who could help with publicity for PHSG and make sure our details are around in all the surgeries locally would be very helpful. Neither of these task involve committee meetings and publicity could be tackled at your own pace and timing. Finally, please note that we have now consolidated our meetings on the one place and that from now on they will all be held in the St John’s Hall at Broadstone. Chat Stops at 2pm and our eveing meetings at 7:30pm. You can see the bookings on page 11, but unfortunately we cannot announce the speakers for the evening meetings yet as its proving tricky to finalise some of the health care people. Watch the e-newsletter for updates.
Keith
“Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.” W.H. Auden “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education.” Aristotle
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Medicine and Cardiology News from Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Dear Friends, Well here we are in the summer and hopefully you are all enjoying the weather and the chance to spend time outside with family and friends. At the hospital the final phase of the new cardiology build has been completed and the services have now moved in, this has almost doubled the space available and now provides a large teaching and seminar room as well as enhanced clinical areas. The cardiac rehabilitation service has also relocated there from the medical investigations unit so all cardiology services are in the same building. The hospital as a whole is busier than ever and there seems to be no let up from the winter period. As you will have probably seen in the news throughout the NHS we are seeing increasing numbers of patients presenting at the emergency departments, and it is a struggle for hospitals to meet this demand and achieve the 4 hour target. Here at Poole we are no different and we have seen a 10% increase in attendances this summer; there are no longer winter pressures as these are now all year round. The increased demand has required increased capacity and we have had additional escalation beds open to meet this. Of course always the care and safety of our patients is the priority and all escalation is carefully monitored by the senior staff. As you will all be aware this summer we see the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War 1, the so called, ‘War to end all wars’, and the terrible carnage that resulted. We can all reflect on that warm summer of 1914 when the young men of the British Empire marched off to a war they thought would be over by Christmas but which lasted for just over 4 appalling years. On August 3rd Shelley Pasamar, Tracy Preddy and I went to be part of the commemoration at Highclere castle (of Downton Abbey Fame) of the start of the war. We were part of the Florence Nightingale Foundation contingent and had displays in a large tent for the public including stands from the Foundation, the armed services and a silver lamp used for the Florence Nightingale service at Westminster Abbey. It was a wonderful and thought provoking day and we all dressed in 1914-1918 uniforms. The event by the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon raised money for army charities and was extremely well attended with lots of pavilions and people dressed up. It was so gratifying to meet school children with their parents who studied Florence Nightingale and the war as part of their lessons. We had a lovely day, the weather was kind and we met many fascinating people, but the underlying theme was the sadness, pain and suffering that conflict can bring and the importance of the medical and nursing professions in alleviating this. That’s all for now enjoy the rest of the summer and take care. Geoffrey Walker OBE JP MA RGN Matron Medicine, Cardiology and Specialist Nursing Services Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
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By Robin Pringle
Exercise News
As I write this article we have Lesley, Jenni and Michelle away on holiday. Emma is pregnant with twins. Noirin has just survived the write-off of her brand new Golf. Noirin has also just done the Brownsea Island swim . . . I have told her to keep on swimming as we don’t want any more pregnancies at the present time! There are more holidays to come but we do believe that all the bases are covered. As you can imagine as the Group gets bigger and I get older there is a need for some of the work to be passed on and to that end a part of my PHSG duties, recruitment, arranging training and re-validation is now to be undertaken by Lesley who probably understands them a little better than I do. Lesley will be paid a very modest retainer and has been co-opted on to the committee. Getting back to our lovely Emma. Just how she is going to juggle twins and her work is going to be up to her. However there are about 100 surrogate grandparents looking on and wishing her well for the future. Her classes will remain “Emma’s classes” until she decides otherwise. In the meantime Lesley will ensure a mixture “of aunties” will cover the classes when she is unavailable.
Robin
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PHSG Magazine
Dr John-Paul Carpenter John-Paul (better known as “JP”) Carpenter is one of the ‘new’ members of the team in Poole. Having been in the job for a whole year (and still enjoying it!), an introduction is well overdue. JP trained at Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospitals in London, graduating in 1996. Following his first year in London and Chichester, he travelled to Napier and Hastings in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand to work with the cardiology team. This was great fun, but at the time, services were relatively basic and if patients needed an angiogram or a pacemaker, this involved a flight to either Wellington or Auckland via air ambulance. Returning to the UK, he undertook a medical rotation in Chichester followed by specialist training in the Wessex region, based around Southampton. This was a great chance to work in some of the local hospitals such as Salisbury, Portsmouth and Chichester, where it even involved a stunning weekly drive through the Sussex Downs to King Edward VII Hospital, Midhurst for a coronary angiogram list. Training in cardiology was consolidated in Southampton just as the new Cardiothoracic Centre was being built – a fantastic resource for the whole local area. Following two years at Southampton, JP moved to the Royal Brompton Hospital in London to study for a higher degree with a 3-year period of research in cardiac imaging and MRI scanning. This was under the supervision of Professor Dudley Pennell and provided a huge opportunity for learning and experience, including the opportunity to travel to many parts of Europe including Scandinavia and Turkey, Singapore, the USA and Australia to attend conferences and give invited talks. A senior fellowship in Heart Failure and Cardiac Imaging in Southampton completed his training prior to taking up a locum Consultant post at the Royal Brompton Hospital in cardiomyopathy and cardiac imaging. The idea of working in London was not entirely compatible with living on the South Coast as his family were based in Chichester at the time and when the post in Poole was advertised due to Professor Greaves’ planned move to Australia, he jumped at the chance. It has been a great year but one of great change, involving a move to the New Forest and becoming the custodian of a 400 year-old farmhouse (with all its demands for attention) as well as continuing a busy family life with Emily (aged 3) and Barney (aged 2) and all their demands for attention! He is still smiling though and looking forward to meeting more of the Heart Support Group members. As JP says, “The cardiology department at Poole is hard-working but good fun and a great team. Even in the last year, many forward-looking initiatives have been planned and realised including a brand-new extension providing much needed space for clinical areas and enabling the cardiac rehabilitation team to become fully
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integrated. In conjunction with the other consultants, associate specialists, medical and nursing staff, physiologists and administrative staff, we have a great team which we hope will provide top-quality patient care at the highest level. We are truly ‘fit for the future’ even in the current climate of cost constraint and we can contribute not only to keeping the hospital at the forefront of best practice but hope to provide a centre of excellence for Poole and beyond. As part of this, we have been actively forging links with Dorchester, Bournemouth and community providers as well as the commissioning group to ensure that we have a robust approach for the future for the whole of Dorset.”
