Our Phili-Pam

More healing thoughts for Pam and best sausage batch wishes for you both.

Hi all, "AN ENGLISHMANS WORD IS HIS BOND". I was raised in Coventry, during the post second war era, where that statement was often quoted. That era was generally for me a reassuring statement, which outside of the criminal elements in society, I found to be reliable. A sense of trust, even where there was adversity. Of all the sad changes that I have witnessed in our land, in nearly three quarters of a century, it's my perception that truth & trustworthiness is becoming as rare as a butchers shop. It's one of the reasons that so many elderly folk get conned. It's not that they are daft or stupid. They grew up & flourished in an atmosphere of trust & honesty. They didn't need to employ a solicitors clerk for all of life's events then, but it's my honest opinion that that is what they need now. I'm not just making reference to what's nowadays called low level antisocial conduct, it's every day business, transactions, you know men in suits stuff. Sadly I include politicians in this & the folk at the helm of our society management. Many of our members are aware of my horror of witnessing folk coaxed out of their hard earned dosh with equity release schemes, which I have tried to spell out the risks. That is just one example, but it's the volume of society deceit that is now commonplace, that when I was growing up, was confined to more or less just the criminals. Forgive me for being negative on this, but it is honestly what I am seeing.

In a nutshell, Philip, there are no longer any pillars of society to maintain the fabric.

Hi all, I mentioned my disappointment at not being at the forum breaky. Well, a bit of good news. My Pam is on a course of chemo treatment, six doses at three weeks apart. She has just been able to have her no.5 dose three weeks late. Chemo messes our immune systems around, I don't pretend to understand the scenario, but put simply, our neutrophils level indicates our natural body's way of fighting infections, but chemo is an infection, so a side effect of the drug is to deliberately lower the neutrophils level. That's why patients on chemo are vulnerable to infections, whether from China or Cornwall. Well, what a delight when Pam's neutrophils count this morning was 1.9, more than needed for her to receive her chemo dose no.5. Just one more to go in this current bout. The fact that her count had risen from 1.1 yesterday is nothing much short of a miracle. It also demonstrates her ability to fight infection naturally. It might explain why when she had a nasty cold in January, it was gone in two days. We live in hope.

Oh that is good news. There's a theory that everyone will get a lot more careful about hand washing and ordinary bugs will be less prevalent for a while. More to hope for. Sending more internet hugs for you both. Take care of you too. Pam and the breakfast venues of Coventry need you.

Philip. Will you tell Pam that Dougie from Wigan is still thinking of her and hopes to see her one day,

Hi all, What a dreadful situation abounds world wide. Plagues and pestilence appear in reality, frightening. Not just stories from past times recorded in literature. Winners and losers, our retail supermarkets appear to be making up for any loss of seasonal business. I've never seen queues like it at our local stores. I cannot share all of my thoughts or ideas, I'm in a privileged position on our forum for one thing, so it isn't easy to give peace of mind, which I would love to do. We all have our own ideas on life's issues. I won't allow myself to be bullied, neither do I ever want to bully anyone else, by what I believe. What's more, I never point a finger at what anyone else believes. I will share my disappointment of our religious leaders, who appear to be sitting on their hands, which causes me to be very suspect of their standing or authenticity. I can share my heart's desire, that I hope that in spite of all of the dismal statistics, we, members, family and friends come through this worrying time and are able to tell our tales. Love to you all.

Philip, you're definitely one of the heroes. While not as good as the real thing, internet chats are comforting. I think in the year to come, our online friends (I wrote frieds - Freudian breakfast slip yummm) will be very important. I have several groups I chat to on different issues, finding like minded souls. Take care.

Hi Helen, hi all. Oh, Helen, I'm no hero, I buckle at the first hurdle. Ask Pam! So many issues in life shape how we think, act and respond. What I post on our forum reflects the manner of my upbringing, that has then been modified by my statutory education, working and social life, and now into retirement and whatever next. I value so many things now that I took for granted years ago, so much so that I'm forever thinking of them. I really enjoyed my first Saturday job, at Lilley's greengrocers in Primrose Hill Street, Hillfields. I was the barrow boy, often delivering to local homes in Hillfields. Hillfields in the news for all the wrong reasons just now. I've fallen head over heels in love with two of our forum ladies who grew up in Hillfields, as they have shared their growing up experiences in posts on here. If only I could put the clock back. Actually, having social interaction with both of them as I do is as sweet as honey. Learning off them things that I had no concept of, like slipper baths. Their vibrancy of who they are now actually is better for me than going back in time. That's what I want to portray here, that in spite of differences, politics, religion, brexit or any other divides, it's how I interact with folk that matters. That becomes such a joy to me.

Philip, I think this forum may be providing some comfort to older members in self isolation to take our minds off the bad news and maintaining some social contact.

Hi Argon, Pam and I may well be included in any isolation legislation, but yes, as long as the virus doesn't learn to transmit along the internet web, we at least can all keep in contact.

Hi all, JUST CHAT I've never experienced such as we are facing now in my entire life. Am I frightened? You bet! There's nothing wrong in being realistic with our feelings. Stiff upper lip sounds ok, a brave face, or whatever sentiment to describe our feelings. I'm stepping out of the corporate line as this is fresh off my press, with no pre-moderator consent. Please, all of you that are members, thereby having access to post, please don't sit in isolation with fear. Within the norms of public decency, please post whatever if it helps. What you might find is that there are lots more in the same predicament, so you might be helping them. Some subjects are normally taboo, like religion, politics, race, may I add anger and abuse. If anger and abuse are absent from conversations, most subjects can be shared, within a spirit of calm and love. Yes, love. I'm angry for instance about some of the selfish shopping pillaging that we are witnessing, but I won't let my anger spill over in print. Please help me by doing likewise. There are social media websites for venting anger. I suggest using this, my named topic for now we can see how it progresses. These are unprecedented times. It's our mental state that I hope that our sharing together, might just give a little bit of peace of mind. My reputation on our forum is at stake here, but it's my feelings for our mental state that is driving my motivation, which I believe is overriding everything else. I'm just Philip In Coventry, trying to listen.

Ditto Philip. You've got some of the greatest pressures.

Hi Helen No more than anyone else. I was a volunteer worker with Coventry Mind for nearly three decades. I didn't do much formal counselling, I was more the practical side. One of my core volunteer duties was transport driver. What I discovered was that driving loads of folks to and from sessions, I was constantly being asked questions. That itself wasn't easy, as just like now I didn't have and haven't got all of the answers. I have my faith in what I believe is a living God, yes, the one that has brought about this current crisis, but that is inappropriate to folk with a differing opinion. I have had to learn to level on the same level. It's a bit like Aesop's fable, where the stork was expected to eat out of a saucer, and the mouse had to eat out of a narrow necked jug. Neither of them could succeed, they both left the houses hungry. I don't mind sharing my reasoning, but that's all I can do, even though for me, my faith has become such a dominating factor in my life. I don't mean playing the organ or piano! That's the most difficult part, making sure that I am level and on the same level as you and everyone else. Also being aware of my privileged position as moderator on our forum.

This is an odd day for me. I'm barred from organ duty both by age and contact with Pam. Our church service is being streamed. Mother's Day, but Pam can't have any visitors. What we do have is garden with the sun streaming down. A bit chilly but I may get a bit of vitamin D from a few minutes in it later. Love and best wishes to you all. PS. A buttered bun has just arrived!