Recovery.....

I don't want to get too excited but I have noticed over the festive period that my left leg, previously only being able to walk 1000 yards before starting to lose balance, has afforded me some rest bite and is letting me walk further.

This is progress people and its importance should not be overlooked!!! It still feels dodgy over distance but its not making me lose control of it.

This is a great discovery for me and add that to the fact that I have also consumed more alcohol than usual without lethargic side affects and I reckon this all adds up to some level of recovery?

I am not getting excited just yet, this needs some careful monitoring but its good to be able to post some positive news here!!!

Hands still numb though!!!

Kerris's Xmas Wish!!!

I don't want to embarrass my wife too much here, I was going to scan my Christmas card so you would believe me but instead I will let the theatre of the mind help you.

This years Xmas card from Kerris was lovely, it had all the great stuff in there to massage my ego and let me know I am the best husband in the world and it had all the praise I need too.

However, it ended as follows -

"And thanks for making 2007 such a great year......"

Well I am glad 2007 was good for you Kerris but that was 12 months ago and all I can assume was that 2008 was somehow less great than 2007?

The only thing worse for Kerris now is that I will use this nugget time and time and time and time again.

I love you!!! XXX

Gabapentin

Ho hum...here we go again!!!

Gabapentin is the name of the latest round of drugs that I have been prescribed to deal with my ongoing "pins & needles" and "numb hands" syndrome.

This is a 100mg, 3 times a day jobby that may help.

If 100mg doesn't work then its upped to 200, 300 and so on and so forth.

As yet, I have been on it for 4 days and no noticeable side affects as well as no relief in symptoms either.

Apparently this one has a cumulative effect so may take a few weeks to produce results so I sit here fingers crossed.

I will of course keep you up to date......

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to everyone and I hope that you have a lovely one!!!

Self "Thunding" Thunder Xmas Bash!!!

Rock City in Nottingham was the venue for another Thunder Xmas Show and Kerris and I duly obliged to be there to support our favourite band!!!

This is a great show, it costs £28.50 per ticket and for that you also get a live CD of the show (around March 2009) and as they are limited in numbers, they become very collectible, very quickly.

So when I get my 2 CD's, one goes into iTunes and then they both get listed on eBay and fetch around £50.00 each.

So our £57.00 investment turns to a £100.00 and this goes to paying for the gig, the hotel and some curry!!!

It was a great night, first an acoustic set and then one which involved all the usual live caper!!! However, Kerris and I both thought the same thing. Too many cover versions and not enough Thunder classics!!!

Take note Thunder and sort it out next year....we will be there to judge!!!

2 very handsome boys....

To celebrate the fact that Jay (Tidge, Smalls, Smallsie, Ponk The Hood, Tidgy 2 Shoes....) has today turned 5, I thought I would upload Luca & Jay's latest school mugshots!!!

You know you are doing something right when your boys look this good eh!!!

Happy Birthday Jay.

Manchester...

With the exception of Rock Radio and an average football team who play in blue, Manchester has little to be proud about in my eyes.

But yesterday, I saluted the 1 million plus people in 10 boroughs who gave the Greater Manchester Congestion Charge the thumbs down.

Every borough voted against it and sent a 2 fingered salute to Government who want to charge the people who live and work there for the right to drive across the city.

Well done Manchester. Common sense prevails.

We now get the "oh Manchester wont get this and wont get that" rubbish from politicians but this is a landmark public vote and will act as a template for similar schemes in other areas.

Manchester......I salute you!!!!

Nuero Matters....

On Friday, I returned to the Walton Centre in Liverpool for a follow up following on from the consultation I received 2 months ago.

As it was, I did not see the same person that I saw previously and I felt a little let down about that, rather I saw a young Indian woman and explained my medical history to her once again (note to self - must make a standard short form history document tracking my illness) and she basically offered me little that I did not already know.

Let me take a moment to explain to you exactly what my situation is.

Basically, I have all the symptoms and medical related evidence consistent with MS, however, I dont conform to McDonalds Criteria which is the criteria used to give someone a diagnosis. As I have explained previously, MS is rarely something that is diagnosed on symptoms alone, rather it is a clinical diagnosis given over a period of time based on recurrence of symptoms.

So what is McDonalds Criteria I hear you ask. Well, in my case, to be diagnosed, I would have to have a number of "attacks" in a certain time frame. McDonalds Criteria sets out the definitions of what an "attack" is classed as and also the length of time between these attacks to set out a diagnosis.

There you have it, I have "attacks" but I dont have them closely enough to each other time wise to be given a diagnosis.

The funny thing is that what I do have, does not appear to be anything that has a name. You either have MS or you are well!!! It seems weird.

Obviously there is the chance that things may never change for me. Its possibly the best outcome as while a diagnosis would give me access to lots of support, medication and car parking badges, it is better to not to have a disease than have one. I am sure you understand.

Oh and before I left, just to spoil my day, they took 10 viles of blood to test for lots of other stuff!!!

I go back again in 4 months. I will keep you posted!!!

The death penalty

I just wanted to share with the world that I would back any campaign to bring the death penalty back for extreme cases of inhumane behaviour.

For instance, in the last couple of weeks we have heard of Baby P and then today some sicko from Sheffield fathering 10 chidren from his own daughters via abuse and also the fact that 9 other pregnancies were aborted or miss-carried.

It seems to me that society is wrong the worst case scenario for the people behind the above atrocities is that they spend the rest of their lives in prison. They may even be released before they die?

So for perpetrating the worst crimes you can look forward to a bed, 3 meals a day, exercise, learning and all the other good stuff that is on offer in prison.

Please, put the fear of God back to these monsters, the death penalty is what they deserve and furthermore, perhaps the odd monster in training might give a second though to rape, assault, carrying a weapon if they thought that their actions may result in their own lives coming to a premature end?

I am sure I am right.

Chiropractor....update

I would say that visiting the chiropractor actually did me some good. Now there's a thing eh!!

My thought with this is that the numbness increases in my hands when pressure is applied to my neck, hence, sleeping is a problem as you cant lie on a pillow without putting pressure on your neck

So if manipulating the wrong way adds discomfort then perhaps manipulating the right way will relieve it?

Well, although not a miraculous event, I feel a small amount of relief following on from it. Nothing huge but enough to suggest its worth another go to see if it chips away a little more.

I am back there tomorrow evening for 15 minutes of pain so I will, as ever, keep you updated!!!

Strawberry.......

All I can say is that Kerris curses the day she put strawberry body butter on and then wafted my way!!!

I love you kitten!!!!

XXX

My invention!!!

You see here my invention. Well I say mine but its a joint effort between me and fellow Lock-tec comrade Glen.

This is the DCB01 Lock-tec door control board and very shortly, the first 50 will roll off the production line and pretty much be installed straight away.

I dont want to divuldge how it works just yet but this clever bit of electronics controls an electric lock in a door and monitors the door to see if it was indeed opened legitimately or if it was forced open. It also squeels like a banshee if the door is left open too long.

Its all about keeping doors closed, locked and secure people!!

So there you go, its taken 35 years but finally I have had a big part in inventing something useful.

You want to buy one you say? Well of course, these babies can be used by anyone for an as yet undecided sum!!! just make the cheque payable to me and I will fill the blanks in!!!

Behold the glory of the DCB01.....one very proud man here!!!!

Chiropractor............CRACK!!!

I thought it was worth try another route to settle my hand numbness and pins & needles sensation so today I visited a Chiropractor for some treatment following a recommendation.

I have to say, this guy showed no mercy and pulled me apart!!!

I came to the conclusion a short time ago that if putting pressure onto my neck increases the sensation then there is a chance that relieving pressure in my neck could decrease it. Obviously the man thinks he can help and took my money for 20 minutes of sheer pain!!!

