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LIVING WITH CANCER STROLLERS
FLORA, FAUNA, FUNGI AND FRUIT
Flora, fauna, fungi and fruit all featured on a fun filled,
friendly walk at Cosmeston this morning. Moorhen
babies, coots, Canadian geese, apples and blackberries
were all spotted on our walking safari. Who needs the big
5 in Kenya, when we have all this birdlife on our
doorstep!
“A Terrible Kindness” by Jo Browning Wroe
This debut novel promoted an interesting and lively discussion between the Page Turners.
William Lavery is a young, recently qualified embalmer who has joined the family business. When news of the disaster at Aberfan reaches him, he immediately volunteers to attend and it becomes his first job as an embalmer. The care and compassion he shows to the mostly young victims of that terrible tragedy, was beautifully portrayed, but had a profound effect on William’s life, to the extent of leaving his wife in later years because of his fear of having children of his own. He is forced to face up to his own issues concerning family and friendship which had been left to fester over many years rather than being dealt with. The book proceeds to become William’s biography.
Following the death of his father, an undertaker in the family business, William wins a music scholarship and becomes a Chorister in a Cathedral School. However, rather than pursuing a musical career, which his mother desperately wishes him to do, family traumas redirect him into a career of embalming and results in him becoming estranged from his mother for many years.
It was mostly agreed by the Page Turners that the book was very well written, thought provoking with interesting characters, and extremely emotional at times. However, some thought that it was very inappropriate to use the tragedy of Aberfan as the opening to a fictional novel. Additionally, it was pointed out by a few of the group that the story became predictable and thus a happy ending was perhaps produced too easily. William was not always a likeable character and some of the traumas he experienced were as a result of his own actions and should not have been blamed on others.
Despite the difference of opinions, the final score of 8 confirms that this novel is recommended as a good read. A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe
OFF THE SHELF
“The Prosecutor”
by Nazir Afzal
Nazir Afzal knows a thing or two about justice. As a Chief Prosecutor, it was his job to make sure the most complex, violent, and harrowing crimes made it to court, and that their perpetrators were convicted. From the Rochdale sex ring to the earliest prosecutions for honour killing and modern slavery, Nazir was at the forefront of the British legal system for decades.
But his story begins in Birmingham, in the sixties, as a young boy facing racist violence and the tragic death of a young family member – and it’s this that sets him on the path to his ground-breaking career, and which enables him to help communities that the conventional justice system ignores, giving a voice to the voiceless.
A memoir of struggle and survival as well as crime and punishment, The Prosecutor is both a searing insight into the justice system and a powerful story of one man’s pursuit of the truth.
One of the book club members who recommended the book was fortunate to hear Nazir Afzal speak at a conference and was inspired by him and consequently recommended the book.
The book club members found this a refreshing read compared to some other books we have read. It was not always an easy read because of the content addressed, however the members appreciated that this needed to be discussed. We all thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and it was a great insight into the justice system and the author’s courage and conviction. It reminded us how important having the appropriate and correct evidence is vital in a trial. We overwhelmingly gave the book a score of 10/10 and would highly recommend it.
Chris Munroe
A Special Day
A Special Day
As regular readers will know I have missed the Saturday walks for quite a few weeks, but we were all together in mid-August to celebrate the wedding of Claire, the youngest member of our group. A few of us took short walks around the village before setting off. We all donned rather smarter gear than we usually wear on a Saturday and made our way (by car not Shanks’s pony) with umbrellas or raincoats, to Penarth, as it started to rain quite heavily at about 11a.m.
The wedding was at the Tabernacle Church where church members greeted every guest with a smile and a hearty welcome. There was a good congregation assembled when the groom, Stephen, arrived with the bride’s uncle a few minutes before Noon. Then the sun came out from behind the clouds and another uncle accompanied a glowing bride, in a gorgeous deep pink dress with a flowered pattern and a toning bouquet. The congregation clapped and cheered.
The Pastor welcomed everyone, and his words were light, entertaining and loving throughout the service. The bride’s mother, Dianne, shared a reading from the bible about love. And then the couple made their vows and signed the Register. The Pastor invited people to take photos and suddenly it was as if the paparazzi had been unleashed with lots of us rushing to the front of the church (Until this point surreptitious photos had been taken on iPhones and cameras).
We all trooped downstairs where church members served us non-alcoholic Prosecco, which was surprisingly tasty. A buffet was laid out, with a separate vegetarian section and two wedding cakes, one of which was a present from Claire’s sister in Australia.
After eating, lots of chatting and very little walking everyone departed a little lighter of heart. Some of us bearing table decorations!
Congratulations Claire and Stephen.
Local walking
Along the Glamorgan Heritage Coast there are fabulous views but be aware that if you walk along the beach under cliffs you need to be at least 30ft from the cliff face to avoid possible rock falls.
