Misfits Mid-Life Crisis Adventures in East London, Northamptonshire & Surrey.

Week 327 Saturday 19^th until Friday 25^thSeptember 2020.

I am not overly political and try not to rant about what’s going on in the world in this ramble.  But something happened this week that I need to mention.  I have been asked to have a couple of routine blood tests, as with a lot of things I had to use an app to book an appointment.  The earliest slot at the local medical centre is 24th December however after looking around I managed to find an earlier appt on 14th Dec at another location.

The NHS celebrated it 72nd anniversary this year and 2020 has been its busiest year ever due to the Covid crisis.  We were told from the start of the pandemic that by “washing our hands, staying at home would save the NHS”.  The problem in my opinion is that saving the NHS should have been done years ago, it’s been on life support for a number of years because of budget cuts and job losses.  But the people in power knew that a huge number of additional patients ill with coronavirus suddenly turning up would bring the world-famous health system to its knees, so they panicked.

The NHS has done a sterling job as the nation’s primary Covid fighting force; its staff (medical and non) have worked harder than ever trying to save lives.  But this meant that other services/clinics/treatment have been put on hold resulting in already long waiting getting even larger.  The life support machine keeping the NHS alive needs an upgrade, in simple terms the government should divert billions being used for a number of very controversial high-profile projects and inject this in to our ailing medical system.  That money would help the NHS become even stronger and better than ever.

If I am having to wait 3 months for a couple of routine blood tests then god knows how long people with heart issues, cancer, knee replacements, cataracts are having to wait.  We are constantly being told that the NHS is working well but waiting months for a simple blood test proves it’s not.  This got me thinking because December is very much a wind down month for a lot of people, my test results won’t be available until after crimbum and will probably get lost after a well-earned end of year (socially distances) festive piss up.

And Now For Something Completely Different……

I’ve signed up for a TFEL (Teaching English as a foreign language) course.  My thinking is I might be able to use this when abroad to help fund my trip.  I was never officially told that I am dyslexic, but I suspect I am because of the issues I have with spelling and grammar (as you will know if you have read this for a while).  The main problem will be committing to the number of guided study hours to complete the various modules, because I am not very organised.

Because of current circumstances it’s very difficult to make future travel plans.  There are a number of routes I am considering, but it won’t be until the end of the year or early 2021 before I actually start to plan.  Teaching English as a foreign language could be very interesting and rewarding; maybe I could incorporate some art as well.  Anything to make money last a little longer while living out of a bag.

And Finally (what I overheard  this week)……

Listening to my 6yr old nephew and his almost 8yr old neighbour talking in the garden mentioning Twitter, computer updates and new games going viral.  When I was there age i would have been talking about my favourite flavour crisps, Doctor Who, Star Wars or why mum wants me to have another bath!

A mother said to her son in a playground (I was with my niece and nephew) that they had to leave “NOW” to catch the last train home (it was a Sunday later afternoon).  The little boy said he didn’t care and could live in the playground.  The last time I saw them, the stressed women was dragging the little boy away who continued to protest loudly.

Overheard a couple telling friends that during the recent very hot weather they had trays of cold water and ice on the bedroom floor so they could cool their feet.  Next time we have a heatwave I will steal that idea.

My Mid Life Crisis Conts……

This week I have mainly been watching:  

“Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens”, (S1, ep 3).  “BBC Archive #On This Day 1983, Blue Peter (TX: 11/09/83) Gets A New Set”, (YouTube)(TX: 12/09/19).  “BBC News Special”, (BBC News)(TX: 21/09/20).  “Britain’s Biggest Dig”, (S1, ep 1, TX: 15/09/20)(ep 2, TX: 22/09/20).  “Challenger: The Final Flight”, (S1, ep 1 to ep 4, TX: 16/09/20).  “Click”, (19/09/20).  “Criminal (UK)”, (S2, ep 3 & ep 4).  “Ghosts”, (S2, ep 1 to ep 6).  “Glitch”, (S2, ep 3 & ep 4).  “Homecoming”, (S2, ep 3 to ep 7).  “Jack Whitehall Travels With My Father”, (S4, ep 1 & ep 2, TX: 22/09/20).  “Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom”, (2018).  “Les Miserable, 25^th Anniversary Live AT The O2”, (2010).  “Mortimer And Whitehouse Gone Fishing”, (S3, ep 5, TX: 20/09/20).  “Remembering Seven Keys To Doomsday”, (YouTube)(TX: 28/10/17).  “The Duchess”, (S1, ep 1 to ep 6).  “The Gentlemen”, (2020).  “The Great British Bake Off”, (S11 (S4 on C4), ep 1, TX: 22/09/20).  “The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice”, (S7 (S4 on C4), ep 1, TX: 25/09/20).  “The Lost Room”, (S1, ep 1 to ep 3).  “Van Helsing”, (S4, ep 4 & ep 5).  “When Bob Marley Came To Britain”, (TX: 29/08/20).                                   

