Update 22
On Wednesday Palliative Michelle came to see us. She had spoken to the Consultant for whom she works and the top lady had suggested that I go back on the steroids at full strength - 8mg per day. If my ability to eat and drink improves then she may gradually reduce doses back down. Coincidentally, my own Consultant Neurologist responded to my last week’s questions by also proposing a return to the steroids. I see the possibility of light at the end of this tunnel - only the possibility, but I am putting a value on this slender hope. The situation will be reviewed next Monday, by which time I hope to have enjoyed at least one proper meal. Please cross your fingers for me.
The Paracetamol is now subduing my headaches for only a couple of hours so I have asked Michelle to prescribe Zapain which combines Codeine with Paracetamol. I simply have to avoid taking any in the 4 hours before I go to bed. That’s because when I retire, I take slow release Morphine to get me through the night time and Codeine combined with an additional Opiate is apparently not clever.
I dropped another piece of crockery last night and it shattered. It’s not the first time so I must accept that my days of being almost totally useless in any practical sense have finally arrived. I tried to repair a blind this morning but to no avail. Being helpful and DIY have always been important parts of my life so I cannot begin to describe just how frustrating my enforcedly passive life has become. At least I can still read and write.
Daniel Finkelstein is a Conservative peer and from that you might conclude that I would be suspicious of his views, but I am not. My reasoning is because in his deliberations, on broadcast media or in his opinion pieces for The Times, he pretty much consistently talks sense. In today’s column (Wednesday) he championed U turns. At first (probably in response to frequent recent government actions) I reacted badly to his position, but then as he expanded his thinking I fell in line. If you realise that you’ve made an initial misjudgement or that perhaps circumstances have changed, then making a U turn simply makes a lot of sense. The problem only arises if you have to U turn frequently, that then suggests you might have poor judgement in respect of your chosen field, and therefore you may well be in the wrong job. No doubt we could all name at least a couple of candidates for that particular accolade.
There was an old adage that defined one of the signs of insanity as repeating the same action in the belief that it will have a different outcome. I’m tempted to ask whether this might be applied to the selection of cabinet ministers? I’m drawn to the recent examples of Suella Braverman and Gavin Williamson, both of who failed in their original incarnations only to repeat that propensity for failure on their reappointments.
I’ve been watching the desperately slowly emerging picture on the other side of the Atlantic. In summary the election has not delivered the Republicans’ hoped-for landslide. As I write, the Democrats may well hold on to control of the Senate while losing the House but by a relatively small margin. It also looks possible that as a result, Trump may not be the next Republican candidate for President. The next obvious candidate and rising star, Ron deSantis is pretty much as extreme as Trump but unlike the blond bombshell, does at least display some signs of being sane.
In particular I’ve been watching the race for Governor of Arizona where a somewhat deranged Republican former tv presenter is trying to unseat the Democratic incumbent. Committed Trumpeter Kari Lake has been championed by the Donald but with 84% of the votes counted she’s 31,000 behind Governor Katie Hobbs. Nigel Farage, that esteemed commentator on US politics (at least in his own mind as well as on US tv), has also thrown his weight behind Ms Lake - he’s predicted that she will be Trump’s Vice Presidential running mate.
A good friend has given me a fascinating book entitled ‘the Decade in Tory’ which retells the litany of mistakes made during the last twelve years of Conservative led governments. I’m already on page 256 which is exactly the half way point - Boris Johnson is still in post as Foreign Secretary and Pritti Patel has just been fired for holding unofficial talks with the Israeli government. Two more premierships lie ahead before the end of the promised decade but unlike either of them, it is still possible I could make it all the way to page 512.
