Bill's restaurant review

It has been a good weekend.  Arsenal won and are top of the league.  And I have spent a great weekend with the family.  Today we went into town to watch Frozen.  Made the kids cry, loads, but they both loved it.  They are asleep now and I hope that they will sleep through the night.  My daughter has had a stomach bug which has caused her pain, my son has had man-flu which has meant that they have been in our room most of the last few nights.  And yesterday it was a trip to London.  We were able to spend time in Borough market and also got to eat in a place called Bill's. 

So, yesterday, as noted, a drive down to London.  We spent time together eating a good meal in a restaurant with good food and great service.  They were great with the kids, and when an understandable mistake had been made, it was corrected quickly.  This is a place my wife had been interested in going to in the past and I think that this is certainly a place that we would go to again.  While my son was not 100%, he enjoyed a walk along the southbank of the Thames, my daughter loving it as well.  They love the market especially when they get to try different things that are on offer, and the people in the market are friendly.  At the end of the meal and the trip, we popped into the Globe Theatre which the children have learned about thanks to Horrible Histories.  While there we got the kids a children book on Shakespeare, which I have to find again as I put it somewhere for safekeeping!  And we got to see my mother quickly.  We did not get to spend much time there as we needed to get back home and my wife is allergic to the cat which my mother has, starts wheezing and the like when in the presence of an otherwise gorgeous cat.

This morning, as noted, we watched Frozen.  I have to say it was a very good film.  I had not had seen any trailers that might have spoiled the film which helped.  I am a bit of a ranter about trailers as I am of the view that they spoil most films.  While parts of it were typical for Disney, not everything was.  I loved the comedy and the characters were memorable. I did not expect that I was going to like it as much as I did.  Later we popped into see some friends and spent a bit more time there than we expected, played a few games of table football and then came back home.  My son has been asking about doing things with me, one being taking an interest in Chess which I am starting to take an interest in again.  So before the kids went to bed, they played a game using my laptop, this making it easy when it comes to acceptable moves and the like.  It was surprisingly painless at times.  While they are making very basic mistakes which is understandable considering that they only have recently learned some of the rules, I was impressed at how quick they have picked up somethings.  But with the lack of knowledge each has, the game ended in a draw, which is a good thing as neither likes to lose.

And of course, speaking of games, I did get to watch parts of the Arsenal game.  Not as much as I would have liked, but it was better than nothing.  I will be looking forwards to watching the highlights during the week which I am recording.  I did expect a draw at best, but coming away from Newcastle with three points was a bonus I was not expecting, and one which puts us top of the table, for now.

I had some tests done at the hospital recently and the doctor phoned today with the results. I said to him, "So, is it good news or bad?" He replied, "Well put it this way, have you ever considered visiting Disneyland?"

This post is on the NHS, put simply, it needs more money.  The Conservatives promised not to cut funding to the NHS.  They seem to have lied about this, in real terms

At present, waits in Accident and Emergency are increasing, and the Government has placed the blame for this at the contract with general practitioners that was introduced by Labour in April 2004.  The argument of Jeremy Hunt is that since GP’s opted out of providing out of hours services, the numbers of patients attending A&E has increased and that the contract is responsible.  I doubt that is true that the contract is the reason for this. 

Lots of people in A&E have pointed out that large numbers of people who attend A&E state that they have not been able to see their GP which is why they present there, despite having a condition that is neither an Accident or an Emergency.  There are a few issues with this being blamed on GP’s.  One is that people attended Accident and Emergency before April 2004 stating that they could not get an appointment to see a GP at their surgery.  I know this is not accurate for a fact as I have worked in A&E and once, when there, a patient who was registered at a surgery with open access in the morning stated that they were not able to get an appointment.  In simple English, open access is where people attend their GP surgery in the morning and are seen, i.e. there are no issues about having to wait to see a GP in that if you need to see one, you take time off in the morning, wait and you will see one, i.e. the patient lied.  The other issue is that since 2004, out of hours care has changed.  Now if someone calls with chest pain, they are now, in many cases, sent an ambulance.  More recently this has also applied to strokes where time is now even more important considering the treatments that are available to reduce the disability caused by them.  These changes, which are medically indicated considering changes in technology and also in the understanding in the way that many medical conditions are now handled are reason that patients who in thepast would not be sent to A&E without an assessment by a doctor are nowbeing sent to the Emergency Department.

