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Hello and welcome to jasonnewland.com. My name is Jason Newland. I hope you are well.
Hi! So... I've got no idea what today is. I know it's Tuesday, I don't know what the date is. Is it the 22nd or something like that of June 2025? I'm not really sure.
Please only listen when you can safely close your eyes. This has Let Me Bore You To Sleep. My name is Jason Newland.
Oh, I've got an itchy leg. I think I might have been bitten by a gnat. Okay, it's fleas.
Okay, fair enough. Alright then. It's probably been the busiest five days I've had for a very, very, very long time.
As far as... I suppose you could call it outside activities. You know, I'm busy sometimes making recordings, but not this week I haven't been. So, I'm going to tell you about it.
First of all, my website is back. So, apologies to anyone that were annoyed for the website going, but it's now back as it was. I'm just going to have to do a few little checks to make sure it's exactly how it was, but it is back online.
jasonnewland.com. And the... Yeah, my stump. I haven't made a recording. According to my web... I don't know.
I'm losing track, to be fair. I did a Q&A Friday on Friday. And I think I did a deep sleep whisper recording afterwards, later on in the day.
I think. And then... No, I don't think I've done this Saturday. So, basically, here's what's happened.
I'm going to talk about a medical situation, but I'm not going to go into information about the medical condition. Okay? So, this is going to involve hospitals and stuff. So, if that's... It might not be the most relaxing thing to tell you, to talk about.
But, you know, I like to tell you what's going on in my life as well. But at the same time, I'm not going to go all deep and serious with this. Although it has been a very, very serious situation.
So, you know, it involves medical, and I'm going to talk a little bit about medical stuff. But not really, if you know what I mean. But I will be talking about hospitals.
Because that's where I've been every day for the last five days. Not for me, but for someone else. So, it all started in 1970, when I was born.
So, my neighbour is having his new bathroom done. And I didn't see him last week, pretty much all week. Because he's having his bathroom done, and he's used to having his own space.
So really, the fact that he had people coming and going all week, didn't really see him. And I didn't bother him, you know, I didn't really knock on his door. Because I could see on my camera that he was in and out, and he was fine.
And they were all in and out on the, I've got a door camera, in and out doing the building work. So, on Friday evening, when all the builders had finished, I knocked on his door to see how he was getting on. I mean, I say evening, there's still light outside, so probably... Probably about 8 o'clock, 7, 8, 7, ish, you know, 6, 7. And this is Friday, it's now Tuesday evening.
And he opened the door. I'd just got in from the sun. I mean, I'd just been outside, and it was still sunny.
Or bright, anyway, maybe not sunny, it was still very bright outside. So, everything looks a bit weird when I get inside, after being outside. Especially with these glasses, because they're tinted glasses.
So, it makes everything a little bit of a weird kind of visual for a short while. Plus, my eyesight is not as good as it used to be. Well, my friend, my neighbour, he's my friend as well, but just use the word neighbour.
I guess he probably classes me more as a friend now, but... He opened the door. I'll just explain my relationship with him. It's friends with benefits, no.
No, it's neighbours with benefits. No, it's a... He's quite elderly, he's nearly 78. I help him out with some stuff.
So, paying bills, when he gets letters, making phone calls, I help him with that stuff. Just stuff because his hearing is not great. So, I help him out with stuff where he, you know, just general... I'm not his carer, but I just try and help him when he needs help.
And he hardly ever asks for help at all for the first nine years. But over the last year, he's been a bit more... I mean, he asked me for help in the past, but only for little bits and bobs. You know, when he locks himself out or he's lost his debit card, things like that.
Or if he... Yeah, he's had my telephone number for a long time. So, he's locked himself in a couple of times where he couldn't open the lock. So, you know, I was talking to him through the letterbox.
Even though we both were on the phone as well, which is weird. I actually did a podcast about that episode. And that was strange because the council, who I phoned, would not talk to me because I'm not him.
So, I phoned up saying, my elderly neighbour is locked inside his flat. He needs to leave his home, but he can't open the door because the door is jammed. The lock was jammed.
So, he needed a locksmith. And they said, well, who is he? I said who he was. And he said, who are you to him? I said, I'm his neighbour.
And then they said, well, we can't talk to you. I said, you are talking to me. No, we can't talk to you.
We have to talk to him. So, I literally had... I said, well... She said, well, phone him up. I said, but you can phone him up.
So, they did phone him up. He couldn't hear them. So, they phoned me up.
