So.What shall we call the new decade then ?

Of course this previous decade became know widely as the "Noughties",a term which came about mostly by evolution of public banter and the need for us to "label" everything.
I have already heard the term "Oneties" bandied around as a posible "label" for the next decade, but can't help but think that it sounds wrong, after all, we did not call the roaring twenties the "roaring twoties" did we...it doesn't sound right.
My suggestion then, if we must "label" the next decade, would be to call them the "Tenties".Why? well it just follows the natural flow Tenties,Twenties,Thirties,Fourties etc,etc.

What do you think ?

Could you Buy a Wristband or Bracelet and help Vicki's family ?

Could you spare a couple of quid after Christmas to help a family who's daughter is fighting Leukaemia ?
Fancy an Ultra Trendy Wristband...or maybe you know someone who might !.

Click HERE to visit Vicki's dads blog and have a read of how Leukaemia has affected this family for several months, then marvel at the amazing way they have coped with the situation they find themselves in.

Imagine if it were your child fighting this disease, wouldn't you be glad to know that complete strangers could help you out by contributing a few quid to help you along ? Come on, in the spirit of Christmas, give a little,help a lot :-)

Thanks :-)

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Scirocco in the Snow..........looks like fun to me !

NHS is being overwhelmed by constant stream of drunks...why ?

Having worked for the NHS for almost 14 years now after my previous "life" in the Armed Forces came to an end in 1996 i still cannot believe the astounding amount of money and resources that are squandered looking after and patching up the louts and lowlifes that clutter our health service.
I read an article today in the Daily Mail (which you can also see by clicking on the link at the end of this post...if you want too!) which reports of the carnage and disgrace that NHS front line staff face in A&E Departments the length and bredth of our country.
The NHS already spends vast sums of cash trying to encourage people to quit smoking (I did this myself at no cost to the NHS 20+ years ago!),trying to control drug use, and,yes, you guessed it,trying to curb peoples consumption of alchohol.Add then to this mix a large section of the population who consider it their "right" to drink themselves into oblivion, and afterwards expect "the rest of our society" to cover the cost of the resulting injury. Why do we tolerate such arrogant,selfish behaviour from this section of society ? I guess it is because,as usual,the powers that be don't want to be seen to be picking on this sad group of people, and don't appear to be able to convince them that drinking on a night out does not have to end up with them being unconcious on a hospital trolley.Maybe perhaps the goverment should start and "persuade" these poor lost souls by way of billing them at the A&E departments that they seem so fond of, you know, in the same way as they "persuade" drivers to slow down by giving them fines for speeding.
How about we bill serial drunks who end up in A&E, and charge them ...ohhhh...about £30, the cost of a couple of rounds, to pay towards their treatment....sounds good to me...what do you think ?

Daily Mail story is HERE......if you want to get REALLY angry :-)

Professor Humphrey Kay: Haematologist who revolutionised the treatment of leukaemia dies aged 86

Professor Humphrey Kay was a pioneer in the treatment of leukaemia and transformed the way doctors dealt with the disease. When Professor Kay entered the field of oncology in the 1950s there was no effective treatment for any form of this disease.

When Professor Kay entered the field of oncology in the 1950s there was no effective treatment for any form of this disease. But thanks to the work he pioneered and steered, by the mid-1980s most children with leukaemia, and a growing number of young adults, were being cured.

Kay was a true polymath, as comfortable with the arts as he was with science, and passionate about opera, ballet and music. He was also an accomplished musician and poet. He published a volume of humorous and reflective verse, Poems Polymorphic. One of these, "The Haematologist's Song", had a refrain of "Blood, blood, glorious blood..." set to The Hippopotamus tune of Flanders and Swann. He would sing it with great aplomb to delegates at national and international haematology meetings.

To read the full story on the Independant Website,click HERE.

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Opening Times for Tesco and Sainsbury's in Sleaford over the Christmas break.

Just thought it might be helpful to post up the opening times of the 2 main Supermarkets in Sleaford during the festive season !

