Well last week was, from the point of view of Blogland, a complete write-off. On Tuesday I was up before 0500. I got the early ferry from Stornoway to Ullapool and at about 0945 set off on the 270 mile drive to Ayr. As I'd come out of quarantine it was a question of go straight there without passing Go and without collecting £200 (I hated Monopoly but still use Monopoly analogies).
I arrived at the Hospital and was immediately tested for Covid-19. I passed - negative.
Next day I had the kidney stent replaced. Unfortunately the fact that it was around 7 months overdue meant that the surgeon had a rather difficult time extracting a stone from some passage or other and the work proved a little sore for a day or two and it took a few days for the infection I'd had for the last few months to be conquered. Anyway by Saturday all was back to normal and I was released into the big wide world once more. I stayed overnight with a friend because I couldn't get a ferry until the Sunday evening on which, fortuitously, I was already booked.
So today has been sort out and try and get back to normal day.
The ferry on the way over was awash with barking dogs. What is it with people who can't control their dog? If you can't control your dog and stop it barking at every passing shadow then don't bring it on public transport (or muzzle it)! It's bad enough having a massive mountain dog 100 yards away at home that barks constantly but at least I can close the windows and go into the other side of the house. I detest barking dogs - in case you hadn't noticed. Rant over.
Social distancing on the ferry is very good and, unless eating or drinking their coffee masks are the order of the day. However a chap walked past me (duly masked) a few metres away and as he did so a massive wave of tobacco smoke from his clothes followed him. Apart from the distinct unpleasantness, it occurred to me that the aerosols that contain the smell are presumably the same ones that can contain the Covid-19 virus. Food for rather unpleasant thought.
On a lighter note one of the chaps in the hospital had been feeding his neighbour's two dogs for a couple of days. He let them out into the garden (their back gardens were adjacent and could be accessed without going through the house) several times a day and fed them too. He was puzzled after the first night as to why one dog came out and then after eating and doing what it had to do went in and the other one came out. After this ritual had been repeated for the whole weekend he went in to see what was happening in the house. He followed the second dog into the house and it immediately went upstairs (they usually lived downstairs). He followed and found a chap on top of the wardrobe with the dog standing guard. It turned out that the chap was in fact a burglar and when he broke in on the Friday evening the dogs had chased him upstairs and he's been on top of the wardrobe all weekend with one or both of the dogs on guard! Yuk. The chap next door is a police dog handler/trainer.
I didn't gather that - I just thought they must be ferocious dogs - but the story got a laugh from me.
ReplyDeleteWell, Tasker, I'm glad that's one person laughed - that's a good start.
DeleteSo good you are home and recovering Graham, even if things did not go quite as smoothly as you would have hoped.
ReplyDeleteAs for the police dogs - what clever pups! I hope there was an extra lump of cheese for both 😁🐾🧀. (And if you think that’s an odd thing to suggest as a reward I have lived with dogs all my life and sometimes they don’t want an extra biscuit, but the only time I had a dog refuse cheese we were 30 minutes away from an emergency dash to a vet, xx)
Thank you, Jayne. I have to admit that I had absolutely no idea that dogs ate cheese. I hope the emergency dash was successful.
DeleteIt was thank you, and many many years ago.
DeleteMany will disagree, but we’ve always found that dogs love dairy. One boy would do ANYTHING for a bit of toast, then we realised all he actually wanted was a Butter Delivery System, and was more than happy to lick butter off the bread!
And whilst I would never feed it in large quantities, a small bit of cheddar is excellent as a Pill Disguise Device 🙂
That dog tale is hilarious, i shall smile for days over that. You have our deepest sympathy re barking dogs. A house on one side of our cove has about 5 (or 6) which have access from the ground floor grilled door, all the way up tp the flat roof (3 stories). They take turns, barking on the ground floor at passersby, barking from the roof incessantly. Good to read you are on the mend at las I can't believe you drove all that distance with the pain of kidney infection.
ReplyDeleteTigger, your dog problem makes my rant on dogs look almost unjustified. Oddly driving was when my pain was at its least. Lying down was, oddly, the worst.
