25 Jun 2012
by Carole Gardiner
in Uncategorized
Tags: england football squad, Escape to Victory, film, football, game, players, sports, tv
Last Sunday afternoon I couldn’t find anything new to watch on TV so I ended up watching “Escape to Victory” even though I’d seen it many times before.
The those of you not familiar with the film, it’s about a prisoner of war camp in occupied France during the 2nd world war, the prisoners form a team to play against an all German squad. The plan is for the French resistance to help them escape at half time, but during the first half despite the Germans playing dirty the allied team are holding their own and want to continue playing to try and win the game instead of escaping. Most of the allied team is made up from professional footballers such as the great Pele from Brazil, our very own Bobby Moore, Ozzy Ardiles from Argentina, Co Prins from Holland, John Wark from Scotland, Soren Lindsted from Denmark, Kevin O’Callaghan from Ireland, Hallavar Thoresen from Norway, Mike Summerbee from England, Paul van Himst from Belgium and Kazimierz Deyna from Poland. Also in the team are Michael Caine and Sylvester Stallone.
I think it’s such an uplifting film about working as a team against adversity and against the odds, to choose to carry on playing instead of escaping.
In my humble opinion the England football squad should watch this film again and again until they understand the concept of playing for the love of the game and for the honour of representing their country and not for the obscene amount of money they are paid.
22 Jun 2012
by Carole Gardiner
in Uncategorized
Tags: exercise, fat, food, gone, healthy-living, scales, tap dance classes, weigh-in, weight loss, weight watchers
Due to being ill and being inactive as a result of my illness I’ve become a bit too lardy for my liking. I have always tried to eat healthily but I must be doing something wrong as I’m much bigger than I want to be.
So I’ve joined Weight watchers and now everything I eat will have a point value. It all looks pretty straight forward and our group leader says we are guaranteed to lose weight if we follow the rules.
So the first thing I did when I got home from the ritual weigh-in was to set up my “fat journal”, in it I wrote all the food I usually eat and worked out how many points I would normally eat. I am allowed 26 points a day, which doesn’t sound like much but it’s actually quite a lot of food according to my Weight watchers bible.
Also in my fat destroying action plan is to become more active, I know I wrote about this in the blog a little while ago, but I just haven’t got round to it yet. As well as ballet classes, I have also found jazz dance and tap dance classes that look promising, the first step is to get off my bum and do it. I want to see how I get on with working before I completely wear myself by adding in exercise.
I will keep the blog posted with my progress at the weekly weigh-in.
20 Jun 2012
by Carole Gardiner
in Uncategorized
Tags: food, Italian, manners, please, say, thank you, This morning, travel, Turkish
I was watching “This morning” yesterday and Gino D’acampo was cooking with Holly and Phil. Holly was making a point of reminding Gino to say please when he asked her to chop something or put something in the pan to cook. It got me wondering about manners and how important they are to us Brits and are they as important to other cultures.
Like many people in this country I was brought up to say please and thank you all the time and manners are very important to me. When I first met Hasan and started living with him I did get annoyed with him when he didn’t say please or thank you, it just didn’t occur to him to do so. Obviously there are words in Turkish for please and thank you but I rarely heard them in the same context as we use them. Teşekkür ederim means thank you and is used to reply to someone asking about someones well being, response to a compliment, but not when being given something like a drink etc; lütfen is the word for please and I hardly ever heard that uttered in all the time I spent in Turkey.
Hasan and I used to argue about it quite often because without saying please it felt like he was just barking orders at me and I really didn’t like it. Also it really bugged me when I made him a cup of tea or gave him something and he never said thank you. It only took a short while for him to see the light and he quickly caught on that if he wanted an easy life he should remember his manners.
So after watching Gino being prompted several times by Holly on the show I’m thinking maybe it’s the same in Italian culture.
16 Jun 2012
by Carole Gardiner
in Uncategorized
Tags: assignment, back to nurse practice, nursing, university
Well I’ve survived the first 2 days of the Return to Nurse practice course. On Thursday armed with my new stationary I made my way to the University of the West of England, (UWE). There are 28 of us on the course from 5 specialisms of nursing; children’s (me and 2 others), adult, health visiting, mental health and learning disabilities with many different reasons for letting our registrations lapse.