And the result? I have to say that I may have slight hopes here. No miracles happened but it definitely feels less than it was when I went in there.

so I am up for 3-4 courses to see where it goes. I will keep you updated.

Extreme-ly good show!!!

The first time I saw Extreme was at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium on 20th April 1992. I then saw them again at the GMEX in Manchester in 1994 and then I waited another 14 years until earlier this week to see them again!!

Talk about a band on fire. I went with my mates Nick Bartlett and Phil Ballantyne and we had a great time. I am still deaf 3 days after the event.

These guys really seemed to appreciate their second coming and although at first I was bemused at paying 30 quid to get into a 15 quid (at best) venue I really felt it was money well spent.

I think Nuno is still a guitar God and Cherone is a great singer for the band too. Well done guys, it was good to see you again.

On another note, they were supported by Hot Leg. A band formed by former Darkness front man Justin Hawkins. I was looking forward to seeing them as I saw the Darkness in 2002 before their fame and they blew me away. So anyway, a fall from grace has occur ed and apart from the comedy codpiece with 6 inch nails in it, Justin did not look interested. It was obvious to me. If you dont like it mate, dont do it. Simple as!!!

Melmerby Hall

Kerris and I had a lovely break away at Melmerby Hall, near Penrith in the Lake District last week and seen as though I have not used too many pictures on the blog for a while, please see below..........

Melmerby Hall is a huge old country house dating back to the 1300's and it was a lovely place to spend a few nights.

We had a lovely room called the "Victorian Room" with a 4 poster bed which although looked wonderful, it was hard as a rock!!!

Kerris looked especially good on that bed though.......(hope you dont mind my love!!!).

The highlight of the weekend was a black tie dinner on the Saturday evening which was a great chance to get dressed up. Kerris was the belle of the ball and as always, looked divine.

I say this quite often to Kerris but to me she seems like the kind of woman you see with other men!!! Never in a million years did I think I would have someone who looks this good as my wife. She is also very intelligent too, so not just a pretty face!!!

There were lots of very well turned out pretty women.....

And of course there were a collection of very well turned out men too!!!

Much merriment ensued and lot of wine and beer flowed. Yes, Kerris managed to have a glass too many and completely lost her memory of the latter part of the evening.

Kerris is a true trooper though and managed to get over her hangover the following day to still look hot 1893 feet above sea level at Hartside Viewpoint on the way to Alston for lunch.

And its a good job she did go out exploring because we found a lovely little waterfall where a nice man told us off for ignoring a closed sign!!! How can a waterfall be closed I ask you?

So there you go, less words and more pictures. I hope you like it and as for the sexy bed pic, I have lots more like it, but you aint never gonna see those!!!

God bless America!!!

I purposefully try to avoid commenting on politics. I dont do politics really. I am not Labour, Conservative or Liberal as in my humble opinion, they are all as bad as each other. They only want to find more stealth ways of taxing you and here I am in beautiful Middle England bearing the brunt of the subsidies given to the lesser income families and individuals while at the same taking the brunt of taxes to ensure the rich get richer.

There is not a lot of basis for this sweeping statement but thats my opinion and I am entitled to it.

So as far as I am concerned, politicians in general are here to do no good which is why it worries me that Obama has been elected in the US.

I have no beef with the man but what I do know, and I know it so well is that he is the first black American President.

Seen as though we are little USA and have had this merry go round rammed down our throats for the last 10 months, I feel that I should know the man and his policies intimately....but I dont. All I know is that Barrack Obama is the first black American President.

I am not racist and I dont care for the colour or creed of our leaders but the reason this man got in was because of the colour of his skin and not his policies.

So it seems that in America, their choice of politician is as pointless as it is here.

I hope I am wrong. I really do.

Introducing the "unsocialable" Mr Mike Jackson

Kerris worries about me and she struggles to understand certain aspects of my personality and recently, we have been talking about my apparent unsociable side that comes out every now and then when we are out socialising. I told her that I would put an entry on my blog to explain so here goes....

Now I don't know how many people read the blog who would consider me unsociable but if you do then perhaps this may help. Hopefully, most people who read this will think "what the hell is on about this time".

Well my unsociability comes about from the fact that the career I chose forces me to have to be social to people. I am a sales rep by trade (if you can call it that) and for the last 10 or so years, I have met every man and his dog as I have traipsed up and down the UK peddling my wares to all and sundry.

Now being a sales rep means that you have to learn to kick up a conversation with someone. The amount of people who you meet who are rude, arrogant, abrupt, offensive, defensive and every other word that describes how a person may treat you without being polite is astounding.

Every new person I meet in my sales role could ultimately benefit from what I have to offer and its a waste of my time and theirs if all they want to do is move me on as quickly as they possibly can.

So as you can see, you meet a lot of people. You also meet a lot of nice people but I am not concentrating on them right now. You can generally judge within about 30 seconds whether you are there for some business or you are there wasting your time and that is something that comes with experience.

So when faced with negativity, you try your damnedest to find common ground and you small talk with people about anything or everything trying to find that hook that they will bite at to bring them onto your side. This small talking has created a stigma in me over the years.

So when in a room full of people I don't know, you would imagine that I would be the best in the world at getting people talking? No, quite the opposite, I view it in the same way as I would view a sales situation except in this situation, I don't have to meet a sales target or call quota so therefore I basically have been known, on occasion, to switch off!!!

Hence the unsociable Mr Mike Jackson.

You see working in sales is not natural to me. I never asked to do it, it wasn't what I dreamt of as a youth (I actually wanted to work in the Forestry Commission) and really, I just ended up here!! I make the best of it and I enjoy it. However, sales is not where I excel, I excel in supporting people who need my help and that is where I stand head and shoulders above anyone else in this god forsaken industry!!! I help people!!!

Problem for me is that you have to do the whole sales thing to get to the support thing!!!

So forgive me if I see certain situations and relate them to a small talk sales call, I see a room full of people and sometimes I just sigh and give up without even starting.

I have done this far too many times for my wife's liking and its good that Kerris has pointed it out to me when it happens because those people surely don't deserve to be treated in that way by me, they have not done a single thing to make me look like a miserable sod, its just all inside me.

I am trying to be more sociable and this weekend, Kerris and I are off for a few days staying in a stately home in the lakes with several other couples. There will be drink, fun, a treasure hunt and a black tie dinner. I will bypass the unsociable circuit and smile a happy face.

Apology....

I had to make a heart felt apology to a friend this week and I feel a lot better for doing so.

I don't want to go into the details of the matter but I would like to talk a little about why I acted the way I did as I feel its more appropriate to the situation.

Anyway, the friend in question is Jim Thurgood and yesterday I called him for the first time in months and apologised for giving him the cold shoulder over a matter that -

1. Jim was not even aware of.
2. It was a matter that could have been sorted out very easily if I had spoke out at the time.

Instead, I did something that I know I do far too often. Its my whole "not telling people that I am angry routine".

This routing kicks in with me when something really annoys me but since I am a general all round good guy, I let it sink somewhere deep down and well up for days, months, years before it finally comes out in an extraordinary way.

Yesterday was a break through for me, I did not let the matter consume me, instead, I picked up the phone and talked to Jim about it and then apologised profusely for the cold shoulder treatment and in turn Jim was gutted to hear why I was angry and he also apologised too. we are now great friends again.

I don't have a lot of friends in life, I know lots of people but as far as how many of them I could describe as friends is another matter. Jim is a friend, a great friend and I am overjoyed to have him back!!!

Its time to roll this chestnut out again and why not!!! Its a great song and now it has a video too!!!

However, its just a nice collection of pics I hope you like it.

Kerris wanted it on You Tube so that she could email all her friends and maybe a millionaire record producer will spot it and offer me a King's ransom for the right....I can dream eh!!!

There is actually a live take of this on my PC somewhere from a village hall in a small village near Derby but the guitar went out of tune near then end so you don't want to see that!!! More so, I don't want you to see it!!!

