Autumn Almanac

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

From the dew-soaked hedge creeps a crawly caterpillar,

When the dawn begins to crack.

It’s all part of my autumn almanac.

Breeze blows leaves of a musty-coloured yellow,

So I sweep them in my sack.

Yes, yes, yes, it’s my autumn almanac

The first verse of Ray Davies' famous song came to mind when I awoke early this morning and noticed the trees outside turning - it's coming to that time of year again.

I had my first appointment with physiotherapist Joan McLoughlin - Jo drove me up, but I said I would walk back home myself. Joan briefed me on what I should and shouldn't be doing. She was very happy with my left leg - it's coming along nicely - but my right leg is stiff and sore - I need to get more movement in it. Swinging from a table top and cycling from a static bike with an elevated saddle were suggested. Also, use my walking poles to support my bad leg.

So off I trotted down the hill back home, trying hard to walk properly like I was told - "no peg legs". Well, it didn't work - I made it home, but several times I pulled up in excruciating pain. It was a beautiful day and everyone seemed to be out walking - and they all spotted me, doubled up in pain. I assured them I was OK and I would make it home alright - and I did - but the sharp pains above my knee have increased in frequency and severity. I need to be very careful from here on in.

So that's been my day - I kept myself busy on the computer, reading and digitising some of my old LP's. Golf on the TV was from Kingsbarns, Carnoustie and St Andrews - all courses I know - and they looked terrific in the bright sunshine, so that helped pass a bit of time as well. Am I missing work? I'm missing the freedom to make that choice, that's for sure.

Sorry these blog postings are all medical reports just now, but that's all that's going on in my life just now - and I'm afraid it's likely to continue for a wee while yet.

Wednesday woes

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

No real complaints today, so forgive the use of alliteration in the title. I had arranged to go to Fraserburgh this morning - Ross would drive me as Jo was heading back to Glasgow to pick up her dress for the wedding - it's annual Union negotiations, and, fortunately they went quite well.

We stopped off for lunch at the Mustard Seed coffee shop in New Deer of all places - it's attached to the church there. Very nice, but we were careful not to read any of the literature there - Jo might have appreciated it a bit more than us.

Ross bought what was advertised as "toffee", but, for those who don't have an affiliation with the North East, this would be described as "tablet" in the West of Scotland. Pure sugar.

Back home for the afternoon, I decided I would try and walk to the golf club for a beer - and I managed - eventually - not without some heart-stopping moments, but I got there - and back - OK.

Tomorrow is my first physio visit - and I've decided that I'm not going back to work this week - I can do stuff at home instead.

Tuesday goes too slow

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

Sitting around all day doesn't burn up a lot of energy and so, despite the prospect of breakfast in bed for the 3rd day in a row, I was up at my usual crack of dawn today and have since been trying to while the time away with some work on the laptop.

I walked to get the paper this morning - fancifully, I thought I could manage along to the High St, but, after 20 yards or so, I realised that wasn't going to happen, so I stopped at the garage instead. My knees aren't strong enough yet to go any further.

It's going to be a long day today. At least yesterday I had the Ryder Cup to watch. Ross is driving me to Fraserburgh in the morning - that'll help pass the day. I'm so bored I'm even thinking of going along to watch a beginner's bridge class that Dan Corbett's running this afternoon!

Monday at home

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

It's Monday morning and I survived the weekend boredom - thanks primarily to the Ryder Cup. A few "how are you" phone calls and a brief visit from Syd, who popped in after Sunday morning golf, helped pass the time as well - as did the Sunday Times.

Did a bit of planning for this Friday's headbang as well, and I was in touch with Kelly to start planning our time in Oz.

Today, Jo's driving me back to Albyn for my appointment with the cardiologist, and, later on, it's my GP to check my blood counts after a month of taking statins. Do I feel like an invalid? Well, yes actually.

Incidentally, the surgeon on Friday put some lubricant in my knees, but I didn't realise it was so much that I would be slurping up the stairs! Where does it all go, I wonder?

More medical news

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

Being stuck in the house on a beautiful morning, when I would otherwise have been golfing, what else can I do but blog some more and bore you with my medical progress?