I am not saying that there are no patients who have problems making appointments to see a GP but this is not the only reason that there is an issue.

It has been argued that GP's need an increase in funding to help patients, and this is true as funding to general practice has been cut in real terms since 2010.  You can not expect GP surgeries to increase access without increasing funding to provide this.  It would be insane to go back to the 'old system' as thanks to the Quality Outcomes Framework that was put into place in 2004, patients have better care, and the government also has more information on the numbers of people with various conditions, which allows for better planning of the health of the nation.  Obtaining this information costs the NHS money to obtain, but getting this information and treating patients to the targets set saves lives.

What is important to note as well, is that there is an exodus of doctors from the country.  Those who work in A&E are leaving and the same is seen with GP's.  Unless things are made better with the work life balance of doctors, more doctors will leave the NHS which will mean that the NHS will be worse off.  That is not counting the increasing costs of advances in medical technology which in general are over and above the general inflation rate.

As I said, the NHS needs more money.  That is if we really want it to work.

"It's a boy!" I shouted, as I ran from the Thai brothel.

Catarina Migliorini, one of the many reasons why I think that prostitution and other forms of sex work between consenting adults should be legal. By legal, let me say that I also mean regulated. Working in the sex industry, for many, most even is a horrible job, one which rots the soul. In the process of my work, I have encountered sex workers, most of which have had issues with addiction. Some have managed to do quite well, but I have yet to meet one without scars. But the thing I have noted that with many (but not all) of those I have encountered, they have had issues with addiction. Regulate the industry and you can offer those people help. But then I also think that many of the drugs that people use should be made legal, and again regulated.
Some people I have met have admitted to using sex workers, one being a lady my wife and I met when we were on holiday!  Some were people who would be very unlikely to have a meaningful relationship, others were in a relationship but needed for one reason or another to have sex elsewhere.  Just looking at men who use sex workers, there are many reasons for doing so.  Some men are going to find it hard to have sex due to physical disabilities, mental health issues or just due to issues with their personality.  Other men who are in relationships are going to seek sex outside the relationship due to mismatched sex drives, sometimes due to problems with the health of their partner, at times as well due to their partner not being able to meet some sexual need that they have.  Some of the reasons for a person to use a prostitute are going to be more acceptable than others, but this is the oldest profession in the world, and it is so for a reason.
Criminalising this act also makes it easier for people to be exploited.  Far too many people are trapped into remaining in prostitution due to drug addition, but also there are others who have been forced into it and others who are subject to human trafficking.  Through regulation sex workers can be helped to leave the job is they so wish.  Without this, there will be a market, one which will be exploited and people will suffer.  Lots of sex workers face violence at the hands of customers, those they work with, or more often for as well as physical and mental health problems.  In addition to this, it encourages people to travel abroad where there are even less restrictions, more exploitation and more harm to workers and customers.

There are those who have worked as a sex worker as a 'positive' choice and have left that, but too many do not have that choice. In addition, there is a line between a formal exchange of money for sex, and an informal one.  Why ban one and not the other?
What is important to do, if sex working is to be legalised and regulated is to learn from what has happened abroad, to prevent people being forced into the industry, to try to reduce demand, but most of all, to help those who work in it, leave it.

If you're ever disappointed with what you receive this Christmas just remember somewhere, someone is unwrapping a Tottenham shirt.

Well, it has been a good day today.  Needless to say, my daughter woke early.  My son, who was too excited to sleep properly woke up later.  I am not sure if my daughter was speaking loudly when she came into our bed so that he would wake up or not...

Anyway, we did allow them to see if Father Christmas brought them a present, which he did, using the bags he had used last year, as well as bringing a present for the adults in the house.  My son had warned me earlier in the week that I might not get a present as I had been too naughty but he did not seem to mind that I had been given one.  I do tell children that I did not get presents when I was young as I was too naughty, which to be fair, I was.  My brothers can confirm that and have done so on many an occasion!

Since being with my wife, Christmas has been more about giving, but this is even more so now we have the kids.  We made them wait till noon to open the presents, and they were very good to wait so long (something I used to hate when I was a child) and loved what they got.  And now, knackered, they are in bed allowing the two of us time to snuggle on the sofa, watch Alan Carr and type this entry!

