THIS POST IS CLOSED
"longer off topic comments" - Episode 9
"longer off topic comments" - Episode 9
Life Outside Ambridge
Life outside Ambridge
Popular posts from this blog
Life in Ambridge
THIS POST IS CLOSED "longer off topic comments' - Episode 8 Life Outside Ambridge Beach Chairs
⚽️⚽️⚽️
ReplyDelete!!! (Not a footy fan)
ReplyDeleteLanJan @ end of last general blog.......thanks for the news about Home Front coming back next week. I shall be on the road, travelling back up through France until Wed night but will make sure to catch the week’s Omnibus on Friday. Wonder which will be the location for this new series, Folkestone, Tyneside or even Devon? I expect this might be the penultimate series if it is going to end in November - I shall miss it dreadfully.
ReplyDeleteThanks ! Episode 9 - interesting to keep track of how long we've been going.
ReplyDeleteAs a late-comer to the Homefront party, I am now in Feb. 1915. Plenty of listening ahead for me. Over the years I have heard snippets, so it's interesting to put things in order and context.
DeleteBLOG
ReplyDeleteHave just gone through 9 BBC blogs the total number of comments is 168
1 blog Kermode was responsible for 97
and Spring Watch 36.
The Archers blog would have had more than this on one heading alone!
Next week will be the 4th, so I will then summarise and cease counting.
Cowgirl, great.
DeleteInteresting that the number of posts on Ruthie's two blogs seem to be running neck and neck with the non-Archers blog slightly in the lead. It suggests that the 50/50 guesstimate about the ration of Archers non-Archers-related posts on the old BBC blogs was about right.
ReplyDeleteWell folks, I went to the Malvern Royal Show and met Ruth and Matt.
ReplyDeleteI had to wait and watch them being supervised by a chef making beef burgers.
At the end the audience were invited to come up and try their creations, I took the opportunity and approached the stage (no one else was interested) and requested a chat. Filicity Finch was really nice and friendly and listened whilst I explained about the removal of the blog and our fight to get it back. She made two points as to why it may have been removed. Cost and then pointed out that some of the blogs were unfriendly and unpleasant, also she stopped reading them a long time ago. She put the cost down to the BBC having to "curate" the blog content. I did explain about all the empty blogs and how we were using them to discuss The Archers. So cost was not entirely all of the answer.
She wrote down all my comments and said she would take them to a meeting, but as she said, " I'm only an actor and don't have any clout". Kim/Matt hovered behind her, smiled and said nothing.
I was very impressed that she listened even though she was busy, but my fantasies have been dented in relation to the actor playing Matt, he is small with a very high pitched voice, and didn't look very well. However, that may his normal appearance.
I also asked her convey to ? That many of the listeners live in far flung parts of the universe (Ruthy USA) and the blog was was a vital means of communicating their views. We did discuss other avenues such as Facebook and Twitter, and she accepted my response that many of the long listening Archer fans didn't use this form of social media and any how some their content was just as unpleasant. But we agreed it wouldn't cost the BBC to moderate the use.
Sorry this is so long winded, she was very nice and said she will try, but she doesn't have any clout.
She doesn't have a Newcastle accent. To look willing I did try a bit of the burger, it was not very nice.
Thumbs up Stasia
DeleteVery interesting Stasia. The last official post was riddled with nastiness, I thought it was a device to explain the need to close it down. Reactive moderation was slow to catch up with the worst posts. Did you ask Matt what was in the suitcases? Maybe that's why he smiled silently....
DeleteI wouldn't have eaten the burger though.
😊🏅👍
DeleteNastiness can hardly be the explanation. Have Your Say is generally awful (and boring). Well, I don't look at it much these days, so I suppose it may have transformed into something civilised and I'm just not aware.
DeleteWell done Stasia
ReplyDeleteI think we should grab every chance that we can to publicise our cause.
Sadly ,as Felicity Finch said I don't think she has any clout.
In fairness I don't think that any BBC employee will want to rock the boat.
I am giving it until the end of the month before I contact Ofcom.
However should I see my MP on a train (as I did once when I allowed him to go ahead of me when alighting -which he did not acknowledge ! ) I will have a word with him.
BLOG
ReplyDeleteAs Mr Hall has not had the curtesy to reply to my last e mail, I have today sent a further one , using a different name and tone. Don't suppose I will get an answer, but will keep trying.
As usual Ruthy the photos are great. Thanks. I was curious to know when you started listening to The Archers. When we lived in Virginia ftom 1986-1991 I used to listen to the PBS (public broadcasting station) and every so often they had a fund raising drive to which I was happy to contribute and even won a CD player once. I also used to watch the PBS television as they showed British programmed there.
ReplyDeleteWell done Stasia for attendance at an event that you have previously stated was not your cup of tea.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your diligence on behalf of us all.
Not surprised by your description of 'Matt' since that is how he appears in my imagination.
