Arkessian

Just back from Bristol Heart Institute where the ambulance deposited the lodger after I called them because he was having a heart attack. All is now apparently well -- he has had a (second) stent fitted and is sitting up, eating and worrying about football results, as well as apologising for not scheduling this event tomorrow, when he could have been taken to Swindon Great Western which is a shorter and easier journey (I *hate* driving in Bristol) and has plenty of parking. But Swindon only does the right stuff 0900-1700 Mon-Fri, so Bristol it was, and I shall be getting plenty of practice negotiating the city centre, visiting him tomorrow and Tuesday and collecting him (I hope) on Wednesday.

A little concerning that it took the paramedic 10 minutes to arrive, and the ambulance was 20 mins behind him -- and that only because the paramedic had sharp words and bumped the lodger to the front of the 8-person long queue for the next ambulance... I suppose that's one of the consequences of living in the country.

On the bright side, I can recognise a heart attack, and know enough to ignore him when he tries to forbid me to call the ambulance. Not an accomplishment I particularly wanted on my CV.

So. Today, I went to Taunton with The Lodger for our once-a-month talking-shop-cum-investment-group with friends in the pub. We got there in good time to have breakfast in the centre of Taunton at the independent coffee-shop with the excellent coffee and the pseudo-American breakfasts (in which bacon and maple syrup and waffles all figure). And from there we went to the pub, and embarked on an afternoon of deep economic discussion and ribaldry. Which was cruelly curtailed when The Lodger took a funny turn....

Still, I got to ride through the centre of Taunton in an ambulance sporting flashing blue lights and sirens; and hear the pithy opinion of the ambulance driver on the idiots who didn't see/hear him coming or know what to do to get out of the way safely when they finally did wake up.

The "funny-turns"consultant (yes, there is such a thing) has held on to him overnight, but is confident that she'll let him go by midday tomorrow with nothing to worry about except some adjustments to his long-term medication. So I shall get to drive the 200-mile round trip again to collect him. And probably do the 160-mile round trip early in the week to deposit him at his home to consult his GP...

Bah. Have resorted to wine.

1. Plumbing emergencies
2. Water stains on the ceiling (see 1 above)
3. Access VBA error handling idiosyncrasies
4. Arthritis developing in my lower back and hips
5. Dandelions running rampant in the garden