Jump to content

eric byrne

Moderators
  • Posts

    1,491
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    20

Everything posted by eric byrne

  1. Good Evening Paul, Welcome to LCSC,sorry about being at the Coos tail in replying to your post,I have been so busy these last few days.I am always pleased to read of new members dropping by,when I first arrived here,I was made to feel so welcome, everyone here was so friendly and supportive,something I am sure you will soon discover for yourself. I am really sorry to hear of your Mesothelioma dx,I am a five year survivor of NSCLC,my GP is a bit miffed about that I am sure,since he only gave me two years max LOL,I am that stubborn I just wanted to stay around to prove him wrong.I am determined to go on and on and on. I live in Scotland,I dont think you can travel further on the planet to New Zealand from Scotland before you start coming home again.I would love to visit it one day,I appreciate the country is as beautiful as Scotland. I look forward to getting to know you,check out the other forums such as Just for Fun,and the Photo album,I am a keen amateur photographer and many of my pics of Scotland are there,also some of my trips to the USA. Bye for now.
  2. Good Evening Everyone, Thanks Bruce and Dianne for opening todays air.Yes our weather too has got a bit colder.Monday morning,beautiful sunny day,not a cloud in the sky,however,frosty,had to scrape the frost off my car,mind you, just the side windows,my car has heated front and back screens,love the front screen heater,its amazing its only recently that manufacturers here started to fit them at the front?and yet the rear screen has always been heated?. Sorry I have been a bit remiss recently about posting,so busy,Sally moved into her new home a week last Sunday.Adjusting to her new situation is tough on her,I have however,been spending a lot of daytime with her,taking her shopping,also had a few restaurant meals to-gether.She wants me to stay in the evening to watch some TV to-gether,even suggesting I stay overnight,I have refused since I really want have some time on my own getting settled into a new way of living on my own.I still take Sally to church on Sunday mornings,then up to my sister Dots in the afternoon.She has been going to the local community centre on Tuesdays,Thursdays and Fridays at mid day,its mainly women who attend,they have a meal,followed by games of Bingo and a raffle.I did accompany Sally to the community centre last Thursday evening,they occassionally have prize Bingo on in the evenings,we played several games,I did'nt win one,in fact,when someone shouted "Game" on a card for a full house,I still had about twenty numbers still to go,which is I think remarkable since there are only 90 numbers in total.However I had bought 7 strips of raffle tickets,the first number called was on one of my strips,I was presented with a bottle of champagne,I promise you the next number called was also on a strip of mine,this time I was given a bottle of wine,two or three numbers later,I won another prize,a box of toiletries.I was getting a bit embarrassed at my luck,I was conscious at the looks I was getting from ladies,thinking,Eric dont dare win another prize,lest these ladies will all be handbagging me.Sally was interested in the bottles of course,wondering will I be taking them home?,I had a better idea,got to try and ingratiate myself with the ladies,I returned the two bottles to be re-entered into the raffle,saying that neither my wife or I drink alcohol,I was thanked and later in the evening presented with two boxes of sweets,(candies).Dont think Sally was best pleased LOL. I was out on last Friday evening for a meal with my former teaching colleagues attending a "leaving do",over thirty years ago I had a student who was with me for the three years of his college course,he went onto further studies, later I got him started into teaching, initially part time then eventually full time.Stephen had decided to go on a sabbatical,he is a mountain climber,and is currently taking a course to become a professional teacher of mountain climbing.Stephen recalled an incident in my class all these years ago,when teachers were still using blackboards and chalk,yes I am that old,the students had taken my duster,and tapped chalk dust all over my desk chair,they waited apparently for quite some time as walked about the classroom floor,fully into my lesson eventually I finally went over and sat in my chair,oblivious to the chalk dust.I could'nt recall the incident,so I just had to ask Stephen what was my reaction,when I discovered my seat of my pants being covered with chalkdust.His reply,the students were really worried I would fly off the handle at them,he said I actually burst out laughing,complimenting them on the success of their prank.I was relieved to hear that,it must have been one of my good mood days. Time to go,goodnight everyone,enjoy the rest of "Hump Day" us retired folks dont really have hump days anymore?,mind you I still miss my college holidays.Bye.
  3. Hi Everyone, Today I attended the launch of the Scottish Detect Lung Cancer Early Campaign in Edinburgh.The Scottish Minister for Health Alex Neil delivered an interesting and thought provoking speech on the Scottish Governments support for patients diagnosed with Cancer,particularly Lung Cancer.My story is being used in the campaign to urge people to get to their doctors timeously if they suspect theres something not quite right with their health. I was also interviewed along with other lung cancer survivors present, about our respective lung cancer journeys.These interviews were also filmed.I was told that the link to these filmed interviews would be sent onto us later. The above link is going to be aired on Scottish Television during commercial breaks,beginning to-night during Emmerdale Farm and Prime Suspect. You can find the whole publicity campaign on the website getcheckedearly.org I think Scotland has done November Lung Cancer Month proud.
