A place to have a chat.

User

Posted 26 May 2025 at 16:11

Yeah mate, a good teacher earns my utmost respect. You won't believe this, but at one time in my career, I used to tutor baby bobbies or plodlings as I used to call them. 'Well they never told us you could do like that at training school" they used to say. No,they they wouldn't dare I thought. 😁

Anyway enough.of this idle chit chat let's get back on the cancer track. I haven't thought much about it today, what about you?

Edited by member 27 May 2025 at 06:08 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 26 May 2025 at 17:07

Wot - thinking of cancer. Not really. Went on the PCaUK shop the other night after a few drinks though, to buy myself some stuff. Like to help, even if in a small way, make the world aware of PCa when out and about.

User

Posted 26 May 2025 at 17:26

Yeah , I've bought tons of the little pin badges PCUK men, but they have been poor. I've got tons of broken little men in the central console of the car, because they've fallen of my jackets/coats whilst I've been driving.

It matters not Spongebob, no matter how flimsy the merchandise, we made the effort and the charity is ace, mate👍

Edited by member 27 May 2025 at 00:26 | Reason: Typo

User

Posted 26 May 2025 at 21:00

Yeah, I agree, I’ve tried a few of the tops and they are all very flimsy and always on the small side of small. Still, no matter at least the money goes where it should (I hope) and the pin badges are good and sometimes start a conversation.

Must have been a good wheeze teaching plodettes?

User

Posted 26 May 2025 at 22:41

Yeah, I am (was) a Tutor at Foston Hall Womens prison. Very, very different from men's prisons I worked at before. Lot of needy, damaged people in there, levels of self-harm very high. You can probably guess what a Code Blue and a Code Red are, and we usually had 3-4 a day of those.
My final decision to not stay working during Chemo was when one of the recovering addicts who was on Methadone (also she was partially blind due to taking some very nasty stuff) took the pen she was using which wasn't working very well and put it in her mouth to lick it, then tried to hand the pen back when it still didn't work.

My favorite tipple is some sort of Golden Ale, I'm not an IPA fan - too hoppy for me, I prefer something like Badger's Golden Champion.

Of course at the moment I'm on nothing but have been pleasantly surprised by the quality of the zero alcohol lagers now available. Just had the zero % Madri tonight and its rather nice. I had some tonight as my hair all started to fall out this morning as in seriously fall out. So I shaved it all off tonight. Haven't been without a beard for nearly 40 years so it was a bit of a surprise, is that my chin? wow its small!
So had a little celebration with my wife - Goodbye Beard!

Talking of birds, we've two gold finches in the hedges at the bottom of the track and they fly along by the car when you're driving to the road, what beautiful little things they are, so pretty.

I can also now wear the T-Shirt I ordered off Amazon in preparation for this moment, it says:

"My Oncologist does my hair"

TTFN

Al

User

Posted 26 May 2025 at 22:59

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

I can also now wear the T-Shirt I ordered off Amazon in preparation for this moment, it says:

"My Oncologist does my hair"

😂

Al, I'm thinking of getting a bespoke T shirt with 'Crap not as erect' on it.

It's an anagram of prostate cancer. With one in 8 men getting it I reckon I could make a fortune, selling them. Problem is, it would take a brave man to wear one. 🙂

Edited by member 26 May 2025 at 23:53 | Reason: Typo

User

Posted 26 May 2025 at 23:34

I'd wear one, no worries, would you need a picture of a sad little sausage or something like that on it though? :-)

User

Posted 27 May 2025 at 07:02

Al, I like the idea of putting some sort of symbol on my 'Crap not as erect' T shirt. What about the male biology gender sign, you know, the one with the circle and the arrow on it, accept the arrow could be droopy rather than straight. I think it might have been done before though and I dont want to get done for copyright. ©️ 😁

I bet it was difficult tutoring in prison. After the Strangeways riots in 1990, whilst they were rebuilding the place , we housed a few of the really bad lads, in our cells. So we played at being prison officers for a few months, on overtime, on our days off. It was damn hard work. Some of our lodgers had obviously done some DIY training, they could even make knives out of old toothbrushes.🙂

I don't know about you lads, but I'm still struggling getting a solid night's kip. I'm usually up at least twice a night for a pee and now that daybreak is getting earlier, sometimes it's difficult to get back to sleep. Recently I've been awake about 4:30 am, then find I'm absolutely knackered by mid afternoon. I'm lucky I've retired and haven't got to face work while fatigued. It must be hard for those that have to.

I think I'll have an early stroll around the garden. Everything seems to be in flower, the allium and bearded iris look especially good. We're feeding our blackbirds sultanas. They are getting so tame that they sit on the bench next to me having their fruity breakfast. They repay me in the afternoon with their beautiful song.