That's pretty interesting , Stasia, much appreciated, putting the case & reporting back. She sounds a nice woman,even if she has no clout. The cost aspect doesn't wash, as many of you have demonstrated, but the nastiness & ineffective moderation ( Mistral) does. Not surprised she personally stopped reading the blog ages ago - people were often pretty scathing about the Ruth character ! As said,the nastiness on the last BBC blog was appalling, but all written after the announcement on closure. Before that, not nearly as gross, but fairly regular spats, bursts of loaded/spiteful comments from certain posters. Such was the case from the beginning of 2017, anyway, when I started. Others of greater blog longevity did say it had always gone on, if I remember aright.
ReplyDeleteFelicity Finch grew up in the Teesside area so a north easterner but not a Geordie.
ReplyDeleteI think it makes sense that a blog with a lot of traffic costs more to maintain than a less used blog. Even if the moderation process was largely automatic and didn't place an excessive strain on staff time (= cost)., we regularly got messages saying 'we are hanging difficulty displaying comments and are fixing it' (or words to that effect) indicating strain on the system, I thought. I don't know whether the fix was (semi) automatic or involved staff time (= cost). It may be the system needed an upgrade, which was considered unacceptable.
ReplyDeleteI am sure Fe.icity is correct in identifying cost as a major factor. Remembering the historical Archers blogs we traveled through when seeking stop gaps, a significant number were unused or had very few posts - rather like those LanJan and Cow Girl have recently located - so think the big explosion n use may have come with the Helen and Rob story, and continued at a high level as posters made blogging friendships and increasingly discussed Topibcs of mutual interest not strictly Archers- related. So the volumes usage =maintenance=cost equation grew beyond the original intention.
I think this is a credible scenario- but it's only surmise, of course. We shall never know the reasons for the decision but let's hope it can be reversed!
Whilst the BBc did say they had to reduce their costs, they didn't say that the Archers blog was costly to run. Strictly come dancing has over 1500 comments in some of their past blogs. I have run through a number of their pages, from my brief visit I would suggest that they had as many off topics as we did, though I didn't find a large number of removals.
DeleteModeration only takes place if a blogger complains. Removals appear in most blogs .( I'm not counting those where we posted outside the archer blog )
There is currently an strictly blog, but only lightly used at the moment.
The "strictly" blog at times, had a massive amount of removals, due to some "racist" remarks, bad language some very offensive comments aimed at some of the contestants and the Pro dancers. It became very heated at times and the moderators were certainly kept busy. The SCD is quiet at the moment as it is a seasonal show, which will become active again in Sept.
DeleteThank you Miriam for the info. I could not go through all the blogs !
DeleteI do not have TV so am unaware of times ,etc.
Just shows that we have been scapegoated in my view.
FF when she has her journalistic hat on has a natural voice with her natural accent. However that natural north eastern accent has diminished over the years.
ReplyDeleteWhen she was last on WH I noticed how less of a NE accent she now has.
BLOG
ReplyDeleteI have just had a light bulb moment.
I have to say that it is a very, very faint light bulb ,barely flickering .
I won't say what I plan to do but I plan to jump to my wild card now before taking it up with Ofcom.
If I get any response ,even negative ,I will let you know what my idea was.
I am not saying anything yet because I fear I may have replies saying things like
"There's no point " and to be honest I think that may be right but ..............
.
Good luck whatever it is LanJan.
DeleteI just think one day we might hit the nail on the head !
I am intrigued Lan Jan.
DeleteI must say that the unfairness of the blog closure rankles most and I will continue to campaign for it's return; I love causing havoc on the other BBC sites, I like being mischevious and rebellious. BUT - I honestly prefer this blog, especially the two seperate threads. I think it is much friendlier. There are characters I miss from the BBC site, but also some that I am happy to never hear from again.
I agree with what you say Mistral and I am looking forward to our "return".
DeleteThe one serious flaw I see, is that we have no catchment arena and as people move on there is no one to replace them.
Eddison had a light bulb moment , and look what that led to! 😊
DeleteStasia thank you anyway for your efforts on our behalf - much appreciated. (Pity about the burger, obviously not one of Tom's premium ones!!!!)
ReplyDeleteYes! What happened to the Burger Van?
DeleteHow do you make a chicken burger? This was Em + Eds choice of food, when showing "Peppa Pig". I have to admit that I have never eaten a chicken burger, so I would like to learn what it is.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your supportive comments. Normally I would never have approached anyone, but she looked approachable and was very nice. She didn't have any sort of northern accent. Sounded southern to me.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I saw Pippa Pig in the Texel stalls. Very large sheep indeed.
Mistral, I agree.
I probably mentioned a while ago on the BBC Archers blog that when three of us went to The Watermill Theatre ,Newberry to see various members of the cast in a concert,we spoke to Jill.
ReplyDeleteWe are going back to before David and Ruth were married and possibly Shula.
My friend told Jill that she didn't think she had made a very good job in bringing up her children.
I was embarassed but Jill laughed and agreed.