It's really nice too see the teams who are struggling in the Premiership do well in the League Cup. West Ham, Sunderland, Man Utd...

The end of the weekend, and for me an okay one but I am still ill!  It has been good being able to spend time with the kids, and my Mum had come up to baby sit which allowed my wife and I to go to a great birthday party at Trotters.  I started to feel unwell on Wednesday and while I was able to still go to work, I have not been on my best form.  Here is hoping I will be well for Christmas.  The carol service of my daughter went well, it was great to see her there and she liked taking part.  It is sweet watching them like this, especially as I know that they will grow and I will enjoy many things in the future, I need to treasure these memories from now.  Right now, we are resting from dropping my mother back in London, the kids watching the Muppets. Tomorrow I am back at work and hopefully feeling better.  Of course, there is a big game for Arsenal tomorrow, the game against Chelski.  I am hoping for an Arsenal win, but considering our record against José Mourinho I suspect a draw would be the best that we can hope for!  And in case you are wondering about the picture, it was of a fan who managed to get Suarez to sign a contract before he actually signed a proper extension later on!   

The Bank of England is to introduce plastic banknotes that can survive a spin in a washing machine by 2016. Surely that will just encourage money laundering ?

We are getting ready to watch the carol service that my daughter will take part in.  Last night, we watched my son in his nativity play.  He got to play Joseph and remembered all his lines, though there seemed to be one moment when he almost did not.  He loved being the centre of attention for the evening (though this was only for a few moments as all the kids in his year had one part or another to play) and coped with the 'pressure' quite well.

Anyway, have to go in a moment.  I hope you like the picture, I saw it when looking at pictures taken in the year on Yahoo! and it reminded me of the pictures that I had wanted to take on a dolphin spotting trip in Bali.  Due to the delay in taking photo's in the day's before digital camera's, we did not realise that I had only taken splashes until we developed the film.  And I had got carried away and had taken loads of shots!

After 16 pints of Coke, 9 bags of Minstrels and 5 large popcorns, The Hobbit was finally over.

Well, I loved the film, thought it was amazing.  And it was worth watching it on a big screen and in 3D.  Just in case you did not know, it had a dragon.  And watching a big dragon in a cinema in 3D is amazing.  As it does not follow the plot of the book exactly, I suspect that my wife will not fully approve when she or if she gets round to watching it.  But I loved it, just in case you missed it the first time!  The down side was that I did not get to watch Strictly Come Dancing, yet.

I have spent the morning with the kids so far, my son who would normally be getting ready to play rugby having a cough that is bad enough that means that he is going to have to miss it.  But he had a early present from Father Christmas which meant that he has a rugby ball that he has been throwing about.  So far, nothing broken, yet.

While they were playing on the laptop I was able to watch the highlights of the Arsenal game that I listened to yesterday.  We did make quite a few mistakes in the game which 5hitty made the most use of and while many papers are saying that this is a sign of how Arsenal can not win the title, they forget that Arsenal were going to be tired considering the lack of time they had to prepare for the game. Arsène Wenger stated that he does not envy the riches that 5hitty have, but considering that they have some of our ex-players it is a bit hard to really to fully trust him on that.  Besides which, in addition to an extra day's rest, they were able to almost play a different team midweek while we could not.  And there were a few close decisions that went against us as well.  So in summary I do not think it was possible to say that City were really playing against an Arsenal team that was playing as well as we can.  Journalists should really be smart enough to be aware of that! 

Mesut Ozil has claimed Arsenal can win the title. That's not as unbelievable as it sounds, the women's team's pretty good.

Well, I knew we were going to lose.  My wife could not work out why, if I knew that, I was swearing lots everytime 5hitty scored.  I have not had a chance to watch the game and will be doing so tonight.  The kids were very kind and tried to feign an interest in the game probably to put me in a better mood.  But my daughter hates football as she considers it to be a boys game and my son loves rugby.  But tonight, I get to watch the Hobbit!  Needless to say, I loved the last film and am looking forwards to watching this one.  My wife did not enjoy it as I did and was annoyed that it did not follow the book, but it had to be different to bring in the money that the Lord of the Rings trilogy brought in. Anyway, I have to go as I am going to be leaving soon.