And they said, can you please put the phone through the letterbox so he can talk to us. So, it was weird. Anyway, a few little things like that.
I ended up putting his fish and chips through the letterbox because he couldn't get out to get any food. That was a weird one. It's a shared memory though.
So, Friday evening, he opens the door. Now, he's got very frail lately, but he's, again, he's 78. He's not a big eater.
He doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, doesn't... He's probably one of the most enthusiastic people I've ever met regarding sport. Regarding anything. I don't know if I've ever met anyone, possibly of any age, that was so enthusiastic about what they love.
And he loves sport. I mean, all sport. Boxing he's not too bothered about.
That's the one that I love. But he knows about boxing, but not a huge amount. But when it comes to football, rugby, cricket, absolutely.
He knows, there don't seem to be anything you don't know. And he follows all of it. He'll actually, he'll listen to one sport on the radio.
He'll watch one sport on the TV, and he'll have another one playing on his tablet. Like three different sports at the same time. It's just like, I don't know how he does it.
It's not something I could do. But he loves it. And that's what's so sad about the situation.
Because he loves being alive. Right, okay, again, I'm not going to go into deep stuff. But he loves, he's got energy, he's got, he's enthusiastic about life.
Constantly looking forward to the next day. Because the rugby's on, or the cricket's on, or the football match. He's looking forward to that.
He's looking forward to the weekend every week. Because that's when a lot of sport is on television. So, you know, I'm trying to get across that he's really nice.
Very chatty, very chatty. But he's a really nice person. He's a kind and gentle person.
But, as probably I am, he's set in his ways like a lot of people are. I guess I am as well, in a lot of ways. Probably in maybe more ways than he is, to be fair.
And he's independent. He does not like people interfering with his business. And who does, to be honest? I don't think anyone does really, do they? However, I'm laughing just because it put me in a very difficult situation.
There's nothing funny at all about this situation. There's zero humour, but I'll probably get some out of it. But just remember I'm not mocking him or his situation at all.
That's not what I'm doing, but I will perhaps laugh at some of the things that have happened. So, I open the door and literally I couldn't keep my eyes open because it was so bright. I thought he had some kind of light shining out of his flat.
And I thought my glasses were turning brown again, like the lenses. And I didn't know what was going on, so I took my glasses off and it wasn't coming from there. It was coming from him.
He was yellow. And I've seen that once before, many, many years ago. Like 2004.
That's when I last saw that. It's the only time I've ever seen it. And that person was a severe alcohol drinker.
And he survived, but he was in hospital. But it gave me another really nice person. I lived in that house.
That was when I lived in Ipswich. I lived in a house that was every single person in there, apart from the person at the bottom, was an alcoholic. Except me.
And I didn't drink that whole year. It was just really, I think that's pretty irony. I stopped drinking because I had a little bit of a drink issue.
Previous, I was just drinking excessively for three years. Like every night for three years, pretty much. So, I stopped drinking for a whole year, 2004.
I moved into this place. The bloke next to me was a full-on alcoholic. I'm talking like proper, didn't go to work.
He was just drunk all the time. The man downstairs, and I got on really well with him. I helped him get a council flat when he got evicted.
So I kind of helped him during that period. I wasn't living there anymore, but I just couldn't leave him. I wanted to help him.
Well, if you're friends with someone, you've got to help them, innit? The bloke downstairs was a full-on, almost like a functioning alcoholic. The one next to me wasn't functioning. The one downstairs was functioning.
And I got on really well with him. So again, really quite good friends with him. The man next to him was also an alcoholic, but he wouldn't talk to me.
He just didn't like me, so he lived directly below me. And he moaned that I was making too much noise. Because when I moved in, I had this bed.
What are they called, the beds that are on the floor? Futons. I had a futon. The most uncomfortable bed in my life, that was.
So every time I moved, I guess I was moving the floorboards or whatever. And he could hear me. I think I'd be listening to the radio or something, and he just moaned.
So he didn't like me, which is fine. Then downstairs at the bottom, so that's one, two, three people. Two at the top, which is me and someone.
Two below me, and then two right at the bottom. The one right at the bottom, that's the one that ended up in hospital. He was, again, another functioning alcoholic.
And I think he was retired. Like the two functioning ones were retired. Next to him, there was a crack house.
I'm not even joking, it got closed down by the police. So he didn't drink, but he did other stuff. But he also was really nice.