DeleteWell, Graham, it is safe to say, reading this account of recent happenings, that your life has gone to the dogs. It is a constant source of amazement to me that there are so many irresponsible dog owners. I am sure there are some who are decent upstanding people who follow the rules, but I have yet to meet one! At a local land trust where I volunteer and conduct bird population surveys, there are trails where dogs are required to be kept on leash, and trails where dogs are not allowed. To hell with the regulations, some people say, and a whole stand of provincially rare orchids was torn up by dogs rooting in the soil, and ground-nesting birds have been driven from their nests. I have to admit though, I got a real chuckle from the story about the police dogs!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your analogy. Fortunately the dogs are now all safely in their kennels and my life is back on track.
DeleteThat dog story is like something you only read in the news! Which I guess is what this blog is. And filled with good news all around. I imagine you feel like a new man after all this!
ReplyDeletePipistrello, I do, indeed, feel like a now man. Hopefully I won't have to wait so long next time.
DeleteFirstly....the dog story is wonderful! I love it! I love those two dogs! lol Oh! Boy! That is just a great story, Graham! I think that wardrobe might have to be tossed out....if you get what I'm referring to...maybe the whole room will need to be fumigated or renovated...if you get what I mean. My mind works in mysterious ways! :)
ReplyDeleteNow...on to you...I'm glad, as you are, I am sure, that last week is last week...and you are now back to "normal". (Inverted commas because I am never sure what "normal" is. I never know what normal means as far as I, myself, am concerned, anyway!)
It's good to read your post...because I was wondering how you were because you'd not visited Blogland for a while. Too long...your absence was duly noted, Graham! Keep taking good care. :)
Lee, I thought you might appreciate the dog story. I think my "Yuk" was a précis of your observations. Thank you for your thoughts.
DeleteSometimes when walking in The Peak District or even in Bloody Yorkshire, I encounter barking dogs with their owners who usually say, "You are all right. He's friendly!" Trouble is it does not seem like that when they are barking and baring their teeth. I am not a big fan of dogs - apart from working dogs.
ReplyDeleteSame here, YP. Working dogs are to be admired, a thing of beauty. They rarely bark. Probably too busy doing their job. As to some owners' "friendly dog" - particularly when you yourself are with young child in tow, in height roughly on par with the "friendly" dog - all I do is, look the owner in the eye, smile and raise an eyebrow. And scoop up the child.
DeleteScant comfort: As folklore goes, a dog that barks doesn't bite. Until it takes a breather, and stops barking.
U
I'm with you there YP. I've never really been a 'pet' person anyway.
DeleteWhat about that rich widow who kept you on a lead?
DeleteGlad all went well for you
ReplyDeleteThe bureau didn't fare as well.
Reminds me of the joke I read on facebook about burglar hearing voice saying, "Jesus is watching you." Quick turns on flashlight, sees a parrot, asks bird if he said that. Bird replies, "Yes. I just want you to know he's watching you." Burglar ask who's he. Bird says his name is Moses. Burglar..."What kind of people call their bird Moses!?" Parrot replies, "The kind of people that call their rottweiler, Jesus."
Thank you, Maywyn. Your joke certainly tickled my amusement buds!
DeleteUnbelievable story in your last paragraph. I hope everything continues to go well with the new stent.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Red. I hope so too!
DeleteBarking dogs are the last gasp. The dog story is priceless!
ReplyDeleteAlphie
Alphie, I'm amazed how many agree with my view of barking dogs given the number of them around. Yes. I must admit I think the dog story is classic.
DeleteI love the burglar story, and I have to agree with you about the smell of smokers!
ReplyDeleteCro, I'm surprised that more have not commented on the smoke smell.
DeleteIt's not so much the smell itself, as you pointed out, it's kind of like the smoke makes someone's breath detectable, so that if you smell the smoke on their breath, you know their actual breath is entering your nose - which means any germs that person is carrying is now in your nose!
DeleteI have thought of this several times whilst driving - the driver of the car in front of me is smoking, and I am breathing in their nasty breath, so I roll my windows up immediately. But even if someone is not smoking, their breath is wafting back to your car - that's the scary part. You can't detect non-smoker's breath particles, but they are reaching you anyway. AGH!!
It's really food for thought and quite scary, Marcheline.
DeleteGlad to hear you are home again and things are much better. I too dislike dogs that bark constantly - do their owners never hear them? What great karma for that burglar! A good story for a decent laugh :))
ReplyDeleteMargaret, I could hear the owners of one dog on the boat whose shouting at the dog, apart from being completely ineffective, was almost as irritating as the dog. I do sometimes wonder if they care even if they do hear them.
