Why We Can’t Have Nice Things Pt 4792587

The bell-ringing ritual is a familiar sound in many cancer wards — there are now 427 end-of-treatment bells in hospitals across the UK — but while for some it marks an important milestone, for others it’s an unwelcome reminder that they will never be able to celebrate the ‘end of treatment’, as their condition is incurable and the end of treatment means doctors have run out of options.

Remember when we allowed people to do things that made them feel better about their situation, and if it didn't make you feel that way, you just kept quiet out of respect for their choices? 

Me too. It was a nicer world, wasn't it? 

Meanwhile, even those who take part can be left with negative feelings about the experience. A study of 200 cancer patients, published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology in 2020 found that patients who rang the bell reported more distressing and longer-lasting memories of treatment than those who didn’t. Researchers suggested the sound could create a ‘flashbulb’ event, locking in bad memories and creating false hope.

Silly me, I though cancer researchers just researched ways to defeat cancer... 

Now there is increasing patient-led debate about the value of the end-of-treatment bell ceremony, with some campaigning to scrap the practice in the UK entirely — this has already led to some hospitals, such as Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, removing the end-of-chemo bell from the Lingen Davies Oncology Centre after complaints from patients.

This must be the only sign that the NHS actually cares about patient's wishes. 

Some People Shouldn't Be Allowed To Own Animals...

The bill came to £800, which we paid. We didn’t have to, but I couldn’t not.

Well, maybe the law says you didn't have to (though a small claims court wouldn't see it that way if the other owner had taken you to one) but personal responsibility says yes, you absolutely should...

As Clover’s hatred of any four-legged creature smaller than her grew, taking her for walks became an increasingly stressful experience. She would snarl and growl, and I would have to quickly clip her back on to her lead. ... 

And yet, you had no qualms whatsoever about leaving this ticking timebomb in the street for any other dog/cat/small child with fluffy toy in hand to wander past...

For some reason we left the house that morning without her muzzle. I was in a hurry to get my daughter, Dolly, off to school and, at the crucial moment, I couldn’t find it.

I tied Clover’s lead around a bench on the pavement and secured it with a plastic lock so she was restricted to around two feet of movement. And that’s when I popped into the cafe to grab a coffee.

I guess your need for a coffee was greater than your desire to keep others safe, eh?

I felt so wretched for the owner, and was surprised when she called me afterwards — with unbelievable graciousness, she told me not to berate myself. ‘These things happen,’ she said.

You'd not have heard from me. You'd have heard from a solicitor. Because 'these things' don't just happen without total culpability on the part of, well, people like you. 

Today, we now have two Labradoodles — Rupert, who is almost completely blind, and Otto, who looks just like his name, wiry-haired and a bit bonkers. Both are so gentle and loving — with humans and other dogs — that I simply cannot imagine a scenario where either of them would harm a fly.

You've learned nothing... 

‘It just went horribly wrong for me.’

But not as horribly wrong for as it did for your passengers. Seven of whom died:

When asked if fatigue might have contributed to the confusion he described, Dorris said: ‘I wouldn’t say so, no.’

Pressed again by the prosecutor if he might have been disorientated from having been asleep, Dorris said: ‘No, I wasn’t asleep. I was disorientated.’

Dorris described how the disorientation had left him believing he was heading for Lloyd Park, and not the curve at Sandilands, and so did not feel he needed to immediately apply the brakes.

As excuses go, it's pretty thin... 

Yes, Of Course It Was A Handy Sudden Diagnosis Of 'Autism'...

Paul Rogers, mitigating, said the only thing his client could do was apologise. He said: "He can't change what happened but if he could he would."

Mr Rogers added that he must carry the responsibility of what he has done for "the rest of his life". He said Bassam has since been diagnosed with autism.

 

...after all, anorexia wouldn't be believed, would it?

Not As Much As It Affected Anthony's Life...