  4. Good Evening Everyone, Just for the record Bruce,I was awake early this morning,first signs of dawn 6.30am by 7.00am fully daylight (dark by 5.00pm). Spent my first night at home alone last night,It went OK,TV progs are good on Sundays,then online for a while,quiet read in bed before falling asleep.Phone rang about 7.00am,Sally desperate for me to visit and fix the TV,its not working,she sat all last night without it,did'nt want to bother me.She had somehow used the source bottom to move offline,fixed in 2mins,she did'nt know about the source button.I missed my gym in the morning,en route to it I just felt like giving it a miss so I returned home.Spent the morning instead changing all my bedding,what a wrassle trying to get the duvet into its fresh cover sheet,definately a two person job.Hoovered all the upstairs rooms (well Dysoned really,dos'nt sound right does it?).I also cleaned out my study,got rid of a lot of clutter,so its looking really tidy and smart. Picked up Sally,we were going to-gether to claim our vouchers from Argos,Penny the manager nice as ever,said £150 worth of vouchers are being sent via the post to Sally's home,I did enquire how many weeks does she expect it to take until they arrive?.By the end of this week she replied,you have got to admire her confidence.Leaving Argos,I decided to treat Sally to a meal in Airdries best restaurant,Guidies,the food is just super,you must give it a visit,even on a Monday afternoon it was really busy,is nobody at work in Scotland?.I took Sally home and sat for a while,I know how anxious she is being left on her own,she suggested I just stayed for the evening,including overnight.I had to decline,we have got to adjust to living separate lives.I am trying to get the right balance with the time I spend in her company.Some friends said I should break all ties with her but I cannot do so,she is finding her situation so difficult to cope with. Yoga to-morrow morning,Flu Jab at 1.30pm Ouch.I have been asked to work Thursday and Friday at Front of house,so I will miss my gym and Yoga class,also my lunches both days with my gym buddies,well I suppose my waistline will benefit. Time to go,check out my facebook then bed.Goodnight everyone,bye.
  5. Good Evening Everyone, Good on you Donna opening the Air.Bruce,our clocks went back one hour this morning at 2am,it was dark here just after 5pm,my brain cannot figure out what time is sunup will be tomorrow,think it will be lighter than Saturday,possibly 7am?.I will keep you posted.Temps here still unusually mild ,ave 16C,still frost free mornings,it cannot last. Sally was due to move to her new home yesterday,I had signed up to steward the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation Spooky Welly Walk,I had guessed it starting about 10am,2 mile walk around Glasgow green with children and parents,done and dusted by 11am.Jennifer and Chris would take Sally to the supermarket to stock up with groceries,then we would all meet up to move Sally's personal belongings into her new home.As Robert Burns said "The best laid plans O' mice and men".When I arrived at the Winter gardens in Glasgow Green,I discovered the Stewards were not going to escort everyone around the Green but we would be given a station to stand at and give route directions to everyone participating,further there was no starting time,it was a drop in walk,destined to finish by 4pm,so it was anticipated there would be approx 3000 walkers appearing between 11am to 4pm,further,only 11 Stewards turned up out of 30 who signed up,so there would be no relief,we were all expected to stand at our stations throughout.I phoned Jennifer to cancel Sally's move,she was really angry about the arrangements and urged me arrange decent break times,or decline to participate.Well after standing at my stations from 10am until just after 1pm,I was feeling tired standing so long,feeling cold and hungry,I just phoned the co-ordinator to tell her I had had enough,I was going home.She was very understanding and thanked me for my support.I did at least get some great pics of the walkers in their costumes,the kids were wonderful,they were all only to pleased to pose for me,usually in their most scary pose,I downloaded them into facebook,think I may post them in here too?.Many of the parents wanted to buy the pics I took,I could only offer them the possibility that the Roy Castle org may use them and post them into their website?. Sunday morning,the move,Sally high as a kite with anxiety,sober,but pleading with me to let her have some alcohol,even just one glass of wine,it was hard resisting her,but Jennifer was due to arrive with Chris at 10am,I just could'nt oblige Sally as Jennifer would explode at my weakness,luckily Jennifer was prompt and Sally realised there was no way she would get her glass of wine.The move in went so well,really it was just Sally's wardrobe to move.Sally was'nt up to shopping so Jennifer and Chris set off to the supermarket for her,in their absence it was back to Sally pleading for a drink again,just one, etc,etc,I did'nt give in.We spent a pleasent enough afternoon together all four of use,Jennifer and Chris,spending most of the time reassuring Sally she will be OK,recognising her anxieties as only being natural that she would soon readjust.I will visit her daily in supporting her,running her here and there, shopping ,whatever. So here I am up in my study online,posting in,never been alone before,so I will no doubt find it strange and uncomfortable for a while,what was that noise I just heard from downstairs? woooo. I have been to the supermarket myself,buying only what I like LOL,just put a washing on, hope I have put in the right ammount of soap capsules in and fab cond,I have still another load to do to follow.Cooking really is going to be a big challenge for me,going to focus on healthy eating and losing some weight. Think I will stop now,got to realise your patience is finite and I am not writing a novel.Here with all the free time I have maybe I should LOL,goodnight everyone,Woooo.