My guitar, RIP.

I have 2 guitars. An acoustic that the classic "Beautiful Day" was written on and also an electric which was named Aquamarine after it turned out to be my true colour. My electric also has a loud amp with many distortion effects.

I have pretty much given up playing them both. They both now rot in a cupboard, out of sight and out of mind and if I ever get them out then its more for curiosity than pleasure.

You see, my hands and finger have a numbness and this numbness is enough to take away the very small skill that I once had on the guitar.

I also think that I would not be much cop on the drums either these days. Singing also makes my left side feel ever so slightly weak.

It doesn't bother me, I can still rock out on my air guitar and I can still attempt songs that I could never sing in the first place.

Maybe one day things will be better but for now, I just soldier on.

Clinical trial.

Those are 2 words that most people would shirk at but....what the hell!!!

Alemtuzumab is a drug mentioned on the news widely last week. It has shown that patients in the early stages of MS can have significantly less attacks than those on the current widespread drugs and it has also gone on to allow the body to repair some of the damage caused by MS.

It does this by wiping out lymphocytes (whatever they are) and while this lowers the bodies defence to disease, it reboots the immune system.

So, with nothing to lose, I submitted myself for the continued trial. It will be interesting to see if I am accepted as I don't have MS as a diagnosis as yet but then again, if I am in the early stages of the disease, I might just be the lab rat they need!!!

I will let you know....

Queen in Liverpool....

I went to see Queen & Paul Rodgers in Liverpool on the 18th October and all in all it was a great show.

I haven't commented on this new life of Queen with their new singer in any depth but I bought the new album (The Cosmos Rocks) and I stuck with it for a while and now there are only 2 or 3 tracks on it that I cant bear!!! Thankfully, the tracks they played from the new album rocked enough and went down well..

My overall opinion was that while the album is a valid collaboration, it should never have gone under the banner of Queen and....

While Fred has his excuses, the fact that John Deacon retired and cant be bothered joining in makes it not Queen.

So the album and the concert should go under the heading of Brian, Roger and Paul. And in that way, its cool with me.

As for the concert, Timmy Mallett could be up there as lead singer and I would still love it!! Anything that gets Brian and Roger up playing the hits that they were a huge part of makes me smile. So I loved it!!!

Up top is Fat Bottomed Girls and down below, for all you who seek the 8 minute guitar solo side of life, is a........8 minute guitar solo!!!

Today, I saved us £1000.00....

Its not often I save money for my family, in fact, I am known for harbouring debts and generally costing us money so this made a nice change!!!

Our mortgage is due up in December, we have enjoyed a low rate for the last few years and the size of our mortgage (details withheld) as apposed to the value of our house (details again withheld to protect the innocent) make it very easy for Kerris and I to be able to shop about.

I have always been a fan of the fixed rate, it only goes up or down when the fixed rate term is up so it allows us to budget. Part of our current mortgage is on a variable rate and I would say we have seen it rise more often than fall.

I heard on the radio a few months ago that people generally should review their rates every 3 years so being on a 3 year fixed rate suits me.

Our current lender, Coventry Building Society where given first shot at offering us a new deal, this was a few weeks ago and I was offered some rate, plus a £999.00 arrangement fee. I held off until we had seen our friendly financial advisor today.

The upshot was that her advice was to run with a rate I had been offered by the Coventry and we also had another letter in the meantime wavering arrangement fees. We were in fact onto a winner!!

So my holding off saved us £999.00 and of that I am proud!!!

Memory loss.

I have a good memory in general (well apart from if you ask me about any part of my life prior to age of 18) and one thing I despise in others is that some people will drink themselves to oblivion and not care about how they got home or into bed or who the had a fight with all in the name of memory loss through drinking. I hate it.

This is one of the reasons that explains why I don't get drunk often. I am a control freak, I need to know details.

So I am astounded that when I woke this morning, I had memory loss from the previous night. More so from the fact that this happened on 4 beers and half a bottle of red wine. I am the kinda guy who (if he was that stupid) would probably have the marbles in place to still drive a car competently on that amount of alcohol.

Kerris and I had a lovely evening while Jay and Luca slept for the first time at Nanny June's new flat and they had a lovely time too. We did a great double, we started off at the Chill Inn bar on Lord Street before retiring next door to the Grill Inn (owned by the same people) for some beautiful Cumbrian steaks.

We walked home, it was a perfect evening for it weather-wise and I started stumbling a little and the last thing I remember was walking up our path. After that, very vague, details lost and then woke up this morning.

My Carbamazepine tablets say "don't take with alcohol" so there is the answer I reckon. Well I will only make that mistake once.....

A tale of 2 systems.....

In the same way that my brother can bore the back teeth off a cat, I can also ramble aimlessly on about things that only a select few would understand and today I will share one of them for you.

A good friend of mine works for a successful access control manufacturer who will remain nameless. I have spoken at great length with him about why the company I work for use certain products for certain applications.

We have 3 levels, we have our weapon of choice, then we have a system that we prefer when a network (PC based) system is required and then finally, we have a system that we prefer when the network is over IP (or the Internet on multiple sites in other words). My friends product falls into the IP category and we were having a friendly argument as to why we don't use it for standard PC based systems.

My point was that the particular product that we use is popular and rightly so because it is easy to use and also intuitive while being at the right price. My friends system is a little overpriced and not the easiest interface.

My point was that our company can go 6 months without using our proffered system and the minute we install it and fire it up, we recognise it, its like an old friend and its very easy to configure. My friends system is always slightly awkward to use after a break and there is always a setting that we forget to configure that holds up the process.

For example, today, we set up a system in Leeds. I told my colleague that every time we do this, there is always a setting I forget to configure on site. We get back to the central site (several miles away) and fire up the software and configure the IP details for the control unit and.......nothing, no sign of life.

Thankfully, there is a control unit on this site so I log into it and check my settings against those that I have used elsewhere and bingo, I spot the setting that I forget to configure every time and we are away!!! I phone someone at the remote site, get them to stand in front of thr access panel, tell them the change and we have life.

Now you can say to me, you are just thick Mike and you really should know your product better and I would agree but without that friend on the remote site, we would have had to get back in the car and drive to the centre of Leeds to make the change. Not good in my book. The product requires 4 settings to be in place to work over IP and these should be in big bold bullet points in the front of the user manual.

Now take our proffered product, it doesn't do IP at this moment but in November it will. In the same situation, as long as the IP details are correct, it will see the control unit and report back a serial number in the software. We then click on the serial number and confirm its our baby and we are away. No settings to worry about and no need for any on site programming. Its all done in the software.

That is why its our preferred product, it just works better.

Just to balance the argument out a little though.....my friends product is so robust and in 5 years of site installations over IP, we have never had a single problem with the equipment once it was live. There aren't many people who can make that claim in this industry!!!!

Kiss of death if ever I heard it.........

Chilli

Behold the Naga Jolokia chilli pepper. Possibly the hottest chilli pepper in the world and currently sat in my kitchen waiting to be cooked!!!

Tonight, a slither of one of these beauties will be added to Mike's world famous Chilli Chicken Avocado Salad.

I only hope that Kerris and I live to tell the tale!!!

If successful, then you are cordially invited to feast on Mike's speciality dish "Chicken Fajita Del Feugo" or "Pasta Lanciafiamme" if it takes your fancy!!!

This may be the last entry, wish me luck!!!!

Caffeine

Just a note to tell all that I have given up Caffeine with immediate effect.

This is possibly more information than most would like to know but it is a fact that in recent years, I can only take a leak when I really need to.

That may sound obvious but let me give you an example. I got up today at 07.20 and felt a light need to pee, I went to the loo and nothing happened. I continued to revisit the loo several times over the coming hours and finally at 11.50, I took a leak.