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PHSG Magazine
“FAT CHANCE�
By Rose Prince
When food manufacturers make a pledge to reduce the saturated fat in the food they produce - think chocolates, doughnuts and pies - it ought to be news that we welcome. But the devil, as always, is in the detail. Saturated fats come in many guises, not all of them unhealthy. For example, butter is a saturated fat, but nutritionists are now revising their opinions. Recently, a leading cardiologist, Aseem Malhotra, claimed that dairy products and natural fats could actually protect the heart and that (if so) butter should replace spreads and margarine in manufactured foods. It is all very confusing for those who wish to watch their saturated fat consumption. At present, the general consensus, which may change given the new claims made for butter, is that overconsumption of saturated fat is harmful. There bas been a similar revolution on nutritional advice over eggs. We now know that the cholesterol in eggs is not the "bad" type that promotes cardio-vascular disease. A lot of people have been eating egg-white omelettes for nothing, it appears. What the food manufacturers ought to be saying is that we should be extremely careful over the quantity of "transfats" we eat. Transfats are produced during the processing of edible oils to make refined vegetable oils and certain types of spreads. They have no nutritional value at all. In some US states, legislation has been passed in order to help reduce the amount of transfats in manufacturing and the catering industry after a final acknowledgement that these unhealthy fats contributed to the obesity epidemic over the many years when people were being advised to avoid butter; years when Americans just got fatter and fatter. It makes the message now coming from the UK food industry look somewhat vague. The debate should be over natural fats (butter, cold pressed oils, animal fats like dripping and lard) versus unnatural fats: margarine, refined vegetable oils and spreads. Fat is a complex issue, but concerned consumers are ready to understand the issues if the industry and government were bothered to provide us with the minutiae. It's called informed choice. Here is a recipe for chips. Yes, the potato kind, eaten with battered fish. Shallow fry in extra virgin olive oil (not every day, mind) keeping the heat below 200°C - yes, it is worth using a temperature probe. The lower temperature means the naturally produced, cold-pressed oil retains its health properties. The chips take longer to fry but I believe they are more delectable than bad-fat fries. Still, it's not a dish for every day. We need fat, but let's eat it wisely. Less but better fat.
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Extra-virgin chips (Serves 2-3) 450g Maris Piper potatoes 200ml extra virgin olive oil Sea salt - soft crystals Peel the potatoes and cut into chips 1cm in width. Do not wash them, the sticky starches on the potato gives them their flavour. Heat the oil in a heavy-based frying pan. When the oil reaches 180°C, add the potato chips and allow them to simmer in the oil for about 10-15 minutes or until they swell and become crispy. Keep the oil under 200°C, that is, not smoking. Turn the chips gently with a spatula from time to time. Scoop out and drain on kitchen paper. Scatter a little salt over them and eat - any way you like them.
Rose Prince is a food writer and journalist www.roseprince.co.uk This article first appeared in “The Tablet” - The International Catholic News Weekly. Reproduced by permission.
Airwaves are Trading Standards Approved 9
PHSG Magazine
Chats & Talks
Organised by George Llewellyn
Noelle Brennan, Dietician - May
Questions, questions! A keen audience inspired by Noelle’s talk.
A very well packed meeting on a warm summery evening was the setting for Noelle Brennan’s talk on healthy eating. Noelle comes from Eire and is a Dietician at Poole Hospital. A lively session with lots of questions made an enjoyable time for all. Thank you Noelle!
Chat Stop, Call My Bluff - June The last of the season saw our attempt at the TV show Call My Bluff. Needless to say we were not likely to be able to get Robert Robinson or Frank Muir or any other celebrities so you had to put up with me! Surprisingly a lot of people got them right, either very well read or just good guessers? If you like this sort of thing and have any ideas let me know and I shall see what we can do.
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George asks “What is a Buccula?”
Geoff Lawrence and Viv Wilkinson give the answers!
George
PHSG Meetings - Diary Dates All talks and Chat Stops are at St John’s Church Hall, Broadstone All PHSG talks and Chat Stops are free.