  6. Hi Michelle, Sorry for the late reply,seems I had overlooked your post.I can understand your friends reaction to you,regarding Don,it does take a lot of confidence for the listener to make an adequate and considered reply in supporting you without risking saying the wrong thing. Crass things like "you'll get over it" or "look to the future not the past".All of us have had the experience of loss,parents, or perhaps as I have, the loss of my youngest sister Linda,I think its just that bit more difficult to lose your spouse,having shared so many years together. I dont have anything wise or clever to write in supporting you only to say I understand to an extent how you are feeling in these occassional reflective moments when something triggers a memory.I am also sorry to read of your strained relationship with your son,perhaps given time this may recover. Best Wishes.
  7. eric byrne

    Good news!

    Thank you for your good news story Carol,congratulations.
  8. Hi Bruce, Thanks for your reply,I try to justify my lunches with my gym buddies,which by the way always include a good pint of Scottish larger,the calories lost by our vigorous exercises do more than compensate for the calorific intake of our lunch LOL. I would have loved to own one of these old juke boxes,by the way what was the Proclaimers record you found?.
  9. Good Afternoon Everyone, Is'nt it just great to have old friends posting again,Bruce,DonnaG and Lillian,welcome home we missed you.Just relaxing after a really busy but fun week,Tuesday I brought my sister Dot and her husband Jim out to Airdrie to view Sally's new flat,also visited our local Indian restaurant for lunch.Wednesday Jennifer and Chris visited,we also went to the same Indian restaurant for dinner just prior to going to the Showcase Cinema Complex to see a new Scottish film called Sunshine in Leith,kinda like Scotlands answer to Mamma Mia,the music being the Proclaimers rather than Abbas.Chris was not enthused about coming along,with him being a heavy metal bass guitarist,he presumed it would be cheesy and naff,which of course it was,however it just happened to be brilliant too,even Chris loved it.I only knew two songs of the Proclaimers, A Letter from America and 500 miles,so it was a pleasure to hear the cast singing many more of their songs,I think the Scottish tourist board will have a big smile at this film,the street scenes and panoramas of Edinburgh were just so beautiful,I recommend this film to you. At last the remaining pieces of furniture arrived on Wednesday afternoon,we all mucked in to make up the flat pack furniture Jennifer,Chris and myself,the flat is looking really nice,Sally will move in next Saturday,we hope in good spirits,I appreciate her apprehensions,it will be a big change in both of our lives,neither of us have had any experience of living alone,hope I can manage the washing machine?,cooking another adventure looming for me,I am a bit limited in this area,I certainly dont want to go for the easy option of pizzas and ready meals for the microwave.Healthy eating is my aim,I do cook a good salmon dish,chicken will be big on the menu,just to look at different recipes so I dont become bored with it,I will keep red meat to a minimum,which is hard since our Scottish produce is just so good.Jennifer is going to teach me new recipes,problem is she is a vegetarian,she use strange things like aubergines,hummis,olives,goats cheese and many other items some of which I have'nt even heard of,for goodness sake.Still I might enjoy the experience of trying out new foods. Still on food,lunch with my gym buddies on Thursday and Friday,I am still trying lose weight,my social life keeps foiling my ambitions.Friday night I was at the Noreen Davies Hikers and Bikers Cheque Presentation Gala.It is a great occassion,as a result of the ladies sponsored walk around Millport in June,we beat our previous record of monies raised,this year our total was over £28,000 (approx $42,000).I was there as the official photographer,all the photos I took of the walk in June were on a continual loop throughout the evening on a large screen.The photos I took of the gala evening are to be sent into the local press.The co-ordinator of the event is Clair (the boss) was given a special award for her charity work by the Motherwell Council,it was a beautiful inscribed crystal bowl.Yours truly also got a special mention for being a five year survivor I was also presented with a bottle of wine and a cheque for £400 to pass on to the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation,I am keeping the wine of course LOL. Time to go folks before I am timed out,enjuoy the rest of the weekend,bye.
