My review of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Martin Belcher's review 

Dec 22, 14  ·  edit

5 of 5 stars

bookshelves: read-in-2014 

Read from December 16 to 22, 2014

I've read A Christmas Carol too many times to mention now. It's become a personal Christmas tradition of mine to read it each Christmas if I am able. It needs little explanation, if you haven't read it you will be familiar with it through many films, cartoons and plays. The original Dickens masterpiece is truly the best though and best read in the run up to Christmas. A timeless story that is just as relevant now as it was in Victorian London. A wonderful book and it truly deserves it's place in the gold standard of what Christmas truly means - giving, generosity to others, kindness and family.

I completed my Goodreads 2014 challenge to read 52 books!

Martin Belcher has completed the 2014 Reading Challenge Congrats! You have completed your goal of reading 52 books for the 2014 Reading Challenge!   52 of 52 (100%)

Arcoxia (Etoricoxib) my three month battle with side effects.

It's now been three and a half months since I started on a new drug Arcoxia ( Etoricoxib) 90mg to help my Ankylosing Spondylitis. Prescribed by my rheumatologist at Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases RNHRD Bath.

Etoricoxib is a new type of anti inflammatory NSAID, a COX2 inhibitor, designed to reduce the risk of peptic ulceration and to directly target the COX2 enzyme responsible for pain & inflammation.

Etoricoxib and other COX2 NSAID's (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) have a whole slew of side effects and can increase the risk of heart attack & stroke.

To be honest I wasn't too keen on trying it, but my old drug Meloxicam (Mobic) which I had been taking for almost twenty years was not helping me any longer and I needed to try something different.

Within a week of taking Arcoxia, I started suffering tiredness ( more than usual) light headed feelings, dizziness and nausea. I persevered and slowly these side effects receded. A month later I developed a red, itchy annoying rash around my neck & shoulders, I treated it myself with antiseptic cream and an over the counter anti-histamine. The rash subsided and disappeared over the space of three - four weeks. So...now after three and half months, I feel much better for being on Arcoxia, it's definitely helped with pain and inflammation, my AS is more bearable. I still feel side effects now and again. Dizziness and fatigue is a problem but i'm not sure if the cause is Arcoxia or my Ankylosing Spondylitis in general. So overall I'm pleased, it's been a battle on this drug but now it's settled down and I feel better for taking it. I have my consultant check up in Feb/ March 2015 so will wait and see what my rheumatologist thinks.

Zodiac Station by Tom Harper My rating: 4 of 5 stars I found this book completely by accident by seeing a photo of someone on twitter holding up the front cover - it grabbed my interest and I purchased a copy. First things first, it wasn't what I thought it would be ( I was expecting a horror/ chiller based in the Arctic), but that aside, I was not disappointed, it immediately pulled me in with its descriptive text about a strange lone man walking out of the Arctic island of Utgard rescued by an American Coast guard icebreaker. The survivor, a British man by the name of Tom Anderson tells a story of being the only miraculous survivor of scientific research base - Zodiac Station. Zodiac Station has suffered a disaster, completely mysterious and unexpected and as the story slowly unravels we learn bit by bit what happened at Zodiac, the base personnel's secrets, hidden agendas and a terrible secret which becomes apparent at the climactic ending of the book. A brilliant mystery/ thriller filled with clever science, Arctic descriptions and climate change/ world geopolitics themes. It's an interesting read, very cleverly written. Loved it. View all my reviews

Tension Headache - Ankylosing Spondylitis.

I wanted to write a short article about something that rules my life and drives me completely insane sometimes. Due to my AS (Ankylosing Spondylitis) I suffer horrendous tension headaches which cause me incredible pain and discomfort. Due to years of very active AS, I now have a fused spine and neck so unfortunately tension headaches have for approximately the last 10 years been a regular feature of my life, in the last 5 years they have gotten worse and the attacks can turn into cluster headaches where it can last for several days before easing.

Today as I type this I'm on my second day of a bad head, I've tried everything from heat packs to ice to sunglasses and medication but sometimes I just have to leave it to run its course. Ordinary paracetamol does nothing for me now, I do take codeine if I can't stand the pain, but I don't like the side effects and constipation I seem to suffer. My favourite standby of choice and a medication that nearly always works is Syndol, a mixture of paracetamol/ codeine & doxylamine succinate. It works but makes me feel quite spaced out and drowsy. For the last few months Syndol has been off the market again which is really frustrating. I have one precious box left which I now ration and I really hope that Syndol becomes available again on the market....

My consultant prescribed Amitriptyline to help with the tension headaches, but I just couldn't stand the side effects that made me feel worse than the headaches themselves. If anyone out there has some suggestions, I would love to hear them!

Well I'm off to heat my neck pack in the microwave and hope this headache eases. Bye for now everyone. Mart x

The Grand National - this race should be banned!

The 2013 Grand National takes place tomorrow 6th April and once again it turns my stomach thinking of how many horses will suffer injuries and how many will be killed or have to be put down because of injuries sustained in this barbaric race.

The jumps are poorly designed and cruel. This year the race organisers bowing to public pressure have lowered some of the jumps and added plastic instead of wood, this is still not enough. The jumps are still either too high or too wide and encourage horses to bunch together and jump when they are tired. Some fatal injuries are even caused when horses crash into each other.

Britain is known around the world as a country of animal lovers, our RSPCA is a model for animal protection agencies around the world and does so much good for protecting animals in this country and yet we all seem to accept this race and get sucked in by the media "excitement". It really is sick and a national disgrace that this is allowed to happen. Just think for a minute..would motor racing be allowed to continue on a certain course if every year 2 or 3 drivers died in fatal accidents? The answer is NO... So why the hell do we let this sick race continue. Horses are beautiful animals and there is nothing at all wrong in racing on the flat but these steeplechase jumps are too much and proven dangerous.

Please do your bit by not watching this race and not betting on it. Together in our own way we can show that this race is WRONG.

Queen Elizabeth I 1558-1603 My university course

If you've been following my tweets on my Twitter account (@martinwb10) you will know I've been working on an online course with the University of Oxford studying the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth I. It's a 10 week course ending with an official credit. I'm now on my final week, having passed the first assignment and now I'm almost ready to submit my final essay which will count towards my final mark. It's been a wonderful course, I have a passion for Tudor history so it's been right up my street. At times coming home from work extremely tired, I have had to be very motivated to settle down with my books and study hard for a couple of hours, but I've done it and nearing the final post! I'm very pleased with myself as its the first formal adult education I've participated in since leaving college in the 1980's. wish me luck for my final assessment and I'll let you all know if I pass, you'll hear the squeal of delight! Mart xx