New dads should stay on the wards overnight, just in case their partners need a midwife. Of course, it is a new dad saying this. He would. My view? Send them home and give the girls some peace.
As a mum of three, two born in hospital, I know the score. Hospital wards are noisy places. New babies cry a lot. Breastfeeding is clumsy at first and takes time to learn. Nobody needs a guy on the ward offering advice, even if he is your husband.
Most babies are born at night. That means there has already been one long night and day before the first one on the ward rolls around. The boys are complaining that it's wrong to send them home at 9pm. They want camp beds.
What horror is this? Go home guys. Get some kip. Come back refreshed, shaved and smelling nice. With chocolates and fruit, the last to get things moving. Stitches turn toilets into torture chambers, best to get the first one over with, without him banging on the door asking if he can help.
New mums lack confidence but they learn best when left in peace. A well-meaning man dithering about only undermines them. He'll get his chance, he's got a lifetime of bonding ahead, just give the girls on the maternity wards a break and an early night, please?
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
Saturday, 19 November 2011
Cliff Hangs On
Does anyone give a stuff whether Cliff Richard is gay or not? Really, do we care? Stephanie Marsh writing in The Times today seems to think she has solved the puzzle. It's an interesting piece, but not for that.
Cliff makes the point that we have no right to know how he thinks or feels about anything. He shows what he wants us to see and that's all we will get. Till the day he dies, probably.
In some ways that's a shame, but that's his business. What is appalling is the fact that he cannot get his records played on radio. Tony Blackburn was suspended from Classic Gold for playing Living Doll. You know how it goes " Got myself a walking, talking,"etc. We can hear the tune in our heads, just not on our radios. The station bosses don't like him.
Well some listeners do. There's a lot of rubbish on the airwaves. That's fine by me. I'll turn off. Cliff's fans have earned the right to hear their hero sometimes and he has earned the right to stay silent.
Cliff makes the point that we have no right to know how he thinks or feels about anything. He shows what he wants us to see and that's all we will get. Till the day he dies, probably.
In some ways that's a shame, but that's his business. What is appalling is the fact that he cannot get his records played on radio. Tony Blackburn was suspended from Classic Gold for playing Living Doll. You know how it goes " Got myself a walking, talking,"etc. We can hear the tune in our heads, just not on our radios. The station bosses don't like him.
Well some listeners do. There's a lot of rubbish on the airwaves. That's fine by me. I'll turn off. Cliff's fans have earned the right to hear their hero sometimes and he has earned the right to stay silent.
Wednesday, 16 November 2011
Out of Afghanistan Now
Watching the WAGS of serving soldiers in Afghanistan singing their hearts out in The Choir makes me want to cry. One wife said she was thrilled when when she heard Bin Laden was dead because she thought her man could come home - small hope.
Why are we keeping them out there? Can anyone really say? Just finished Bomb Hunters by Sean Rayment. Read it. It tells of pointless patrols, endless IEDs, wasted lives and supreme courage. It makes you incredibly proud of the guys but deeply angry that they keep on dying.
What for? How are we fighting terrorism by allowing young men to lose their limbs and lives? There is a suggestion that our troops are keeping the population safe from the extremes of the Taliban I'd say that's a soldier talking, not a realist. Sean is an ex-soldier turned writer. He tells it like it is, having walked in their footsteps.
Another Remembrance Sunday is over. We stay silent and think of them for two minutes. Time to do much more than that. Afghanistan is not worth another life. Get them home.
Why are we keeping them out there? Can anyone really say? Just finished Bomb Hunters by Sean Rayment. Read it. It tells of pointless patrols, endless IEDs, wasted lives and supreme courage. It makes you incredibly proud of the guys but deeply angry that they keep on dying.
What for? How are we fighting terrorism by allowing young men to lose their limbs and lives? There is a suggestion that our troops are keeping the population safe from the extremes of the Taliban I'd say that's a soldier talking, not a realist. Sean is an ex-soldier turned writer. He tells it like it is, having walked in their footsteps.
Another Remembrance Sunday is over. We stay silent and think of them for two minutes. Time to do much more than that. Afghanistan is not worth another life. Get them home.
Monday, 14 November 2011
Tempting Botox Curry
Have a curry and risk botulism or not? That is the question. I've got a jar of a well-known sauce in the cupboard. Balti, a firm favourite.Today there's a scare with the korma version after two children have been taken to hospital with botulism poisoning.
Now what? Do I make the curry anyway, say nothing and feel fairly confident that all will be well? Or do I ditch the jar and avoid the brand because if there is even a tiny chance that my kids could get a very serious infection I would never forgive myself?
Logically I know that would be a massive over-reaction. It's only one jar, of a particular batch and botulism itself is rare. Emotionally I take all of that in and then decide I don't want to touch the stuff.
Makes you think how much we depend on the standards of the food industry to ensure that what we buy is safe. If I'd missed the news today chances are the curry would have been fine tonight and we would all have been none the wiser. As it is I think we are looking at good old fish and chips.
Now what? Do I make the curry anyway, say nothing and feel fairly confident that all will be well? Or do I ditch the jar and avoid the brand because if there is even a tiny chance that my kids could get a very serious infection I would never forgive myself?