  10. Hi Muriel, Welcome home,really sorry to read of your dx ,may the treatments you receive be effective in beating off this cancer too.
  11. Hi Dianne, Well done on checking out First Foot,a couple of additional points,the first foot in Scotland was preferred to be male,tall dark and handsome at that,should bring with him a lump of coal,and a wee bottle o' the amber nectar.I remember in my youth,just after the bells at midnight,sitting down at a large table with family and friends,tucking into a full steak pie dinner,an old Scottish tradition.This was followed by a party,always someone there to play the piano and everyone sang along to traditional Scottish songs.Every guest was expected to "Do a turn" that is,entertain the gathering with a song or poem.Sometimes to identify the next person to "Do a turn" a bottle was placed on the floor and spun,whoever the neck of the bottle pointed to when it stopped spinning,it was their turn to sing. Do Scots celebrate Halloween or All Hallows Eve?,well we should, since it originated in Scotland two or three centuries ago.Our kids dress up in costume just as they do in the USA,and travel around door to door in their neighbourhoods,when they rang a doorbell,they were invited into that house and were given some fruit,nuts and sweets,but,before they received their goodies they had to "Do a turn",ie sing,recite a poem or tell a joke.I remember for years as a child,my party piece was the Big Rock Candy Mountain,yes all 14 verses LOL,think I got my goodies early to shut me up.We would also have little games to play,"Dooking for Apples",a basin of water was placed on the floor then apples would be placed into the basin a chair would then be placed beside it,the child would kneel on the chair,they held a fork between their teeth,aim and release the fork to pierce one of the apples floating in the basin,if they succeeded they kept the apple.Another game was a string of suspended treacle scones in a line,the scones were smeared with treacle,and the kids would have to try to eat the scones whilst still suspended on the stringline,without the use of their hands,this of course meant their faces got covered in treacle (all part of the fun). Halloween has sort of gone a bit downhill since my childhood.Kids today are different as are their parents,in my day part of the fun was coming up with an idea for a costume then making it,usually with the help of a parent,so we were soldiers, cowboys,pirates,Zorro was a favourite one too along with the lone ranger.Alas today,parents cannot be bothered,so buy their kids costumes from the local supermarket in a pack.The kids themselves are more interested in getting money rather than goodie bags,they only grugingly make an attempt to entertain by telling a one liner joke. Its got to the stage now where some neighbours no longer welcome children "Guisers" (as we call them) into their homes,sometimes to the extent of going out for the evening to miss them,or putting out their lights until the kids have passed by,or until their bedtime. Hope you did'nt mind my wee illustration of Scottish culture.Bye.
  12. Hi Bruce, I have just rechecked the times of our posts, seems you had posted during the time I was still writing mine so I did think I was opening todays air.
  13. Ooops Sorry Bruce I forgot you had opened under Thurdays Air already,this senile dymensia can be really inconvienient at times.
  14. Good Afternoon Everyone, Beautiful sunny Autumn day here in Scotland,hope the weather is fine where you are. I tried several times to post last night all I got was a message "the connection is timed out",so here I am instead.I had lunch today with my gym buddies at the Admiral in Glasgow,lovely pub,friendly and atmospheric,food is super,particularly the piri-piri chicken.Took Sally out shopping this afternoon,getting some new clothes incl a new top for Saturdays party,glad to say this did'nt take the usual hours it normally does.Indoor bowling to-night (not the ten pin game),I play in a team of four against another team of four,its a league which finishes next April,we usually finish at the bottom,maybe this year will be different,dont hold your breath. I am still doing my front of house job,just been asked to cover a show in Motherwell Theatre on Sunday Evening,I dont have clue whats on,so hopefully something I can enjoy.My next shows are'nt until the 23rd and 24th of Oct.I did claim the government for carers allowance for Sally since I will continue to look after her when we split up,they have given me £238/month provided I dont earn anything over £100/week,thankfully its only earnings they take into account they ignore pensions. Thanks Bruce for the laugh about your embarrassing moment with the door,yes you are right about the song 500 miles, they also had another big hit here with a song called a "Letter from America",the Proclaimers were a bit different from other Scottish singers in that they did'nt dampen down their broad East of Scotland accents.Course Scottish accents are not exactly welcomed by the record buying public in the UK,so top marks to them for not giving two hoots if their accents reduced sales. Hi Dianne,good on you taking the time to look up First Foot.com do you know what a first foot is in Scotland?.Anyway I digress, re "Corbies and Clergy is Kittle Shot",I presume you meant this to read as a short sentence or quote?,if thats the case I have'nt a clue what it means,I can tell you though, that a Corbie is another word meaning Raven or Crow and the Clergy means any ordained person in the Protestant Churches in the UK.I have never heard of Kittle shot before,I cannot even find it in google,I will ask around my friends though. Time to go,enjoy the rest of Thursday everyone,bye.