The first day was full on and intense and most of us lost the will to live once we got to the library tour in the afternoon. But at the end of that day for our last session 3 nurses who had just finished the course came and spoke to us about their experiences, that was very useful and they answered many questions from lots of nervous newbies.
Day 1 couldn’t have been that traumatic as we all turned up for day 2. The second day was just as hard going as the first, being bombarded with so much information I thought my brain might explode. But I’m in no doubt now what is expected of me on this course; an 80% pass rate on a maths test, a 2000 word reflective assignment, at least 100 hours of nurse practice and competences to be met. When it’s written out like that it doesn’t seem much to achieve, but at the moment it seems like a huge mountain to climb.
I’m sure after a couple of good nights sleep I’ll be ready to pick up my mammoth pile of paperwork and make sense of it all and crack on with the task in hand.
13 Jun 2012
by Carole Gardiner
in Uncategorized
Tags: assessment, CFS, ESA, Incapacity benefit, Return to nurse practice course
This month I received the dreaded questionnaire from Atos Medical Services. They assess people that receive ESA, (Employment and Support Allowance), previously known as Incapacity Benefit. It became ESA past year and like many people receiving the benefit I had to be assessed to migrate from the old scheme to the new.
Unfortunately CFS, (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), isn’t taken too seriously by Atos and a lot of sufferers don’t fare very well and are told that they are fit to work and have their money stopped. Luckily for me last year at the time of my assessment I had suffered from Pericarditis and Myocarditis which was bad enough, but made my CFS symptoms much worse. I was also very fortunate to have a very understanding nurse assessing me who understood CFS and the impact it has on a sufferers life.
This year circumstances are different, I am starting to feel a bit better and looking to start trying to rejoin the workforce. But I’m not ready to fully support myself by working yet. I still need support while I do the Return to Nurse Practice course at university as I have to work at least 120 hours without pay. But how do I get that across on a questionnaire that asks me if I can raise my arms above my head or reach up to put something in my top pocket! The questions are so specific and they don’t allow you to fully explain how your condition affects your daily life.
I firmly believe that I have started to recover by not concentrating on my symptoms and how they affect me. But to secure my benefit for a little while longer to help me through the course and then finding a job, I have to do just that.
So I decided the best thing to do is go and see an ESA advisor at the jobcentre and explain the situation and hope that they understand my situation.
Wish me luck!
07 Jun 2012
by Carole Gardiner
in Uncategorized
Tags: celebrations, entertainment, Great Britain, jubilee, long reign, Majesty, pageantry, Queen, Will and Kate
What a fabulous Jubilee we have had in our country. To celebrate 60 years of the reign of our wonderful queen, Great Britain came out to party on a massive scale proving why we are called ‘Great’.
I must admit I was a bit of a boring old fart and stayed in to watch it on TV. I was going to go down to Millennium Square in Bristol to watch the concert on Monday night on the big screen, but alas the lure of the sofa in the warm won me over. But I did make an effort on Friday evening with my brownie and rainbow guide units and had a jubilee tea party and I decorated the outside of my house with some flags and bunting.
I thought Her Majesty looked amazing all through the celebrations, so serene and beautiful even in the appalling rain on the barge on Sunday.
A few things puzzled me, however, about the concert; who invited Grace Jones to hula hoop and why Cheryl Cole was allowed to ruin Gary Barlow’s performance with her dreadful singing. But the song Andrew Lloyd Webber and Gary Barlow wrote for the occasion was fantastic and so moving, as was Prince Charles’s speech for his “mummy”. Overall the concert was great and the fireworks at the end were spectacular.
Sunday’s festivities were marred by the Duke of Edinburgh being taken ill, but the Queen looked elegant and lovely again for the thanksgiving service in St. Paul’s Cathedral, but I felt she looked a bit lost without him at times. The celebrations concluded with the Queen’s procession and the balcony appearance. No one does pomp and pageantry as well as us Brits and it was fabulous, union flags everywhere, horses and carriages, bands and cheering crowds. After the orderly surge of 1000’s of people down the Mall, the main members of the royal family appeared on the balcony and none of the annoying minor, hanger on members that no one wants to see. Although it was cloudy and raining the very impressive fly past took place.
