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      • I hope the leg length discrepancy is not too problematic; it is a far too common occurrence post THR. It shouldn’t be, as surgeons ought to factor it in, but don’t always remember, possibly thinking they can equalise by doing the other side. Careful with your back, in the meantime.

        • Troubling me with a touch of sciatica down the back of my leg from arse to knee. Apart from that and some femerol stem pain I’m certainly better than I was ten weeks ago. I’ve put the crutches to one side now and I’m back on my stick but I can get around without any walking aids it just aches if I over do it.

          • If it helps, I had all sorts of weird and wonderful pains for months after my THR – shooting pains in knees and calves, back pain around my waist, pain in my thigh. Pretty much the only thing that didn’t hurt was the replaced joint itself. All gone now, and after 5 years pretty much full mobility in the joint. It does get better, just takes a bloody long time.

  2. Listening –

    After a 14-year hiatus caused by the loss of the band’s rhythm section, Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter have a new album out – Forever, I’ve Been Being Born. Despite the long absence, it’s immediately recognisable for its shimmering guitar and keyboards sound, a kind of ethereal Cowboy Junkies. Top stuff. I’ve also caught up with newish material by Wisconsin singer/songwriter Jeffrey Foucault. New this year is The Universal Fire, his first album for 6 years; out a few years back was Deadstock, a fine collection of lost recordings. If you’re familiar with JF’s back catalogue, you’ll know what to expect – quietly introspective folkish songs, peppered here and there with splashes of the blues and country. Both are worth a listen.

    I’ve long been a fan of Townes Van Zandt, and over the years have collected most of the bootleg / live recordings which far outnumber his studio albums. Some are excellent with better renderings of his songs than those on the official releases. Others, towards the end of his career smack of barrel scraping. TVZ is clearly drunk and slurs badly when regaling his audience with long and rambling stories, his singing voice shot to pieces. One of the missing albums from the mid-90s is Rain on a Conga Drum, a live concert recording from Berlin which I previously had on cassette only. Thanks to eBay I got hold of the CD. It’s pretty good too, full of the trademark rambling stories, but containing 15 of his best songs and 3 covers.

    Reading –

    Just one Maigret novel this month, Lock No. 1, one of many early Simenons set in the gloomy world of canal bargees, seedy bars and broken lives.

    Ian McEwan is one of those writers I’ve read many times off and on over the years. Atonement is probably the one I’ve enjoyed the most, but this month I read Lessons, a long and sweeping novel that sets the whole life of its protagonist against the world events of his times. Roland Baines drifts through life, which largely happens to him, which is perhaps the point of McEwan’s book. We can end our lives having learned nothing from the lessons it teaches us, just as humanity learns nothing. It’s a very good read – worth a punt if McEwan is your cup of tea.

  3. Seen: Absolutely loved Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein. A visual fiest with strong performances from all. I’d taken against Jacob Elardi , probably ‘cos I didn’t care for much Saltburn, but he’s stunning in this.
    By contrast, me and the Sarah like to watch dumb Hallmark type Christmas movies around this time. Low-brow fun and I can never remember the names (or plots) of any of them as they all bleed into each other – it’s like gorging on Cadbury’s Heroes – the first is nice but by the fourth or fifth, they all taste the same. Anyway – there’s one with Champagne in the title that’s worth a look, and one where an American girl visits London and falls for an injured footballer that’s unintentionally funny.

    Read: nothing really – see AOB

    Heard: Mostly podcasts, but I enjoyed the latest albums by CMAT and Dave.

