Week 7

Mon 4th May

Decided I need to get a few hills in so decided to head up towards the Bob Smithy and have a trundle round the golf course.

Tues 5th May

I arrive early at the Crematorium for my friends mum's funeral. Not much social distancing going on with the first one I observe with 6 pall Bearers. Funerals are limited to 10 mourners inside the Chapel of Rest, so stay outside with a couple of other friends. It's good to catch-up, but wish it could have been in different circumstances.

Weds 6th May & 7th May

Back on swabbing duties. However, have had a recall back to the Dental World to cover Colleagues Annual Leave. We've all been asked to take a week of our annual leave allocation by the end of June. So from the 25th of May I'll be back doing teeth in a fashion.

Lots of new protocols to read up on. We've go onto video conferencing, but only offering very limited amount of treatment.

Fri 8th May

I'm edging closer to Winter Hill with my runs. A couple of abortive attempts on some paths due to a few cows.

But a pleasant run all the same.

Sat 9th & Sun 10th

Swabbing numbers are dropping, to the point that our working hours are reduced at the weekends now. Good that there less staff off sick, but it's hard keeping everyone motivated.

Having Watched Boris on the Telly, decide that I'm going to get some use out of my bike given the weather is so nice and plan to start using it to get to and from work. Also start to plan my first run that doesn't begin from the House. What route shall I try first!?

TF

Week 6

Mon 27th April

Looking for a bit of variation I take the path along the side of the Hulton Estate. Peel Holdings had big plans to transform this area into a championship golf course ready for the Ryder Cup in 2030/2034 here's the glossy website https://www.hultonpark.co.uk/ . Lots of local opposition, and here's the website https://www.hearthulton.com/ . All things on hold for now.

There isn't ROW access across the park, but the woods at the SE corner were a nice run on a warm day.

Tues 28th April

News from Tenerife that Dad has had another wander. Search party sent out again, but this time he arrived back by himself in a taxi. The care team have been onto Doctor who has agreed to try him with some 'drops' to help calm any agitation, normally would require a 'face to face' consultation. What may help is some of the dementia drugs, but these can't be prescribed without a diagnosis, diagnosis requires a scan among other things. That would have been due to be done last week, but cancelled due to Coronavirus.

Friend confirms that funeral for her Mother to go ahead on 5th May. 10 Mourners allowed in Crematorium for Service. Have a long chat about Dad and compare, much of the things I had managed to get in place to help Mum and Dad have been down to the advice received. Really appreciate the support.

Weds 29th April

Government deadline for their 100000 swabs a day is fast approaching. Our team at the Etihad now has competition from a larger 'drivethru'  pop-up site, located on one of the larger carparks. Cars are using the same entrance causing confusion for drivers. Reports of new site 'pinching' customers. All sounds a bit Fred Karno's, glad to be located where I am.

Thurs 30th April

100000. Won't last! Getting to really know our team swabbing, we have a laugh and joke so it's not all serious stuff. Getting used to sharing lots of good stuff via WhatsApp, which is new to me, but apparently used a lot among the other community teams.

Had someone turn up in a minibus to have a swab, nearly demolished the porch structure. Luckily the security guard spotted that it'd be to high to go underneath. Send a message to Property Services to have some height restriction notices put up. Entering a new month tomorrow, things starting to feel a little permanent now, the 'new normal'.

Friday 1st May

Decide to head out West today, along Lock Lane to explore a few footpaths around Lostock.

Thankfully no cows to negotiate in the fields just North of the Motorway. Just over 10K

Sat 2nd May

We're getting requests from the Health and Well Being Team, to see if we can accommodate daily home visits. Suggest a max of 8, to start with and lists prepared the day before so that appropriate order can be chosen to make effective use of time. First list comes through for Sunday and I set about planning my route. Probably the closest I'm going to get to orienteering for a while.

Sun 3rd May

Devise a plan for the visits with my partner for the day. We want to spend as little time in each property as possible, so suggest a chair in the hallway so we can just step inside the house/flat briefly, complete the swabs and then depart. There's no getting away from the fact that we need to done our PPE outside the property, so all the neighbours will be watching. Do feel a bit like something out of a Sci-Fi film.

It's good fun driving the van though.

TF

Week 5

Monday 20th April

A slight extension to my new route, this time just over 11K

Tuesday 21st April

News from my mum and dad's carers in Tenerife to say he'd gone walkabout. Apparently left the house at about 8am. A couple of the carers had set out in their cars to go look for him and by chance one of them had found him sat at the Bus Stop in San Isidro some 3 miles away. The bus stop is located on the roundabout with access to the motorway. There is no direct bus link to where he was found (would involve 2 separate buses) so agree with carers that he must have walked all the way.