A couple of photos first of all - me with my bandages on last night, on my new chair, with laptop table attachment, sitting in what Jo calls my "pod", surrounded by all my accoutrements and controls:

and this morning, with the big bandages having slipped down my legs overnight, leaving just the 3 waterproof plasters exposed:

Did you know the stitches are real ones that have to be removed in 10 days or so? No more dissolvable ones apparently.

So, it looks like a weekend of Ryder Cup vegetation for me!

Home again

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

I'm home again and all seemed to go well - now it's rest and physiotherapy.

The surgeon briefed me before the ops and etched his "this way up" signs on my legs:

Jo thought my ankle bracelet looked rather fetching too:

Fergus responds

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

Following up yesterday's comment about my tax rebate, it's now on the BBC web site - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11437602. It's framed as a question and answer, but, in actual fact, realising I was a C.A., Fergus asked my advice on the matter!

Here's the narrative on the web site in full:

Q. I was watching your spot on television after the lunchtime news yesterday and I thought I would let you know about another error HMRC made in my favour. I was sent my Self Assessment - Tax Calculation letter last week, showing that I was due a substantial refund. I knew this was incorrect, but hadn't had a chance to check it out properly before the refund actually appeared in my bank account this week. I have two employers, and pay and tax details for both were submitted in my tax return, but they have completely ignored one of them (the larger) and I have therefore benefited by having the whole of my personal allowance applied against the lower of my salaries, plus the benefit of a lower rate of tax being applied. Ian Stewart

A. This letter raises an interesting point - what do you do if the Revenue makes a mistake, that you know is a mistake? It's one thing if they send you some money that you know you are entitled to, another if they send you money that you think you might be entitled to but how should you behave when the Revenue sends you a cheque that you know that you have absolutely no right to have in the first place?

Well the simple answer is that you should behave in the way you would expect someone to behave towards you - and in this case that means giving the money back. It's probably also true to say that there is no doubt that the Revenue would have noticed their mistake - even if it took a few years - and Ian would have had to give the money back then anyway, so better to be upfront and tell the revenue about their mistake - no matter how much it hurts!

Financial fame and pain

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

Did anyone listen to Fergus@bbc.co.uk on his weekly financial spot on the Scottish news at lunchtime today? I missed it but I think I got a mention. He was talking last week about the Revenue's recent cock-ups, so I e-mailed and told him about my recent experience of getting a substantial sum back that I wasn't due - and he phoned me back yesterday to ask for permission to mention my experience and my name.

That was the fame - later on was the pain when I had my appointment with the Oral Surgeon. He definitely thinks I should have the implant - but he would too, wouldn't he? £1,800 for the implant and a further £200 for a CT scan. He told me this was cheap - London was twice this price!

I had a full head X-ray, plus a whole portfolio of digital photos taken, then impressions of gums were taken, so it was a fairly long session. I've now got 4 choices:

1. Do nothing - there's no pain just now, but I was told the infection now has space in my gums and it's likely to return as the little buggers multiply.
2. Have the tooth removed and leave myself with a toothless smile.
3. Have him slit the gums and go in and try to clean it out.
4. Go ahead with the implant - apparently the whole process takes 6 months before the implant is properly settled - and it lasts 15 years or so.

He's going to write it all up so I can consider what to do - and consult with my insurers to see if they'll pay for any of it. He then told me he's doing a Masters in "implantology" and did I mind if I became a cause célèbre for him?

Yours disgruntledly

Men at Work

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

Do you come from a land Down Under? No, but we're going there. After months of hesitation and uncertainty, I've finally made the plunge and booked our trip - and, yes, we're going Business Class - and yes, it's costing an arm and a leg - but what the heck. We're flying BA/Qantas from Aberdeen on 14th January, stopping 3 nights in Hong Kong, then on to Sydney.

We leave Oz on 4th February and stop off for a couple of nights in Singapore on the way home. We've booked hotels en route as part of the package - check them out:

http://www.harbourgrand.com/hongkong/luxury-hotel-,default-en.html

http://www.parkhotelgroup.com/Default.aspx?alias=www.parkhotelgroup.com/phcq

Now all we have to do is get some accommodation and internal flights in Australia - Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, then back to Sydney I think. Haven't had any time share offers yet - looks like it's going to have to be hotels all the way.