Tesco Christmas opening hours

Monday 21st: 0600 to midnight
Tuesday 22nd: 24 hours
Wednesday 23rd: 24 hours
Christmas Eve: until 1800
Christmas Day: CLOSED
Boxing Day: CLOSED
Sunday 27th: 1000 to 1600
Monday 28th: 0800 to 2200
 
Sainsbury's Seasonal opening hours


Wed 23rd Dec 0800 - 2200
Christmas Eve 0600 - 1800
Christmas Day Closed - Closed
Boxing Day Closed - Closed
Sun 27th Dec 1000 - 1600
Bank Holiday 0900 - 1900
Tue 29th Dec 0800 - 2100
Wed 30th Dec 0800 - 2100
New Years Eve 0700 - 1900
New Years Day 1000 - 1800
Sat 2nd Jan 0800 - 2100

Hope this helps if you need to do an urgent grocery shop !

Merry Christmas World, and I hope you are all having a wonderful time :-)

Of course sadly this is a world that is very often full of tradgedy and misfortune,and some peoples lives are blighted by sadness,poverty and fear, so when we are enjoying our own Christmas celebrations this year, lets all spare a thought and a prayer for those who may not be so fortunate as ourselves.Remember that next Christmas,maybe our own lives may be touched by adversity and misfortune.As the saying goes "There before the grace of god go I".



Happy Christmas to all of my blog readers wherever you may be, and I hope that you all find hope,peace and happiness in this wonderful and magical time of the year.

Andy :-)

Now...time for another mince pie i think...! :-)

Why does the world go mad when the snow falls ?

Having now had snow on the ground for 6 days i have witnessed quitea few examples of the Great British Publics crazy behaviour during such conditions.For Example:

Why do people insist on walking on slippery roads which are carrying  numerous cars travelling sideways so that they don't fall over on the pavements? Is being run over by a car less painful than falling on your backside ?

Drivers who insist on driving in snow,fog and ice without any form of lighting on their vehicles.....are they wearing night goggles or something? Sadly I would guess that the other folk on the road are not, so they stand a good chance of causing or being involved in some sort of bump and will hear those immortal words "Sorry mate, i didn't see you"...which is of course highly likely !.

Shops in Sleaford appear to have not bothered salting thier car parks or paths this year.I overheard a lady telling another customer that it was "If we salt and someone falls over we are liable", "So health and safety suggest that we leave people to make thier own clearway and so avoid litigation if they slip"!.....I have not confirmed this fact, but having heard of other hairbrained rules and regulations over the last few years, i can't say that i would be surprised if it was true.

As my old Gran used to say "There's nowt as strange as folk" !

And now for something a bit Christmassy ! (Is that a real word?)

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How nice is this song ?

Ho,ho ho! :-)

Why you shouldn't sell your gold or mobiles to companies who advertise on TV!......

Having done a little research recently into the recent flood of companies asking you to sell your Mobile phones or Gold to them it would seem that there is a very good reason that they seem so keen to aquire your stuff, most obviously, they are offering you an absolutely awful rate of return !.

Lets take the Postal Gold companies for instance. Why don't they tell you on the adverts what you should expect to get for your gold items? Well, perhaps it is because they (on average) will give you approx £1.34 per ounce for 9 carat gold.And the current market value of 9 carat gold?.....Oh, about £6.00 per ounce!.A slight difference you will agree.No wonder the adverts for these companies are multiplying by the day.

These are the prices quoted for the following companies.Bear in mind that brokers had been paying £6.00+ Per gram when these figures were attained in November 2009.That is a BIG difference !

Cash My Gold - £1.34 per gram

PostalGold.com - £1.48 per gram

Money4Gold - £1.55 per gram

Cash 4 Gold - £1.90 per gram

Your Cash For Gold - £3.67 per gram

GoldenOwl - £3.54 per gram

Cash Your Gold Now - £4.00 per gram

Post Gold For Cash - £5.13 per gram.


This is a good site to view before you sell your gold.Click HERE for enlightenment!
OR
Try this one HERE  for more information before you send your gold anywhere !

How about Mobile phone "recycling" companies? Of course they are encouraging us to send them our old mobiles, but as regards recycling.....anything above 3 years old you may as well give to charity for the pittance they are offering. I checked the value of my 2.5 year old (as then) Sony W850i a few months ago and was stunned to learn that this phone, which cost over £130 new, was valued at only £15!...and that was on condition that it had a charger and was working!.I sold it on Ebay for £39 + P&P a week later, a slightly better deal i think you will agree. Don't even try to sell them your old Nokia 6110 or the likes, cos it appears that their efforts to save the planet are only relevant if it makes them money.

