Vaccination Planes

 So, I've been for my shot yesterday, and today enjoyed all the news about how my Astro Zeneca shot might give me a blood clot if I'm horribly unlucky!

On balance however, I'm glad I've had the shot. 

It was quite a strange feeling. Most of the folk were older people there for their second shot of Pfizer, while us very few younger ones - I reckon I was the youngest - were ushered down the fast lane for AZ. 

I say fast lane, but there was an awful lot of paperwork that seemed to be needed to be done in triplicate as I'm sure many of you will know. There shiny clinical setting that the jabs were done in was also slightly offset by the fact that the reception area, and then the post jab area you had to sit in for 15 minutes afterwards in case you keeled over, were both essentially cowsheds used for the agricultural shows that the showground puts on. 

What was surprising was that the injection itself I never felt at all, unlike the flu shots which seem to need screwing into my bicep. Sadly, I didn't get a massive plaster over the jab to show off, although I did get a sticker.

Afterwards I treated myself by riding over to the air museum and getting a few closer up shots of the planes. And then having a bag of chips from the works canteen.

Because that's healthy, right?

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 07.04.21

Tourettes and the Road to Wellness (Ugh) and Mindfulness (Double Ugh)

I suppose everyone has seen a lot of posts on how people are going to set themselves up for a better year. Well, I'm late, I'm gruff, and I don't do resolutions.

You are only setting yourself up for a fail, most of the time.

I see a lot of people talking about "Wellness" and "Mindfulness" and how they are going to improve them in 2016, which to my occasionally cynical mind makes me think of incense burning yoga-and-oatmeal-thons in a retreat with spinning dreamcatchers in the window. The sort that cause house fires on sunny days.

Well I hate those words, horrible, middle class Sunday supplement terms, endorsed by a tranquilly smiling D-List celebrity standing in that yoga pose that makes you look like you have a bladder infection. Boo to "Wellness", boo to "Mindfulness".

Just get out there and take a bloody walk! Why spend a fortune on taking your yoga mat to a cabin in The Alps when you can merely don a pair of sturdy shoes, plug in some sounds - Radio 4 or 6 in my case when I'm not listening for birdsong - and visit a world that costs you absolutely nothing and if more us enjoyed it wouldn't be in such a mess. Most town dwellers, and even a lot of city ones, should be able to find a pleasant spot to walk in within 15 minutes. If they can't, they should be down their council's throat to provide one.

Fancy being a bit more energetic. Well, you can kit yourself out for running for less than £40 - I just ran a marathon in a pair of Decathlon running shoes that cost me £13. Cycling is equally cheap if you know where to look; £50 will get a perfectly serviceable mountain bike from a roadside bike man, if you're smart.

I have Tourette's, I need to burn energy and keep myself super occupied to keep my physical and mental ticcing from getting too extreme on bad days. Other folk may find it beneficial to sit on a sun lounger and watch butterflies or commune with the moon on a starry night. Whatever it is, JUST DO SOMETHING OUT THERE!

It does help, believe me.

Si

All text copyright CreamCrackeredNature 06.01.16

My Moth Eaten Face

Around a year ago, I noticed under the right side of my jaw a smooth as a peach bald spot, glowing like a lamp amongst my oh so macho stubble. I decided at the time that this was caused by the strap of my cycling helmet, and thought little about it at the time.

Until of course it started to spread.

What was a patch about the size of a 20p coin began to expand, and looked to meet up with other small bald spots that had sprung up on the side of my face, fringed with white-blonde hairs. My facial hair on that side has now disappeared like melting Arctic ice, and the process has now started on the other side, where I have patches the size of 10p coins thinking about arranging a confab.

It is alopecia barbae, facial alopecia hair loss.

It's an auto-immune disease, my body is not happy with my hair. T-Cell lymphocytes are attacking my hair follicles, surpressing hair growth.

My reaction has been rather laissez-faire, figuring that it is blatantly obvious diagnosis and not much can be done other than slap steroids on it. However, with the patch on my right rather large now and not going away any time soon, I'm thinking that it might be right to give it a go.

The worry is, of course, that it might spread to my scalp and cause baldness. However, it will do this whether I worry or not. I keep my hair cropped very short these days in any case, so hopefully it won't be too noticeable if it does start. The other option is that it will just grow back of its own accord.

I wish it would, as it feels like I've got crop circles on my face on one side, and the other occasionally resembles a traditional obscene graffiti drawing.

Si