Wicked in London town

This weekend was much needed for both of us for 2 reasons :

1. After the year we've had with my Cancer.
2. We have never had a weekend away in the 6 years we have been together.

So on the Friday morning we packed the kids off to school and the whirlwind off to relatives, and rushed to the train station to catch our train. It was pretty UN-eventful on the way down, and got in to Kings cross for 2pm. this was Shelley's first time in London, and think it was a bit of a shock to her system. We hit the tube, and the crowds hit us. But we battled through and got to Green Park near our hotel.

Ah, our hotel. Well it was the Mayfair ( yeah i know bullshit!), but honestly it was. We checked in and went to look at the room, all i can say is, is WOW! The bed was huge, the bathroom was a wet room, and we got Strawberries dipped in Chocolate.

We unpacked and went for a walk. Well i say walk, it was more of a barging contest. We barged along Piccadilly to where the neon lights are, got something to eat, then barged back to get ready for the show.

The show was the reason for coming down to London, and it didn't let us down. It was fantastic! The whole cast were brilliant, but Rachel Tucker who plays Elphaba stole the show for me. Her voice was amazing, and filled the whole theatre. So if anyone is thinking what show should i go and see, i highly recommend Wicked. We made our way back to the hotel and said we would go to the bar for a couple before bed. I ordered a Jack Daniels and coke and a Bacardi and coke..... £19.55!! i nearly fainted.

Saturday we got up and were out of the hotel for 10am. We made our way to Oxford Circus where we had arranged to meet a friend. We has a wonder round some of the shops, and got some bits and bobs. We spent a lovely hour with our friend, having and good chat and coffee. Then we made our way to Stamford Bridge and the Chelsea Mega-store to get some more bits, and because i hadn't been for a few years. We got back to the hotel dumped the stuff, then headed back out again to meet another very good friend.

He took us to a proper pub, with proper pub prices. We had a couple of pints and the conversation flowed. We talked about everything, and to be honest I've not laughed like that for years! Its has though we had been best friends forever. We left the pub and walked to Trafalgar square to see the Christmas tree, it was stunning.

We walked back, window shopping in some of the oldest and most expensive shops in the city. Till we come to a well known restaurant, where after a bit of arm twisting we were taken to eat. The food was fantastic, and so was the wine. The 3 of us really enjoyed ourselves, and after a couple of hours called it a night and went back to our hotels.

The Sunday started with a hangover for me, but i struggled on and caught the train back from Euston to home. We sat down, got comfy. Then this woman sat in front of us. You know the one who has the volume up full on her phone and beeps when she types anything. Well, about half way home she decided to go and get a coffee. Nothing wrong in that i here you say? It was the walking past us and her seat 6 times before me pointing it out, was an absolute screamer!

So that's that! We enjoyed our weekend in London, and the show was out of this world.
I wonder how long it will be till the next one.

I would just like to say a very big thank you to one person (who shall remain nameless), for making the weekend possible. You are a true friend to both of us xx

Anyway thanks for reading,

Offski.

The Holibobs

Hello, yes i know its been ages.
I'm sorry!

Anyway, we have just come back from a week away in the Lake district. and to be honest it was one of the best I've had. Not only was it the first time Shelley had been there, but also the kids. Ive been a few times and fell in love with the place instantly, i think its the fresh air and the amazing scenery that got me.

I booked a cottage through Keswick Cottages, a lovely 3 bed right in the middle of Keswick village. Me and Shell had the attic room, and the view's from the front and back windows, well have a look.....

Front

We were very lucky with the weather, has it was the end of October. We had one bad day, so we had a games day. Keswick has a brilliant local market every Thursday and Saturday, so eating fresh produce everyday was what we all needed. We visited the Pencil museum which the kids loved, and they got some free bits for completing the quiz. Then in the afternoon we went to the Puzzling Place, which is an optical illusions place. It was interesting, but not really worth what we paid to get in. On the Monday we went to a place called Reghed, basically a craft shop complex built into the side of a hill. The indoor play Area went down well.

Tuesday was a very good day. We went to Grizedale Forest, not far from lake Coniston. The place was awesome and a walkers dream, with walks of all levels. Littered around the walks were sculptures of all shapes and sizes and some were hidden, so the boys enjoyed searching for them.

One of the kids!

The weather was fantastic, and we spent most of the day there. Then when we got back to the cottage, the view that greeted us from our bedroom window, well...

We made the most of our last day on Friday, and drove over to Maryport. They have an aquarium of the Lakes, really good and plenty to do and look at. Then finished the day off visiting a Twitter friend, couldn't of asked for a more perfect way to finish.

So there you go, you don't have to be a walker to get the best out of the Lake District, and the cottage was lovely and well worth the £400 we paid for it. I would recommend it to anyone, ive come back all relaxed after the crap year weve had. And just so you know were already planning to go back.

Next stop London and Wicked the musical!!

Thanks for reading

Offski

5/9/2011

Hello.
Yes i know, why so long! Well ive had a bit on, and not had much to blog about.

So after 6 long months, last Wednesday i had my last chemo. Hopefully that's it now, but with my luck i will probably be back again.

For those who have read from the beginning, you know how hard its been for all of us. What with my sickness and extremely bad mood swings, I've been a nightmare.
Its time to put all that behind us now. I have to go back in a month for check up, then sometime in November i have to go for another CT scan and bone marrow.

I don't mind the CT scan, apart from the friggin needles. Its the bone marrow Im not keen on. They did one when i went in for my bi-op, but i was asleep. I hope there planning on putting me to sleep again, or we could have problems!

So now the battle begins to get my fitness back. I've lost the bit of weight i needed to, just need to build my stamina back up and make some muscles. I've never been a bodybuilder sort of person, and i never want to be. Would just like to get in a good condition. Plus Shelley said she wants 'doing against a wall', whatever that means ;-).

I have also been neglecting Twitter and Google+, i will be putting that right as soon as possible. Be warned!

So that's it. Can't think of anything else to say. This must be 1of the worst blog ever. Im sorry.

Thanks for reading

Offski.

10/08/2011

England seems to be going to the dogs at the moment, and yes i said England because I've not heard anything about the rest of the country.

Im not going to call them riots, cos lets face it there not. Its young thugs out to get a free shop!

Anyway, last night i was just about to go to bed at 11pm. I did a search for my home town on twitter timeline, to see hundreds of tweets saying there were riots!
I later found out it was untrue, Asda had had its windows smashed and a few firefighters had been attacked.

But some sick people on twitter thought it was funny to stir the pot. Making up tweets, and even making up retweets from celebs. This was one :

RT @piersmorgan its all kicking off in huddersfield, riots galore!

But if you clicked on piers name and looked at his timeline, he hadn't tweeted for 3 hours? And why would he say about us anyway. So it appears some morons still have a lot of time on there hands, its sick and twitter at its worst.

Also i realised my cousin Dean might be out in the frontline because he's a firefighter for greater Manchester, just waiting for a reply to see if he's ok.

With all this craziness going on, things are happening that in normal circumstances wouldn't.
Communities standing up for themselves, and even rival football supporters  (Birmingham and aston villa) joining together to protect buildings and fight back. If anything is going to kick off at the weekend, then they better watch out, cos football fans won't take it they will fight back.
I know for a fact that if the police wanted me to stand with them, i would. My body maybe a bit knackered at the moment but i can still protect my family.

I hope you all stay safe over the unrest, and keep in touch.

Thanks for reading

Offski

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Google+

Google+ has been creating a bit of a storm on Twitter for a couple of weeks now. Last week I registered, only to be told I will receive an email when a space was free !?!

On Monday, I was sent an invite. So I followed the prompt and signed in with my Gmail/hotmail account. It was that easy !
Google+ is a cross between Twitter and Facebook with a little bit of MySpace Thrown in.

After spending a day on there, I've found out you can @ people like Twitter, and you get more than 140 characters, which for me was always a bugbear on Twitter.

Also like Facebook you can add Pictures, Video and there's a Chat service. And with the advantage of being able to add your own links to things like your Blog, and other social network sites, in my eyes it's set up for anyone that likes to share Media.

So it's ideal for Bloggers, musicians or artists. It allows you to show all your talents, safely.