  15. P.S. I have just discovered a web site of a Scottish Dictionary called First Foot.com its got some stoatirs of words there,ye might like to look up,fur a wee laugh.
  16. Good Morning Bruce and Dianne,Its absolutely brill to see friends posting here again and what a great topic to discuss too. "Mauzy",an old English word?,well I am sure it is,however I just happen to be a dyed in the wool Scot and we have our own vocabulary,our word by comparision is "Driech" which like so many old Scottish words have a wonderful character and are much more expressive than their English counterparts.Other words like Scunnered,Clipe,Nyaff and Eejit spring to my mind,there are thousands of others too.My sister gave me a present a couple of years ago of a Scottish dictionary,which lay about the desk I am working on,can I find it? to share with you some further words,where did I put it?. It is Wednesday here, 8am,I woke up a 6am,could'nt sleep,so I just came online to browse facebook and here to pass some time.I will head out to my gym about 9.30am,other than that a fairly quiet day ahead. First signs of winter for you Bruce?,our weather for this time of the year is much warmer than usual,days getting shorter,sigh.Theres a new Scottish Film just out called "Sunshine on Leith" which is getting some good reviews here,think its the Scottish equivilent of "Mama Mia",only with a soundtrack of the Proclaimers,Leith is the dock area of Edinburgh,quite scenic,so I guess this film will also promote Scottish tourism .Mid term School holidays start on Friday,so my daughter is on holiday next week, we have arranged to go out on a foursome with her and Chris on Wednesday next for a meal and see Sunshine on Leith,not sure in which order,LOL. Busy weekend,hopefully Sally's furniture will arrive on Friday,my party on Saturday,please feel free to join me. Time to go,breakfast time,enjoy the rest of the day,bye.
  17. Good Afternoon Everyone, Well Autumn has certainly arrived here in Scotland,the forests are looking so beautiful with their variety of colours,times like these I so appreciate living in such a beautiful country.Weather has also got a lot milder,I am now back to wearing my polo shirts outdoors,this cannot last,so enjoy the moment. So good to have visits here from old friends,Dianne,Mike and Bruce at my last post.Bruce how about a wee update on your life on the farm,I have missed your farm tales so much. Sally is still here with me at Sutherland Drive,her furniture will now arrive at her new home next Friday(well I wont be holding my breath),as compensation for the delays,Argos are offering me,vouchers to the value of 10% of my order,my daughter thinks I should hold out for cash instead. Well fame at last with my photography hobby,the Airdrie and Coatbridge Advertiser have giving me a full page spread with credits of the photographs I took of the Monklands Bowling Association Finals at my bowling club a couple of weeks ago,so I have a dozen of my pics published,the sports editor phoned me to compliment me on their quality,were as good as he could have taken.My head is now so big,I keep bumping it on door lintils. The big party looms,next Saturday,you are all invited of course,plenty of eats,music and dancing ,methinks there might be a wee drop o' the amber nectar being taken too.I am so looking forward to having all my family and friends to share what I know will be a great night out.My LC dx has certainly reinforced my feelings that the most important things in life is'nt big houses and cars,oodles of money in the bank,its simply having good friends around you. Time to go everyone,if you dont usually post here,why not take the plunge? I would so love to read about your lives and whats happening in your local area.Bye for now.
