Come on!

Coffee journeys At the start of 2019 I made a return to, a start of, caffeinated coffee. What? Why? Well I'll put my thanks for that with a great few people I met in Prague at an #MS convention - details of here - that led to a fabulous weekend in Glasgow that reintroduced me to the real taste of great coffee that included caffeine! Yes, tea and coffee (LOT more tea then) both of the decaffeinated version) due to primarily bloody insomnia , then that in can be not welcome with MS. However! It seems that yes, caffeine has energy positives (great cheating fatigue at times), it also brings 'mild' diuretic affects. Taste wins! I started a little coffee tasting journey of my own. Just visiting some local coffee-shop-esq to try and discover what offers the 'best' in my opinion (aye, as a bit of a chocolate lover I had a few Mochas!) and a good time to read Ruby Wax's Frazzled ! Here are some scribbles from then:  Park View Deli Bar, Whitley ...

Disabled supermarkets rant! Corona2 I have just been to a supermarket for essential foodstuffs and was greeted with a long queue of shoppers adhering to the 2m rule. Fair enough. However. As someone who is legit disabled – MS as the big one – I cannot stand for 30+ minutes in a slow-moving queue. I wish I could. This I flagged with security at the front door, who were only doing their jobs, and they said no. That was respectively passed to the store manager who also said no. That is the ‘law’. OK with that. My gripe is the visibility of what differences there are for the ‘vulnerable’ in this affected Coronavirus society, i.e. those affected by whatever their ‘problems’ may be. The elderly seems to be covered well , with the “vulnerable” too. But. The times that are supposed to be available for them/us ARE NOT CLEAR. Hey, if I have missed this information and these slots, I’m sorry. Just haven’t seen or heard them. Rant over. #Staysafe

Frazzled Meditation Hello hi areet! How are ya? It’s November now. I succeeded in that October was indeed the acclaimed ‘dry month’. Apart from best mate Al’s 40 th night out – that I knew of; and has been the breaker on other dry-spells in previous years too – I drank nothing alcoholic. Woopidoo! Gold star! Woo. Ahem. Benefits? The pocket maybe, but not massively. Hmmm. Coffee instead of booze? Different story coming soon! Okay. To the real blog intention. Meditation . Beryl King my meditation teacher at the fantastic resource of Benmar House ( MSRRF ) was on holiday at time of this writing. Point in question, she loaned me a book last month that I have just recently finished. And what a book. A Mindfulness Guide for the FRAZZLED by Ruby Wax. It was highly recommended by Beryl, and with me being a ‘slow reader over-thinker  analyser’ type, it took a while to finish. I loved it and it has inspired me to investigate to (possibly) further my meditation jour...

Positive Affirmations goes Alpha; apparently Second blog within a week? Something good must have happened right? I would not be writing this if not so! I do not want or seem to be repeating myself, like I may have said already, but certain things I do are done regularly with regular positive outcomes. St. James' Park This blog though covers different efforts! 1. Meeting Sound inspiring? Gets worse! No. Let me continue. As part of my world now has me functioning as a willing volunteer within the MS world – literally! – due to no longer being a member of the workforce ( GRRRRRRR ), I fulfil quite a few roles instead. #cantdonowt. As one of these roles – happily being part of the Multiple Sclerosis Society’s North Tyneside Group – I am the Health and Safety   (h&s) volunteer. Peterhead Power station Love (ha) or hate, I do have some history adhering to strict health and safety protocol of such, in the past. Power stations. Can’t m...

Roger goes vegetarian...for a day Used to hate… Brussel Sprouts! That is right. Brussel sprouts. Kid you not. Another ‘easy’ “5 ingredient” effort from Jamie ; from me. “Why?” I hear you shout. Well, I have made a sprout recipe before – as the main ingredient, not a Christmas addition – all be it 10(ish) years ago and it was a nice surprise. A stir fry that worked. So, this healthy meat-free option sounded worth a go. The little cabbage-like green oddities that are generally un-liked, especially by children I think. Going back a decade or 3 I remember not liking anyway, nor my sister! The overcooking? Very possibly (sorry Mam!), ignoring the forget-me-not forgotten pan full of sprouts that cooked, and cooked, and cooked… Sprout-mash?! Wasn’t the best advert for the little fellas! Accidents happen! What did I actually do? I recorded about a minute’s worth (in total) of ramble for the first time; and it goes, a little something like this ! “So, I’m full of cold today...

3rd Year Medical Students  Cranial Nerve Examination Two weeks ago (second week of October 2017 ) I answered a call asking me if I would like to do as I have done before, (as an expert patient) at the Newcastle Clinical Research Facility . When I told Andy – the coordinator on the phone – I’d done it several times before and that I would rearrange other appointments to suit, he was a happy chappy. One of the appointments was Tysabri number 97, my first at CRESTA (Clinics for Research and Service in Themed Assessments), a new ‘venue’ to get my infusion (I'd rather stay where I was, but!). A phone call or two later and job one done. Others followed suit and I was free for service! As I have previously blogged this, I will not repeat the whole Cranial Nerve Examination process again, but will repeat that I enjoyed it once more and was left tired once more too! However! The hard work (it does get tiring!) gave me a thirst. I had a thought. An obvious th...

Singapore noodles Another ‘blog meal’, somewhat different bringing in a taste of the far east, with Singapore noodles! Ideal for a 'less hassle' and quicker feed. Come on, who doesn’t like the Chinese menu? Well, as we mostly know it via take-away! As a self-confessed foodie I search for and eat whatever; E.g. (thinking South East Asia)  Thai , Vietnamese , Korean . So, this just looked to tick boxes for a night to conserve some energy and 'deliver' a tasty filling. “Fast, healthy food at its best.” Sold. "It might seem like a strange combination, but the chicken, curry powder and prawns are a total winner," says cookbook author Joe Wicks . "If you don't fancy the combo, feel free to use either chicken or prawns - in which case, you'll need 250g chicken or 200g prawns." I returned to chicken . Prawns are coming soon in (a) something or other. Having the necessary bits (I chose no prawns, and no coriander (love not hate...