It's a route that he would have driven in the car. Relieved that found safe and well.

Set out on run today and vary the far end part of the loop.

Return home to the news that my best friends mum had passed away. Her mum had been living in a care home and had a couple of falls, she'd had a brief stay in hospital and was diagnosed with an undisplaced fracture to pelvis. She'd returned to the care home, but deteriorated (not Covid19 related). I think the most distressing thing for my friend was not being able to be with her at the end. Adding to the distress was that the fracture was not mentioned as a contributing factor on the death certificate.

Wednesday 22nd April

The swab team at the Etihad have had a slow start, but the staff sent to form the team over there are determined to make the best of it.

Thursday 23rd April

We've trained up a few more staff, again from services that do 'face to face' contacts whose appointments have been stood down.

Friday 24th April

Moment of truth for the rats. Pest Control Man returns to inspect the traps. I'd left well alone as he'd said it can take up to 2-3 days for the rats to perish. He opens the first one, no rat but promising signs that something has had a nibble from the pink block. Nothing in the 2nd, 3rd or 4th one. As part of the plan, the traps will be left in situ for a further week. He suspects that they have moved on and found other sources of food and my fears of being over-run are now receeding.

Getting a little more adventurous with the run through Cutacre and extend the far loop and manage 13k today

It does make a difference being out in the sunshine, one or two people out in the park but able to keep my distance.

Saturday 25th April

A bit of a giggle. Someone arrives to be swabbed and parks themselves up whilst the security guard was inside getting a brew. We go outside to find this situation.

The timber shelter has been constructed over 2 disabled bays, with the intention that vehicles drive into the spaces as would normally occur, with the front of the vehicle near to the blue bars. Driver is asked if they can do this. Go back outside, to find that driver has managed to manoeuvre into near enough exactly same position, but this time with drivers side closest and parallel with the blue bars.We all take a moment to compose ourselves from the fits of laughter. Clearly the driver has decide we're operating a bit like a Macdonalds Drivethru. Driver departs after swab, thankfully without demolishing the shelter.

Sunday 26th April

Check my bank balance and consider myself one of the lucky ones still being paid. 

Another fall in the number of people being swabbed over the weekend. I do wonder if it's going to be worth having 2 sites operating at the same time. 

Check in with the parents. All appears well, mum under strict instructions to call the carers as soon as she realises dad has gone for a wander. Do worry in case he gets found by the police again. Spain seems to be a lot stricter about this than us.

TF

Week 4

Monday 13th April (Bank Holiday)

Sit at the computer and plan my run route. Looking for something off-road.

Red dot in middle is my House. Heading south on the farm tracks towards the bridge over the motorway is my initial thoughts. The bit past the Mobile Mast, although not ROW is frequently used.

Once over the motorway it's a short tarmac section to join the footpath past Umberton's Farm to access Cutacre Country Park on it's western edge. A bit more info can be found here https://www.logisticsnorth.com/country-park/ . I had felt that the park could be a potential site for a cross-country course so it would be interesting to see how the grassy bits had progressed since my last visit.

So here's my route

I kept to the paths, 10k distance, a little too much 'out-n-back' for my liking but pleasant enough. The park is coming along. As seen in the satellite view it's still has a fair amount of bare earth on the eastern edge. Water areas have filled in nicely with an abundance of reeds etc. On my return I see a 'keep out' sign has been erected to stop access to the paths heading North and Southwest of the farm buildings. Curtails plans for exploring the the path heading Southwest. I have some degree of sympathy for the farmer, the potential traffic across the land has probably increased 10-fold with the nice weather and everyone out for walks.

Tuesday 14th April

Return my attention to the problem of 'roly' rat. I'd had no response to my email, so ring only to find said company dealing with existing customers only. Try another who agree to come out on Friday to take a look and put down some traps.

Try other options for the access to Cutacre Park

This heads across the fields close to the trig point. Footpath a bit bumpy, and evidence that cows have been on it. Discount this bit as a regular route. Run along Plodder Lane to join the footpath across the motorway. There's a small car park for the Country Park just off the A6. Amazed to find 5 cars parked in it. Thought the government advice was quite clear, no use of cars to get to the start of walk/run/cycle. Vary my return route and come across a group of 4 youths playing 'self-isolating football' in the play area on the edge of the housing estate. Give them a wide berth. People aren't getting it. Getting angry. Thankfully, don't come across anyone else contravening the rules by the time I get home. 7.5K completed.

Wednesday 15th April

Back in work. Informed that someone from the 'Comms' dept will be coming to film the swabbing process, so that we can inform the staff what to expect. I'm volunteered to take part. I reason that given the mask, visor and head-gear no one will recognise me. We find a willing member of staff who had an appointment anyway to play the 'patient' and prove how easy (cough,cough) it is.

