eric byrne

Good Afternoon Everybody, Been raining all day so far,although stopped at the moment,dosnt look good for the rest of the day.I was going to cut the grass to-day,well at least I have a good excuse not to.Probably start re-decorating the small bedroom on Monday,sister Irene wants to come a help choose the wallpaper,shes pretty good at the interior decorating side of things,her poor hubby never seems to stop doing house improvements,shes just finished having the outside of her house re-roughcast,talked her neighbour into doing it also to match her property,what a gal.Problem for me is she is so fussy,itll take about 20 stores visits over at least two days to get the right paper-why did I agree? Hi Judy, hope you solved the starting probs with the RV,and it didnt cost too many dollars to fix,no doubt you have been glad to get back on the road again,have a great time. Judy, Hope you havent been too uncomfortable on the food stall,Ill have a hot dog with mustard please and a diet coke,yeah Ill also pay for the freight charges,hope you have a great time at the grad and lake parties to-morrow. Oh my niece Lianne phoned today to thank us for Max's 4th birthday pressie,Max came on the phone to thank me personally,I asked him how he enjoyed the visit to Blair Drummond Safari Park ,and which animals he liked the best,the monkeys he said and the elephants,actually you woudnt correct a 4 year old would you as there are no monkeys there,but you can get a boat out that takes you to chimpanzee island inside the park,havent been since Jennifer was small,think I could take Max again before I go back to work. Hi Bud having more time in my hands to relax and enjoy myself and with the weather currently as it is I have spent some time surfing the boards,got to your pics of your recumbant bikes posted almost exactly a year ago,I have never seen one before ,so these pics really interested me.I am trying to imagine myself on one,how comfortable is it,obviously ergonomically its pedalling seems to be pretty efficient with the distances you can travel.You probably started cycling on the more conventional type of cycles,how did you become involved with the recumbant bike?Did you see my pic of the conference bike on Millport,I hadnt seen one of these either until my Millport visit. Have a great day everyone.

Thanks Doc, Just out of bed,put the laptop on to check whats going on,now thats what I really like to start the day with,a great news story.Please pass on to your sister my very best wishes,and thank you again for the lift you have given me.

Youre right Randy about the spitfire,never thought how they got that in there,maybe it was there first and they built around it ?.

Good Evening Everyone, As you may have guessed with the pictures thats been posted in my daughter and her boyfriend Chris has arrived for dinner,couldnt resist the temptation to drag him upstairs to the study and get weaving posting in my pics,he is such a nice guy,he was happy to oblige,I did most of the work after he showed me what to do,but I still left him with some of the trickier bits.Hope you enjoy them as much as I did taking the pics and sending them in. Bud glad you get the tour de France,dont get it here unless I would subscribe to Sky Sports type channel,think the Scottish and British open golf starts after the world cup,isnt this great,and off on hols I can enjoy viewing during the day.Real surprise Germany being knocked out though,Spain were so good and energetic,the Germans just couldnt get it all to-gether as they did in the previous rounds,so its a Holland V Spain final on Sunday night,I am going to watch it at my sisters Irenes house,with all the guys (and gals)so the atmosphere will be great.Got to go Sally will be getting annoyed with me up here leaving her with our guests.See you later

Below are pictures of the a conference I attended in Stirling University. These two pictures are photographs of oil painting I did some time ago, just thought Id share for fun These pictures are of Anniesland College, where I teach. Thanks for having a look at my photos (and paintings) Feel free to leave comments!!