Hope you all have good day. 👍

Edited by member 27 May 2025 at 07:22 | Reason: Additional text

User

Posted 27 May 2025 at 09:56

Full respect to you Al, that prison tutoring sounds like some gig! And hats off to anyone who continues to work while being treated for PCa. It basically forced my retirement, the fatigue and brain fog that comes with HT would have severely impacted my ability to do my old job.

Adrian, I’m up and about every 2 hours at night, wake up to hot sweats then go for a pee, then lay awake for a while before grabbing 30 winks before the next cycle. Hence permanently knackered.

Al, talking beer you are in the right place here. I recently had the perfect pint of Theakeston’s Old Peculiar 😃 (with alcohol left in it).

User

Posted 27 May 2025 at 12:37

Hi guys.

I’ve not been in the pub the last few days and quite surprised and happy that it’s been quite busy in my absence. Great to hear all your news and to see new customers. Was really nice to see Spurs win something at last. Was really sad to see what happened in Liverpool yesterday. What the hell is the world coming to..?

Still feeling a bit shitty and still not eating properly. Palliative nurse is prescribing me some mouth wash… ! Must admit it’s getting me down a bit now. Especially when they made a big thing about the Radium not really having side effects. Maybe it’s the Zolandronic acid 🤔.

Reducing down to 0.5mg Dexamethazone from tomorrow to see what that does… They thought by upping it to 2mg it would increase my appetite but it didn’t work. So we’re going down and hoping to come off them completely.

Granite worktops and hob going in kitchen tomorrow so missus is all excited. As I’m still not eating an evening meal I’m not quite so enthralled.. . But it will look better 🤣. Although gotta pay for it now 🤷🏼

We chose an unusual hob with 3 zones in a row. Enough for us two and it looks quite cool … 🤣

Gotta go now as we’re taking the missus car in for some work. I do love the Mini and it looks like new when washed and drives really nice but it does cost a bit in maintenance considering it’s only done 25k. Gearbox sensor washer gone now and m/dealer wanted £250 to diagnose even though I know what’s wrong… then I heard £2500 to fix…. So found a well respected specialist who charge £70 for diagnosis and hoping the work will be less than £2500 🤞

I’ll be back 👍

Cheers

Phil

User

Posted 27 May 2025 at 13:15

I feel cheated. I just typed out a lengthy post to put on here, pressed the post button and got the dreaded error 502 message 😖

Haven't got time to retype it all, but yes, I am still tired all of the time and sleeping badly. Also, Adrian and Al, both T shirts sound great 👍

Also, our Woodpecker has made a return to our garden! Costing us a fortune in peanuts, but lovely to see it every morning.

Cheers,

Ian.

User

Posted 28 May 2025 at 00:40

I think I've got the opposite issue as in I'm up really late (again) Just sat here having hot sweats which is fun.
I'm experimenting with different foods for the ol' chemo mouth. Curry seems to be working, chilli as well, Salt and Black pepper crisps worked well tonight as did a strong goats cheese. Can't taste sliced ham at all, just tastes cold 'cos its from the fridge.

The avatar photo of me is from yesterday (day before yesterday) now when all my hair decided to fall out in the space of about 4 hours. I've had a beard for nearly 40 years - a white long goatee\biker one for most of it (my hair went white after an industrial accident when I was 25).
So it was quite a shock to have to go upstairs and shave what little of it was left off.
My wife still hasn't got used to me at all, I'm frightening myself walking past mirrors!

Tip for saving long posts before you post 'em-
Have Notepad or Word open
Hold down Ctrl and A together and it will select everything you've written
Then do a Copy and Paste into Notepad or Word
Then you have a copy if it all flamingoes up (like a cock up but bigger)

T-Shirts turned up today, ready for Alfest now. Just sorting out the Soundsystem and my home-made video wall.

Al

Al

User

Posted 28 May 2025 at 07:07

Hi Al,

I bet you miss your biker facial hair, and it was very tactless of me to mention how beautiful my bearded Iris were looking.

I think you look really cool.

I've always had very short, no 1 cut hair, and for the last few years a closely cropped beard. The other day I shaved it off and my five year old granddaughter said "Grumble, you look like a fat baby with a big nose and big ears!" You've got to love kids' honesty, haven't you. 🙂

Ian, great to hear, you've got a woodpecker feeding. Is it a green or greater or less spotted? I can't remember the last time I had a beautiful bird on my nuts.

Did they ever do a Carry on Gardening?

Edited by member 28 May 2025 at 11:30 | Reason: Additional text

User

Posted 28 May 2025 at 08:13

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

Ian, great to hear, you've got a woodpecker feeding. Is it a green or greater or less spotted? I can't remember the last time I had a beautiful bird on my nuts.

