Books etc

I finished reading 'In stitches' by Dr Nick Edwards over the weekend and all engrossing it was too. It just shows how people misuse the emergency services as well as showing the heroic work the staff of an A & E near you do. Needs to be read as an antidote to politicians pontificating about how much they've done for the NHS and programmes like'Casualty'. It's written in blog type format and started off life as a blog, so it's easy to read but it doesn't undermine the serious points the author is trying to make. The most important of which is the unintended consequences of arbitrary targets - for example the time limit which means that more people are admitted than is medically necessary to stop the department breaching its four hour target of either admitting or discharging people. I recommend it as necessary reading to see the NHS from the point of view of the people who work in it.

Looking back at previous posts, I have now finished 'Dark Hearts of Chicago' and recommend it to anyone who likes historical novels with a well researched background.

I have also read over the last week or so: Sally Nicoll's 'Bets and the City' about what happened when a novice decides to take up spreadbetting on the financial markets - think Nick Leeson on a smaller scale. I put myself off the idea for life! This is not for me.

I like Catherine Fox's writing - her latest is 'Fight the Good Fight' about how a clergyman's wife in her forties got to grips with Judo. Her style is always humorous but she has some profound observations to make about life in general and about her life as a vicar's wife.

I'm currently reading chick-lit in the shape of Carole Matthews' 'The Chocolate Lover's Club.' It prompted me to search the internet for quality chocolates. They all sound totally drool worthy but the prices are completely OTT - £45 for a box of chocolates?? Not even a big box at that. I'll stick to Thorntons or Green & Black or even my local Lidl who do some very good chocolate at a very low price - 3 longish sticks of 36%, 55% or 80% cocao solids - very moreish without breaking the bank.

I have succumbed in recent weeks to the power of internet grocery shopping. Much though I dislike Tesco I now place an internet order about every three weeks. It saves me so much energy not to speak of diesel and aggro and time that I came to the conclusion it was worth it. I only did it the first time because I was feeling very unwell - a trip in the middle of the night to casualty had rather knocked me for six. I'd nearly passed out and wasn't feeling any better half an hour later. I could not have wished for better treatment - this was 2.00am on a Tuesday morning, so I did not have to wait - blood pressure ecg etc did not reveal anything major except blood pressure slightly too low. My GP suggested a few hours later - I'd been recommended to go as soon as I could - that I might have a virus. I presume that meant he hadn't got a clue and thought I'd recover on my own - which I duly did. But I did feel very shaky for several days afterwards - hence my conversion to internet shopping. I could not fault the treatment I received at the hands of the A & E staff at the Boston Pilgrim Hospital so a big thank you to them. That's UK not USA.

Back to the reading - I still have the latest Harry Potter unread on the pile. I'm not sure why. I'm sure I'll get around to it eventually.

Back to work tomorrow. I know I'm getting ready for retirement when I start thinking that provided I manage to retire at 60 there's only 4 more August Bank Holidays before the happy day. Roll on retirement!