Trying to get an appointment with your GP

Is it just me I wonder, or is it becoming more and more difficult to get an appointment with your GP? Surely it cannot get any worse.....

My husband has had a very bad cough for about 6 weeks, there is no sign of improvement at all.  You know what men are like, they leave these things until they become unbearable before they decide it is time to see a Doctor.  He  has been coughing constantly, virtually non stop, but it was not until he began coughing up blood that he gave in and asked me to get him an appointment.
"Make it either before work, or after work" he requested. That was not as easy as he though for a start.
I called the surgery to book the appointment.

"We have nothing for the next 2 weeks" the receptionist advised me.
"You will have to call at 08.30 tomorrow to see if we have any cancellations" I agreed to do this, after all, it is not the poor girls fault is it.  Next morning spot on 08.30 I called the surgery.  There was no answer, the phone was just ringing and ringing.  I tried calling constantly for a good 40 minutes when I finally got through.
"I was asked to call this morning for an appointment. I have been trying to get through since 08.30"
"I am sorry, I am afraid all the appointments have now gone. You will have to call at 08.30 tomorrow" I could almost hear the young receptionist squirming, waiting for me to snap.  But I didn't, I remained calm.
"Well, the problem is quite worrying. My husband has been coughing for weeks and is now bringing up blood" I told her in a very friendly, yet concerned way.......I am good like that you see.
"I will get the Doctor to call you back, if it is urgent he will make an appointment for your husband"
That was fine by me, so I graciously thanked her.

Well, it was only 5 minutes later when the phone rang and the nice Indian doctor on the other end spoke to my husband on the phone.  My husband patiently explained the trouble he was having.  The Doctor told him he has severe Bronchitis and would leave a prescription out for him. He is to make an appointment for one weeks time.

I popped into the surgery 3 hours later to collect the prescription.  The receptionist could not find it anywhere. She hunted high and low; up and down like a yoyo she was
.
"Ah! Hang on, I know where it may be" she said. You know, I swear I heard cogs turning in her head at that point. She picked up the phone and dialled with such speed, I thought maybe the key pad was on fire.
"Hello, its only me. You don't happen to have  a prescription there for Mr Reeve do you?" She waited , tapping her fingers impatiently on the desk for what seemed like ages.  I looked over my shoulder to see about 6 people waiting in a line behind me. You know what it is like when that happens, you feel that your being a real pain in the bum.

"You do, well shred it will you, I will print it from here" She slammed the phone down as though it was about to have her arm off or something.
"It was waiting for you to collect at the surgery in town. I will print another one. Take a seat while I wait for a Doctor to authorise it." I thought I had better do as I was told, she had a look that told me NOT to question her. So off I trotted to the nearest available seat. I have no idea why it was waiting at a surgery 5 mile away.

While I waited I looked around me at all the 'sick' people in the surgery, waiting to be seen by the busy Doctors.  There were a couple of elderly ladies sitting opposite me having a good natter, as they do.  There conversation went something like this.

"Its my knee playing me up again, it does give me gyp you know.  I am sure the Doctor will give me something for it.  I have been getting this ache in my tummy too, quite bad it was on Saturday, I think I will tell the Doctor about that while I am in there as well"
Oh dear, that does not sound good Betty.  How is your wrist now?"
"I put up with it, it does give me Gyp you know, I will mention it when I go in. The Doctor will write me prescription for some pain killers or something.  He told me last time he saw me that it would clear up on its own with rest.  But it is still there...yes, I will tell him about it"  At this point I noticed 2 signs up on the walls, both saying the same thing 'The Doctor Only Has 10 Minutes Allocated To Each Appointment. Please only Discuss One Problem During Your Allotted Appointment Time'.  Well Betty's appointment is set to last half an hour at least.  Now wonder no one can get a slot! At that point the receptionist called me over and handed me the prescription.
"Thank you very much" I said with a warm and friendly smile which I though would cheer her up.
"While I am here, the Doctor said my husband needs an appointment for a weeks time. Can I book a slot now please?"  If looks could kill blimey, I wish I never asked.
"she sat down in front of the computer screen staring at it and tapping away on the key board for a minute or two,  not very delicately either I may add, when she glared up at me with the mortal words.....
"We have nothing at all, you will have to call at 08.30 on the day to see if we have any cancellations!!"

What is even worse, is that you cannot pre book more that two weeks ahead as the appointment system is closed and cannot be opened yet!

Slice The Pie

I am always one to try to find new ways of earning money online. Especially now that the economy is in the state that it is.  I do many surveys and have joined a couple of good cash-back sites. But, I thought I would let you all know about a nice little earner that is also very enjoyable. 