Here's the link to the video, I'm hoping it'll work, see if you can spot me!!

https://vimeo.com/408548688

Thursday 16th April

The planned 2nd site for swabbing has now changed. The other clinic potentially ear-marked has been deemed not suitable due to access issues and now the Etihad complex is being offered up as a location. The only downside is that the Council is now involved and are pushing this to be a 'self-test' centre. We voice our concerns, that in it's current format no-one is realistically going to be able to achieve adequate swabs on their own. 

Apparently this is a government-led initiative, trial period of 2 weeks for frontline staff. Beginning to see this as a numbers game. A bad test is often if not worse than no test. We managed 68 staff swabbed today.

Friday 17th April

Pest control man arrives and inspects the site. Explain what I've done so far and he checks round the house. I'm reassured that they'd be unlikely to access the house. I've had no more sightings all week but am hopeful with the four 'humane' traps put in place. Essentially a black plastic box with some brightly coloured blue pellets and pink cubes for them to nibble on. The treatment will involve a further 2 visits, so he'll be back in a week.

Todays run is a further variation of Monday and Tuesdays, with an outbound leg along Plodder Lane and returning via Umberton's Farm. 10.35K on the watch.

Saturday 18th April

At the time the video was filmed we'd swabbed over 700 staff and got 250 back to work. I'm hoping by the end of my weekend shifts we may have hit the 1000 mark.

59 staff swabbed today. A good number compared to the previous Saturday. Process have now been put in place to ensure that services (such as mine) which usually operate Monday- Friday have a manager on-call to accept phone calls from staff to record their first day of sickness. Normally if you fall ill over a weekend, then you phone in on your first working day ie Monday. At the moment the guidance is to try and swab ill staff within 3 days of them developing symptoms.

Sunday 19th April

941 the total so far. So we need 59 to make it to 1000. We're off to a very slow start. I then get a message that a lady from the Council will be dropping by to see how we do things as she'll be overseeing the site at the Etihad. I'm hoping that we'll have a few for her to watch, if not it'll be names in a hat and one of us will have to pretend we've got Covid 19.

A big sigh of relief from all us swabbers as the bookings for the afternoon pick up a bit. Our guest from the council arrives, I talk her through the process and she observes a couple of swabs being undertaken, one of which proves our point that a 'self-test' could not have been undertaken sufficiently well by the individual concerned.

She gets our point, but says that she's just been tasked to set it up and shows a lot more interest in the IT set up and the paperwork side of things. They start Monday.

Despite an improvement in the afternoon bookings, we fall short of our target by 13. 

Catch-up phone call with the parents. All well at their end, carers are helping them helping with the shopping. I would have been due to go and visit them the following week but obviously that's all off for the foreseeable future.

TF

Week 3

Monday 6th April

Arrive in work. Find out I'm so experienced at swabbing, that I'm now deemed to be a 'Trainer'. Word is that the Trust wants to open a second site and we need enough staff to work both on a 7 -day shifts. Given that a full shift is from 8am -6pm I agree to work four of these days a week, with 3 days off. This week I offer to work over the Bank Holiday  (Fri,Sat,Sun). We have a busy day today with 76 people swabbed. Get home tired, but feel I have achieved some good.

Tuesday 7th April

Just before we went into lock down, I'd had a trip through B&Q and bought a few packets of seeds/bulbs for growing a bit of food. I had a few spare containers and thought I'd try planting a few up.

Some of my grass cuttings get tipped behind a tree in one of the far corners of the garden (some goes in the green wheelie bin). Over time this has now composted down and looking good for filling the pots. So I set to work.

I manage to plant some Garlic, Shallots, Carrots and Parsnips. All the pots set up on the far patio. Head back indoors for a well-earned cuppa with my feet up admiring my handy work. Next thing see 'roly' rat again, running across the far patio and dart behind the tree where the compost heap was. I head back outside to see if I can spot where it went but no sign. This is getting serious, rats are normally nocturnal creatures. Head back indoors and straight on google. A wealth of information, all pointing to the fact that I've been unwittingly welcoming them into my garden by providing them with places to live, food (bird feeder) and sources of water.

Wednesday 8th April

A closer inspection of the fence around the garden indicated possible areas where they were accessing my garden from the neighbours. There was evidence of a few droppings in one area near to where the compost heap was.  One neighbour is in the process of renewing the fence and chatting to him about 'roly', he said his kids had spotted FOUR in his garden recently, some of which were trying to climb up his birdfeeder!