It's just a weird situation. He was lovely. Everyone in the house was nice.
I didn't get on with one, he might be nice as well, but everyone else was really nice. And it's really strange, because that was my year of abstinence. Almost like, I'm not doing anything this year.
And I'm surrounded by all this alcohol. It was ridiculous. It was, yeah, I don't know.
Almost like it was a test. Anyway, so I've seen that before. So my friend, neighbour opposite, yellow.
Yellow skin. And I thought, I'm seeing things here. I had Vinnie with me on his lead.
So I said, look, do you want to show me your bathroom? He said, yeah, come in. He's exactly the same. He's the same as what he ever is like.
He was quite bubbly, as he normally is. He's genuinely quite pleased to see me. He doesn't let anyone else in his flat, other than the builders.
He's got no choice about that. He doesn't invite anyone into his home, but he does me. Now, he didn't for the first nine years, or eight years.
So I went in there. Went to the bathroom. It's a really good job they've done.
So he's had his kitchen done, now he's got his bathroom. It's nearly finished. I'll be letting them in this week.
Because he's in hospital. Such a really nice bathroom. But it's very bright as well.
Too light in there. It's really bright at the moment. And I look at him, and I'm thinking... At this point, my glasses have gone back to normal.
I'm like... I said to him, are you OK? He said... He said, what are you talking about? I said, are you OK? He said, yeah. Do you feel OK? He said, yeah. He said, why? I said, well, you're yellow.
And he said... What? Now, he doesn't have a mirror in his home. And... I don't know how he shaves. He does shave, so he must just do it by... He must just... I guess he's done it for years, but... Mind you, I've shaved at the sink without looking in the mirror.
It is possible to do it. I've done it with a wet shave, a wet razor... Where I've had a sink that was nowhere near a mirror. Because I couldn't be bothered to walk two steps to the mirror to do it.
But hey, it's just laziness. It's a challenge as well, isn't it? To do it by touch. And it is possible.
I mean, millions of people around the world... Have no choice but to do it by touch, do they? I guess, if they're unable to see. So, yeah, of course it's possible. He... He didn't know that he was yellow.
But it wasn't just his skin, it was his eyes as well. The whites of his eyes. And I said, are you sure? He said, yeah, I'm fine.
And then... We just have a normal conversation. And I said, well, I'm just going to head off. And he was joking, saying... I said, have you got the builders coming in at the weekend? He said, no, they're not coming in if they are.
Even if they knock, they're not coming in. Because it's rugby tomorrow. And I laughed, because I know he would not answer the door at the weekend.
That's his time. I said, OK, cool. I'll see you later.
I said, I'll see you on Monday. Because, you know, I leave him alone at the weekend. And then... Then... I get in here.
Because I live opposite. I get in here and I'm thinking... That ain't right. It's just not right.
It's like, I can't... How can I ignore that? It's... I understand. I mean, there's big people coming and going. Not said a thing to him about it.
They must have seen him. They have to see him, because he's letting them in. And he's the right chat box.
He's probably been talking to them the whole week. So they've seen him and no one's mentioned it. But then maybe the fact that they haven't seen him before... They might think that's just how he looks.
All the time. It's a weird one, isn't it? It's difficult. It's... See, if I see... If you see someone you know really well... And they're limping... You're going to mention it and say, Are you okay? Are you limping? But if you see someone for the first time... You know, you're a builder.
You knock on their door and they're limping. You're not going to question it, are you? I guess it's the same kind of thing, I suppose. I don't know.
I imagine if you're going into people's houses... You see so many different things that you... Maybe they don't even notice it. You know? I'm not sure. Anyway... I'm sitting in here... And I'm starting to get upset.
Because I don't know what to do. Like really starting to get... Oh... This is a very awkward situation. Because I know what he's like.
And I know that he... He wouldn't want me interfering. I was correct as well. So what I did is... Which is something I don't normally do.
I left Vinnie here and I went out... Around the corner to a neighbour that I know. And she's... She's a bit older than me. She's someone that I can like... I felt I needed to talk to someone a bit older than me.
I don't know why. There's not many people older than me these days. But I thought I'd just get her perspective.
And I said I don't know what to do. And I said what I need is really a second opinion. Because I might be... I might not be seeing things correctly.
I'm seeing yellow. But maybe he's not... He's not tan because he doesn't go out in the daytime. Really.
He goes out at night. And... And you know there was always... Maybe that's why. Maybe there's some kind of vitamin deficiency.