Slice The Pie is a music review site.  Anyone can join. Once you have registered all you need to do is listen to 90 seconds of a track, then you are ready to write a short review on that track. The genre's range from hip hop, pop, classical, rock...the list is endless.  


The better your review the more you will be paid. It is best to be absolutely 100% honest in your review, and use words that are related to the music.  It is simple and easy to do, and if you like music then this is more of a hobby than a chore.  I have been a member now for about a year and have made a pretty penny from it.  I will continue to do it too as I enjoy it very much.  I must say though, that if you do not like a variety of music (you just like classical for instance), then this may not be for you, as the varied tracks can be very boring, too noisy or just plain rubbish.  But most of the time the tracks are not too bad.  The good thing is, you also get to hear tracks before they are released, as well as tracks that have been out for a while.


Why not give it a try yourself. Register using the link below and see how you get on. You can alway leave if you do not feel it is for you.  But personally, I love it.


Happy listening!

slicethepie.com/?wyd=330086

Cats Are So Laid Back

Cats really are wonderful animals. They live in a little world of their own and as long as us humans are available to allow them to sit on our laps and feed them regularly then they are more than happy.  

I love to watch my cat 'Poppy'.  She is now 15 years old. Most of the time she just sleeps, snores and feeds; but she is a funny little thing when awake.  There was a time when she would chase birds and little creatures in the garden, but now if she sees a bird she cannot be bothered to do the whole hunting thing; instead she will watch our feathered friends in the garden, her eyes wide and her little mouth seems to chatter as she dreams of the hunt.  Her head flits from side to side as she watches them flying past and fluttering on the feeders.  The other day we had a huge pheasant in the garden, just outside of the window where she was sitting, her face was an absolute picture of delight; her blue eyes were wide at the sight of this big bird. I don't think she had seen one before. She jumped down off the back of the chair and quietly and carefully crept out of the cat flap for a closer look. Well, I thought she was actually going to attempt a hunt for once, but I should have known better; she crouched as still as she possibly could be, her eyes wide, and she just stared at the bird as it slowly passed right in front of her. She continued to sit there glued as the pheasant walked down the garden and flew over the fence. This took a good 20 minutes, and all that time she just sat there. I think she was stunned to be honest. I can just imagine what she was thinking 'Cor blimey, can birds really grow that big'.  

I know that cats are well known for sleeping a lot, this is a great time to watch your cat and wonder what they are dreaming. It is so funny when Poppy dreams, her little paws twitch slow then faster and faster as she dreams of chasing birds. It is easier in her dreams as no energy is involved. I think that when she has dreamt of chasing birds, that when she wakes up she believes that she has actually exerted her energy and been on a full scale hunt.  

Yesterday she was asleep at the top of the stairs at around 08.30 when I went upstairs. I gave her a little smooth, she stretched out like a long sausage, looked up at me with a squint in her eye as if to say 'OK, that's enough. Leave me now I need my sleep'.  

Cancelling mobile Account with 3

All I wanted to do yesterday was to cancel my mobile account with 3. What a job that turned out to be. You would think that all you do is cll customer services and they will do if for you, no problem!

You have to be kidding, I was on the phone for a good 20 minutes repeating myself while the Customer Service lady tried to sell me another plan. I told her 4 or five times "No thank you, please just cancel my account. I will be going with T Mobile now' She repeatedly kept offering me the same deal that T Mobile was offering, but by this time I had had enough of her pressurising me and pushing me constantly, she was even talking over me say 'if you just listen to what I have to say'.
I told her "I have listen to you, now please just CANCEL my account". She then put me on hold for 5 minutes, when she returned she carried on the same pressurising sales pitch!!!
In the end I told her VERY angrily "I am now going to hang up, make sure you have cancelled my account". I could hear her still trying to persuade me to stay whilst I hung up.

I was furious.  I have emailed a complaints form to 3 and just thought I would let you all know too.

Thank you, that has made me feel a lot better!!

At Least I Tried

Yesterday was so wet and windy. I hate days like this. There was nothing to do, the daily chores had been completed by ten in the morning.  Mind you, I was up a seven doing the ironing. I worked on the laptop for a little while, doing little writing articles here and there and a few music reviews. I came to the conclusion that I would bake a delicious fruit cake. 'Yes, that's what I will do'. 


So I meandered into the kitchen and got out all the ingredients that I would need. I spotted a jar of ginger preserve i the cupboard. It was one of those with lovely large chunks of ginger in. I had this great idea of adding a couple of large spoonfuls to the cake, you know, to give it zing! I happily went about mixing all the ingredients together, I dipped my finger in the mixture to have a little taste; you have to do that you know, it's professional, I have seen them do it on the TV.  I must say, it tasted gorgeous. I poured the mix into the cake tin and placed it neatly on the centre shelf of the oven.  'This is going to be a good one' I thought to myself.