Spend the rest of the day clearing away any possible nesting sites (dead leaves/wood), empty the bird feeder and any possible water sources. Check round the house for any possible gaps for a way in. Block as many gaps in the fence as I can. Now realise that all my efforts planting up my pots were to no avail. All the soil could be contaminated by the rats. Ah well, I'll call it the practice year, see if anything grows and try again next year.

Thursday 9th April

Ring Bolton Council. Dealing with Rat problems is free to residential properties. Due to Covid-19 the Environmental Health office is closed. Another search on the Internet, comes up with a few private companies that might be still working. Send an email requesting a ring back.

Good Friday 10th April

Back in for the swabbing rota. They'd had a busy day on the Thursday having seen a record 80 people. We now have a live booking system, which is being updated on a regular basis as and when appointments are being offered to the persons requiring swabbing. Much better than relying on an email. Not as many today, but not too bad with 60 done.

Saturday 11th April

We're overwhelmed by people's generosity. We've got people dropping off visors they've made, washing bags for our clothes, and now we hear people are making sets of scrubs too. The majority of staff redeployed, work for services that don't normally wear a uniform. I'm lucky, I do have uniforms but I've made a little addition by making myself some identical buffs to wear to cover my hair whilst working. The head of the Health and Wellbeing department (they're the ones sending us the people to be swabbed) calls in and drops of a Easter Egg and some chocolate. Going to have to make a concerted effort to up my training with all the snacks. Only 36 swabs today. We think that most are out enjoying the sun.

Sunday 12th April

We definitely think no one's phoning in sick over the Bank Holiday weekend. I mean, why would you? Only 30 done today. But we have managed 425 for the week, and just over 600 since we started. An amazing achievement having started from scratch less than 2 weeks ago. Rotas are being planned for a few weeks ahead. I feel I need a bit of regularity to help with my running, so offer to do Weds Thurs Sat Sun as my new working week.

Start planning a off-road route from the house (well as near as I can get it). Time to re-visit Cutacre Country Park.

TF

Are we downhearted?  Never

How is everyone coping with the lock down? TF we know is very bravely active in helping the fight  against the virus.

Our  household went into isolation a week ahead of the  official start and we are thankful that we have the allotments to keep us busy most days, and the sunshine is a welcome bonus.

The initial disappointment of the cancellation of all races has passed because it makes sense.  More of a blow was the cancellation of the Fleet  half marathon on March 16th. It was to have been my second opportunity to wear an England vest having again qualified for the English masters half marathon championships  and secured a place in the England   team for the Celtic  nations event. We had travelled south in readiness for the  event only to hear less than 24 hours before the gun that  the race was off.

I try to run most days but with no challenges to aim for motivation is sometimes lacking.  Which takes me to EtU's  forward looking approach to a post lock down celebratory run.  My first choice would be the  last of our Lakeland passes outings from Seathwaite via  Sty head to Wasdale head, Black Sail, returning via Honister,  followed by, in no particular order,  the second Lakeland passes run in reverse (Rosset, Sty Head, Wasdale Head, Boot, Eskdale, Three Tarns and returning via the Band),  something in the Settle area, or a repeat of our Edale outing.

Now the  thought of that coupled to the sun shining through the window should provide some motivation

Week 2

Monday 30th March

Still getting used to the extended 'lie-in'. I'd stopped going to the David LLoyd Gym for my morning exercise (shower & coffee) 2 weeks before lock-down. I've had to completely reprogramme the heating and amount of hot water now that I'm having my morning shower at home. On the plus side, David Lloyd have frozen the membership, so hopefully that'll cover the increase in gas & 'lecky.

Decision made that I and some of our Dental Nurses are drafted in to help the swab team. A small van has been hired so we don't have to use our own cars, but someone will have to go and collected from the site where it is securely located.

We've practised putting on/off or in NHS terms 'donning&doffing' the PPE. We've had a look at the test kits but still haven't had a 'live' patient to 'have a go'. I sign up to offer to do a weekend shift as is seems that some of the current team are starting phone in saying they're self-isolating.

The training from Friday left us with a lot of online courses to complete. Make a start on these just in case I get called up to help with the District Nurse teams.

Tuesday 31st March

Arrive in work to find things have all changed again. One patient who is looked after by the District Nurse Teams has been diagnosed with Covid-19. There's a list on nearing 20 staff that have been involved in his care over the last week. Community Managers make the decision to swab all of these staff otherwise they'd all be off work.

So the Dental Department is designated as the most suitable site for these staff to attend. We (dental team) get a live demo of the technique and get some 'willing' guinea pigs to practice on.

I have to warn you that having a swab for Covid-19 is not pleasant if it's done properly. The one in the mouth has to swipe over the tonsils and the wall at the back, past the dangly bit (uvula). It'll make you gag/cough. The nose one has to go far enough up that it'll make your eyes water.




