FEBRUARY 2021
A Personal Journey
For me 2015 was a catastrophic year.
Due to a series of events, this story begins on Friday 12 June when my eyes felt tired and I asked my wife if she
would drive home from our daughter’s house in Newcastle.
I woke on Sunday 14 June and I tried to read the Sunday paper as usual. However, I was unable to as I realised
there was a serious problem with my right eye. I said nothing to anyone, as I had a doctor’s appointment on the
Monday morning.
On the Monday morning we went along to the doctors and I mentioned my eye to him, along with a number of
other things I wanted to discuss. He looked into my eyes and said he could not see anything but told me if I was
worried to go and have my eyes tested. As we were in Morpeth the following day, we called into make an
appointment at Specsavers and I was asked to return at 1335 hours, which we did.
Ack at the optician’s I was taken through to have photographs taken of my eyes and other tests were also
completed, I then went in to have my eyes examined and was told I had to go to the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI)
Emergency Department in Newcastle straight away. To say I was worried is an understatement but by 1405 hours
we were there. After two hours of different tests, I was told that I had had suffered a haemorrhage behind my eye.
However, I was cleared to return home, but had to contact my GP to arrange to see him as a matter of urgency.
On the Thursday the 18 June we attended our doctor’s surgery and explain to him that I had been to the eye
hospital and that they had said I need to have a full stroke assessment done, be tested for Diabetes and also have
an ECG. Every test came back clear, although I still could not see fully out of my right eye. I half expected to be
recalled back to the Eye Hospital but heard nothing from them and life got in the way….
For the next four years I battled on - only seeing out of my left eye with a small degree of sight in my right eye, I
trained myself to take photographs with my left eye instead of my right eye which I had done since I started taking
photographs at the age of eight. It was not until March 2019 that Carole persuaded me to go and have an eye test –
I had been too afraid to go and have one up to then.
Off to Morpeth we went, back to Specsavers to see Racheal my optician who once again gave me a through eye
test, which resulted in me being referred to the RVI - not an emergency this time thank goodness but for a follow-
up appointment, so it was a case of waiting for my appointment coming through which it did for the 23 December
2019. On the Sunday morning the day before my appointment we went to Jurys Inn on the Gateshead Quays as we
do every year for the Christmas and New Year holidays.
On the Monday morning I felt so sick that I could not eat or drink - it was the fear of the unknown.
What were they going to do to me?
What if they find something else wrong with me?
A thousand and one questions were going through my head. Once we were in the taxi going to the RVI all my
nerves and anxieties left my body and I concentrated on the appointment.
Once in the hospital waiting room, I had to control my nerves once again as they came back with a vengeance. I was
feeling sick and scared once more. After a few minutes I was taken through to have my eyes tested which was a
laugh as they wanted me to read the card through a mirror about six foot up a wall while I was seated. You can
wear your glasses said the nurse - not that easy to do when you are wearing varifocal glasses!
Once that reading test was over I was taken through to see my consultant Mr Gordon Lou a very nice young man
who put me at ease, looked in to the back of my eyes then told me he was going to put drops in and that they
would sting, (he was not wrong there!) , a further examination by him and then he repeated his phrase I am going
to put more drops in your eyes but do not worry these ones do not sting and he was right again.
Then he sent me off to have my eyes photographed, the young man that did this was called Curtis and was very
professional. He put me at ease as he put my head in the position required to get the photographs he required.
When this was over |I had to go back and wait to see Mr Lau again. This time he showed me the photographs of
the backs of my eyes and told me that they were very healthy and in simple terms the reason for losing a high
percentage of my sight was that my eye for some reason had switched off and it had not switched back on again, it
is as if my brain and my eye were longer talking to each other.
The outcome of the appointment was that I was now registered partially sighted - I would have to surrender my
driving licence which I had held for over thirty years without a point or ticket. This hurt me more than anything
else. During the course of the Christmas and New Year holiday I tried to put it out of my mind however once I got
back home on the 3 January 2020 reality set in.
My state of mind went downhill at a fast rate of knots and the threat of a pandemic did little to change the
condition of my mind, so I was sent for counselling. With the aid of Liz from Talking Heads I managed to start to
get my headspace back to some normality.
