I now have Covid 19. Been prescribed PAXLOVID.

Hi Folks. A quick update from my sickbed/desk. Ok, so now 6 days in from my first Covid symtoms and 5 days in from my first positive Lateral Flow Test (LFT). How is it going? Please excuse lack of smart format and presentation.....brain fog IS a thing!! Symptom: All over body ache Sore throat Headache Phlegm in throat Slight wheezing Cough Hoarse voice Lateral flow tested on Monday (4th), Wednesday and today...still positive

URGENT APPEAL. Can you help Divit in his Leukaemia battle ?

Not posted on here for some time but the other day a good friend and fellow NHS worker asked me to post an appeal for a family member. can you help? Divit needs some serious funding to help him win his battle against a particularly rare form of Leukaemia. thank you 😊 Divit's Go Fund ME page

Scirocco 2 Morocco 10 years on. Scarlett Mk3...The new chapter begins :-)

Obviously anyone who has been following my blog over the last 10 years must be aware of the disaster which befell my Mk2 Scirocco Scala "Scarlett".

After my brilliant car was fatally damaged by a 42 ton lorry on the A17 in 2014 I was left, after a messy and financially crippling court case, with not only no car, but with a £2000 legal bill and permanent Tinnitus. The other driver had a much better legal team than me and on the day the judge decided to award fault to both parties....although the 3 versions of the other drivers statement should have made him question what ACTUALLY happened on that cold February morning !!

Anyway. I digress.

This post is to let you know that I AM BACK !

Gone is the Ford Focus ST which i owned for around 2 and a half years primarily due to my long term good friend David who, Observing my predicament and being a very kind fella, offered to sell me the ST for a bargain price......a very welcome and generous gesture being as i had spent the last 2 years feeling incredibly stressed and ultimately humiliated and financially ruined by a system that appears to hold such things as the truth as being incidental to the facts !.....i'm off   again aren't I lol :-)

So. Ladies and Gentlemen. Can i now then present to you Scarlett Mk3 (She's a Mk3 Scirocco so hence the label!)

This cracking motor is an October 2008 Scirocco 2.0ltr TSI GT which is finished in Salsa Red, which is not such a dissimilar colour to my previous Mk2 (Paprika Red)....which is a nod to the old girl of course :-)

Of course this year (September) marks 10 years since I and my excellent friend Glen Place set off on our Scirocco 2 Morocco adventure.....and on our return to the UK we were invited to attend the launch of the New Scirocco Mk3 at Heron VW in Newark upon Trent. If i remember correctly Glen was unable to make it up to my neck of the woods but myself and my son attended with Scarlett and her half Roc trailer.....so the fact i now own a Scirocco from that particular moment in time seems somehow fitting as a continuation of my love of these cars.


So....here she is.

Scarlett Mk3......

Of course the Registration is quite poignant as this is actually my 6th Scirocco (S6) (6 and a half if you count the trailer!) and its a Volks Wagen Scirocco (VWS)... nice :-)

So far the car has been fantastic, and i hope to be showing her at the Scirocco Register National Meeting in August 2018.....alongside Glens newly refurbished 1988 Scala.....should be EPIC :-)

New treatment for ALL

The therapy, which will be marketed as Kymriah, works against acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

I saw this on the BBC and thought you should see it:

Historic 'living drug' gets go-ahead - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-41094990

Pitons and Props 2017.East Kirkby Airfield.

Well . what an amazing day!!

Exotic cars AND Historic Aircraft...bliss !! :-).

Pictures and a full write up to follow .

Adam West AKA Batman dies aged 88

I was really sad to hear that one of my childhood hero's Mr Adam West famous for playing the Batman character in the hit 1960's TV series has recently passed away.

His family released a statement stating that this lovely fella had been suffering from Leukaemia and thanking all for their love and support for Adam over the many years of his career .

RIP Adam West ...THE Batman 😊😊

So. How is MY Leukaemia doing these days ?