I don't know. I'm not a doctor. I didn't finish the entire course.
I didn't start it. But by saying I didn't finish my doctorate... Is correct. Isn't it? I didn't complete.
I didn't get my doctorate. I didn't start a doctorate. But I didn't get the doctorate.
I never became a doctor. It's true. It doesn't mean I don't... I also don't have any medical training either.
So... That's irrelevant isn't it really. I'm almost in disbelief. About what's happened over the last five days.
Just... So I'm used to not going out. Other than three times a day. With this little one here.
This little furball. In the park. I don't even... I don't even cross the road like... To go to the petrol station or the pet shop anymore.
Everything I buy is online. I don't... It's almost like there's an invisible barrier. That I've struggled to cross.
I don't get my... My prescriptions get delivered. Or I try and get someone to pick them up for me. I don't even travel there anymore.
And it's been like that for... Probably since my friend downstairs passed away. Pretty much. I haven't really got out.
Haven't been out much. At all. In fact the last time I went out.
Last time I left. This area. Like literally kind of... Left this area I think was... Probably my friend's funeral.
Which was... A year and a half ago. Something like that yeah. Over a year and a half ago.
So yeah it was kind of strange. So anyway I'm saying that because... I've ended up having to go out. So Friday.
I went to my friend and neighbour's house. And I said. You know.
I'm not being rude to them. Because it's a natural human thing isn't it. We start.
We start diagnosing. As soon as you say someone's turned yellow. Well it's this.
It's that. It's that. My personal.
The way I kind of look at it is. But I know he's not supposed to be yellow. That's all I can say.
And I know that that can be a sign of something very serious. And I went online. I did research it as well before.
As soon as I came back. Just online to sort of. Oh OK.
No. No description of turning yellow. Came up as being a positive.
That's all I'm saying. So I thought. What do I do next.
So I went round my neighbours. They'd basically. Diagnosed him.
And were about to write him a prescription. I said no no wait a minute. First of all you're not a doctor.
Secondly. Can one of you come round with me. And he knows the daughter.
Because he's met her loads of times. She's a little bit younger than me. And.
So I said if you come round. And I'll knock on his door. Because they asked me.
Actually the neighbour they visited. Asked me if I had a toilet roll they could borrow. So I thought OK.
I'll use that as an excuse. I'll knock on my neighbours door. The opposite of me.
Ask him if he's got a spare toilet roll. Because I've only got one left. So it gave me an opportunity.
To get him to open the door. Because he does answer. Well he did answer the door to me.
And. The other neighbour around the corner. She was with me.
And as soon as the door opened. She just went wow. I mean.
She was even shocked. Even considering I'd already told her. What was happening.
I don't know she didn't believe me or whatever. Or didn't think it was quite as. You know.
Significant. And. He kind of says.
He got rid of us quite quickly. And. So I. I gave them the toilet roll.
Because they did need a toilet roll. But I just gave them my one. Came back in here.
I've. I didn't know what to do next. I really I struggled really.
It's weird. I did. I think with my friend downstairs.
It was just me. The whole time. Well not just me but generally it was.
Very often only me that was dealing with him. With his issues. So I kind of got used to it over years.
And years of it. It was just progressive. You know in a sense of.
More of the same. This was completely new. This is something I'd never dealt with.
With him before. Or with anyone not really. In a sense like.
Being. A person. Needed to do something.
So. I called one one one. Which is in the UK.
That is. It's like a medical helpline. It's not nine nine nine.
But in some countries. It's nine one one isn't it. Or whatever different different numbers.
That would be emergency. One one one is a place where you can phone up. They ask you some questions.
You can ask questions on behalf of someone else. Technically. I mean you can't personally.
You can if you've got. A loved one that's got conditions or. Got some kind of symptoms you can ask for advice.
Well. I did this. And the person.
On the one one one. They were very limited. Because I wasn't with him.
And. They kept asking me questions. I couldn't answer.
Well they asked. How does he feel. I said he's feeling fine.
Is he there with you now. I said no he's not with me now. Well can you go and get him.
I said not really. Because he told me to leave him alone. Basically.
In so many words. Stop fussing. I think might be one of his sentences.
And they said OK. What's his date of birth. I said I don't know his date of birth.
But I know he's nearly 78. OK. But I do know his name.
I've got his address. And all that stuff. I've got his telephone number.
I said to them. I said OK right. So they said well based on what you said.