  18. Hi Kenneth, My apologies for my rather late response to your post,I have been distracted of late,so many things going on in my life. I so appreciated reading your post,so well written,so understandable to me with your descriptive emotional rollercoaster ride since your diagnosis. I was diagnosed in 2008 with NSCLC,it was such a shock to me,it was so strange really to be feeling so well physically and yet to have my life threatened by this disease.Like you,emotionally, I found this to be the greatest challenge,from the outset,I did'nt cope very well,although I did have excellent support from family and friends. Following my upper right lobectomy in Jan 2009,after a bit of recouperation,I returned to my GP to ask for permission to return to work.I mentioned to him,sitting at home alone during the long dark winter months was getting me down,I really needed to get back to work,to be amongst my work colleagues and students to fully re-engage with my life again.My GP asked me what I did for a living,was there someone else doing my job in my absence,when I replied,he said,I would be better letting others carry on with my job,taking some quality time out with my wife,since I had only two years maximum to live.Believe it or not he added,quote, "I remember having a patient some years ago with lung cancer,he managed to survive five years,what a character he was-but you are not him".Well,this October 14th my GP will be receiving a specially produced anniversary card from,which I hope will be a reminder to him about not making predictions on patients expirey dates. Following the completion of my treatments,I spend some time researching lung cancer,I learned so much,so many negative facts I discovered,what I was really looking for were positive stories of survivors who were given a poor prognosis but against the odds overcame their doctors predictions.One day I picked up a local paper I found an article within it about a guy called Robert Lowe setting up a lung cancer support group in a hospital near my home,as I continued to read the article,he described his cancer journey,diagnosed with SCLC in 1993,given two months to live,Robert asked for the strongest chemo regime that would give him a fighting chance to live.He was hospitalised during this chemo,on more than one occassion he was so ill, his family was called to his bedside as his doctors did'nt think he would see the next day.Well to the amazement of his doctors,Robert went on to make a full recovery.2007,Robert is now dxd with NSCLC,has his treatments,goes onto make a full recovery,he has survived two types of lung cancer for twenty years,a record that remains unique in the whole of the UK.Robert and I became close friends,I discovered we had a lot in common,we were both born and raised in the same district in Glasgow,Springburn,we even attended the same schools and despite Robert being ten years my senior we even shared many of the same teachers.What fun we had sharing anecdotes of past times. I have done so much with my life post dx,I enjoy every day I wake up to,I have so many stories to share with you,that I hope can encourage you.I have visited so many places and met so many wonderful people I would have never met otherwise,were it not for my cancer.I like to say cancer may have rained on my parade,but it sure came with a great big silver lining. My very best wishes to you,I do hope we can exchange some further posts.God Bless.
  19. Good Evening Everyone, Its good to be back,hope you are all well,the weather here in Scotland has certainly changed since my last post,more autumnal,cooler,shorter daylight hours,now back to wearing a pullover on top of my polo shirts,next it will be wearing jackets too. Sally should have been moving into her new home tomorrow,however,we got a phone call from the furniture store a couple of days ago, to tell us they cannot deliver her major furniture pieces until the 25th of September,not their fault of course,its the manufacturers.This is the second delivery they have let us down with,take my advice,don’t shop at Argos,they apparently are sending me some vouchers as compensation,wonder if I can use them in another store LOL. My daughter Jennifer has organised a special party for me,its my 5th anniversary of surviving lung cancer,it will be held in the function room of my indoor bowling club on the 12th of October,we are expecting about 100 guests,you are of course all invited to attend,it should be a wonderful night,so looking forward to it.I did’nt have to get involved with any of the organisational side of things,all my daughter asked me to do was pay the caterers bill,typical,my wallet just keeps getting lighter these days. Saturday last was the outdoor bowling club finals,I had to play against nine other players,surprisingly I won 7 games lost two,my score got me into the final,which I lost,however I did get me £10 prize money,wow,where’s my trophy? I enquired,sorry Eric there is’nt one for the runner up only the winner,is’nt that ridiculous?well as vice president,thats an item for the agenda of our next meeting,no trophy indeed.I still have a quarter final tie to play in the singles in another comp,as well a final in the pairs,we had to play in the semi-finals for that place,but one of our opponents has gone into hospital with kidney stones ,so we got a “by”. I was greatly saddened to hear of Janets recent passing,we shared so many posts here to-gether,we have lost so many of our stars in LCSC,Janet certainly contributed so much here for our readers I know she brought them,support, love and warmth,not forgetting her humour and charm,I will so miss her,good night Janet,God Bless. Bye friends for now,wishing you a super weekend.