The massive 3 cheers from the crowd and the singing of the National Anthem for the umpteenth time signalled the end of the balcony appearance and I think Britain should be proud of the way we celebrated over the 4 day holiday. I believe the Queen was genuinely moved by the response of her people on this very special occasion and achievement.
05 Jun 2012
by Carole Gardiner
in Uncategorized
Tags: akcesme village, day out, dog, turkey, turkish food, visit
Usually Hasan and I will visit his parents together mostly because I need an interpreter as I can’t usually understand one syllable my in laws say. But I needed to drive from Marmaris to Kuşadası to deliver some belongings for a friend who was going there on holiday. After visiting some friends, dropping off the stuff and an overnight stay, I made my way on the long drive back to Marmaris.
Halfway home is Akçeşme Village, the seat of my in laws and where my husband grew up. It’s a small village with 150 houses about 3km from the main road. There is not much in the village but houses, a couple of little grocery shops and a tea shop where my father in law was keeping watch for me. After he jumped in the car we made our way around to the house.
I must admit I was dreading it a bit because of the language barrier and because the other villagers have a tendency to come and stare at the foreigner. But I must say this time I had a very pleasant visit. We talked as much as my Turkish knowledge and her village accent/slang allowed and she made me some dinner. She made some lovely Turkish food; Gazatma- a dish of fried peppers, potatoes and aubergines topped with garlic yogurt and cooked tomatoes, and Sarma- vine leaves wrapped around a rice mixture, with some salad and chips….yum!
Another reason for the lovely visit, they are looking after our dog, Dab, so I had a bit of a play with him, drank some tea and bid them all farewell and set off for Marmaris.
I will definitely visit on my own again, it wasn’t nearly as bad as my mind was making it out to be.
03 Jun 2012
by Carole Gardiner
in Uncategorized
Tags: 19 Mayis bayram, children, fountain, Marmaris, national park, sports
A little while ago in the middle of Marmaris town centre there was a Tansas supermarket, it was knocked down and the ground levelled.
When I was there in March work was underway building a new park to commemorate the 19 Mayis Genclik Bayram. This young person and sport national day was created to celebrate Kemal Ataturk’s landing at Samsun on 19th May 1919 thus beginning the Turkish war of independence from the Ottomans.
On my return mid May the work was still ongoing and they clearly wanted to get the park finished by the 19th of May because even though the weather was nasty for the 2 days and nights before, workers toiled non stop in the driving rain and wind. The park was opened on the celebration day and although there was a bit of finishing off to do, the overall effect was lovely.
The park has a beautiful fountain similar to the Bellagio fountain in Las Vegas but on a smaller scale, a waterfall with a lovely mermaid statue and wide open space for playing and relaxing. I think once it’s finished off properly it will be fabulous.
31 May 2012
by Carole Gardiner
in Uncategorized
Tags: Bodrum airport, delay, flights, holiday, new terminal
After a lovely 2 weeks with my hubby, Hasan, in Turkey I had a nightmare time at Bodrum Airport while checking in for my flight home. On the journey there Hasan and I were wondering if anything had changed at Bodrum airport as I hadn’t flown from there in a while and it wasn’t the prettiest place in the world the last time I was there.
So imagine our surprise when we got there and discovered the new international terminal, it was a vision of contempory design, gleaming and shining like a new penny. There were lots of airport staff milling around in smart new uniforms and all seemed well.
Or so I thought…….unfortunately a new terminal equalled new systems which didn’t seem to cope with large numbers of passengers. I arrived 10 minutes after the check in desk opened and there were 2 desks opened, there were about 30 other passengers left in the queues waiting to be checked in and there we stood for 1 and a half hours. While we stood going nowhere the gate opened and the plane began to board. One by one the desks were shutting down due to the systems giving up under the pressure and the staff flapped around worryingly.
Being Brits we remained patient for quite a while but as the time for take off was fast approaching tempers were starting to fray and it started to resemble a scene from ‘Airline’. Eventually with minutes to spare I was checked in and Hasan was ready to punch someone! I was angry because it was a stressful end to a wonderful time with Hasan. We couldn’t say goodbye properly because I had to do an olympic sprint through passport control and security. We not going to be together for 5 or 6 months and it would have been nice to have a better end to my visit.
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Carole Gardiner
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