DeleteGood to see you back safe and sound. I have a barking dog and it gets on my nerves. I must make as much noise as the dog trying in vain to silence it.
ReplyDeleteThe burglar will be able to claim compensation, I'm sure thieves have rights these days.
Oh dear, Adrian, I don't recall your dogs barking at all. As for the burglar's rights I wouldn't be at all surprised these days.
DeleteWhat a story!!
ReplyDeleteGood to know you are back home and in the end it all went well, even with a bit more difficulty than usual.
Barking dogs and screaming kids put me on the same stress level, my body thinks it has to be alarmed when all that is wrong are irresposible and/or uncaring dog owners or parents.
Meike, once again, you and I are of the same mindset.
DeleteI'm glad the operation was a success in the end, but sorry to hear you had several days of pain initially afterwards. I wish we could stay in the cars on the ferries...have to admit to having also thought about the various smells that you can smell through the masks, especially smoke, and as you say if you can smell those... who knows?
ReplyDeleteAs for dogs, we have two, and I like to think I am a responsible decent dog owner that one of the commenters above has not yet met! Our dogs stay on their leads when we are out, and on the odd occasion we let them off their leads, which is less often now that the little one is blind, it is always when no one else is around, and we recall them quickly if we see people approaching in the distance. They are not allowed to constantly bark either, as that is one of my pet hates, that and people who don't clean up after their dogs, that give the rest of us who do a bad name!
Serenata, I can't imagine you being anything other than a very responsible dog owner. The problem with ferries is that, after The Herald of Free Enterprise incident any Master who saied wit someone in their car would be looking for another job. It's a complete no-no.
DeleteThe dog story - funny, but reassuring.
ReplyDeleteGlad you’re on form and keeping well.
Thank you, Lizzie. It's good to hear from you.
DeleteWhat a week you have had, Graham. A fact, largely overlooked, how Covid (and its handling) has had impact on other health conditions and necessary medical interventions. It's quite shameful. Delays in diagnosis, delays in treatment, delays in follow-ups. Complications.
ReplyDeleteAs to air droplets: You have hit the nail on its crooked head. So many people appear to think that wearing masks and disinfecting your hands at every corner does the trick. So, pile it on. Yet, it has now been confirmed, officially and by high ranking medics, that it's social distancing that has the most impact to keep the virus at bay. Makes sense. So much so that when I am faced with a group of people, oblivious to anyone else, taking up the whole width of the pavement, I will step out onto the road to keep my distance. As I joked to the Angel yesterday: I won't be caught out by Covid; I'll be run over. That way I'll also spare the government blushes as I won't show up on their Virus statistics.
U
Ursula, I think it's a question of being responsible and wearing a mask as well as social distancing. Neither on its own will suffice.
DeleteAmen, GB. People still think masks are supposed to "protect" them from the virus. They are to stop your own germs from going the distance to other people and making other people sick. This is why it's important for everyone to wear masks. If everyone wears masks, then the people who carry the virus in their system don't spread it to others. It's a "do for other people" thing, not a "do for myself" thing. So many people have no interest in it once they realize it's to help others, and not themselves.
DeleteI think, Marcheline, there is an element of self-protection as well. The thing is it can make a difference. I am completely unable to fathom the mentality of the non-wearers.
DeleteI'm glad everything went well with your procedure and I hope you are recovering quickly. I love the story of the burglar, it sounds like something from a childrens' book :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jules. The story is one that I would find hard to dream up.
DeleteI am glad you have now had your stent replaced and hopefully it will put an end to sepsis and rushing off to hospital every now and again as you had been doing and all the stress it must have brought for you. I do not like dogs barking incessantly, nor clothes that give away the tobacco smell that sails along with the owner. I hope that your life peacefully now returns to normal. The burglar story was unreal.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughts, Rachel. I still haven't worked out why I don't get an email notification when you comment. So far as I can see you are the only person in that category. It's a puzzle.
DeleteI have two people on my blog where email notifications when they comment don't pop up and I can also see no rhyme nor reason to it. Everything on my blog is transparent, email address and everything is set up correctly and nothing is hidden, so as you say it is a puzzle.
DeleteWell, Rachel, at least I'm not alone.