The actor who plays Eddie was having a drink at the bar with his wife -a pretty woman.
They moved off and I spotted a while later that she'd left her handbag which I was able to return and so I got thanked by "Eddie"
Two members of the cast I have spoken to .
Years before that we went into a pub in the midlands and heard the unmistakable voice of Peggy's first husband Jack.
Didn't speak to him though.
Good memories to have Lan Jan!
DeleteThat's fascinating, Lanjan ! Glad you told us. Bet you wouldn't be embarrassed at your friend these days, but would have got in first with maternal advice to Jill...
DeleteMistral, I seem to be agreeing with you a lot, and support your preference for this blog. The closure of the BBC blog, although disappointing, did have the advantage of (thanks to Ruthy) leaving those individuals who only wanted to take umbridge with all and sundry with no outlet for their vitriol. Those of us who choose to come here are thoughtful and whilst we can be critical in our comments regarding the Archers, we not unfriendly with each other. Perhaps the BBC should have been more proactive in moderating the nastiness out.
ReplyDeleteThree cheers for Ruthy.
👍
Delete👏👏
DeleteAgree 100% (would have used an emoji but usually come out as a black oval with a white question mark in the middle - use iPad !
DeleteMistral and Stasia - absolutely agree with you 👍 👍 👍
Delete:) :) :)
ReplyDelete:):):)
ReplyDeleteI also like this friendly site. I am very happy with both the parallel sites.
ReplyDeleteI would to join in with others, in that I, also wish to give a massive "Big Thanks" to Ruthy for her innovative idea and decision in setting this up. 😀😀
😀😀😀
ReplyDeleteHear, hear!
ReplyDeleteAm having a lovely time in Tuscany. It’s a beautiful part of the world and enjoying being with fellow travellers, two Americans, one from India and the rest from UK. The journey went well and we were duly met at Pisa Airport. Enjoying painting although it is very much a learning curve. The food is wonderful and we have eaten out a couple of times, all included. Once here you don’t need to worry about a thing. I think Miriam was interested and I can thoroughly recommend. It is a small group and easy to get to know everyone. The owners and staff are very welcoming and it’s ideal for solo travellers like me! Oh, Gypsy is doing fine!
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly agree with above that I find this site so friendly and there were times on the BBC blog when this wasn’t so. I for one really do appreciate Ruthy. Many thanks!
Ev. You seem to be having a wonderful experience and does sound idyllic. Yes, it was me who mentioned an interest, with Italian language courses (also an individual travellet). Enjoy the rest of your holiday, as it sounds very memorable.
DeleteOh, wow. That's all I can think of to say, Ev!
DeleteGood to hear that your holiday is living up to your expectations Ev.
DeleteContinue to enjoy !
7.00pm. No football!
ReplyDeleteIt is The Archers and also "Vera" on ITV.
To think I had my new BBC TV licence in the post today!
No Miriam, just on the Archers!!!
DeleteBLOG: have today posted 3 polite but pointed identical letters, which included mentioning Vanessa Whitburn, to Tony Hall , and hope that one will get past his staff to him. They were sent to the BBC , the House of Lords, and to what I think is his home address, it is his and his wife's main correspondence address anyway.
ReplyDeleteWell done Janice.
ReplyDeleteI have tried to reach Tony Hall or Lord Hall of Birkenhead by more devious means.
Not sure my plan will work though.
Thumbs up Janice.
DeleteI think the answer is to keep needling away.
Was that your plan LanJan ?
The word devious sounds intriguing!
DeleteWhat I have done is written-first class stamp-to somebody who I think has a very tentative connection with our elusive Chairman.
DeleteThat person is probably sitting over a cup of coffee as I write this wondering in what way he -or she - can be of help.
In my dreams.
I almost didn't send the letter as the net result of all my letters ,emails and 'phone calls has been two column inches in the Times newspaper a couple of months ago.
Never mind ,there is still Ofcom and my MP!
Good idea LanJan. AS I said before one day we will strike.
DeleteI shall follow Janices idea and write to the lords if on Sunday I have had no response to my various letters and e mails. my MP is a waste of space have written twice in 2 years both times he messed up.Will give him a miss.
I have always believed if you make enough of a nuisance you get what you want in the end, so No giving UP, we are in this TOGETHER.
Cowgirl.
DeleteI wouldn't dare!
Thumbs up.
DeleteJust listening to the cricket, just finished cutting the grass in time!
I think getting two inches in the Times is amazing.
DeleteWe seem to be missing Hamburg Gardener.
ReplyDeleteHope she's on holiday and enjoying herself ready to return to us at sometime.
She did say she would be giving us a miss for a while.
Delete🐈 ? 🐇 ? 🐕 ? 🐱 ?
DeleteOK. Thanks for that reminder C G - I must have missed that post.
ReplyDeleteEddie Mair has just said on PM that Neil predicted the correct score in last night's England Match.
ReplyDeleteInteresting.