What else has been going on? - check my other blogs to see - the golf one has details of a lovely day out on Sunday at our annual Scotland v Rest of the World match. We also made it (just) to the house-warming we were invited to on Friday night round at Burnett Park. Harry and Moira Salter have just moved in next door to Ken and Irene Page, but we had visitors on Friday - Mary, Julie and little Leo came up for the day. We had Luca overnight on Thursday and he and Leo seemed to get on very well at first, although when I got there mid-afternoon, Luca was in the huff - they'd had a little spat - but they were soon speaking again.

Jo then dashed back to Inverurie with Luca, came home, changed, and off we went to Burnett Park. We were just in time for grub - it was curry from the Derbar, who had even supplied the large tagine style vessels to hold it in. I enjoyed it, but Jo never ate - perhaps all the rushing around, or perhaps her diet?

So tomorrow starts with a visit to the Nurse to get my bloods done prior to seeing my GP again on Monday. I then have to dash up to Fraserburgh to attend a funeral - one of my staff died on Friday night - she'd been off work with cancer for over a year - then back down to Aberdeen to see the Oral Surgeon about my displaced eye tooth. This is happening at the same time as Luca goes back to hospital, hopefully to get his arm out of the sling at long last.

Thursday is Fraserburgh again and then, on Friday, it's my knee ops - fingers crossed. A weekend vegetating in front of the Ryder Cup on TV seems to be on the agenda.

I've got my cardiologist to see again on Monday as well, prior to the GP - it's not easy being old and sickly (with apologies to Luca who has copyrighted the phrase "it's not easy with one hand" over the last month).

Meanwhile, we still await the return of the plumber's joiner to tidy up the external pipework he put in -and to do the work we want done in the untility room. This is how the plumber left it:

The above one is just outside the front door, on our porch. The one below is the other side of the wall, inside Ross' WC:

Not very tidy, is it?

Back for good

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

Well, I made it - but it was tough - going up the hills pushed my cardio system and coming down tested my skeletal system - i.e. my knees and hips. Read all about it on my hill-walking blog (links on sidebar of this blog).

I've been OK at work this week, although a little tired and sore in the legs. We had Luca as usual on Tuesday, and he's here again tonight, but, apart from that, I've just been vegetating since I returned from the West Highlands.

Luca's staying overnight tonight and will be here tomorrow when Mary, Julie and little Leo come to pay a (very) brief visit. When I picked the wee man up at nursery this afternoon, I couldn't believe what he was up to - remember he's still got his arm in a sling after breaking his collar bone a few weeks ago. He was hopping all round the nursery! One legged and one armed - risk assessment required! Fearless.

What else is new? Well, surprise, surprise - look at the sight that greeted me when I drove in to the drive last night:

Spot the gap? Yes, the Jag has finally been moved. The tow truck showed up yesterday afternoon and Jo had to help get it moved - there was no battery in the car. Ross was totally oblivious - he knew nothing about it. Same again please with the old Merc.

Tomorrow (Friday), we've been invited to a house-warming just round the corner, and on Sunday we have our end of season do at the golf club - 35 or so of us for lunch.

Woe is Me

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

That was a title from a Helen Shapiro (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Shapiro) song from 1963 and pretty much sums up how I feel today. Let me tell you about it - but stop here if you get bored easily or can't stand the sound of constant whining.

As they say in all the best blues songs, well, I woke up this morning - that was a good start anyway - another day on this planet - number 22,473 to be exact. It was my usual waking time of 5:15 am, but I decided to roll over for a bit and try and get another half hour or so of shuteye. I don't bother with alarms nowadays - my body clock does the trick.

Anyway, next thing I hear is Jo's phone making noises - she'd forgotten to switch it off. It was 6:15 am anyway - definitely time to get up. "Who is it?" said I. "Oh, it's just Mary". "Why is she texting at this time?" "Just saying good morning".