Well I am glad to report that so far it is behaving itself ! :-). August 15th  this year marks 11 years since my CLL diagnosis at Grantham Hospital during what i had believed to be a "routine" appointment!!

In the last 11 years I have gone from blood tests and prods every 3 moths to blood tests and check-ups every 12 months. As an added bonus I am now under the excellent care of Mr Tim Moorby,of the resident Haematology Consultants at the hospital I have worked at now for almost 21 years....so getting to my appointments is a relatively straight forward affair :-).

In the old days a decade or so ago I had to make my way to Grantham to see a random consultant {never quite sure who I would be seen by!) and the blood results would take between 7 to 10 days before they arrived at my GP surgery.....awaiting the results was a very stressful situation believe me !

So. I will be 51 in May, diagnosed in 2006 aged 40....now 11 years on...hopefully this little resume will give a bit of encouragement to anyone who is newly diagnosed.....i wish i could have read something like this early on in my journey because fear (and insomnia) had to be the worst aspects in the early years.

As my good friend (Sadly now departed ) Geoff Brocklebank told me in the dark weeks after my shock discovery..." You are more likely to die with CLL than from it".....that simple sentence was like an epiphany to me...and gave me the strength and drive to get my head in order...and to get involved in things such as this Blog. Thanks Geoff....you are sadly missed my friend, but you gave me the inspiration to get off my sorry ass and do something useful with my (new, post CLL) life  :-)

Until next time.

Andy

Can't Pay we'll take it away Delroy Anglin needs your help to find a donor

Hi folks. Ok, this is my first post in quite some time but I felt compelled to post a message appealing for folk to rally together to help a very nice guy that many of us have seen on the TV series "Can't pay we'll take it away".

Delroy always came across as the sort of chap that , given hobsons choice!, most of us would prefer to be knocking on our door in relation to "financial issues"!. He does a job as a court debt collection agent that often  attracts a lot of abuse ...which he always deals with amicably :-).

In November last year Delroy sadly discovered he had developed Leukaemia and indeed is currently in the care of the Royal Marsden hospital.

Delroy NEEDS A BONE MARROW donor IMMEDIATELY!

Can you or anyone you might know from the African Caribbean community help find him one URGENTLY?

If you can could you please contact the Africa Caribbean Leukaemia Trust via their website

Thanks people . Let's hope his search is successful :-)

Best of Luck Delroy. We are all with you my friend :-)

http://www.voice-online.co.uk/article/lifesaving-donor-needed-tv-debt-collector-delroy

Urgent appeal for donors. Nicole Di Pietro-Fisher.

http://m.lincolnshireecho.co.uk/devastated-woman-24-told-she-could-be-dead-within-weeks/story-29548753-detail/story.html

An interesting CLL blog by a US doctor

http://bkoffman.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1

Interesting results from this study...

Study says a major blood cancer is 11 distinct diseases - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-36479291

Police issue e-fit of suspect after teenager with leukaemia robbed

This is awful :-(

Police investigating the robbery of a teenage boy with leukaemia in Leeds have released an e-fit image of the suspect.

The 17-year-old victim was attacked and robbed at knifepoint at about 5pm on Monday, March 7, as he walked down a ginnel between Dixon Lane and Henry Avenue in Wortley. A gold-coloured iPhone 6 that had been given to him by a children's cancer charity was stolen.

The suspect, who was described as white, aged 19 to 20, slim, about 5ft 11ins tall, with a spotty complexion and a scruffy beard, rode off on a black mountain bike along Henry Avenue towards Kellet Road. He was wearing a black coat with a hood, black tracksuit bottoms and had a black drawstring bag on his back, which had a white Newcastle United logo on it.

Despite an excellent response from the public to our previous appeals for information, we have not yet been able to identify the suspect.

We have worked with the victim to produce an e-fit image and we believe it will be a good likeness of that person. We are asking people to put that image together with the physical description, the Newcastle United bag and the CCTV of him riding off on a bike and contact us if they think they know who it might be.

This was a really frightening experience for the victim who already has enough to cope with and we remain determined to do all we can to find the person responsible.