By the end of the day, we've swabbed most of the day shift. Just some of the night staff to catch up with.

Wednesday 1st April

More changes. The central mobile swab team is going to be a fixed-site team for staff-swabbing to attend as a 'drive-in'.

The estates department have located an ideal site, a health centre not a million miles away (one, to be precise) where we will take over a pharmacy department which has recently closed down. We will be off there in the afternoon to have a trial run with a couple of staff who are currently off work, self-isolating for one reason or another.

So I and 3 of our nurses travel to our new site. We arrive to see that we have indeed got a ideal set-up. Facilities to make brews, a toilet, somewhere to sit in the dry and somewhere to store (and lock away) all the kit we'll need. Sorted! Some from IT is sorting out lap tops and wifi connection.

The staff car park has been commandeered for the drive-in. We have a security guard (in a cabin) with a remote door bell to announce an arrival, 2 disabled parking spaces right next to the front door for the cars to park up.

The first email with details comes through and the cars start arriving at 10-20 min intervals. Someone goes out to the car to check the details, and then reports back and the information is completed on the swab test. 2 members of staff go back out to the car (the swabber and buddy) and undertake the swab test through the car window. By the end of the afternoon we've completed 13 tests.

Here's the team at the end of the first day.

Thursday 2nd April

First full day at our new site. Now the process has started to feel a bit more comfortable the Trust is looking to increase the through-put. So we look at managing  2 staff to be swabbed every 10 mins. We calculate that we'll need a minimum of 6 staff to manage this, 2 pairs of swabber/buddy, one person checking details, 1 person admin checking for emails. The whole shift day is 8am-6pm, with staff doing 8-4, 9-5, 10-6 as well as a shift lead doing the 8-6 hours.

I volunteer to be a shift lead. Given that I nominally do a 37.5hr week this will mean a change from working 5 days of 7.5hrs to 4 days of 9 and a bit hours. I offer to cover weekends. So as I've already done 4 days this week, I'm having a day off tomorrow in lieu of working Saturday.

33 swabs done today. We have a couple of children to swab today as they're the ones with symptoms causing their parents (staff) to be off work.

Friday 3rd April

A relaxing day off. Or it was until I spot 'roly' rat run across the far patio. Mmh, will need to keep an eye on this if the bin collection becomes a bit more sporadic.

Saturday 4th April

Last time I worked a Saturday was over 25 years ago. How times change. We have some new members on the team, all eager to join in. We have a whatsapp group now, not something I'd used a lot, but getting used to it. Seems that a lot of the other community services use it a lot to keep in touch.

40 staff/family members swabbed today. It takes 48hrs for the results to come through, but could mean some of these will be back in work next week if the results come back negative.

Sunday 5th April

Another day off. The grass is looking a bit long and infiltrated with lots of moss. A nice sunny day so decide to tackle both instead of a run. I have 2 machines, one that cuts the grass and the other that scarifies it. 2 x the 'steps'. The amount of moss the scarifier pulls off is immense. It fills two of those large foldable plastic green waste containers. Would be perfect for filling hanging baskets, but I don't have any.

A glass of wine to finish the week.

TF

When This Is All Over...

… we ought to have a celebration outing, locally, in the Lakes, or anywhere interesting, but not too far away. Initial suggestions:-

1. The Lakeland Passes - as done previously, possibly with minor modifications.

2. Scafell Pike from Eskdale, ascending over Pen, descending the way the sheep did - see TF's recent post.

3. Coope's Dozen.

4. A route in north Lancashire - as (yet to be) determined by KLM, aka The Iceman.

Further suggestions, comments please.

I think it needs to be on a Saturday, to include those (few) of us who still contribute to the  UK GNP.

View from near the Frontline

I thought I'd pen a few lines as part of an insider view from near the frontline.

Mon 23rd March (First day of Lockdown)

All working as normal. 4 final year students arrive for a nearly fully booked clinic. By the afternoon any students with underlying medical conditions eg severe Asthma are advised not to be involved in clinical care.

Dentistry in the main is an 'Aerosol Generating Procedure' especially using the drill or scaler which is water-cooled ie the high-pitched whizzy ones.

The British Dental Association (BDA) and some of the other Professional Societies are voicing concerns and calling on the Chief Dental Officers (CDOs) for guidance. There are 4 of these one for England, Wales Scotland and Northern Ireland


Tues 24th March

This morning would have been our fortnightly GA list for treating our patients with special needs and learning difficulties. It has been cancelled, as has all elective surgery ie non-urgent operations.

In the afternoon we have 2 out of 3 student dental therapists attend to see patients. A few simple treatments that don't involve a drill or water-cooled scaler.