  20. Good Afternoon Everyone, Just found a bit of time in my day that I can relax,and enjoy sharing a post with you.First I would like to say a special hello and best wishes to our dear LCSC friend,Janet,I do miss your posts here of late,hoping you are feeling stronger and better. I have been busy of late,preparing for Sallys move to her new home,she will move in on the 12th of September.I have been setting up accounts for the paying of her utility bills,central heating and appliances maintenance,I have also applied for a council tax discount for her,this is a tax on our domestic dwellings,to pay for public services,you may know it as property tax?.All her new furniture has been arriving,still some to come,but at least the spending money part is now just about over,I think LOL.The house is looking beautiful,think I should move in myself and leave Sally in Sutherland Drive.I think it will be strange for a while for both of us,living alone,at least Sally seems quite happy now about the move,mind you, its still early days. I was invited by the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation to man a stall last Sunday at the Robert Owens Mills in New Lanark,along with young Kate.It turned out to be a brilliant day,with regards to the weather and the event.Robert Owen,well its a long story,so briefly,he started a social experiment in the early 19th Century,he bought a hugh Mill,for the weaving of a range of textiles,powered by watermills run on the River Clyde.In those days,the working conditions for the employees were dreadful,young children and adults working long hours,for little pay,the looms were not guarded properly,and there were many accidents in the workplace.Robert was a benevolent employer,who took a holistic view of his employees lives in his employ,he provided them with homes which were well built,doctors and a surgery to look after the sick,schools for the children,provided recreational time for all his employees to enjoy,in short he was a really enlightened and benevolent person.The site today is still a fully operational mill producing quality woolen garments that are exported all over the world.Since I was manning the stall,I did'nt get around properly to take pics,to share with you,however I did pay for a ticket to view a couple of the houses the workers lived in and a shop,one house,was furnished as for 1840,moving onto the next house,which was of the 1930s,and the shop stocked with goods,so of which I could recall from my childhood.I mentioned to the ticket sales lady,I would have loved to explore more of the site,but lacked the time,she said the ticket you buy is for life,you can return any number of times in the future,hows that for a good idea?.I will return soon,to get my pics. Standing at my stall,a well dressed-but casually-gentleman approached me with a wide smile and said,hello I am Allistair MacDonald,pleased to meet you,as he shook my hand,Allistair,there was no need for your introduction,I replied,I know well who you are,Allistiar just happens to be one of Scotlands best known and loved folk singers,he was here at the Gala day to provide the music.Allistair,I said,I have actually been on stage with you,I was a member of a small concert party performing in the Motherwell Theatre,when our session was complete,we stayed on stage as your backing group.Allistair used to appear for years on prime time TV on a Saturday Evening with a fellow singer Peter Morrison in to programme called Songs of Scotland.Allistair was even more amused,when I told him some weeks after appearing with him,I had the pleasure of appearing onstage in similar circumstances,with his old buddy Peter Morrison.I told Allistair all about my cancer journey and the work done by LUNGevity and the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation,think he was really impressed,so much so he later returned to my stall and said,Eric,if the Roy Castle org are interested in putting on an event in the future I will be happy to come along and perform for you.What a great guy,I did get several pics taken with him,which I will share with you shortly in the Members Photo Album. Tomorrow,I have been invited to a outdoor lawn bowling championship at my club,I am the official photographer,I have to take my pics to the Airdrie and Coatbridge Advertiser my big chance for fame LOL.Hope the weather remains sunny and warm. Think I have bored you long enough for one day,so bye for now,enjoy the weekend.
  21. Good Afternoon Everyone, Just a wee update on my homefront,I was still waiting for one of my ISAs to arrive in my account to contribute towards paying for Sally's new flat yesterday,Wednesday was the final day the company said the money would be in my account,no joy,now beginning to get a bit concerned,however the monies did arrive on Thursday,yeah,transferred all monies required to my solicitor,house became mine,Sally got to see it at last on Friday,she loves it.So we went on a spending spree for new furniture,two,three seater sofas,kitchen table and chairs,double bed and mattress,tv unit and coffee table in walnut,to match with each other,gosh lots of smaller items,hoover,cutlery,microwave,ironing board,etc,a friend is donating a kettle,toaster and an iron to Sally's pot.Still lots of other things to get yet,its amazing just what you need for a new home. Sally is apprehensive about to whole thing,one minute,looking forward to the move,saying it will be good for the both of us,the next,the feeling that she is being abandoned,and I had made a vow to her many years ago,about sickness and in health,you know the one.Does make me feel a bit guilty,but I really need this change,for my own happiness,22 years supporting a alcoholic,think I deserve a break.Due to delivery dates for the larger items of furniture,Sally wont be moving out until the 18th of September,we time we have been since up the the flat depositing bits and bobs Sally says she is beginning to feel at home there,so I guess thats a good sign.I have been successful in my application for carers allowance in continuing to support Sally,its almost £60/week,that with her small pension and disability allowance,takes her monthly "pay" up to £840/month,think without rent/mortgage,she should be quite comfortable money wise.I still am in the process of claiming employment support allowance,so if successful she will get a further boost to her income. Well thats about all my savings gone save a couple of grand,but it has been worth it,thats two houses for my daughter to inherit,when we pass on,I am going to change my will to leave my house to my daughter rather than Sally,as it is possible Sally will end up in a nursing home,I dont want the government to take all Sally's assets to pay for her care. Enjoy the weekend everyone bye.