→
October 7 Chat Stop at 14:00 Chatstop with entertainment. October 16 Meeting at 19:30 Speaker to be announced. November 4 Chat Stop at 14:00 Chatstop with entertainment. November 20 Meeting at 19:30 Speaker to be announced. December 2 Chat Stop at 14:00 Carol Singing with Gary Advance Notice February 19 Meeting at 19:30 April 16 AGM at 19:30 PHSG Annual General Meeting
Meetings at St John Church Hall Macaulay Road
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PHSG Magazine
War Casualties Researched
by Marilyn Barber
PHSG Member Len Pearce quietly gets on with his voluntary work for the community in Wimborne, never seeking recognition for his efforts. However, he certainly deserves credit for the painstakingly research he has undertaken for two churches in the town. He has discovered details of the men who died in the First World War, and are listed on rolls of honour at both Wimborne United Reformed Church and Wimborne Minster Church. Len, who has lived in Wimborne all his life, has been a guide at Wimborne Minster church for the past 20 years, and now also carries out verger duties during holiday periods. Born in East Borough in 1925 and christened in the Minster, he said: “As a boy I knew the widows of some of the men who didn’t come home. Two lived in Chapel Lane.” He managed to get a lot of details from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website which gives background details to casualties. “Canon Fletcher, who was rector at Wimborne Minster during the First World War put details in the parish magazine and these are held at the Priest’s House Museum,” he said. Len was a flight engineer in the RAF during the Second World War, and married Diana at Wimborne URC in March 1951; they have two daughters, four grandchildren and one great-grandchild. He may shun publicity, but last year when it was revealed that Wimborne had the highest proportion of married couples in the UK, he and Diana were interviewed by the BBC. Diana is well known in local amateur dramatic circles as she sung with Poole and Parkstone Musical Society for 30 years, and still does the make-up for local productions. An old boy of Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School - a Winburnian - Len has also researched details of former pupils who didn’t return from the two Wars. “I’ve loved the challenge. Tell me I can’t so something and I’ll do it,” he said. Len’s research is held by the Imperial War Museum, Dorset Museum, and Wimborne’s Priest’s House Museum.
Marilyn Barber is News Editor of Stour and Avon Magazine www.blackmorevale.co.uk This photograph and article first appeared in Stour & Avon Magazine Reproduced by permission.
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You can always call the Office !
Volunteers wanted to help in our P.H.S.G. Office for only 2 hours a month.
You can always call the office We’re a happy little bunch. On a Monday or a Thursday, We’re there just after lunch. If you need some information, Exercise or walking club, (Cyril says they ramble and then end up at the pub!). We distribute magazines and sign in each new member. We are on the go all the time from January to December
01202 683363 Ext 133 Manned 1.30 - 3.30pm Mondays & Thursdays
Jan Mesher
Computer skills not needed. PHSG Office Co-ordinator. Full training given
Bypass for Life
by Robin Pringle and George Llewellyn
Our trainer Clare Barratt who runs our Swanage and Wareham classes has been with us for almost 15 years. For some time Clare has felt that for anyone just being told that they required open heart surgery there was little knowledge available other than the bold description of what they were about to undergo. Clare looked around and saw that within PHSG there were quite a few who had vivid memories of the events leading up to and the aftermath of the operation itself. Clare had always wanted to write a book and this seemed to be the perfect subject and opportunity. She called for volunteers and interviewed 14 members before putting pen to paper. She wishes to thank all who assisted and those additional members who volunteered but whose experiences remain untold. The book is now in print and is available from Amazon, or Clare herself, at the price of £9.99 The reading of it brings back to life those days. The good news is that we are all still here to tell the tales, thanks to the skills of the various cardiac teams.
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PHSG Magazine
THE RISK OF EXERCISING TOO MUCH! Do go to the gym - but don't overdo it. A new study has found that young people who take extreme amounts of exercise (more than 17.5 hours a week) score no higher, in terms of overall physical and mental well-being, than those who do none. The survey of 1,200 people aged 16 to 20 in Switzerland found that physical activity was associated with lower levels of stress and anxiety, and higher self-esteem, peaking with those who spent 14 hours a week exercising. The benefits then began to fall off. This could be due to inflammation caused by excessive levels of exercise, which has been linked to poorer physical and mental health in other studies, says The Daily Telegraph. "These
In Kenya 50 years ago, they used to say that one could tell where a person came from by looking at his shorts. Knee-length meant he had just come from Britain; four inches higher, and he was from East Africa; mid-thigh, and he was from Rhodesia; higher than that, and he was from South Africa. Longer than knee length? American of course!
are my There was a young lady from Slough babies," Yuan Who had a most terrible cough Meixia told reporters But even though at her home in Fujian She sounded most rough province, "and I treat them like We do hope that she will pull through. my own children during their short lives. I first saw people raising cockroaches in Anhui province for food and as medicine, and I was intrigued, so I paid 10,000 yuan to buy 20 kgs of them, and started breeding them in my house. It takes about a month for the babies to hatch, and at any one time I have about a hundred thousand cockroaches in my house." Yuam Meixia has become famous throughout China for her insect-infested house. "Like children, they need sufficient nutrition," she explained, "so I place honeydews, apples, and rice bran on shelves in each room, so they can swarm and feast. The cockroaches are most active at night, mating and hunting for food. They mate with each other after eating. The process lasts for two hours and then spawning happens, with each spawn producing dozens of baby cockroaches. When it is hot, I sprinkle water on the walls to keep them cool, and when the weather is cold, I light my gas-fired stove to keep them warm. Then, when they are mature, I drown them in vats of water, and dry them under the sun before putting them in plastic bags and selling them to a pharmaceutical company in Anhui. Their dried bodies can be sold for 600 to 800 yuan per kilo, and I usually harvest 10kg to 20kg every two months. (South China Morning Post, 12/6/14)
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SUDOKU by Derek
9 7
5
2 7 4
1
8 3 7 5 1 2
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6 4 2 9 7 5 1 9 6 4 6 5 9 1 7 5 A minister was completing a temperance sermon. With great emphasis he said “If I had all the BEER in the world, I’d pour it into the river!”. With even more emphasis he pronounced “If I had all of the WINE in the world, I’d pour it into the river!” Finally, almost shouting, and waving his fist in the air he said, “If I had all of the WHISKEY in the world, I’d take it and pour it into the river!”. Sermon complete, he sat down and announced the final hymn of the service:- “Hymn 365, Shall We Gather at the River”.
