Nice People Thread Number 10 -the official residence of Nice People

Generali

Doozergirl wrote: »

Did you see this when it happened?

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-25808048
The fog was only here yesterday morning for us. We had another glorious day yesterday. It looks a little hazy right now, but still feels sunny.

Yes I read about that.

I keep up with the UK news pretty well although not politics so much. Politics loses its point from across the world. If there were some charismatic leaders I might feel differently but this shower. Nope.

Actually it feels like we have mediocre leaders across the world right now perhaps with the exception of Angela Merkel. There's no Thatcher or Castro around.

Abbot is an interesting leader as he is a real member of the community despite being PM and it's clearly always been a huge part of his life to compete at sports and to volunteer so he's inspirational in that way. Is he a great leader though? Probably not.

Obama? Well he's the first Black President but really he's hardly led from the front.

Putin? Well I really don't like his politics but he is the sort of strong leader that Russians seem to like to rally around. Maybe we could put him up there.

Other than that it's grey media focused people who don't want to say anything contentious in case they get a bad word in the Editorial column. Boris at least stands out from that crowd. Perhaps he could be a Great Leader. He's an ideologue which is a good start.

neverdespairgirl

Generali wrote: »

There's talk of introducing a small fee for seeing the GP, perhaps $5 a time. Again, this is to discourage people going to the doctor just because they fancy a day off work or for a mild cold or bad back. I think it's an excellent idea.

I just don't get that - I have never, ever seen a GP's visit as anything other than something essential which is a nuisance. The number of appointments I have would be precisely the same if they cost nothing or £50 each. Or £500 each, for that matter.

zagubov wrote: »

On a more trivial medical level, I grew up when local anaesthetics were dire.

As a kid I was too fond of sweets of all varieties and used to have to get endless fillings incuding quite deep ones. They seemed excruciating to me despite the injections. I'd walk home in utter misery and, far too late, my face would start to go numb. By the time I'd reach home I could barely explain how awful it was.

I'd keep postponing my next visit and so needed worse treatment every time.

My parents were horrified at my reaction when they told me my dentist had dropped dead, so I better not repeat what I said then.

I couldn't have lived in a century before anaesthetic dentistry.:eek:

Sister #2 had two impacted, under-the-gum wisdom teeth out last Saturday, and had a reaction to the local anaesthetic that made her very sick, so she couldn't keep down painkillers or antibiotics. She's definitely looking forward to having the other two out shortly.....

OH had 4 teeth removed without any anaesthetic because his grandfather-dentist thought it was for wimps. He wasn't a hypocrite - he pulled one of his own adult teeth out without anything either. But OH was rather put off.

neverdespairgirl

CKhalvashi wrote: »

In Georgia, we could live on 20 lari a week if necessary. In the UK (although I understand part of the difference goes to the farmer as wages are higher), food is 10x more expensive.

CK

Comparing food prices alone, though, doesn't make sense - what is the difference in labour rates / wages? Accommodation costs? Other things like that?

Spirit wrote: »

That sounds delicious and very MSE.

I have a MSE ham hock in the fridge - it cost £2 from the farm shop and was destined for pea and ham or lentil soup. I think I need to be a bit more imaginative

Sometimes imagination is over-rated, and the simple and obvious thing to do is also the best!

bugslet

Generali wrote: »

No, I told him where to go and how to get there. I think he found it funny.

two word phrase:D, entirely understandable under the circumstances.

Now I am dead 'ard when it comes to dentists, but no anaesthetic:eek:.
I'm happy with just the gums being numbed, even had my jaw bone ground down with just a numbing injection. They told me it would hurt in the evening. It didn't. I had cancelled my Friday night out and felt very short changed!

neverdespairgirl

The House of Lords, a while ago, had to consider in a criminal case whether the phrase "f*** off pigs" was an invitation for the police to leave the premises that they had previously been granted permission to search. They concluded it was not, it was "merely abuse". That struck me when I first read the case as rather disingenuous, I think it was pretty clear that the permission to search had been withdrawn (-:

lostinrates

I could be in a hot bath and a warm house by Tuesday night. Hot water, out of a TAP!!!!!!!!!!imagine how easy it will be to do things like cleaning, and how coming into a warm house will feel!!!!!