Did someone tell him or does he listen to The Archers in which case why did he not respond when we contacted the PM programme or do the emails get filtered before the presenter sees them like apparently happens to the Director of the BBC?
A year ago my adjacent property was sold. The new owners are a lovely couple, but I have recently overheard a massive arguement in their garden tonight, and she is about to leave, going back to Mum + Dad. I do wish that they keep their problems indoors, as I do not like hearing their domestic and personal problems.
ReplyDeleteMiriam, 7.41 p.m. I am often surprised that people just do not realise how far they can be overheard when out of doors. I think it stems from the idea of using the garden/yard/patio as 'another room'.
ReplyDeleteI have a public footpath along the boundary wall of my garden, with a 2 metre fence, ivy and honeysuckle obscuring me from the frequent users. I can't see them, but hear plenty. I am always careful when sitting out with friends, as I don't want my business all over the village. (Not that I have anything interesting going on, sadly).
Oh Mistral, have you forgotten Ed
DeleteAnd that episode in the cider shed?
Maryellen, indeed I have not forgotten
Deletethe cider shed, with it's rough-hewn stools and hessian sacking.
The delicious, heady scent of fruit, the closeness in the gloaming....
(Oh dear, what memories).
Mistral, that's a splendid blurb. Can we expect the entire novel soon?
DeleteBootgums 11.19 - Err, yes/no hmmmmm, uggghh, gone all illiterate....
DeleteAh, Mistral, you have not forgotten
DeleteAnd fancy Ed something rotten:
A sweet lad - but remember that
In every barrel, there's a rat!
I'm rereading my secondhand pocket edition of AE Housman's A Shropshire Lad in preparation for a week's break there. What a load of gloom and doom! The tourist information mentions a locally produced blue cheese called Remembered Hills after his most famous line, which I plan to track down.
DeleteMaryellen... ahem...
DeleteRemembered hills may be blue
Cider gives me a different hue.
OR
Rats in barrels gnaw away
my admiration is here to stay.
Kind and caring nature shown there
contrasts with selfish 'devil may care'.
Up the women ! on Home Front today.
ReplyDeleteI haven't listened too much to Home Front. I kept in touch with it, when R4ex has broadcast back-to-back omnibus editions, often downloaded and listened to whilst gardening, so I do have an inkling as to the characters and stories. I always think that Kitty is so like Emma.
ReplyDeleteI am also downloading the Dorothy L Sayers , Lord Peter Wimpsy, Clouds of Witness, to be listened to as a continous "drama" in the near future.
ReplyDeleteI think Kitty amd Emma are very similar too Miriam and another thing they have in common is that both actresses are excellent
ReplyDeleteIn fact all the acting in Home Front is good in my opinion.
I wish it were so in The Archers.
Archerphile and Mrs P I wonder if like me your favourite character is Adeline?
For those who have not listened to Home Front she is the character who was incarcerated for having an illegitimate baby.
Archerphile or Mrs P please can you tell me why Adeline is Mrs Lumley.
When if ever did she marry Victor's father?
I've listened to Home Front rather patchily, but, like you, Lanjan, I'd put Adeline at the top of my favourite-character list. Remarkably sane for someone who'd been treated so badly, which was apparently not uncommon at the time. Was it anything to do with Freud, who regarded women who didn't conform as neurotic? (A great oversimplification, I'm sure, but I think he did incline to that view.)
DeleteBootgums, I think it would be accurate to say Freud identified, defined, & treated mental & emotional conditions in women; don't think he blamed them, rather the society norms that propelled them into mental illness.
DeleteIn the early '70's I was attached to a social work team in a large psyco-geriatric hospital, one of the largest in the U.K. It had it's own social club, shop, post office etc, long-term staff and patients, often indistinguishable. There were womens' wards full of old women who were there because their families had them 'committed' when young and pregnant. (They must have been mad to get in the family way, as one nurse explained to me). There was also a padded cell, recently banned when I was there, grey padded panel walls, barred tiny window in the ceiling, bloodstained mattrass on the floor. I can hardly believe this was in my own lifetime. I am sure many people in the world are still being kept in conditions like this.
DeleteI too have experience of padded cells Mistral.
DeleteWhen a sixteen year old cadet nurse, doing ' messages ' I needed to deliver to the psychiatric unit set slightly apart from the rest of the hospital.
I got to know a young girl who was in there, much the same age as myself and we used to chat at the door sometimes.
I suppose she must have had psychotic episodes as from time to time she was in the padded cell which was actually outside the rest of the unit but close to the front door.
The memories of her have never left me, but a much stronger memory is of Matrons anger when she discovered ( I can't remember how ) that I had been witness to such scenes.
We were very protected by Matron.
When I think of sixteen year olds now, so innocent of some aspects of life in comparison to me at sixteen.
Thank goodness we have moved on, although mental illness is still the poor relation in terms of funding. There has been a lot of awareness raising-thanks to the Royals amongst others.
