A&E and brain dead decisions

Bit of an eye-opener today at St. Richards Hospital in
Chichester. I had to pop in to A & E in the hope that they could ‘flush’
the catheter in my chest, which has to be cleaned out every four weeks. I was
also waiting to hear from my doctor about an appointment with the hematologist
to continue with my cancer medication (not chemo). Within five minutes of
walking into A & E I was being seen by a nurse. She contacted the cancer
ward and I was passed on to a hematology specialist nurse. Lots of questions of
course, but amazingly she told me her department had just received my documents
(I had passed them on to my doctor about a week ago), and her boss had asked to
see if she could locate this ‘Michael Parker’ who needed attention for the
catheter and further medication. And there I was walking into A & E. I was
examined by a doctor, weighed, blood pressure taken and had my catheter flushed
out. Oh, and they gave me a cup of tea (and Pat). Within two hours of walking
into the hospital we were walking out again. Job done. One hour after arriving
home I received a phone call with my appointment for my next medication in
November. I couldn't fault the treatment, response and professionalism of the
nursing staff, and the cleanliness of the clinic where I was treated. But here’s
the rub: the politicians; the men in suits who know what’s best for us, want to
close the unit to save money. The nearest unit then is about twenty miles away.
In the other direction it’s the same. So there would be a forty mile separation
between units. And all this on a major trunk road that is choc-a-bloc with
traffic during rush hour and holidays.

Changing the subject, I’m still a long way from
knuckling down with my writing. There’s no real excuse, but moving house and
settling in, redecorating, furnishing, sorting out all the minor details etc.,
does cut into the free time. And when I do find myself sitting in the chair
watching TV, it’s too late to think about creativity. Maybe next week, I keep
telling myself. Maybe. I must do better. Wish me luck!

Almost back in business

Its three weeks now since I wrote my last blog entry and
a great deal has happened in that time. Most of it, probably all of it, has
been to do with re-inserting ourselves back in the British way of life, and
what a pleasure it has been. This doesn’t mean that our previous Spanish way of
life was inferior to what we are discovering over here in England, but it’s all
so ‘user friendly’, if that’s the right way to put it. No doubt a major element
of that is the language and how natural it all seems to us. There’s no need to
continually translate as we go along, and dealing with officialdom and
bureaucracy has not been the drama we thought it might be. We’ve completed the
major purchases that were necessary: park home, car, TV and TV license, suite
of furniture and assorted bits and bobs, and have dealt with learning our way
around Bognor and the local area. We’ve been to two churches but will continue
looking until we find one in which we feel “right”. We attended one this
morning and was amazed when they announced a coffee break twenty minutes after
the service started.

So what’s the plan now? For me it’s all about getting
back into the swing of writing while getting on with the jobs that need doing
around the home. Two days after arriving here, the proofs of my next novel
turned up. I was expecting them, but because there had been a delay in
receiving them (my decision), I had to crack on and read them through. They are
now back with my publisher. The book is due out in January, and the e-book will
be released in February. Something to look forward to.

I also need to get back to my marketing and promotion
work. It’s amazing how disconnected I feel simply by not being involved in
pushing my current Amazon titles. My sales have dropped considerably while I’ve
been ‘off the air’ for three weeks, and I really need to get back into that
area as soon as I can. I have one or two marketing ideas up my sleeve, but not
being an expert in that field, I will have to rely on my very subjective way of
promoting myself. Wish me luck!