– DETECTIVE CONSTABLE GRANT LEE

Lets just hope that catch this scumbag and get the poor lads phone back for him !!

Hi Honey...I'm Home ........but not a very happy camper.

Well......I am back :-)

No doubt many of my regular readers will be wondering what on earth happened to this blog shortly after my court case regarding the RTA in April 2014. The truth is, after the catastrophic outcome of my claim , which was rejected due to a very good Barrister on the defences side, and ...well lets say, not such a good one on mine!!

I don't want to go into detail on here, but suffice to say the fact that the shock outcome has cost me dearly. Not only have i lost over £6500 in damages, had to endure almost 2 years of stress and financial hardship, but i lost the most wonderful car I think I will ever own....Scarlett the Scirocco :-(

The Ultimate indignity arrived recently. A bill from my "No win,No Fee" legal team...for almost £2800 !!

For what I ask?

Anyway. I won't be talking about this right now except to say that i am taking legal advice from the Legal Ombudsman and a firm of solicitors i have contacted who are very interested in carrying out a review of the entire case ....lets see what they make of the numerous points that I feel need clarification !

The bottom line?

I have a badly damaged Mk2 called Scarlett still sat on my drive and another road worthy Scirocco of the same year,colour and age awaiting transformation to become Scarlett's heir and successor .

I am bruised, battered and angry...but hey, In August I have been living with cancer for 10 years, so life NEEDS to go on and I need to get myself back on track.....I will let the legal experts do their job and hopefully get a few answers as to how this sorry state of affairs came to be .....

Scirocco 2 Morocco.......much more than just a Car !!

Exciting new weapon against ALL being developed

Excitement at new cancer treatment - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-35586834

Lymphoma drug may help in fight against Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's preventative drug hope - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-35558438

Brave BBC journalist Sue looses Leukaemia battle.

Sue Lloyd-Roberts, BBC journalist, dies - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34522789

Mansfield boy given Life saving Leukaemia drug

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/leukaemia-wonder-drug-cures-british-6576878

Revolutionary new CLL drug developed in Leeds

25/09/2015

A revolutionary new cancer drug designed by researchers in Leeds could change the way the disease is treated.

What makes it different is this drug doesn't require chemotherapy - it's an oral drug which has today been licenced for the NHS by NICE - the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence

The treatment, for Leukaemia patients, could pave the way for a new methods of tackling the condition.

Arctic Blast- Making Tracks 2015. Picture travelogue of the Greer brothers journey so far :-)

Ok. So tomorrow (8th March) , the Greer brothers are aiming to arrive at Nordkapp, after an amazing 2500 mile, 7 day drive from the UK :-)

Here then are a selection of pictures i have "borrowed" from their Facebook page...hope they don't mind too much :-p

Arctic Blast 2015...Another Scirocco adventure soon to be underway :-)

I heard some great news today that another pair of brave souls are planning on setting off on an epic adventure a la Scirocco on the 1st March this year :-)

Here are a few details from their facebook "About" page:

• In March brothers Tony and Paul Greer will undertake a daunting driving challenge. Having bought a car for under £1000 they will attempt to drive in a 5000 mile round trip to Nordkapp, the most northerly point in Europe it's possible to reach by car. Nordkapp is 2500 miles away from London on the northern tip of Norway, 700 miles inside the Arctic Circle. The brothers want to raise money and awareness of two charities that have personal importance to them. These are Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research and the Antony Nolan charities who special in blood diseases and manage the national bone marrow register.
  
  You can follow their preparations including a frantic hunt to find a suitable car (This was recently confirmed to be a Mk2 Scirocco!) and get everything organised before departing on Sunday 1st March.
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  Making Tracks - Arctic Blast has been supported by sponsors helping the brothers achieve their goal. You can help to by donating on our Justgiving Team page.
• Website

  https://www.justgiving.com/teams/makingtracksarcticblast

Their facebook page can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/ArcticBlast2015/info?tab=page_info