Our next conversation is after I've had breakfast and brought Jo's coffee up. There had been further exchanges of texts. "Mary says it's not looking good for tomorrow". For an instant I thought they might have been thinking about poor me heading over to the West Coast for our walk on the West Highland Way, but, no - silly me - it's the Pope's visit tomorrow and Mary is singing in the choir - outdoors.

I expressed my slight disappointment and was promptly told - "Oh, I'm not feeling sorry for you - you chose to go on this walk" - "and Mary volunteered for the choir" quoth I. Even less sympathy after this remark. What a caring and sharing relationship we have.

What else is bugging me? - firstly, the dentist yesterday. She X-rayed my gum to check out the lump that had appeared. "Oh, dear", she says - "come and look at this". The tooth underneath the lump had been root canal filled many years ago and it looked like the amalgam at the end of the root had moved and it was this that was causing the lump in my gum.

"You'll have to see the oral surgeon" she says. There are only 2 possible solutions - he can either cut a flap in the gum and see if he can fix it that way, but my dentist believes it's most likely that the eye tooth will have to come out and it will have to be an implant to replace it. She quickly muttered something about a cost of £1,900 - surprisingly, I didn't faint.

The oral surgeon only works on Wednesday afternoons and he's not available until 29th September, so that's when I'm seeing him - just 2 days before my knee ops, which, in turn, is 3 days before I see my cardiologist again.

When you're young, you think you're invincible, but when your body starts letting you down like this, mortality becomes a stark reality.

Are you still with me, or have you given up on this depressing tale?

Tuesday night meant Luca for tea as usual, but, with the twin treats of cartoons on a giant TV and Grannie Jo, do I even get a hello from the little man? Not likely.

When Jo took Luca home, Colin came round to watch the Man U - Rangers match. We finished off the last couple of bottles of Nechtan (my birthday ale) but the match was goal-less - pretty disappointing.

When Jo started a bit of a clear-out last week in an effort to unclutter the house a little, I was faced with some tough decisions. My pile of old 45's was an issue - "what shall we do with them?". Knowing I had to make a contribution, and aware that I've still got all my vinyl LP's and back copies of Mojo lying around, I had little option but to say "dump them" - but, boy, did I choke on the words. That's my life history and many memories of youth - when my body still worked - going out the door.

There's still the question of the many souvenir beer glasses, mostly from CAMRA festivals. They've been boxed, but where do we put them? Is there a good home out there for some or all of them?

Moving on, I finished one of the books I bought in USA earlier this year - Rob Sheffield's Love is a Mix Tape. Rather poignant, I thought, but it read well. I've now finally started reading The Kingdom of Fear by Hunter S. Thompson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_S_Thompson), who was a bit of a maverick. I'll see how I get on with this one.

To finish with - a modern moral dilemma. I got my tax assessment in last week. They had worked out that I was due a refund of over £7K for last year - what? They've even since paid it directly in to my bank account. Coming at the time when there's all this publicity about the Revenue issuing error notices to virtually half the population of the UK - and refusing initially to apologise for them - it's left me wondering how to handle this. I know they have miscalculated - they have missed a chunk of my income (I get paid by two separate companies). I know what I'll do in the end - I have to write and tell them - but part of me wants to ignore their error until they discover it themselves.

So, that's it from me for now. My next posting on this blog is likely to be next week. I'll probably update my hill-walking blog with photos from the WHW first of all next Tuesday/Wednesday. Wish me luck - hope my cardio system can get me up some of the climbs.

Morrissey

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

• I've just returned from seeing the dental hygienist and have to go back tomorrow to see the dentist - I've got a lump in my gum - I first noticed it on Thursday and thought it might be an abscess so I phoned the dentist on Friday to get their emergency number in case it flared up over the weekend. It's actually receded a little, and the hygienist assures me that it therefore can't be an abscess, but she can't do anything with it - I have to come back and see my dentist and get it X-rayed tomorrow.
• It's dark and wet outside my office today.
• The Dons and the Jags both got beaten on Saturday

Heaven knows I'm miserable now.

Getting everything ready for our trek this week. We leave on Thursday afternoon and return on Monday. I do hope the weather on the latter part of the West Highland Way is a bit better than it is here today.