When you start to invite people, you can put them in 'circles'. I think This is the key to Google+ working. Depending on what 'circle' you put someone in, allows them to see certain things. It's like a security level.
IE : someone in your family circle can see everything you put up and profile information. Where as the person in your following circle can only see the basic info you want them to.
I hope that's sounds how I was ment to write it !

Anyway, it's definitely worth a look !
If you want an invite, give me a shout.

Thanks fir reading

Offski.


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The Funhouse part2

Hello again. This is part2, the downstairs of the house.

Downstairs was a self-contained 2 bed flat, often called the dungeon for good reason. The 2 residents that lived here were my favourite, but they had there problems.

N was a 6ft 5 caribbean male and was built like a brick shit house. He was the house gardener, which he loved. He had challenging behaviour, but had been placed in the house due to him repeat offending. let's just say he had a thing for the ladies, and had been caught many times doing bad stuff.
His police record was a book, and very disturbing. He had to have 24 hour male support, every day of the year. So I spent most of my time with him. Under no circumstance was he to be left alone with any female. To let you know how sneaky he was, he broke into a nurses changing room at the hospital, hid in a store cupboard unscrewed the light bulb and watched them !


M had severe Autism and schizophrenia. To look at him, he wouldn't say boo to a goose. He lived upstairs when he first moved in, until one night he snapped. He destroyed most of upstairs and hurt 2 staff.
After that he was moved downstairs. He kicked off many, many times. The place became a bomb site. Broken cupboards, holes in Walls and safety glass. Before he had a 'moment', he would run round saying 'broken' or 'dangerous'. When we heard them words it was time to batten down the hatches. I've been beaten several times by him, and because of N the males had todo sleep overs downstairs, so we got the night time moments too.
I never hated or blamed him because it wasn't him, it was the 'other' person. He could spin on one leg for ages without stopping.


I worked there for nearly 3 years, and with hard work I made it upto team leader. But taking the team job was a mistake. The other TL's were women, and always made out it was a hard job. Agreed the handing out of medication was very difficult, but the running of a shift was piss easy ! And when the manager found out I was doing the TL job, then helping with residents, she wanted to know why the others weren't doing it. So I became a target, they often tried to pick faults and make up stupid stuff. There nickname was the witches of eastwick, very apt I thought !

I did the team leading for 6 months, then lumps started to appear and I was getting fed up of the hassle. So me and shell swapped, and she went back to work, while I looked after the Whirlwind.

So why the Funhouse ?
Well has P¡Nks lyrics say :

This used to be a funhouse,
But now it's full of evil clowns.
It's time to start the countdown,
I'm gonna burn it down down down.

The evil clowns being the staff !

Hope this explains a little bit about what I did.

Thanks for reading.

Offski.




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The Funhouse part1

Has I mentioned in a previous blog, I had worked at a residential house for Adults with challenging behaviour and Autism.

Having never done anything like this for a job before, it was one hell of a shock.

When I started there, the house was just getting started. Out of 13 rooms, only 7 had residents in them, these were the ones I worked with the most. The house was split in 2, upstairs is where 5 of them lived.
I will use the first letter instead of names.

M was a 50 year old woman, who didn't talk much. But when she got upset, which was a lot with these residents, she used to slap herself in the face. When I say slap, I mean SLAP. You could hear her anywhere in the house. She slapped herself so hard, that over the years both her eyes were ruined. The men were only allowed to support her in the afternoons, due to personal care. But I always got a 'thank you man' in a deep voice, at the end of the day.


K was a 23 year old man. He couldn't talk, felt no pain and ate and drank anything, and I mean anything (Picka), including himself, hands mainly. He could shit through the eye of a needle, and because of this, he had to wear male pads (nappies). He was the one I learnt basic sign language for, so I could at least say hello to. Because of the way he was, unfortunately most of the other residents hit out at him.


S was 19, 6ft 3 but with the mind of a 8 year old.
He was one of the frequent 'kick off' residents, and when he went, it took 4 of us to hold him down. But I got on well with S and earned his trust, so he hardly went for me unless I got in the way of him 'getting' someone else !
'I'm gonna get you' and 'bastard cow' were often shouted. And when he said 'get you', he ment it .

IB was asian, and to be honest a good breeze would of blown him over. He could talk .... A lot !
You could have a conversation with him, but most of the time he repeated 80's Tv programmes.
'how are you'?
'James Bond' ! Or Magnum, A-team, Knight Rider etc.
Why ? Probably due to the fact that when he was young, he was locked in his bedroom with a Tv. Autism is frowned upon in certain cultures.
He was also an expert at stacking anything and often all over the house. But he always made me laugh, no matter what.

J was a 5ft male of 25, he suffered from Multiple sclerosis, Autism and sometimes a serious bad attitude. From the minute you walked into his room, it was a battle. From getting him in the bath to getting him dressed, I've had many slaps and punches. He had a problem with most of us in the house. He always made out he was helpless and innocent, but that was far from it. When he was after you, he could move like the wind and fight like a cage fighter. He often got the people he was after too, then all hell broke loose. I've seen him fight his dad in the hospital car park. That was a day to remember, they both ended up in there.

So that's the top half of the house, they each had there problems, but every now and then, they were a pleasure to be with. I had a good support relationship with each of them, especially with J.

Part2 is the 2 that lived downstairs, and that's a totally different story.

Thanks for reading,

Offski.

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My Bucket List

Yes I have a Bucket list, I put it together about a month ago.
Most I hope will be done in the next couple of years, others might take a little longer !

So here it is and the reasons why :

1. Visit Australia : it's always been my dream destination, and I so need to go.

2. Go to the Belgium Grand Prix at Spa : it's my favourite race circuit in the world, always wanted to go.

3. Visit Egypt Again : I've been once, but want to do the whole rooting around tombs and temples.

4. Top Gear : get tickets for Top Gear, my favourite Tv show.

5. Machu Picchu : to see the Inca sight, a must in my eyes.

6. Mikey Walsh : I want to meet Mikey Walsh, the author of Gypsy boy.

7. Le-Mans 24hours : to go and watch the 24hour race.

8. Caterham : drive a Caterham car.

9. New Orleans : visit New Orleans, just for the carnival and music.

10. Billy Connolly : to see the Big Yin live, my favourite comedian.

11. Billy Joel : see him live, my favourite music.

12. Glastonbury Festival : go Glasto, camping the whole works.

13. Charity Bike Ride : cycle from Lands end to John O'groats for a cancer charity.

14. Vw Campervan : I want to own a Vw campervan, I always have, simple.

15. Comic-con : the comic convention in San Diego USA.

That's it ...,. For now !

This is not me giving up, I just thought I would do one. And if you think about it, there's probably lots of things you would love to do. Give it a try !



Thanks for reading

Offski.


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The inner Geek

Everyone has an inner person, call it what you like but mine is a Geek.

So where do I start ?!?

Well I suppose 1st I was a band Geek. I played in a brass band from the age of 11 till I was 22/23, and I loved it !

I am also a bit of a Tv geek. Some of my favourites being

Star Trek (next generation)

Dr who, Red Dwarf, Blackadder and Monty Python.

I've just finished buying DVDs of Tv shows from my childhood. Ivor the Engine and Chorlton and the Wheelies being the first 2. I guess they just don't make them like they used to.

I'm a huge Motorsport geek too. Everything and anything.
In Crewe where I was born we had a banger racing track and I went every Saturday night to watch, £3 for a few hours out and get covered in mud and dust, fantastic.

This lead to me getting a job at Oulton Park as a marshal, all the Motorsport I could handle. I've marshalled at other circuits too.

The Matrix is one of my favourite films ever, and when I found out that Todd McFarlane (a famous action figure maker) was making 3 series of Matrix figures, I had to have them.
It took me 3 years of eBay and web searching, but I finally got the whole collection. Towards the end I came across American McGee's Alice, 3 sets of horror figures based on Alice in wonderland. I needed these too, but were a bit more thin on the ground. Eventually I found all of them and cherished them.

But has with all collections, things happened so I sold them on. At a very healthy profit I might add !