He needs to call. We need to speak to him. I said OK.
So he said. They said we can't deal with you. We're going to need to deal with him.
Because he's the one. That is. Got the condition.
And I thought OK. This is going to be awkward. But they said it's important.
Because not really because of his age or anything. Just basically because of what you said. It's.
An important thing. It's a condition that will need. Medical attention.
And we want to get some information from him. Regarding medical background. Which I don't have.
I don't know anything. It turns out he's never ever been. Never had anything wrong with him.
Ever in his life. Never. But I'm not going to give his.
Information away or say who it is. It could be anyone. So you're not going to know that.
But he's. He's completely. Never been ill.
Other than just the general things. All people have every now and then. Doesn't even have a doctor.
He's not even registered with a doctor. And that's how healthy he's been. His whole life.
And. I did tell him that. I knew I didn't know about a doctor.
But I knew that he. He told me. He's always told me.
Never been on medication. Because when he heard that I was on medication. He was kind of surprised.
That I was on. Because he's on nothing. And I'm on.
Four different medications. And if. Really.
You're on all them. I said. Yeah.
Shut up. And. He.
And. He's. He was interested in the bipolar.
He was interested in me. Tell him about that stuff. So every now and then.
He asks me a question about it. But it's like gradual. You know.
Anyway. So. I'm here.
I don't know what to do. I phone downstairs. To my other neighbors.
And I said. I don't know what to do. I really don't know what to do.
And this is. There's a lady that lives downstairs. I get on really well with.
She's just directly below me. And. She's 20 years old.
But she's probably way more mature than I am. It's weird. It's not.
It's not really weird. But. I'm just.
I didn't know what to do. I really didn't know what to do. And I needed some support.
And maybe the fact that I asked for support. Is because I've never had any support. With.
My other friend. And I realized I needed it back then. But I didn't have any.
I have no one to ask for help. And. This situation.
I just decided I'm going to ask. Which is why I did ask the neighbor around the corner. The neighbor downstairs.
And she said. Well. I'll tell you what I'll do.
I'll come up. And. We'll tell him together.
Because I didn't know if he was going to. Get angry with me. Because he already told me pretty much no twice.
The second time was a little bit like go away. He did. He closed the door a little bit.
You know quite quickly. So I knock on his door for a third time. This time there's someone else standing there.
So that's. This is really annoying him. Which is understandable.
It would annoy me as well. Especially as he doesn't. He knows them.
But he doesn't know them. The way he knows me. So there.
These are people he's seen. But he hasn't. Doesn't really have like regular contact with them.
And I said I'm the only one he lets in his house. No one else. No one else is allowed in there.
And. So. I've got her.
Her boyfriend's there as well. He's standing on the stairs. But he's tall enough to see.
Over the banister. And. He opens the door.
And I say to him. Oh you know. You know her downstairs.
I don't know what excuse I made for her being there. But I said. I've called 111.
About your. About your situation. And he said what'd you do that for? I said well.
I said. It just. You seem like you were looking forward to the weekend.
I just wanted to ruin all the rugby for you. So. I didn't say that.
That's like. What other option did I have? He said. Why? I said because I care.
That's why. That's why I called. Because I care.
I said if that's. I was getting a little bit defensive to be honest. If that's a problem for you.
That's your. That's your problem. But I'm sorry.
You know. I've gone through life with a lot of people not caring. I know what it's like.
And he's used to not being on his own. And I see him. As a future version of me.
In some ways. Because we're both very. On our own.
Doing our own thing. Very independent. Don't really like being bothered.
And don't generally ask anyone for anything. For all possible. And I was really.
I was really getting in the way of that. I was. I've been knocking on his door.
Three. One. Two.
Three. Three times. And.
The first time was fine anyway. Because that was just a standard. Let's have a look at your bathroom.
But the other two times. And having different people standing there with me. He was very.
Anyway the third time he got angry with me. And I understand it. I do.
But. At the same time. I also needed a third opinion.
I just. I needed to be a hundred percent sure. Because I knew I was about to ruin his weekend.
At the very least. Because he's looking forward to watching the rugby. And.
I also thought. There's a chance he won't talk to me again. But then I've got this.
There's this. I told my friend downstairs. The one.
Luke. I said to him. At least once.
When. Because I've called an ambulance for him. Multiple times.
And he hated it. He would never go to hospital. Never.
Under any circumstances. Would he be taken to hospital in an ambulance. And I always wanted to take him.
