Mamma Mia

Taking tubes, shopping at busy Oxford street, walking around cosmopolitan Leicester square and Convent garden, visiting antique museums and renovated palaces and enjoying roof garden dinner at Babylon, many visitors may think they have covered most interesting things in London. It may be true. But something important is still missing. It is "show".

As a culturally rich city, there are many theatres across London. Those are generally divided into West End, Fringe and repertory (such as The National Theatre Shakespeare's Globe).

This time, I went to the Prince of wales theatre in Picadillary. Of course, Mamma Mia has been there since 2004. I booked ticket online 2 weeks in advance. I chose middle seat at upstairs (Circle). Stall is in downstairs. Not like in cinema, all seats were occupied in the show. I was told before many Europeans come and enjoy shows in London during the weekends. It might be true.

I feel it was worth going there. Really entertaining.The audiance had been clapping and applauding at the end of each section . The show features Abba songs which are cleverly integrated into the story written by Catherine Johnson. Film was produced after the success of show.

Someone in busy life can use shows as a stress reliver. My little advice, really.


My ticket...


The Prine of Wales Theatres. Photography is not allowed inside during show.


Show entrance...


A chauffeur colleting his boss at the end of show

Teachers Vs Pupils

The followings are school related news I read lately.

Girl of 6 repeatedly sexually abused by 23 classmates

A horrified mum told yesterday how her six-year-old daughter was repeatedly stripped and sexually abused at school - by 23 of her classmates.

The terrified girl was attacked every day in the school grounds by a mob of pupils her own age - under the noses of unsuspecting teachers.

The mum said: "It was horrendous what she went through. Every day she was being stripped.

"She was being physically and sexually abused every day. (Daily Mirror)

This news shocked me deeply. The first question which came to my mind was what teachers and assistants were doing there. According to my relative working in a primary school in London, there is a class teacher working together with teaching assistant in each class room with max 30 pupils. A trainee teacher may be observing and helping. Special need assistant is an extra one depending on the requirement. During the play time, there is also a playground assistant who is whistling and watching youngsters all the time. It is difficult to blame on a person or a group of teachers in this case. The faulty part leading to the incidence would be poor management or under-funding or negligence or combined. I feel sorry that the young girl could grow up with a psychological scar.

Another sick news is that it has been more and more popular among students to use social sites like Facebook to bully their teachers.

These included malicious sexual allegations against teachers.

The Association of Teachers and Lecturers heard how one teacher had a fake Facebook account set up in his name containing false allegations.

Another teacher had suffered stress after a video of her teaching appeared on YouTube.
Another teacher said she knew of a group of pupils who wrote online: "Join this group if you think Mrs X is still a virgin."

A false social networking profile, opened in the name of a teacher, claimed he enjoyed "under-age sex with both boys and girls". (BBC)

Someone would simply say that this is an ugly disadvantage of social networking sites. But in the society where human right is prioritised which is good in general, teachers have a limited authority on their pupils. A group of pupils may see teachers as a sort of their employees. Apparently, a culture has been growing in some schools that fellow students see someone who refuses to obey rules or does against what teachers say as their hero.

I am concerned about the outcome of such kind of young lads. I feel government should have an efficient strategy to tackle with rebellious students who could be potential thugs in the community level.

Chinese Bastard

“Chinese bastard”

That is what two teenagers shouted at me while walking in east London street. It happened when I came back from the hospital where I did weekend cover for a sick doctor. Those teens had no idea that I might have given a life saving treatment to one of their family members or friend in last 12 hours. I did not respond anything. Obviously, it is not worth doing so. They were from nearby council house.

A couple of years ago, a retired engineer in his 80s admitted to hospital with a broken hip and heart failure begged me, saying that “You came from a big country like China. Please help people like me living in a small country. Help me doctor, please”. He looked muddled. Anyway, I reassured him.

In fact, I am not Chinese.

I think people in Britain sometime find it difficult to differentiate the Chinese from the non-Chinese Asians. Clearly, the UK is not a great attractive place for Chinese mainlanders. They normally go to west coast of America in my understanding. Even in London, Chinese community is minute compared with south Indian counterpart despite the fact that Chinese take away has been growing in popularity.

On the other hand, interestingly, a drunken patient in acute medical admission, whom I saw in the early hours of morning, was able to recognize me, in first stance, as Burmese, proudly announcing that his grand father and father were veterans from the South East Asia. He also added that he had been keen to fight for freedom of Burma. Perhaps, it was alcohol.