DeleteWe went to Montauk, NY this weekend and I have taken a photo of the Montauk lighthouse that will be the next blog photo, and there will also be another lawn chair :)
ReplyDeleteWe will soon have enough pictures of lighthouses to start our own collection for a scrapbook Ruthie.
DeleteThank you for your good efforts.
MsP - there are many lighthouses on the shore of New Jersey. I will give it a rest. Do you have any suggestions for opening photos? Let me know and I will try to accommodate. This is more fun than listening to the program. Episode with Toby and Kate disappearing together, I thought was a low point for the show.
ReplyDeleteNo no Ruthy, that was not a criticism.
DeletePlease continue with the lighthouses for as long as you can find and identify them.
I am interested enough to look at them by googling the map of NY State.
The lighthouse pictures are lovely, we have a fair few in Cornwall as we have a very rocky coastline. Do you ever see chipmunks in the wild ? I have only ever seen them in captivity, and they look really sweet.
DeleteRuthy, when I went to the Royal Agricultural Show on Saturday I went round the poultry section and saw the most amazing Turkeys, they were extremely large with fantails just like a peacock. It is an import to this country from the US however, I don't think most people realise how important it was in enabling the first settlers to have something to eat. They have the indigenous peoples to thank for their survival. The original bird was very scrawny and the wild turkey looks exactly the same today, nothing like the monsters now bred for eating.
ReplyDeleteI love the lighthouses.
DeleteAnd the chairs, (not the brightly painted ones so much though). When I log on and see the chairs, I feel immediately relaxed.
ReplyDeleteI agree that I really love the pictures of the chairs and light-houses. Ruthy, just keep them coming. Also I like that "chairs" means gossip and "lighthouses" means current TA S/Line discussions.
ReplyDeleteOh Miriam, I hadn't thought of that. How clever.
DeleteThis in an archers related post, but as it is nothing to do with the current debacle of ongoing stories, I am posting it hear. My question is very simple (like me) and I wondering who maintains the Ambridge Cricket pitch and grounds. It used to be Mike who put the roller over the crease, but who is it now? I might have florgotten, hence my enquiry.
ReplyDeleteThinking about what others have said re the treatment of mental health through the ages, I think abought Call the Midwife. This relates to Midwife Cynthia who then became a nun, Sister Mary Cynthia. She was shown having ECT therapy in a "mental" institute. I found it difficult to believe that this was happening in my life-time.
ReplyDeletePS Call The Midwife watchers, I believe that Miriam Margoleys is a "nun" in the next series (and it's not me).
Miriam, some people are still being treated with ECT.
ReplyDeleteA friend has just gone into a local psychiatric facility and told me last week that she was asking if she could have the treatment again, as she has found it to be beneficial
For her in the past.
I have another friend who has received the same treatment in the last twenty years.
My ex sister in law had ECT in the sixties and lost two years of memory.
However at the age of seventy eight, has not, as far as I know ever suffered again from psychiatric problems that she had as an adolescent.
It may seem barbaric to some, but if it alleviates the agonies of some mental health conditions and allows that individual to have some degree of normality in life, should we decry it ?
Incidentally, I personally consider chemotherapy barbaric, yet thousands subject themselves to it, sometimes more than once.
That's intersting Mrs. P. The people at the hospital I mentioned were elderly, many had ECT and were very frightened of it. It sounded truly barbaric as described to me at the time. I am sure many of those patients could not give informed consent. Of course the treatment will be more specific and targetted now. Really, thinking about it, what a bizarre treatment. Like trepanning. (I've just watched Poldark!)
DeleteAgree with your last para. Mrs P.
ReplyDeleteI used to think ECT a highly damaging treatment, based largely on Pinter's 'The Caretaker' & general condemnation ( I suppose in the 60s & 70s), but I can easily believe techniques have refined considerably over the years, & it is probably used more advisedly. It's good to hear you know several people who had a positive benefit from it.
My mother had a large, very strange and rare tumour which was non-malignant. The majority was removed surgically, but not totally (due to near heart). She underwent chemo, as if it was cancer, as her specialist consultant didn't know how else to treat, as he could not find any research as to after surgery treatment. It was not nice, but worked. She lived for another 12 years until a chest infection turned to pneuomonia.
ReplyDeleteJanice - we have an abundance of chipmunks all over where we live. They are very pretty and adorable. If I am lucky enough will take a photo of it for a blog photo. We saw a Eastern Box Turtle during our hike last Monday. He may make an appearance also :)
ReplyDeleteMrsP - I will vary the photos from time to time. I will also google other lighthouses around the world.
Ruthy you are so lucky to have chipmunks, and I would love to see a photo of them . Down in south Cornwall they are trying to reintroduce red squirrels and they are pretty little things too, smaller than the grey ones.
DeleteRuthy, I ask again, please do not feel that I was criticising.
DeleteI love the pictures, and I did look up the NY State lighthouses.
A great variety of buildings.
