Terry Lloyd's Blog, page 50

Exploring Poetry.

I thought a little about poetry I would write
rhyme without monotony will be a delight

I would see what wisdom I could impart
without going back to the start

beauty is in the eye of the beholder
I wish I could be a little bolder

to create a work of outstanding art
it may be easier just to push a cart

poetry does not have to rhyme
it has to create a pleasing time.

The moisture envelops the bathroom mirror creating outlines of mystery.
Could those tiny five prints be of a water baby looking for its mummy?
Lost for all eternity in an endless quest for maternal company.

I wonder what poems other people would pick that have impressed them?

For me Limericks are a never ending source of pleasure with their amusing twist in the last line and of course are not to be taken seriously.

Young Doctors are required
to work until they are tired
up at the crack of dawn
to ensure babies safely born
Doctors failing are fired

Poetry has a history entwined with social events and is a useful form with which to educate and remember various facts. For example use this rhyme to remember the UK wiring of an electric plug.

Blue is negative, brown is live,
get them wrong and you'll not survive.

Poems can be used to depict all types of emotions such as The Charge of the Light Brigade. The ironic part was the order to advance was misunderstood and the military blunder is commemorated as unswerving bravery in the face of immanent death.

The talent a poet exhibits to create images and feelings are similar to a talented artist. Each word carefully selected to build a feeling and emotion that the reader can appreciate the value and meaning of in the poem.

In poetry as in art sometimes there is a failure of communication and I fail to see the meaning or point of a particular work. I am not sure if it is me or the poet who is at fault. Of course over time words fall out of fashion and even alter in their meaning. In all fields there is a range of work and some will be more attractive than others.

If someone mentions the word soliloquy immediately I think of Shakespeare's Hamlet. I am taken to the part where he holds a skull and poses the question “To be or not to be?”
That encouraged me to put pen to paper.

Why at the age of three
is everything bigger than me?
When it comes to a handle on a door
why is it so high from the floor?
Buttons and zips refuse to budge
fully clothed I am forced to trudge.
The point of my condition is known
when I feel a warm sensation and groan.
My walk is a stiff legged hobble
an even greater sway and a wobble.
What relief it is to see my mum
now I am cold sitting on my bum.

Sometimes people use the phrase “That is pure poetry.” They consider the resulting pleasure is sublime and it is almost beyond words to convey the enjoyment they have experienced.

Being alive is an opportunity to enjoy and appreciate life in all ways and to communicate that to others is where poetry takes centre stage. I believe in all of us there is a poet even if we can not write a single rhyme. I think in a wider sense poetry is expressing my feelings.

Pioneering Cure.

Recently there has been announced a new way of treating blood cancer but I was shocked by the laid back attitude of a doctor commenting on the future use of this treatment. Out of twenty six volunteers who had been selected as conventional treatment had failed them, twenty four responded to the new treatment and had no further signs of blood cancer. Two volunteers died as a direct result of the over activity of their white blood cells. The treatment is to remove a blood sample from the sick patient and to modify the white cells to recognise the cancer cells and to inject the modified blood back into the patient so the natural job of the white cells would attack the cancer cells. The doctor stated it would be many years before this treatment would be nationally available and in the meantime conventional treatment was already available and doing a good job.

Am I missing something? The twenty six volunteers were selected because they were not responding to conventional treatment for their blood cancer. So instead of two patients dying there would be another twenty four fatalities. If I was given a choice of a ninety four percent chance of a successful cure for blood cancer I would take it. What worries me is if the doctor's words represent the Government and medical Authorities' attitude in the speed of implementing this new successful blood cancer treatment I can not bear the thought of the twelve or more people in the UK that will die every day unnecessarily knowing a proven treatment is not to be given to them.

After seeing this major news on the new blood cancer treatment there was an advertisement to donate money for the research for a curer for cancer. My first reaction was the most positive thing to do would be to demand from your MP and medical administrators why this course of treatment can not immediately be made available as the results are unquestionably far superior to the present options of treatment. I understand the stock reply is the time for testing. I have two replies to that. First adequate testing does not have to take a long time it just has to be thorough, there has been past lengthy testing of other known thought to be miracle cures only later to be found out to have a problematic prognoses with a lot of traumatic side effects and two, patients lives that have been judged as terminal, would have the option of helping the testing of the treatment with a good chance of survival themselves.

Cancer is an illness that can destroy lives. Many people have been influenced by what cancer has done and know that it is not an option for good people to do nothing.