Hi guys, Just wanted to share some of my pictures with you. I am on holiday now,so more time for me to be posting in. I will send them in blocks of four. In this batch you will find Kelvingrove Museum Glasgow, Inside a spitfire and well I dont think the next two require explaination.. In this batch Still inside Kelvingrove,my favourite statue in Scotland ,King Robert the Bruce,in battle Armour,I went yesterday to the actual battlefield to take a pic of this statue for posting in.Suspended heads just a curio. In this batch pictures from Inside the oldest house in Glasgow. Batch 4 contains pictures of the Glasgow Cathedral and the necropolis,where the very wealthy were buried in Victorian times,Glasgows wealth was built on shipbuilding and heavy engineering but also the Glasgow Tobacco Barons and their trading links with Virginia USA.If I remember their musoleums were built,to show off their wealth but also to keep the resurrectionists out,who would have carried their corpses to the nearby Royal Infirmary for dissection by the surgeons there. Batch 5 I just liked this headstone,adn after this is the museum of religions,just across the street from the oldest house in Glasgow,it is deceptive,since its only a few years old,built in keeping with the architectural style on the oldest house.This painting shows the typical Glasgow tenement housing of the Victorian and Edwardian eras,many still exist to-day,I myself was born and brought up in one very similar,only left to get married when I was 23.This is the original painting,I have the copy of this in my living room in pride of place,I loved my tenement childhood,what a different world then,parents would come out on the streets to play with the children,skipping ropes,peever,gird and cleek,nobody locked their doors,probably because no one owned anything worth stealing ah who said we have made progress? Batch 6 has some pictures of my fundraising walk in Millport. So thats it, feel free to leave comments and I'll try get back to you. Eric.

Good Evening Everyone, Sunny with brocken cloud to-day,warm winds blowing, excellent weather for walking. Aw what a shame Judy,about difficulties re-starting the RV,if I could only drop by and give you a push I would,hope you get moving soon,isnt this all part of the holiday fun though,anyway it could have happened miles from the nearest cafe/shops? Ginny,101 degrees boy thats hot,I was in Malta some years back and that was the norm in summer,why not visit Scotland for the summer?bring your fur coat and dont forget the brolly and the wellies. Stephanie,great to hear from you,Yes,I am an offical lung cancer advocate for the Roy Castle LC.Org,and hope to be as supportive to their aims as possible,they have invited me to become a media spokesperson for them,training provided,well as an old extrovert,I couldnt possibly turn them down.By the way,you may not know about Roy Castle,well he was a very versatile and popular TV enterainer,who I have watched just about all my life,he could sing, dance and play any musical instrument you gave him,his main instrument was the trumpet,he was a non-smoker that developed Lung Cancer,common opinion was he had been passive smoking in cabaret clubs and bars for years ,breathing in all the cigarette smoke,he unfortunately died some years ago,and this LC support organisation came into being,to fight this terrible disease. My sister took Max to Blair Drummond Safari Park to-day as a birthday treat,I didnt go since I was pre-booked for my cancer support visit to-day,its a great day out,with all types of wild animals and amusements for the kids,so he would have really enjoyed himself.I have a good story to share about this park .Some years ago a teacher friend of mine,used to work in a branch of the social services,she worked with real tough problematic kids from Glasgow,well she arranged a bus trip for these kids to visit Blair Drummond.The vehicle entered the lion enclosure and stopped for a while to observe a pride of lions having a lazy siesta about the trees some distance away.Alison noticed the back door of the bus was open,and a couple of the kids had got out for a wander,next minute the zebra painted land rover cut in in front of the kids and pulled them into the landrover,covered by another ranger with a high powered rifle.Alison had to report and witness in the head rangers office these young rascals bollicking, when finished,one of the youngsters chimed in with "But mister we didnae touch the lions" Must dash Germany V Spain is just about to start,thinks Germany is going to win,and probably pick up the trophy in the final against Holland on Sunday,they are just playing so well.

Thanks Ann,loved it,nothing like a smile put on your face first thing in the morning.

Hi Heather, Welcome to LCSC,sorry to hear about your dads dx,it is unfortunate that some medical professionals just love to play God,they are so full of themselves and intellectual snobbery,who dont give tuppence for the listeners of their rumblings.My GP gave me two years to live (its almost up)my oncologist offers me 15-20 years if not a complete cure-guess what, I am going along with my oncologist. Iam afraid I cant give you any thoughts on oral chemo,I had mine done intravenously,there are buddies here who may help you with their experiences and knowledge.You may also consider referring to Dr West or Dr Wiess in the cancergrace website,They can respond to any questions you may have regarding your father. I wish you and your family well for the difficult times you are all facing,and I will pray for you that you all have a better outcome than the one envisaged by your doctor.