By the end of the afternoon we learn that all student clinical sessions at the Dental Hospital have stopped.

Management make the decision that routine care will now cease across our service. We will operate an emergency-only advice service, triaging over the phone and only see patients face-to-face unless they present with a facial swelling which may require anti-biotics. No 'Aerosol Generating Procedures' to be undertaken.

BDA are now getting very vocal on social media. The CDOs for Wales, Scot and NI are advising downing tools accept for emergencies. Not a dickie-bird from the CDO for Eng.



Weds 25th March

A busy day. Mainly phonecalls and emails. We have a large service, over 40 staff. Discussions are ongoing towards re-deployment to help other services. Each service within the Trust is asked to provide information for potential transferable skills. My health centre where I'm based has become one of the 'command' centres co-ordinating the community care. Being a senior clinician, I get to see first hand how the senior managers get to 'think on their feet'.

The RU Clear team (sexual health) were due to be disbanded at the end of March 2020 as their funding had run out. They are now the Community Swab Team. The plan is to run a service 7 days a week across Manchester to under-take Covid 19 swabs in peoples homes. I'm already thinking that swabbing is something that the dental team could help with. After all, we spend all day with full PPE on and are used to putting things in peoples mouths. We're also used to doing home-visits from time to time too. The clinical lead for our service is thinking on the same wavelength.

Stocks of PPE are being counted.

Finally we get notification from the CDO Eng that all routine and non-urgent dental care should be stopped. A remote 'urgent care' triaging service should be established. Those patients deemed to need care can be referred to the Local Urgent Dental Care System. Trouble is, there isn't one. Dental treatment is now deemed as high-risk. So essentially providing it will need the most protective PPE. This includes the special FFP3 masks. No one has been 'fit-tested' for the masks.

Before you can use a FFP3 mask you have to be 'fit-tested' for it. This involves putting the mask on, and then a special hood is then placed over your head and then some smelly substances is puffed inside the hood. The idea being that if the mask has a good seal it should filter out the smell and thus any virus particles. They are deemed as 99% effective.

You have to be 'fit-tested' for each make of FFP3 mask. There are numerous makes. Some will fit, some won't. For men with beards, these have to be shaved off as a seal can't be created.

I'm on a half-day today. I booked for someone to come and install some security cameras on the house. There'd been and an attempted break-in about 3 weeks back - broken padlock on side gate and an adjustable spanner left gripping one off the handles of the French windows. I ummed and ahhed about whether I should go ahead, but decided I could maintain the social distancing and given that my house would likely be the only vacant one in the cul-de-sac, it would be at risk.

4 cameras installed. With a good view of the back and front. If I hear a noise especially at night I can switch the TV on in the bedroom and check with out getting out of bed. When out of the house I can check via my phone, even has a notification system if something crosses a virtual line across the back garden.


Thurs 26th March

Another day spent refreshing the BBC news website. Emails read. Our service is planning to run with 2 sites (out of 8) offering emergency advice. A rota has been drawn up beginning from Mon 30th March.

Tidying out my office drawer I find my certificate for my FFP3 'fit-test' for 2009 in preparation for H1N1 (Swine 'flu). Re-read the government documents from the time regarding planning for an epidemic, mass deaths etc. Don't feel we're anywhere near where we were in preparation for H1N1 by this stage.

We've been skill-matched with the District Nurses. 10 of us have volunteered to be the initial trainees. A full day of training planned for tomorrow.

Fri 27th March 

Arrive at the training centre. Been a long time since I'd been at this particular health centre. When I first started the current job in 1998 we used to have a dental clinic here and I worked there 3 days a week until I moved full time to current Health Centre in 2001.

Full of admiration to the 2 District Nurse Matrons who have pulled together a training package for the dental team in less than 2 days.

An overview of wound care and dressings, injections and general medication. All bread and butter stuff to them but a real eye-opener to us especially the pressure-sore management.

Advise the trainers that I'd recently had experience of administering Heparin Injections for my Father (part of my Xmas trip duties). Admit that a bit nervy at first, got one a bit wrong but on the whole the patient tolerated it quite well.

Sat 28th March

A short local run. I'd set my bike up in one of the bedrooms on the turbo-trainer but haven't used it yet.

Sun 29th March

Catch-up phone calls with the family. 2/3rds have been on lockdown for 3 weeks now. The ones in France have to have a certificate to leave the house. Carers in Tenerife are looking after Ma & Pa very well, daily visit and doing the shopping for them.

Reflect with my Uncle (dad's brother, lives in Worsley) that cancelling the Cruise and selling the car are looking like 2 of the best things I have ever done. They would have been due back in Bristol on Tues 24th March. I was due to collect them from Bristol to bring them back to Bolton and then fly back to Tenerife on Sat 28th March.