But he never went. And I said to him once. I might have said it more than once.
I said listen mate. I'd rather you. Hate me and be alive.
Than love me and be dead. You know. I know it's a pretty silly sentence to say.
And. When I said it. I was quite.
Not aggressive. But like. I wasn't being.
All gentle with it. It was like. That's how it is.
You've got a problem with it. You're going to have to deal with it. Because.
I'm not going to stand and watch. I'm not just going to ignore. Someone.
Who's in trouble. I can't. I can't do that.
I just don't have it in me to do that. So. I said the same thing to Alex.
I got that little line rehearsed. I feel. Do you ever get a feeling.
You know when you see. Clint Eastwood. Or those movies.
And they say the things like. Go on make my day. Like he's got it rehearsed.
I know he got rehearsed. As in. It was in the movie.
It was a script. But. It's like.
It's a really. Good line. But.
I'll just keep it there. For the good. For the right moment.
So I said that to him. On the third time we were together. No not.
No it wasn't the third time together. It was. Okay.
The third time I was knocking on his door. I told him that I'd called 111. And.
He said you shouldn't have done that. I said well I did. So he shouldn't have done.
But I did. And. He was very angry.
He shut the door in my face. Slammed the door in my face. Apparently he said something rude to me as well.
But I didn't realise. That my neighbour heard. Well both of them heard him.
I. For some reason I didn't hear it. So. That was awkward.
Now at this point. My other neighbours. From downstairs.
They come into my flat. And they're like wow. Probably surprised at how he was acting to me.
Because they know that. Me and him have been quite close for. The last year or so.
So it's kind of. She was surprised at that. Because she's.
The whole time she's lived there. Me and him have been. We get on really.
You know. She sees us. I don't know.
We just. Yeah. She was just surprised at how he was acting.
So she came in and she said well. I don't know what to do. So.
What she did is. She called 111. And reported it.
And said look. The neighbour. He won't.
He won't. Listen to us. He won't.
Allow anyone to come in. You know medical. Anything like that.
Blah blah. So 111. They'd already told me.
So I called him back again as well. And they kept asking the same questions. Is he with you.
Can you check. What's his condition now. I said.
I mean I'd literally. To the same person. I said.
Probably six seven times. I'm not with him. Because he won't let me in the flat.
He shut the door in my face. We slammed the door in my face. He won't let me in.
I can't talk to him. And every other. Probably three minutes later.
So. Can I talk to him. Like.
He's not with me. So is he still yellow. It was weird.
It was kind of. I realised they've got their script. And they're trying to get to the bottom of it.
So I'm not in no way. Being horrible. I'm just.
It was. It was. Difficult.
And she said. Well. We'll get back to you.
I'll get. They're all nice. Everyone I spoke to is nice.
We'll get someone. Back to you. She already spoke to a manager.
And then they said we'll get back to you. And then they said that also to my other neighbour. They didn't get back to my other neighbour.
And I thought that was it. Like. I gave them his number.
And I said. Unlikely he's going to answer the phone. If he hasn't even turned it off.
He's locked the door. So you can't get in. And unlikely he's going to answer the door.
I was wrong on all that actually. I was wrong. He had locked it.
But he actually was very. Compliant. With them.
Not with me. So I got. I haven't got access to my phone.
So. Probably about. Half an hour later.
Maybe. The phone went. Maybe an hour later.
The phone went. And it was. 111 again.
I think this time it was a nurse. And. She said.
Are you with him? I said no I'm not with him. He's in a different flat. The door's locked.
He hates me now. She said okay I understand. Well.
We've got his telephone number. And. He's.
Yeah. I will try and call him. And we're going to.
Basically send a paramedic around. He said. She said can you knock on his door.
Let him know. I said no. I really can't.
I said well I can. But you won't answer the door. That's a guarantee.
For doctor me anyway. And. That's just going to upset him even more.
I really didn't expect him to answer the phone to them. But she phoned back about 15 minutes later. I said they'd spoken to him.
He was nice as pie on the phone. He agreed to have the paramedics come round. He was going to let them in.
And. It was absolutely lovely. And I thought really.
So. I think it's. At this point.
I went to bed. I didn't really go to bed. But I went to a lie down.
Because. I didn't feel any longer that I could be involved. Because the way he treated me.
And. The way that he'd spoken to me. And.
I didn't think. That he'd want me involved. But at the same time.
He was getting medical. Assistance. And that was the most important thing.
