A drum kit.

Beat that

Badum tish

I left a chap negative feedback yesterday and I must admit to feeling a tad bad about it.

I bought a really nice CD player with Buy it Now and had no problems with the £12 postage costs. I paid immediatley and sat back happy with my purchase and planning how to sneak it into the house. Next morning I got an Email from PayPay with a message from the seller refunding my payment. He said the postage costs to NI were uneconomical and therefore he thought it fair to cancel. He said he only used UPS who refused to accept the package and wouldn’t use anyone else.

I was a bit miffed and left negative feedback. He asked if I would retract as it ruined his otherwise perfect feedback record and I refused as he reneged, unilaterally cancelled the deal, did not negotiate and did not make any conditions on postage on his ad. He has it relisted with no mention of postage restrictions either.

So much for Goodwill to all men….

@FunkDunc…no I just jumped at the opportunity to get it done immediately. Could I have tried another UK trust? I live in NI.

I know I could have applied to have the op done in Dublin and could reclaim 50% of the cost but that would have taken more time and Im about to drop to half pay so just wanted to get it done.

Ive had loads of injuries over the years, broken ribs, ankle, neck, arm and other stuff but with each of them I was able to notice significant improvement as weeks went by. Suddenly one day I would be able to use the injured bit again much better than the previous day as the healing process progressed. But in this case there was no improvement at all despite physio and rest which really started to worry me. So despite the cost I feel much better overall now that its done and I can see progress.

Interestingly I work for NHS and covering (pretty high) sickness absence is expensive to my Trust as its all done on overtime. It would be very cost effective for my Trust to provide staff with PHI…..but thats another issue!

Well I saw the orthopaedic surgeon this morning and I need surgery. The NHS waiting list is around 18 months and I can’t wait that long so Ive decided to go private. He has a cancellation this afternoon and Im booked in for surgery at 1700 today in a private hospital in Belfast.

Irks me a bit that I have to go private (and self fund) but needs must.

You have to remember to close your eyes when you die

@shermer – Im a paramedic so can’t go fully operational until I satisfy OH I can manage stairs and stuff. My Trust will ease me back to work slowly, via an admin role if necessary.

I just wish I had been referred for an MRI sooner as that would have confirmed the diagnosis and expedited treatment.

@uphillcursing – thats good news and Im glad you’re on the mend

@Caher – bummer! Hope it goes well for you.

Luckily I got another cancellation and had the MRI on Monday. It has confirmed a medial meniscus tear and today I was referred to a knee specialist.

Glad that things are moving but a tad annoyed it took several weeks before they opted for the MRI and confirmed the injury.

Bit anxious now as Ive only about 8 weeks full sickness pay left before I drop to half pay. Times like this I wish Id taken that private health insurance policy!

I treated myself to Gear S3 Frontier a couple of weeks ago. Was a bit of a rash purchase too….but I love it. I especially like the ability to change watch faces and Im finding the apps pretty useful too. And its a lovely looking watch in its own right.

Enjoy yours!

In July I had a minor fall of my bike and the following day I had a bit of a painful knee. Pain was posterior and slightly medial. No swelling and I was able to palpate but I slowly developed a limp and after a few weeks I finally saw a doctor as it wasn’t getting any better and was quite painful (actually thought I was developing a DVT one night when the pain woke me – but it wasn’t) Saw the doc who thought I might have damaged my meniscus and advised lots of rest. I took 3 weeks of work ( most of September) and rested it as much as possible and returned to work. I was able to walk without limping and other than a tiny bit of stiffness my knee felt fine. On the third day back at work we had to bring someone down a flight of stairs and half way down I put my weight onto that knee and felt a stabbing pain. It felt like a crunch but again there was no swelling. This time the pain was all medial and radiated under the patella.

Again the knee could be palpated and moved and there was no swelling but any weight bearing was painful and I could only walk with a limp. Again the Doc suggested rest and after a fortnight he reviewed me and as there was absolutely no improvement he has referred me for an MRI scan.