Donna Grant, of Folkestone, struck Covid test delivery driver Anthony Akpeki in the dark, leaving a passer-by to discover his body. The 52-year-old mother is said to have fled from the scene in Dover to her Folkestone home in her wrecked Ford Focus. Grant previously pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, however she denies having smoked cannabis before the crash.

Just another waste of oxygen who refuses to accept her guilt... 

It was previously ruled she could have a Newton Hearing, a mini-trial at Canterbury Crown Court in which a judge establishes disputed facts. Grant claims cannabis found in her blood the day after the crash was due to her smoking the drug when she arrived home after the incident.

Sure, sure, I expect that's exactly what happened... 

She struck him directly outside Hillbrow on a stretch of road without a pavement, propelling his body into the carehome’s skip, Canterbury Crown Court heard.Following the crash Grant immediately drove her damaged grey hatchback - which had a cracked windscreen and broken headlamp - to her home in Fairway Avenue.

While there, she sent WhatsApp messages to area managers showing the damage, claiming she hit a “green box,” the prosecution said. She would later make searches on her phone for the phrases ‘hit and run Dover’ and ‘body found in Dover,’ said prosecutor Nina Ellin.

Ah, or maybe not. The repair garage skewers that claim... 

Mr Asbury said Grant repeatedly asked if the car was a ‘write-off’ and the interior “stank of cannabis.” There was “cannabis scattered all over the car,” he added.

Is she remorseful? Is she hell: 

“I can’t even recall what police station I was in that day,” she said. “To be told you’ve killed someone, that’s traumatising.

“It has affected my life, very much so,” she added, her voice breaking.

The typical lack of remorse coupled with self-pity one expects from the modern day underclass. 

I Bet Jolyon Maugham Opened A Bottle Of Champers Early This Morning...

Because it seems the former UK's most reviled QC has now lost his title - to a woman. 

Specifically, Ms Patterned Leggings, whose dog mauled a seal before she took to her heels and fled back to her £5.8 million pound abode to get on the phone to ensure she'd be protected by the Establishment from any consequences:

The Oxford-educated QC who was in charge of the dog that savaged Freddie the seal says she has spoken to the police and the RSPCA who told her no crime has been committed.

...

On Tuesday, her lawyers said she made contact with police after the attack and was referred to the RSPCA, and was told no offence had occurred.

How long after the attack? Because, as reported that morning, the police were either unaware or this, or lying: 

Earlier, the Met Police told MailOnline that officers were investigating the death and 'looking to identify witnesses and to speak to the owner of the dog involved'.

And...why is she so sure there's no case to answer? Are there no penalties for this sort of thing? 

The person in control of a dog that chases or attacks farm animals can be fined up to £1,000, or £2,500 if the offence was deliberate. Similar fines apply to attacks on wild animals.

Perhaps it's something that never gets applied, because it's hard to prove? 

...earlier this year a dog owner was fined £500 after their Irish setter puppy mauled a deer in Richmond Park.

So her confidence would seem misplaced. Wouldn't it? In a fair world, anyway. 

Time To Do Your Stuff Again, Social Media...

Photographer Duncan Phillips, 55, who was shooting images of the seal when it was attacked on the slipway, told MyLondon: 'It was quite a vicious attack. The dog just wouldn't let go.

'It wouldn't let go despite repeated attempts by members of the public to separate the animals.'

None of them, sadly, has a weapon, except their bare hands. They all deserve medals. 

The owner? Scarpered. In case the police could be bothered to turn up... 

'The out of control dog was recalled by the owner who then left the scene...'

It's a woman. Chances are, a local. Good chance someone knows who she is. Social media is good at this. 

“One of the men actually started kicking the dog quite aggressively and the owner got rather upset...”

Hopefully, she'll soon have something else to get upset about. 

A Group More Selfish Than Cyclists?

Calls for dog owners to keep their pets on leads along a stretch of seafront inhabited by protected birds have...

Been met with nods and exclamation of 'Well, yes, that seems sensible, under the circumstances'..?  

...sparked an angry backlash.

What were the odds?!? 

The area is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Ramsar site, which is a wetland of international importance, particularly for its role as a waterfowl habitat.

