Many thanks to all who have enquired after my health. I trust a generic update will suffice.
I had the operation in Friday which went well although the post-operative period was, to put it mildly, excruciating. However, when the reasons for that were worked out and addressed progress began and I came out yesterday, thankfully getting away with just keyhole surgery. As my sons put it, I laid a gall stone of impressive size and lost the gall bladder with it.
I have realised that I will need a recovery period. I feel a very much younger person than I am, but also appreciate that I probably need a recuperation to reflect the fact that I am now a lot nearer official retirement age than my thirties. I am also, pragmatically, pretty sore.
The blog may remain light on content for a day or two as a result. Work will not be addressed for a while longer. Twitter I have found to be an effective pain management tool. And I have been instructed to find out what a box set is. I am not confident that project will succeed.
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Actually Richard, I’d think the box sets of either Borgen or the last series of The Killing would be right up your street.
Get well soon,
James
That speaks more to me than Breaking Bad
Sounds horrible. Get well soon. j
I must admit to being worried by your silence yesterday, Richard – and as I don’t “do” Twitter, I won’t have spotted you there. But good to hear you’re back home. And yes, as someone whose also closer to retirement than their 30s, I agree about taking time to recover. But, as I remember from a response you made to a comment of mine from a while ago now that you’re not much of a TV person I suspect you won’t indulge the box set (if you do I can recommend the US version of House of Cards). All the best.
Thanks Ivan
I have to admit that this morning I am more tired than I posiibly imagined I would be
I am not good at being tired either, and habitually ignore it
I realise today I can’t
Good to know you are back home and that your op went well. Just a small piece of advice from someone who had the same op some years ago. Take care when resuming driving as this can put some strain on you right side.Also supervised exercise might be beneficial to check the build up of scar tissue. But I expect your wife is advising you of these matters. It is best to make steady progress.
The hospital was very specific on driving – hold back as long as possible they said
Thanks
R
I was recently recommended to have a hernia operation – it’s just a small swelling, nurse – and the doctor informing me hoped to uplift my mood by revealing that I’d be driving within a week of the op. “It would be remarkable”, I replied, “that the operation should have such an effect, in that I do not currently know how to drive at all”.
I have not yet had the operation and so cannot comment on the accuracy of his prediction.
🙂
Yep take it easy young feller, no need to risk more stress to that stomach wall! You will feel great soon.
I’d genuinely love to meet the misanthrope who posted a dislike for this comment.
Sad, isn’t it
But I am sure they exist
re Don’t call me dave
A joke from many years ago, in fact Tommy Handley might’ve told it;
patient “Doctor, after my hand operation will I be able to play the piano?”
Dr: “Of course you will”
patient’ “that’s good, I’ve always wished I could”.
I’ll get my coat
Downton Abbey, highlighting the divide between lords and servants, may well be the box set for you Richard.
I saw a part of one episode and had not seen acting that bad since I chaired a Theate School
I always remember an acting tutor saying he always had to stage plays with trees in them to ensure some students had a role wooden enough for them to manage
It was not kind and I always said it was our fault to let them continue with so little ability
Downton reminded me of that
Glad the operation went well Richard.
Watch The Wire. Once you get used to the language it is the best, most unflinching look at modern life that has ever been put on TV. Nothing comes close.
Glad to hear you are getting better. You’ll be busy for a year watching all these TV recommendations!
I second the nomination for “Borgen”. It’s a little idealisitc but none the worse for it – we all need a bit of optimism in these dark political times.
And give yourself time to recover from the op; if you come back too soon, you’ll just add to the recovery time. Take care of yourself.
If there is to be one, that’s it….
wishing you a speedy, but not hasty, recovery.
Wow – someone else who thinks ‘Downtrodden Abbey’ is total tosh too! I knew this blog was a good place to be! One of the things that makes me laugh about DTA is how the actors are filmed with soft focus filters so that it mushes out the lines in their faces and makes them look younger! It’s so obvious.
Keep on keeping on Richard.
I am staggered DTA has an audience at all
It’s indicative of the level of dumbed-downness that has swamped the culture -either that, or we are getting old but I’m pretty sure it is the former!
Crap quality cultural life is good for neo-liberalism. Narcolepsy rules.
Good to see you back, Richard-I didn’t think it would take you long but be careful!
I reckon writing those plus some tweets is me for the day
I am exhausted now – after a long sleep
P.S. Can I recommend (as a box set) ‘Lord of the Rings’? – The extended version is particularly good and by the time you have finished that you should have fully recovered.
Failing that, have you tried to watch the French TV cop series ‘Spiral’? There are box sets of that too which are excellent – it’s a bit like ‘The Wire’ but you get to see Paris instead of Baltimore – no contest really.
I think my viewing for the next year is settled
Actually, being me, I’ve instead being reading Naomi Klein and some books on brewing
I have a strong feeling that if I was to have an alternative career now it would be as proprietor of a micro-brewery
I doubt it will happen, but home brewing also seems to have changed phenomenally from the ghastly days of the early 80s when I last tried it. Reading about hops is, in any event, keeping me amused.
And my eldest son bought me some St Peter’s ales as a get well present (with a bit of help from his mum as he’s 13). He knows how to get round his dad: in my view the best single brewery I know of even if, annoyingly, just in Suffolk
Really good to hear you are recovering well, Richard. I’ve been tempted to start a microbrewery at some point as well – it’s just getting the time to do it…
best
Howard
Another partnership we need to get on with. Maybe I need to dedicate my garage to the project….
Home brewing is great now and a prime example of a new form of economic activity where people realise they can produce stuff on a small scale cheaper and better than big business. St Peter’s make their own home brew kits (40 pints at a time) which really take very little work to make. You can then move onto infusing whole grains or doing a full mash before deciding whether to make a business of it. The range of grains, hops and yeasts you can get online is staggering.
You can even get your kids to make the beer: just seeing yeast in action is fascinating and you can then harvest some of the yeast from the top of the fermenting vessel and use it to rise barm brack (barm being the name for the froth). It really connects people to what was the reality and joy of life before corporations took over.
And get them to make sourdough as well while you are at it and ponder the miracle of yeast!
Noted!
One is already a bread baker
I still find that process amazing
Wishing you a good recovery
Richard
At the risk of getting you over-excited, the Telegraph last week featured BoJo straying onto your turf, man (well, someone mentioned The Wire) by saying that it was about jolly time all the blooming public sector pension funds were amalgamated into one & did something worthwhile with all these funds like investing them in infrastructure projects.
Its rather odd that BoJo, who relies above any other politician on the support of the CoL, has dared raise this idea, but it is so obviously the right thing to do that, now its in public discourse, it should take wings.
I know I shouldn’t say this, but I quite like BoJo.