Finally I'm a geek for all things Egypt and archeology. I watch all the programmes, read all the books. I'm a proper geek on this stuff ! I went to Egypt with an ex-girlfriend and did all the trips. I was right at the front of the group getting stuck in, while she stood at the back, bored.

So that's my inner geek. Are you bored yet ?

Thanks for reading.

Offski

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6/7/2011

When I started this blog, it was ment to be a fun look at life, Twitter and things in general. But not long after starting it, has most of you know I got CLL and my blog changed.

I've always tried to be upbeat and funny, but it's all a lie.

Since starting chemotherapy I've turned into this person who I hate. My body is copping with the nuclear waste, just.
Apart from extreme fatigue, which means walking up and downstairs leaves me knackered, and the bout of sickness my body is ok.

It's my head that's fucked !
I am feeling all sorts of emotions, from crying at the simplest things to raging anger. Im upsetting the people that I love, and I can't control it !

This treatment is making me so depressed, it's unreal. I have a very short fuse at the moment, and snap at the smallest of things. It's getting beyond a joke now, but because its classed has a 'side effect' they can't do anything for me.

My head is all over the place. I forget things, I'm nasty and feel alone in this world. If I'm honest, it's destroying me inside. They should use chemotherapy has a torturing device of some sort, because it really does take you to pieces in a very quick and soul destroying way.

Also I've become a 'Hermit'. I never go out of the house unless it's for my blood tests or chemo. I've missed all the hot weather we've had, because of being very self conscience about the way I look (in my head), and the scar I have. I feel like people are staring at me, and that hurts.

I have 2 more chemo to have, both in August. I can't bloody wait, and I will say this now, I will seriously think about having chemo again.

I'm sorry for blogging this but I needed to get it off my chest.
Many thanks

Offski x



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Working 9-5

Hello !
So today I'm blogging about my work history.

4 jobs that I've had have stuck out in my mind.

The 1st was my 1st job. I got on a YTS scheme at a company called Saxon Sanbec who made fire engines, ambulance and specialised vehicles. My apprenticeship was on the repair section, which I loved. You wouldn't believe how many emergency vehicles meet at traffic lights !
I loved this job, I had saved up my money and bought some decent tools, and made my own rolling box.
Saxon made the fire engines for the TV show 'Londons Burning' dont you know.
I worked there for just short of 4 years, until they decided to get rid of half of us, I was gutted. But managed to get my City and Guilds of it.

My 2nd was working at Oulton Park race circuit. Motorsport is a big passion of mine, and this was my dream job. I worked has a full time marshal, sometimes 7 days a week. I marshalled for the race school, private and open testing and corporate events. And on days off I helped out in the garage looking after the race school cars.
Doing this job I got to meet a lot of drivers and even the great Murray Walker.
Through doing this I also got to do the British Grand Prix twice. I worked here for 5 years.

The 3rd job was working for a shopfitting company. We installed the metal shelving that you see in tesco, Asda etc.
This job involved working in a team, traveling all over the uk, often at very short notice and for weeks on end, fitting the shelving.
The plus point were. Good money, I got to see a LOT of the Uk and the days off while away.
The bad points were. Away from home a lot, stupid working times, often nights and the boss was a knob.
The most dangerous thing I have ever done was, me and a mate had been sent to Inverness and Inverurie to do some work on there tesco. It was just before Xmas and we had been given a rare day/night off, until we got a phone call saying, could we go to glasgow and drop some parts of that we had spare. Stupidly we said yes, not realising what the weather was like. Within half an hour of being on a pitch black road we got thick freezing fog, and I mean thick. I couldn't see anything, but pushed on with the heater on full, trying to clear the windscreen. Another half hour later, we missed a Stag stood in the middle of the road by millimetres. If we had hit it we would of been in a valley upside down somewhere. But after many, many hours we got to Glasgow and recovered.
I worked in this job for 6 years and I left just before I met shelley.

My 4th job was my last job, working has a support worker in a residential home for adults with learning difficulties and Autism. I will blog about this next time, because there is to much to put in here.

Thanks for reading

Offski


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8/06/2011

So I'm sat here all hooked up to my chemo, getting really bord. So I'm doing some blogging, this is my second today !

I went to see the specialist and have some bloods done yesterday. She says everything is going very well, my lumps are small bits of gravel (compared to the golf balls they were), and my White blood cell count is getting back to normal.
Today I'm having my 3rd of 6 chemo, and it's the same old shit, just seems to be going quicker !

So what does all this mean ? I hear you ask.
Well it could mean that this bout of leukaemia is beaten, and things are looking rosy.
But the reality is that this is just going to keep coming back, could be weeks, months or even years but it will be back. I guess has soon has I feel a lump somewhere, I start all over again.

The only way I have a chance of getting rid of this is by having the Stem cell/ Bone marrow transplant that I mentioned in an earlier blog, something which I'm not looking forward to, it's the month in hospital that will do my head in, But I suppose it's worth it.
Also the way the dates have fallen, i get to have my 5th and last chemo in the same month, August ! Looking forward to that month haha. Let's wait and see.

The planning of my bike ride from Lands end to John ogroats is coming together slowly. Just waiting for Marie Currie to put the details up so I can book my place. I'm looking forward to it, even though it's roughly a year away ! But a lot of training needs to be done from this September onwards, and I need a bike !

Anyway that's me for today, I've nearly finished my nuclear waste. Off home soon, and hoping these new anti-sickness tablets work this time round !

I am home now, feeling good at the moment.

Thank for reading

Offski.


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24/05/2011

Hello ,
Glad you all survived the Rapture/Domesday/Armageddon, I wasn't really prepared for it, so maybe next time I will be.

Lots has been happening in the news. A wrestling Legend dies, and a footballer messes up his private life. But not going to talk about that.

Having leukaemia, I've had a lot of time on my hands, and I've been doing a lot of thinking.

Firstly money has been worrying me, or lack of it. I've applied for some benefits, but I've never claimed anything before and I can't get over how much hassle it is. I've applied for one benefit, sent all my hospital diagnosis letters off, to find out that the letters arnt good enough and I need a medical certificate from my GP. Having now got this certificate and sent it off, I now have to wait to see if I get it !

Another thing is we are desperate for a holiday. So I'm booking a cottage in the Lake District for a week in October. I don't really care what the weathers like because it's not home and we can unwind.

Also I've decided to buy a season ticket for Huddersfield town football club. Yes it's going to be a lot of money, but the brats can get free season tickets through school. So that's the excuse I'm going with (spending time with the boys).

I seem to have lost my Twitter mojo too with all this Cancer crap going on. I've lost touch with a couple of my oldest tweeters and seem to of upset a couple of them. For this I'm very sorry and will try and put things right.

Last but not least. I've been thinking about my health in general. Also I'm thinking about repaying all the help I've received from Kirkwood Hospice. I'm not a runner, so let's get that straight, but I did do a lot of bike riding.
So I've been on the old interweb and found an organisation that do charity bike rides. I've done a lot of thinking about this and decided to do one with them next year (2012). I need to raise a bit of money and need a bike, but that's the plan.
So there you have it, oh hang on didn't say it was from John O'groats to Lands End !
This is something I really want to do and try and split the sponsor money between Kirkwood and Leukaemia research. So I hope that when the time is right, I can count on a few of you for help.

Anyway that's it. Thanks for reading !

Offski.

I was sat in a wine bar, enjoying my own company. I took a sip of my drink and looked over to the other end of the bar. I saw a stunning brunette looking back at me.
She was wearing a Wonder Woman costume, with lots of flesh on show. We looked each other up and down, and both gave a knowing smile. I noticed she was drinking Budweiser like me, so I called the barman over. "Same again for me, and another for the pretty lady over there."
He said, "That's a mirror, you pisshead, and the rest of the stag do left an hour ago."


A famous Football Player is providing funding to build Travelodge, Holiday Inn, Premier Inn, Hilton & NOVOTEL Hotels on a busy crossroads in Manchester.
Apparently it's going to be a Super Inn Junction.

In the maternity wigwam, there were 3 squaws in labour.
The one on the left was lying on a horse skin, the one in the right was lying on a buffalo skin and the one in the middle was lying on a hippo skin.
The one on the hippo skin gave birth to twins, the other two gave birth to single babies.
This goes to prove that the squaw on the hippopotamus is equal to the sum of the squaws on the two adjacent hides.