Hope you're all having a better start to the week than me.

Belated birthday treat

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

We hadn't had a chance to take Ross out for a meal on his birthday, as we had Luca on Tuesday, so we decided to go out last night - and we invited Gary and Carole along. Here we are, walking up to the Tor-na-Coille hotel - Ross in his new shirt - bought by Gary and Carole - and Luca still in his sling:

The most photographed boy in Scotland can still be coy like his mother when he's asked to smile for the camera:

Slightly better this time - half face at least:

and finally, his Dad succeeded where I had failed:

So, did Ross get this birthday shoes on Wednesday? - nope - "too expensive" says he - but we're paying, Ross! Did he pick any tops etc? Also nope. Have the old cars moved out of our driveway yet? - I think you can guess the answer. Frustrating.

I didn't feel too good yesterday and I'm not sure about today either. Discovered what I think is an abscess in my gum, immediately above where I lost some plaque on one of my eye teeth a few months ago - coincidence or not? Perhaps the poison is getting me down a bit. Need to be fully fit for the West Highland Way next week. I've got an appointment at the dental hygienist's on Monday anyway, so, assuming I survive the weekend, that'll be a chance for them to look at it.

Well, it's 9/11 tomorrow - always get a bit of a shudder when I think about it. It doesn't help when all the loonies come out of their trees, as seems to be happening again now with this nutty pastor from Florida. Better to fight the battles on the sports fields, I think. Which reminds me - the Ryder Cup starts 3 weeks today - when I'm in hospital having my knees done.

Quiz night at the golf club tomorrow - should be fun - and let's hope it stays dry for the weekend too - it doesn't look too nice now, but the forecast's not too bad.

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

It's been pointed out to me that it's been 2 weeks since I posted on this blog - although there are many postings on my other blogs - so I thought I'd start with a photo, just in case you'd all forgotten what I looked like:

This was taken last week as I travelled back from Stracathro from a business meeting. It was a beautiful day as I drove up Cairn o' Mount on the way back to Banchory. Usually, if we stop at the top, we get out at the little car park, where it seems you can see half of Scotland on a clear day, but this time, I thought I would actually go up to the cairn itself - I'd never actually been there before.

I remember when the stones were just a tiny little pile of rubble, but everyone that stops adds a stone and the cairn is now about 15-20 feet high and the same in diameter. Yes, I did add a stone of my own as well. It's also a little bit of a shrine, with flowers and cards on part of it.

Apart from that, what's been happening? Well, sadly, the golf season - and, seemingly, the summer - is coming to a rapid end. No more midweek evening golf now - it's too dark after work to get 18 holes in. The weather feels a bit autumnal as well. 18 of us were at Boat of Garten this weekend - for our 50th outing there in the 25th year of the trophy - and it was really windy, although at least dry, sunny and warm enough to have the shorts on.

Of course, it was Ross' birthday yesterday - 27! We had Luca over for tea as usual and he really enjoyed the chocolate birthday cake and candles - Jo took the photos and will post them on her blog. Jo and Ross are going in to town this afternoon to buy Ross some shoes (last Christmas' present!) and a top or 2.

I'm supposed to be playing in a Seniors match at Kirriemuir this afternoon, but it looked a bit doubtful overnight with the wind and rain. However, it's a bit drier this morning and I've been assured their course is open, so, fingers crossed for a dry afternoon.

One of my pals who was golfing with us at Boat of Garten this weekend - Dick Taylor - Taylors of Banchory - was rushed off to hospital yesterday morning. He was in the shop and felt poorly and had to lay down on the floor, so they called the doctor, who called an ambulance to take him to hospital. They've kept him in for some more tests and some bed rest - it could have been a small stroke, or possibly a viral infection. Dick's always one of the fittest and most bubbly characters - he'll be 65 in a couple of weeks. Scary.

We've got the Quiz night at the golf club on Saturday, which, unfortunately clashes with a gig that the band that is booked for the wedding is doing at the Burnett Arms. Pity.

I think that's me up to date. I corresponded with Kelly on Facebook yesterday and I see Lucy's updated her blog with photos of the boys going back to school, so that was nice to see.