Unfortunately, just as I was beginning to make progress, the pandemic had struck and we were in lockdown unable
to leave the house for more than an hour for exercise, which we did not do for about three weeks.
As spring approached, we were able to get out for a walk every day but I felt like I had lost all confidence in myself
and began to rely more and more on Carole to advise me about steps, kerbs, oncoming traffic etc while we were
walking.
Now I am waiting to see when my follow up appointment will be - it should have been the 21 December 2020, but
of course like many other people my appointment was cancelled and to this day I am still waiting for my
appointment to come through. The one person that has kept me going with her encouragement and love has been
Carole - without her I would not be the man I am today, thank you.
===========================
Spring is almost here…
It will be spring in a few weeks’ time on the 21st March. How do I know this - well my Nana was born on the first
day of spring 1899, so she would have been 121 years old this year.
Spring is going to be an important time this year as by then we should have a good indication on how well the
vaccination programme is going and how well we are doing in the fight against the Coronavirus.
Dependent upon this we will know how business will be affected during the first quarter of the 2021 / 2022
financial year. No matter what happens in the coming weeks, months or year, I am confident that business will
bounce back.
We have been in worse positions during my lifetime - we had three-day weeks in 1972, where the power cuts were
scheduled every day, schools were closed as they had run out of fuel for heating and where we had to work
Sundays as a result. In fact we have suffered recessions in the UK since 1430 where one lasted until 1490 (a 60-year
recession) and every few years we have been one.
The longest we have gone with out a recession is 319 years unfortunately not in our lifetimes. In modern times we
have had a recession in the 1970’s, 1980’s, 1990’s, 2000’s, 2010’s and yes we are currently in a recession (where
there is negative growth of GDP for two successive quarters) which started in 2020 and is ongoing.
Fortunately for our government the Coronavirus Pandemic is to blame for this recession. Business will of course
eventually bounce back, and it is small businesses that will once again save this country. So many people have lost
their jobs during this pandemic that more and more individuals are turning to self-employment to make a living.
Whether this business is manufacturing a new product or changing an existing product or developing a new service
or opening a shop. Individuals will do it, and revel in the sense of being their own boss and not have to depend on
someone else to pay their wages.
However, the consumer has a play to a part in our recovery, and needs to support the small medium sized
businesses and buy goods and services which are Made in Britain (UK). We have had these campaigns before (eg
‘I’m Backing Britain’ in 1968) and it is vital that everyone gets behind them. Foreign manufactured products may
well be cheaper, but is the quality there?
So, my message to Boris is - get those injections out to everyone without exception and as quickly as possible, and
then let the business owners do what they do best – manufacture products, offering services and serve the British
public as only we know how to do!
===========================
JANUARY 2021
Changing the Face of Digital Consumerism
Who would have thought that in the year 2000 that in the year 2020 it would be the older generation who would be
relying most on digital communications and Internet shopping sites such as Asda, Tesco, Sainsburys, Amazon and
all the other sites too many to mention for their weekly grocery shopping or for gifts for family.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 doing online shopping came a necessity for a lot of older people, me
included. I never dreamt that I would not go to the high street for my Christmas shopping and instead buy my wife,
daughter, or grandsons their birthday and Christmas presents online. Our usual routine would be travelling thirty
plus miles, parking the car, going into high street stores, and spending even more time browsing in the technology
shops.
Now eight months later I cannot think about going to the high street - I go straight online and find what I need. The
beauty of it is I can have delivered to where I want and most of the time when I want, I can even have it wrapped.
This of course raises two important questions:
1)
Will I go back to the high street or will others like me ever go back to the high street?
But more importantly
2)
Will the high street recover, or will it take a regeneration scheme to help it recover?
It may take years for the consumer to have confidence in the high street once more and go there knowing that they
are safe and that e very precaution have been taken for their safety. But when you can buy the same products
online for a lower price or the same price without incurring bus fares or car parking charging, which would you
choose?
FEBRUARY 2021
A Personal Journey
For me 2015 was a catastrophic year.