That was early October and I have my scan next Monday. In the meantime I have weekly physio (organised through my work) and daily exercise but there isnt any real progress that I can see. Exercise is pretty painful and I cannot weightbear on that knee. Negotiating stairs is awkward and I can’t run. I limp after a short walk. The thought of me running up stairs is just ridiculous and to be honest Im a little bit despondent about the whole thing.

Hopefully the MRI will identify the problem and the Doc can specify treatment accordingly but if surgery is needed it sounds like it could be weeks more of waiting, resting and discomfort.

Hard to believe such an innocuous fall could be so damaging. :-)

Began training as a Paramedic. At 54.

Well, there was a bit of N**M kit in there, after all…
I thought you were referring to NAIM

lol…I dont know what N**M kit is!

Well, there was a bit of N**M kit in there, after all…
I thought you were referring to NAIM

lol…I dont know what N**M kit is!

Well, there was a bit of N**M kit in there, after all…

I thought you were referring to NAIM

@Mr Whoppit

Did NIAM have an input into B&O amplifiers?

Original AE109s. They replaced a pair of B&O Pentas which sounded superb but my wife hated and had begun to rot. (Speakers, not wife)

The Pentas were driven by a Beomaster BM6000 and a CDX cd player. I think it was the best sounding system I ever heard.

Currently using the AE109s with Marantz 6006, Rega P1 and Marantz CD5000 and Im delighted with it all.

Muff.

Thanks chaps. Ill give her another good going over and give particular attention to what has been said. (except the bit inferring I eat too many buns ;-) )

Thanks again

P

I like my white forks!

Chainwheel did this and the subsequent infection took 6 months to clear.

Im using Revelation RLT Ti on my Soul reduced to 130 and after months of faffing about with various pressures I settled on 100/80 which is way, way below RS recommendations. But it feels just right for me.

Im about 16.5 stone of muscle. And other bits.

Similar position here.

I applied to NIAS for an Ambulance Care Attendant role and was informed last week I had been successful at interview. Hopefully wont have too long to wait before being offered a training couse date. At this stage I dont plan to pusue the paramedic role but will probably seek to upskill at some point.

And if anyone has any info on the current recruitment process Id love to hear it…….information from NIAS ia a tad scarce!!

Ha! Right enough! Reminds me of one of the Muppets! :-)

Sunny Belfast. Yesterday.

Very nice. :-)

Looks like mine only different!

Montane Alpine Stretch and various base layers

There was a lot of mud, sweat and tears beforehand. Obviously.

Thanks drover!

This only came to light as they are leaving at the end of this month and enquired about accrued holiday pay – only to be told they didnt have any!

Edit: he isnt looking anything really but if an employer is in the wrong surely some action needs to be taken.

https://www.gov.uk/holiday-entitlement-rights/holiday-pay-the-basics

And page 9 of this suggests it is unlawful.

http://www.lra.org.uk/information_note_3_-_holidays_and_holiday_pay_november_2012.pdf

Other documents often state the employer “must not” and “cannot” use rolled up pay.

But if they do can anything be done about it?

RHA headphones are excellent. Nice people to deal witn too.

Great shoes and Id recommend moving up a size.

I tuck the excess laces into the side of my shoe Onzadog

+1 for the Ignitors. Keep going back to my LUSTs and reckon they are a good all rounder.

Use a Bonty XR4 on the front during the muddy winter. Another good tyre.

I have a pair of RLT Ti Black Box Revs and have never really understood them!

Mine have the pop-loc fitted and the gold coloured knob but I dont really know what it does or how to adjust compression or even if I can adjust it on my model. I just leave it halfway and I never use pop-loc to lock the forks, even during climbing.

As for the air pressure, I run them much lower than the recommended levels usually 100/90 and with the rebound at halfway.

I do find I have to adjust them a lot depending on the trail, which is local natural stuff along with red/black stuff at nearby centres.

Glad that you are on the mend.

Like many on here Ive never actually met you but you always sound like good craic!

Near Groomsport, Northern Ireland.