Hi Ginny, Sorry to hear about your friends,I also stopped smoking Annette on the the day of my dx,regetting that I ever started of course.It is unfortunate that an attitude that prevails here in the UK at not only the general public level here but also at the highest levels of government and medical professionals,that LC is largely a self inflicted disease.This is self evident that in the UK in that 34000 citizens die each year from LC,which is more than all the other common cancers here put to-gether,and yet the funds allocated from the global sum available in the UK towards cancer research is only 4%.It is the hypocracy of the Government,who rake in Billions? in tobacco taxes which is used to fund so much of their public programmes,and yet give scant notice of the needs of the citizens who have provided this money.If the Government were really serious about LC maybe they could make smoking illegal,no thank you they would rather keep things the way they are,probably thinking maybe the Americans will come to the rescue?

Good Afternoon Everyone, Weather overcast,some scattered showers,warm low seventies.Decided not to start the bedroom refurb to-day,still feeling a bit lazy,went round to my work buddies house instead ,Bill and May,made Sally and I most welcome,great blethers getting up to date with whats going on in each others lives.Off to Cumbernauld to-night to my sister Irenes,handing in a birthday card and pressie for her grandson,Max who is four to-morrow,hope he will be there,he is so funny,you always leave his company smiling,so if you are ever feeling down visit Max. Tomorrow is the first Wednesday of the month,so its cancer support day at Stobhill Hospital,the group have been invited to visit the newly opened Marie Curie Hospice,been ordered to arrive sharp as apparently we are to attend a relaxation class before the tour starts,will meet Robert Lowe again,UKs longest surviving? sclc and nsclc patient, seventeen years now.We always have a great laugh to-gether,sharing the same sense of humour,cancer?forget it in his company. Bud,just as well you brought along Marie fishing otherwise no evening dinner,well done Marie.Donny, hope you are feeling better and can find a trailer that suits you to enjoy a wee break from the routine.Bye for now. that suits and you can get away for a time to enjoy yourself,and that you are feeling much improved. Bye for now.

Good Evening Everyone, Weather another cloudy day with intermittent heavy showers,kept me mainly indoors except for running Sally up to the bank and a bit of shopping,although the clouds have now began to disperse and the sun has come out to give us a lovely evening. Very lazy day,read the newspapers,picked up Patrick Swazes book"Time of my life" again that I started but never completed,read it to completion.No footie or tennis today,so I am really quite bored,I am used to having something each day to keep me occupied,but everyones out at work, what a bummer.Front bedroom needing redecorating, think I will start that to-morrow, just to keep me buzy. Seems you all have had a great July 4th,forgot about Canada Day on the !st Bruce,hope you had a good time also. Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend everyone,maybe Ill have more to talk about to-morrow?

Hi Bruce, Sorry tp hear about Deborah,please pass on to her ,my best wishes and prayers for her full return to health.

Good Evening Everybody, Weather to-day back to the Scottish usual for July heavy showers and windy,couldnt leave the Church,after service this morning the rain was coming down cats and dogs,my umbrella in the boot of my car,in the supermarket carpark,typical, look on the bright side this is what keeps Scotland so green. Judy, Hope you and the family including your new puppy enjoyed the boating day out,fireworks and the barbie.Wish I was there sounds like great fun. KatieB,know what you mean with gas prices in the UK,I traded down from my Bentley to a Ford Fiesta for the same reasons,no only kidding,people who can afford to run a Bentley,wont be concerned about the price of filling up. Bud,community swimming pool,what a great thing to have access to,I would be in it every day of my holidays,then some.Does relieve you of upkeep and the maintenance.Lovely poem,I am quiet used to public speaking,but I would still find it a challenge to read out and keep the rythm going-well done you.Loved the grooms attire,smart but casual. Judy,good to hear you are still having fun with your travels,sorry Stans got to work to-day,lets hear it for everyone who has to work on a public holiday,day.Poor Randy gotta sleep though it also. Well,with a glass in my hand(OK I know its only 6.30pm) charged with the best of Scotland (oh forget the malts)I raise my glass of Whyte and MacKays and American Ginger Ale(a great marriage)to wish all my new American friends (and Bruce) a Happy Independance Day "Up the Revolution,Down with the British".