Now, the authority is asking for feedback on the idea of enforcing lead use along the stretch as part of a consultation on its Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs), which govern rules around dog control, among other things. Initial responses have thrown up “substantial suggestions” that dogs should be made to wear leads.

From people who are keen on birds, and also people not keen on muddy pawprints on their clothes accompanying the cry 'He's just being friendly!' no doubt... 

Among them is Tankerton resident Andrew McGuinness, who branded it “a terrible idea”.

“The question is whether off-the-lead dogs alter habitat and wildlife,” he said. “As far as I know there is only personal anecdote, but no scientific proof that an off-the-lead dog has altered either of these.

“Most of them are well-behaved off the lead.”

Well, yes. Most people aren't serial killers, but the ones that are cause a bit of damage, Abdrew... 

“I live close by and the only problem I’ve really experienced in more than 10 years in the (proposed) area is the trouble with cyclists who won’t dismount or use designated routes.”

I'm not sure pointing out another group with an image problem caused by a selfish minority is going to help your case much, is it? 

“This sort of Draconian suggestion is a sad measure of where ‘community’ has gone in recent times.

“At a time of Covid, extended lockdown and limited opportunities to exercise outdoors alongside one’s dog, why not clamp the dog to its owner’s leg and be done with it?”

Oh, extra points for bringing Covid into it! 

"Nothing Matters But My Child!"

Talking about the rules around lunches, she said: "The school's policy has taken away the horrors of lunch time.

"My daughter can't make choices, she's too frightened, and by setting a menu each day they've taken away that fear."

"It might sound trivial to others, but when you're the parent of a child who suffers so much in school, it makes the world of difference knowing the staff there are trying to help.

"These are the things that matter. Unless the children are starving, the choice of food comes second to the education. That's why these criticisms of the school are so unfair."

Says you. But why should you get your own way, and impose your needs and desires on others?

The complaints listed by parents at the school centred around the menu on offer, with just one meal choice a day, always vegetarian or fish-based, combined with a ban on packed lunches to encourage equality.

One mum said her child had resorted to going to McDonald's after school each day, whilst another said she "resented" paying £80 per half term for food their child doesn't eat.

So would I! Choice is a fact of life, so the sooner your daughter learns to cope with it, the better everyone will be.

Burying The Lede...

Jeannette Carroll, 51, was near Flatts Lane County Park in Middlesbrough with five dogs when she was brutally attacked by the random assailant.

She initially tried to calm the man down after he shouted at her, but he launched a savage punch to the face - knocking her unconscious for 20 seconds, she claims. A park ranger tried to intervene before he was also allegedly punched by the man.

 Gosh!

Ms Carroll said: "It was totally unexpected.

"I had gone over to reassure him, if people are nervous I will put the dogs on a lead.

"I didn't see the punch coming - when I woke up I was covered in blood."

 Hmm, shouldn't they be on a lead and under your control anyway?

She said she has to keep walking dogs to earn a living but is now afraid to do so.

Ah! I think we can see how this went. And guess why the gent was so irate.

Had his own animal mauled by one of her charges, or stepped in something unpleasant left by one, perhaps?

Does it excuse violence to a woman? Maybe not. But it possibly explains it....

Despite contacting police around half a dozen times, she claims an officer still hasn't been out to see her and take a statement about the serious assault. She claims that an officer was rude to her on the phone and "a letdown to the police".

Even they are fed up with people's mouths writing checks their body can't cash, it seems.

Warning Colouration

A mother tired of the disapproving glances and barbed comments her five-year-old with autism receives has designed a clothing range to alert people to his behaviour.

Err, doesn't his behaviour itself alert people to that?

What she really means, of course, is 'alert people to the excuse' for his behaviour.

“When we go out, it doesn’t look like there’s anything wrong with him – he looks like a normal run-of-the-mill kid,” the 41-year-old said.

“Oscar does have unpredictable behaviour, though. He gets lots of looks and gets called naughty by adults.

