A day to remember and take stock

On this day one year ago I became ill and ended up in hospital. A week before I had been discharged after a seemingly successful total hip replacement. I suddenly felt very ill, high temperature, confused - signs of an infection. After what felt an eternity in Accident and Emergence at Leicester Royal Infirmary I was eventually allocated to an orthopaedic trauma ward. Although I was put in a side room I was able to observe the male part of the ward but was spared the worst excesses of the all men together culture.

Apart from routine observations, little seemed to be being done to me or for me. I was repeatedly told that this was the week when junior doctors changed jobs. I endlessly explained that I knew this and all I wanted was to get back to the orthopaedic ward and staff from which I had been discharged some days before. I was not told the ward was temporarily closed nor that the surgeon was on holiday. It took some days for this to be made clear to me and then there was a wait of some days before I was transferred back for what turned out to be a five months stay.

The memories of the holding stay in the trauma ward are still vivid. The old woman who screamed most of the night, much to the annoyance of some other patients. After some days it became clear (to me, at least) was that she had recently been widowed and wanted to wear her late husband's pyjamas but the staff did not consider this proper. Of the group of men who sat round in circle together outdoing one another as to who had the most gruesome injuries - this was quite a battle as the ward collected casualities from several motorways and from a large part of rural, and therefore farming, England. Or when the weekend trauma on call consultant sailed into the ward (an imperial lady) how the men's group's bravado simply drained away. Of the fear I experienced as I imagined that the observation machine morphed into a face which was watching me and when I told a night staffer this was immediately offered a major tranquilizer without further probing.

Although the stay on that ward lasted just over a week, it has left its mark.

I am asked if having heart failure and then having no memories surround the event and the following days has had any impact? The short answer is YES it certainly has. Apart from having "lost" some days through amnesia I also feel that something has changed. I am not sure what it is but something has changed. Something like having a reprieve granted unexpectedly - but this does not quite capture the sense. It is work in progress.

The Joiners Bruntingthorpe Leicestershire

To The Joiners in the Leicestershire village of Bruntingthorpe for lunch. The interior is done in pub style with non matching furniture. The service is attentive but not intrusive. The menus plus specials are fine as are the drinks. The food, which is plain and hearty, is well cooked and served. Overall, a splendid place for lunch.

http://www.thejoinersarms.co.uk/index.php

The owners also run the Boot Room in central Leicester.

personal update

Friends will want to know that my mobility is returning. Yesterday, for example, I managed more than I have for almost two years. The almost daily physiotherapy is now starting. Thanks for all the encouragement and support you have given to us both.

If only

Vatican Reverses Stance On Gay Marriage After Meeting Tony And Craig

http://www.theonion.com/articles/vatican-reverses-stance-on-gay-marriage-after-meet,20912/

