The Mayans predicted the end of the world today, appropriately on Mad Friday too!!!
11.10am passed without incident. I was stuck in the waiting room at Manchester Royal Infirmary in a Myeloma clinic for my final check up of the year. I was back at MRI for the results of my MRI scan on my pelvis. You may recall from previous blogs that they found cause for concern following x-rays that they thought were lesions caused by the Myeloma.
Unfortunately the MRI scan is inconclusive - there is some bone damage and there are marks on the bone but the consultant is not 100% sure they are caused by the Myeloma. Although my blood levels remain affected - the amount of Myeloma is high, the amount of calcium is high, kidney function is impaired and white cells are low - they remain stable; so a decision to closely monitor has been made.
The most effective course of Chemotherapy is the first one and so they don't want to waste this and whilst I am now borderline for treatment they want to wait until a clear symptom of end organ damage is present before they start. This can change quickly and so this is why I remain on monthly check ups with some clear warning signals to look for.
This is all round good news. It means I can park the disease and enjoy Christmas with Jen and the kids - my next check up is 1st February 2013.
So today could have been a bad one, the Mayans aside, but in the words of Michael Stipe "It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine"
Have a very Happy Christmas and healthy, happy New Year
Friday 21 December 2012
Sunday 16 December 2012
Summer v Winter
A discussion has started in the last week or so about the merits of switching winter football to summer. The debate has come about because since early November many of our weekend football matches have been postponed, either because of waterlogged or frozen pitches; or because in order to protect the pitches the relevant local authority has closed the playing fields for that weekend.
The advantages for playing summer football are quite clear. Playing in warmer conditions on firmer playing surfaces means players will develop better skills - you only need to look at Brazil and Spain to work that one out. Many of our youngsters have to develop skills like trapping a ball in an inch of mud, running through puddles or how to take a throw-in with frozen fingers rather than the skills of the likes of Fabregas, Messi, Ronaldo et al.
Other advantages are light nights - this enables games to be played midweek but also for clubs to train on grass thus reducing the cost of expensive astro turf training facilities, reducing club overheads in these crucial times of austerity.
By playing regularly you are unlikely to encounter players losing interest by having long periods of time in between games and training due to inclement weather.
There are some hurdles to overcome though. Player availability during the summer may be an issue - and that's not player availability in terms of your best player has been picked for the town team - it's around family holidays. Some families have caravans or tents and use the summer weekends to take short breaks - which may prevent their children's involvement.
Pitch availability may be an issue - many Councils use the 3 months in the summer to repair and reseed the pitches.
Finally the competition from other summer sports, in particular cricket, may affect player availability. Some that don't know how cricket works don't understand that it can be played 7 days a week at a club (depending on how many junior sides you have) which would prevent coaches and co-ordinators from staying involved in football whilst it was underway at the same time.
The overlap in March, April and May is tough enough now, without totally overlapping the seasons. Those 3 months see me out 5 nights a week as well as Saturday and Sunday and test my marriage to the full!! I often have to choose between coaching a football or cricket team and therefore all my players, football or cricket, don't get the best from me. In terms of administration we are at the outset of a new cricket season so there's membership, kit, league entry, team management as well as coaching (and I play a bit too so there's practice). The football season is coming to a close at this point so you are trying to bring together the end of season fixture congestion, as well as arranging end of season trips, presentation nights, fund raisers on top of usual coaching, fixture arranging etc.
So for me I am not in favour of football moving to summer. It is a selfish view I agree but I would be forced to choose between the sports and that means one of the sports I love, and am passionate about, would be robbed of my input and dare I say it, skills?
What's the alternative though? As a boss I have always encouraged my staff to come to me with a problem but also with a suggested solution. So if summer football isn't a viable option what can we do to negate the 3 month break we usually get due to bad weather?
I would suggest planning a 3 month break. Plan the league around a break between mid-November and mid February. This means small divisions, around 8 teams - 7 games between Sept & Nov and 7 games between Feb-May add. A couple of rounds of the cup into both halves and you have a season. There you go simple as that !!!!!!
Other more fundamental infrastructure is necessary though. On Saturday my under 9s Greens played Ladybridge at the ESSA Academy in Bolton. They have a quite brilliant 4G facility and to see it full of under 8 and under 9 footballers was brilliant. These are the facilities we need more of. Bolton Arena, ESSA Academy, Leigh Sport Village are a rare commodity and clubs should be looking to form partnerships with schools to raise the necessary funds to fund their construction. In my area Whelley, Aspull Juniors, New Springs Lions and Aspull RUFC could get together and apply for some funding to provide such as facility. This would be a fantastic community asset but may also create local employment as well as contributing to the wider health, social inclusion and Big Society agendas.
