Saturday 21 May 2016

30GPs

There is nothing like looking at a room of 30 GPs to give you some idea of just how different we all are. All shapes and sizes all colours and creeds. It's strange that we all know how to be healthy and yet very few of us are, the rest of us follow our vices in just the same old ways. What does that tell you about human nature. The old adage "do as I say, not as I do" is a good one, certainly seems to apply to this lot. It was a back to school session for us all, to refresh our knowledge and keep one step ahead of the medical students chewing at our heels and capable of asking very difficult questions. It is reassuring though, to find out that you really do know stuff and that it's all in their somewhere. GPs are a different breed from hospital consultants in general. Consultants stand around scoring points off each other at meetings, whereas GPs play the observation game to see who among them is going to try and demonstrate superiority. No one did last night - unusual, must have been because it was after surgery and we were all tired after a long day.
No news from the juniors, which I shall take to be good news. Half term starts this week - then the hard work really begins with e 5 am starts again to get junior 3 to the pool on time and a late pick up in the evening to pick him up after the evening swim - oh joy.

Saturday 5 March 2011

the mornings

It's Saturday, my day of catch up , shopping, tidying and the like, but I'm up a lot earlier than I would like to be.
You sort of think that as your children get through the nappy phase that you will be able to sleep like a normal human being again. What you don't account for is that when they are young, children seem to need a lot less sleep than you do and when they are older the ferrying begins. Sport seems like such a good idea when you sign them up for it, you fall for the propaganda of it making them healthy and giving them friends and a feeling of comradeship, developing leadership skills and the like, and in all fairness, it probably does all of these things. What they don't tell you though is the effects on you of having to get cranky teenagers out of bed early in the morning at the weekend , forcing them to eat some breakfast before they go out of the door and then having to ferry them long distances to sporting activities. Then of course there is always the problem of what to do while they are playing whatever it is - never enough time to come home again before having to return to pick them up. All you want to do is put the car seat back and go back to sleep, which would be sensible, but the thought of being surrounded by people who you might know with slobber dribbling down the corner of your mouth while snoring in your car prevents this - never a good look. The supermarket is the usual refuge - here you can lean on a trolley for support and glide round the isles in a hypnotic stupor looking at all the things that you never normally get chance to when running in for the shopping. I came back from the last meet with two trees, a laundry basket and 35 cans of dog food in the car amongst other things - not good. Junior is in the morning room watching what passes for tv at this time of day whilst eating 3 croissants and drinking disgustingly strong coffee only slightly moderated by the presence of warm frothy milk - this is macho apparently, but i can't help thinking it is probably off setting some of the healthy effects of getting out there for sport in the first place and sometimes have to wonder just how healthy sport is when taken in the round as it were. C'est la vie!