“We’ve had ‘for god’s sake, shut up’ because he can really scream. We have experienced people saying to us before ‘if he were mine, he’d be getting a smack’.

“I’ve also been in meetings where Oscar isn’t referred to by his name and is only talked about when people say ‘what’s wrong with him’. It’s really offensive.”

People out for a quiet shop or walk probably think having their ears assaulted by a screaming child is pretty offensive, love.

The label sells t-shirts for children and adults emblazoned with messages like “be kind I have autism” and “unpredictable and amazing”.

“It’s about informing people in a really gentle way that he may need a wide berth when we’re out,” she explained.

Yes, that's right. She really believes that it's everyone else's responsibility to change their direction and not her's to ensure her child doesn't aggravate other people. Ain't it always the way, latesly?

Perhaps Instead Of Retrievers And Labradors...

...they should start training up pitbulls? Or Caucasian Shepherds!

On November 28, Jolene and Zena sat in priority seats, leaving the wheelchair and buggy section of bus 8a from Laindon free.

Two ladies boarded with their prams, followed by another lady.

Reader, that was no lady.

During this time she ran over Zena and wouldn’t move the pram off her.

There really are no words...

Jolene said: “She was asked to move it back and be careful, but she did the same thing again and was more insistent on getting her pram past. In doing so she hit me and ran Zena over again and left the pram resting on Zena.”

And no-one else on the bus 'had words' with this ghastly creature? What the hell has happened to Essex?

Don't You Understand? I Have A Disability Card!

Mum Amy Ellis claims two-year-old son Leo was discriminated against during a family meal on Friday at The Cherry Tree, Rochford after a row broke out over the screaming child.

Miss Ellis said: “My two-year-old son is autistic, as well as partially deaf and epileptic.

“He is quite vocal and uses his voice to settle himself.”

That must be nice for the other diners...

When a supervisor came over to tell her complaints had been received about the noise she explained his condition and the supervisor came back with colouring books and crayons.

Not earplugs for the other customers?

It is alleged during a subsequent heated conversation a supervisor told the family “why didn’t you let us know when you booked that you were bringing an autistic child so we could warn the other customers”.

Amy said: “I could not believe what I was hearing, we had never had to do that before and the medical needs of my child are no one’s business.”

When they are impinging on their rights to enjoy a quiet family meal, they are!

Owner Gary Downham told how he was threatened and had to call in the police.

He said: “It was noticed that one of the young children would not stop screaming or shouting and whilst our restaurant is child-friendly, the level of the screaming was such that it was difficult to hold a conversation.”

He said he and staff stepped in to help, but were abused and threatened.

There's no comment from the police. I wonder if they too retreated before the mother's inalienable right to use the Disability Card to disrupt everyone else's life?

I'm Not Sure Him 'Not Liking Dogs' Is The Reason, Somehow...

Residents in Astra Close stopped receiving post a month ago after a dog attacked a postman twice whilst he was trying to deliver letters and parcels.

Seems fair! Maybe a bit of social pressure will do the job the police obviously can't..?

Oh, but I forgot. This is Essex....

Daniel Wills, 33 from Astra Close, lives with Staffordshire Bull Terrier Blue, and says he has been having to make the trip to Hornchurch at least once a week to check if he has any post.

He said: “It’s really annoying.
“Why can’t they just find another postman who will deliver our post.

“If he doesn’t like dogs then he is doing the wrong job.”

Yeah, he probably does like dogs, but not when they are hanging onto his leg!

Another resident said: “I’ve only moved in a month ago and haven’t been to collect my post yet because it’s such an inconvenience.

“I can’t be bothered to go all the way to Hornchurch.

“I might have been sent in moving in cards or presents but I wouldn’t know because I don’t have the time to go down there.”

Well, you can't be all that keen to get post, then, can you?

Trying A Different Tack....