One bonus, the 3 flights from Liverpool to Tenerife were cancelled by Easyjet. I'd written them off at Xmas but had left them booked just in case. A full refund acquired.


End of week 1 of Lockdown

At the end of the week, I reflect that it's all very surreal. I feel very privileged to still being paid a wage but want to feel that I'm doing something to help.


To be continued.........


ps if you want a 'fell' fix have a look at this programme that was aired on BBC4 on Mon 13th April at 7:00pm. You can get it on iplayer, called The Great Mountain Sheep Gather

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000hb4r/the-great-mountain-sheep-gather

For the map nerds, I watched with my os map to hand

TF

Saturday 15th February 2020 - Dennis No Deterrent...

...well, perhaps a bit of one.

Nowadays the usual turnout on a Saturday is just YJ and yours truly, so it was good to be joined by TF on this not very welcoming morning. The three of us made it up the Pike in a not too shabby time, having, on route, exchanged greetings with my eldest daughter, Rachel, accompanied by one of her regular training companions. We descended down the Race route to continue along George's lane, but rather than turn up to Two Lads at Pike Cottage we continued towards Wilderswood, where TF, on a limited timescale, turned for home.

YJ and I continued until the Matchmoor Lane junction, where YJ dropped down to Chorley Old Road, to reduce the risk of a recent injury being aggravated by a slip on the saturated fell.

I turned up the concrete quarry road onto Burnt Edge and, then, heading for Two Lads, caught up with a walking group made up of NLN, SN and NicO. Good to see you ladies! We stayed together until Two Lads, when I sensed they could smell the coffee and they descended to their cars.

I dropped down to George's Lane, then it was up the Pike for the second time that morning, but by then the rain was penetrating my less than adequate attire, and I too headed down and home.

Good to see so many of us out, even if only in dribs and drabs (do either of those two words have any meaning if one is used without the other?) despite the rain appearing on a more continuous basis.

I had mentioned that YJ and I are working on arranging an outing (in the Weakened Warrior series) each month during the summer. The first of these will be an assault on the Coniston fells on Saturday 4th April. I will post outline plans for further expeditions shortly.

A Re-Birth for YJ

After his disappointment at missing the 2019 Snowdonia Marathon due to the recurrence of a long term lurking viral complaint - it would have been his first as an eighty-year-old - YJ has recovered and has gone from strength to strength.

Having achieved an age group win in the Lancaster Half Marathon, and at the same time securing the top 2019 UK ranking for that distance, he has turned his attention to Park Runs.

He now holds the all time over 80 record at Whitstable, Kent and, closer to home, at Avenham, Preston. I think Haigh Hall is soon going to be treated to a visit - watch this space!

Start the Year...

...with a run with the Bros.

YJ and I will be 'running' from the Lower Barn tomorrow - New Year's Day! - starting at 8:30. All welcome.

Seasons Greetings

The Lord and Lady of Brentford would like to wish all their good friends at wfdbwgua a very happy and holy Christmas. As has been our custom for several years now, we are not sending any Christmas cards: instead we are making a donation to the Yorkshire Cancer Centre.
I look forward to running with you in 2020.

That's Lyth Recce Sat 23rd Nov

Me and YJ are planning a recce of approx 2/3rds of the That's Lyth route on this Saturday.

There is currently 3 seats available in the car if you wish to come to.

We'll be leaving our usual meeting point in Bamber Bridge at 8am to head for Sizergh Castle where we'll start/finish our route. Approx 15m in total.

Alternatively, you could meet us at Sizergh Castle.

The route has a bit of road involved but probably no more than 2-3m.

Please let us know by Friday 5pm if you want to come.

TF

Quarterly 'Do'

A date for your diary - Friday 6th December 2019 - Black Horse at Limbrick - as we used to say "Be there, or be square!"

Week 3 on my comeback - Sun 13th October

It was a busy day helping out at the first race of the XC League on the Saturday, so I was looking forward to an easier day spectating at the Manchester Half Marathon.

My friend was running it with her cousins husband. It was his first time at a half marathon, she's lost count how many she's done!

With lots of road closures I had to drop little Smartie off in a local side street and run a mile and a bit to get to the start area. There was an initial out and back loop for the runners so the back of the start was also mile 2. Well 30 mins had elapsed after the official start when I got a phone call - 'we've not moved yet, we're still at the start'.

It took them a further 30 mins before they came past. I was getting a little chilly so I said I'd run with them a bit to warm up. So I kept to one side and used the pavement where I could.