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PHSG Magazine
Real Stories, Real Life
By Michèle Carbery
Behind every Able2Travel insurance policy there is a story - special journeys and holidays made by people who are living with medical conditions, or have a partner with health problems. Thanks to the work of our team, these journeys have been made with peace of mind knowing that travel insurance and cover for pre-existing medical conditions was in-place and would provide protection, if needed. Customers sometimes ask us to share their stories so others can learn about the travel insurance options that we can provide for people with newly-diagnosed and pre-existing medical conditions. So, today we take a moment to share two brief stories and celebrate successfully-found cover. We also want to thank our customers for sharing their positive feedback about their experiences. A tale of time… most of us feel we have too little, especially when busy planning for a holiday abroad. When also dealing with a health condition there may be prescription medications to remember and special arrangements to make, including the search for travel insurance that provides cover for known medical conditions. We recently heard from a customer who shared her story of finding medical travel insurance cover for an upcoming holiday cruise. Remarkably, she had spent hours and had called at least 5 insurance companies before finally finding the cover, customer service and price she needed with Able2Travel. Relieved, Mrs. D contacted us to share her positive feedback. “I thought Able2Travel were amazing, the staff were most helpful and very polite. Arranging my travel insurance was made very easy, they had to call me back and were most prompt in doing so. I have several health problems, had called quite a few insurance companies, but found their staff the most helpful and the price of the insurance the most reasonable by far. Full marks to the company and to all who work there. I will recommend them to all my friends, and will use them in the future. Many thanks.” Mrs D. Sometimes, a newly-diagnosed medical condition can throw a spanner in the works with holiday plans. We work with people in this situation to help them find the cover they need so they can still go on their holiday with peace of mind and with appropriate insurance for their new medical conditions. “My husband has suffered a mild heart attack a few weeks ago and we were booked to go on holiday which involves a short flight. The company we had taken out travel insurance with would not insure him. Our local cardiac rehab unit had given us a brochure for Able 2 Travel who I contacted and they were very helpful, they took all details and phoned me back the same day. Everything was completed and we can know go on holiday knowing we have the right insurance cover.” Mrs W. When planning a trip – whether it’s a short break, or the adventure of a lifetime – it’s important to make sure you have appropriate travel insurance. The right policy can protect you against the expenses of unexpected medical emergency medical care, medical repatriation, cancellation of your holiday, loss of your luggage and many other problems. With over 15 years’ experience helping people with medical conditions to obtain suitable insurance, the Able2Travel team have the knowledge and resources to offer you effective insurance solutions at competitive prices. Call us today on 01892 839 501 or go online to: www.able2travel.com/ph Happy travels and don’t forget to mention you found us through Poole Heart Support Group.
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PHSG Magazine
Hearts On Seats Don’t forget! We have a Hearts on Seats group that meet regularly on a Thursday afternoon at Broadstone. Seen here ready for action!
So if you feel you are not quite up to the regular exercise sessions, Jane and group will be only to pleased to see you. Contact Robin or Lesley.
Carols at Christmas Serena and I are getting along quietly these days and the recent lovely weather has been a bit too hot for us, but with a bit of luck we’ll survive! I feel there is one more Xmas Singalong in me, so you can book me for the 2nd of December at the Chat Stop. There is a chance that I can arrange a much different programme in terms of presentation, I will let you know more later, but if all else fails it will have to be the same old me.
Gary
The same old me? You are too modest Gary. Thank you so much! Editor See the Chat Stop page for details, and the Enews for updates closer to the time.
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PHSG Exercise Venues All sessions last 1 hour Ashdown School Sports
Canford School Sports
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Friday
12:00 09:30 09:30 09:30
Monday Tuesday Thursday Friday
09:00 09:00 09:00 09:00
Ferndown Sports
Monday 10:30 Wednesday 10:30
Hamworthy Fire Station
Monday
“Hearts on Seats”,Broadstone
Thursday
Images, Lower Parkstone
Wednesday 11:00 Friday 11:00
Lytchett Minster Sports
Tuesday Thursday
10:30 10:30 10:00 10:00 10:00 10:00
11:00
10:00 14:00
18:00 18:30
19:00
“Step Down” QE Academy Wimborne Tuesday
14:30
Swanage, Burlington Sports
Tuesday
14:30
15:30
Wareham, Purbeck Sports
Monday Thursday
16:00 11:00
16:00
Our “Hearts on Seats” is designed for the less physically able. The “Step Down” class is designed for members with more complicated heart problems and is conducted by the Poole NHS rehabilitation team in collaboration with Poole Heart Support Group.
