Good days

A good day. Perfect temperature 21 degrees C or 70F. Hot enough to sunbathe, cool enough not to sweat. A walk round the quaint streets of Shaldon and Teignmouth with a trip on the ferry. Alfresco lunch with an attentive host who even sat with us at one stage and great food. Must say I fancied being on one of the powerboats or yachts, even the cargo ships queueing for the tide into Plymouth looked inviting.

Next time must book a fishing trip. Judging by the number of sand eels this year it should be worth it.

Medicational moans

I received a letter from my GP today suggesting that maybe I should be taking Statins in particular, Simvador 40 mg, as I'm considered at higher risk of coronary or cerebral thrombosis than the average Joe due to my RA.
Isn't it gratifying that these nice people are so desperate to keep me alive when really in the grand scheme of things now my breeding and working days are over I'm only taking up space, using valuable resources and annoying the wife.
 I'll add the bloody things on to my ever growing list of meds which now include Amlodipine, (Hypertension) Methotrexate, (DMARDS ) Hydroxychloroquine,(Anti Malarial) Folic Acid and Arthrotec (NSAIDS). Not to mention fish oil (yuk) and any crackpot remedy I happen to read about that says it will give me everlasting life with a body age of twenty and the wisdom of Job. 
Two years ago I was fit as a fiddle. What the hell happened I wonder. Yes you've got it I gave up drinking and smoking and this is my reward. Either that or mother put a curse on me just before she died. I remember her last cackling words "You won't be far behind boy, I've seen to that"
I'm beginning to think she might be right.  One thing  hasn't changed though. I still fancy a good .......wait for it - NIGHT CAP!

Fish Oil

The day before yesterday we walked here along the harbour wall at Seaton which you can see running along the foot of the cliffs on the left. The estuary of the Axe runs past the cottages and into the sea round a shingle bar in the top of the picture. The neap incoming tide was approaching it's height.
We stopped and I looked down into the water. It was teeming with what I first thought were fish, then realised were eels because of the way they swam. Millions and millions of them. As I watched, fascinated by this spectacle of nature I saw shoals of tiny irridescent fish, much smaller than the eels which appeared and disappeared in sparkling, glittering little shimmers of coloured light.
Two boys fished for crabs, intent only on their dangling lines.
A young man approached who I guessed was a real fisherman. His face was tanned by the salt air and sun and he looked like he was a boatman. His cap bore the logo FISH. He had strong features and an intelligent, but friendly look about him with . A face you instantly knew belonged to someone you could rely on in an emergency. The face of a man whose character was moulded by the sea, the elements and respect for nature.
I greeted him and asked him if they were eels."Yes" he replied, and he seemed pleased at my interest. "But not the eels you think," he continued, reading my mind "not the Sargasso sea eels that grow large and live in our rivers. These are sand eels and what you see is as big as they get. The tiny brightly coloured shoals are what they eat. Out in the sea beyond the harbour entrance the bass and other larger fish wait to eat the eels in turn. This year is a good year and  that's why there are so many."
I thanked him for the information and we walked on.
 So they were just part of a food chain, bigger eating smaller eating miniscule. To be born to be eaten or eat, to breed if lucky and to die. I'm glad they put on such a display, just for me.
I hope BP don't ever drill for oil round these parts.

Fleet

I love this place. The Fleet, behind Chesil Beach. Part of the 90 odd mile long World Heritage Site Jurassic Coast of Southern England which gives us so much insight into the age of the dinosaurs

Joints

One of the first things to learn about living with RA is knowing when to stop. Not stop living but just stop period. Then you wait, for the pain, stiffness heat and swelling to subside. Sometimes flare recovery is fairly rapid. Today my knees and knuckles gave me the message that I was doing too much. Now they've gone cold and the inflammation has subsided and I can move relatively pain free again. My immune system is trying hard to overcome the powerful medication I take and kill me from within. It may yet win as any organ in the body can be in the firing line if it so wishes, heart, lungs, blood vessels etc. I take strange comfort in my new situation. Every day is precious now and our wonderful NHS is living up to expectations. The rheumatology team at Royal Devon and Exeter are great and the researchers at ARUK (Arthritis Reseach UK) are doing fantastic work. Naturally I contribute out of self-interest and my heart warms to all those amazing fundraisers who help to pay for all the new drugs and latest stem cell research. There will one day be a one off cure, not just a drug induced remission. Even this is a thousand times better than the prognosis of yesterday when total disability and early death were the norm. So I thank my lucky stars I didn't get it early in life like so many do.Grateful for small mercies.I'm still reasonably mobile, and if I seize up totally I can still smile even if I have to have it stitched in place. The grim reaper can wait a little longer and I stick two fingers up to him 

I've Arrived

Well I made it, I just hope I'm in the right place. First things first. I have Cow Droppings to find. Then I have to find my way through all this dung.