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17/05/2011

Hello !
Yes I'm still alive ..... Just.
It must be catch up time surely ?

So last Wednesday I had my 2nd lump of Nuclear waste put into this temple of a body that's now a friggin ruin. I got there for 10am and was told to go to room 1. I sat on a sofa and was plugged in to my drip, all was going well until this old miserable bag came and sat next to me and didn't stop moaning till 3pm when, still feeling good I finished and got the bus home.

The rest of that day and Thursday went without much problem. Friday came and I could feel the chemo creeping up on me. How do you know I here you ask ?!? Well .....
1. Feeling tired
2. Getting snappy
3. Wanting to cry at everything/anything.

The crying thing is a bit embarrassing, for instance : a girl on Deal or no Deal won £250,000, and that was that, floods of tears.
Then watching Britain's got Talent on Saturday there was a drum group on, and cos they said no to putting them through I burst in to tears again.

By Saturday it had kicked in fully and was making me feel like shit. But I had an added bonus this time of sickness and the squirts. The throwing up started at 5pm and carried on until 7am Sunday morning. Then followed straight away with the shits. Everything that was coming out of me was a bright yellow, and I mean BRIGHT yellow..... Sorry.

Sunday followed much of the same sort of pattern but not as much. I spent the day in bed trying to watch sport but what with falling asleep and trips to the bathroom I missed most of it. At this time I still hadn't eaten anything much but I did try and eat some roast chicken and gravy which I wolfed down, this was a turning point. The rest of the day I still felt sick but wasn't.

I woke up Monday morning without having much sleep and instantly threw up again. Shelley said enough was enough and I was carted off to hospital to see the specialist, had some bloods taken (Grrrrr) and sat with him.
So we said I could try these wicked anti-sickness tablets, I only have to take a quarter of one tab, they work a dream !

So there you have it, up to date and feeling ok this morning.

Thanks for reading

Offski



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05/05/2011

It's been a while I know ! ..... I'm sorry.

It's been a weird week really, and I'm beginning to understand what a nasty piece of work Chemotherapy really is. It's making me and my body do things I don't like.

It makes my body tired, if I want to do anything, I have to plan 3 days in advance. So if I want to play on Xbox Kinect, I know the next day I'm gonna be rough, and the 3rd day all I'm going to want to do is sleep.
I baked yesterday for the first time in ages, in all about 2 hours. Today I feel like crap and I've had a nap for an hour and half.

On the other side of things, I'm short tempered then I'm quiet. I feel useless and bad for not helping around the house. I also feel unloved, but I hope that's not true.

Anyway enough of that again. I have to go for my next chemo (full fat this time) which I'm really shitting myself over because I had my first lot over 4days and also had flush to water it down, and I've felt really crap. The second is the same amount but over 4 hours and no flush, so I'm readying myself for a hard couple of weeks.

Did I say I had started baking ?
I have a bit of time on my hands now obviously, so I've bought 3 books off eBay. So far I've made Flapjacks and a Banana Tealoaf, both of which were yummy. Next time it's Parkin and a Cheesecake of some sort. I also want to make my own bread which I plan to do next week sometime.

So that's it for this week, going to leave you with a joke.


As my sister-in-law roared off in her new car my wife commented "I think I made a mistake marrying you, Look how happy my sister is in her new car"
I said "Yes, maybe if you sucked a lot of cock your boyfriend would buy you a Porsche too"
"I may well just do that" she sneered.
"It's a bit late now" I replied "I can't afford two".



Thanks for reading.

Offski


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27/04/2011

Hello ! I've not blogged for a few days.

It's been 2 weeks since I had my first lump of chemo, and to be honest, Im not coping to well.
I have never been so tired. I get up at 8.30am and by 12 midday I'm ready for a kip. I did the hoovering a few days ago and suffered the next day, I played on Kinect Sports on the xbox yesterday and I'm absolutely knackered today.

I feel like I'm a burden to my family at the moment and really useless, it's even a friggin struggle going down stairs for a fag FFs.

My next chemo is on the 11th of may in out-patients for 4 hours then 4 days of tablets, and I'm not looking forward to it. My first lump was over 4 days and was watered down, the next lot is full fat over 4 hours ! So good knows what it's gonna do to me. I know my hair is on it's way because it's stopped growing, but I've got my hats now, so it can sod off.

So that's it for today, sorry it a miserable one today .... But you did want it warts and all !

Thanks for reading

Offski





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The Venney

I grew up on a small estate with a pub The Flying Lady (named after the Rolls Royce mascot), and my local infant/junior school, Hungerford in Crewe. On this huge site, there was 2 school buildings,a nursery, a football field and a tarmac path widing the whole length of the site going through a tunnel half way. The rest was hills and fields.

In the late 70's Hungerford school decided they needed something for us todo in the school holidays, so 2 people were employed to run holiday activitys, using the nursey has a base. They were given some money for wood and tools, and the adventure playpark or the Venney has it was known was born. This play played a big part in my growing up in the late 70's, 80's and early 90's. It was brilliant, the holidays came and i would be up and out for 8am waiting for who was ever on that day, to help out and build stuff. I wasnt the only 1 either, there was at least 20 regulars, and we built eveything.

We built a fort on the highest hill, we had a 40ft slide down the other side. A huge metal rocket and a mono-rail put in by Rolls Royce due to all the kids parents worked there.
Our imaginations run wild, we built a wood shed, something we called the Haunted House and were even given an old railway carrige from British Rail.

We just didnt build stuff, we went on orginised trips on coaches and played games like 'capture the flag', 'british bulldog' and lots of sports all over the site. It was ace, when my brother was old enough i took him with me, and that was it Bignank and Littlenank were born. Every waking hour was spent there, helping out and messing around, parents didnt need to care then, they knew we would be back for tea.

We also had Bonfire night ! the week before we would make a guy and go 'penny for a guy' at the local shops, and we got good money too. All the money we made went to but the refreshments for Bonfire night party. We went around the estate collecting all the old wood and cardboard, and buy the time we finished we had enough for a big bonfire. It was organised ever year £2 a ticket and the whole estate came. The fire was lit at 6.30 pm, and the nursery opened to sell hot drinks, burgers etc. The Fireworks we set off at 7.30pm, and every year they bought 1 firework that we it exploded, it sent a dude in a parachute gliding of across the houses, and ever year there was a hoard of 20+ kids running after it to get it.

These years were probably the best years in my young life, and i will never forget it. I had my first drink there, i had my first ciggy there, it was OUR place we had built it.

But sadly, it was knocked down in 1998 and replaced with 40+houses for yuppies. I was gutted, we all were, there were a lot of tears in Crewe that day.
So that was it, the Venney was gone, but im still there in my head and that will never change.

Thanks for reading

Offski

19/04/2011

Today is my Birthday, 19/04/1972 was me, so that means I'm 39 and so very nearly 40 ! but that's another story.

I'm blogging today because this morning i passed my 10,000 tweet on Twitter. Now i think this is a big deal !?! when i joined Twitter i always wondered how people managed to tweet 10,000 tweets, but after being on for a while, i understood how. Its very addictive (don't you think ?).

Anyway at the very start of this year 01/01/2011 i saved the tweet number i was on so i could keep an eye on what number i was doing. That number was 3467, from 10,000 leaves 6500 ish in 4 months (so yeah very addictive).

The reason i gave my 10,000 tweet to only the select few is because some have been through a similar thing, and others have helped lift my mood while in hospital having my chemo. There were other tweeters who helped but i didnt have the room so you might get one next time (11,000) !

Ive spoke to some amazing peepers on Twitter, and dare i say it, i can call some of them close friends.
I hoping to meet a few of you this year, in one way or another. Some of you dont live to far away, and we could always meet half way for the others, so be warned !

Anyway, thanks for reading this incredably short and boring blog today

Offski

16/04/2011

Firstly, i need to publicly apoligise to the way i spoke to my beautiful girlfriend shelley on Thursday. I was bang out of order and for that im so very sorry.