If you are not exercising with us and would like to start please call Robin Pringle or Roger Ridout. Contact details are on the inside front cover
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PHSG Magazine
Married at St Andrews and here again for their 40th
Meet our Members A Showcase on Members - Jean & Alistair Allcroft Leaving school in Fife I chose the Royal Air Force as a career and, in 1960, travelled south to become an Aircraft Apprentice at RAF Halton in Buckinghamshire. Shortly after that my Mum moved south to Dorchester when she became Matron of the Leonard Cheshire Children’s Home. Two years later Jean joined the Cheshire Home staff as a children’s nurse and when I came on leave it soon developed that we were destined for each other. Wouldn’t get away with it now but every weekend I would hitch-hike from Gaydon in Warwickshire to be with Jean in Dorset. Then the RAF intervened and for a year we were apart during a posting to Bahrain. We married in Weymouth in November 1965 then set up home in Lincoln where daughters Amanda and Sharon were born. We bought our first house in Fairford, Gloucestershire and son Alistair Junior arrived in 1974. Leaving the RAF in 1977 I went off to Teacher Training College. Jean worked hard keeping the family running and doing a number of jobs to supplement my meagre student income. I began teaching first in Swindon then at Farmor’s School in Fairford. Jean at this time was working for Josiah Wedgwood potteries in their concession shop selling much sought-after china and porcelain to the American Air Force personnel on the base at RAF Fairford. We came “home” to Dorset in 1985, and moved to Corfe Mullen. Jean spent a good while working in retail management then decided to go back to college to train in floristry. Following completion of this training Jean became qualified as an Adult Education teacher also an Area Demonstrator for the National Association of Flower Arranging Societies.. In 2004 retirement beckoned and we left Corfe Hills School to go off to New Zealand to spend 6 weeks with sister Marion and her family. Just a year later I experienced a heart attack but two stents and loads of encouragement from PHSG enable me to make a good recovery. We have 6 grandchildren, four of whom are quite grown now. The little ones are great fun and such a delight; they keep us young. Next year will see us reach our Golden Anniversary. We are enthusiastic members of Poole Heart Support Group and have made a great many good friends. We enjoy this friendship, exercise group and all the social events that spring from this wonderful organisation. Thank you.
Alistair
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Fiona’s Leaving Soirée Changes are still afoot at Poole Hospital. In the last month or so we have seen the retirement of Linda Everett although she has been seen from time to time giving cover to her former staff until the final changes are made. Good news for Linda as her husband, the Reverend Simon, has been promoted to the position of Rector of Wareham. Good luck to them both! Now we must also say goodbye to beloved Fiona. The good news is that she hasn’t gone far! She has a new role and I am sure some of our members will be seeing her again. Fiona has been appointed Cardiac Matron for the Advanced Primary Care Service – Community Cardiology, Wimborne. She is joining up with our own Dr Bruce . . . what a team they’ll make! Fiona will be involved primarily with Heart Failure and Arrhythmia patients. Fiona trained at St Barts in London arriving at Poole as a Staff Nurse in the CCU and she moved to Rehab in 2004. Many, many of our members will always have the highest regard for Fiona with her knowledge and caring manner, which gave confidence to
Robin Pringle
those of us facing the future with more than a little trepidation. Of course there is still a terrific team left at Rehab with wonderful nurses
Vicky, Dee, Kerstin and Helen. They are assisted by our own Lesley, Jayne and Emma together with Dereen and Julia. The whole team is mustered and mothered by Jenny. We are sure that PHSG will continue to have a great relationship with this team but, in the meantime, many thanks again to Linda and Fiona and all our best wishes to both. There were three of us from PHSG invited to Fiona’s farewell do and it was fitting that two of them, Roger and Tony, were representing those who have been given exceptional help from Fiona over the past few years. The three of us enjoyed the hospitality and we tucked into the savouries and cakes before saying our goodbyes and giving our thanks again and very best wishes for Fiona’s future work.
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Robin PHSG Magazine
Medical Clinical Care Group
Jim Waine
Proactive Development Unit for Cardiology and Medicine PHSG has a voice in this influential group, representing the views of its members. The Group is held under the capable chairmanship of Geoffrey Walker OBE, Matron of Cardiology and Medicine, and it really gets things done! Positive changes are made to hospital procedures as a result of patient feedback being given to PHSG representatives. All PHSG members can report back on their experiences of their treatment in Poole Hospital in complete confidence. So if you want to say something good or bad about your experience in Poole Cardiac Unit, or its related departments, including the ambulance service, please forward your comments. You can contact me by e mail (preferred), letter or telephone. Looking forward to hearing from you! Jim Waine, Vice President PHSG jim.waine2@btinternet.com or 01202 871532 Quality Service Group Meetings 20 May 2014 also 22 July 2014 Geoffrey Walker OBE, Matron Medical Services, chaired the meetings. Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) - Amanda Colman, who looks after the “Patients Advice Liaison Service� (PALS) which is based in the house between Poole Hospital and the multi-storey car park called the RESOURCES CENTRE (01202 448003), was able to give the group an insight into the patient experience work being conducted in the Trust. Amanda and her team have helped many of our members over the years with problems related to treatment and procedures in Poole hospital. Also if you pop into the resources centre you will find information on all medical subjects and a very friendly staff to help. Cardiology Redevelopment - GW informed the group that the new cardiology build is now complete and running well. They are still awaiting new equipment and it is hoped that future meetings will be conducted in the new seminar room located in the new build. The cardiac rehabilitation team are moving on 23rd July and thereafter the cardiology teams will all be working under one roof. If you need to visit the Cardiology dept on arriving at the Poole Hospital check at reception for the best route to take, as the department has moved. Hospital Admissions - Seven-Day working at Poole Hospital is going to plan and a cardiologist is now on duty Saturday and Sundays. GW informed the group that the Trust had experienced unprecedented admission levels. There has been a 10% increase Monday to Friday and a 25% increase at weekends which has resulted in demand outstripping capacity and extra beds being opened. They are considering methods of measuring this; however Royal Bournemouth Hospital and other local hospitals are also reporting similar figures. In conclusion capacity issues continue but patient care and safety remain of paramount importance.