Frustratingly, I had left my blue salbutamol inhaler at home – it was a sunny day and I was travelling light – so had to go home much earlier than I wanted to. In truth, whenever the blowback of a cigarette hits my face, I can expect to wheeze and struggle for the rest of the day. This is the sad reality for many of us asthma sufferers. An attack can be triggered by the slightest stimulus, so we stay wedded to our inhalers because of our condition.

But....you clearly don't 'stay wedded' at all. You didn't forget it, you admit you left it at home!

It is my personal belief that smoking while walking on the street should be regulated, and that there should be designated smoking areas in outdoor public spaces, or at least a push to make smoking a stationary activity when done outside.

It's not dawned on you that it doesn't really matter if the smoker remains stationary, the smoke won't?

It may sound a bit extreme...

You're not kidding! That's just one of the words that sprang to mind...

...and will no doubt make me wildly unpopular – as well as seeming deeply unfun – ...

Those weren't quite the words that sprang to mind either!

...but it feels to me a fair policy befitting a city that prides itself on safety and tolerance for everyone.

Tolerance for everyone except smokers?

Just as we would expect a person to give up their seat on the tube to someone who might need it more, so too should a smoker respect that the person they are walking by might have an invisible respiratory condition.

And so we see the anti-smoking loons switch horses to push the notion that smoking is somehow 'disablist'.

If They Gave An Award For Crass, Self-Absorbed Statements In Newspaper Articles...

...then I think this one would win hands down:

Reece’s dad, Steve Clarke, has spoken of his horror when he heard Reece was involved in this second crash.

For several heart-stopping minutes, Mr Clarke, 55, of Thorpe Hall Close, believed his son had been injured in another shocking accident. He said: “One of Reece’s carers called me and said Reece had had an accident.

“I was round the corner so I dashed down there thinking all the time about what might have happened to him.

“I got there before the ambulance and the police and could see someone had been run over.

“I thought it was Reece.

“I was so relieved to find him still sitting in the car.”

 Pity about the 100 year old grandmother who'd been mowed down, but hey, your son's ok!

“The carer driving the car was from an agency. She’d been with us five or six times so she was used to the car. It was just a terrible accident.”

Well, no. It was careless driving:

Judge Ian Graham, sentencing, said Lyons “didn’t park in a proper parking bay” and left the vehicle’s engine on, in gear and in automatic mode with the handbrake on as she left the vehicle to check the petrol cap.

He said whether it was by a “pure accident or whether you touched the wrong pedal by mistake”, her foot touched the accelerator as she got back into the van and the handbrake was overridden.

“You didn’t act properly in stopping the vehicle, in finding the brake, and I expect you panicked,” he said.

What did she get? Suspended sentence. Of course.

This Article Tells Us A Lot About You...

...and not an awful lot about pressure in the A&E:

When I say that I fleetingly think about the drive home, it’s not because I’m counting down the hours until I finish. I’m thinking more along the lines of, “I am knackered. How am I going to drive home without crashing into a tractor or something?” You start to think about your own mortality. It’s not a baseless fear – 57% of doctors in the position have said they’ve had an accident or near-miss. When I first started working in north Wales I lived around 25 minutes away from the hospital, requiring a run home on the A55. It’s full of fast-moving trucks, and negotiating those after a set of nights is possibly one of my most terrifying experiences. All my car windows were open, whatever the weather, the radio was on loud and I was forcing myself to sing along to every single song. I’d crawl at 40mph to the annoyance of everyone, because I didn’t trust myself to stay awake – and if I did crash then at least speed wouldn’t be a factor in the trauma I might suffer or bring to someone else. I’d pull over, try to cat nap – whatever it took to get home intact. I moved closer because the fear of that drive home was mounting and I guessed it would be only a matter of time before there was an accident. The nightshifts were exhausting and as the A&E registrar in charge of the shop floor, the pressure was relentless. By 8am I was a ghost of myself.

You poor thing! You must be exhausted, and have no time to...

Wait.

I have a dual career – as a doctor and a film-maker/journalist.

You've got time to write columns for 'CiF' and make films for every leftie cause going?