Not done one of these for a couple of days, so here goes. They took me off my drip Wednesday night and said that that was it, and i would be going home the next day after the docs had been round about 10.30.
So the morning comes and im a little excited, i have my last set of bloods done, then i just wait and wait and wait. Then at 11.30 the staff nurse wonders in with an 8 hour drip and plugs me in. Well that was that i lost it and shelley got the lot.

I have most of my drip, then the docs turn up and say i can go home at 17.00. I was packed within 5 mins, to be told that i will still have to wait, so they can sort my pills out, maybe i should ring whoever was picking me up, to come at 17.30.
I didnt have anyone picking me up, i got my pills and got a taxi, which now i realise was a bloody bad idea.
I walked through the front door of home, and broke down (i dont do full on crying, but this was), i felt like death and told shell that there was no way on earth i was going back for my next lot of chemo.

Anyway i calmed down a little, and tried to explain about my pills, and took my load i needed to take. I went for a long hot shower and to have my first shave for 4 days, i looked like i'd eaten a bear and left it's arse hanging out.
I had been given 2 lots of anti-sickness pills, but the problem was they didnt work, so straight out of the shower to say hello to god on the big white telephone, i went to bed at 8.30 the earliest in years but didnt sleep much.

The Friday i was a little better and although i was sick in the morning, i managed to keep some mushroom soup down, and felt better. I had a power nap at 12 for 2 hours, but yet again didnt sleep much last night.
That brings me to now. I feel a bit better today so thought i would have a catch up, which ive done !

Thanks for reading

Offski  

13/04/2011

The 3rd day of my big adventure seems to be going ok. I got a good nights sleep last night, apart from the old bloke across from me having a farting fit at 3.30am. They were proper room shakers too, thought he was gonna take off.
I had a night of the drip until 6am when I was put back on a flush.

Breakfast came and went and I was waiting for my 2 princesses to come and visit at 11, it got to that time when I heard a 'dadda ! Where are you?' , she never fails to make me smile whatever mood I'm in.

We escaped to go for my 1st fag (I'd run out at 10pm the night before), because I knew my 2nd dollop of chemo was on it's way. By the time we got back it was waiting.
This was a bigger dose than yesterday, and the first time Shelley had seen what it does to me. To be honest the first half hour wiped me out, we had dinner, the Whirlwind went on her rampage then they left.

This 2nd lot has really taken it out of me today, I've had several little kips this afternoon and had flu like symptoms but sod it that's life now, or it is if I want a longer one anyway. It's definatly taken something out of me, I'm knackered and I've only been for a ciggy !!

I'm hoping tomorrow is my last day in here, I just have to have a flush drip in the morning then I should be ok to go home.

So that's it, sorry its only short and sweet today

Thanks for reading

Offski xx


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12/042011

So day 2 of the adventure.
After I blogged last nite, THEY decided to hook me up to a drip. I have to have 2 12 hour bags and 3 8 hours ones to flush all the crap and toxins out of my body. The chemo is going to melt all the lumps but the toxic crap might go with it, straight to my kidneys, which in turn could shag them. So this is the reason I'm in for 3-4 days, so they can keep an eye on me.

I will admit to you all, that with all the waiting and worrying, I broke down last nite and had a good cry to myself. I was listening to Billy Joel on my iPod, and a song came on and that was it. I miss my family very much, and couldn't cope !

Anyway I think I feel asleep about midnight, but thanks to the arse on the other side of the ward , I got a broken 6 hours sleep. Plus I had the drip in still, so couldn't get comfy. I was woke at 6 am to have my blood pressure done, then stayed awake till breakfast.

At 10am I had some bloods taken, well I say some, it's was 12 blood bottles full Ffs, and it took 10 mins to do. So not a happy chappy.
11.30 came and Shelley came to visit, she looked beautiful has always. We chatted, I had my dinner of Cornish pasty and salad and at 1 (end of visiting) she left.

Now being a smoker has brought a bit of amusement to fellow tweeters, or the fact of me doing the great escape when I want 1. It's not the getting out, it's the fact I have my stabiliser with me (drip trolley), and the fact that out of 5 wheels none of them want to go the way I do !
Also there seems to be this thing that I'm a bit of a mischief maker, I don't know where this comes from, but it's not true... Well some of it's not true haha.

So my last break out has got me in trouble. Been for a cig and walking back to the ward, when the plug fell out of my drip. Half went on me and the floor, the staff nurse gave me a stern look and said 'that's why we don't let you wander off with the chemo' , but it was only that salt water flush stuff, thank god :)

I've had my first lot of pills, and chemo is on it's way. That sentence was wrote at 1.15 in the afternoon, I am back to waiting AGAIN.
The heavy stuff turned up at 4.15 pm, and has I write this I'm hooked up to my chemo, and already I'm feeling a bit funky.
So this is it. My body won't be the same again, and the battle with leukaemia begins.



My pills

Thanks for reading

Offski xx

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11/04/2011

I've had an unusual end to last week and start to this week.
Sunday started with Formula 1 on the tv, and Shelley going to town. The whirlwind had other ideas about going having an afternoon nap. So we had play fights till mama got back, shell came back and gave me a bag. In the bag was an xbox Kinect, and it was an early birthday present (19th is my official birthday). Also it had a game with it , Dance Central. I connected it up straight away, and spent the rest of the day bopping and having a wicked time.

After that we had an awesome Sunday tea of roast chicken, which was delicious. I had a shower and settled down to watch 'the cube', keeping a close eye on twitter because the US masters was on. I got my way at 8.30 and the golf was put on.

Shell went to bed at 9.30 and I carried on watching the masters.
To my surprise my iPhone lit up with a message from @schofe (Philip schofield) wishing me all the best !
I replied saying thank you, then found out he was following :)
In previous blogs I've said about 'celebs' not answering back, but he did, so that kind of cool ?
Anyway I went to bed at 11, woke up with cramp in my foot at 2.30am then a wee at 4am. I got up at 7.30 feeling a bit rough.

The doctor had told me to ring ward 12 at 8.30 am to see what time to go in, to be asked for my phone number and a 'we will ring you' said down the phone.

The post came, and to my surprise there was a letter from Dr Rothwell to my own Dr, saying that I have lumps inside me all around my diaphragm, abdomen and neck, shoulders etc. Also that I have a enlarged spleen, which is something she forgot to tell me !

I rang ward 12 back at midday and was told the same thing, so now I sit and wait.

Got the phone call at 3.45 to go in, my bed is ready. Made it just in time for tea, which wasn't to bad really.
I've been poked and prodded by the dude that did my bone marrow. Also I've spoken to Dr Rothwell's number 2, he explained what's going to happen tomorrow and said the only reason I'm staying in, is because the chemo will melt all these lumps, but if they all let go at the same time, the toxins could knacker my liver.

I think the thing that's worrying is that after tomorrow my body won't ever be the same. From a temple to a ruin, but I guess that's the way it got to be.

So there you go, a funny 2 days really. I plan to tweet and read now :)

Thanks for reading,

Offski

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07/04/2011

Its been another exciting day in the world of Richnank. Another appointment at the hospital, this is the one for the deciding vote on which way they go on treatment.
We go by bus and the stop is only a short walk from the house. We stroll down, have a fag while waiting. Then this old woman comes wondering up to the stop and in a voice that can be only described has 'Borat's mother', 'are you waiting for the bus?' she asked all 5 of the people waiting the same question. Thankfully a bus came and whisked her off, leaving me and Shell chuckling to ourselves, with me doing a bad impression of Borat.

At the hospital we walk down to the blood place (sorry i don't know how to spell Hematology !), and walk in to say I'm here. 2 of the nurses already know me by my first name, so had a quick chat with them, then went and sat and waited.

Basically Dr Rothwell said that the gene results were back, and it would be the course of chemo that she said it might be. I also signed up for the trial they were doing, some new drug or something, sod it why not !

So Monday morning at 8.30 i have to ring Ward 12 to see if there is a bed, if so then I'm straight in, and stay in till Wednesday afternoon or possibly Thursday afternoon.
From what i can gather I'm to have a total of 6 cycles, each cycle lasts 5 days and repeated every 4 weeks. I'm to have intravenous chemo for one day, then something else pumped into me on the second day then tablets.
For the other 5 cycles I'm to go in for the day, then tablets for the other 4 days. Side effects don't look good, but i just got to man up and take it.