I had a map of the route and the intention was cut off and re-join them further along the route. We were chatting and enjoying the atmosphere so much that I just kept going. At the 10k marker, our novice runner announced that this was the furthest he'd ever run. He's a tall lad, my friend's not much taller than me so I decided to stick with them just in case he needed some help later on.

Never seen anyone so determined to complete an event. The only time he stopped running was for a pee stop just before 9 miles. He crossed the line in 2hrs 56, beating his target time of 3hrs. First time I've seen beer given out as a post race recovery drink at a road race (it was alcohol-free though).

An impressive amount of people out supporting round the course, lots of music and a very nice atmosphere.

By the time I got back to Smartie, I'd also done a half marathon. So much for an easy day.

TF

Curbar Commotion Saturday 5th October (9.8m/415metres climb)

I've been waiting for the results before posting a report, but non have appeared.

This was the 2nd race in my 'come-back' series.

Based in the Peak District from the small village of Curbar which is on the A623 heading towards Bakewell.

A lot larger field of runners for this one than the previous week, the weather was a lot more benign.



The route heading out along the main road to start with before heading north through a wooded area up to Froggat Edge where we were greeted by a lady ringing a bell telling us we were at the top. At this point I'd just been keeping ahead of 2 ladies chatting at the back.

Once on the edge, I put a bit of a spurt on until we reached a boggy bit round some fields. Some nice firm running until the southern most point. Here I caught up with a couple more runners on downhill muddy section, and managed to just keep ahead of them until the end.

The parent/governors of the school had laid on a good selection of drinks and cakes at the end.

I clocked 10.25m in the end and a time of 2hrs15. A lot more runnable than the week before, but still hard work and a good effort.

I'm having a week off racing this week as it's XC league. But will be back on racing next Sunday 20th Oct

TF

Rombalds Romp Fell Race  8m /1214ft Sunday 29th Sept

I've decided, I'm making a come-back. None of my clothes fit! Well I picked a cracker of a race for my first V50 fell race. Yep, you read that right, 51 and 3/4, and this was going to be my first V50 race of the type that you rock up on the day, fill in paper form, hand over a bit of dosh (probably less than a pint of beer in London) in return for a number you pin on your chest.

I'd done a bit of orienteering on Rombalds Moor (just south of Ilkley) in the past. I had a look at the route map yesterday and realised there was a bit of everything in this one, trail paths, peaty trods, boggy bits, a bit of road (not excessive). Just over 8m with a previous winning time of about 50 mins, last runner 2hrs 10 in 2018. I can do it, bring it on!

Not many races you get a 'full on' orienteering map to follow. 60-odd toed the line. The weather was biblical.

Well, I was walking up the first hill on the tarmac. Not a good sign, but I did have someone behind me keeping the sweepers company. I lost sight of the lady in front by the 2nd CP, so ran virtually the entire race by myself. 

The route was completely flagged, so my map stayed in my pocket, and I could just run. It was an absolute blast! The weather was pretty grim, but the route wasn't steep enough that I couldn't keep moving to keep warm. It was very wet, boggy, muddy, a real good variety of terrain. It reminded me why I love fell-running so much.

I crossed the finish line in 2.07mins. The race organiser was there to greet me, I must have had a big smile on my face as he asked if I'd enjoyed it. Fabulous,  I told him, it was my come back race and I'd be back again in a year, hopefully to get under 2hrs. I complemented him and his helpers on the flagged route that took us round the best bits of Rombalds Moor.

I came away with these

The one on the left I got for finishing, the one on the right for being V50. What a result!

TF 

A Good Do!

The cake says it all!    An early celebration to mark a special birthday for a special person at the Black Horse last night.  Enjoy it when it arrives John.

YJ Does His Bit for His Country

The 2019 Maidenhead Half Marathon had been promoted as including The Celtic Challenge, a veterans' home international. John had secured a place in the England V75 squad, by virtue of achieving  a top three place in one of the selection races.

He had been hoping for a sub 2 hour time, preferably closer to 1:55. However on the day it just wasn't there and he ran a, nevertheless very respectable, time of 2:02:47. To save you doing the maths, that's just over 9 minute miles.

The race results are a bit of a hotchpotch; one version has him down as 6th out 8 V75 men; another has him down as 1st V80 - he turns 80 in fact, 16 days after the race date. What is clear that he finished 11 minutes in front of the first man who was actually 80 years old on the day.

I can find no trace for the results of the Celtic Challenge - perhaps culling them from the overall race results was beyond the scope of the results system.

A couple of photos:-

Our man with his grandson Milton.

...and with a lady who obviously took a shine to him - he didn't disclose whether they exchanged contact details.

Let's see what he can do in his first race as a real 80 year old - The Snowdonia Marathon - in six weeks time.