Greater spotted one mate, and they're the only nuts I get any pleasure from nowadays........Oooh matron 😆

User

Posted 28 May 2025 at 08:25

Mine are old and may have gone mouldy or perhaps they're hanging in the wrong place!? Apparently they like something nearby that's firm to perch on. That could also be problematic?

Anyway. I'll keep trying.

Edited by member 28 May 2025 at 08:58 | Reason: Additional text

User

Posted 28 May 2025 at 09:10

All this talk about prison, I've only been in three (not as a prisoner), visited the Crumlin Road Gaol last April and Bodmin a few years ago. I have to say that Bodmin jail had a really depressing atmosphere, I couldn't imagine what it would be like being locked up. The old prison in St Albans is now a wedding venue and registry office, ironic eh?

Adrian, safety tip: watch out for woodpeckers when you're using invicorp.

Hey Phil,

Sorry you're still having a rough time with your treatment. It'll be great to have the kitchen finished. And the Mini has come a long way since The Italian Job eh, hope you get it fixed🤞🏻

Been several spammers posting this morning, I wonder if they get error 502. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Cheers all,

Kev.

Edited by member 28 May 2025 at 09:55 | Reason: Added note

User

Posted 28 May 2025 at 09:24

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

The old prison in St Albans is now a wedding venue and registry office, ironic eh?

Still being used for those facing possible life sentences, then? 😁

This 502 problem is a pain! Do you think we're being torpedoed by the same hackers that tried to sink M&S and the Co-op, thinking we were part of the Tena group?

Edited by member 28 May 2025 at 09:34 | Reason: Additional text

User

Posted 28 May 2025 at 10:07

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

We chose an unusual hob with 3 zones in a row. Enough for us two and it looks quite cool … 🤣

I've got a hob with 5 rings. It's fairly cool because only one of them works.

Joking apart, Phil it great to hear from you. I hope that your change in medication dosage restores your appetite. Is it you or your wife that does most of the cooking?

I'm the chef in ours. I've got enough heart and cancer problems without risking stomach upsets.

User

Posted 28 May 2025 at 15:04

Hi guys.

Well granite almost finished and looks good. Fitter coming later today to put Qooker tap and hob in .
Bifolds into conservatory, date to be set yet, and floor in conservatory early July.
Almost done..

I don’t really cook unless it’s really easy or something like Hello Fresh…. But I will do the clearing up 👍. Have no idea how I managed living on my own in Germany in my early 20’s. Oh yeah … loads of restaurants… Balkan Platter 10 Deutsche Marks was my GoTo…

Be interesting to see how the missus gets on with a 3 zone hob. Should be ok as it’s 90cm wide so plenty of room to move pots around and none at the back.

Got a quote for Mini work for £350 which is way better than main dealers. They said the washer/spring that’s broke is £10. So pick Mini up tomorrow or Friday when we have to go into Southend anyway for my Zolandronic acid. We do love the Mini. It’s handling and road holding are amazing and the little 3 cyl petrol engine is so punchy… My missus learnt to drive in a proper Mini even though I’d bought her a Ford Escort for her 17th birthday…. I then bought her a 1 year old Cortina in bright red for her 18th but she never took to it. I might add both were surprises. Looking back I should’ve bought her a Mini 🤷🏼.

Al, hope you are coping with the chemo mouth? I couldn’t handle it at all. I was gagging whatever I eat or drank. I lost over 1 1/2 stone and we stopped after 7 sessions when I’d got really ill. My palliative nurse told me I had oral thrush and I had antibiotics for it and according to a swab my GP did it has gone . But I still get some gagging and my appetite has really gone awol. Hoping it will go soon.

Are you having ice cubes during the chemo infusion? I ended up with flavoured ice poles which were nicer. Didn’t stop my chemo mouth but might help you out.
I also got peripheral Neuropathy in my feet, which I still have. Not a huge deal but can be dealt with by cold boots and gloves. ( you may have noticed in Chris Hoys chemo photo he’s got boots and gloves on). Pretty sure my hospital doesn’t have them. Maybe put your feet in a bowl of cold water 🤣…

But really hope you cope with all the sessions they’ve planned for you.

Feeling right dopey now and need my afternoon nap but fitter coming soon and he likes a bit of a natter.

Cheers guys,

Phil

Edited by member 28 May 2025 at 15:12 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 28 May 2025 at 18:32

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

Have no idea how I managed living on my own in Germany in my early 20’s. Oh yeah … loads of restaurants… Balkan Platter 10 Deutsche Marks was my GoTo…

Hi again Phil.

I was in the Army in Osnabruck in my late teens, 1975-78. Ten Deutsche Marks would buy a litre of any spirits or a sleeve of 200 fags. 50 Deutsche Marks would buy you an half an hour 'cuddle' in the local Eros Centre. Happy days.

I'm pleased that you're happy with your new kitchen, mate. 👍

Edited by member 29 May 2025 at 07:25 | Reason: Additional text

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