July 13, 2011 | ISSUE 47•28

VATICAN CITY—In a stunning and unexpected reversal of long-standing doctrine, Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed the Roman Catholic Church's unequivocal support for gay marriage Tuesday, just hours after meeting Stonington, CT couple Tony Ruggiero and Craig Housinger.
Tony and Craig, whom Vatican officials called "a truly great match."
The papal decree—which authorizes priests to administer the sacrament of holy matrimony to same-sex partners and explicitly states that "homosexual relations between two consenting adults is not, and never has been, a sin"—was reportedly a direct result of the pope sharing an afternoon of engaging conversation and hearty laughter with the gay couple.
"Not only are Tony and Craig complete sweethearts, but anyone who spends more than two minutes with them can see they're clearly perfect for each other," said Benedict, who in the past has described homosexual behavior as a grave disease that threatens all of humanity. "They're fun, gracious, and simply wonderful company. And you can tell they have something special just by the way they look at each other."
"They're soulmates, really," added the pope, smiling. "Allowing them to formalize their union in the Church is the least we could do for them."
Vatican officials said the vacationing couple and the Supreme Pontiff met during a routine papal audience at St. Peter's Basilica, and "really hit it off" after discovering shared interests in photography, the piano, and Spanish cuisine.
Pope Benedict XVI claims that any law respecting the wishes of Tony and Craig is "a law I support wholeheartedly."
Though sources said the 84-year-old Benedict, a lifelong scholar of antigay ecclesiastical law, initially appeared skeptical upon meeting the pair, he was reportedly put at ease after Housinger spoke a few humorous lines to the pope in his native German and Ruggiero effusively complimented his gold cuff links, touching off a friendly conversation that effectively upended 2,000 years of Roman Catholic teachings.
"They were witty and cultured, but also very friendly—I really don't meet too many people like that," the pope said of the couple, who excitedly suggested to him several off-the-beaten-path sights and "to die for" restaurants after he mentioned an upcoming trip to Buenos Aires. "Craig has a great passion for Italian painting, and I learned a lot from him about the Church's collection of Caravaggios. He's a real Renaissance man."
"I know what scripture says about homosexuals, but when I stop to think about it, I can't get past the fact that the Bible is just a book, and Tony and Craig are real people," Benedict added. "Love is love. Man-woman, man-man, woman-woman—who cares? The Catholic Church recognizes it's not the Stone Age anymore."
Invited on a personal tour of the Vatican, Housinger and Ruggiero were said to have charmed the College of Cardinals with amusing anecdotes from their seven-year relationship, displaying a playful yet tender affection for each other that deeply moved the clergy.
High-ranking officials within the Holy See said they were pleased to learn both partners were practicing Catholics who attend mass regularly, and were surprised to discover Housinger was employed as a general contractor, a profession none of them considered gay at all.
According to reports, the highlight of the afternoon came when the couple shared photographs of their adopted 14-month-old Cambodian daughter, Lorraine, whom the swooning clergy universally described as "angelic."
"Even if you just meet Tony and Craig for a few minutes, it's easy to see how supportive and patient they are," said the Most Rev. Francesco Coccopalmerio, the Vatican's top expert on canon law, who noted the two partners have a stronger bond than some of the married couples he knows. "You can tell they've created a perfect household for a child to grow up in. I just wish everybody could be raised by parents as devoted and caring as them."
Following a warm farewell in which Ruggiero hugged Benedict—an incident the Holy Father described as "not even weird or anything"—Vatican leaders are said to have unanimously agreed that it was "completely hypocritical" for anyone, especially those who have taken a vow of celibacy, to tell people whom they can or cannot share their lives with.
"If Tony and Craig want to exchange vows before God and their friends and family, where's the harm in that?" Benedict said. "It's not as if they're offending the sanctity of life, like those wicked birth control users who will toil for all eternity in hellfire."

Norwegian tragedy - further thoughts

The mental status of Anders Breivik has been much questioned in the past few days. Is he psychotic? one neighbour asked. Is he evil? asked another. Not sure simple binaries are ever going to be adequate. He does fit a pattern that can be recognised: loner, suspicious to the point of paranoia, especially negative about those who do not conform to their picture of 'normality'. There is often a negative attachment to the dominant hate group of the particular time (eg in the 1930s it was Jewish people as it is Muslim people in contemporary Europe). Furious at such concepts as multiculturalism and diversity. Especially angry at the idea of 'political correctness'.


Such characters live in a world of their own rarely able to engage in reciprocal relationship. Asexual rather than anything more relationally defined as heterosexual or gay. Rarely female, often deeply negative about women and out gay people. Psychopathic in terms of personality organisation. Obsessive.


Lonely childhoods. Remote or absent fathers. No or few adult relationships. Strong belief in rule of law (variously interpreted). Very angry with any variation or laxity in the application of rules/law. 


As to assessment and treatment, I think there are little or no grounds for optimism. For those in the mild category (very few I would imagine), a secure forensic therapeutic community with skilled, intensive group and individual work may be helpful. But for those in the moderate to severe categories I am not aware of much evidence of effective treatments at the moment. I would be interested in other views on this.


I have read reports that Anders Breivik liked the Eurovision Song Contest. He seemed to have enjoyed wearing uniforms and had attachments to extremists in the UK and to the notion of the Crusaders wiping out Islam from a white Christendom.


Local angle? Did Anders Breivik attend the EDL demonstration in LE1 in September 2010?
Check out the YouTube clips and read the Top Comments.




Background on the Knights Templar


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/norway/8659644/Norway-killer-who-were-the-Knights-Templar.html 

Norwegian tragedy

Watching the experts last night on BBC news 24 it was clear to them that the Islamic terrorists were responsible. Today, we are being told it is a "Christian fundamentalist". I would rather wait and see. Whoever did it there are many dead people, many of them young people.

New chair

Not perhaps the most flattering of attire but I thought my new chair would be of interest. It was designed and made by Naughtone a firm specialising in 'modern' furniture and based in Harrogate, Yorkshire. 

This corner of the living room is currently the base from which the blog is produced.