Mobile Information

Just when I thought this "information" trend had reached a natural conclusion, a green MacMillan bus took up a position outside the Town Hall in the Market Place and offered a whole load of information about cancer.

Although the information boards seen so far are permanent or semi-permanent  fixtures the information provided here is most definitely of a mobile nature and will soon move on to some other location but the work carried out by the dedicated MacMillan nurses is priceless.
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Stop Smoking

It's not often that you get accosted in the street by a pretty young lady but that's exactly what happened today. It was all to no avail however even when she was joined by a colleague as they were both working for the NHS as part of a team that is currently on the Market Place encouraging people to give up smoking. As a non-smoker their encouragement naturally fell on deaf ears but they did agree to pose for a photo and I said I'd give their "Stop Smoking" campaign a plug on my blog.

It'll probably be some time before I'm accosted again - and I thought my luck had changed!

NHS Goodies

There's been a vehicle parked outside the library at least a couple of days this week trying to encourage people to give up smoking and offering a lung test. As we're non-smokers we didn't bother but today it was joined by an ambulance with a trailer attached so being the nosey sort, we went along to see what it was all about.

It was from the East Midlands Ambulance Service and they had lots of information available about strokes, 5-A-Day and the NHS in general. We were asked to sign up to receive information about the Ambulance Service such as when to phone for an ambulance or when to phone for a doctor. At first we declined but were eventually persuaded and we were given a pack that means we are now members of the NHS Foundation Trust. We were also presented with a cloth shopping bag containing a notepad, a pen, a keyring  and more leaflets. It's probably all done with the best of intentions and the leaflets contain a lot of useful information but I can't help feeling the money spent on the goodies would be better redirected to patient care.

It's Your Last Day

I know it's only a cold but I could have cheerfully stayed in bed this morning and when I finally did stagger downstairs the phrase "You look like death on legs" was not that far wide of the mark.That's how I felt anyway but it was still a shock when I opened up my emails to find one where the subject box read "It's Your Last Day Garth". It turned out to be from a company trying to sell me something announcing the last day of their sale except it's not really the last day as there'll be another sale starting tomorrow. As the morning progressed I began to feel better and decided a walk in the fresh air was called for. The dreary weather didn't help but I can assure you this picture below shows the nearest point I reached to a cemetery! I'm still alive and kicking and, God willing, will be back tomorrow with another picture.

Health And Safety Has A Lot To Answer For

It was a much brighter day today with blue skies and sunshine interspersed by a few snow flurries. Overnight snowfall accounted for barely two inches on top of the already lying ice and snow but this made it much easier to get about on foot. Admittedly the side roads were a bit dodgy for vehicles but the main roads were clear and all the buses were running. So why oh why did someone take the decision to close most of the town's schools? As can be seen here, behind the locked gates and notice about the closure, the path leading to the buildings at one school had been totally cleared of the white stuff.


Surely it would have been better for the children to be in a centrally heated school even if the timetable had to be disrupted than set free to roam about the town's streets, have snowball fights in the town centre or play alongside a partially frozen canal, all of which I observed today. Health and safety legislation has much to do with the decision to close schools and whilst this is understandable in areas that have been hit hard by the weather, it seems to me that it was just an easy option here today. What about the health and safety of all the people on the bus today which was the target of idiot boys who aimed snowballs at the windscreen? idiot boys who should have been in school!

One school that did remain open was at Kirk Hallam but two thirteen year old boys have been suspended from there for five days for trying to cross the semi-frozen lake near the entrance, getting stuck half way and causing a full scale emergency to rescue them. It's not a suspension from school they need, it's an education!

We Never Closed.

Well yesterday it was reported that it had been the coldest December since 1995 and today they're saying it's the longest cold spell for 30 years. I'm surprised no-one has yet said it's the worst winter this millennium!

Today though has been one of those dark days when it has never really got light and there has been a covering of grey snow-filled cloud all day. In fact it is snowing right now and more is on the cards right up until the weekend. We can't complain in this part of the world though as it has been far worse in other parts of the country.

I am surprised though that these days it doesn't take much for schools to be closed although I don't think any of the local schools have had to close yet. I remember cold and snowy winters from my childhood but I can't remember any schools being closed around here simply because of the weather. We just put on extra layers of clothing, made slides in the playground and got on with life. Today children aren't allowed out if the playground is icy because of health and safety concerns but it's been shown on the news tonight that the children who are not at school or have been let out early, were in town centres having snowball fights. Wouldn't they be safer at school?