When I am working a late shift within the media I will be entitled to a taxi home. There will be hot food available somewhere in the building and plenty of breakout spaces to grab a rest. The following day, when working a nightshift in A&E, where I’ll be responsible for patients, making life-or-death decisions and possibly not sitting down for 10 hours, I won’t have the same facilities.

Then you know which career suits you best, don't you?

Before training to be a doctor I was an army officer and yet again, facilities existed to ensure comfort after hard work.

You've had a lot of roles in life. Is it because you're eternally dissatisfied with your lot?

No Point In Having A Law You Can't Enforce...

Harding, 60, Kings Tamerton Road, Plymouth, ended up before magistrates after she was found to be in breach of new laws requiring that the female Staffordshire bull terrier was correctly microchipped.

...because it's worse than useless. It's costly.

She failed to show up at court and the case continued in her absence.

Chances of getting the money? Nil, I'd say.

Losing Faith In Humanity...

He said: "We were walking down to the school and it's a narrow path. Jenson sat down which is the signal for me to stop because there is something in my way and I can go no further.

"I could hear a woman was getting a child out of the car, which was screaming and crying, and putting it in a pushchair. Jenson stood up and was a bit hesitant, and then I heard his jaws bang together and his teeth clatter and he yelped. I knew he had been kicked.

"He span round and round so I told him to lie down to calm him down. But then the woman ran the pushchair over his paws and he shot back up and yelped again.

She just carried on. "I heard someone say 'did you just see that, she just kicked a guide dog', so I know it was witnessed by people so I need them to come forward.

Jesus wept! Who watches a woman kick a man's guide dog and does nothing?

"Wait, The Rules Apply To ME As Well? Monstrous!"

Retired Bedford dog warden Coral Browne was prosecuted by her own council for failing to comply with an abatement notice to stop the dogs barking at ARAS kennels.

She says the fine has placed the centre’s future under threat – a move slammed as barking mad by supporters.

None of whom live within earshot, or would dream of doing so, I suspect!

Coral claims the complaint that prompted all the trouble came from just one or two neighbours.

So..? Is there a number you have to hit to trigger a noise abatement order?

When you were a dog warden, did you refuse to act unless that magic number had been reached?

One resident who submitted noise recordings to the council, told the T&C:”The dogs bark incessantly. It is absolute torture for all of us.

“We’ve being accused of being anti dogs but we’re all animal lovers. We don’t want the kennels closed down – we just want the barking and howling to stop.”

Good luck with that. It seems if you style yourself an 'animal rescuer' you think it defends you against having to abide by society's rules:

A Clacton dog-lover has defended the dog rescue service she operates from her Clacton town centre terrace.

Neighbours complain of barking dogs in her backyard and noting their breeds, fear they present a danger to children.

Mostly Staffies and Staffy-crosses, then, I bet.

Nicola said: “We take pressure off the local councils. We take dogs from the pound, saving councils money and the dog’s life.”

“Dogs are my passion. I just don’t think the neighbours like dogs. Their complaints upset me when you are trying to do a good thing,” she said.

Can't you 'do a good thing' that's maybe a bit less of an imposition on your neighbours?

I love peacocks, but I'd never dream of having one in a residential area. Is it ok if I 'rescue' one, and tell the neighbours to put up with the noise?

Three months ago, Tendring Council and the RSPCA inspected her premises and everything was fine.

“The police are also happy the dogs are under controlled and trained,” she added.

Instead, Nicola accuses neighbours of having parties and making a noise, which “distresses the dogs” and makes them bark.

Wait, so not only do you expect the neighbours to put up with the noise your mutts make, they should live like Benedictine monks so as to not 'provoke' your misbred pack?

Peter Bruff ward councillor Andy Pemberton, who was approached about the rescue service, said: “It’s not just one complaint. There’s been quite a few.”

Tendring council communications manager Nigel Brown said: “The Council has investigated a complaint regarding this address in the past but it was unfounded. However, having received a further complaint officers will be reinvestigating.”

If you want to 'rescue' animals, buy a place in the country.