2014

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Every Picture Tells a Story - Remembering Maltby

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Whether it's one of those coincidence things or just that sometimes things do work nicely together, it's good when it happens. I am pleased to announce on this blog that Facebook page  Remembering Maltby  has to date 585 members in just over a week. I am more than a little overwhelmed with the interest in it and am looking forward to collating all the pictures and stories together to make an invaluable historical record, made by the community. Feedback about this has been amazing and there's some brilliant photographs, memories and stories being shared between 3 or 4 generations of  Maltby  people. Some are Maltby born and bred, some were born elsewhere but now call Maltby their home, some spent their childhood here but now live on the other side of the world. At the risk of sounding too sentimental, it really is wonderful to be part of this and I am very grateful for everyone's responses. The other thing that I'm chuffed about is this ... I am the winner of Janua...
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Bio - metrics : Machine v Man in an Airport Queue

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Arriving at Manchester Airport recently to re - enter England / United Kingdom of  Great Britain and Northern Ireland / European Union I was faced with the option  of  two queues for passport control  - EU or Non EU. My passport looks like this and so I do know that I am classed as EU (despite having 2 conversations in the streets in Istanbul about what type of money the British use. It seems that many non EU citizens can not believe that we do not use the Euro and wanted clarification that GBP is still in existence).  I had traveled within the EU using this newly issued passport, but not taken much notice of  the symbol of the bio metric facility on it.    ePassport gates are automated, where a passport reader and camera, rather than a border officer - in theory -  verifies your identity and checks your ‘chipped’ passport. To use the ePassport gates, you must have a ‘chipped’ biometric UK, EU, EEA or Swiss passport.  These ePassp...
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The One Where the Mother Feels Useless

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Post cycle 3 chemo - Day 6 We are half way through the chemotherapy - and when I say 'we' of course I mean Jane, who is as strong, amazing and more beautiful than ever.  With each session of drugs so far, it seems to take longer than last time to feel normal again, though of course real "normal" won't be for a while yet.  The drugs in the chemotherapy treatment so far are  f luorouracil  (also called 5FU) e pirubicin c yclophosphamide docetaxel  (also called  T axotere ®)    (FEC-T from the initials of the drugs name)   The side effects include risk of infection, bruising, feeling or being sick, diarrhoea, sore mouth, anaemia, loss of appetite, taste change, hair loss, sore eyes, skin changes and of course,desperate tiredness and aching bones.  This is what I am watching my daughter suffer, and this is why I feel useless. It's past the time of trite comments of "why her and not me ?"  and wishing that I could take i...
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