There are seven deadly sins and I suggest there is an eighth in that of complacency. Why am I moved to demand action? When the figure of twelve is mentioned it has no value unless like me you know a good friend who was given two months prognoses and did not have an opportunity for alternative treatment. She left behind a loving daughter and husband and was at the peek of her professional career. It must not be ignored that there is a lot of hard work and effort put in by many inspired and marvellous doctors and scientists in their aim to find a cure for cancer. What I would say is that this work should unite with that of a belief that for some maybe a cure in the early stage is superior to that of no cure at all. The theory behind the new treatment for blood cancer could be used to treat other types of cancer and with all that we can see in the miraculous advanced thoughts that become a modern day medical miracle we should not ignore what the body itself is able to do if given the chance. There is a lot to be noted in the power of recovery in the body itself and I think that if this is teamed with the medical advancement of today then we have not even scratched the surface of what could be possible.

Valentine.

St Valentine's day has just past and I became interested in the history of the custom of sending your true love a card expressing your amorous feelings. An interesting point is that in many cultures the sender of a Valentine would be an anonymous person and at first I thought this was just a bit of fun until I was told the story of how historically there really was a priest called Valentine. In the time of the Romans power a Caesar called Claudius Gothicus found his soldiers fought better if they were single and to keep his army strong he forbade his soldiers from being sidetracked by marriage. Valentine empathised with those who had an affectionate link to one another and secretly conducted marriage ceremonies for the soldiers, this so enraged Claudius that he ordered Valentine to be beaten and then beheaded, the fourteenth of February is so commemorated in his name. This may be the reason why a suitor of the time did not put his name on a card for if discovered it could have meant a death sentence for a soldier, an act which continued on to become part of our noted custom.

On thinking about the name Valentine I am put in mind of Rudolf Valentino although a little before my time I can remember an extract of a silent black and white clip of the great heart throb and also a news reel of him being mobbed by his adoring and swooning fans. Tall, dark and handsome resplendent mounted on a horse galloping to the rescue of a bound maiden held captive in the middle of the dessert. He fought and defeated overwhelming cloaked desperadoes and gathered up the fair maiden to gallop off into the sunset with the loan piano player playing the appropriate mood music. His future involved a disputed marriage and various film contracts. At the height of his fame a tragic condition struck in an unusual form. At the age of thirty one he died from an appendix like complication that developed into an infection. His following funeral raised him to iconic status.

I can not leave out the fun and mischievous Roman mythical character of Cupid whose Greek counterpart is Eros. Cupid is well known for his quiver of love empowered arrows which he fires with great effect to perpetuate this world of aspiring lovers. Often one of the most important symbols of the heart it is with many prayers upon him that our tradition will live on in the hearts and minds of many.

Adaptation.

The other day I was sitting down eating my evening meal when I saw something on the TV that gave me a small shock. On the screen out of the period setting came who appeared to be none other than Elizabeth and Mr Darcy, there was traditional dress, hairstyles, their beautiful stance matched that of what you would expect of the day, the romantic gesture gave way to the longing looks and then when you least expected it Elizabeth strode off, pulling out a neatly concealed deadly weapon from under her many nineteenth century layers. Confusion.com was me and then when I was totally mystified a notice proclaimed the forthcoming feature film entitled Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. This sent my mind in a whirl of possible titles of films to come, could there be a Snow White and the Seven baby Godzillas or Great Expectations starring Batman and Robin. There is nothing wrong in combining well known themes as long as the finished product fulfils fully the expected entertainment satisfaction. To be fair I have not seen the film Pride and Prejudice and Zombies so can not comment on its artistic merits.

I remember in my school years seeing an adaptation of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar adapted to modern times and the characters were suited business men. Somehow although the language was clear to understand the dynamics of the situation failed to create in my mind the mood of the play. Some adaptations are clear successes such as the American musical West Side Story based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet play. Another rip roaring success was Seven Brides for Seven Brothers which was inspired by the Taming of the Shrew.

I doubt that there is a story that has not appeared in some pre-existing work of some kind. That is why people have fought copy right battles over successful works that they claim were theirs in the first place.

I think having a good combination is something that meets the needs of two different themes while opening up something that intrigues or interests the viewing public. While many films seem to be only as good as the first try, there are examples that have made film history. Long live the passion to mix up, shake up and flex the themes of the past and present but please do it with a sense of objective inspiration.

Inoculation Medical Miracle or Not?

This week I had a telephone invitation from my local surgery to book an appointment for an anti Shingles inoculation. This left me with a bit of a quandary as it is well known how successful inoculation has been in the past for many ghastly diseases but my concern was that many people that I personally know have suffered long and worrying affects from anti flu injections and in one case the lady died, although it can not be proved the inoculation was the only cause of her death.