Having me around wasn't important. That's what I thought anyway. But him getting help was important.
And. So they went in there. I was just laying down.
It's like quarter past 10 or something. They weren't in there long. There was no big long thing.
It was like. Right yep. We're taking you to hospital.
They were in there for 15 minutes. And half past 10. Then he's barking.
So you can hear the door go. I left my door open. Which is not what I normally do.
When I'm in bed. At that time. But.
I looked at the camera. Saw that they were coming out. And he was locking the door.
So I came out. And. I said.
You alright? It's very awkward. And the. The paramedics.
They knew who I was. I guess they knew. Because I was the one that called.
Not knew me personally. And. I think I probably told them.
I'm the one that called you. In fact. Wait a minute.
Wait a minute. I'm. No I've got this wrong.
I'm doing this in the wrong order. Right here's what happened. I took.
Vinnie. Out. For his last little wee wee.
That's it. And I'm coming back. And the ambulance is there.
Or. Yeah. I'm coming back.
And the ambulance was there. So. I go up to them and say hi.
They said hi. I said. I'm the one that called you.
They said. Oh. OK.
Hi. And I just explained the situation. And.
They went upstairs. And I just waited. Oh yeah.
Oh that's what. That's it. I saw the ambulance outside.
I came down to take him into the garden. But I thought I'd go out the front. And I turned right for some reason.
And then I turned left again. It's weird. Anyway.
And I went out and told them who I was. I'm the one that called originally. Explained.
My perspective of what's kind of going on with him. Just because he's colouring really. But he physically feels fine and everything.
And they said OK. So they went upstairs. I took.
Vinnie in the garden. So they were knocking for a little while before he answered to be fair. And then.
But they didn't give up. And I just waited. I waited and listened until he let them in.
And they closed the door. And then I went upstairs. And I went and lied down.
But they weren't there for long. And then they brought him out. So I go outside.
Say. You're right. And she said.
There was two paramedics. So we were taken to the hospital. I said.
As I speak to Alex. I said. How you doing? He said.
I think he apologised to me. And. I said to him.
Do you want me to come with you? He said yes. So. I went with him.
This was half ten. Got in the ambulance with him. He's lying down on a bed thing.
And I'm sitting in a chair. I didn't even know they had chairs in ambulances. Never been.
For an ambulance ride. As in my memory. Maybe when I was a kid.
But not in my adult memory. I don't remember ever. Ever.
Been. Travelling in an ambulance. And it was a very strange.
Very strange experience. Because there was no windows. Well there's windows.
But all black. Blackened out. So it's almost.
Like travelling. On the tube. Like underground.
The underground railway. But no stops. You know.
Not. No railway. Stations or anything going through.
And. I had no idea where I was. I knew I was in an ambulance.
But I had no idea. Where. I was.
Like. Within the distance of travelling. To the hospital.
He was fine. He was joking. And they'd gotten a cup of coffee.
From Costas on the way. And. He was.
Yeah. And then. So I was with him.
Till three o'clock. Or three thirty in the morning. And.
That's when I took that photo. I took that video of. That fox.
Outside the hospital. Because I was waiting for a taxi. It was bright outside.
But it's got a lot of lights. At the end of the hospital. But it was just like.
Wow. Almost like daytime. And.
But very quiet. See Friday night. I thought it was going to be really busy.
But it wasn't. And. The busiest days.
Which I found very interesting. Just. Kind of.
Threw me off a bit. But apparently the busiest times at hospital. Are Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
At that hospital anyway. I mean. A&E course it gets.
I suppose all. It's busy. Pretty much the whole time.
But. It's. You know.
It seems to be that. The hospital as a whole. Because they've got less staff on.
At the weekend. So. I've been here every day.
Since Friday. And I've seen it get busier. And busier.
And busier. Every day. It's almost like.
A 25 percent. Of the people added on. It's weird.
Including staff as well. So where there was like. Maybe two or three staff.
Now there's. Ten. It's.
Yes. Really busy. Anyway.
So. They didn't put him. Into A&E.
They didn't have him. Sitting down. Waiting to be seen.
For hours and hours. They took him straight into. An emergency.
Observation place. So he was still. He was in A&E.
But he was on a bed. In A&E. And.
They took his blood. And they did all that. Really quickly.
And he had. A cat. Cat scan.
Within. An hour of being there. I'd say.
Maybe two hours. So I was kind of with him. I didn't go into the.