    AOB: I had a stroke.
    Belated thanks to those of the Wordle Massive who asked after my health last month. I did write a long reply from the hospital – but it didn’t make much sense and I think I lost it somewhere.
    I got up in the morning as usual, whilst the kettle was boiling I checked the news online and found it didn’t make sense. Words were all jumbled. I tried to write but couldn’t read that either. I wondered if it was a weird migraine but my partner thought it best if I went to A&E.
    Bedford gave me a CT scan but could find no bleed on the brain. They arranged for me to be rushed (not sure why) to Luton Hospital, sirens blazing, where I was admitted to the stroke unit. Apart from a mild headache – I felt absolutely fine. I had a few tests – the most notable being the MRI scan – ‘do you want music?’ asked the technician as he bolted my head into a medieval torture device. It’s noisy and claustrophobic, though not as bad as I feared. Until the music started… ‘I don’t want a lot for Christmas …’
    Anyway – I’d had a stroke as presumed. The doctor showed me the hole in the left side of my brain and sent me home with some aspirin and a reduced vocabulary. Apparently it might have been caused by some pain killers I was taking for something else – who knows. Both my dad and younger brother have had them, so maybe it’s just one of our things.
    My reading has recovered to an extent – it’s like I’m suddenly dislexic. Reading allowed is slow and torturous. Spelling is weird – I know I’ve used the wrong allowed in the previous sentence but can’t call to mind the correct spelling. Nouns refuse to be recalled or spoken, everything is a thingy or an oofa-doofer.
    Oh well – could have been a lot worse.

  4. Seen: I have just finished binge watching all 125 episodes of Parks And Recreations. They are available to stream on the U channel. I didn’t want the TV series to end it was that good. I could easily watch the whole thing again and one day I will. Highly recommended. I have also watched all 27 episodes of Lead Balloon starring Jack Dee. It’s available on YouTube and it’s marvellous. There is a brilliant documentary on the BBC iplayer called Pauline Boty. I Am The 60’s. The sad tale of Britain’s forgotten pop artist who is at last gaining recognition as one of the leading lights of the movement. Wonderful stuff. Also on the iplayer is The Intruder, a French 4 part psychological thriller. Magnifique.

    Read: A Mind Of My Own by Kathy Burke. Very sad and funny.
    I An Actor by Nicholas Craig. Hilarious send up of the life of a thespian by Nigel Planer.

    Heard: Messy by Lola Young.
    You’re Out Of Your League by Blood Orange.
    You Got Time And I’ve Got Money by Smerz.
    The Paisley Window Pane by Wendy and Bonnie.
    Touch Me Like A Gangster by Jessie Murph.
    Brand New Me by Saint Etienne.
    Do You Believe This Town by Dean Martin.

    I would also like to send my best regards to @badartdog and wish him a speedy recovery.

    Merry Christmas Everyone.

  5. No….vember.

    How did it go?

    Read: nothing of importance.

    Concerts: an afternoon jazz concert with a couple of chums, after the first couple of numbers I thought what they needed was a trombone they then announced that their trombone player’s car had broken down leaving Norfolk so wouldn’t be joining them until later in the tour. I think I was one of the youngest there.
    A friend posted on Facebook that he’d decided not to go see the Penguin Café Orchestra in Leeds and did anyone want the ticket. Yes Please. Down to the Howard Assembly Rooms front row superb sound and band. Probably my musical highlight of the year.

    Watched, having moved we couldn’t pick up any television stations and the only app that worked was BBC iplayer so we watched a lot of old films. Other stations could be accessed on my tablet and then cast to the TV. Now fixed notorious round here for bad reception.
    Two films The Choral, written by Alan Bennett and filmed near where we moved from (Saltaire, Halifax and Keighley.) Good to see and most enjoyable.
    I Swear as others have said it’s a great film and most enjoyable.
    The cinema is volunteer run so come the new year I shall be offering my services.

    Other business: we moved here in October and have had loads of house redesigning done luckily all completed in time for the Festering Season.
    Met up with Retro and his lovely wife in Thirsk for a meal and an afternoon blether.

  6. I liked two films that dealt with similar themes this month: After The Hunt by Luca Guadagnino and Anniversary by Jan Komasa. Both touch upon the idea of positive discrimination and “woke” inclusivity veering into fascism. After The Hunt is a more subtle, academic, dialogue-based film – centred around a university prof (Andrew Garfield) who’s accused of sexual assault. It’s interesting, but I thought Anniversary, despite its much sillier plot, was more entertaining. In Anniversary, a teacher’s son’s new girlfriend turns out to be one of her ex-students who has gone and written a book about how America should change and lo and behold the whole country up and does exactly as she prescribes, becoming a fascist state in the process. Bit silly, but good fun and Diane Lane is great as the teacher.