DeleteI'm glad all went well and you're safely back home again - and I hope you did not pick up any virus on the way. I'm with you on barking dogs... This summer there was one at some neighbour's which kept barking and howling for hours, almost every day - driving me mad in the afternoons. I got the impression that this happened when it was left alone. (More rarely now, but there are still mysteries involved - because if it is the dog I think, I've seen it with various people, and I'm not sure who owns the dog vs who lives in the flat - or even if the dog lives there!)
ReplyDeleteWell, Monica, I'm okay so far. At least I know which of my neighbours owns the barking dog but I've not had the motivation to raise the subject because they are trying to sell the house and they are lovely neighbours (barking dog excepted).
DeleteGood to hear you are safely back on the island having survived seas, roads, hospitals, smelly men and barking dogs - and lived to tell another good story. If you hadn't been in hospital you would not have heard that yarn and given so many of us a good laugh. One of the things I miss living in town is the distant sound of a working dog barking, that slow deep woof woof of an old huntaway earning his keep. Could never stand yappy dogs, just don't understand why anyone would want one. Stay well.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Pauline. When we used to have plenty of working dogs here they provided a comforting sound. The present racket is a far cry from that.
DeleteI do'nt actually mind dogs if they are nice natured, thankfully I haven't met too many vicious ones, most of them seem to be more curious than anything but I'm glad to hear that you got the operation over and done with.
ReplyDeleteAmy the dog that lives near me is, I think, very friendly, although a neighbour got a bit alarmed when it tried to chew her hand (the dog is bigger than a St Bernard). I think that it is bored stiff and lacking sufficient exercise.
DeleteYour dog story reminded me of the first time I traveled to Scotland, back in the 1990s. I was on my own, and met some nice folks at a pub who invited me 'round to their place for a visit. There were lots of other folks there, playing guitar, singing, having a pint. I walked in and had a seat on their couch. Their massive German shepherd (think his name was "Zeus") walked over and silently stood directly in front of me, never taking his eyes off my face. He growled low in his throat a few times. I looked at the host, who laughed and said "He's all right, don't worry about him." I sat very, very still, careful not to look into his eyes, sipped my pint, and then very slowly left the party. Whew! What a night!
ReplyDeletePS: As to your neighbor's dog barking problem? They sell these ultra-sonic devices (noise-activated, so they turn on when the dog starts barking) that send piercing sound-waves only audible to dogs. Ostensibly you'd hang one of these devices on the outside of your property, facing the offending mutt, and when the dog starts in, this thing would shut him up quick.
The customer reviews on these devices vary. Some say they work a treat. Others say they're completely worthless. There are several types available on Amazon. Might be worth a try?
Marcheline, my neighbours dog is 70 or so yards away so the device that you mention wouldn't work anyway. The bark is so loud that you can hear it at the other end of the village. However I had such a device to deter the cats which used to infest my garden. It used to fascinate them and they would come up to it and circle around it. Whatever they heard certainly didn't scare them away.
DeleteThose dogs had a lot of focus to keep that guy bailed up for so long.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you got the stent changed, sorry about the complications.
Kylie, I imagine that, being police dogs, their training just kicked in. It was their teamwork that really impressed me. I'm fortunate that the surgeon dealt with the complications.
DeleteGraham, I have just heard your First Minister say there is a new outbreak of Covid on the Western Isles. You OK?
ReplyDeleteYes thank you, Jayne. I'm watching too. It's a serious outbreak but, so far, it is only in South Uist and Benbecula.
DeleteHello, Graham, it's a while since I've been in Blogland myself hence the late response. I enjoyed your dog story too, but I'm sorry you've had such difficulties and such a difficult time. The pandemic must make it all more difficult. It is not good to hear that Covid is affecting the Western Isles - I hope you can stay well away from cities and please do look after yourself!
ReplyDeleteThank you Jenny. It's good to see you. I'm finding that I have Blogger Block at the moment as well as a life schedule which defies what it is supposed to be at the moment. All this when we are so restricted by Covid-19 which is limiting what we cane do.
DeleteGlad to know it is "blogger block" for you and not something more debilitating. It has been a month since your post of the new greenhouse. How is that coming along? We worry, I worry!, when you go so long between posts.
ReplyDeleteHow lovely of you to say so, Jill. To be honest I didn't quite realise how long it had been since this post. I shall try and gee myself up and do better.
Delete