So all that time I had the need the pee but could not until it would stay in no more.

Part of my testing yesterday was about how my bladder works and how its linked to my condition. The nurse pointed out that Caffeine had a major effect on how waterworks act and asked em to think about my Caffeine intake.

I realised that in a day I have at least 2 cups of tea, perhaps a Latte and usually a half litre of Coke Zero.

Caffeine intake is high, so as of now, no more diet coke, no more tea, coffee and Latte unless its decaf.

I will report back on my waterworks in due course......

And now something to lighten the mood a little....

Second opinion and God bless the NHS.

Today felt a little bit like a new beginning as I visited the Walton Centre in Liverpool to seek a second opinion on my condition and to be honest, I had no hopes of anything fruitful coming out of today.

First lets recap on why I want a second opinion. Basically, I felt let down by my consultant Neurologist Dr Nicholson as this year, I have had terrible trouble communicating with him and he has not kept my GP informed of my progress and test results. Also, previously, I had private medical care through BUPA and although originally it was part of my employment package, as I changed jobs and my condition progressed, I stumped up the membership from my own pocket. I did this as I thought that I would get the best care and doctors to help me but recently I found out that any Neurological disorder that is diagnosed (and remember that I dont have a diagnosis right now) is not covered by the scheme. So as a second reason, I wanted to start again on the NHS.

I am by no means a snob but to drop out of BUPA to the NHS seemed a little daunting to me and I am happy to report that I am nothing short of amazed by the service I received today.

Anyway, firstly I was given a consultation with a Professor Young.....look her up, she is big in the world of Neurology so I was quite flattered to be in her presence and I was surprised at just how much time she spent talking to me. We went over my progression from day 1 and identified key areas of the development of my symptom. She discussed thins that I was happy with and she also discussed things that are far too personal and not for the blog but every time she hit the nail on head with her analysis of my condition. She was a no nonsense character, not much fun, very serious but I felt a sense of interest in helping me and that came across in very large waves time and time again.

We are talking about MS here as its the most likely outcome of my symptoms but she is far more cautious about the diagnosis than anyone I have spoken to previously.

Her classification of the disease falls into 2 parts. First you must have multiple symptoms (multiplicity) and you also have to have multiplicity in a certain time period. The more time that passes between recurring symptoms the better. I have spoken about this on the blog in the early days.

She identifies that the demyelination of my spinal cord is one symptom and she also identifies that problems with my sight are another symptom (these 2 could provide the multiplicity she refers to).

Now referring to my sight is a new one. Previously, I have spoken in depth with my optician and I have had evoked visual potential tests at the Walton Centre to identify problems but until now it has drawn a blank and the nice thing about Prof Young is that she believes me when I state that there is something wrong with my vision. Everyone else has discounted it.

The clinic today was a "one stop shop" so after seeing Prof Young, I took a bladder test and another eye test.

The bladder test is all about identifying problems around my waterworks and lower regions. I have had a lot of problems in this area including numbness. I had a test that shows that my bladder does not empty completely when I go for a tiddle and this is common in an MS case. Severe problems that people may experience is incontinence and thankfully I am far from this as we speak and I am still in good control of my toilet!!!

The second test, the eye test, confirmed what I have been saying for a long time. I do have problems with my eyes. I have a problem identifying contrasting colours in dark conditions. This marks a deterioration in my eyesight although again, thankfully, it may not be connected. My left eye constantly compensates for a lazy right eye that should have been corrected in my youth so because my left eye is doing the job of 2 eyes, it exaggerates small changes in my vision. However, it should not be discounted that this is not related.

So today felt like a fresh start. I have a follow up in 2 months with Prof Young again and at this point, they will have analysed all that happened today along with various scans and test results that she did not have access to today.

As another bit of help, she has prescribed another drug to me to help with my numb hands. The drug is Carbamazepine and I will start taking it next week. She assures me that we can control this and eventually, it may disappear of its own accord. All fingers that aren't numb are crossed!!!

So I sit here hopeful of progress.

To end on a depressing note though, I am quite shaken by the experience of being surrounded by a clinic full of MS and other Neuro related patients. Through no fault of my own I found myself surrounded by a trio of people who were discussing their various conditions. It was quite obvious that these people were quite deeply affected by their conditions and I got a general feeling that hope was missing from their lives. To sit there laughing about the fact that they only had death to look forward to without a care for those they would leave behind has had a uncomfortable affect on me. It shook me up that someday I might be in their shoes and its a vision of the future that I cant handle right now and I am not ready too either. I was actually the fittest person in that clinic today and I have a lot to be thankful for. I can move around without aid and although my emotional foundations have been shaken to the core in the last couple of years, I remain positive. and for that, I am thankful.

Return.....

I haven't updated the blog in a while, its not that nothing is going on, its just finding the time, enthusiasm and will to do so.

There is a lot going on, I would love to go into detail of my job developments, I would love to give you blow by blow in depth analysis of my condition, I would love to tell you that I have joined Facebook and found lots of people whose names had since been replaced by other useless information in my brain and I would love to tell you about how I am being bullied by a Wii Fit board and the stinking cold that I cant seem to shift.

Yet to do this I have to rely on the one thing that sets me apart from most computer users. My typing.

You see, I type fast, in fact I type very fast and I also make lots of mistakes so end up typing twice as much as I should do once I have taken into account all the times I have used the "backspace" button.

Recently though, and this is an ongoing thing, my typing has become tiresome. I make too many mistakes and constantly rely on spellchecker to help me along. Also, my hands become cold and stiff when I type and I don't like this feeling. There is not a lot of joy in typing for me right now and so to do anything of any quality, I have had to slow down.

My slowing down at typing still leaves me in the Porsche 911 of typists speed but in my eyes, to me, the one doing the work, its like I have had a hand cut off.

So in future, when you see a long entry on my blog, think of the work that went into it. Think of how frustrated the author was at how long it was taking and then think about the cold and numb hands he had at the end of it and then finally, realise that the blog, being a typed medium, will suffer at the hands of it all!!!

Music Version 2.0 format MT9

I was actually intending on adding this entry a few months ago when I first heard of it on a Radio 4 programme (yes I occassionaly listen to Radio 4). Having just read my brothers blog regarding 4 track mixing tapes, I thought that now was a good time to add this.


In the future......the next suggested evolution of the now standard MP3 is the new MT9. So how does MT9 make anything better then? Well, simply put, the MT9 format and associated players of MT9 format tracks will incorporate a 6 channel equaliser allowing the listener to adjust the levels of the various instruments and vocals on the track.


This means that if you want to hear vocals only, then you can. It means that if you want no vocals, fade them out!!! This will destroy the Karaoke industry!!!


The other good news about MT9 is that for the last 15 years any new digital recording is instantly compatible with the system. So, take "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol in MP3, convert it to MT9 and play with the levels!!! Also, any recordings prior to 15 years which still have the masters available are primed up for re-issue re-mastered for MT9.


Personally, I would love to have a play with Hysteria by Def Leppard and Karaoke the whole thing!!!!

I welcome MT9....bring it on!!!

Rainbow

I always knew as a child that there was something wrong with this lot. There was always a thought that one day, something would slip and then these guys would be exposed as the sickening perverts that they really are.

Now for the first time, watch what really went on and I challenge you to ever watch it with a straight face again!!!

Unemployed

I suppose that at the moment, in limbo between 2 jobs, I am what you would call unemployed!!!

I have no car, no job, no wage and no benefits.

However, come the morning, that will all change.

I dont want to begin to clock up all the jobs I have had over the years but where the security industry is concerned, I guess there is no one who is better placed than myself to take a judgement on what works and what doesnt. I have seen the "next big thing" come and go so many times over the years that its hard to recount sometimes when faced with a choice as to what would be best suited for an application or what isn't.