But a picture of the chipmunks would be good too
I also enjoy the pictures and look forward to your choices Ruthy. The chairs remind me of my summer in upstate New York which I previously mentioned and where I sat on the veranda in an Adirondack chair or rocking chair in my lunch break, writing my journal or letters.
ReplyDeleteSomeone mentioned the Southwold lighthouse (sorry I can’t remember who) recently. Some years ago I stayed in a holiday cottage immediately in front of it with a back yard adjoining. We took a tour up the lighthouse. I toured my local one with the brownies as a child. It stands a few miles from the house we lived in but I remember hearing the nearby fog horn in the back yard. When I stayed with my mother last summer we had a foggy day and I heard the fog horn again for the first time in years.
I hope you will all forgive the extensive ramble just to say how much I enjoy Ruthy’s photos.
I envy your fog horn memories Seasider, one of the most evocative of sounds.
DeleteAnd fog is special too, however frightening and dangerous.
Talking about things medical (ECT etc, above) yesterday I was, at long last, put on the waiting list for my hip replacement. Waiting time about 18 weeks here in Hampshire apparently.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that has amazed me is the absolute mass of information I have been given in advance - a 48 page, closely typed information book full of dire warnings, photos, dos and don’ts, things I shan’t be able to do after the op (very depressing) and loads of exercises for before and after.
Also a 30minute DVD all about hip replacements, (haven’t had the courage to watch it yet!)
A form to agree to donating my femoral head (goodness only knows what they want a bit of arthritic bone for!)
And I have to go to HIP SCHOOL beforehand to be physically assessed, have my house assessed for adaptations, get a special high loo seat, learn how to use crutches, get in and out of a car, go up and down stairs (they haven’t seen our narrow, very steep, twisting staircase yet!).
I suppose I should be grateful for all this information and attention but I am finding it very depressing and am wondering if it is all worthwhile or should I just put up with the pain for a few more years.
If any if you have been through this I should love to know how you coped and if the operation was successful.
Don't be put off Archerphile, the people in my lower limb class who have recently had hip replacements seem to be managing well.
DeleteOne woman who I spoke with last week told me that she was a small holder, and she was getting back to normal activity now.
And don't allow yourself to be overwhelmed by so much information.
I regret that I was not able to avail myself of the pre op exercises.
I am back to normal activities now and my legs hurt so much, because I am using muscles again, that have not been used for years.
But I have no regrets about having knee surgery whatsoever.
You will find your own way of moving about, and one gets used to crutches and sticks very quickly.
Archerphile I know which hospital you are referring to - tip top re Othopaedics. One day I will be there for same, should have been long ago but Mr R's health issues took a bad turn at one point hence 3 Hip injections which did well for me at a year apart. My husbands surgeon was also mine but now he is knees only so he personally asked another surgeon to see me. This I did in Feb and another xray. On examination he said my mobility belies the xray so after discussion agreed to see him again in 6 mths (which is August) but to ring him before that if I suddenly found I'm in a lot of pain. I know many who have had the op and the ones done at this hospital very successful but the first few weeks are awkward due to constricted movements and like knees (Mrs P knows and my husband ) lots of hard work. I am already doing some of the excercises as muscle strength is key and I had to do some post my injections too, but I totally agree with all that you say, too much info.. Rather they just got on with it�� rambling on I will shut up now! (Will be interested to hear result of your staircase assessment)
DeleteEmojis did not come out as I wrote post prior to signing in have found I then have to replace the question marks before hitting publish. If already signed in no problem!
DeletePlease don't be put off, Archerphile. The longer you postpone the operation the more peripheral damage you do to the rest of your joints in compensating for the damaged one. My second knee replacement is due next month, and having already had both hips done I'm an old hand at this. The raised loo seat is necessary, as are all the other accoutrements suggested, you will have to sleep on your back for the first six weeks, and not be allowed to bend forward at less than 90 degrees for a certain length of time, so will need to assess your style of footwear to accommodate this. You'll soon get the hang of the crutches, and the more you work at your exercises and carefully extending the amount that you walk each day, you'll be fine.
DeleteI've found it helps to attend to all the changes to home and clothing in readiness for post-op, I get walking as soon as I get home, and set up a routine of daily exercise. It's frustrating in that I don't have access to a car, so am doomed to plod up and down the road every day until I can walk far enough/have the energy to get to the bus stop and back, but have become resigned to calling in favours. I'm usually back at work 9 weeks after a hip and 5 weeks after a knee, although limited in performance ability for the first few months.
Hope that gives some encouragement.
Nice to see your still with us Sarnia.
DeleteI drove past your in laws house a day or so ago and thought of you and was about to post and ask if you were still with us.
That's very kind, Mrs P. Health matters at Sarnia Mansions remain complicated and being hardly able to get about, even with a stick, makes things worse, as I'm constantly tired. However, we've managed two weeks' holiday in Greece, although my swimming activities were a little curtailed - not up and down ladders on boats this year, for example - but most beneficial, nevertheless. Now to find the energy to wash net curtains and deal with sundry other tasks which won't be possible until September!