Murder, justice and human right

A few days ago, the Justice secretary Jack straw sent back Jon Venables to prison.

Who is he?


Jon Venables (Photo: AP/ Guardian.co.uk)


He was one of the murderers of 2 year old kid when he was a 10 year old boy. Here is more about that story.

James Patrick Bulger (born 16 March 1990), a two-year-old child from Kirkby, Merseyside, England was abducted, tortured, and murdered in 1993. The perpetrators were two 10-year-old boys, Jon Venables, (born 13 August 1982) and Robert Thompson (born 23 August 1982). Bulger disappeared on 12 February 1993 from the New Strand Shopping Centre, Bootle, while accompanying his mother, and his mutilated body was found on a railway line in nearby Walton on 14 February. Thompson and Venables were charged on 20 February 1993 with the abduction and murder. Wiki:

In 2001 after served in prison for less than 8 years, he was released as the parole board ruled he was no longer a threat to public safety . It was approved by the Home Office Secretary that time. Since then, he lived with a new identity.

Why was he sent back to prison?

Jon Venables, now , is back in prison for breaching his ‘life licence’. But government did not reveal yet a clear reason for why it did.

Venables is back behind bars after breaching the terms of his licence, imposed when he was freed after just eight years inside for murdering two-year-old James on Merseyside in 1993. Read more:

Justice Secretary, Jack Straw, has told us that it is not in the public interest to disclose details of the breach. Once again Straw has showcased his ability to get things totally wrong when making that statement. It is absolutely in the public interest to know what the child murderer had done. After all we have been paying for his new life which he has seen fit to throw away! Read more:

What is the reaction of public?

FURIOUS Britons last night joined The Sun in demanding that the Government reveal the full facts about child killer Jon Venables — saying: "He lost his rights when he murdered James Bulger." Read more:

Some new media claimed that this time it is related with child pornography.

Personally, although there maybe a case-by-case variation, I would not trust someone who committed a serous crime in the past. It would be just a prejudice. But It is difficult to clear my image. I presume there have been studies of repeated criminals. I would read through if I have a chance.

What would be the role of public and media in the case of Jon Venables this time? Is it absolutely true that a premature disclosure of information would undermine the integrity of the criminal justice process? Is it appropriate that people give pressure on government to reveal the details of Jon Venables's recent events before a trial?

Alcoholic and helicopter

I really don't want to disturb my circadian rhythm, but it is unavoidable because of the nature of job. Last night was my first night. Most patients were elderly people brought in by ambulance. Nothing exciting. Seeing them, doing initial investigations and making management plan are our routine during on-call hours.

I started working with the annoying person who was with the history of alcohol excess. He has been on detox regimen. But still wandering around the ward. I gave him two more tablets to calm down. A rather high dose of medcaion did not touch him. He absconded. In view of the fact that he still confused and no capacity to decide to go home himself, we needed to inform the police.

We heard helicopter noise 15 min later flying over the hospital. Soon after that, patient was brought back by two police officers. Apparently, the police helicopter spotted him at town (town center) about 1.5 miles away from the hospital. Police claimed they had to spend tax payer's one year contribution because of him.

While staffs dealing with that alcoholic, someone has been passing massive amount of blood from the back passage. He needed urgent transfusion. Surgical team reviewed. Later stable.

In the early hours of morning, some one got an acute shortness of breath. He was a known blood cancer patient with some fluid in the lung. I was dealing with him. At the same time, it was reported that the 94 year old woman got a bout of vomiting. I asked someone to see that frail lady as I was busy with above man. Unfortunately, the arrest call went on 5 minutes later. Someone from other ward got heart arrest. We all had to go down. He agreed to give up him after several cycles of resuscitation. When I came back, I was informed by my junior, the old lady already die. Family informed. Probably the cause of death would be aspirtion after vomiting.

The same as usual. No 30 minute proper break time in 12.30 working hours.

Heat free supper

This evening, I felt a bit bored and I did not want to cook or warm up any food. So I just tried this. Very easy. Preparation time was only 2 minutes.

Recipe? Very simple. Readily sliced Chorizo was placed on the plate first. Chorizo is fermented Spanish pork sausage. Fresh Chorizo needs to be cooked. But we normally eat fermented one without cooking as Europeans do.

Then, I grated mature organic English cheddar cheese. In a separate bowl, cheddar, 4 or 5 slices of Prosciutto and some wild Rocket leaves were mixed with 2 spoons of virgin olive oil. I stirred all together briefly. Then, it was put above the slides of fermented Spanish sausage on the plate.