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E-Zec Transport - Unfortunately additional transport issues have been identified and are under current investigation. Also Individual transport is now being booked through a private company if E-Zec is unable to provide it; this cost is then met by E-Zec. The company is under extreme scrutiny by the Trust. Statins - I think that most of our members take Statins, and when chatting it appears that most have had problems. Whilst I was reading an article on the benefits and side effects of Statins, I thought you may be interested in it, so I have passed the article over to the medical professionals at Poole Hospital to check it out. If they give it a 5 star report I will add it to my next publication. Did you know that statins have been on the market now since 1987 and are some of the most widely prescribed drugs in medical history, with annual worldwide sales topping £60 billion! Jim
Membership Matters I took a break during the Summer months and skipped “Membership Matters”, though I doubt if any of you missed it. I’m kept occupied by processing membership renewals at this time of year, our treasurer Rita passes the renewal forms on to me once she has dealt with them, I enter details onto the database so we have a record and also so that we know who to chase up as the year goes by. If anyone complains to you that they didn’t get this (Autumn) magazine, then please ask them to verify that they have paid up, as we stop sending out magazines when people have not renewed. Anyone with an email address will continue to get David’s newsletters as they cost nothing to post so we can afford to keep people on the list and it is a useful way to send out reminders. Please always let me know if your home address or email address changes, my contact details are in the front of the magazine. I prefer to receive emails rather than phone calls because then I don’t have to write down the details so emails are less error prone. Many people change their address and forget to give us their new telephone number, so if you have moved over the last couple of years, it is worth sending me your up-to-date phone number in case we need to contact you. A few bits of information about the database for your elucidation: We presently have 617 full members and 332 partners, 12 committee, 44 honorary members and 5 advertisers, giving a total of 1010. We have 459 people with email addresses, which is about 75% of the full members, if you use email but don’t receive David’s newsletter, please let me have your email address as it is the easiest and cheapest way to contact you if we need to. So far only 464 full members have paid their dues for this year, that’s a little over 69% so there are still plenty of renewals outstanding. If anyone wants more details from the database please let me know. Equally if anyone wants less information then I’m happy to try to oblige them, too.
Derek 23
PHSG Magazine
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Meet our Members A Showcase on Members - Maureen Russell In the last issue we noted that new member Maureen had raised ÂŁ120 for us after her heart event, so we asked her to tell us her story.
I was born and brought up in Poole and attended local schools. One of six children, I had an idyllic childhood with wonderful parents. On leaving school I worked in administration for Marks and Spencer for 33 years and for the last 11 years have been working at the Harbour Hospital in Poole. I have been married for 43 years to my husband Brian and we have one son. It was back in 1975 when I was made aware of health problems caused by smoking, when my Dad, who had smoked heavily from the age of 14, died suddenly from a heart attack at the age of 53. We were all devastated. I vowed never to start smoking and never have. In 1990 whilst working for Marks & Spencer, all staff were offered health checks and it was through these I discovered that despite what I thought was healthy eating, I had high cholesterol. I had played netball 2 or 3 times a week for a local club and swam regularly . I cut out most fats and after 4 months went from a size 14 to a size 10. I felt fantastic; if only I had kept up with the diet and exercise! Fast forward to August 2013, I didn't feel quite right; nothing I could explain just weary and under the weather . I continued to work despite feeling very tired and in November 2013 whilst at work, I had a heart attack. I was admitted to Poole Hospital where they discovered my artery was narrowed and I had a stent inserted at RBH. It was after attending cardiac rehab, I realised how great the Poole Heart Support Group are and just how much they do for us. I am just so grateful and feel glad to be alive! Thank you for being there.
Maureen 25
PHSG Magazine
By Keith Matthews The Cutting Edge Advances in Medical Technology - Optical Coherence Tomography 2 In the last Winter issue we covered Optical Coherence Tomography as a new cutting edge diagnostic technique. The beauty of it is of course that it does not involve cutting! The use of OCT in eye diagnosis seems a logical thing for an optical technique but the science is wider Michelson Diagnostics is a new UK high-tech company in the forefront of OCT techniques. Here their Vivosight OCT probe is used ranging than that. to examine a skin lesion. Now this emerging technology based on laser scanning is giving dematologists a new and powerful way to “see beneath the surface” Until now, no imaging technology was available to dematologists that could reveal sub-surface skin tissue with any useful result, so they had to make a visual assessment backed up by biopsy. This means physically removing a piece of skin which is sent to a pathology lab for analysis, and is not pleasant, can leave a scar, and it is timeTake a Deep Breath - A Reminder! consuming. OCT delivers sharp pictures because it is based on light, rather than sound or radio frequency. An optical beam is directed at the tissue, and a small portion of this light that reflects from sub-surface features is collected. Most light is not reflected but scatters off in all directions. In conventional imaging, this diffusely scattered light contributes to a background that obscures an image. However, in OCT, a technique called interferometry is used to record the optical path length of received light allowing rejection of most of it that scatters multiple times before detection. Thus OCT can build up clear 3D images of thick samples by rejecting the background signal while collecting light directly reflected from surfaces of interest.
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Now OCT scanners have come to the rescue as the dermatologist can scan all of a patient’s lesions and identify which ones are cancerous, and if any are, whether the tumour is sufficiently shallow to respond to noninvasive non-scarring treatments, as well as readily performing follow ups. Make no mistake that this is an upcoming technique and yes, you read it here first in PHSG Magazine!