Robin van Persie, also known as the 'human tampon'. In for one week, out for a month.

Well, a quick post before I go to bed.  At the moment I am dreading what is going to happen tomorrow when Arsenal lose to 5hitty.  I know that the team are pretending to be optimistic, but they only got back from the defeat in Naples on Thursday and have flown to Manchester today to lose the game tomorrow.  So I am hoping that we do not get thrashed too much.  On the bright side, van Persie, a great player, is out injured.  Made me smile, and I know that is the wrong Manchester team, but with the strength that the 5hitty squad have, one injury would not be enough for tomorrow. 
For the last few nights I have had to spend more time with the kids.  My wife has had to go out most nights, which has meant that I have had no excuse but to get home to put the kids to bed.  Last night, we dropped her off in town and while we were doing so, the kids were singing to Roar which they both love.  Memories like that are things I hope never to forget as they sounded so sweet.

My wife said she's leaving me because I can't do anything right when it comes to housework. It took me hours to mop that carpet.

As predicted, we did not win, though I was glad that we did not lose on the weekend.  The odds are that we should not lose tonight against Napoli, but it is hard to be certain as we are playing in Italy.  But it is the game on Saturday that worries me more as the team will not have had that much rest.  I guess I can hope that 5hitty get something wrong again but I doubt that will happen.Anyway, the kids, have had a great time with them. They were very nice and let me watch the football, but I have also had a great time away from the football. Today I had fun doing the school run this morning. I normally like to walk them in, but due to time pressures, we had to drive in. Kids eh! But the walk back was as usual, lovely. It is great that they will run to me and give me hugs, well my daughter will, my son prefers to be cheeky to me. But this time is time that I will pass all too quickly.

How can you tell if someone was a Manchester United fan in the Ferguson era? They've still got the price tag on their Arsenal shirts.

Many would consider that the title (of the post) is a bit rich considering that ManUre beat us when we played them, but this season might go well.  It is too early to say so for certain, and we have thrown away things in the past (the distant past).  But Chelski have dropped points as have 5hitty which means that there is no pressure on us to win tomorrow.  Which means that we will probably lose.  And if we do, that means that we can not afford to drop points when we play the 'top teams' so, we have to win.

Anyway, enough about ranting about football.  Have been to London for a course today.  Am not 100% having a mild form of man flu which meant that I was not able to enjoy the Christmas party as much as I would have liked, it was good, but I needed my rest both due to being a bit man-flu like as well as needing to wake in the morning.  And tomorrow, I get to look forwards to freezing my arse off while watching my son learn skills for rugby.    Saying that, my son had a great time at a birthday party that he went to earlier today at the zoo, so at least one of us managed to make the best of a party.  The kids love the Christmas tree and it is now fully decorated.  Anyway, am knackered, time to go to bed.  Good night all!

The Lexden Crown, Colchester, review

Evening all.  It is one where the country is being battered by rain and wind.

Yesterday we had a relaxing meal at the Lexden Crown.  We have been there before and the kids like it there.  The service was great, but it is hard to judge it properly on this as we had arrived around half past five in the evening and there were few people there, however I have been to places where, when quiet, the staff take things easy.  This was not the case here, the food came quickly and was eaten by all and I liked my meal.  The kids and my wife had fish and chips, hard to get wrong and with everything being eaten what more can be said?

Today, we have spent the evening making the final adjustments to the Christmas tree.  Well that was after drying off.  It was a bit wet at school pick-up and my wife, who had her hair blowdried earlier in the day had her hair curled as the wind kept blowing her hood off and the rain, which had soaked our legs to the skin through our trousers, did its wonders on her hair.  She still looks amazing, but does not look the way she was hoping.  She constantly says that it rains when it is time to collect the kids, and she was certainly right today, the rain starting just before we picked up my son, ending after we picked up my daughter.  Saying that, while wet and windy, I loved the weather.  I know that it is odd, but it is quite nice when it is windy and I do like the rain so long as I am not working.  And today and yesterday, I was not working, officially.  I did go to work to catch up with paper work and attend a meeting, but these things have to be done, but I got to pick up the kids (well yesterday one child as my son had a stye which is now better).

Now to rest, relax and watch the Arsenal highlights from last night.