On a lighter note

I have recently started to read books and watch programs about science. At school I was average in my scientific ability but since leaving school I read books about quantum physics, watch television programs on vulcanology and astrology. This phenomenon is not restricted to science but also to things like history.

Currently I am reading Hyperspace by Dr Michio Kaku, in addition to my fiction by Eric Van Lustbader. I first discovered Dr Kaku when he presented a series called Time, on the BBC. His style delivers the subject in an enthusiastic way. This engages me on an interest level in the subject but also from a professional interest as I am about to train to be a teacher. I often ask the question about people like Dr Kaku " Why couldn't you be my teacher?". Another scientist who has this enthusiasm is Professor Brian Cox who recently presented the series Wonders of the Solar System. Series like Horizon have always gripped my interest when they are on subjects in which I have a passing interest.

In the historical field people like David Starkey, Simon Schama and John Romer have an enthusiasm for the subject which comes across through the screen.

I have even tried to read A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. I think he should stick to The Simpsons because I lost the will to live fairly quickly once I had started.

Science and history, in fact any subject, need not be boring or unapproachable if you have an enthusiasm for the subject. I hope to take some of this enthusiasm into the teaching profession

Living life to the full

At Mass this morning our priest gave a sermon about how mankind spends its time trying to accumulate wealth power and possessions in a futile attempt to stave off the ultimate outcome of this existence. He remarked on how people fear death. This particular priest is an excellent preacher, he used to be a teacher, and is usually right most of the time with his observations of the human condition.

Whenever, I listen to his sermons I always come away thinking. I am very sanguine about death this is because I have a condition that can at a moment's notice cause my death. The condition of itself is no more fatal than actually being alive, which is 100% fatal in all cases unless I haven't been paying attention recently. How has this knowledge affected my life? Do I live each moment as if it's my last?

I have to admit that I have not managed to crack the second question yet and am still searching for something. My vices are music, films and books. It might have been nice to give sex, drugs and rock n roll a proper go but when I was still young enough to appreciate them my condition held me back. I don't do drugs because I have to take them every day until the day I die. I was allowed to sample alcohol under controlled conditions and along with my medication never saw the point of getting drunk. As for rock n roll I had a passing flirtation with bass guitar more as an academic exercise than as a real attempt to play seriously.

The turning points that helped me control my condition were twofold. Firstly on a BBC science program called QED which showed a fellow sufferer who refused to let his condition master him or let anybody else tell him how he should live his life because of it. The Rev Lionel Blue described the condition as like an evil cousin who visits occasionally and causes havoc. The second turning point was a teacher at my secondary school who on discovering my condition, which he shared, advised me how to deal with it.

The condition is epilepsy and you can live a normal life with it. As long as you take reasonable steps there is no reason to let it hold you back.

Back to the point of the post. If you can live your life to the fullest and being a Catholic does not have to mean living a diminished life in search of the eternal goal that we believe in. My advice to one and all is embrace life as you only get one go at it. Death is merely part of the process. The best we can hope for is that the death is peaceful or has purpose. To my friend who is having problems at the moment all I say to you is do not go quietly into that good night.

TTFN

Shopping at Aldi

Well hello again and welcome to any new readers to my mind numbing blog. In the village where I live we used to have a supermarket. It was part of chain called Kwik Save and latterly Somerfield. To international readers, these names will no doubt be meaningless unless you have spent some time in this septic isle.

This is something of a generalisation but you always felt like you needed a shower after you came out of the store as it was grubby and generally unfriendly. I must add that this wasn't the reaction just coming out of our local emporium but of all of the ones in these chains that I ever went into. It was very much a case of stack 'em high and sell 'em cheap.

As a customer, the staff always seemed to make you feel very unwelcome. It was almost as if you were an inconvenience in the middle of their chat about what happened in last night's soap or what the latest headline was in one of those celeb magazines that are all the rage, allegedly, in this country.

Last year Somerfield were bought out by the Cooperative who already had an established network of small supermarkets. So the site of the one in our village was bought by Aldi. Aldi are one of a number of continental European supermarket chains who sell produce cheaply, avoid big brand names and who also have for sale each week a variety of quirky items. Others of the type are Lidl and Netto. I first came across Aldi a number of years ago when a PC was advertised for about half the price that was being charged anywhere else.

These outlets don't accept credit card payments but take cash and will accept some debit cards. Essentially if you've got the money they will sell their goods to you. In the current economic times this is an exceptionally sensible approach to business.

Since the Aldi has opened here in sunny Cleckhuddersfax I have been down a number of times and have made a number of startling discoveries and revelations. Firstly none of the staff from the previous owners appear to still be there. The new staff are friendly and helpful and smile. This is also the case in the other Aldi shop that I have been into. The aisle where the weeks quirky offerings are kept is a box of delights which contains things that you wouldn't expect in most supermarkets power tools (not just small but industrial sized), skiing equipment and accessories. It is actually a good deal of fun just browsing with nobody pressurising you to make a sale.

Then when you have made your purchases you go to the till and you just put your stuff back in the trolley rather than pack it at the till. The staff are quick and efficient. If memory serves me correctly, on the one occasion I went into a Lidl store (which I won't do again because I didn't like it) the staff knew the price of everything and just entered it onto the till.

