Saturday 27th October, 2012

Today was expensive. It also opened with the rain that was forecast for Monday. I waited for it to stop at lunchtime before taking Pepsi to the vet. She is turning into a proper little problem child, for although the mange has almost disappeared he prescribed calcium supplements at 50y a tub for her - apparently feeding dogs bones doesn’t give them enough. I left her there to have a shampoo and set (15y) while I went shopping. Oh, and they suggested I worm her again. The two pills only cost 10y but I can’t see she would have worms anyway because she only eats what I feed her and it is always cooked properly. Total bill 130y including more injections, but although I need to take her back again I think there will be no more jabs.

Having sought advice and personal experience from Old Conways, some of a similar age but some much older (the beauty of advancing years is that there are always people you know who suffer from the same conditions) regarding the efficacy of glucosamine in the alleviation of my knee problem, I received conflicting accounts. For some it worked (at least partially) for others it didn’t. Suggestions were also infinitely sensible although me being me some of them will never happen - although the traditional Chinese medicine is a definite avenue which I may well explore for reasons which will become apparent.

The chemist I always use knows which drugs I always buy so I stick with them. Anything out of the ordinary I ask for they simply give me their computer, I type in the English and they translate it online. They didn’t have any glucosamine but asked me to wait while someone went and got some. I take four drugs regularly (excluding diclofenac, of which I still have a decent supply from the UK) and monthly they cost me 48y. Sixty glucosamine pills were - wait for it - 238y!!!!! I nearly died. However, the knee problem is neither a dull ache (as I always envisaged arthritis to be) nor mild pain - it bloody hurts like hell and has me limping like a cripple, so it is not something I wish to put up with. So, sixty tablets at one a day will last for two months, making it 117y a month, right? No way Jose - two twice a day, meaning that was just 15 days supply!! Perseverance with it will represent about 8% of my monthly salary. Understandably I am half hoping it will not be any good for me so that I can try Chinese medicine, I am sure crushed desiccated seahorses and rhino horn would be cheaper. I will continue with it for a month and see if there is any effect. Otherwise this one item is going to cost ten times the cost of all the others combined.

I have just discovered how to boil liver for the family so it doesn’t burn and get stuck to the bottom of the pan - have the water boiling before you put it in instead of  bringing cold to the boil.

Enough for now, I need to be up earlyish in the morning and I still haven’t eaten myself yet.

Sunday 28th       1830

A long day indeed. I left before nine on a cool morning shrouded  in mist and taught the morning class, who were fine. Faced with the prospect of a four hour break I decided that was a game of soldiers I didn’t want to play so came home, put the bike back on charge and rested, even managing to get a little sleep. On the return journey riding out by the lake I passed large groups of students in their uni jackets with the leaders carrying flags on poles - presumably volunteers going somewhere to do some good deeds, although quite where is anyone’s guess because there is not exactly a lot of life by the lake apart from fishermen.

The second class was fine but the third were little shits. I explained to them at the start that a well behaved class did some work and were then rewarded with a game. They have the distinction of being the only class this year not to play one and at the end I drummed it into them that the reason was the half a dozen or so naughty boys. It will be interesting to see if I get them again whether they improve.

When I finished I was starving so went for an early dinner, having to wait for half an hour until the sweet pork appeared then I shopped for Bolognese ingredients for Wednesday. I could cheerfully go to bed right now but of course that would see me up in the small hours. But blimey, my knee is 85% better today! I don’t for one moment believe the glucosamine has worked that rapidly, although if it did then I reckon prolonged use should see me able to just takes one a day instead of four, which would bring the cost down to a sensible level. I will take the full dose until this bottle runs out and see what happens before deciding on what to do next.

I know we don’t celebrate Christmas here but in the past we have gone to Old Cologne with some students for a roast turkey. I have not enjoyed it, so I mentioned to Kevin that I didn’t really want to do it this year for that reason plus it is too expensive and the food has gone downhill. He is all for us (us meaning me!) making our own Xmas dinner - but what? I have never seen a turkey in this city, the chickens are all scrawny, there is no such thing as a joint of meat and how the hell do you cook a roast for six in two mini ovens successfully? I will have to trawl through recipe websites for ideas.