    I was disappointed with Edward Berger’s Ballad Of A Small Player. I thought All Quite On The Western Front was the best film of 2022 and Conclave was the best film of last year, but this one is a real let down. Colin Farrell plays a compulsive gambler in a downward spiral of guilt and addiction that is some sort of allegory for something or other (purgatory, perhaps). No fun.

  7. Another dang month to give good riddance to…
    Let me explain, and, no, I look for neither sympathy nor derision, as the setting it down on “paper” is proving to be a good way to diminish the beast. And it may be a warning for those unastute, as I was, to such risks…
    We need a gardener. Mrs P is no longer up to the task and I have, at best, blue fingers. It isn’t a big garden, but we like it. I thought I would “help” by finding one. Anyone heard of Bark? It is one of those online repositories, like Clickatrade, of supposedly reputable tradespeople. You fill in a form and Bark field it out to willing contractors.
    Amongst the phone calls that came, came one from a nice enough sounding fella, who duly agreed to come around and give us a quote. On the day in question came a text to say his van had broken down, and, instead, could we send him some pictures and/or a video to describe our needs. Done, followed up by a phone call, suggesting a fee. It seemed rather steep, but Mrs P had a brief word with him and, given he spoke all the right words, like aeration and scarifying, we agreed, just delighted it was to be done. A date was arranged. A deposit of 20% was agreed, and transferred to the bank account details sent. (Hindsight, that great leveller, assures me of this folly……)
    Let me set the scene, given the amount of pruning, weeding, lawn work and edges, this was, in our estimation, a good two days work, minimum. So, when they, two of them, arrived, later than agreed, on the Thursday, they set to. Leaves were blown, which hadn’t been on their to-do list, and some front garden shrubs sheared, inexpertly, as in the lilac was chopped way too back, as was the hydrangea. One of them also “suggested” the slabs at the front had been badly laid and needed attention, which of course they could remedy, naming a price. They then buggered off for an hour, ostensibly for supplies. During this time we watched our CCTV back garden feed of them in the back garden, peering through windows and taking pictures on their phone. And doing little else than bringing out equipment from their van, and returning to the front, where all their work seemed ongoing. Some pressure to replace the back lawn was applied, but, at £6k, was deflected. (Don’t want it anyway.)
    They returned and continued for perhaps an hour, before leaving again, conveniently as I was out walking the dog. “Everything alright, love”, to my wife as they left, along with a cautionary tale around how previous clients had neglected to put up any good reviews on the Bark website. These were bad people, she was told.
    Even allowing for the hour away, this was 3 1/2 hours spent with us. O, and we were to send over the further bulk of the money, ahead their return on the following day…..
    On my return we agreed this was not going to end well, and we weren’t wrong. I sent a text suggesting my surprise to see them gone so quickly and with so much still to do. I said that the deposit they had had was more than sufficient for the time spent and that I was unhappy to send over any more, saying they needn’t bother. This led to a prompt phone call saying that we were crooks and that we would pay the full amount to them, as that was the sum agreed for the job, irrespective of whether they completed it or not. This was conveyed with not a little menace and the threat that it would also include my teeth and head being kicked in. I mentioned the Police at that point and was told they didn’t believe in the law, as they made their own and that they would be back at 10 in the morning to collect.
    Well, I did phone the Police, frankly scared by the exchange. We were visited by a PC who took full details and made arrangements for some back up to be available in the morning. He considered that the contactors, by their threats, had crossed the line from any civil disagreement into a criminal public order offence. Whether they actually would return was debatable, if with a fly in the ointment that they had left a ladder, a rake and a pressure hose cleaner in the back garden. The Police took these into safe keeping, and contacted them to collect from the station, rather than our house.
    At 9.30 rather than 10, up rolled their white van. Instructed not to open the door, we didn’t, but, along with a torrent of abuse, the contents of their van, garden debris from our garden and from others, as there were plots unfamiliar, was hurled, by spades, at our front door. About half a ton, all told. Promising to be back, as often as needed, until we paid up, off they went.