So there you go, now you know what i know. The next one of these will probably be from hospital, when I'm Bord off my tits !
And it looks like I've made it through this week without having some sort of needle stuck in me, which is always good.

Thanks for reading and all the support and 'Tweetment'

Offski

05/04/2011 Results

I woke up this morning, walked upstairs (cos we live in an upside down house), and my bad attitude was let lose on shell and the kids. I didn't mean to, just with what today was, i wasn't really feeling the morning. Shell went to work and i marched the brats up to school and was back for 8.30 to watch Lazytown with the Whirlwind. At 10.30 the Whirlwind was picked up and whisked off for the day, and left me on my own to stew in my own juices. By the time Shelley came home from work at 12.30 i was in more of a talking mood. We caught the bus to Huddersfield hospital and sat outside Dr Rothwell's room and waited.
I was called and off we went, she is a lovely Dr, she sat us down and it began.

I have been diagnosed with CLL , Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia. I have to go back to see her this Thursday because she was waiting for the genetic side of the bi-opsy which she needs so she can put me on the right Chemotherapy (there are 2 types). The Dr said i could be booked in to start it has early has the Friday of possibly Monday.
I will have to stay in for 3 days so they can monitor me due to the fact that CLL is an old persons Leukaemia and i am only 38 they are not to sure how it will affect me. This is non-cure able but also a 'grumbling' disease, so it means that, i have my treatment then possibly go for months or years and it all happens again.
The Dr also said that it was mentioned that because I'm young that, depending on how the treatment goes, i might have to have a Bone Marrow Transplant and can look forward to spending a whole month in Leeds while they do it FFS!
This also means getting in touch with my brother (who i haven't spoken to in years) to see if hes a match, and if he would help out.

So there we go, that's what i know. I now have to decided a couple of things :

1. What sort of head wear to get, due to the fact my hair will fall out. I'm not into the headscarf thing and a baseball cap don't look right, so was thinking maybe a fetching beret ?
2. The fact that shell will possibly have to give up work for a while.
3. Money
All of which i will sort out in my own time

Can i just say a big thank you to everyone on Twitter that has helped us both, even if its just a chat to take our minds off things.

You know who you all are.

Thanks for reading, when i know more, so will you !

Offski

Tuesday 29/03/2011

Firstly, i would like to say a big 'well done' to  our 2 boys for brilliant parents evening reports, very good considering the way they are sometimes.

Anyway, today i was supposed to get my results back, and finally find out what i have and what type it is. But due to my bi-opsy and bone marrow results not being back yet, i now have to wait another week ! FFS.
But from the way the specialist was talking i know shes hiding something, and here are my reasons :

1. She used the word cancer a lot today, she didn't on our first visit..

2. She said the treatment would be outpatient at Huddersfield, now its a sleep over at Leeds..

3. I go back to see her next Tuesday, she said she can book me in for treatment next Friday..

I asked about the CT scan i had, all she told me was there are a lot more lumps (like the 1 i had in my neck) in my abdomen, groin and chest, which fills me full of joy (not !)
So I'm back to waiting, again. And all I've got to look forward to is getting my stitches out on Friday morning.
We have both sat the boys down and tried to explain to them what is going to happen as good as we can, but not really knowing what I'm up against, was a bit tricky.

I would like to thank all of you from Twitter, for your support and help its very much appreciated. I really do follow some amazing people, your all truly wonderful.

Anyway that's it..... that's all i know, when i find out more i will tell you.

Thanks for reading

Offski

Saturday 26/03/2011

Yesterday was the day i went to hospital for my bi-opsy. Firstly i had to travel to Halifax, which is about 10 miles away. I get there for 7.15, to find out that I'm due in theatre at 8.30 am. This was good news due to the fact i don't like hospitals, so i sit and wait, and wait and wait. By 10.30 I've spoken several swear words in Shelley's direction and wound myself up nice and tight. I went to find a nurse and ask whats going on (not very politely), she wanders off and comes back to tell me that they have put 2 others in front of me !
Midday comes, and by now I'm in a foul mood. Then i get called, and off i go. Get on the table shaking uncontrollably, the sleep dude is asking me what i do, and the next thing is its 13.15 and I'm waking up, being wheeled to the ward.
After 30 mins i come round properly, and chat to the other to lads that are in the ward. I go to the loo, look in the mirror to see a 5 inch slit in the side of my neck held together with staples and some sort of bar. I was never the best looking guy, but FFS it makes me look like a Texas chainsaw massacre reject. Also i have a hole on my right hip, where the bone marrow was taken from.
At 14.15 Shell and the Whirlwind come to visit along with her sister-in-law and her mate. We chat and get told that im allowed home at 18.00, so the girls go and i try and get comfy.
Its home time, im dressed and waiting and stagger out of the hospital, get in a car and go home.
We order takeaway, and i try and catch up on Twitter but give it up as a loss and head to bed at 9pm with the pills working i get in to bed. The only problem is, i have this thing on the left hand side of my neck, and the hole on my hip is on the right side, so trying to get comfy is a friggin nightmare. Ive managed to get some sleep, but now cant get settled anywhere i sit !
Its been a strange Friday and now i have to just wait till Tuesday for the specialist and my results, and to find out what treatment i will need.
Thanks for reading
Offski

Sunday 20/03/2011

After having a strange week last week, its set to be another this week. I have my CT scan on Wednesday, then have to travel to Halifax on Friday to have my bi-ops and bone marrow taken. I then have to go back to the specialist next Tuesday to get the results and to see what treatment they are going to give me. In a way im glad its going so quickly so i know what it is i have to fight, but on the other hand i know its going to put a strain on everything at home, especially when i have treatment. I know were both strong enough to deal with it, but its stress we could do without.
In other news, iTunes finally wanted to play nice yesterday and got round to cleaning all the crap off my phone, and it feels lighter now to.
I seem to have lost my Twitter mojo at the moment what with all this going on, im sure it will come back with a vengence soon, i bloody hope it does anyway. While im on about Twitter, i have had another clear out of my following. I cant understand why people follow, then dont want to talk.
The Whirlwind is coming on leaps and bounds now too. She is saying more words, starting to play fight and is very cheeky. But the biggest thing is she sleeps in a big bed now, and all night, which is a big load off. I have also decided that when she grows up shes either gonna be a Stuntwoman, a Dancer or a Comedian.
Anyway enough of wasting your time, thanks for reading
Offski.

Tuesday 15/03/2011

Just an update for you all :
So been to see the Ear, Nose and Throat dude today, there was 2 of them, 1 being a doctor in training. I sat down and we chatted, then he had a feel around my neck and throat paying attention to the 2 huge lumps then finding 2 more at the base of my neck/shoulder (well he didnt find them, i knew they were there and they hurt like f#ck), he asked if they hurt while pressing it. I take the, me jumping off my chair was the answer he needed ! He then looked down my throat, and stuck a camera up my nose and down the back, it felt wierd and now all i can taste is the jelly they put on the end of it.
I then had to sit and listen to the 2 of them discuss what they had found, has per the norm it was all doctor jargon. But while they were talking, i was having a look at the notes on his desk. The only word my eyes fixed on was c....., makes it feel more real when you see THAT word.
They finished talking and decided that they need to cut a bit out of my neck ASAP, and was given a letter to take straight away to a department.
So we found the place, gave them the letter and was booked in there and then for a Pre Op Assesment for tomorrow at 10am.
The specialist says i will be in for my Op within 2 weeks, but the speed its going, i reakon i will be in early next week. Lets just wait and see.
Had a crap bus ride home, to find another appointment to go back and see the blood woman 2 weeks today and should know then what type i have and what the treatment will be..
Thanks for reading
Offski

Saturday 12/03/2011

First i would like to say how sorry i am to see whats happening in Japan. No-one should have to go through anything like that. The TV pictures of that wave coming in, and the whirlpool in the ocean, scared the shit out of me ! But has with all disasters there are the morons with the jokes, don't get me wrong, i love a joke, but not when its disrespectful and sick. So you wont be seeing any from me on Twitter.