An interesting point is the anti flu serum has to be constantly changed as new strains of flu evolve and that introduces the question of how effective is inoculation if it is not able to defend against a new strain of a disease?

Is there only one type of Shingles and is the threat to life enough to outweigh the potential illness caused by the inoculation? Shingles (Herpes Zoster) is a virus that is related to Chicken Pox. After an inoculation it reduces the chance of getting Shingles by about 50% but Shingles can perpetually reoccur. It is a painful irritation of the skin caused by a nerve ending and appears as red blotches over the skin. After an attack of Shingles pain can reoccur in the same area. It is thought that people who have had Chicken Pox carry a dormant Shingles potential that will show itself when the conditions are right. Shingles is not thought to be contagious unless someone comes into contact with the liquid from under a scab. I believe the Shingles inoculation is being offered to people considered to be vulnerable to infection and who have a low immune resistance.

Immunisation works on the principle of stimulating the body's own immune system by infecting the person with a mild dose of the disease. The resulting length of time that people may feel unwell will depend on their initial good health, this may explain why so many people have had various degrees of serious threats to their health over a considerable long time after their inoculation jab.

After research I came across a letter by a doctor stating that people over the age of eighty will not be offered an anti Shingles inoculation as it is not as effective for that age group. The most important point that concerns me is the effectiveness of the vaccine reduces by the age of the recipient and this information is often not directly given at the time of an invitation to have an inoculation. How can I make a judgement without all the relevant facts in my knowledge?

I think each person must research for themselves so that they may come to the right decision about their suitability for a vaccine. It is an important issue and one that does need a lot of thought. Many people have to look at other lifestyle choices, state of health and the information that matters to them.

Romance of Chess.

It is always nice to receive a present and this year for Christmas my daughter gave me a delightful book on my favourite game of chess. I know it sounds ungrateful but clothing and aftershave has never excited me, maybe I still have that child's joy at games and gadgets. The book is Bobby Fisher teaches chess, and it is unique in its simplicity in form but it stretches the intellect of a grandmaster. The first delight for me was that it had no chess notation and only the minimum of written instruction. You can not complete the course without noticing how your depth and scope of play has been shaped.

Although I have a CD Chessmaster 10th edition I wondered if there was a more convenient teaching system that I could download to my computer. I thought my search was more than successful when I discovered Lucas chess as it has an amazing scope of different tools and chess problems.

In the past amongst my collection of chess books I really enjoyed reading Lasker's manual of chess for the florid and entertaining style of his depicting the ensuing battle of the light and dark armies. There is an interesting theme of Lasker's life and exploits. One of Lasker's ideas was a predictable plan of teaching chess that would end with the student achieving a set level of ability. It is that unfortunately people have a varying degree of aptitude and character and no matter how good the teacher is the student must be able to retain and put into practice what has been taught. Lasker believed in the idea that in chess were lessons for life and that moved him to become a philosopher.

In my modest game of playing senior level players the first thing to understand is although I may think a piece is protected, it can easily be assailed with astonishing ease by strategies that leave the attacker with a significant advantage and in a way I could not imagine, such as a queen is sacrificed with a dominating checkmate. In the senior player's armoury of moves, are forks, pins, skewers and discovered checks. Each counter move must be relevant to the situation but also threatening your opponent. The best form of defence is attack but that also leaves places open for a counter-attack.

There was a most interesting famous game, it had achieved an important stage and the next move would be checkmate but the opponent began a series of checks harrying the king and eventually ended with checkmate. I marvel at the ability to foresee and have confidence to embark on such a strategy.

I sometimes begin to get carried away with taking pieces and forget the object of the game is checkmate. My opponent sacrifices piece after piece and I do not notice my opponent's king has no legal move. My own king is challenged by an audacious rook intent on suicide and should I take the rook the game would be stalemate and not a glorious victory as I would have retained nearly all my pieces but failed to win. “So is life.” Lasker may have commented.

Meaning of Life.

Over the years I have been fascinated by religious views and one day I thought the last words of Jesus Christ on the cross would give some insight as to the meaning of life. On research it was interesting to note that of the four gospels reported in the bible one clearly was the bed rock of Christian belief of life after death. To me it was a surprise that the important words in Luke were not supported or repeated in the other three gospels and in fact Luke did not mention “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” This was in both Matthew and Mark gospels. I myself was looking for some collectively supported fact which could be noted in all the gospels. I was rather interested by the fact that collectively the four gospels each had their own interpretation. On thinking about the disparity of words reported to have been said by Jesus Christ I remembered an experiment conducted on an audience.

