Family Matters

[Stanley]

The hospital says that this is not a stroke but that was what the paramedics thought it was. No doubt we will learn more in the next few days. Margaret is looking after her son Alex. Grandmas are bloody marvellous!

[Sue]

A friend of ours suffered a stroke while out running, she is in her 30s. It's been a fairly slow recovery but she's back driving now, I never realised how common it was in younger people.

It is quite common and is sometimes family related, weak blood vessel walls being the link . I have one acquaintance when both mother and daughter were affected. In france, one of our earlier neighbours died from one in her early 40s. I think that is an extreme situation , but it was not recognised as a stroke and being a very rural area with few hospitals and ambulances help was not immediately available. Her daughter has now been tested and is monitored

[Stanley]

They have said that Katie hasn't had a stroke but is not well so they are keeping her in for observation and further tests.
Meanwhile, the Tontine goes on and and determined to stay alive long enough to claim the legacy! Jarndyce v Jarndyce is alive and well in the 21st century.

[PanBiker]

Sorry to hear about your grand daughter Stanley. Have they had her in a scanner? Not good to speculate but my transient symptoms scored over 80 from 100 on the stroke scale and I was put through that clinic twice. We now know what the actual diagnosis was. Meningioma's are a lot more prevalent in women than men as they are hormone driven. The Brain Trust FB support site I subscribe to has a lot more women contributors, probably over 90%.

Meningioma Support Group TBTC

[Stanley]

Yes Ian, full range of investigations.

[PanBiker]

Good, it took over four years between episodes for them to scan me.

[PanBiker]

Picked our Ruby up from Sandbach services yesterday. Set off at 3.45 as I needed some petrol. Ruby's mum was setting off at 4pm from her end. Uneventful drive down the M6 but we normally go past to the A500 roundabout below Sandbach to turn round, we meet at the northbound services. Radio was correct in reporting that there was a massive 25 mile tailback on the northbound side due to a couple of breakdowns taking lanes out on the not so smart sections! The tailback was from our stop in Cheshire all the way up to Preston. So we stopped on the southbound side and went over the pedestrian bridge onto the north side. No sign of the Stratford contingency so we got something to eat. Got a text message to say they were stuck just north of Birmingham, more breakdowns taking lanes out. The car parks on both sides are 2 hour limits enforced by ANPR cameras and backed up by a punitive fine of £350 or you can pay for an extra hour via mobile for £12.00.

As they were miles off and we were already 1 hour into our free parking we decided to move the car to the other side as the traffic south of the services had cleared a bit. Back over the bridge and down to the A500 roundabout, all the way round and back up the other carriageway. Parked again in the northbound with the clock ticking, it was now 18.30. Ruby reported that they had done 5 miles in the last hour so it was slow going. They eventually tipped up at 20.05. Just time for a quick natter and then we had to get out of Dodge. Thankfully the northbound had cleared by then so Laura could get to her turnaround just north of the services and we could sail through and back home.

It was nice to see Ruby's sister Neive who was with them, they had to come via Birmingham as Neive had an appointment at Birmingham hospital. She was recently assaulted in Stratford by a 16 year old lad who broke her jaw. She has had to have surgery and has weekly appointments for the next 8 weeks to adjust the wiring in her jaw. She's on a liquid diet and has had to give up college and has also missed her final practical exams for the course she is doing. She's a bonnie lass and thankfully the surgeons have been able to do all the pinning and wiring on the inside of her mouth. The lad that thumped her when she tried to stop him to stop abusing her friend was previously known to the police and has been picked up. No more information on what they will or can do with him.

[Stanley]

What a tale of woe Ian.... The joys of modern motoring.
I suspect the traffic will be even worse today and tomorrow. I shall have a walk and a sit on the bench watching the lights change on the pedestrian crossing.

[Tizer]

We always reckoned that in his later years my father would have loved to live in a house directly facing one of those tyre & exhaust sheds. He'd have spent his time sitting in the front room watching all the different vehicles come and go, men changing the tyres and exhausts, an ever changing scene. In summer he'd have sat in the garden watching. We once saw such a place in Falmouth, a lovely house and garden and it probably had views reaching to the docks as well. Nirvana!