Hi Judy, Sorry meant to say 1.75 pints /litre

Hi Judy, $3 a gallon?well at £1.20 a litre here(1.75 pints approx to the gallon)means roughly £5.00 per gallon,havent checked the money markets for while lets say $1.50 = £1 therefore 5x $1.50 = $7.50 per gallon in the Uk.Think you are the lucky ones.

Good Morning Everybody, Cloudy bright this morning, warm, wind has gone.Never posted yesterday,I had such a "busy"day,out and about in the morning shopping with Sally and passing on to Rhoda her retirement pressie,tearful goodbye and that was only me,we will still keep in touch.Home to the world cup footie,watch Holland knock out Brasil,surprise,surprise.Imeadiately afterwards Andy Murry being knocked out by Rafael Nadal at wimbers,no surprise no surprise,that Nadal is so good, Andys boogieman.Then to top off a great day,Uruguay V Ghana what an exciting game,extra time and penalties,I wanted Ghana to win particulaly since they were the last African team left in the competition,but they were put out. Bud thanks for your interesting story regarding cycling routes to work,your rbent website is so good and the presentation letter and maps were so professional,I really hope you got some favourable response from the Fort Worth bike park director.Your 4th July plans sound great,you mentioning the pool party has me envious,having a swimming pool at home is the ultimate status symbol in Scotland,so you would be regarded as being quite posh here,think I will bask in some reflected glory here by telling my friends I have a buddy in America,who owns a speed boat and has a house with a swimming pool.I would probably think in your climate a swimming pool is more a necessity rather than a luxury. Judy,loved your stars and stripes,hope you have a great independace day,and enjoy the fireworks display.This is my first independance day,sharing with American friends,its kinda infectious,think I will call my friends round to-morrow and have a barbie.Should we have a chorus of "Down with the British" in keeping with the fun? Good to hear from you again Donny,hope you are feeling much better,intrigued to know what duck races are,would love to cycle your Platte River Parkway cycle route,sounds really beautiful,Ill bring along my camera. Think everyone agees we want to see our cities and towns made more bike friendly,and as Bud says think of the benefits of using less petrol (gas) I am going to fill up this morning and it will cost me £1.20 per litre,you do the maths to convert into dollars per gallon,think you get a better deal? Bye for now ,have a great holiday weekend "Down with the British".

Hi Sharon, Welcome to LCSC,I am sure you will find great comfort and support here,I am quite new here and it has been a blessing,to have discovered such a haven,I have met so many wonderful new friends here,reading about their experiences,and supportive comments not forgetting their humour,has improved my ability to cope a hundred fold. I understand what you are feeling at this moment in time,almost two years ago at my dx,me and my family went through the same difficulties,there seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel,however with time and the support of friends and relatives,and all the buddies here,I have managed to take back my life and enjoy it as I did prior to my dx. God bless you Sharon,it is a difficult road to travel,but you can cope and I hope you will find some rest here,look after yourself,and pass on to your husband my very best wishes.

Hi Carol, Thank you so much for your good news,it is for your testimony and others like you, that brings so much hope to so many people here,that I visit every day, I wish you many years of similar postings.God bless.