Generali

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

I just don't get that - I have never, ever seen a GP's visit as anything other than something essential which is a nuisance. The number of appointments I have would be precisely the same if they cost nothing or £50 each. Or £500 each, for that matter.

Generalissimo #1 was quite unwell on his 1st birthday and we ended up spending several hours at A&E in the Royal London. It was a real eye opener as to the number of people that would waste hours of their time to get something for free.

Your time has real value. I imagine you earn well over the average income for London and while you're earning that you're spending time away from Isaac. When you're not working, most time away from Isaac and NDB is time wasted thus going to see a GP for a frivolous reason has a very high cost to you.

There are a lot of wasters out there who would rather spend half a day in a waiting room than a whole day at work.

LydiaJ

lostinrates wrote: »

They are when he is here too,

.

Of course. But when he is not there they have the additional job of being there for you when you miss him. That's why I said "especially when" not just "when".

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

On my way to bed - just wanted to say quickly, glad it's over Gen, and sorry you're hurting! <hugs>

What NDG said. Hope the results on Tuesday are what you're hoping for.

lostinrates wrote: »

Its seriously foggy out. Yesterday I felt a little like I was in a Tim burton film because the fog didn't lift all day and it just felt weird, heavy and dark and incredibly atmospheric. Dogs appeared put of nowhere in the garden, and even the geese stayed close and went in early (my geese are ridiculous in their wandering usually) Its the kind of weather I usually really enjoy the otherness of.

This morning I have to drive to a small local town. Not looking forward to that. Its not as heavy as yesterday morning I think, but still pretty impressive. I don't articulately want to go out in it.

Vile fog here this morning. DD and I were supposed to be cycling to her school for "bike to school week", but with thick fog and heavy traffic (and being late for setting off) I thought not. I put her bike in the back of the car and drove her almost all the way, leaving her to cycle the last few hundred yards. A mere 40min later, the fog's gone and the sun is shining. I shall have a nice cycle to work along a cycle track across a park, and will then be on my bike when I pick DD up from school and we can cycle home together.

There have been a lot of accidents in the fog over my side of the country, though. A friend who commutes a particularly long distance was horrendously late to work yesterday - his route's along the A417 which had not one but several fog-related accidents yesterday morning.

Spirit_2

lostinrates wrote: »

I could be in a hot bath and a warm house by Tuesday night. Hot water, out of a TAP!!!!!!!!!!imagine how easy it will be to do things like cleaning, and how coming into a warm house will feel!!!!!

I so hope this is the case. Your fortitude and good humour about the whole thing has my full admiration.

I would have left home long ago.

You really deserve to have your your expectations met and some good luck.

LydiaJ

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

I just don't get that - I have never, ever seen a GP's visit as anything other than something essential which is a nuisance. The number of appointments I have would be precisely the same if they cost nothing or £50 each. Or £500 each, for that matter.

I feel like that too.

Generali wrote: »

Generalissimo #1 was quite unwell on his 1st birthday and we ended up spending several hours at A&E in the Royal London. It was a real eye opener as to the number of people that would waste hours of their time to get something for free.

Your time has real value. I imagine you earn well over the average income for London and while you're earning that you're spending time away from Isaac. When you're not working, most time away from Isaac and NDB is time wasted thus going to see a GP for a frivolous reason has a very high cost to you.

There are a lot of wasters out there who would rather spend half a day in a waiting room than a whole day at work.

I take your point. However, free appointments still have to be available for people on low income - the sort of people to whom $5 would be a really big deal - to make sure they don't put off going when they really ought to go, and end up getting much worse as a result. And those are precisely the people most likely to feel that their time hasn't much value.

I'm not convinced there's a big population of people for whom a $5 charge would be a deterrent to a time-wasting visit but not a deterrent to a necessary one.

lostinrates wrote: »

I could be in a hot bath and a warm house by Tuesday night. Hot water, out of a TAP!!!!!!!!!!imagine how easy it will be to do things like cleaning, and how coming into a warm house will feel!!!!!

Even at a distance, I feel excited about this for you. I still don't understand how you can have been without basic 20th century technology for so long, but I'm so looking forward to reading your posts about enjoying hot water. Except that if you no longer have a phone line and can't post.... :mad: