Sound the all clear!

Saw my consultant today. They have checked my most recent bloods and the CT scan and I am now clear of cancer.

I do however have to consider having a major operation. I am clear of visible cancer cells but there is a possibility that the tumour seeded into my abdominal lymph nodes. The choice is, have the lymph nodes removed just in case or avoid the op and take a chance they don't become cancerous. I see the surgeons in the next two weeks to discuss. My consultant tells me that sertoli cell tumours are so rare there is no textbook treatment therefore they might recommend but it has to be my decision. The world's leading sertoli cell specialist is at Charing Cross, even he will not come down one way or the other as to the decision.

The operation means I will be in hospital for a week and recuperating for a minimum of 8 weeks. So, a fortnight of pondering and fact finding, but not a fortnight of living with cancer.

I'm lucky.

Into the Unknown

Firstly, Patience went well, good reviews and a highly enjoyable time for the cast and also the audience according to feedback.

But whilst all that was going on I've been having hospital appointments. I need to apologise here to AJ who I saw Saturday but couldn't tell about this as my mum was nearby and I didn't want her to overhear.

Last friday I was given the result of my recent opertion. I had a sertoli cell tumour. Somewhat rare. It was malignant. So, I had cancer but do I have it still?

Now I have another round of appointments starting tomorrow at which I will have a CT scan. Never had one so it will be interesting. By Friday I'll know whether it spread or not and what they propose to do as I will almose definitely be having an operation either to remove or to prevent any spread from now.

Yhe only people I have told are Marj, obviously, a friend at opera who asked how I was and has prostate cancer, and Marj has told Anne, our friend. After that, it's you lot. Once i have my final results on Friday or whenever, then I start telling family and wider circle of friends. I'm not bothered about telling anyone now except my mum. Not a conversation I hope I have to have. It'll be hard enough telling her it went well as she'll only worry for ever more. Indeed, the thought has just occurred as to whether I should tell her at all if I'm clear. Not sure. I probably will have to tell my brother if I find out that there could be a genetic link.

Anyway, what I'm waffling on towards is the fact that if I am still playing host to cancer then I am going to start a blog that deals only with that.

In the meantime, once the shock had worn off and I'd told Marj, I'm in good spirits. I'm not the first to face this nor will I be the last, so onwards and upwards.

We open in Venice....

Well, not exactly, nor do we go on to Verona or Girona.

It is however show night. 5 performances in 4 days of Gilbert & Sullivans Patience. I'm playing Major Murgatroyd, my first solo role. A lot of singing, a lot of choreography, anf for the rest of the week, not a lot of sleep.

Expect things to be as quiet as normal around here.

Astral Breakdown

Science test at Ms school yesterday.

Question: Why do astronauts at the space station need to do weightlifting?

Young girls answer : They need to be strong in case the space station breaks down and they have to bump start it or push it back.

And now for something completely different....

40 years ago yesterday a new programme took to the airwaves. It consumed our playtime talk and like many people across the country led to an astonishing amount of re-enacments of "the Parrot Sketch", "The Lumberjack Song", "The Ministry of Silly Walks" and others.

Monty Pythons Flying Circus was here.

I'd like to say I was there at the beginning but I wasn't. It took a couple of weeks of playground talk before I got to see it. And of course it wasn't simple even then. Those were the days when you didn't have a television in your bedroom. I had to negiotiate being allowed to have that programme on, and not just that but negotiate an extension to bedtime to see it all. I was 12. 12 years olds in 1969 didn't stay up half the night looking at the internet, they went to bed at a sensible time, particularly on school nights.

But I did see most of them first time round. My mum, grandma and auntie couldn't make head nor tail of it, which of course was only right, and thought it was a load of rubbish. Then one of Terry Gilliams animations came on, a pair of airmen I think it was with legs that whirled round and round as a song was being played, They laughed hysterically. They still thought the rest of it was rubbish but it did give me leverage to tune in every week and subject them to the rest of it.

No-one who was around then can possibly mention spam without either singing the spam song or listing the menu items from the sketch. You can imagine how confusing it's all become for us with junk e-mails then!

Going to Extra Time

Went back to hospital yesterday for the histology report following my opertion.

I now know I had a tumour. The problem is they don't know whether it was benign or malignant as apparently. and how typical of me, I had to have a tumour unlike any other they've seen before. So, it has been sent for further tests to a specialist medical laboratory. No-one, including me, seems to be worried as I have no other markers for cancer so I have a 5 week wait until the final result is in.

One thing that did happen whilst I was waiting to go in was a woman turned up for an appointment. The receptionist checked and said she had no trace of an appointment. They checked and rechecked. Eventually, a passing nurse said "Is this to do with headaches that you have?". "Yes" said the woman. "You need Neurology, not Urology!" came the reply. Let's hope she ends up with the right surgeons!

A Novel Idea

Marj is at church this morning and they have a baptism. When i looked at the list and saw the childs name it seemed to me that if ever I was going to write a novel I had the title.

The Baptism of Thomas Tooth

Now all I have to do is come up with about 40,000 words and it's in the bag. But what a great title.

I don't like pain, it hurts!

Not as tired or drowsy today as yesterday but the pain is a little worse as the anaesthetics administered by the hospital finally leave the system. I have three different painkillers in tablet form so I just have to remember in what order and at what time I am meant to take them.

I feel an excel spreadsheet coming on.

Sleeping Beauty

Was released from hospital last night and slept for 15 hours. Pain could be worse, could be better, but despite the forms and being told to bring money, I didn't have to pay for the pain killers so that's one good thing.

Back to sleep again soon i think.

Under the knife.

That's my bag packed, dressing gown, slippers, money for prescription and Paradise News by David Lodge to read whilst I wait. I would have blogged via mobile but they are banned and quite honestly I don't know how I'd have typed in a scream. Had my last food at 7 this morning and only allowed water from now until 11, then nothing.

In 12 hours time I should be back, a few ounces lighter than when I went in.

Hopefully I'll be back online this evening or tomorrow.

Free National Health?

I have my op next Tuesday. I was reminded by them today that if I need painkillers following the op I will need money to get them as I am not exempt from prescription charges. Twelve years ago they were free at discharge. Fine if you've got an ingrowing toenail but surgery where you are out for the count and you are going to have internal and external stitches should at least merit you painkillers for a few days. OK, it's only £7.20 but it sticks a bit in the throat when Labour go on about how they are the champions of the free health service.

How long before this government decide to charge for anaesthetic?

Wet Wales

Is there a wetter place in the UK than North Wales? I can't believe it.

Whilst I haven't spent ages there, possibly 12 days across three seperate visits, I'm not sure there has been a day without rain. Colwyn Bay would have been the venue for this years sea swim had I managed last week to find a half decent day. I'd have settles for cloud cover alone but rain as well wouldn't have made it too enjoyable, although I'm not sure why as I was going to be wet anyway.

I must have a search for old tourist posters of LLandudno. I'm assuming they say something like "Come to Llandudno, We have cloud, and rain on the hour, every hour."

Whether the proximity of Snowdonia causes the problem I'm not sure, but it has confirmed my suspicion that we would have been better off withou Wales and then when I lived in Birmingham it would only have been a short drive to the coast.

Back from the dead

Hurrah! I have a new modem which hopefully works now as my other decided to die a death. And not a moment too soon, I'm in hospital next Tuesday and the thought of a weeks or two's recuperation without access to the internet would have been unbearable. It was bad enough last week when I was in North Wales and couldn't connect for 3 days!

Dreadful postings wil now be resumed!

What a rare flower I am!

Woo Hoo!

I have a condition that is so rare that the urologist I saw today hasn't actually seen a case in his 37 year career. Not only that, there is a chance that I have a variation that make it even rarer!

Swine Flu? I spit on your swine flu!

Missing in action.

Long time no hear! There is an excuse though. For the last two or three weeks I have been suffering from a condition which has caused a certain part of me to swell up where no man wishes to swell up. And it's B painful! I'm on 7 lots of painkillers a day and it's still painful although there is a chance that I have got a secondary infection which is helping the pain along. Lots of hospital appointments plus operation to come.

Anyway, enough of that. There have been a acouple of things in the news I just wanted to comment on.

1) With the passing of Henry Allingham and Harry Patch I finally accept that WW1 is history. Now there is no-one left to tell the tale whose own eyes saw the horrors that faced both the British and Allied troops and the German troops as well. Harry was very strong in pointing out both sides lost good men and it was a tragedy for the entire generation of all the conbatant countries. Rest well with your fallen comrades, they have waited a long time for you to join them.

2) Harriet Harman is an idiot. I don't suppose for a minute that will be greeted as breaking news! Last week she was on about making sure there is always a woman in the top two positions in the labour party. When is she and the rest of the equality ilk going to fall off there high horse and realise there is only one criteria for getting a job and that is being the best candidate. No-one ever posed the question to her I wish they'd asked. Here it is;

Your 6 year old child suffers a major heart attack with a rare condition. Magda Yacoub, acknowledged leading heart expert, is unavailable to operate but luckily there are two other surgeons available. His number 2 is ready to go into theatre and peform an operation he has seen done on a few occasions, assisted in occasionally and knows he can manage. The other choice is a female heart surgeon, very good in her own right and destined to possibly be a top heart surgeon in a few years. She could operate but has only seen the operation once or twice and has never assisted. who are you going to choose. The best available heart surgeon or the woman to promote equality?

I'm sure I'd be hearing the cry that that is different. Yes it is. If you choose the wrong surgeon you have only affected your own family anf friends. If you insist on promoting somone on the grounds of sex, colour or creed just to even up the numbers in politics you are affecting 60 million of us.

I have no problem with women in power. I have had women bosses, I think Margaret Thatcher was a good PM, I don't even mind women earning more than men in a field. I just want the best person to get the job!

Right, off to take more tablets!

Remembered - Neville Bower

The man above was my hero. He had been a concert pianist and became a respected composer and between those two events he spent somt time teaching music in schools and I was very lucky to have been at one of those schools.

His concert days had been foreshortened by a car crash which had left him unable to use his left arm to the standards required, particularly by him. I suspect this interim period was a time when he was unhappy and unfulfilled but his influence on me, and I suspect many others, carries on today.

My love of music comes from his teaching. The fact I have returned to singing this late in my life is because of him. Whenever I have played that old dinner party game "would you rather be deaf or blind" I always choose blind as I cannot conceive being in a world where I can't hear music. There has probably not been a year gone by in the last 40 where his name hasn't cropped up on many more than one occasion.

How often have I thought about contacting him to thank him, I had an e-mail address,
but I never did as I suspect that it would have reminded him of a time when he wasn't at his happiest. If I had tried during his illness with cancer and not received a reply I would have been selfish in being upset as I wouldn't have known then that he was ill. So I'm glad I didn't try even though i'll never get the chance to tell him what a great man he was.

It is 40 years ago this year since I had my first performance with the school choir, it was Handels Messiah. I have been toying with joining a local choir who are performing it this December. I think I should get off my a*** and go perform it, not just becuase I like the piece, but in memory of him and as a thankyou for giving me something that has stayed with me since the first days I met him.

Obfuscation.

I have just appealed a parking ticket and in a succintly worded paragraph or two have used the phrase "normal convention" and the words, "pertaining, signage, obfuscation and rescind".

Rather pleasing.

The Difference Between Men and Women

Getting to know you.

Nicked from YS.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7.00 a.m. and will again tomorrow but after that Marj is on holiday so the alarm can stay off.

2. How do you like your steak? Usually ask for medium rare but it rarely arrives like it.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Hmm? it was the one that jack Nicholson was in and Leo di Caprio playing gangsters. Can't remember the name though.

4. What is your favorite TV show? At the moment, "A Place in the Sun. Home or Away".

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Somewhere in the Beziers/Narbonne/Sete area of Southern France.

6. What did you have for breakfast? All Day Breakfast Wedge from Tescos.

7. What is your favorite food? Sausage, mash & beans. And I'm having it this evening.

8. What foods do you dislike? Cheese, I'm allergic. And I don't like nuts.

9. Favorite Place to Eat? Nash's Tudor Fish Restaurant in Leeds because 1) it means I'm in Leeds, and 2) it's like visiting the 1950s whih I suspect is when most of the waitresses started working there.

10. Favorite dressing? Tomato Sauce or Salad Cream. You can keep all your fancy balsamic vinegar crap.

11.What kind of vehicle do you drive? Presently a Peugeot 406TD. It's due it's MOT next week so the answer may well change when I see how much needs doing to it.

12. What are your favorite clothes? My dinner suit. For once I look almost debinnaire and also it means I must be somewhere enjoying myself.

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? British Columbia.

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? Half full, mostly.

15. Where would you want to retire? See Q5.

16. Favorite time of day? The moment I get into bed and I'm horizontal.

17. Where were you born? Otley, but actually lived in Leeds. The maternity hospitals in Leeds were full. Obviously there must have been a lot of naughtiness going on in Leeds in March 1956.

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? Golf.

19. Who do you think will not tag you back? Anyone cos I nicked this meme

20. Person you expect to tag you back first? Ditto

22. Bird watcher? Not really.

23. Are you a morning person or a night person? I used to be a morning person except when I went to Birmingham when I became a night person. Now I need my mornings late and my night early so I'm pretty much left with being an afternoon person.

24. Do you have any pets? No.

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? I've got cold sores. Well, things are a little slow in West London at the moment!

26. What did you want to be when you were little? A train driver. Not very original.

27. What is your best childhood memory? A holiday round Europe for three weeks when I was 11.

28. Are you a cat or dog person? Marginally dog.

29. Are you married? Not now.

30. Always wear your seat belt? Yes, except when I forget.

31. Been in a car accident? Nothing major, touch wood.

32. Any pet peeves? Don't begin to get me started! Well, lets start with people who don't understand the rules of priority at roundabouts!

33. Favorite Pizza Toppings? Rather partial to Pizza Huts Vegetarian Hot One.

34. Favorite Flower? Not sure I have one.

35. Favorite ice cream? Coconut, or proper toffee

36. Favorite fast food restaurant? McDonalds, but mainly because they produce the best Diet Coke on a hot day.

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? 0, passed first time.

38. From whom did you get your last email? Some Casino site which was all in German.

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Ha ha ha. You find me a company that will give me a credit card and I'll take you shopping.

40. Do anything spontaneous lately? Did this meme.

41. Like your job? Some days, some days not. Then again, I ought to try and define exactly what my job is.

42. Broccoli? Yes, don't mind the stuff.

43. What was your favorite vacation? South of France two years back. At last I've found somewhere I want to be.

44. Last person you went out to dinner with? The Magnificent Marj round to friends last night. An impromptu very hot chilli.

45. What are you listening to right now? The television in the background.

46. What is your favorite color? Purple and all shades thereof.

47. How many tattoos do you have? None whatsoever. Never wanted any, although if I did it would be the logos of all the companies I have worked for as a form of branding.

48. How many are you tagging for this quiz? None

49 What time did you finish this quiz? Just after answering the next question.

50. Coffee Drinker? Only very rarely and usually alcohol has preceded it in quite large quantites.

40 years ago today....

Up I got in the middle of the night and trooped down to the living room. My dad was there already watching the grainy pictures being broadcast. I laid down on the settee and not long after my mum padded down the stairs.

"You're looking like a hamster this morning!" she said.

I went and looked in my bedroom mirror and she was right. I was a hamster personified.

40 years ago today I had mumps.

Oh, and some bloke was bouncing around on the moon or something.