Anyway, as from tomorrow, its all my choice, a chance to break from the confines of a handful of products and cast the net out to always ensure that the best product does the right job and do you know something, I am really looking forward to it.

I only really have 3 ambitions.....

I thought it may be worth just jotting down my ambitions in life for 2 reasons......

1 - Because its my blog and I can.

2 - I paid for 1 hour internet access in my Cardiff hotel and have done my work with 20 minutes access left!!!

I am not a man who wants money, big houses, flash cars, 10 foreign holidays per year, villa in Spain etc. I would gladly receive all of the above but they dont motivate me too much. My 3 ambitions are as follows (in no particular order) -

1 - Liverpool FC to reproduce their domestic rule of the 70's and 80's...forget Europe, win the sodding Premiership!!! Actually, this is the thing I want most of all.

2 - A big drum kit (there is this Roland one in Sound Control for 5K, it would be a dream come true).
3 - A mini convertable, red!!!

See, I am quite a basic man really, if you ever find you have money to spare, buy me the above or invest in Liverpool FC.

Second opinion

I almost forgot about this with all that is happening this week but on top of everything else, I asked my GP for a second opinion on my troubles.

I have lost faith in the consultant dealing with me, Dr Nicholson, he does not seem to offer support, more so he listens and does very little.

Recently, I have been chasing up the results of the tests I have had in April with no success, I have tried to speak with his secretary with no success and I feel a little lost and without hope on him.

So, I took matters into my own hands and asked for the second opinion.

Doctor Naidoo (our GP) is referring me to a Dr Young at the Walton Centre so hopefully in the next few weeks I will get an appointment date.

Also, I have kicked BUPA into touch as its a lot of money which has not turned anything up. Also, if I did ever get an MS diagnosis, BUPA does not cover the treatment of MS.

So I am getting back to the NHS, bring it on!!! Hopefully, there will be more success this way.

Slightly insulted.....

Click this link and see if you can figure out exactly why I might be slightly insulted by it.

http://www.info4security.com/story.asp?storycode=4120335

Look to the right below the naff pic that was taken on Salto's Marketing Managers phone and see the caption below.

Does it need to be advertised in this day and age? Its the kind of comment I expect from lesser people.....perhaps they are.

Anyway, I am leaving Salto, not because of this, but I am moving on and so a small part of me takes pleasure in small minded comments wasting someone else's web space.

Incidental Music

This is something that annoys me greatly and to understand me you must understand me in a very deep way!!! Sometimes its useful, sometimes insightful but mostly pointless and this is one of the pointless matters that will immediately decide whether I will enjoy a program or not....

Ok, first watch this clip of Blackadder II, possibly the greatest comedic series ever. Its always good fun to watch but to understand my point, fast forward to 3.59 secs when Percy leaves the room.

Next, watch this clip of Friends, there is nothing special about this particular episode but it illustrates my point beautifully. Again, to understand, forward to 4.45 secs.

Now I have absolutely no beef with Friends, so many people love it and I am sure that its a very funny show with lots of funny moments but my point is though, I cannot stand any program that uses pointless incidental music and I immediately switch off when I hear it.

Is it just me? I don't know. However, when you hear the Blackadder incidental music, it is in keeping with the theme of the show, its part of the comedy for me whereas in shows like Friends, the music is just a soundbite that fits the slot. I hope you understand.

Now our boy Luca watches a lot of kids TV and there are a lot of shows that insist on having pointless incidental music breaks between each scene....I cant abide it!!! Tune into Nickelodeon right now and test the theory.

And don't even start me in canned laughter.

So there you go, as always in these matters, you have a choice. Just because this is my opinion it does not mean its right.

Adios Salto

Today, I informed Salto that I will be leaving them in a week.

I have spent a happy few months working for Salto but a job has come along that I just cannot let pass by and so its time to take a deep breath and break the bad news.

They took it well, no harsh words, no bitterness and it seems that I will just go about my business for the final week and then move onto my next venture.

And my next venture is? Well, lets just wait a while for that eh!!!!

Happy Holidays......

I promised Kerris that I would not let anyone know via the blog whether I enjoyed the holiday or not so instead, I will paint a picture and let you decide!!!

Well we have spent 2 weeks out in Cabopino with the in-laws and also Kerris's sister Janine and her 2 kids, the weather was fantastic for the whole time and the heat was great for people who love sun and heat but a little too much for "pale and proud" me.

The problem with the holiday for me was the Lemony Snickett style series of unfortunate events that kicked in at the end of the first week, from that point on, I would have been better off in a hospital!!!

So here they are -

1 - I smashed my head at the bottom of the swimming pool. I was actually teaching my niece Annabel how to dive..........incorrectly!!! There was nothing wrong with my dive, its just the pool was too shallow. I immediately had the imprint of the pool floor on my forehead and got an ice pack onto it. I then sat miserably while the ice did its thing and lay down in bed and woke 2 hours later...I am sure it was concussion!!!

2 - I slipped into the bath!!! Yes most people slip "in" the batch but I slipped "into" the bath!!! I was drying jay after a shower and sat on the edge of the bath, low and behold, the soap left on the bath guided me quite nicely into it and I bumped the back of my head on the wall and looked really stupid!!!!

3 - Alcohol. I did not drink a lot on hols, in fact I had around 3 pints a day. The cumulative effect of this kicked in some pretty nasty hand numbness and coldness symptoms and that managed to give me a very restless night and for the last 6 days, I gave up alcohol!!!

4 - Ear Infection. Oowww!!! I have never been in so much pain in my entire life as this. On the Thursday before we flew home, it started, it just felt like water blocking my ears but by Friday and a visit to the medical centre later, I had anti inflammatory tablets, anti biotics and gauze in my ears with cortisone cream on it. For the last 3 days, I was deaf and in a lot of pain!!! Initially the doctor told me not to expect to fly but god bless them, they opened the medical centre on Saturday and Sunday to change my gauze and I was given the all clear to fly. It did hurt a bit on take off and landing though!!!

So there we are, we arrived back in windy, cold, rainy, grey Blackpool on Monday and I nearly kissed the tarmac!!!!

On the plus side, the kids all loved it, Kerris got a great tan and we spent the gross GDP of a small country!!!

Here are the highlights though, Karaoke live from The Sportsmans pub!!! Enjoy Jay doing Def Leppard!!!

Even a blog needs a holiday y'know!!!

Yes I am off on my jollies for a fortnight.

Just for a change, you will find Kerris, Luca, Jay, Nanny Ba ba, Grandad, Janine, Rosanna, Annabel and me in Cabopino, Spain.

What can I say, we love the place and the in laws have managed to book the apartment next door!!!

The kids will love it, they will get lots of sun and lollies and my job is to basically walk round looking concerned for no real reason about Jay and generally watch the kids like a hawk!!!

It should be fun, I am looking forward to it....honest!!!!

See you on the 25th August then!!!

Amitrypteline....there is no escape!

I have had enough of my sinus pain! So being a good boy and using Bupa to its maximum, I arranged to see a consultant who shoved a camera up my nose!

The upshot is that my right sinus thingy is a lot smaller than the left. This needs further investigation and an MRI of my nose has been promptly arranged.

While reading my notes, the consultant asked why I was taking Amitrypteline. A short explanation later and he informed me that amitrypteline is used to numb the nerves in sinus pain. I then explained that since I have started on amitrypteline, I haven't had any sinus pain.

There you go then!

So, amitrypteline continues! However, I am only taking 1 x 25mg tablet every 2 days so the effect is barely noticeable.

Bloody Amitrypteline!

Amitrypteline sent me insane!!!

Just an update on how Amitrypteline has affected me and whether it has been of any use in my fight against pins and needles and numbness.

The short answer is no!!!

Slightly more detail is no it hasn't and I am also stopping taking them to save my sanity!!!!