  22. Good Morning Earl. Welcome to LCSC,so pleased to make your aquaintance.I arrived here some time ago,looking for new friends who shared my lung cancer dx,what a blessing that turned out to be.I had arrived at a time when I was struggling with coping with my cancer,not physically more mentally,how can I shake off this feeling that I had no future? this cancer is going to kill me and in the not too distant future.My posting here regularly, getting to know so many new friends helped me to realise that I can be a survivor and once again began to return to being the person I was prior to my cancer dx,ie,happy optomistic,enjoying life to the full.I think with the passage of time and the support of family and friends ,we can all cope with what ever life can throw at us. I found a new friend at the outset of my cancer journey,who was ten years my senior and was dxd with SCLC in 1993,he was given just 2 months to live by his Doc,Robert Lowe was'nt going to lie down to that threat,he asked for and got the strongest form of chemo that would give him a fighting chance of life.Such was his chemo regime,that was hospitalised throughout its administration,in fact he was so ill at the time,his family was called to his bedside on more than one occassion,since his Docs did'nt think he would see the next day.Remarkably,the tide began to turn for Robert,he began to make progress in recovery,he returned to full health.Then some years later Robert was dxd with NSCLC,again he had his then made a full recovery.Robert and I were both born and brought up in the same District in Glasgow,we went to the same schools,despite Robert being ten years my senior,we even shared many of the same teachers,what fun we had with our trips down memory lane sharing anecdotes of our respective life experiences.Robert Lowe set up a a lung cancer support group with a lung nurse called Penny Downer,Robert invited me to join.My thoughts were,Lowe and Downer,not very auspicious names for a support group?of course I joined up,I was and still is great fun to me to attend the group meeting.Sadly Robert passed away earlier this year,he had surgery to remove a tumour from his stomach and throat,these tumours were not related in the slightest to lung cancer,the operation he had was totally successful,however later he took a chest infection that his weakened body could not overcome,despite him fighting it all the way.Robert died cancer free.He had become the UKs longest surviving duel lung cancer patient-20 years. It is my intention to follow in Roberts footsteps and survive 20 or even more years,if Robert can do it,why not all of us?.My very best wishes to you for the complete success of your treatments.
  23. Good Afternoon Everyone, Hope you are all well enjoying the summer weather,we are having one of the best summers weather for quite a few years,so I am sporting a super tan,I just love this time of the year. I am just home from the hospital following my six monthly check up,we dont do CT scans as a follow up in the UK,just an x-ray,well the good news is I am still NED,my next check up in February, will be my last,since I have passed the 5 years survivor limit. I have an entry date for Sally's new home on the 16th August,I had to cash in some investments to pay for the flat,my financial advisor let me down a bit,telling me this process would take three working days to transfer monies into my bank account,the company I have investments in mailed me to say it will take 14 days as from the date on this letter (31st July),so I am on tenterhooks hoping I will make the cheque passing over deadline.I have been busy applying for government financial support funding for Sally,fortunately the UK is one of the more enlightened countries for welfare benefits,she have been successful in getting disability living allowance,just for your interest,its £536/month ($800 approx),I have also put in for carers allowance,which gives me some money to support Sally,provided I can provide Sally with 35 hours support/week.If successful,this will be about £280/month ($420),it will be paid directly into my bank account,I will simply transfer this into Sally's account.Another benefit I have discovered is Employment Support Allowance,this is aimed at those persons who are of working age,but are unable to do so through ill health.I completed all the application forms for these benefits,and supplimentary evidence required,doctors reports,pensions received,earnings etc,so fingers crossed that my applications are successful,the Employment Support Allowance I think is approx £560/month so Sally should be well provided for financially.She is understandably apprehensive about moving into her new home,but I will do my best to reassure her she is not being abandoned,and provide her with as much support I can. I am still busy doing my front of house work,Saturday last,big wedding in the Airdrie Theatre,I started at 2.00pm finished at 1am,it was a long shift,thankfully these are quite rare.Lung Cancer support group tomorrow,Thursday,I have to entertain young Max (7) for the day,his Mum works Thursdays,and Max is on School vacation,so its off to the Time Capsule,its a hugh swimming baths complex,then off to McDonalds for lunch,then Monsters Uni and the Showcase Cinema,I tell you my days with Max is certainly lightening my wallet,be glad when he returns to school in two weeks time, although I have to say,Max is such fun,he is worth every penny spent. Time to go,Katie please dont close the Air,I know things a bit lean just now,we have lost so many regulars,and it is summer we are all busy outdoors.Bye everyone for now.
  24. Congratulations on the successful outcome of your treatments.Thank you for sharing a good news story,we just cannot get too many of these.
  25. eric byrne

    10 years

    Congratulations on your tenth anniversary,I so want to follow your example.Heres to many,many more anniversaries.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.