Logically I know that would be a massive over-reaction. It's only one jar, of a particular batch and botulism itself is rare. Emotionally I take all of that in and then decide I don't want to touch the stuff.
Makes you think how much we depend on the standards of the food industry to ensure that what we buy is safe. If I'd missed the news today chances are the curry would have been fine tonight and we would all have been none the wiser. As it is I think we are looking at good old fish and chips.
Friday, 11 November 2011
Call Girl And Her Toy Boy
The prostitute and the ToysRUs executive - the games they play! Slogan "Where Toys are a Big Deal! Yep, I can bet they were. The girl got a lot more than a couple of Barbies. Dawn Dunbar ended up with a £132,000 Bentley, a Lexus and properties in Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Nigeria after a fraudster from the toy firm fell in love with her. Paul Hopes, 59, embezzled £3.7m in a bid to win her favours.
Crikey! The court said that the payments made "far exceeded the expected rate for sexual services." How very true. Where I come from it's said to be " five quid for a short time" to which the usual response is " Haven't had five quid for a long time!"
Besotted Hopes could have tickled her with TransFormers, buying two and getting a third free, zapped her with a Nerf or stuck to good old fashioned Lego. Whatever. Brings a whole new meaning to imaginative play.
Crikey! The court said that the payments made "far exceeded the expected rate for sexual services." How very true. Where I come from it's said to be " five quid for a short time" to which the usual response is " Haven't had five quid for a long time!"
Besotted Hopes could have tickled her with TransFormers, buying two and getting a third free, zapped her with a Nerf or stuck to good old fashioned Lego. Whatever. Brings a whole new meaning to imaginative play.
Wednesday, 9 November 2011
Brave Jack Widdowson Battles On
Some people seem born to bring beauty to the world. Often they come with courage, intelligence and humour too. They make life worth living.
Jack Widdowson is such a person. Today, aged 19, he lies critically injured after someone beat him senseless and left him for dead beside a tow path in Cardiff. Jack had been out celebrating the biggest success of his life, triumphing to become one of the youngest dancers ever to take a lead role with the BernBallett company in Switzerland.
A talented hockey and rugby player, Jack also won a near-fatal battle with meningitis only three years ago. Now he has a serious neck injury and his devastated family are at his bedside. "Jack has always been physically, mentally and emotionally strong which enabled him to persue his career in dance. He is an entertaining person with a great sense of humour, well loved by everyone who knows and works with him," they said.
I look at Jack in The Times today and I could weep with them. We need the Jacks of this world. With his exceptional gifts we are all blessed. He is fighting hard now. If I could take on just one of his battles I would do it in a heartbeat. Like so many others, all I can do is wish him well.
Jack Widdowson is such a person. Today, aged 19, he lies critically injured after someone beat him senseless and left him for dead beside a tow path in Cardiff. Jack had been out celebrating the biggest success of his life, triumphing to become one of the youngest dancers ever to take a lead role with the BernBallett company in Switzerland.
A talented hockey and rugby player, Jack also won a near-fatal battle with meningitis only three years ago. Now he has a serious neck injury and his devastated family are at his bedside. "Jack has always been physically, mentally and emotionally strong which enabled him to persue his career in dance. He is an entertaining person with a great sense of humour, well loved by everyone who knows and works with him," they said.
I look at Jack in The Times today and I could weep with them. We need the Jacks of this world. With his exceptional gifts we are all blessed. He is fighting hard now. If I could take on just one of his battles I would do it in a heartbeat. Like so many others, all I can do is wish him well.
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
Bouncers at our Hospitals
Been to A and E recently? Our struggling hospitals are on their knees and the people there are useless. Not the staff - although some of them are. Mostly, they are doing a great job under horrendous circumstances.
It's your average punter who turns up at 11pm. Forget about the drunks, how I wish we could, I'm talking about the sober ones. The other night a guy came in with a grazed knee. No joke. It wasn't even bleeding, but they patched him up and sent him on his way 30 minutes later.
We were there three hours. You see a lot of humanity pass through the doors in that time and the majority are total time-wasters. They come with a sprain. Or a cut on the cheek, though the dirty rag he was holding against that was so filthy he probably left with tetanus.
What is the matter with these people? Are they so pathetic they can't slap on a plaster? We need what the Newcastle pubs go in for - bouncers on the doors. They would send the obvious riff-raff packing and let the staff get on with the folk who really need their help. This sort of stupidity is costing us all millions while some people can't get cancer drugs. It's got to stop.
It's your average punter who turns up at 11pm. Forget about the drunks, how I wish we could, I'm talking about the sober ones. The other night a guy came in with a grazed knee. No joke. It wasn't even bleeding, but they patched him up and sent him on his way 30 minutes later.
We were there three hours. You see a lot of humanity pass through the doors in that time and the majority are total time-wasters. They come with a sprain. Or a cut on the cheek, though the dirty rag he was holding against that was so filthy he probably left with tetanus.
What is the matter with these people? Are they so pathetic they can't slap on a plaster? We need what the Newcastle pubs go in for - bouncers on the doors. They would send the obvious riff-raff packing and let the staff get on with the folk who really need their help. This sort of stupidity is costing us all millions while some people can't get cancer drugs. It's got to stop.
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