That's it! No electricity, no gas required to cook. Prosciutto is my favourite. It needs no cooking or frying (just info for orientals) . It is thinly cut ham from Italy, air cursed with salt for a minimum of 12 months. Nice.

Again, Spanish pork sausage, Chorizo is already fermented. If you fry, it will lost its original taste and nice smell. In fact, it looks like Salami, an Italian sausage, which can be stored at room temperature up to 10 years.

Scientists claimed that deep fried foods, such as traditional bacon and sausages, could cause cancer. But I have not read the research papers about the outcome after eating uncooked foods. Maybe I will come across such report at one point. At least I would say heat free foods are more or less environmental friendly. It is green. Green foods!!!

Unplanned holiday, jokes and Inglorious Basterds

It is unplanned holiday. It just happens. That means no flight and hotel booking. I feel staying at home quietly is sometime the best holiday option after working non-stop, seeing sick people and dealing with anxious family members.

I popped in to local Waterstone book store, where I picked up some books and DVDs.



This is from the book I took to intend to read at bed time. More than half of the jokes from the book, compiled by Ivor Baddiel and Ian Stone, made me laugh. The title is “The best pub joke book”.

A surgeon came to see his patient on the morning after her operation. The young woman asked him, somewhat hesitantly, how long it would be before she could resume her sex life.

"I really haven’t thought about it", gulped the stunned surgeon, “You’re the first patient who’s asked me that question after a tonsillectomy!”

This is about a lawyer.

I man calls his lawyer and asked: “How much would you charge me to answer three questions”
“£400”, the lawyer replies.
“Jesus”, says the man, “that’s a lot of money, isn’t it?”
“I guess so” replies the lawyer, “What’s your third questions?”

Here is husband and wife.

A man rushes in to his house and yells to his wife, “Debbie, pack your things, darling. I just won the lottery!”

“Shall I pack for warm weather or cold?” asks Debbie.
“I don’t care,” the man responds. “Just so long as you’re out of the house by noon!”

Another husband and wife.

John’s wife was not so good with money and , determined to economise, he’d decided to have a chat with her about it. The following days he met up with his mate.
“So” asked his mate, “do you think your little chat worked?”
“Yes, I think so” said John. “I’m going to give up beer and fag.”

“The ultimate book of rude and politically incorrect jokes” is a top-listed when we browsed joke books in online stores. This is something adult jokes.

An old couple went into the chemist’s and the old man asked for a packet of condoms. “We’re having a dirty weekend,” he said.
The chemist said “But you’re both pensioners aren’t you?
He explained that a woman over 60 could not become pregnant.
“It’s not that", said the old man. “She just loves the smell of burning rubber”

Last night, I watched Inglorious Basterds which is one of the Oscar nominees. Brad Pitt was talking in a funny accent. Christoph Waltz appeared as sick Nazi colonel. It can be said that the film is an outstanding performance of Vienna born actor, whose action dominated the American A class star as a whole. At the end of the film, it seemed to me that it was a sort of comedy.

Someone recommended that it was worth watching it. It was Avatar. The News paper claimed that Avatar sinks Titanic record. I noticed that the director was James Cameron who was the director of Titanic, Aliens, Rambo and Terminator series. Perhaps, I will watch it before going back to work.

Update: 18:34hrs (4th Feb 2010)
I did check what's wrong with people to spell "Basterd" , in stead of Bastard. The Urban Dictionary describes the meaning of Baterd. A couple of interesting meanings are as follow.

Basterd
1. A clever misspelling of the word BASTARD used to ensure your movie title stands out when Googled.

1. When someone is too stupid to spell bastard, basterd is often the result.

:)

More on Urban Dictionary here

Enjoying an old song

Yes, it is an old song. But it will renew itself. It will restore its position after sometime. It will revitalize. It will revivify. It is the song called "Words"

Yesterday, I put Boyzone's Album "Back Again...No matter what" into my trolley in ASDA. One of the songs is Words which I did enjoy in my teenage days. Now I enjoy again. Personally, I prefer Bee Gees's original version. I feel it was powerful and strong. But it is a different taste with Boyzone's . I would say it is sensational.

Bee Gees, first released in the beginning of 1968.



Boyzone version, released in 1996.