Doctor Who Watched This Week:

“The Crimbum Invasion”, Prod Code 2.X)(TX: 25/12/05).

“The Girl In The Fireplace”, (S28 (S2), Prod Code 2.4)(TX: 06/05/06).

“Love And Monsters”, (S28 (S2), Prod Code 2.10)(TX: 17/06/06).

“Fear Her”, (S28 (S2), Prod Code 2.11)(TX: 24/06/06).

“Army Of Ghosts”, (S28 (S2), Prod Code 2.12)(TX: 01/07/06).

“Doomsday”, (S28 (S2), Prod Code 2.13)(TX: 08/07/06).

“The Runnaway Bride”, Prod Code 3.X)(TX: 25/12/06).

“Smith And Jones”, (S29 (S3), Prod Code 3.1)(TX: 31/03/07).

Gerry Anderson Watched This Week:

“Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons”, (S1, ep 8, TX: 17/11/67)(ep 9, TX: 24/11/67).

“Space 1999”, (S1, ep 9, TX: 30/10/75)(ep 10, 06/11/75)

“Thunderbirds”, (S1, ep 4, TX: 21/10/65).

 “UFO”, (S1, ep 7, TX: 04/11/70)(ep 8, TX: 11/11/70).

This week I have mainly been listening to:  

“Betamax Video Club”, (ep 29, 04/10/18)(ep 58, 05/12/19)(ep 74, 30/07/20).  “Clinton Baptiste’s Paranormal Podcast”, (S3 trailer, 22/09/20).  “Coronavirus Global Daily Update”, (BBC World Service) (19/09/20) (20/09/20)(21/09/20) (22/09/20)(23/09/20) (24/09/20)(25/09/20).  “CNN, Coronavirus: Fact Vs Fiction”, (ep 146, 21/09/20)(ep 147, 22/09/20)(ep 148, 23/09/20)(ep 149, 24/09/20)(ep 150, 25/09/20).  “David Tennant Does A Podcast With….”, (S2, ep 7, 21/09/20).  “Doctor Who On Trial”, (Love letter: The Night Of The Doctor, 13/09/17)(ep 9, 16/09/20).  “Gossipmongers”, (S4, ep 2, 21/09/20).  “Griefcast”, (ep 113, 23/09/20).  “Homecoming”, (Preview, 30/10/16).  “Mystery Hour”, (17/09/20).  “NASA: Gravity Assist”, (25/09/20).  “NASA: Houston We Have A Podcast”, (ep 162, 18/09/20)(ep 163, 25/09/20).  “Nick Abbot (Whole Show)”, (19/09/20) (20/09/20) (25/09/20).  “Rob Beckett And Josh Widdecombe’s Lockdown Parenting Hell”, (S1, ep 43, 22/09/20)(ep 44, 25/09/20).  “Something Who, (ep 2.5, 18/07/19).  “The Adam Buxton Podcast”, (ep 131, 25/09/20).  “The Nick Abbot Habit”, (22/09/20).  “The Skewer”, (BBC Radio 4)(S2, ep 2, 24/09/20).  “What’s The Problem? With Nick Abbot And Carol McGiffen”, (S1, ep 35, 21/09/20).  “Morrissey”,  “Dead Or Alive“,  “Join MItchell”,  “The Stone Roese”,  “Yeah Yeah Yeahs”,  “Scarlet”,  “The Cocteau Twins”,  “The Charlatans”,  “Fall Out Boy”,  “Blossoms”,  “Hot Chip”,  “Biffy Clyro”,  “Pulp”,  “Royal Blood”,  “Blur”,  “Suede”,    “ABC”,  “Duran Duran”.