    The sirens arrived after they had left, as, again, as instructed, we had again called 999. A different set of cops came and were less sympathetic, thinking, at first, this just another civil dispute. That was until a phone call came in to me, which I proffered to the Sgt, he getting a full flavour of our ‘friends’. More details taken and a further promise that we should now leave it in the hands of the Police.
    Despite that, and despite some telephone contact between the Police and they, I was continued to receive phone calls, with, as unanswered, subsequent texts, all demanding variable amounts of money, solicitors, courts and CCJ’s. Plus that they would sue us and the Police for the theft of their equipment and for the subsequent loss of income. So much so that I sought further help from the Police, with a 3rd crime number added and the additional charge of malicious contact added to the list. In the meantime, I had tracked them down, via Companies House, to their registered address, this tallying with the Police tracing the van number plate to the same persons/address.
    That afternoon we had further contact from the original PC, who apologised that his colleagues had reneged on the plans he had submitted the day before, so as to prevent the escalation. He had also spoken to each of the individual, explaining exactly why this wasn’t any civil dispute, by way of the threats made and demands ongoing, becoming, instead, of interest, criminally, to the Police. The main aggressor had admitted to “losing his temper” and saying the things he had said, which was the cross then used to nail them to.
    Since then we have heard or seen neither hide nor hair of them. The promised hand delivery of a solicitors letter didn’t take place, to our relief, not that we can imagine any kosher solicitor taking up the case. (No written quote, no itemised detail, no legal opt-out arrangement, as is required, no name or address proffered, etc etc) Staffs Police have issued the pair of them with a non-court disposal order, which is like a caution with conditions, and remains on record for 2 years, with, should they contact or harass us in any way, then formal court proceedings will ensue. They have yet to collect their kit from the Police, apart from one ineffectual attendance, when, on being asked to wait and to be interviewed, they drove off, effing and jeffing at the Police. Their order was given them at their address by our new hero, James the good cop.
    Is it over? I don’t know, but suspect so. I feel they are low level chancers, pond life who prey usually more on older and less savvy individuals. It isn’t in their interest to “pursue” us, as Druids Heath is a fair old drive from Lichfield, and there will be targets aplenty more local. And they certainly aren’t welcome in Lich. Sure, I have burnt my fingers, feeling I was above being taken for such fool, but we “only” lost £240, some lilac and a hydrangea bush. We have a spanking new security system that now covers also the front of the house; Verisure had some excellent Black Friday deals! And I had to deal with the bin and 3 bags of detritus at the front.
    Soooooooo, if anyone out there is seeking a gardener, be careful. And I would avoid Bark, with Trading Standards actually agreeing that point with me!
    Thanks for listening.
    I’m sure I listened to records and watched telly as well, at some time. And, as mentioned by @hubert-rawlinson, at the top end of the month, long before this, we did indeed have a splendid Tuesday lunchtime Italian feast, with he and his wife, part of a spiffing week in York. And, did you know, it was Hube’s birthday yesterday!! HB, fella, we owe you a lunch!!

    • Oddly enough my wife has been looking for plumbers and Bark came up, having told her just now of your travails she’s pleased she didn’t look further into using Bark’s suggestions We’ve had some somewhat dodgy tradespeople from similar sites so we are wary of using them now especially after reading your story.

    • So sorry to hear this awful story. There really are some very dodgy and nasty people out there. The same thing happened to my in-laws a few years ago, but nothing as bad as what you’ve been through. It still shook them up badly, especially my elderly mother-in-law. Hopefully you will find a decent gardener who will get your garden back in shape.

    • Scumbags the lot of ‘em. I’ve had similar experiences with tree surgeons and roofers, rip-off merchants and chancers both, but mercifully without the threats and aggression. Tree surgeons charged me an exorbitant amount to remove a small tree, promised not to damage my garden and promptly trashed it. They certainly knew f-all about trees and/or surgery. The roofers ripped me off for work that didn’t need doing, which still needs remedial action as they didn’t do it properly. They were so plausible I fell for it. Both were selected from a well-known traders’ website. You have my sympathy whether you want it or not!

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