DeleteThe use of ECT will always be controversial, the question remains, is it treatment or punishment? It's use historically was wide spread. As a clinical practitioner in south London it was not unusual to discover that some patients ( referred to us) had many applications of this therapy, given totally inappropriately. This tool was used habitually in the old psychiatric institutions on a weekly basis as a method of control, and it certainly had a detrimental impact on the brain. I could go on and on about the ethics verses cure, however I believe whilst it continues to be used the jury will always be divided.
ReplyDeleteMy experience too, Stasia, but I felt that I should give the other side of the controversy since I know some individuals who believe they have benefited.
DeletePersonally I would not wish to be subjected, willingly or not, to this form of treatment.
I know how you feel Archerfile having had a hip replacement last October. All the precautions are to minimise the the risk of displacement of the joint so are important but it's not as bad as it seems on paper. The first 6 weeks are the most difficult while the healing process is taking place, life revolves around the exercises which are important to do. After that things slowly start to improve and I can now do much more than I could before the operation and it was definitely worth it.
ReplyDeleteI was told by somebody recently that I was doing fantastically well, far better than his sister. When I asked how old she was and when she had had her op the reply was mid seventies and three years ago, and she's nothing like as good as you.
ReplyDeleteI asked if she had spent much time in bed at home after the op.
' doubt it' he said, ' her husband would have made sure she was up and tending to his needs '
I was amazed at how exhausted I was for weeks after my operation and did spend a great deal of time in bed resting. When I complained to my daughter she said, 'mum, your body is healing and it is exhausted because it is healing '.
I am now of the opinion that allowing myself the rest that my body seemed to need has been a great help in my excellent recovery.
I passed the three month mark this week and I feel very healthy and fit and even I am amazed at how well I am doing.
I am also very pleased that being on my own meant that I did not need to get out of bed except to feed and water myself.
I hope Archerphile that you will take on board what I have written, and that you will be allowed to rest in order to recover.
Don't be too keen to get back to normal activities until your body tells you that it is OK.
But do the exercises !
and do them BEFORE your op as this strengthens them and gives your recovery better chance.
DeleteHave been fortunate to have no need of knee or hip ops (so far, touch wood, blah, blah) but of course, know lots of people in their 60s & 70s - some even younger- who have, & only one, where the outcome wasn't great. Everyone else was like Mrs P, found their life was majorly improved, & the 6 weeks of big restrictions, & the gradual return to mobility, & confidence actually, was all worth it given the outcome. All the best, Archerphile !
ReplyDeleteAll the best Archerphile.
ReplyDeleteMr LJ had hip replacements before I met him.
My mother had a hip replacement when she was in her late seventies .
Before the operation ,she was watching the Snooker on TV and a player she didn't like came on .
She tried to leap out of bed to turn the TV off ,slipped and broke her arm.
"Fortunately" it was the same side as the hip that was being replaced so they were still able to operate .
She forever blamed AH for her accident.
Has anybody had this happen to them?
ReplyDeleteI have received a letter from NS and I informing me that they have put £25 into my Bank Account because somebody who had been allocated a Premium Bond prize was not eligible for it and I was the next in line!
I know that Premium Bonds are still counted for a year after someone's death so I presume the person who should have won the prize died over 12 months ago.
No LJ - it hasn't happened to me and I don't know of anyone else getting such a gift.
ReplyDeleteI think if it were me, I would be cautious, as it might be a scam.
Suggest you go to your bank and check it out.
I have a friend who decades ago, would talk of ' cashing in ' a few thousand of her Premium Bonds, which I imagine she had inherited in some way.
The Scottish lady at the other end of the balcony in the block that was my home in sarf Lundn gave me a pound to buy a premium bond when I left home to become a cadet nurse.
A very kind gesture. One pound was a considerable gift in 1958.
I still have that premium bond. But I have never won a single penny !
Well, what a lot of very sensible and encouraging advice from you all today.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for responding to my request for information. Yes, Mrs P, I will certainly take your advice and I shall get on with the exercises as soon as I have been to the Hip School and learned what to do.
Lady R - I don’t mind telling you that it’s the North Hampshire Hospital and I know they have a great reputation for orthopaedics and I shall be on their ‘rapid recovery’ plan so I am very lucky.
It’s funny, but it’s not the operation itself that concerns me; I know I am lucky enough to have a very experienced and well-regarded surgeon. It’s the little things - like, how on earth do you put your tights on when you can’t bend down? Will I actually be able to sleep on my back (something I never normally do ) How do I have a shower when I shan’t be able to climb over the high side of the bath, and will I be allowed to bend far enough to get things out of the oven?
Oh well, all will become clear, I expect and I’ll get great comfort from knowing so many of you have coped perfectly well before me. Stop whinging Archerphile!
I live on my own and had similar thoughts as you as I was in a very Isolated position. I managed without a bath for 6 weeks, surprising how one adapts.