During my undergraduate days in Liverpool, while between lodgings, I lived for a while in the end room on the top (6th) floor of the YMCA on a hill. I had a fantastic view over the centre of Liverpool, the Pier Head and down river to the docks. Nowadays, most people have to spend millions on a penthouse apartment to get views like that!

[Stanley]

I used to deliver calves regularly to Mr Scholar at Drummore on the peninsula below Stranraer. One thing that always struck me about the village was that at some time there must have been a very steep hill down to it and the road had been improved by building a causeway to reduce the severity of the slope. There were three cottages in the lee of the embankment and I remember that the one at the end completely blocked off by the causeway was named ‘Nae View’.

[PanBiker]

Well that's Sally and Ruby delivered to Skipton station. They are going up to Scarborough for a couple of days.

Silsden grandchildren went home yesterday and are now on their way up to the Lakes on a Wainwright hill bagging mission. Our Carla has set her sights on doing them all and this jaunt should tick off five separate peaks on one circular walk.

[PanBiker]

Our Jack is driving Sally and Ruby back down to Stratford, Isla has gone along for the ride. It has been nice to see Ruby, first time in nearly 18 months, she has the tall gene from our Dan and at 12 years old is already a couple of inches bigger than me so that will be around 5'10". She's just finishing her first year at secondary school, how time flies and I doubt she will get picked on as she towers above all her friends of the same age and older teenagers. Easy to spot on the fairground field yesterday.

Ruby is taller then Jack and myself and there is only a year between her and Isla.

[Stanley]

Like the pic and your T shirt Ian!

[PanBiker]

Doc has posted some tragic news on Facebook about their son Alan. Police had to break into his house and they found him dead. No further information at this point. I have expressed condolences.

Docs Facebook

[Big Kev]

Just read the FB post, devastating news for them.

[Stanley]

That's terrible news. Is his email link still alive Ian?

[PanBiker]

Not sure Stanley. Since he went sailing I have only ever contacted him via Facebook or Messenger. You could try it and see if it bounces.

[Stanley]

[Stanley]

It hasn't bounced but no response yet....

[PanBiker]

An update from Docs Facebook page:

"Update 1:
First of all Carole and I would like to thank everyone for their kind words and offers of support, they are very much appreciated and have been of great help in these difficult times for our family.
We have appointed a funeral director to organise Alan's retrieval from Leeds to bring him home, however we cannot get a date for his funeral due to the big backlog of post-mortems to be carried out for all the covid victims.
So until we can get a date we cannot put in place any plans which is very frustrating for us as a family, so please bare with us.
I will post another update as and when I receive more information, once again thank you all for your thoughts."

Very similar to when we lost our Dan. Difficult enough working at the other end of the country. It must be a nightmare organising from the other side of the world. There will no doubt have to be an inquest once the post mortem has been carried out, you are then in the queue for the court system. That could be months down the line.

[Cathy]

What a sad and very hard thing to face and get through. My heart goes out to Doc, Carole and family.

[Tizer]

Sometimes it's best when a normal funeral can't go ahead, as in this case, to ask the funeral director to go ahead and cremate the body and retain the ashes or pass them to someone who will take care of them in the meantime. Then a commemoration (if that's the right word) can be held much later when a gathering can be organised and the ashes buried or scattered as desired. This was the case for one of my work colleagues who died of cancer. Their was a dispute in the family at the time so the body was cremated and we attended a commemoration at a much later date once everything had settled down.

[PanBiker]

What a sad and very hard thing to face and get through.

We can relate to that of course and understand more than most what Doc and Carole will be feeling. Regardless of cause you should never have to bury your children.

[Gloria]

Words aren’t enough, but I am so sorry

[PanBiker]

Our Carla is driving Ruby back down to Stratford today. Sally and Isla have gone with them so it's just me and Fin for the day.

Ruby is just short of 6 feet tall now, she is 12, she definitely has her dads genes in that department, our Dan was 6' 3". Isla who is just a year behind is about 5' 5" or so. It's been nice having them and we have had some good fun. We don't know when we will see Ruby again, they have a glamping trip planned somewhere and a trip to New York that may or may not come off due to the pandemic.

Carla will be scooping Fin up when they get back which will probably be around tea time or just after. Two weeks with Ruby and the Silsden pair for about a week is about enough. We know why we have kids when we are young.