As the cake cooked, it gave off the most delicious aroma, I could not wait to see the end result. I settled down with a nice cup of tea and a magazine to take my mind of the wonderful smell. I then decided I would pop upstairs and clean the spare bedroom, just to freshen it up. I plodded about upstairs for about 30 minutes. I had completely forgotten about the cake. I rushed down the stairs as fast as my legs would carry me.  


Oh no! The delicious smell of my baking cake had turned to the disastrous smell of burning,  I opened the kitchen door to reveal a haze of smoke. I quickly turned the cooker of took out a rather black looking crispy blob which was supposed to be my cake.  I had to open all the downstairs windows and doors to try and eliminate the smell of burnt cake.


I did contemplate throwing it out for the birds in the garden, but you know what, I don't think that they deserve such a punishment!

Oh well, at least I tried.

Moving Home and Your Pet

All pet owners know how traumatic it can be for their pet when they move home. Not just upsetting for their pet but also for the owner too.  It is difficult enough for us humans to adjust to our new surrounding, but for animals it is even worse. They do not understand what is going on. I have put together some useful tips that I hope will help overcome some of these fears. 

All pets like routine, and when they detect you are packing things up and moving things around, this can be very unsettling for them and may make then feel anxious. There are a few things you can do to help your beloved pet feel at ease in your new home, and decrease the amount of stress they may feel during and after the move.

Whilst you are preparing everything, packing, cleaning, tidying etc, make sure you take some extra time to give your pet attention and thus reassuring them. It must be very alarming to suddenly have such a big change in your normal everyday life.  People moving around, things being packed... it must be very confusing. So spend some time with your pet to assure them that everything is alright.

Try to maintain as much of your normal routine is possible. Feed your pet at the same time and in the same place as you usually would.

When the big day of the move arrives, designated one room in your new home especially for your pet. Make sure windows are not wide open (especially if you have a cat) to prevent them escaping. Put their things into this room. Obviously make sure they have plenty of fresh food and water available. Do not allow anyone into this room while you're settling in and organizing everything. This will help your pet become more established, and give them somewhere to escape to if they feel overwhelmed.

For a while after you have made the move, keep things as familiar as possible. Use your pet’s old water and food bowls. Bring their usual toys, and place them all around the new house so that they have something familiar to make them feel more at ease. Give them some treats so they will associate something positive with the new environment. Substitute some of their usual daily food with the treat to prevent weight gain. Gradually, over a period of 1-3 weeks, introduce your pet to the rest of the house and garden.

Moving might be hard for you, but for your pet it means the disruption of their usual territory. Allow your pet to explore the new home and let them take their time getting used to it and finding their way around. With time, patience and a lot of love, your pet will soon adjust to their new territory before you know it.

Save Our Insects - Create A Meadow

Nature is such a wonderful thing; it is something we can enjoy every day. Wouldn’t it be great to have your own meadow in your back garden, full of stunning wild flowers? Well it is easy to achieve and well worth the effort put in to create it.  Here are a few good tips to help you accomplish a beautiful meadow to be loved by all.

Remove a layer of topsoil from your chosen site. This will also help remove weeds. The roots of perennial weeds such as docks and nettles should be dug out completely. Create a fine seedbed in the subsoil and lightly sow the seed (mixing with barley meal, silver sand or sawdust helps to spread the seed evenly and helps you to see where you've been).

The best time to sow seed is March to April or August to September. You can buy good quality flower and grass seed mixes at your local garden centre. It would be best to avoid very vigorous grasses such as rye-grass, as these will quickly out compete the slower growing wild flowers; which is not what you are trying to achieve. Fine grasses such as bents and fescues are far more beneficial to your meadow. Try to sow wild flower species that are found in your area. Seeds should always be from local sources. If seeds are very fine, you may need to mix the seed with damp sand to help it spread more uniformly. When watering use fine spray hose.

Once the seeds have germinated mow every 6-8 weeks with the mower blades on the highest setting; this will help encourage root growth and will also prevent the grasses from overpowering the wildflowers. In the second year have a mowing regime appropriate to the flowering time of the meadow.

There are two ways to manage a meadow and this will depend on when most of the plants flower. Spring flowering meadows are not mowed until after midsummer, they are then kept short into the autumn, whereas Summer flowering meadows are mowed in the spring up until about June, they will then be left to flower until late autumn. Mowing should be continued once most of the seed is ripe. It is best to leave the hay on the ground for a few days as this will help shed the seed back into the.  This may be a little unsightly, but it will provide you with a stunning meadow the following year.

You could add some native wild flowers to your beds and borders. Not only will this add a wonderful enchantment to your garden, but it will attract so many of our stunning insects helping them to flourish.