The answer then is to take your gold to your local jeweller and sell your Mobile under 3 years old on Ebay, then perhaps you will get just a little more cash in your pocket, and not be furnishing the deep ones of the TV advertising companies.

Bahhh Humbug :-) Merry Crimbo folks!

Jake Peach has raised over £600,000 for sick children since beating leukaemia

When Santa checks his list of this year's especially deserving boys and girls, Jake Peach's name should be right at the top.

Since last Christmas, the 13-year-old has battled and beaten leukaemia while raising more than £600,000 for sick children and inspiring millions with his bravery.


His fundraising included persuading Premiership footballers to donate a day's pay, rallying support from a 60,000-strong crowd at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, and charming Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah over coffee at 10 Downing Street.

Even when he was honoured with a Child of Courage gong at the Mirror's Pride of Britain awards in October, Jake was more concerned with helping others - using his moment of glory to ask celebrities in the audience for donations.


So the Mirror decided to make Christmas come a little early for Jake with a special delivery, including games for his PSP and Nintendo Wii, and a special DVD of his favourite movie, Transformers 2. Although delighted with his gifts, Jake was far more interested in talking about how he owes his life to the staff of Great Ormond Street - which is why he has raised so much money for the hospital.

To read more click HERE to view the Daily Mirror Website.

Merry Christmas Jake.What amazing fella you are :-)

Leukaemia Boys Dream trip to Eurodisney treat becomes a nightmare.

An east Belfast father has told how he was forced to fork out more than a thousand pounds to get
his eight-year-old son home for a vital leukaemia appointment after a treat holiday to Eurodisney turned into a travel nightmare.

The journey home ended up lasting three days and hours of negotiations with staff. Sydney Harvey from Gilnahirk said at one stage he feared his family might have to spend Christmas in Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.
Mr Harvey took his wife Wendy and three children, including little Ryan to Eurodisney last Monday. They were due to return to Belfast International Airport on Thursday, but their journey home turned into three days waiting around airports.

To read more: Please visit the website of the Belfast Telegraph by clicking HERE

Nicola Coates, 35, loses her brave battle with leukaemia.

COURAGEOUS Nicola Coates has lost a 23-year battle for life after being stricken by leukaemia for the fifth time.


The 35-year-old – who was given a life-saving bone marrow transplant by an American newspaper editor in 2000 after The Press ran a campaign to find a donor – died suddenly in hospital after suffering liver failure caused by the leukaemia.

This is a story of a lady who never gave up the fight for the most precious thing that any of us has...our life.
Many would have quit long before Nicola did, but her determination must serve as inspiration to all of us who are fighting this disease.

To read the complete story, click HERE to go to the York Press Website.

Slowmotion Apocalypse Guitarist NICOLAS MILANESE Diagnosed With Leukaemia

A statement from the band's official MySpace.com page reads: "Unfortunately, this time we're writing for giving you bad news (sic). Only few (sic) days ago we discovered Nicolas suffers from leukaemia. He will have to go through a rather long period of therapy and this won't allow him to give his contribution to the life of Slowmotion Apocalypse.

"We're all shocked and as a band we decided to wait for him to be able to have a normal life and to be able to play with us again. We are therefore taking a pause for an indeterminate period of time. All our shows are cancelled. We're sure you'll understand the reasons of our choice.
"A special message to all our friends: Nicolas needs first of all to have a rest. We ask you not to call him but rather send him text messages."

S2M wishes Nicolas well in his leukaemia journey.

Drug apartheid hits victims of leukaemia in England (daily Mail Online)

Leukaemia sufferers in England will be denied potentially life-saving drugs freely available in Scotland.


The proposal to ban English patients from getting the medication on the NHS has been branded 'stupid and heartless'.
Doctors and campaigners say the Government rationing body's measures will worsen the postcode lottery, with patients north of the border able to get dasatinib and nilotinib that could add years to their lives.

The preliminary guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence affects patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia.


Although the drugs cost £30,000 a year, only a maximum of 300 patients a year are likely to need them.

They have failed to respond to treatment with another drug, called Glivec, or become resistant to it.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1235589/Drug-apartheid-hits-victims-leukaemia-England.html#ixzz0aFrwPuV4








Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1235589/Drug-apartheid-hits-victims-leukaemia-England.html#ixzz0aFred1Vq