Good afternoon Everyone, Weather here cloudy and showers,nice warm breese to blow away the cobwebs,very comfortable. Gosh Bud,you sure pile these miles up,I never bought a bike-yet,I am still contemplating how much use will I put it to? I love the actual thought of the enjoyment I would get from cycling,and also the contribution towards getting fit again,my main concern,is the volume of road traffic,it has increased so much since I used to cycle in my youth.Some years ago one of my teaching colleagues Ronnie would cycle to college every day,the college was sited adjacent to a duel carriageway,one morning as Ronnie was nearing the college gates,the driver of a parked car,opened his door without looking and Ronnie went straight into it,unfortunately he fell in the path of a bus bringing students to college,and died under its wheels,I have since then had a bit of concern about cycling in traffic. There are some good offtrack cycle paths near me,but we are only taking about a mile or two,your 200kms,would just make me feel rediculous,mind you with a wee bit of research I might be able to find longer stretches elsewhere,need to get a bike rack fitted to the car? Well Jennifer turned down the Edinburgh teaching job,you wont believe me,but she phoned me half an hour ago,to tell me they phoned her back and offered her the same job in the centre of Glasgow,starts on the 19th July,she is so excited,Ill soon be putting my wallet away -hoorah. Out early this morning with Sally choosing a personal retiral gift for my friend and admin assistant Rhoda,nearly 20 years weve worked to-gether,oh I hate change,I am missing her already,she will have a formal presentation from the college she has worked there for 31 years,but I still wanted to get her something separate,wifes decision,handbag mirror?like the old fashioned ones that you had this powder in,only now its two hinged mirrors,not what I would have chosen,but I am assured by Sally she will love it,dont know what was wrong with a fishing pole?Also got her a nice retirement card,will take it into college to-morrow,bye for now every one,see you to-morrow.

Good Evening Everyone, Yes its me again,sorry,thanks Randy for sorting out my little error,goodness knows how you managed it,hope you arent working too hard.Judy,I am sure jealous of you managing to sleep for 12 hours!!think we sould enter you for the next olympics,now thats what I call a sport,we will just ignore Bud,and his 200 mile weekend cycle runs,what a hero he is to me. Judy MI you really are funny,imagine going to the bother of looking up crockery and biccies,but well done you,I did think crockery was in common use in America? knew that biccies might throw you a bit,should have said cookies,-right?. Jennifer arrived late this afternoon as planned,interview went well,though she wouldnt take the job if offered,due to two hours travelling/day, and £75/week train fares,lesson prep on her own time unpaid, say 3 hours/day,didnt make the hourly rate of £11.40 seem very attractive.The interviewer phoned later to offer her the job,which Jennifer did turn down.However they did have their main base in Glasgow,and they would keep her details onfile if anything turned up there.Jennifer did tell her if the job was in Glasgow,she would have accepted.Yes I am a few pounds lighter,wont say how much exactly,but it is for a good cause,isnt it? Seems Ross left a message on the ansaphone when we were out and we missed his request time for the visit,we will re-schedule for Friday. My neighbour John,visited to tell me about a live broadcast in two Glasgow cinemas,from Masstrich?by Andre Rieu,so I have booked two tickets for the end of July.John is a great fan,and he introduced his music to me about a year ago,since then I have been buying every DVD of his I can lay my hands on.I was going to book a couple of tickets of his current UK tour but for a good seat I wasnt prepared to pay £400 per seat.John was visiting his sister in Australia last year and by co-incidence Andre was on tour there ,by the time John tried to book there were only VIP tickets left,so John bought two,when I asked how much they cost,he embarressingly replied £900 each.(John lost his wife Patricia last year to breast cancer) so I said John why not?Dont know if you have heard of Andre,but if there is a heaven I bet he has a booking for eternity there.I have a friend who considers himself a classical music expert,loves Mozart,who dosnt?but he is a bit sniffy about Andre,ignore him Andre is just brilliant in my book,Google him,see what you think.Goodnight everyone, pleasent dreams.