Amitrypteline is actually an anti-depressant and as such is used on depressed people to help them cope. I wonder if you get a different outcome when you take Amitrypteline in depression but seen as though I am in no way depressed, it actually had the reverse effect on me. It got me into a right state.

If treatment for depression is basically to take away the will to do anything and leave you in a constant tired state then I am so glad I am not a person suffering from depression.

The effect on me was astounding. Firstly it was the sheer lethargy that it created, I was constantly tired, it then took away my will to find anything good about life and finally it had a certain emotional effect on me, without going into detail, that people usually end up being given a small blue pill to take to solve, as well as no desire to even contemplate the act!!!!

So I hope you understand when I tell you that I have had enough of feeling that way and I will no longer be taking Amitrypteline.

Almost instantly, energy and lust for life returned and hopefully over the next few days as this poison sifts its way out of me then I will return to my pre-Amitrypteline generally happy self.

I genuinely think that pins and needles and numbness are tolerable compared to the side affects of the possible cure. I welcome back the lesser of the 2 evils openly.

More fame!!! You have to be quick though!!!

Another of those "10 things to do before you die" achieved!!!

the Togmeister Wogan himself read out my letter!!!

You may remember my Welsh bra joke a while ago, well I submitted it to the show and on Thursday it got read out!!! I can die happy now.

To hear it, go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/wogan/ and click the listen again feature for Thursday (yesterday) and forward the bar to 21 minutes and 10 seconds into the show!!!

For those who know the format, no one writes in under their real names and Terry will occasionally read the odd one out in full. In my case, he only read out the forename keeping people guessing about the surname. Well, the surname was Bullethole.

I thank you!!!

Amitrypteline....again!

I went back to see my doctor again this week as a while ago I was prescribed some medication to ease the numbness in my hands.

It did not work but to be fair I think I expected too much too soon. So I asked for a higher dose and he duly put me on 50mg of Amitrypteline.

I have been on them for 3 days now and I am beginning to remember why I was so keen to get off them. They are playing havoc with me. I could eat a small farm shop and I have terrible anxiety to cope with too.

As for the numbness, no change there!

I am going to percivere though. I reckon my body is just adjusting to it. I will of course keep you informed!

Thunder, Whitesnake & Def Leppard

Another first happened this week as I saw my first major rock gig in the wonderful new Liverpool Echo Arena!!!

What a place, big enough to attract lots of top names and small enough to have a great view wherever you are!!! I love it, well done Liverpool.

I only have one criticism though....its all blue inside!!! What happened to red? Obviously designed by a toffee!!!

THUNDER

These guys never fail to impress!!! I dont know how many people in the crowd knew of them but lead singer Danny Bowes was happy to play the audience participation game from the off!!! Thunder are the reason that we saw the gig in Liverpool, we originally had tickets for Sheffield but when extra dates came out and Thunder were added to the bill then a decision was made to eBay the tickets to fund the Liverpool gig instead!!! 40 minutes of great rock, great singing and Danny has a great voice, all of the Liverpool crowd now know that!!! Well done Thunder!!!

Whitesnake

I dont swear much but they were crap. What an old, wrinkly, past it has-been Coverdale is!! They are a 1 song band, "Here I Go Again" which was great but apart from that I am amazed that these guys have taken some of the profit made on my tickets!!!

Def Leppard

I think that Def Leppard are my favourite live band ever!!! The only problem is that they tour the UK about as often as an ice age passes. It was great to see them in Liverpool and they seem to be really enjoying this tour and playing full arena's rather than limited capacity venues like the Manchester Apollo. I told Kerris that she was in for a treat and she loved it too. Generally she likes bands where the members start to undress as they get sweaty!!! These guys rock from start to finish although I think a few people didnt know the whole back catalogue as I was the only one joining in with the acoustic version of "Bringin On The Heartache" in Black A!!! I could follow this band around the UK and never get bored, its what my teen years were all about really!!!

So a good time was had by all and I cant wait for the next time, I hope they will be back again next year but please do it with someone other than Whitesnake!!!!

A quiet week really!

Here is another of those mobile blog updates which can be done at the one time in the week when I am forced to sit down and do nothing for 30 minutes. So hello from Jays' swimming lesson!

Yes its been a quiet week but from a health point of view I have put some long days in and that was followed by 2 early nights. The accumilitive effect of exhaustion is a remarkable thing.

I have made the executive decision that when exhaustion hits, I rest. Its has to be like that following the mother of bad moods that hit me a few weeks ago. When I start edging that way, I now need to rest.

I am also off to see my doctor next week. Another executive decision! I need to be more determined to overcome this numbing of hands etc as when I go to sleep at night, its a battle to make them comfortable and when I wake it the morning....well you would have to be me to truly appreciate how uncomfortable this is.

Finally, sinus pain! When all of the above kicks in, sinus pain appears and increases! I have no idea what all that is about!

Apart from all that, things are good! There is a very secret, secret that I don't go into on the blog regarding my future and last week, a meeting was had and a plan was made so there is good as well as frustrating in this world you know!

Health update.

I haven't updated you all on my health for a while so here is the latest on how I am doing and how I am feeling!!!

Well recently, I complained of the now famous "spaz attacks" that run down the left side of my body. I pointed out that these generally only happen when I am in the car and/or singing while in the car and/or talking while in the car. Basically, they happen when I am in the car!!!

These seem to have passed on now, without any medication which is a good thing as it proves that the bod can heal itself still. That gives me a certain amount of comfort in the fact that future troubles wont rely on medicine alone. If I can tolerate it then perhaps it will pass.

What next? Oh yes, if I drop another thing, I am going to catch it on the volley on the way down!!! I just cant seem to hold onto anything, I drop all sorts of stuff but mainly small things and I think this is because I still have a lot of numbness and loss of feeling in my hands. If its small, I don't feel it too well and I think that's why I am getting doing this.

So that also covers the numbness in my hands!!!

My balance is as ropey as its always been. My left side is definitely suspect and for that reason I would still not trust it in a race. I cant walk any further than I could previously without my left side going all wobbly and I suppose it is the fact that these symptoms are here for the duration.

I was quite sad on the sports day, and this will be news to people as no one would have picked up on it but perhaps I am quite matter of fact here rather than deeply personal. I was quite sad because I did not feel that I could take part in the parents race. It was not a running race or anything too strenuous but I just didn't feel the ability to compete, fun or not, I just did not feel mentally right to be there. Its difficult being me, I don't mind telling anyone that.

Then finally...tired!!! Oh God have I been tired but I think its more to do with the last few weeks that actual symptoms. I could be completely wrong though as its a trademark symptom of people in my position. I just haven't stopped and also, I don't let myself stop and furthermore if I don't stop then I get myself into a mess and take it out on the people I love the most and its not their fault so I end up being mad with myself which makes it all worse.

As I get used to all this, I need to change certain things about the way I live my life. Yes, I always talk about weight etc but a lot of healing can be done if you are in the right place in your mind. I need to tell myself that I am not the man that I was 2-3 years ago (although there is no real reason why I cant return to that in time) but I also need to tell myself that I am not currently capable of being the one stop shop solution that tries his best to make every ones life around him easier with himself as the exception. I will in time learn the perfect balance but while I do, please bear with me.

Right, I am going to bed now.

Go on Jay!!!!

Here is one of those moments that you just cant buy!!!

This is Jay in the Sunnymede School Sports Day this morning absolutely romping home in the flat race!!!

What a champ, don't know where he gets his speed from though, his Dad couldn't run a bath!!!

Happy Birthday Mum

My lovely Mum is 61 today and looking healthier than ever!!!

Happy birthday Mum, from now on, all birthdays will be lovely in your lovely new place looking out over lovely Lord Street in Southport!!!

We love you Mum, we have much to thank you for every day and I hope you have a good one!!!

A tale of 2 cars.....