If you have an Aldi near you try it you might actually enjoy the shopping experience again. But please try not to come to my shop people are discovering the pleasures of shopping there and the aisles were actually quite busy when I last went in.

Argument, media and other stuff

Well hello everyone.

I was in the chaplaincy at a university today and overheard a conversation between two students. One was a student who was now onto possibly his third course and hadn't liked any of them. Perhaps he is not destined for university and would have been happier on another path. The students were debating as to how they should argue with others about the rights and wrongs of their faith. This struck me as the wrong approach to be taking. People who don't agree with you are never going to be convinced by your position if you argue with them. A priest once delivered a sermon about taking ourselves too seriously. Many people of faith are far too quick to condemn things which they have not actually got any experience of but somebody told them they should be condemning that type of thing.

A classic example of this is Monty Python's Life of Brian. There is a classic clip of John Cleese and Michael Palin in conversation with two representatives of the Church of England. You could almost see the frustration of the two comics at the inability of their adversaries to grasp the central issue of the film which is that it isn't about Jesus. Whenever there is a debate on a matter of morals and faith the radio stations always seem to find the most extreme exponents of a particular faith. When these people are trotted out people naturally assume that all people of faith are like them, which isn't true. The point, which I will get to, is that certainty is dangerous at times. If you have the mindset that I am right and that everybody who doesn't agree with me is wrong then you are in fact part of the problem and lack a certain amount of humility. This applies to scientists as well as those of faith.

On to lighter matters. I tried The Handmaid's Tale and won't be repeating the experience, The book was slow to get going and would, in my opinion, have benefitted from a prologue explaining how we had got to where we were. In films I have watched three new films since I last posted. First is the comic book adaptation, Watchmen. The original author has, as usual, insisted that his name is nowhere near the film. It is good entertainment and if you like that sort of thing you won't be too disappointed. Next is Son of Rambow. This is a fairly gentle comedy set in the 1980s in Britain. I was expecting it to be a little more lively but as somebody who grew up in Britain in the 1980s it did resonate a bit with me. It is a wonderful little film and well worth a couple of hours of your time. Lastly as hinted in my last post I watched Seraphim Falls. It is a slow burner of a Western revenge film. Set after the Civil War in America, the film charts the pursuit of a Union Colonel played by Pierce Brosnan. The posse is led by Liam Neeson who is out for revenge over the death of his family at the hands of Brosnan's troops. The cast is littered with actors who you will go "Oh I remember him he was in....". In particular there are brief appearances from the magnificent Wes Studi and Anjelica Huston, who may or may not be playing Lucifer. Again it is worth a look.

On another issue I would like to commend Dominic Lawson's article about faith schools in the Independent on Tuesday 2nd March 2010.

Toodles

Snow and its side effects

Well the weekend has now been cancelled due to another wave of snow in sunny Huddersfield. I have now been living here for nearly 18 years and this is the first proper winter we have ever had. Yes there has been snow before but this is the first time that we have had a time when the town has ground to a halt at times. The council have not coped with it desperately well. The potholes in the road that were bad before the cold weather, and weren't being fixed, are now significantly worse. There is one road in Slaithwaite which has what I would describe as a car-killer of a pothole. The road has just totally subsided so it now resembles something from Journey to the Centre of the Earth rather than a pothole.

My concern here is that with all the potholes what unseen damage has been done to my car literally days away from its MOT. So since I am somewhat sidelined since we are not at the rugby club today I thought I would inflict some more film opinions on you. This week, as you will see from the little list on the right of your screen, I have highlighted three films for your delight and delectation. These are not necessarily the best films on those days in terms of critical acclaim but are my favourites and on some days there are other films which are well worth a look.

Today, after Gerry Adams investigates the story of Christ, Channel 4 has two films which are both worthy of attention. At about 8 there is 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which is the sequel to the Fantastic Four. I am a comic book fan but I always felt that the FF were Marvel's equivalent to Stepford and a bit too stereotypical. This film is better than the first film, which isn't actually saying a lot, and is diverting entertainment. It is followed by one of the best action films you will see. The current governor of California goes around the jungle deforesting it and having his crack team wiped out one at a time in Predator. There is no deep pathos here, no real moral message it is just really good fun if you like violent action thrillers. This is why I have nominated it as my film for the day. Other offerings available on some of the smaller channels are Top Gun and Romancing the Stone and Black Widow all on Film 4.

On Monday, my film of the day is Highlander. It is one of my favourite films of all time and has one of the largest franchise operations in existence with 4 'sequels', 2 spin off TV series and a number of animated series as well as books. Highlander, like Predator, is no Citizen Kane but is just enjoyable fun which is what the critics, the real ones, never really seem to appreciate. There are other better films on today but few will be as original in concept as this or will be as loyally supported by the fanbase that exists. There are rumours of a remake of the film in the pipeline and fans of the original are waiting with dread at this prospect. Other offerings of note today would be The Sixth Sense, Ladyhawke (set aside the really bad soundtrack) and Working Girl.