Hi Guys OOOps,seems I have mistakenly posted this mornings air in Members Photo Album.Gosh really sorry for the inconvience,need to watch I dont do that one again. Good Morning Everone, Another fine sunny morning here,looks like another hot day-whoopee,ok I do get a bit overexcited about sunny days in Scotland,these days are cherished here,we are not Florida or Texis you know.Do you know my lawn is starting to turn brown? now with our normal rain fall,this is pretty rare. Spent the day in the front garden yesterday,mowing the lawn,,went to B&Q and bought some plants for my borders,then hosed the lawn,the gardens now looking "Braw" as we say in Scotland. Sallys downstairs busing herself with the housework,we are putting in a wee bit extra effort into making the house looking a bit more presentable,since Ross our minister,after Sunday service, requested a home visit,on Wednesday if suitable,time to be arranged,so time to look out the best crockery and biccies. My daughter Jennifer is going to Edinburgh this afternoon for a part time teaching job-teaching English as a second language(I have just recently paid £1000 for her to obtain a post grad diploma to qualify her for this type of work)despite her already having a MA in English Literature,(god knows how much that one cost me?)oh the joys of parenthood.She is unemployed at the moment following the end of her course,or in her thespian parlance "resting".She phoned last night to say she will pay us a visit following her interview,got a feeling I am going to be a few pounds lighter after she leaves and I am not talking weight here.I am looking forward to seeing her,she is a great kid,hope her timing dosnt clash with Ross. Hi Donny,great to hear from you,would love to meet,and have a duet or two on guitars.Hey whats all this unwell stuff?really sorry to hear this,seems its going on longer than I would have expected?whats causing this?sorry I may have missed one of your postings,where you have given an explaination?what ever the cause, I wish, you a full and speedy recovery, my friend. Have a great day everyone,whatever you are doing.

Hi Keli, Best wishes for a successful outcome in your clinical trail,five years?count me in for following your journey every step of the way.My chemo consisted of 4 cycles of cisplatin and vinorobean(Dont how to spell it)I sailed through without any side effects,kept my hair (and the gray)did have a bit of constipation though,great to have you on board.

Hi Mary, My apologies for my late welcome,but I got here in the end,good to meet a new friend,I am sure you are going to enjoy being here,looking forward to getting to know you.

Good Morning Everyone, Beautiful sunny morning,looks like its going to be a scorcher today (70s).What will I do today,cut the grass? start decorating the front bedroom?pick up a couple of books from the library and have a quiet read out the back,or something else?let you know later how the day went. I mailed in to you a rather long winded boring report on my most enjoyable conference at Stirling yesterday,it was a bit political also regarding the UKs support and funding of cancer. After I clicked submit,it disappeared into the ether,you have been spared I think?I dont really have the stamina to re-write and it may have been a bit inappropriate for this column,I did ask the panel to reflect on the lack of fairness in the distribution of funds allocated to lung cancer research being only 4% of the total budget also the lack of progress of improving the post 5 year survival rate of 7% over the last 30 years remaining unchanged,the panels replies were quite frank eg lung cancer is not sexy,dosnt involve children,and mainly self-inflicted,this cancer advocancy is going to be much more of a challenge than I thought it would be. Anyway it wasnt all doom and gloom,lots of positive issues were raised in the discussion groups,which will be collated into a report to the Scottish Parliament,and I feel I made good contribution to the proceeds,I of course mentioned the value of support given to cancer survivors,by such organisations as Lungevity,cancergrace,CBN and the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Org.I will also receive a copy of the report in due time. Best part was meeting a lot of lovely people,from all types of backgrounds,professional cancer pratitioners and suvivors alike,met a great guy Tom, a 17 year LC survivor,unfortunately I forgot to exchange our contact details,maybe I will meet him again at some future conference?I also got to meet Nichoa Sturgeon,hoped to get a pic of her and me to-gether,but she left the conference after her opening speech,she really is a nice person. Took some pics at the conference,the Uni campus,surrounding landscapes also the Wallace Monument and on the way home,I stopped off at the battlefield of Bannockburn and took some pics of my favourite statue in Scotland, Robert the Bruce on horseback wearing his battle armour,I will post them in whenever I get hold of Chris,or back to Ned to ask another favour?See you,have a really nice day whatever you are doing.