DeleteIt took me quite a time to have the confidence to have a bath, but it proved easy in the end, so I was worrying for nothing.
I put quite a lot of meals in the freezer beforehand to make life easier.Plan your meals for a few weeks so you don't have to bend to get to the oven, then you can stop worrying.
All the best
How do you put your tights on? answer is, you can't! That's what I meant about being clear in your mind about what your needs will be and planning home/clothing accordingly.
DeleteHopefully you will be provided with the raised loo seat, so as not to put a strain on the joint, and it's worth checking which chair(s) you will sit on - usually recommend a seat about 19-20 ins high, and whether your bed is high enough. I'd never slept on my back either, but a pillow between your knees is enough to stop you from turning over until it's permitted! There should also be a grabber for you (didn't we rename it a snidgel?), a long-handled shoe-horn and a cunning device for putting socks on, but that doesn't work with knee and ankle highs, unfortunately, as I ruined several pairs finding out! Bath is a problem, I know; we had a low-threshold shower fitted, as I have to wash my hair in there as well. If your shower hose is long enough, would it work if you acquired, say, a large baby bath to stand in if you were very careful with the hose? You could possibly wash your hair sitting on the side of the bath. Lots of lateral thinking required! And I would endorse Mrs P's advice about having enough rest factored into the exercise regime. I was told always to remember to multiply the distance I walk by two, as I have to save enough energy for coming back.
Just a little follow up on my worry about asking the neighbours to water our plants when we were in France recently. Yes, I did ask them, and they were willing to do so. Now they have just gone off for 3 weeks in Cuba (kittens in a cattery, thank goodness) and asked if I could do the same for them. Absolutely fine, I said, thankful that I needent feel embarrassed about having asked. Went next door today to find 56 tubs of all shapes and sizes and 4 hanging baskets, scattered around the large garden awaiting attention!! Don’t think I need have worried about asking for my 6 tomato plants and 7 tubs outside the green house to be watered!
ReplyDeleteThis so far, is a year with no rain. I am having to water the garden, window box, hanging basket every night.
ReplyDeleteWhat I have noticed is that there are no bees or butterflies, which were always welcome visitors in my
garden.
Oh Archerphile you have just given Mr R and myself such a laugh! However we do feel for you especially with the ongoing weather forecast of 30c plus next week - Ye gods 56 tubs and 4 big baskets all scattered, certainly need your new hip now 🙄Trust they have a hose 😂 Expect they wondered where some of yours were hidden!
ReplyDeleteWho will be your surgeon Archerphile ?
ReplyDeleteMr Geoffrey Stranks, Lady R - have you heard of him?
DeleteYes Archerphile. Mr R saw him some years back re his knee but in the event had to have a back op first with another surgeon. When he eventually had his left knee replaced followed by a revision op on his right knee (19 yrs old ) he was with Mike Risebury, lovely man - who later saw him through his sepsis - it was 3 yrs after and nothing at all to do with his op but attacked that area. Mike still keeps in touch every few months by phone to check on him and have a chat. He also did my 3 hip injections but now a knees only man so he arranged for me to see Jamie Griffiths (who replaced our friends hip just over a year ago and as most do it went very well indeed). Even so the first 6 weeks are a bit different to knee surgery because of all the restiction of certain movements - but many survive it as has been proven on this site. 😉
DeleteAt the hospital they have a kitchen and bathroom "set up" to show what to do and a part of an actual car to practise getting in and out of.
ReplyDeleteMrs P it is no scam.
N S and I put any winnings automatically into my Bank when I win anything.
I get an email to tell me .
I have just checked and the money is there.
I have not divulged any information to them than they do not already know.
I think as I said before that you can win money in the year after death so I assume someone who won ,died longer ago than 12 months and N S and I were not informed
All the best Archerphile with your surgery and post op rehab. You should be offered an assessment with an occupational therapist who can give lots of practical advice on how to manage your day to day tasks safely whilst your hip heals and hopefully answer your questions and concerns. Depending on the type of hip surgery you may have to avoid climbing into a bath for a few weeks and wash at a sink or a walk in shower if you have one. Anyway the hip school sounds like a good place to get prepared in advance - I do hope all goes well and you receive good support.
ReplyDeleteMrs P I am glad to hear you are feeling stronger now post surgery. These events are a big undertaking not just physically and I admire you both and the other bloggers who have had to go through it all.
Archerphile you have given me a laugh too.
ReplyDeleteSuch irony to have politely refused to care for the kittens, and then to have even more work by needing to water a few pots.
Another thank you to everyone who has given such detailed advice (won’t name names in case I accidentally miss someone out)
ReplyDeleteI really do appreciate the time you have all taken to reassure me and offer such practical advice. Now I just have to reach the top of the list - probably late October and then spend the winter getting fit again for spring.
I changed the theme of our blog! I hope everyone is OK with this. New post tomorrow morning.
ReplyDeleteClosing this post. Look for chairs with a view.
ReplyDelete