This is the way we can keep tradition with football played in the winter and cricket played in the summer. Besides if we have another summer like last year it may be cricket that looks to winter and not the other way round!!!
The advantages for playing summer football are quite clear. Playing in warmer conditions on firmer playing surfaces means players will develop better skills - you only need to look at Brazil and Spain to work that one out. Many of our youngsters have to develop skills like trapping a ball in an inch of mud, running through puddles or how to take a throw-in with frozen fingers rather than the skills of the likes of Fabregas, Messi, Ronaldo et al.
Other advantages are light nights - this enables games to be played midweek but also for clubs to train on grass thus reducing the cost of expensive astro turf training facilities, reducing club overheads in these crucial times of austerity.
By playing regularly you are unlikely to encounter players losing interest by having long periods of time in between games and training due to inclement weather.
There are some hurdles to overcome though. Player availability during the summer may be an issue - and that's not player availability in terms of your best player has been picked for the town team - it's around family holidays. Some families have caravans or tents and use the summer weekends to take short breaks - which may prevent their children's involvement.
Pitch availability may be an issue - many Councils use the 3 months in the summer to repair and reseed the pitches.
Finally the competition from other summer sports, in particular cricket, may affect player availability. Some that don't know how cricket works don't understand that it can be played 7 days a week at a club (depending on how many junior sides you have) which would prevent coaches and co-ordinators from staying involved in football whilst it was underway at the same time.
The overlap in March, April and May is tough enough now, without totally overlapping the seasons. Those 3 months see me out 5 nights a week as well as Saturday and Sunday and test my marriage to the full!! I often have to choose between coaching a football or cricket team and therefore all my players, football or cricket, don't get the best from me. In terms of administration we are at the outset of a new cricket season so there's membership, kit, league entry, team management as well as coaching (and I play a bit too so there's practice). The football season is coming to a close at this point so you are trying to bring together the end of season fixture congestion, as well as arranging end of season trips, presentation nights, fund raisers on top of usual coaching, fixture arranging etc.
So for me I am not in favour of football moving to summer. It is a selfish view I agree but I would be forced to choose between the sports and that means one of the sports I love, and am passionate about, would be robbed of my input and dare I say it, skills?
What's the alternative though? As a boss I have always encouraged my staff to come to me with a problem but also with a suggested solution. So if summer football isn't a viable option what can we do to negate the 3 month break we usually get due to bad weather?
I would suggest planning a 3 month break. Plan the league around a break between mid-November and mid February. This means small divisions, around 8 teams - 7 games between Sept & Nov and 7 games between Feb-May add. A couple of rounds of the cup into both halves and you have a season. There you go simple as that !!!!!!
Other more fundamental infrastructure is necessary though. On Saturday my under 9s Greens played Ladybridge at the ESSA Academy in Bolton. They have a quite brilliant 4G facility and to see it full of under 8 and under 9 footballers was brilliant. These are the facilities we need more of. Bolton Arena, ESSA Academy, Leigh Sport Village are a rare commodity and clubs should be looking to form partnerships with schools to raise the necessary funds to fund their construction. In my area Whelley, Aspull Juniors, New Springs Lions and Aspull RUFC could get together and apply for some funding to provide such as facility. This would be a fantastic community asset but may also create local employment as well as contributing to the wider health, social inclusion and Big Society agendas.
This is the way we can keep tradition with football played in the winter and cricket played in the summer. Besides if we have another summer like last year it may be cricket that looks to winter and not the other way round!!!
Sunday 2 December 2012
2 steps forward, 3 steps back
Its been a busy couple of weeks, hence no blog.
The week before last I took the week off and redecorated the children's bedrooms. We also had Sky TV installed in each of their rooms as part of an early Christmas present.
Last week was busy at work. I am trying to develop a training programme to reach 2000+ tenants before April 2013. The training programme is in 2 strands - encouraging people to GET Online or Money Management Training and is part of our wider approach to readying tenants for the Welfare Reforms.
So I spent a lot of time in schools and Children's Centres looking at possibilities of training venues out in the Community. It was really interesting visiting schools in different areas and seeing their different approach to school life.
Thursday was Jens birthday and to say its been a rotten year for her is a bit of an understatement. I wanted to try and make it a special day and show her how grateful I am for her unstinting support. The children bought her a new coat and thermal gloves (great timing) and I bought her 2 tickets to watch one of her favourite bands, The Courteeners, in Manchester this Friday 7th December. They are one of my favourites too and so I hope she invites me!!!!!