Due to a series of events, this story begins on Friday 12 June when my
eyes felt tired and I asked my wife if she would drive home from our
daughter’s house in Newcastle.
I woke on Sunday 14 June and I tried to read the Sunday paper as usual.
However, I was unable to as I realised there was a serious problem with
my right eye. I said nothing to anyone, as I had a doctor’s appointment
on the Monday morning.
On the Monday morning we went along to the doctors and I mentioned
my eye to him, along with a number of other things I wanted to discuss.
He looked into my eyes and said he could not see anything but told me if
I was worried to go and have my eyes tested. As we were in Morpeth the
following day, we called into make an appointment at Specsavers and I
was asked to return at 1335 hours, which we did.
Ack at the optician’s I was taken through to have photographs taken of
my eyes and other tests were also completed, I then went in to have my
eyes examined and was told I had to go to the Royal Victoria Infirmary
(RVI) Emergency Department in Newcastle straight away. To say I was
worried is an understatement but by 1405 hours we were there. After
two hours of different tests, I was told that I had had suffered a
haemorrhage behind my eye. However, I was cleared to return home,
but had to contact my GP to arrange to see him as a matter of urgency.
On the Thursday the 18 June we attended our doctor’s surgery and
explain to him that I had been to the eye hospital and that they had said
I need to have a full stroke assessment done, be tested for Diabetes and
also have an ECG. Every test came back clear, although I still could not
see fully out of my right eye. I half expected to be recalled back to the
Eye Hospital but heard nothing from them and life got in the way….
For the next four years I battled on - only seeing out of my left eye with a
small degree of sight in my right eye, I trained myself to take
photographs with my left eye instead of my right eye which I had done
since I started taking photographs at the age of eight. It was not until
March 2019 that Carole persuaded me to go and have an eye test – I had
been too afraid to go and have one up to then.
Off to Morpeth we went, back to Specsavers to see Racheal my optician
who once again gave me a through eye test, which resulted in me being
referred to the RVI - not an emergency this time thank goodness but for
a follow-up appointment, so it was a case of waiting for my appointment
coming through which it did for the 23 December 2019. On the Sunday
morning the day before my appointment we went to Jurys Inn on the
Gateshead Quays as we do every year for the Christmas and New Year
holidays.
On the Monday morning I felt so sick that I could not eat or drink - it was
the fear of the unknown.
What were they going to do to me?
What if they find something else wrong with me?
A thousand and one questions were going through my head. Once we
were in the taxi going to the RVI all my nerves and anxieties left my body
and I concentrated on the appointment.
Once in the hospital waiting room, I had to control my nerves once again
as they came back with a vengeance. I was feeling sick and scared once
more. After a few minutes I was taken through to have my eyes tested
which was a laugh as they wanted me to read the card through a mirror
about six foot up a wall while I was seated. You can wear your glasses
said the nurse - not that easy to do when you are wearing varifocal
glasses!
Once that reading test was over I was taken through to see my
consultant Mr Gordon Lou a very nice young man who put me at ease,
looked in to the back of my eyes then told me he was going to put drops
in and that they would sting, (he was not wrong there!) , a further
examination by him and then he repeated his phrase I am going to put
more drops in your eyes but do not worry these ones do not sting and
he was right again.
Then he sent me off to have my eyes photographed, the young man that
did this was called Curtis and was very professional. He put me at ease
as he put my head in the position required to get the photographs he
required. When this was over |I had to go back and wait to see Mr Lau
again. This time he showed me the photographs of the backs of my eyes
and told me that they were very healthy and in simple terms the reason
for losing a high percentage of my sight was that my eye for some
reason had switched off and it had not switched back on again, it is as if
my brain and my eye were longer talking to each other.
The outcome of the appointment was that I was now registered partially
sighted - I would have to surrender my driving licence which I had held
for over thirty years without a point or ticket. This hurt me more than
anything else. During the course of the Christmas and New Year holiday
I tried to put it out of my mind however once I got back home on the 3
January 2020 reality set in.
My state of mind went downhill at a fast rate of knots and the threat of a
pandemic did little to change the condition of my mind, so I was sent for
counselling. With the aid of Liz from Talking Heads I managed to start to
get my headspace back to some normality.