Keith
Exercise is so much in the right g easier ea r ! PHSG Clothing
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This exclusive range of clothes are available from the PHSG Sizes Small, Medium, Large & Extra Large. Round or V-Neck Ts
Contact: Sandra Llewellyn at geoll@talktalk.net ,01202 605455 or ask your trainer.
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PHSG Magazine
Come Walk With PHSG For those who are interested in the Walking Group, We walk every 10 days on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 2 to 5 miles. Some of us round off the day’s walk with a Pub lunch! If you require more information or the full Walking Book (£3) please contact me on 01202 733956.
Saturday 13th September Bovington Heath to Morton 10:00am Distance 3¾ miles - OS 194 SY810911 Take the A35 and at the roundabout just before Bere Regis, turn left on the road signed to Wool and Bovington. After 2¾ miles turn right signed Bovington - Tincleton. Follow this road for 1¾ miles, just pass a left turn the track and parking will be found on the left. Follow the track for 1½ miles over a long bridge to village. Retrace your steps back to the fork, turn right follow this track, bearing left through the wood. Bear left again up the hill through the woods back to the cars.
N I thought I’d like to be in the Ramblers and phoned to join, but the guy who answered just went on and on!
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Wednesday 24th September Longham & Hampreston 10:00am Distance 3ž miles - OS 195 SZ066986 Meet on the road outside Haskins Garden Centre at Longham and park locally. N Walk up Ham Lane a short way, at the end of the bungalows turn right to a footpath through woods to fields. Cross the field and follow the path onto road, turn left and go through Hampreston village to the church. Turn left up the footpath and follow on to lakes, go round small lake and back to the cars.
The Walking Group’s picnic at Linwood on Saturday 2nd August. We had a little rain to start but Cyril organized the weather to change to a very sunny day. He had also arranged a golf tournament to find the best golfer who was Malcolm Travers and Sylvia Chapman won the ladies prize, the prize was a large bag of manure. If anyone who would like to have a copy of the photo please e-mail Jim Waine at jim.waine2@btinternet.com
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☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺
☺ I went to a pet shop to buy a goldfish. The shopkeeper said “Do you want an aquarium?” I said, “I don’t care what star sign it is.” ☺ I bought some Armageddon cheese today, and it said on the packet. “Best before End.” ☺ I was reading this book today, “The History of Glue”. I coudn’t put it down. ☺ A cowboy walks into a German car showroom; “Audi!” I phoned the local builders today, I said to them “Can I have a skip outside my house?” He said, “I’m not stopping you!” I went to the local video shop and I said, “Can I borrow Batman Forever?” He said “No, you’ll have to bring it back tomorrow.” Two horsey ladies walk into a bar and one says to the barman “Hello, could we get a large aperitif?” He replies “I really doubt it, love.” “Alright then, we’d like two liqueurs please.” “OK love, but watch what you’re doing with those teeth!” My mate is in a rock band who clean up their dressing room after each gig. They're called OCD/C. A man asked me if there was a B & Q in Basingstoke, I said that there wasn't and that he was probably thinking of Quebec. If the Queen were to take a selfie, would it be a onesie? What do you call a dinosaur that does things quickly? A Prontosaurus. What is the most appropriate religion for a coffee addict? C off Ee! Are you sure it isn’t Caffholic? Or Latte Day Saints maybe?
FIFTY SHEDS OF GREY - As seen by Men ☺ They asked me to smear their naked bodies with the produce from my herb garden but I just couldn't do it. Too many women, not enough thyme. ☺ Her body tensed and quivered as she felt wave after wave flow through it. Probably should've told her about the electric fence. ☺ As I lay there on the floor, my body covered in treacle and whipped cream, I heard those inevitable words . . . “Clean up on Aisle Three”. ☺ “Are you ready to be tortured in a way only a woman can torture a man?” she asked. I nodded nervously. “OK” she said and ate half my chips. ☺ “Harder!” she cried, gripping the table even tighter, “Harder!” “Alright,” I said, “What's the gross national product of Nicaragua?” ☺ “I'm a bad girl,” she whispered, “Punish me in a way only a real man can!” “Alright,” I said and left my wet towels on the bathroom floor. ☺ “I want it now against this wall!” she ordered, “And keep it up as long as possible.” “Don't worry,” I said, “I know how to put up a shelf.” ☺ “How do you feel about using toys in the bedroom?” she asked. “Fine,” I said, “But I can't see how we're going to fit a Scalextric in here.” ☺ We tried various positions - round the back, up against a wall . . . but the bottom of the garden was the only place for a really good shed.
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An Indian Chief was feeling very sick so he summoned the Medicine man. After an examination the medicine man took out a long thin strip of elk rawhide and gave it to the chief, telling him to bite off, chew, and swallow one inch of the leather each day. After a month the medicine man returned to see how the chief was feeling. The chief shrugged and said, “The thong is ended, but the malady lingers on.â€? As a butcher is shooing a sausage dog from his shop, he sees a ÂŁ5 note in the dog's mouth and a note reading "Half pound of beef sausages, please." Amazed, the butcher takes the money, puts a pack of sausages in the dog's mouth and quickly closes the shop. He follows the dog and watches him wait for a green light, look both ways, and trot across the road to a bus stop. The dog checks the time table and sits on the bench. When a bus arrives, he walks around to the front and looks at the number, then boards the bus. The butcher follows, dumbstruck. As the bus travels out into the suburbs, the dog takes in the scenery. After awhile he stands on his back paws to push the "stop" button, then the butcher follows him off. The dog runs up to a house and drops his bag on the porch. He goes back down the path, takes a big run, and throws himself -Whap!- against the door. He does this again and again. No answer. So he jumps on a wall, walks around the garden, beats his head against a window, jumps off, and waits at the front door. A big guy opens it and starts cursing and pummelling the dog. The butcher runs up screams at the guy: "What the hell are you doing? This dog's a genius!" The owner responds, "Genius be blowed, this is the second time this week he's forgotten his key!"