The audience had no advance knowledge as to what they would see. An actor burst on to the stage carrying a gun. At point blank range he fired several shots at the compare who had been standing at the heart of the stage. After the gunman had left the compare reassured everybody he was not hurt and then tried to get a reliable record of the events that had just taken place. He wrote the answers on a large board so everybody could see. The answers went from the gunman was; young, old, tall, short, fat, thin, bald, wearing a hat, Ski mask, a woman wearing a wig, walked with a limp, did not say anything, shouted abuse. The gunman fired anything from one to ten shots. At the end the compare explained that it was a demonstration to show how unreliable reports can be even from a witness immediately after the event.

I have come to the conclusion it is the value of good created or supported by a belief that has an important meaning. So the meaning of life is what I think it is. Of course I listen to other people's ideas and views. At the same time I remember that books on morality are printed and constructed by an author who must have had their own particular type of experience of life.

I have one final thought should the meaning of life be an opportunity to ensure an immortal afterlife? I am put in mind of Dorian Gray who fell in love with his portrait and was envious that the picture would retain his good looks while his own body would age. He fervently wished not to grow old and retain his appearance. After his wish was granted the consequence did not please him. I must be careful with what I wish for.

NHS Your Life in their Hands.

I was born in a hospital just outside of London after the end of the second World War. My next encounter with a hospital was in my teens and my view of the treatment gave me confidence in the NHS quality of care. I was diagnosed, looked after and recovered well. It was not until my father passed away on Christmas morning that I became a little alarmed at various practices and attitude of the medical profession. The first issue was my father had been misdiagnosed and the treatment given to him was not for his principal ailment. He had suffered an accident at work and had been gassed. His treatment initially was for his heart but the main damage was to his lungs as they were not efficiently supplying oxygen to the heart. Over the years his heart did deteriorate but I will always wonder if given the correct treatment to the lungs would have ensured him an improved quality of life?

My mother suffered a stroke and at the age of eighty five was admitted to hospital where her condition improved to an extent that she was told she could the next week leave hospital. After that news I was shocked the next day to see my mother was being given Morphine. I asked why this was happening and was told it was because she was in pain. My mother's big toe had been removed and from time to time it had caused a slight pain so I accepted what was going on. My father in law suggested I should go home for some rest. On returning the next time a machine had been attached to my mother so that it could administer the Morphine. I thought it was rather odd as my mother was unconscious and not able to say whether she was in pain or not. My mother went from being in a state where she could have gone home to one where Morphine made her weak, she was not given acceptable amounts of liquid and Morphine was instead increased. Practical consideration, I have to say, was not given to needs and the inevitable happened and my mother passed away. To this day I still feel guilty I had failed my mother and did not do more to stop her life being snuffed out before her time.

Is there an age when the NHS will no longer treat or resuscitate patients and simply remove food, water and medicine until they die? I ran a Post Office for a long time and personally I have experience of a customer who at the age of eighty plus was admitted to hospital with a bleeding ulcer. The ulcer was seen but not treated and she was discharged stating she was anaemic and the ulcer was not bleeding. Within the same week she was readmitted profusely loosing blood. The paramedic could not understand how she had been diagnosed with a non bleeding ulcer given her condition. Again the ulcer was looked at but this time it was treated. Things seemed to be improving and there was talk of her returning home. Then a day later her medical treatment was stopped without any notice. I was told that after sending a letter to the head of the hospital stating her family was not happy with the care she was given, the treatment was resumed by an irate sister who informed them of her displeasure at receiving an uncomfortable telephone call from the head of medical care. The family, who were upset by the standard of care, told me that there were many issues which had caused them to lose confidence in the hospital. There was a problem with the doctors making their own choice as to if should the need be there to resuscitate the lady or not. The issue over the non resuscitation seemed to take priority above the care she was given. Doctors would come into the ward and state one diagnosis for the lady and then hours later other doctors would come in and completely contradict what had been said. Most importantly the family stated their belief that after a certain age if treatment is withdrawn and vital nourishment and liquid is withheld then this would ensure that a patient would pass away. Having seen the lack of care or compassion the family were shocked by what had gone on and then were angered to see that no medicine was being given to their mother because of a misunderstanding between staff. That time had left their mother without treatment and then to make matters worse staff removed her drip, the family had to say to the staff that they felt their mother was being left to pass away, this was denied by an angry sister who said that was not going on and in the same afternoon the lady passed away.