On Tuesday, I don't have a favourite film as such. Crocodile Dundee is alright but has begun to show it's age somewhat. I strongly suggest that you avoid The War of the Roses. I went to the cinema to see it on the back of the previous collaborations of Messrs Douglas, Turner and De Vito. That is two and a half hours I will never get back. On Wednesday if you liked Highlander on Monday you can watch it again. On Thursday you will find the quirky Local Hero and the deeper Once Upon A Time in America. I lost patience with the latter and never really took too it as I am not a big fan of american gangster films.

On Friday, there are repeats of T2 and Top Gun and the very British comedy, Time Bandits which hasn't aged very well largely because of the effects. I will probably check out Seraphim Falls on BBC1 at 11.45.

Just for the information of my international readership, which I have apparently acquired. Since you don't have British TV much of the scheduling information is irrelevant but the recommendations still stand. In the UK until the 1960s we only had one TV channel and a few radio channels - all BBC. The Beeb added another in the 1960s and we got ITV. In the 1980s Channel 4 arrived and in the 1990s Channel 5( if you could get the signal). This was about the time of the cable and satellite TV boom. There are now hundreds of channels showing next to nothing that anybody wants to see. The ones that people watch are showing programs that were, in many cases, made 20 years ago. Most of my recommendations will be for terrestrial channels or on freeview (the free to air digital channels)

With films, almost all will probably be available at your local DVD rental outlet by now since it generally takes a couple of years to get on to terrestrial TV here unless your film has been backed by one of the channels (usually the BBC or Channel 4). Any TV programs I may mention probably won't be available in overseas markets but keep an eye out as you never know. Books and music recommendations are almost certainly available at Amazon or Itunes etc.

Outnumbered

On my previous post I mentioned Outnumbered. This is a BBC comedy series which I have come to enjoy about a young family. The family watched the Christmas episode and howled with laughter. They have now seen the first two series and Tom & Jenni think it is wonderful.

Jenni is definitely like Karen in many ways.

If you get a chance to see it do. Also if you can find it watch Supernova starring Rob Brydon.

Casualty & Outnumbered

Yesterday my son was visited by his best friend who was staying over for the night whilst his parents went to an opera. Only the best sort of person is allowed to visit chez nous. Alison had been watching the boys playing rugby and was concerned that the visitor nearly injured himself. I was working away at something elsewhere in the house on the laptop and Alison came up to see what I was doing.

A few minutes later Jenni appeared calmly saying that Tom had cut his fingers. I was summoned down to examine the injury as I am designated health care operative in the house on the basis that I don't faint at the first sight of blood (not even my own). Tom had cut his head on a stone and hadn't in fact damaged his fingers at all. I sent Alison off to ring the doctor to see if this was a casualty trip or a surgery trip.

The surgery said go to A&E. Tom was complaining about how useless he was and that he had ruined his friends stay. This was late afternoon so it only took 5 - 10 minutes to get to somewhere near the hospital that wasn't restricted parking or which charged for the privilege. We went in and underwent interrogation by the desk nurse who then told us to sit down. The waiting area had two televisions on both on different channels and one on so loud that it was difficult to hear the nurse call you in. At the time there were a couple of Asian ladies, two Asian gentlemen with head injuries who were being questioned at length by the police an elderly gentleman with two female companions, a young couple who came in after everybody with no apparently visible injuries but who seemed to go right to the head of the queue. An elderly lady with an injured arm was also waiting. A few moments later three young lads came in. Two clearly younger than the actual injured party who had blood streaming down his face. He had apparently fallen against a car.

After about 20 minutes of mindless tedium we got to the next circle of Casualty hell, the triage room. The nurse examined the wound and shined her pen torch on it and also into Tom's eyes. I asked what the current waiting time was so that I could estimate whether a dash for some food was possible. I was told about an hour. We then proceeded into the next circle of this hell the treatment waiting area with its childrens play area. This area was full most of the people who we had seen in the previous area were either already waiting or joined in fairly short order afterwards. In addition there were two Asian girls who had been to xray, a young girl with a Ted Baker bag whose mother eventually turned up. They may actually have been clones because the hairstyles were identical. A mother with her son who had clearly injured his foot who did a crossword from Closer magazine ( obviously intellectuals!!). A mother with her young daughter, a little later dad came to join the fun.

Periodically a dad came walking in with various children from the direction of the play area and also a fairly badly injured Asian youth whose entire posse appeared to have come with him. Doctors and nurses appeared from time to time but the queue never diminished for an hour. all of a sudden the queue rapidly started to go down.

Tom was eventually seen by a Greek doctor who smiled was pleasant and very helpful but for some reason didn't know how to use skin glue and so got a nurse to come and do it for him all the while smiling.

My concern is the lack of information. I haven't made a habit of going to A&E departments for some time now but I am almost certain that I remember there being an indicator of the current waiting time. Perhaps things could be improved if there was some kind of board indicating where you were in the queue or you were given a ticket so you could have an idea. Also there used to be comfy seats and now there are wooden monstrosities.

I hope that I don't ever have to visit again any time soon but the patient experience needs to be improved.