h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It's been ages since I've been on h2g2. I feel a bit of a newbie again. I love the "The Prisoner" tag that you have at the top of your profile and may swipe it and add it to mine. Kind of describes how I'm feeling these days.

I noticed that both you and I said similar things on the Peer Review thread for "The Rivers of London". Just noticed that Tavaron isn't a native English speaker, which probably accounts for the spelling errors in her/his entry (my guess is that s/he is female, but I could be wrong). Regarding suggestions for corrections, I was always happy with suggestions for correction/improvement, as that meant my entry would be even better. Hey ho.

Hey ho indeed. The PR comments guidelines do actually state: "Wherever possible, try to help the Researcher get the grammar and spelling as accurate as possible", because a sub-ed can't do everything.

I think everyone feels a bit "I am not a number..." from time to time! Is yours temporary? Something you can change?

Yes - I admit I considered doing the same as you did, offering help to correct the spelling (and also the punctuation), but chickened out, as I don't think I have the time at present.

Good question about the quote - I've had a couple of things to deal with recently, broken leg, death of my father, son failing to finish university and needing support. All these things can be dealt with, though it was a bit unfortunate that they all followed one another. It will pass.

How are things with you?

I was hopping about earlier this year with a sprained foot (tripped over the cat on the stairs) and thought that was bad, but at least I could drive, go to work, lean heavily on the trolley when shopping etc. A broken leg can't have been much fun at all, and then you had family things to deal with too!

I'm all good thanks, phasing work out of my life and currently do 3 days a week. This is partly because it's not much fun any more (I'm an A level teacher) partly because of my age and partly to give me time with my mum, who was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia 4 years ago. No one is quite sure how she's still here, it's a very aggressive kind of cancer with only palliative treatment, and the anticipatory grief 4 years ago was hard to cope with, as a family we all did this in different ways. In herself she's one of the most active and alive 81 year olds you could meet, - same kind of age as Mary Berry, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Brian Blessed and co, but it will change, and quickly.

I hope your son can find some purpose, the support is there when he needs it. Has he turned his back on FE altogether or is there a change of deferring for a year and making a fresh start when he's ready?

Palliative care sounds a good option for your mum. I'm convinced that many cancer treatments actually make the disease worse – and some effective treatments have either been suppressed or made illegal, eg cannabis oil. Is she nearby, or do you have to travel to see her? Your mum sounds wonderful. I think attitude can have a big effect in coping with and fending off illness.

I can imagine work isn't that much fun any more and that winding down comes as a welcome relief. What subject/s do you teach?

My son seems happy enough doing his apprenticeship - and one of the good things about it is that he's in a male atmosphere. He seems to be doing very well and at the end of it he'll have a qualification. He's still enjoying his music and playing his guitar, although he didn't really enjoy some of the parts of the music technology, such as computer based composition. Who knows what he'll do in future. Whilst at university he became interested in historical re-enactment and in English history of the period in general (Normans up to King John) and he took part in a three-day event at Carisbrooke Castle last week.

I hope you're fully recovered from your sprained foot. It's so easy to come to grief doing something fairly straightforward isn't it? I broke my leg in three places stepping off a stool, doing something for my dad on the Isle of Wight. My neighbours came to collect me and bring me and my car home, which was a real God-send.

... and apologies for misspelling your name, Coelacanth! As far as I can see, there isn't a way of correcting the thread title.

Palliative care is all mum has, no one over 65 is ever given treatment for AML. She keeps away from ill people, takes a palliative cocktail of anti viral, anti fungal, anti biotics and some other bits, we all use anti bac gel and she has a strict "clean" diet, for example no handling potatoes grown in the earth (tinned are fine). She has her blood tested every week and transfusions when levels drop. At the very start she had loads of units, just to get her through the week after diagnosis. She's not that nearby, I live in the Garden of England, she's in Constable country, but it's not too far.

My subjects are Psychology and Sociology, but that's the best bit. It's all the other, non classroom stuff that's become overwhelming.

I'm glad your son has found something, the apprenticeship scheme is an excellent way to get a qualification if the provider is good. Is it all 'on the job' or does he have a college day too?

Oh, you've managed to change the subject title - how did you do that?

I had to cheat and look up "Constable country" - the Garden of England, I didn't. Yes, so not too near. I found going to the Isle of Wight a bit awkward to go to look after dad, but we phoned daily. I'd no idea that there wasn't treatment for over 65s for certain conditions, although I shouldn't be that surprised, thinking about it. The cocktail of remedies she takes must mean she's vulnerable to illness, as I'm sure they lower her immune system. I've never heard of anyone not being able to eat things grown in the soil unless they've been processed before.

My son did Psychology as one of his 'A' levels. He really enjoyed it. His other subjects were two BTecs in Music Technology. He is doing mostly on-the-job training with pieces of coursework which have to completed at home, so he doesn't get one day off a week to go to college. He's working for a glazing firm, so he's on a new-build building site and I understand that his prospects are good once he's got his qualifications. The pay is *very* low, though - just under half the minimum wage for the first year. I'm just glad he's managed to find something. He enjoys working outside too.

The thing about the "pay" for an apprentice is not to see it as a wage, because it isn't. If he was doing a college or uni course he'd have to pay them, or take out a loan for the fees. So the attractiveness of the apprenticeship scheme is the financial incentive for remaining with the training, and being able to start proper employment without too much debt. Both my daughters, Sunshine (now 30) and Moonlight (27) have horrible debts from their degrees. Neither of which are in psychology!

The life expectancy for AML in the elderly is usually months or weeks, maybe even just days. It's horribly aggressive. So it's about the quality of whatever brief amount of life remains, and keeping free from infection because a simple cold will be overwhelming. There's nothing she could take that would lower her immunity - she doesn't have any. The neutropenic "clean" diet has a lot of factors, the soil on the outside of unpeeled potatoes example is just one of them, but it's all about avoiding any potential source of bacteria. http://www.leukaemiacare.org.uk/the-neutropenic-diet

I tried to reply last night before turning in, but found myself locked out. I found out this morning I can log in in Brunel, but not in Pliny. I've no idea why.

Little Fish does understand that he's fortunate to be able to get money while training, and hopefully, once he's trained, he will be able to make a decent living. He still has some student debt to repay, but not nearly as long as if he had done the full four years, so that's a blessing. I do feel for today's students and the amount of debt they are incurring. It seems even worse in America, as the interest there is much larger. It makes purchasing a house even harder. I saw a chart some while ago about how long it would take to repay loans according to discipline. Unsurprisingly, doctors and lawyers are able to pay off theirs fairly quickly, but people in lower paying professions, such as social work, may never pay theirs off. Horrendous.

I had a look at that link for the AML diet. My best wishes for your mum. It does sound as if she has a good attitude.