I am a fiction writer but some of the greatest stories are based on fact. I have to question
how it feels to be an elderly patient to experience the NHS. From my own personal problems to that of noting the concerns of friends, it does seem as if you are over a certain NHS age you may not receive treatment by the means one would anticipate or expect.

Energy.

Like all good stories you have to start at the beginning and for me I can still remember the excitement at learning the simple formula of H20 as a schoolboy. Yes, that is everyday water but split into gasses it is highly combustible. I thought of how cars could run on plain every day water as a fuel. The first problem is the energy needed to split the water into gas was greater than the released gas energy.

Over the years I have often thought of my little unsolved gem, the idea to make an environmental friendly energy. But it seems I was not alone and somebody got to grips with the detail and has come up with a working practical method of powering cars using water as fuel. This thoughtful technology is efficient at collecting the hydrogen gas from the water and burning it in the car's motor. The key is to create an alloy of aluminium and gallium pellets. The pellets immediately react when water is added and importantly this is without the need for any extra heat. When used as a fuel the exhaust is water and the used pellets turn into aluminium oxide that can be recycled back into aluminium. The gallium is not consumed by the process.

After finding this stunning fact I am left in a quandary why the automotive industry is not mass producing new environmental friendly cars. Could it be a resistance to losing existing revenue and not financially attractive? Surely by reducing the use of fossil fuel the advantages to stopping global warming would benefit all the population of the world.

Talking about fossil fuels why is the government encouraging fracking after just taking part in the world conference on reducing fossil fuel consumption?

Another interesting fact is of the nine nuclear power points in the UK most are old and due to be replaced but the government has already signed a contract with China for one new nuclear power station.

Using hydrogen as a fuel has several advantages as there is no radio active waste that needs to be safely disposed of, also all the existing old power stations are near a source of water.

If the government is serious in looking for renewable or low cost sources of energy, every sewage station is a source of natural methane that could be used to convert aluminium oxide back to usable aluminium. Gallium does not alter and a vast energy source of water covers more than seventy per cent of the world. The point is the whole process can be done within the renewable energy umbrella as the power needed for reconstituting the aluminium can be obtained by already existing renewable energy sources such as wind, methane, wave power, solar panels and hydro electricity power.

I think the possibility of building a hydrogen gas powered energy station is a real option. The problem of using efficient energy to split the water and release the hydrogen has been solved. I know historically there has been an issue with the early hydrogen filled airships as they were a potential bomb just waiting for a spark but the hydrogen produced in the new power station is instantly burned and never stored so averting any possible explosion.

Marriage, Divorce and History.

As the years go past yet again it is the start of a new year and the Queen has made another heartfelt speech, I pray she should have good health for many more years to come.

Looking at the present royal family I remember back to my school days and learning about the House of Tudor especially the flamboyant King Henry VIII and his equally famous six wives. What happened to them was caused by political and social pressure bound up with tradition. I thought what relevance did a family history of over four hundred years ago have with today? I belived it to be very little, but I was wrong.

The present Royal family gained their title due to an abdication of the Queen father's brother and that caused controversy as some romantic historians viewed it as the ultimate gesture of true love for an honourable man to give up his position as King of England for the love of a divorced woman. The new Royal family were content to take the title although appeared to be put in a very difficult position, especially as the new King had a speech impediment that with great fortitude he overcame to address the Nation. Some supporters of the new Royal family were quick to cast aspersions over the character and loyalty of the former abdicated King and suggested he had connections with Nazi Germany and should if England be invaded take back the position of King.

After her father's death princess Elizabeth became Queen and performed her duties in an exemplary manner. Prince Charles had the good fortune to marry Princess Diana who bore him two sons before the very public relationship with Camilla Parker Bowels. The irony of the situation is if Prince Charles had been one of King Henry VIII's wives one fears what the consequences of his actions would have been. The present situation is Prince Charles is married to a divorced Camilla Parker Bowels and should the situation arise does not look like giving up willingly the title of King of England. Adultery and being divorced does not appear to be an impediment to claiming the throne anymore.

At the time of Princess Dana’s death in a car crash the country was full of conspiracy plots. The people of the world were moved by the death of Princess Diana but the Royal family's response to the event did not seem to match that of the emotional public respect for her passing. It was only after public pressure that the Queen returned to England to join in the mourning for Princess Diana.

People are good and bad throughout their lives and I have no doubt that the Queens and statesmen that paid the ultimate price for their belief and actions at King Henry VIII's time also did good things. Even the King that abdicated and gave the present Royal family their title paid the price for his actions. Now in the twenty first century can people escape the consequence of their actions by publicly declaring a regret for their wrongdoing?