I have also asked her sister Alison, to pick the children up from school that day and so the plan is to go into Manchester in the afternoon for a few beers and something to eat, then to the gig then last train home.
We don't get a lot of time on our own and so I hope we have a great day and it shows her how much I love her.
On Friday we went to Manchester Royal Infirmary for a monthly check up. As well as current blood levels they also had the results of my skeletal survey which I had done in early November. Unfortunately there is some cause of concern around my pelvis and my skull with irregularities which could be lesions. This is where the Myeloma sort of overflows from the bones and attacks them from the outside. It is usually accompanied by bone pain. So I have been referred for an MRI scan at MRI (confusing I know) and then back to see the consultant on the 21st December.
This is frustrating on a couple of levels. I have had pelvic pain for the last 18 months and complained to Wigan about it but after an xray they simply put it down to general wear and tear of a 40 year old. The consultant radiologist at MRI says it isn't wear and tear at all!!!
The second frustration is that after gearing ourselves up for Chemotherapy in October and then to be told that Chemo wont start I'll just be monitored, to be then told you may need Chemo again is like 2 steps forward 3 steps back.
I suppose that's what fighting cancer is all about. You have ups and downs. I know of 3 former colleagues of mine that have been struck down with a cancer of some sort in the last 3 weeks. 2 of them were in remission and they probably feel like its 20 steps back not just 3!!
It is what it is - my approach to life, family, work, football, cricket and music won't change. I'm still the same person and will approach it with the same determination and a bit of humour too. You do have to laugh. As a colleague of Jens says "You should have at least one good belly laugh a day". How True.
Am looking forward to another busy week this week. Lots more school visits and a service planning day with the Director, Group Managers and Service Managers on Thursday.
Then on Friday a day out with my best friend. Can't wait.
The week before last I took the week off and redecorated the children's bedrooms. We also had Sky TV installed in each of their rooms as part of an early Christmas present.
Last week was busy at work. I am trying to develop a training programme to reach 2000+ tenants before April 2013. The training programme is in 2 strands - encouraging people to GET Online or Money Management Training and is part of our wider approach to readying tenants for the Welfare Reforms.
So I spent a lot of time in schools and Children's Centres looking at possibilities of training venues out in the Community. It was really interesting visiting schools in different areas and seeing their different approach to school life.
Thursday was Jens birthday and to say its been a rotten year for her is a bit of an understatement. I wanted to try and make it a special day and show her how grateful I am for her unstinting support. The children bought her a new coat and thermal gloves (great timing) and I bought her 2 tickets to watch one of her favourite bands, The Courteeners, in Manchester this Friday 7th December. They are one of my favourites too and so I hope she invites me!!!!!
I have also asked her sister Alison, to pick the children up from school that day and so the plan is to go into Manchester in the afternoon for a few beers and something to eat, then to the gig then last train home.
We don't get a lot of time on our own and so I hope we have a great day and it shows her how much I love her.
On Friday we went to Manchester Royal Infirmary for a monthly check up. As well as current blood levels they also had the results of my skeletal survey which I had done in early November. Unfortunately there is some cause of concern around my pelvis and my skull with irregularities which could be lesions. This is where the Myeloma sort of overflows from the bones and attacks them from the outside. It is usually accompanied by bone pain. So I have been referred for an MRI scan at MRI (confusing I know) and then back to see the consultant on the 21st December.
This is frustrating on a couple of levels. I have had pelvic pain for the last 18 months and complained to Wigan about it but after an xray they simply put it down to general wear and tear of a 40 year old. The consultant radiologist at MRI says it isn't wear and tear at all!!!
The second frustration is that after gearing ourselves up for Chemotherapy in October and then to be told that Chemo wont start I'll just be monitored, to be then told you may need Chemo again is like 2 steps forward 3 steps back.
I suppose that's what fighting cancer is all about. You have ups and downs. I know of 3 former colleagues of mine that have been struck down with a cancer of some sort in the last 3 weeks. 2 of them were in remission and they probably feel like its 20 steps back not just 3!!
It is what it is - my approach to life, family, work, football, cricket and music won't change. I'm still the same person and will approach it with the same determination and a bit of humour too. You do have to laugh. As a colleague of Jens says "You should have at least one good belly laugh a day". How True.
Am looking forward to another busy week this week. Lots more school visits and a service planning day with the Director, Group Managers and Service Managers on Thursday.
Then on Friday a day out with my best friend. Can't wait.
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