Here is a tale of 2 cars, the 2 cars you see in the picture above.

Now these 2 cars don't know this but they do actually have something in common and that something is that they have at one time or another been my property.

On the left we have faithful FN57 YBM, my current company car used in my employment at Salto and on the right we have fateful DE05 AVV which I leased back in 2005 when I was briefly employed at Neurodynamics.

The picture was taken in the car park of ASDA in Southport this morning. Kerris spotted my old car and I put them together to chat.

Now the story of fateful DE05 AVV is one of the saddest of my working career. I had decided that access control was not my "raison d’être" in life and so I left Securefast and moved to a CCTV company in Cambridge called Neurodynamics. Without going into too much detail, 6 months in I was made redundant after the company changed hands.

However, fateful DE05 AVV made sure that redundancy was not the bain of life that it should have been. I leased the car following some very poor advice and was locked into a contract which would not let me hand the car back in the event of any unpleasantness.

So it was bad enough not having a job but imagine my horror (and Kerris's sheer panic) at finding out that the car would cost ME £7000.00 to relinquish.

Advice followed and lots of it, there was the chance that I could take the car into my new employment at Ingersoll Rand but that door closed pretty soon after the job was offered to me. At that time, I had no option as the Ingersoll Rand job was all that was on the table.

Finally in a "I can only offer you this much and if you don't accept then it will be waiting for you in the car park of the local Tesco with the windows open and the keys in the ignition" moment, Toyota and myself settled at £4000.00.

As you can now understand, I refer to it as fateful DE05 AVV.

Obviously all the malice has passed though as I didn't kick it or run my keys along the paintwork, its someone else's baby now and they might love it.

Kerris disappeared for a moment with some brake fluid though.......

I created a really witty observation.

While in Wales the other day, I recalled the fact that in the Welsh language, if 2 "dd"s are contained in a word, it is actually pronounced "f".

So based on this observation, when Welsh women buy a bra that is size 34DD, are they actually buying a 34F and if so, which is the better from a mans point of view?

Just an observation.

I have travelled a lot of this world.....

Whilst driving the other day on one of my long distance hauls....I was on my way back from Cardiff.....I was trying to think of exactly all the countries I have visited or stopped in on this great planet we populate.

I had a hell of a job recalling them so based on the fact that in 10 years more of my grey matter will be gone, I thought I would list them for posterity in the future.

In no particular order, thus far I have visited......

United Kingdom
Ireland
France
Spain (Tenerife, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and the Mainland)
Italy
Germany
Greece (Kefalonia)
Australia
Singapore
India (not official though as I did not get out of the plane!!!)
Dominican Republic
Canada

This distance is an impressive 18500 Miles working roughly east to west and it is the equivalent to me driving my car constantly for 6 months.

Being educated in Europe, we believe there to be 6 continents on the planet, Africa, America, Antarctica, Asia, Australasia and Europe, therefore I have visited 4 of the 6. However, if I were educated in America, they believe we have 7 continents as they split America into North and South. In which case, I have visited 4 of 7.

There you go, something for everyone!!!

Happy Birthday Dad!

My Dad would have been, well he is because you don't stop ageing just because you are not here, the ripe old age of 61 today!

Happy birthday to you!

We are thinking of you today, just as we do every day and we miss you.

Recepción al Salto en España

Hopefully that says "Welcome To Salto In Spain" which is where I was from Wednesday to Friday last week.

I had a fantastic time and the fact that there is a big friendly production facility behind our tiny office in Nuneaton gives me a whole heap of confidence for selling the products!!!

I was there for 2 days of technical training with my colleague Rex and we flew out of Stansted on Wednesday night. Stansted was a battle in itself as minutes before arriving, I got a tyre blow out on my car!!! I parked up, surveyed the damage and thought that it was best left to be dealt with when I arrived back on Friday evening.

Anyway, a short-ish flight later and we arrived in Bilboa to be greeted by some maniac in a Merc who gave us a white knuckle ride for an hour over to San Sebastian which is 3 miles from the French border.....its as near as I want to get!!!

So lots of hospitality followed, lots of good food, late nights and long days of technical training before arriving back at Stansted at 11.00PM on Friday night.

Damn....that car tyre!!!

Well I called for help, I was advised that tyre changes cant be done outside business hours so I fitted my spare and had a drive (limited as the tyre had a 50Mph max....I did 70!!!) and arrived home at 4.00AM!!! Up again at 8.30 to take Jay swimming and a late night as we had friends round for a meal!!!

I AM KNACKERED PEOPLE!!!

So tonight should be a nice early one.....we can only hope!!!

Another email to blog!

Right now, Jay and Rosie are having a lovely time at Lligwy Beach on the Isle Of Anglesey!

Mobile Blogging!

This is just a test to see if my mobile email-to-blog feature works from my mobile phone! There should be a lovely pic of Luca and Jay if successful!

Here goes.....

My Wife Kerris....

My lovely wife Kerris has been in turmoil recently.

To give you some background, for over 3 years she has been working at a beauty salon in Formby where she was originally happily employed to work as a receptionist. Under no circumstances was she to do beauty treatments.

The lady who owns the salon was trained by Kerris and had continually asked her to do treatments to help out and has basically crafted Kerris into working full time beauty therapy instead of reception.

So Kerris was unhappy and recently I told her that no part time job was worth getting upset over and to jack it in. She did this and was instantly in more turmoil as she did not have another job to go to and Kerris loves (well she doesn't love) worrying about how much money is coming into the house.

Today, stability was returned as she has been offered a job as a part time receptionist at the local Mercedes showroom. Now Kerris has a Mercedes taste so the job, the atmosphere and the celebrity of being connected with Mercedes suits her well!!!

Well done my love, I knew you were going to get it, they will be so happy with you and I am really proud of you and without going into too much detail, I know that you were not looking forward to the forfeit required if you did not get it!!!

MLA Glass Float

It was a simple question, "How Many Helium Filled Balloons Would It Take To Float An Upturned Wine Glass"?????

A few said 5, I suggested 9 but in reality, it took 45......

Balloon theft was at an all time high!!!

Happy Anniversary!!! 4 Years Today....

4 Years of wedded bliss have passed and still going strong. In fact, as I pointed out in Kerris's anniversary card, our marriage has lasted longer than the national average (3.1/2 years)!!! How many people can say that then!!!

So in honour of this feet, Kerris and I are celebrating by doing nothing!!! Perhaps next year we can do something as its a bit of a milestone but for now, we just need rest most of the time!!!

In homage to the day, here is my favourite piccy. Its not often you see the kids smiling in unison but somehow we caught the moment, if ever a picture makes me smile, then its this one!!! Enjoy.

Master Locksmiths Association Show

Now here is a novel way to spend the weekend.

Salto exhibited at the Master Locksmiths Association (MLA) annual show in Telford. It was a low key affair for Salto. We took very little of our product range and we just wanted to gauge a reaction of the Locksmiths.

So, myself and a colleague (Paul Carr) spent the last 3 days manning the stand enjoying the company of some nice people, some confused people, some rude people and some people who genuinely did not understand where we came from, what we are about and exactly what we are trying to achieve!!!

To be honest, at the end I was knackered, I never sleep well while I am away from home and this was no exception....except it was 3 days long!!! When I woke this morning, I felt like death and did not take well to rising and shining!!!

We did have a decent night at the MLA Banquet though. Kerris came down to join me, looked absolutely bloody drop dead gorgeous and made everyone jealous of me!!! Job done there then!!!

We, by pure luck, were seated with my friends from Lock-Tec for the evening and although the food was rubbish, the comedian was abysmal and Alexender O'Neill was slightly dubious and dressed as if he was just released from Guantanamo Bay we managed to smile through the night and enjoy ourselves. I even won a prize in the raffle!!! Kerris wanted the 2 week holiday....I wont the Paint balling session for 6!!! Sorry Kitten!!!