Nash Point to Monknash: It is important to check the tide here; there is a tide timetable outside the cafe at Nash Point (parking fee£3). It is a simple walk of 2-3 miles either over the cliff top or across the pavement beach but there are lots of stones on a slope to navigate before you reach the beach. I usually walk along the beach one way and over the top to return. The tide was way out last time I did it and the wind was blowing hard on the top, so I walked both ways on the beach. I keep my shoes on until I am past the roughest of the stones and then kick them off to walk on the sand at the edge of the water and paddle in the sea as I go. Your feet glow after a mile or so of this.
WENVOE FORUM
Considering tomorrow today
A dose of your own medicine
The queue waiting within the NHS, in any part of the UK, for any kind of treatment or consultation is at the best long, and at worst it vanishes over the horizon. In a recent response to an e-consult to my GP I was e-mailed
“Unfortunately we are not able to expedite referrals without an urgent indication as this is only for suspected cancer cases etc.”
It was followed by some very general non-medical advice. So there is the message -Take responsibility for your own health. For a while I felt abandoned and neglected but deep down I know there is a great deal of wisdom in that statement. While there are doctors, nurses, consultants and specialists with a great deal of expertise in all sorts of illnesses, conditions and emergencies, the only real expert on your health, is the only person who is available on call 24/7 and that’s you! It could be that out of the “crisis of capacity” in our dearly loved NHS will be born a new possibly better way of delivering a healthy population a change from public health management to personal health management.
Let’s start at the beginning by asking the question “What do we mean by health?”. How people describe their health varies from person to person and even for the same person from day to day or hour to hour. A person with say type 2 diabetes who takes their prescribed medication, and follows the lifestyle advice given, may feel very well and declare them-selves completely healthy, whereas an adult who has no long term condition but a nasty head cold is likely to tell you they are really ill. There are many different techniques and measures used to monitor people’s health but research has shown that individuals are actually quite reliable is assessing their own health. A long term (27 years) study of over 1000 people in Finland were asked on several occasions over a number of years to rate their health (SRH) by answering the question
“…in general, how would you rate your health”
with reply alternatives: 1. good, 2. rather good, 3. poor, and 4. very poor.
The study concluded that SRH performs well in comparison with objective health status (OH), it is considered a useful tool.
So if you have rated yourself as healthy, how do you ensure you stay that way? Monitoring change is a good starting point. The doctor has many different machines and monitors to check your functions, your heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar, ECG, lung function and on and on. Of course some of these monitors you can buy for your own use or use a wrist monitor or your smart phone to assess, but there are some simple ways to keep a check on your-self. The essence is to be alert for changes and per-haps to know which changes might be important.
The changing tightness of your waistband will help you monitor your weight. Sudden weight loss often
goes unnoticed and should be investigated. Checking regularly how long it takes to walk up the local hill and taking your heart rate at the top will give you a heads up of change in your fitness level and alert you to problems with high blood pressure or heart issues. Changes in your sleep patterns, in your digestive system, in your sense of smell or taste can all indicate health problems. As you get into the later years you might want to set yourself some daily challenges like testing your balance by putting your socks and shoes on standing up.
The NHS itself now delivers information on how to deal with some conditions on the internet through NHS 111 Wales. There is a great deal of information on health from all over the world. Whereas at one time people were warned off turning to the internet to answer their health queries now it is encouraged. Be cautious, use recognised sources, seek supporting information from another reliable source and if in any doubt check with your GP.
First steps
If you are working toward being healthier, improving your fitness levels seems to be the starting point for many and the simple act of setting yourself a target of a number steps taken in a day suits many. At one stage the accepted recommendation was to walk 10,000 steps a day which is about 5 miles and at an average speed takes about 1hr 40 minutes. Realistically, unless your walking is part of your travel to and from work or to do some errands, or if you have a dog that needs walking, you need to be quite motivated to keep that up day in day out walking in the same area.
Here are some suggestions to help you get started.
Count your steps for a few days before you start your new regime and set your new target at an in-crease of 20%. You can then increase by 20% each week.
Encourage a friend to walk with you, the time goes by much quicker in conversation and talking and walking is more physically demanding.
Choose a special walk, somewhere nice twice a week.
Get on or off the bus a stop away from your destination and walk the extra distance
If a journey is under half a mile don’t take the car.
Do other active exercise alongside a lower step target some days of the week.
If possible avoid fast roads where there will be small particulate pollution from tyres and brakes or use a mask,
It might be beneficial to do your steps on a tread-mill sometimes so that you can focus on walking correctly with good posture.
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OFF THE SHELF
“The Stranding”
by Kate Sawyer
This book is about survival. The book flashes back to Ruth’s previous life and her decision to leave a toxic relationship to lead a new life in a whale sanctuary in New Zealand. On her arrival, it unfolds that some kind of seismic catastrophic event has occurred. On a deserted beach, Ruth survives along with an unknown man by climbing into the mouth of a beached whale.
Ruth and the stranger endure an amazing, new life together and through many hardships, fall in love, and produce two daughters. The story demonstrates how one can build a new and fulfilling life, even though everything is lost.
Although beautifully and emotionally written, some members were frustrated by the implausibility of events and had to supress concepts of reality to enjoy the book. The group rated the book as 7.5/10.
Anne Gill