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PHSG Cycling Group Rides Rides are about 15 to 20 miles long, the rides are open to all members of the PHSG as long as your doctor approves. For help, advice, weather check and bike maintenance call Keith Matthews on 01202 855001. We’ll arrange to check out your bike if it needs it. STARTS 10:00am Meet & Destination Sunday 21 Sep Ringwood Underpass - New Forest Run Sunday 12 Oct “Gridiron” 100 www.wessexctc.org/grdet.htm Sunday 19 Oct Wimborne Square - Blandford Bevy Sunday 23 Nov Broadstone Liesure - Poole Quay Sunday 21 Dec Hill View Road - Mince Pie Meet In bad weather call before 9:00am to see if the ride is going ahead.
“When you stop pedaling your bicycle, you fall off.” Mark Twain “A tourist is a fellow who drives thousands of miles so he can be photographed standing in front of his car.” Emile Ganest
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PHSG Cyclists at the New Forest Airfields Museum
I took my bike to the bike shop. I told them I wanted them to make it go faster. They sold it to someone else!
CTC and the Winged Wheel
By Keith Matthews
PHSG cycle rides are organised under the umbrella of the Cyclists’ Touring Club. The CTC is the oldest touring club in the world founded in 1878 and run continuously ever since. Back then when cycling was new and before cars hit the roads,the club was mainly for the rich and CTC appointed hotels around the country and issued large cast iron badges which were fastened to the buildings. These were pretty substantial things and many of them are still there 120 years later. The nearest one to us here is on the White Hart at Sturminster Newton so take a look next time you are passing. You’ll find the landlord is well aware of the antiquity of his sign which is why it is well maintained. You can read all about these signs and their history on a website that I publish where the locations are all listed at www.wingedwheels.info Recently, I achieved my ambition of acquiring one of these “Wheels” for myself from the widow of a cyclist in Derbyshire who recognised Before and After for the 120 year old cast iron sign someone who would appreciate it best. Transporting it was no mean feat; it weighs 56lbs. Fortunately I was taking a short break in Staffordshire and could meet up. A local paint shop shot-blasted it for me and powder coated it black leaving me to line out the features in white. People who restore these signs often want to paint them in the CTC colours of blue & yellow but this is wrong. They were not the colours then and the only outdoor paints available readily to the Victorians were black and white!
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PHSG Magazine
HOLIDAY WORD SEARCH ALCUDIA; ALICANTE; ANDRATX; APARTMENT; AQUARIUM; BLANKETTRIP; CALVIA; CAMPOS; CANPICAFORT; CATAMARAN; CAVESOFDRACH; FELANITX; HOTEL; INCAMARKET; ISLASDRAGONERA; LLUCMAJOR; MAGALUF; MALLORCA; MALLORQUIN; MANACOR; MONTUIRI; ORANGEBLOSSOMTRAIL; PALMACATHEDRAL; PALMANOVA; POLLENCA; PORRERES; PORTOCRISTO; SANTAMARGALIDA SANTAPONSA; SOLLER; SONSERVERA; VALLDEMOSSA; WATERPARK
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A X G Z K S R P T E K R A M A C N I L
S Z L A R D E H T A C A M L A P I N A
Our Word Searches are compiled by Derek Pope
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Crazy English ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
The bandage was wound around the wound. The farm was used to produce produce. The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse. We must polish the Polish furniture. He could lead if he would get the lead out. The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.. A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum. When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes. I did not object to the object. The insurance was invalid for the invalid. There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row. They were too close to the door to close it. The buck does funny things when the does are present. A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line. To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow. Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present. The wind was too strong to wind the sail. Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear. I had to subject the subject to a series of tests. How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France . Sweetmeats are sugary while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on. English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU BECOME UNWELL Medical help and advice is available if you become unwell when your GP surgery is closed. You should: Dial 999 or go to A & E as soon as possible if you are worried about the sudden onset of new symptoms or have suffered a serious Injury or illness. A & E departments are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They are for a critical or life threatening situation, for example chest pain, suspected heart attack, severe breathing difficulties, severe loss of blood, loss of consciousness, deep wounds and suspected broken bones. They are not for minor injuries or health problems, nor an alternative to seeing your GP or for a ‘second opinion’ if you have already seen your GP. You can also call Non Emergency Care on 111 if you are feeling unwell but not facing a life-threatening emergency and you are unsure what to do. Use 111 if you need information about finding a pharmacist, dentist or other service and cannot wait until your GP surgery opens. This service replaces the old Dorset Out of Hours Medical Service. Go to an NHS Walk-In Centre or Minor Injuries Unit with a minor injury or illness. Find the nearest one by calling 111
REMEMBER IF YOU HAVE CHEST PAIN DIAL 999 WITHOUT DELAY
Poole Heart Support Group, Poole Community Health Centre
Shaftesbury Road, Poole BH15 2NT Affiliated to the British Heart Foundation and Arrhythmia Alliance - The Heart Rhythm Charity Hill View Typesetting 01202 855001 Printed by Top Coat 01202 820959