So, hard work, tiring, fun and over. Only time will tell if the leads we have taken away are any good.

Wondering about the pics by the way? Well obviously the first is the glory that was the Salto stand. The second is living proof that at the MLA Banquet, when wearing a silly fake Viking helmet, you can actually balance an upturned bottle of beer on each horn!!!

Just you wait until I get the movie of "How Many Helium Balloons Does It Take To Float A Wine Glass".

All important stuff this is you know!!!

Privacy...

If you are reading this then it means that you have received an invite from me and created a Google account to be able to continue viewing my blog.

Although I like the idea of blogging, it has come to my attention that sometimes, a little information could add up to be too much.

A few things have always been on my mind about my blog. I never really wanted my employers to know too much about my condition for instance and seen as though I track it here "warts and all", it could give the impression that I am a lot worse than I actually am. Obviously, any comments published are always reflective of my mood at that time and as I look back, I see sadness, joy, relief, desperation and depression. You do not see that mixture of emotions in my everyday life.

Also, I have never openly or maliciously passed comment on anyone within the circle of people I know. I would love to on occasion, but I would rather do that face to face if it was warranted. I don't think this is a place to hang out your dirty washing and I can assure that this wont change. I don't want anyone now or in the future to be offended or get the wrong impression and so controlling who reads this ensures that this continues to be the case. Now if you were a German......

Finally, Kerris pointed out recently that she typed one of our sons name into Google and my blog appeared. These are very dangerous times and I am actually very uncomfortable knowing that people can be tracked in this way. A stranger could fake familiarity in this way so again, controlling who views controls any future problems for my family, my friends, my enemies and myself.

I know you understand!!!!

Weight and health update

2 Bits of good news for my readers.

1 - My health seems to be mending itself without the need for steroids. My "spaz attacks" have retreated on their own which fills me with a lot of hope that maybe the answer does not always have to be drugs!!! I have noticed over the last week that I have barely had one. In my car, it feels like one is coming on every now and then but then it does not materialise. I am very happy about this as they have also passed on with no after effects.

2 - I have lost some weight, well quote a lot actually, at the weigh in today (it was meant to be tomorrow but I am away) I clocked in at 17st 7lbs!!! My target is 16st so we are well on the way and this time I will get there....its a promise I made to Kerris!!!

So its good to write with uplifting news, it makes life a little easier for us all!!! I am now off to Telford for the MLA show, lets see how my weight looks after 3 days of corporate binging!!!

Locksmiths

Locksmiths are a breed that I am well used to. Ever since 1994 when I first entered the Colin & Son building in Southport, I have never been able to escape them. 

Every job I have ever had, with the exception of the CCTV one that lasted for 6 months, has been dominated by Locksmiths and Salto seems to be no exception. 

Friday, Saturday & Sunday see the Annual Master Locksmiths Exhibition at the Telford International Centre and yours truly will be there with Salto doing my best to ensure that anyone who takes the time to stop by our stand is given the once over in the ways of Salto. 

For once though, I am actually looking forward to it. I am really enjoying myself at Salto and if you believe in the product you sell then you do get a sense of excitement when you introduce it to new people. It is almost a perverse pleasure to know that I am working with an exceptional moment and there will be a "Eureka" moment for everyone who sees it when they realise just how it works and how it does its job. One day on this blog, to pad some space, I will tell you all about it.

The other reason that I am looking forward to it is because I am going to the MLA Banquet on Saturday night. Lots of people will be there who I know in one way or another and also.....Kerris!!! Yes, my wife is coming and this is great because I get to wear a dinner suit and Kerris gets to spend all those hours only a woman can fill glamming up. 

Pics will follow!!!

Diet!!!

Here is a two pronged story for you.

Prong 1 - Illness swept through our house last week. I think it came from across the road as Janines daughter (my niece) Annabel (know to me as Bobbel.....another story) was laid low with sickness the week before. Anyway, Jay got it first and for the first time in his life, he chucked up!!! This was bizarre in itself as Jay has never really vomited so to see him stood in the conservatory with a small pool of blackcurrant-juice-tinged puke around him was a very sorry sight!!!

After a decent night of sleep for Jay in our bed with me (and no sleep for me) he seemed to recover. Next, I came home in the afternoon and Kerris told me that Mum was asleep. In fact, she slept for 4 hours, I went into her room to check on her and she looked like she was lying in state!!! Thankfully, people lying in state dont have rising and falling chests when the breathe so I assumed she was OK. Mum felt ill, got the trots and slept it off.

Later that evening, Kerris was next, she just hit bed and later in the night, emptied the contents of her bottom and stomach in a way that can only be appreciated if you hear the noises that go with it, she was not good. Kerris actually took the best part of 2 days to get better. Finally, around 9.00PM, my tummy started feeling ropey too and after retiring and doing several trial runs to the loo, I did a Kerris at 2.35AM.

So as you can see, it swept across us in a matter of hours. The only good thing to come of it is that I didnt eat for 2 days and had emptied all excess from my body so it was just ripe to start losing weight again!!!

Prong 2 - Kerris worries about me. Actually thats wrong, Kerris worries about all sorts of things but to be blatantly honest, if I pop my clogs of any heart related illness then my life insurance wont pay out as my medical history showed high blood pressure for 10 minutes when I was younger and its been an exclusion of my insurance policies since!!!

So, without going into detail, it seemed like a good time to get back on the wagon and see what we can lose. On Sunday, clothed, I was spot on 18st. Watch this space!!!!

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

If you take a look at my favourite movies on the profile page, then you will see that the original trilogy of Indiana Jones films rank highly in there.

Last night, Kerris and I went to see Indy 4 and seen as though a lot of people seemed to have a lot to say about it, I thought I would add my two penneth!!!

Movies have moved on a lot since the last movie and the same way that we were no longer stunned by the effects of Star Wars when the prequels were released so Indy 4 had a lot to live up to.

I have to say, I loved it, it was very enjoyable and Harrison Ford still pulls it off as our hero very convincingly. The same things that we love about the original 3 movies are still the backbone of entertaining us in the 4th.

We love to watch our hero overcome ridiculous odds to survive another day, we love to see him beaten senseless only to get up and floor someone twice his height and strength and we love the fact that everyone he trusts ends up double crossing him in some way.

So well done to Lucas and Spielberg for keeping true to the story, I am happy to say that I will add this 4th installment onto my faves and it will indeed slip in easily where the Star Wars prequels (good as they are.....let down by Jar Jar Binks) failed to.

No spoilers here though!!!

Visual Evoked Potentials

Regular readers of my blog might recall that I have always felt that my eyes are somehow connected to my condition. Until now, I haven't managed to convince my consultant that there is a link. Recently, he seemed in the mood to try things so we arranged a Visual Evoked Potential test to see if indeed my condition had affected my eyes.

In a nutshell, I have trouble with dark colours, especially black or grey colours in the dark. Now you may be saying.....everyone has trouble with black and grey colours in the dark but I know my eyes and since all this began, I have always felt that there has been some trouble there.

Specifically, in low light, if a shadow is projecting onto a dark surface, I have trouble making out what the dark surface is. Its all complicated but hopefully you get the jist!!!

So the Visual Evoked Potential tests involves connecting pads to your head and measuring electrical readings as colours change in front of you. In this way, using the old speed = distance divided by time equation, it can be calculated how long it takes my eyes to recognise colour change and how long it takes for this signal to reach the brain. There is obviously a standard speed for healthy people and in my case, if the optical nerve is damages, it will take longer for the change to register in my brain.

I dont really know what the point of this, however, my consultant is convinced that there is something non standard about my condition and hopefully this test gives him a pointer!!!

I also had blood taken at the same time to be tested for some other disease that it worse than MS. What could be worse? Well, lets not get excited and hope for a negative result!!!