Unfortunately, just as I was beginning to make progress, the pandemic
had struck and we were in lockdown unable to leave the house for more
than an hour for exercise, which we did not do for about three weeks.
As spring approached, we were able to get out for a walk every day but I
felt like I had lost all confidence in myself and began to rely more and
more on Carole to advise me about steps, kerbs, oncoming traffic etc
while we were walking.
Now I am waiting to see when my follow up appointment will be - it
should have been the 21 December 2020, but of course like many other
people my appointment was cancelled and to this day I am still waiting
for my appointment to come through. The one person that has kept me
going with her encouragement and love has been Carole - without her I
would not be the man I am today, thank you.
=================
==========
Spring is almost here…
It will be spring in a few weeks’ time on the 21st March. How do I know
this - well my Nana was born on the first day of spring 1899, so she
would have been 121 years old this year.
Spring is going to be an important time this year as by then we should
have a good indication on how well the vaccination programme is going
and how well we are doing in the fight against the Coronavirus.
Dependent upon this we will know how business will be affected during
the first quarter of the 2021 / 2022 financial year. No matter what
happens in the coming weeks, months or year, I am confident that
business will bounce back.
We have been in worse positions during my lifetime - we had three-day
weeks in 1972, where the power cuts were scheduled every day, schools
were closed as they had run out of fuel for heating and where we had to
work Sundays as a result. In fact we have suffered recessions in the UK
since 1430 where one lasted until 1490 (a 60-year recession) and every
few years we have been one.
The longest we have gone with out a recession is 319 years
unfortunately not in our lifetimes. In modern times we have had a
recession in the 1970’s, 1980’s, 1990’s, 2000’s, 2010’s and yes we are
currently in a recession (where there is negative growth of GDP for two
successive quarters) which started in 2020 and is ongoing.
Fortunately for our government the Coronavirus Pandemic is to blame
for this recession. Business will of course eventually bounce back, and it
is small businesses that will once again save this country. So many
people have lost their jobs during this pandemic that more and more
individuals are turning to self-employment to make a living.
Whether this business is manufacturing a new product or changing an
existing product or developing a new service or opening a shop.
Individuals will do it, and revel in the sense of being their own boss and
not have to depend on someone else to pay their wages.
However, the consumer has a play to a part in our recovery, and needs
to support the small medium sized businesses and buy goods and
services which are Made in Britain (UK). We have had these campaigns
before (eg ‘I’m Backing Britain’ in 1968) and it is vital that everyone gets
behind them. Foreign manufactured products may well be cheaper, but
is the quality there?
So, my message to Boris is - get those injections out to everyone without
exception and as quickly as possible, and then let the business owners
do what they do best – manufacture products, offering services and
serve the British public as only we know how to do!
=================
==========
JANUARY 2021
Changing the Face of Digital Consumerism
Who would have thought that in the year 2000 that in the year 2020 it
would be the older generation who would be relying most on digital
communications and Internet shopping sites such as Asda, Tesco,
Sainsburys, Amazon and all the other sites too many to mention for their
weekly grocery shopping or for gifts for family.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 doing online shopping came a
necessity for a lot of older people, me included. I never dreamt that I
would not go to the high street for my Christmas shopping and instead
buy my wife, daughter, or grandsons their birthday and Christmas
presents online. Our usual routine would be travelling thirty plus miles,
parking the car, going into high street stores, and spending even more
time browsing in the technology shops.
Now eight months later I cannot think about going to the high street - I
go straight online and find what I need. The beauty of it is I can have
delivered to where I want and most of the time when I want, I can even
have it wrapped. This of course raises two important questions:
1)
Will I go back to the high street or will others like me ever go back
to the high street?
But more importantly
2)
Will the high street recover, or will it take a regeneration scheme to
help it recover?
It may take years for the consumer to have confidence in the high street
once more and go there knowing that they are safe and that e very
precaution have been taken for their safety. But when you can buy the
same products online for a lower price or the same price without
incurring bus fares or car parking charging, which would you choose?