I spent the Bank Holiday bleeding, as I expected. And in lots of pain too.
On Sunday we went to Egham and idled away an afternoon watching pigeons drinking water on the Magna Carta fountain outside Tesco's;
And Robyn sneaked this picture of me, which does look a bit better than the one she took last night while we were watching the Nightriders go by.
I'm getting much more limited these days - lots of pain and having to ration myself out.
And the weather is really, really miserable.
Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com
I took this picture last week - it's not very good, just taken on a digital camera with no tripod.
But although it was taken over the rooftops of Isleworth, full of street lights and houses, it is of Mars, which was at it nearest to us for a while.
I think you can make out that it's a planet rather than a star and, best of all, it's clearly red - from the Iron oxide dust (rust) that covers the surface of the planet.
Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home; helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com
We went out on Saturday night to get a Chinese takeaway - we'd been promising it to ourselves all week but it never happened.
On the way, we saw lots of direction arrows on the sign posts - was it a bike race?
Then in the evening we realised it was a night ride!
And as the riders kept on coming we went out to cheer them on and wish them good luck.
I was waving my clockwork torch and Robyn had an LED disco light.
There were over 3 thousand riders, all women, raising money for the three major womens cancer charities. This was Women V Cancer 2016 and if you want to join next years ride you need to register now; they are on the web here;
http://www.ridethenight.co.uk/
They were cycling over 100 Kilometres and came in all shapes and sizes; with Christmas lights and angels costumes, silly pink wigs and Tutus, flowers and racing lycra .
They just kept on coming;
They started off from Windsor racecourse and we were just a hundred yards from the 10 kilometre mark. They were heading off to central London to ride round all the sights, then back to Windsor by a different route.
We ended up standing at the side of the road wishing them good luck for the best part of an hour and a half.
And Robyn took this rather fetching picture of me;
Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com
Well that was fun - up at 5 am catching a taxi and into Charing Cross Hospital at 6 45am.
Not the most exciting way to spend £50!
I eventually had my operation, which was rather routine and simple.
Except, when was over I spent the afternoon bleeding.
In fact, rather like that scene in The Godfather when the Hollywood Movie director wakes up and finds his beloved horses head at the bottom of his bed.
Except it was actually my blood and it wouldn't stop. Everything was soaked in it - even the blankets.
It looked like CSI Hammersmith.
Here's my gown;
An on call doctor eventually turned up at 640 pm to have a look when all the specialists had gone home. Faced with a choice of staying in over a bank holiday weekend when there wouldn't be anyone around who knew anything or going home.
I decided to bleed at home.
I needed transport and we ended up waiting all night - no food for either of us since lunchtime.
Worse, I couldn't even have made my own arrangements - there was an accident in Hammersmith and the roads were gridlocked until 11pm.
We got home at 1215 am........it took 18 hours since we left home.
And no, you really don't want to know where the blood was coming from.
Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com
We had a trip out to Woking and I certainly enjoyed watching some local lads doing Parkour over the flower beds on the High Street;
But we were there to pay a visit to 'The Lightbox' to see the new exhibition of artworks from The Chris Ingram Collection.
There were some real treats - here's a few of my highlights.
This is one of Barbara Hepworth's famous series of drawings of surgeons and nurses at work in the early days of the NHS.
Celebrating free treatment for all, based on need rather than ability to pay, Hepworth spent long periods in operating theatres, drawing people working in life or death situations.
The drawings concentrate on faces and hands;
There is also a small but spectacular example of her abstract sculpture, which I love.
'Colour and strings';
There's a couple of Ben Nicholson's, her friend and collaborator and a few Terry Frosts, another fellow resident of the artists colony in St. Ives.
This is typical of his later years, large expanses of colour;
There are a series of Eduardo Paolozzi collages from the 1940's;
There are some nice 'realist' paintings, I liked Edward Burra's "Seamen Ashore";
I can't help but post this George Large painting of workers at Smithfield market in the 1990's, not so very long after I worked in the meat trade;
Out of the series, Robyn preferred 'Cleaning St. Pauls', stonemasons balancing high above London on the scaffolding around the cathedral;
I have to show you this Bridget Reilly - you would normally expect to see the abstract optical illusion paintings that she is famous for.
This is much more imtimate;
All of these pictures and others can be seen for the next couple of months and form part of the Chris Ingrams Collection - a local communications businessman who has made his collection available to the gallery. All the exhibitions can be accessed for the £5 pass that lasts for a year - I'm hoping to return in a few months time for a different selection that will follow on after this one.
Meanwhile here's a mobile from the stairwell;
And this is a 'Harris', you can create your own sculpture from these shapes. I had to have a go and mine probably lasted for about half a day, until some else had a go, I hope;
Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com
Robyn stamped this for me;
It's a really hectic time - getting ready for another operation, trying to sort out a wedding. So I'm a couple of days late in saying thank you for taking the Blog to 71000 hits.
On Monday we had an evening at our Jazz Club at The Red Lion, Isleworth.
This is Theo Travis on Sax and Martin Shaw on Trumpet.
Hiding, you can just make out Trevor Tomkins beating out the drums.
Meanwhile, we planted up another tub of lettuce, to keep the salads coming into the summer.
As you can see, the herbs are doing fine and the Lettuce and Rocket are coming along nicely too;
Robyn swears she'll never eat another dried herb again.
That's going to be a problem in the autumn!
Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com
We went up to London!
Robyn's aunt was in town and it was a chance to meet and talk.
We had a meal in a swanky hotel - they had a vertical wall garden on the side of the building;
And I ended up having Banana split, the first one in my life.
So, I had to take a picture of it;
We had a really nice evening and as I'm having yet another operation on Friday, I think we both needed something like that.
Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com
We had a tiny flurry of excitement;
A swarm of bees took up residence in the children's playground. I'd hoped to get a picture but someone had phoned the local council helpline and an emergency beekeeper turned up.
Which was just as well because it was quite dangerous.
Bees swarm whenever there are two rival queen bees; they split the hive in two and one half builds a new hive somewhere else.
These days bees are under threat; they've been weakened by pesticides and can die out as a result of disease or parasites.
So a swarm is worth money to beekeepers!
There were lots of upset bees flying around;
But the swarm was shut up in a box, waiting to go off to its new home;
Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home; helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com
Friday night we had an appointment under one of the M25 motorway bridges;
We went fire spinning with The M25 Fire Spinners who you can find on facebook;
I must admit I spent quite a lot of the night wrestling with my camera but I did enjoy it;
There were some very skilful fire spinners;
There were fire jugglers and here a fire eater;
Once again, a magical night;
And a chance to meet some wonderful people;
Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com
I'm making a cake;
A special cake just for me;
I'm making 'Tottenham Cake';
It's local to Tottenham in north London and was made by local Quakers who coloured the icing with fruit from the Mulberry tree in their meeting house grounds.
In 1901 when Tottenham Hotspur won the F.A.Cup for the first time, a local baker gave out Tottenham cakes to local kids and ever since then whenever Tottenham win something, everybody eats the cake to celebrate.
Well, this was just about the worst season ever - the team were in line to win any one of three competitions and came away with nothing.
Worse, in the last few matches of the season they gave away second place in the league to rivals Arsenal.
The sad thing is that the owners (a 'media conglomerate') probably think things went well. Next year the team is in the Champions league and you earn money just for being there.
Any fool knew that in the January transfer window they should have strengthened the team - they didn't.
We all know we'll be knocked out of the Champions league in the first round. If you think you can just improve on this year football doesn't work out like that.
The other teams don't stand still - they get better too.
When your chance comes you have to take it or it's gone forever.
I've supported Spurs since 1967, the days of Jimmy Greaves and Alan Gilzean, of Steve Perryman, of buying a standing ticket on the day at White hart Lane.
I had a blip in 1982 when I found my job required me to bribe customers with F.A. Cup Final tickets and Spurs were in that final.
I was so disgusted when I realised how corrupt football was (is) that I gave up on it for a while.
I also don't think £100 tickets are good value and I'm not good at booking 6 months ahead either.
But they were always my team.
So, because next season isn't something I'm going to be too bothered about I made myself a 'Tottenham cake' here and now.
Grrrrrrh!
Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com
Robyn's been busy;
There are ribbons involved;
She's making wedding invitations;
It was all going to be a lot more complicated but I got more ill and then The Home Office made us cancel, so we're going for simple now.
Right now, the venue is booked and we have somewhere for the reception.
The 'Wedding' will take place at 3pm on 28th June 2016 at Windsor Guildhall and you are all very much invited.
Apart from anything else there's plenty of room - so come along! Everybody (apart from Theresa May) is welcome.
And if they won't let us get married?........ we'll be doing it ourselves.
The reception will be a smaller affair and you need an invite for that but at the moment there's a lot still to be arranged.
Meanwhile we spent most of yesterday up at Hospital again for my pre operation assessment - I'm having another operation next Friday. It's minor but unpleasant and it's not exactly what I needed right now.
Wish us luck!
Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com
After 8 days of strikes (and we were there) spread over the last five months, the government and the BMA have reached agreement over the Junior Doctors contracts and it's going to a vote soon.
I'd like to be triumphant because the tories have been forced into a compromise they didn't want to make; the power of a Union beat them down.
Which is a lesson for everyone.
And while I'm glad I won't have to be on the picket line any more (I'm getting a bit too ill for that), I regret the deal.
While the Doctors have won concessions on pay and hours, the strike wasn't just about that. The door has been opened to unpaid anti social hours and weaker workers in the NHS are now going to face the same attack by this government.
Of all the Doctors we spoke to, the issues were always about the future of the NHS, professional standards and work life balance.
I'm urging a vote against the deal but however it goes, it shows that a strong union is a match for any tory government.
Remember that.
Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com
On Monday we went to Virginia Water for a walk, a bittersweet experience.
It's an ornamental lake, dammed for the king in the 1750's. I used to go there and walk the five miles around the lake without thinking about it.
I can't begin to do that these days, so it's quite sad.
We did have a look at 'The Cascade', the artificial waterfall that hides the dam. It was meant to create a romantic atmosphere.....I think it does that quite well;
We took some pictures and some selfies but I didn't realise how bad I look these days until I saw the pictures.
At least one of us looked good;
Then I took Robyn to look at the Roman ruins - warning her that they were fenced off and very neglected.
How wrong I was - they've been restored and the fences altered to allow people in to walk among the stones;
The small stone on the ground is a Roman Altar for sacrifices - we saw some at Bath in 2014.
Of course it's a scandal that these ruins are here - they were removed from Leptis Magna in what is now Libya by the then British Consol as a gift for the king.
It's stolen property;
But as I always wanted to go to Rome and walk amongst the stones of The Forum and wander around The Coleseum......
This is about the best I can manage these days;
And they are very impressive. They were erected to create the sense of an abandoned romantic ruin and, again, it works.
There's no attempt to recreate anything from history it's all about painting a pretty picture. It's a giant rockery built for a king.
How often did he bother to visit it?
I can't say that it's anything other than theft and cultural imperialism. If someone did it today they would be hunted down and the relics returned to where they came from.
They are also suffering in our climate although the restoration has helped things quite a lot.
Some of the stones are just scattered - for effect;
Down at the lake, there are odd stones casually used as part of the jetty that are actually quite important;
I should add that these days the car park is expensive but you can park for free on the street outside!
Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com