Lyrics.....

smile an ever lasting smile
a smile can bring you near to me
don't ever let me find you gone
'cause that would bring a tear to me
this world has lost its glory
let's start a brand new story
now my love
you think that I don't even mean
a single word I say

it's only words
and words are all I have
to take your heart away

talk in ever lasting words
and dedicate them all to me
and I will give you all my life
i'm here if you should call to me
you think that I don't even mean
a single word I say

it's only words
and words are all I have
to take your heart away

it's only words
and words are all I have
to take your heart away

da da da da da da da
da da da da da da da da da da
da da da da da da da
da da da da da da da da da da

this world has lost its glory
let's start a brand new story
now my love
you think that I don't even mean
a single word I say

it's only words
and words are all I have
to take your heart away

it's only words
and words are all I have
to take your heart away

it's only words
and words are all I have
to take your heart away

I am a hobbyist

Having a dSLR won't stop investing in the hobby. That means that I have been collecting and reading photo magazines more or less on a regular basis, while thinking high to participate in local or on-line competition. Obviously, it is not ready yet. Apparently, there is an evening photography class in nearby college. It is a good idea to join it. I could gain new camera skill and new friends. Just thinking.



The gas station is at a convenient distance. Whenever I went down there to grab a bunch of lager, I checked the book shelves filled with a variety of usual stuffs , such as auto magazines, women and adult magazines. What I normally took was photo magazine. I read and tried to take the photos as advised. Unfortunately, weather was not favourable for a amateur photographer these days. Of course, I can get snow photos. But sub zero temperature stopped me going out. Again, my busy life style has a little chance to spend on photography. Hopefully, there will be more opportunity to enjoy out door photos in next a few months.

The natural history of the elderly in Britian

First of all, I would say this is not a research paper. Moreover, I won't guarantee it is 100% true facts covering all social classes in Britain. But I write this blog post based on my knowledge and work experience.

We do enjoy the life by studying and working , going holidays and being off sick, arguing and agreeing, marrying and divorcing, attending weddings and funerals, and so on. When we reach 65 and above, we will be in the group of old age in the countries like UK and USA. The alternative nomenclature of the elderly is senior or senior citizen. The definition of old age varies from society to society, from department to department.

At work, I mean, at hospital where I work , we consider those with 75 and above (some hospital 78, some 79) as the elderly people. They are put in the list of the elderly care consultant, who will lead the team for his patient's medical and social issues to be sorted out. Once patient is medically fit or nearly fit, we start the discharge plan. That means we decide to where patient is going. To his own home? to rehab hospital, to residential home or nursing home.

The majority of elderly people lives alone or with their spouse if they are still alive. It is common that their children live nearby, helping with shopping and cleaning. Some elderly people have no own children, but they have been looking after well by step-daughter or son as next of kin. I still remember one old man was admitted to hospital for some reason. His son had been in Australia for many years. Almost everyday, the anxious son rang us, asking about his father's updates, saying "thank you" during most of the calls. He also had threatened to make complaint against us for a couple of times. Yes, that is our life. Anyway, that old man got better and he went home after sometime.

Basically we cannot discharge our patients without making sure that they will be safe at home. During the discharge plan, the phyisotherapist does mobility assessment, providing walking assistance if required while the occupational therapist's function is to assess if patient can do his or her daily activities safely, such as kitchen, stairs and bathroom. Some needs stair lift to go to upstairs bathroom. Other need wheel chair for shopping.

Some people require rehabilitation before going home. So they go to a local community hospital to build up their mobility.

While they are in acute hospital or rehab hospital, we consider if patient will need care package at home. For example, some people needs once a day carer in the morning for cleaning, dressing and making breakfast, etc. Some need twice a day. At this point, social worker plays a role to organize carer package, including funding issue. Maximum home carer is 4 times a day in my area. Generally "more help" means "less independent and more frail".

What will happen if someone needs more than 4 times a day? Commonly, such people are with advancing dementia or with multiple health problems and no longer able to cope at home alone. Answer is residential home. Next question is who will pay. Patient himself or local authority?

What would be the next step after Residential home (RH)? From RH, they might come back to hospital with water infection, chest infection or fall and collapse. Some died at hospital due to current illness or new problems. Other died of natural cause at RH.

A small percentage of people need 24 hours nursing care due to some conditions, such as dense stroke, advanced Parkinson's disease. They are transferred to nursing home as RH usually has no nursing support. (Apparently, 24 hour care at own home is around £2400 a month)

I am thinking myself what would be my final place before death if I have a chance to live long.