Just so you know Ive had a couple of my appointments come through to find out whats, what, and they start this Tuesday. I seem to be having a couple of down days due to the fact that all this is sinking in, but today i feel full of the joys of spring, so I'm making the most of it.
Also in other news, I've managed to get a new X-box 360 ! The middle brats x-box has got RROD (red ring of death) and is therefor knackered. So its been decided that he will have mine, and i get the new one, with 2 new games ! (i know, small things etc), but i don't care.
The Whirlwind seems to have grown up a lot this week too. She had her first night in a 'big' bed on Monday, and took to it straight away, also she is saying a lot more words and her cheeky side is starting to come out. She gives these cuddles that fills my heart full of joy and has me in fits of laughter with the things she does, shes ace.
Anyway it was only supposed to be a quickie,
Thanks for reading
Offski

Tubby the Tuba 3

So Normid 2000 was formed from all the older members of the youth band, and to be honest we had big expectations, how wrong we were. We got new members and got the band up to strength and went to Blackpool in the 4th section. We were drawn first, played then found a pub and got wrecked, this was to become a common activity. Out of 22 bands we come 19th ! what a shock and a hard kick in the balls that was, the journey home was a very quiet one.
We did concerts and carried on contesting but we never really won anything, which was very disapointing, and most contests were just a turn up and play, then go find a pub to get pissed in, this carried on for 3 years until a local 2nd section band came knocking.
They were the United Co-op band, and were a big deal in crewe. I went along to my first practice, sat and played my first piece and it was like WFT ! Everything was different, they sounded awesome and were very professional. I was offered a place so i took it.
We did a lot of high profile concerts and a lot contests (test piece and entertainment). The band was loved doing entertainment contests cos it wasnt so serious and we could show off. A lot of these style contests were held around the evesham, pershore and cheltnaham area, due to the fact that the conductor was from down there.
We went to Blackpool to complete in the 2nd section, the first year i went with them we came 4th, but the 2nd year we came 2nd and qualifed for London again but this year it was being held at the Wembley confrence centre. We went down again for a long weekend with the test piece called 'Firestorm' which was wrote about the gulf war, we came 6th and had a really good weekend. I even managed to get tickets to go see the Championship section at the Allbert hall. These were the best bands in the country, Black Dyke, Fodens,Cory and the Grimethorpe colliery band.
The film Brassed off was based on Grimethorpe (or Grimley) has they were in the film. If you have watched the film and you remember the bit at the end where Danny stands up and gives the big speach ? I was there, and it was a man called Major Peter Parkes, there conductor at the the time and very well to do. Every word that Danny said came from Major Parkes mouth, it put everyone in a state of shock, inculding the Queen. But he was right in what he said, and they deserved to win.
We got asked to go to Holland to do an entertainment contest over there, we jumped at the chance, it was for a week. I dont remember much about it apart from, staying awake on the coach all the way there, having a day out in Amsterdam, pissing about around the red light district, and winning. The reason i dont remember much is because of the large amount of Oranjeboom i drunk on the trip.
I got to 25 and started to lose interest, so i left and got on with my life. I still listen to Brass band music and keep an eye on results, and to be honest i would love to go back to it.... lets just wait and see.
Thanks for reading
Offski

Wednesday 09/03/2011

Hello ! for some reason i always want to start my blog with 'so' but I'm not going to.

Ive had an unusual weekend, what with the doctor on Friday, then getting my appointment on Saturday. Well yesterday was the specialist appointment and it confirmed what i already thought. I have been diagnosed with Leukemia, which sort we do not know yet. I am waiting to go in to hospital to have a bit of the lump cut from my neck, and have a bone marrow graft to find out whats, what. Then because most of the lymph glands that she could feel were enlarged, if need a CAT scan to see whats happening elsewhere. This should all be done in the next 2 weeks, then they can decided which way to go on the treatment.
I went to the docs over 2 years ago which lumps in my throat, but after a course of meds they went down. Then something has set it of again, but it means it a 'crawler' has the specialist said, so when they nail it its quite possible i wont have to go back again for a couple of years, or thats the plan anyway.
I know what to expect due to my first girlfriend's dad having the same thing, so i know i will have down days.
Now the next bit is probably gonna sound a bit far out but....
I dont know if i beleive there is anyone watching over us, but when the Whirlwind was born, and we found out that she had MCADD, i said i couple of.. well prayers i suppose. In them i asked if someone could make things ok for her, and if needed to, take bits of me to make it happen, and now im sat here typing about this.
Make of this what you will, but ive always belived in karma.
Im not looking for sympthy, what will be will be. But im going to blog about what happens and what i go through, so if you want to follow your more than welcome.

Thank you for the kind comments so far on Twitter, it means alot, and some of you might regret saying 'im here to talk to, if you need it' hahahaha.
Anyway thanks for reading, sorry its a bit morbid. Will let you know how i go on !

Offski

Tubby the Tuba 2

So anyway, where were we ?
Oh yes, i had just joined the youth band called South Cheshire Young Brass Band. We practised every Tuesday night 7-9 pm, and i was loving it ! everyone there had the same things in common has me, and half of the band was made up of the school band so we had a lot of fun.
The 2 main contests of the year were Blackpool Winter Gardens (the area's), and Pontins the semi's were held in southport around april and final's were at prestatyn. The first Pontins we did, we had a coach for and went on the day, after that a few of us decided to go and stay the whole weekend (thurs-mon). Now bear in mind we were a Youth band so the max age was 18, by the first time we stayed over i was 15 and had grown into my bones (6ft), the first thing we did when we got there was straight to the supermarket for trays of beer. We could all get into the night club at 15 and had the idea of buying the first one, then taking it in turns to go back to the chalet, load up with cans and go back in ! this was a tradition for the next 3 years and saved us a fortune. Also at the end of night they would kick us out the back door and the Pontins Grand Prix would start, first, jump over 4 rose hedges then 1 lap around the boating lake after you had pushed the boat in to the water ,then finish with a sprint to the dorm, doing this when ratarsed on Newcastle Brown Ale is not easy.
We also entered the area's at blackpool at the begining of March, we had a couple of years coming 2nd to Bessies boys, but in 1987 that all changed.
The Test piece was perfect for us, it was loud in parts and some good solo's for certain people it was called the Cumbrian Suite. The coach picked us up at 6am on the sunday morning from the band room, and we were off. We got to blackpool had a practice in some dive of a club then went to the Winter Gardens. We played an absolute blinder and waited for the other bands to play thiers, we were all nervous has the judges walked to the stage, they read out 3rd place then 2nd went to bessie's boys, then in slow motion he said our name, we had done it, we were off to the Royal Albert Hall in London.
The next 6 months was fund raising so we could afford to get down there, we were invited to the mayor of crewe's chambers, and even somehow managed British Rail into giving us our own coach of the 8.36 to London the Friday before the final's. We later found out one of the big bosses of British Rail (crewe being a big rail town and his home base), was an uncle of 1 of the players, and that was why it was free.

We all piled down to London on the Friday morning, booked into this swanky hotel, practiced, then we were set free to explore this huge city. Saturday was the final, we made our way to the Albert Hall quietly shitting ourselves, this was it, all the best youth bands in the country. We were drawn number 5, band 4 were playing when our name was called, we made our way to the stage but the only way on, was through this piddley arsed door about 4 1/2 ft high carved into the stairs that went up the back of the stage. Now my Tuba was 4ft high and very heavy but i managed to get through, we sat, we played and we come 6th, Not to bad out of 16 i suppose. On the Sunday we returned to Crewe like heroes, it was a big thing for our small town then, and we had these plaques given to us by the mayor. We went on to win the finals of Pontins for the next 2 years, and back to being 2nd at blackpool, but i was now 18 and time to move on. So South Cheshire turned into Normid 2000 brass has a 4th section band, and the adventures begun again whith the same group of people, only this time it was serious and grown up.

thanks for reading, last bit next time.

Offski

Friday 04/03/2011

So I've been to the doctors this morning, and i sat waiting, and these 2 old boys are talking. Now 1 cant hear properly and the other has a speech problem, they are talking about football from what i can understand, and after 5 minutes the whole surgery had cottoned on to the fact that Micheal Carrick had signed a new deal, apart from the deaf dude who just kept saying 'yer what'.
Anyway my name is called and off i go, i sit and to be honest im quietly shitting myself.
The doctor started off saying the blood specialist from huddersfield hospital, had rung him on wednesday night asking about me and how long i had had these lumps in my throat. He then showed me a graph and explained that the average white blood cell count (the ones that fight viruses) is apparently between 9.00-11.00 per something or other, and mine was 35.40 and this is highly iregular. So my bloods have now been sent to Leeds for deeper investigation, and the waiting begins.
I have also been fast tracked to go see some blood dude, and should have an appointment in the next 14 days. While talking he said a few things that scared the shit out of me, like it could be Weil's disease (Rats carry this), or he had seen a 4 year old last year with a lump in her neck like mine and she had Tuberculosis !
Its my lymph glands that are the size of golf balls but he still cant say why the high white blood cell until ive seen this blood dude.
I have a funny feeling i know what it is but i hope im wrong, cos ive seen what happens to people if it goes down that road.
So the waiting begins, and im not a good person for waiting. I will let you know if i here anything, till then have a good weekend :)
Offski

Tubby the Tuba

For 14 years of my 38 years i played in brass bands.
I started at the age of 11, it was my first day of high school, and every year you had the out of school clubs come to your class and give you the speech of why you should join them. I didn't really listen to what they had to say, but at dinner time i heard this amazing sound coming from the music room and went to find out more. I managed to sneak past the dinner ladies and get to the music room, and there i stood watching and listening through the door. In front of a group of 28 people with brass instruments stood Miss Bailey, she knew i was there but never said anything till the end of practice. She came over to where i was standing and said 'hello' with a huge smile, 'what do you think?, would you like a try?', and that was that i never looked back. Of course me being me, i didnt go for the smallest instrument, i picked up the biggest, a Tuba and it was nearly has big has me and took to it like a duck to water.
It was ideal being in the school band for a couple of reasons : the first was we were allowed into school early (8.30am) because we had to play for the assembly, and second we got into school dinners first and practiced at dinner time. Both of these were brilliant because i got away from the school bullys which plagued my entire school years, and i made some good friends.
Music came easy to me for some reason, and to be honest apart from Golf the only thing that has. after 6 months of playing and taking the huge thing home every weekend, i found out that the man across from mum and dads conducted a local youth band. One afternoon there was a knock at the front door, Dave stood there asking if i wanted to go along with him to Tuesday night practice and maybe have a try out, I agreed and along i went. I walked into the sports hall of Shavington high school to see everyone sat in sections, in a semi circle, Dave introduced me and i sat and listened to the first half of practice. It was a totally different noise to what the school band was producing, it was awesome. The second half i took my place at the back in the Bass section, there was 4 of us, 2 Eb and 2BBb basses. I joined there and then and the next 14 years were a blast, the places i went to, the people i met and the things i saw and got up to.
They will be in my next blog, thanks for reading.
Offski

Wednesday 02/03/2011

Half way through the week, and to be honest not much has happened.
Last night it was the big football match between Chelsea and Man Utd, it was an enjoyable match with lots of ups and downs, but in the end the best team won, and as predicted David Luiz scored in his second game for us. Also Fergie had a moan about some of the referee's decisions, i have noticed he dosent winge when the ref is in there favour, funny that !
Also yesterday i had to got the doctors with what feels like 2 golf balls in my neck and a shoulder pain that is getting too intense to bear. Been to have some blood taken this morning for tests, then have to go back friday morning for the results, i will let you know how i go on.
I have looked at some company websites that are looking for writing jobs and blogging, it proves the work is there (and plenty of it by the way), i just need to pull my finger out of my arse and start bidding for some of them, starting of slowly and building up over sometime. So fingers crossed, i might get my wish and get to stay at home with my princesses.
Just a quick word about the virus that went through Twitter last night like a dose of salts, it only takes one person and everyone else within 10 mins is knackered. I confess that i pressed on the like but didnt go all the way through it, so come out not to bad, and i was on my iphone which helped. Changed my password as soon has and things seemed to settle down, although my account did send some DM's that wasnt me. I apologise if you got one of me, but it wasnt me :)
Right offski
Thanks for reading

Monday 28/02/2011

Its looking more and more likely that im going to have to go back to work, due to @sxyshell1981 back being all knackered up, and outside forces sticking there nose in !
I dont mind going back to work, apart from not having the whirlwind with me every minute of the day, but the question is what do i do ?
My options are :
A. get a job working nights (my body prefers night time, but would miss to much when sleeping)
B. go back to the sort of job i had before, working with adults with challenging behaviour and Autism. A job i loved, just had to many lazy arseholes working there.
C. get a very well paid part time job, then im not away to much.
D. do more sort of this stuff, but get paid for it. Then i can stay at home and make good money, (and i have looked into it, you can).
D is the best option by far, but can i do 3-4 of these a day ? and even get the work int the first place ? im going to take the rest of this week while Shelley is off sick to have a hunt around, have a look at some companies and decided on what to do.

Ive been trying to write this with Bedlam on in the background, and its taken ages. It is one of the best programmes on tv at the moment, you should watch it !
Thanks for reading
Offski .

7000th

Well i was going to do this for my 7000th tweet, but has per normal i got chatting and totally missed it, that and Twitter iPhone always gives you a different number when you check your tweet count.
Dedicating your milestone tweets is supposed to be a Twitter tradition, like #ff, some people do, some people don't.
The thing i enjoy with Twitter is that you can 'support' and talk to tweeters from all over the world, i 'support' tweeters that live in USA, Canada, Sweden and  Australia, and apart from the time delay its like there sat next to you.
So with that in mind this is dedicated to a few people with a reason why.
@sxyshell1981 my amazing girlfriend, the one who gave me the whirlwind and my life has i know it today, (although at the moment she has a bad back and wont listen to anything i say) :$. She is my angel eyes and always will be.
The tweets from abroad @Peter_Nielsen , @MalinVK and @pheapes all an absolute delight to tweet to.
The first 2 to tweet to me @Jim_Forman and @mrssturge , i really enjoy talking to both, its weird when you get your first @mention, well it was for me anyway ! its that moment when you realise that someone is actually reading your tweets.
These 3 ladies @jillygibb , @sharonstjohnny and @fionalthompson they make me smile so much and always a morning from them :)
And my last bunch @DC_Zol , @BanksyArt3 and @Big_Baffy who always comments.
I marked my first tweet of 2011, the number was 3467 and that was 57 days ago. I've just passed 7000, good going i think ?
@jojohedgehog and @SimonMolloy get a mention for just being them.
Right I'm off, will blog about more interesting stuff next time i promise.
Thank you for reading :@)

Twitter 2 the return

So i was in bed last night trying to drop off, when for some reason Twitter popped in my head ! so thought i would put down what i was thinking.
Friday's are always busy with #ff or #follow Friday to give it its full title. The one time a week when you promote you best follows and try and get more followers. Although the last very rarely happens, well not to me anyway (insert violin music here).
I always forget to say thank you for #ff mentions, and always forget to say 'hello' to new follows or followers. Its just me i guess.
And why did Twitter decided on 'follow' and 'followers', always thought it would be better as 'supporter' ? A lot less stalking aspect.
So things i do : i lie in bed and think 'shit forgot to say night to everyone', how long do you have to return a reply before there's no point ? i do all my #ff on a Thursday night and save them on my iPhone, and i hardly ever use the PC to access Twitter my iPhone does it all.
I 'support' some gems on Twitter, and find i can talk about different things with different people, from WWE with @ValkyrieSmudge who is fantastic to get on with and keeps me entertained for hours on end, to general chit chat with @WiltshireWalker who is also brilliant to get on with.
Of course there are a couple like @bambiontheice who has me in stitches with her accident prone life and @BridgetJonesX who likes to talk and flirt (we have had words about DM button and lack of use) who are a must follow.
I have had good feed back about my blogs and thank you all for reading and for your comments. Its just a weekday thing and it wont just be about Twitter i promise, and will try and mention more people has i go !
Right Offski, have a good weekend everyone. :@)