The x-ray place. But I was outside. And.
Everyone was so nice. Bearing in mind. They're just.
Super busy. Yeah. It's really weird.
I think that. Some people. They're just sitting around.
Doing nothing. But they're not. You know.
It's like. Okay. Maybe they're chatting.
They need to have that. Moments. A couple of moments.
Of just. Having a chat. You know.
With their friends. Talking about. And that's part of the learning process.
As well isn't it? Because you've got a lot of. Young. Student.
Students working there. Student nurses. Student doctors.
And they learn from each other's. Experiences. As well.
Don't they? So if someone's just had. A situation. As a nurse.
With a patient. They tell their colleague. Or their friend.
Who's also a student nurse. And they can kind of learn. From that experience.
I just thought that out loud. And I'm really pleased with myself. Yeah.
So chatting. May be useful sometimes. Could be helpful for future.
Patients. And they're always doing paperwork. I noticed that as well.
It's constant. Because I kept. Interrupting people.
And. But. It was.
It got to three o'clock. Or just after. Maybe half.
Three to half three. I can't remember exactly. And the nurse said to me.
Because I said. Is a doctor coming round? Because they told us. Hours earlier than a doctor.
Was going to come round. Because that is blood tests. That is.
Cat scan done. So I guess. We were waiting for the doctor.
To tell him the results of. The cat scan. Maybe not the blood test.
But the cat scan. And she said. No he won't be seeing a doctor.
Till tomorrow probably. Because I thought. I was going to wait for him.
To see a doctor. Either privately. Or with me there.
Whatever he wanted. And then. Be with him until.
He got into the ward. Whatever ward he was going to be in. Because it looked.
Like they already said that. He's going into a ward. He was not.
Being sent home. And I. That's what I was going to do. I was so tired.
I wasn't delusional. Delusional. Whatever you want to call it.
I wasn't like. Tripping or anything but. That particular.
I know it's weird. But that particular morning. I woke up at 3.30 in the morning.
It's a really early morning. I don't normally wake up. That early.
But I got out of bed. I had had a nap during the day. But I'm normally in bed by 10.
So to be awake at 3.30. I was. I felt like I was almost. On another planet.
You know. It was really strange. I felt very weird.
And. He wasn't tired. That is.
I wouldn't have been tired. If I was in this situation either. So.
I was. But I was stimulated as well. Because.
I'm not used to being around people. Not that many people. Wherever really.
You know. Just in my life. I saw more people on Friday night.
Than I've probably seen. In the last. Two years.
You know. As a like. Amount of people.
And that was just in the evening. It's just a huge amount of people. In the hospital.
Even when it's quiet. So. The nurse said to me.
You might as well go home. He's not going to be seen by a doctor. Tonight.
Very unlikely. Out of his three in the morning. But he probably won't be seen until Saturday.
During the day. And. And he.
Very unlikely. He's going to be put into a ward. Until tomorrow.
But she was saying tomorrow. But you know. Saturday.
It was already Saturday. I guess. Early hours.
So I told my friend. I said. I'm going to go.
And he said. Okay. He said to me.
A few times. Go if you want. Because I was yawning.
And like. I was struggling. To keep my eyes open.
Like physically struggling. And. A bit like now.
So I left. Got a taxi home. And.
I called him in the morning. About 10 o'clock Saturday. So I went to sleep.
Was it 10 o'clock? It probably was. Because I went to sleep. And then I woke.
I couldn't go straight to sleep. Either. Which is weird.
Even though I was tired. I hadn't eaten. Anything for.
Eight hours. Nine hours. So.
I just needed to. Get some food in me. So I set up.
Some breakfast cereal. Waited for. Half hour.
40 minutes or whatever. Then I went to sleep. In fact.
I didn't go to bed. I fell asleep on this chair here. I don't know if I was watching telly.
But I just fell asleep. And I woke up. Probably about.
Eight or nine in the morning. So I probably maybe three hours. Four hours sleep.
I called him up. About 10. And he told me he'd been moved.
And he'd been seen by a doctor. Already. I said wow.
Okay. So he's moved into a different ward. And I said.
What did the doctor say? He said it's not good. I said okay. Do you want to tell me now.
Or do you want me to. Come and visit you. And tell me then.
And he said. I'll tell you in person. So.
I said. Give me. I don't know when I went.
What time. I think I. Yeah. I left here at midday.
So I said. Give me. Give me a couple of hours.
Because I'm. I need to get ready. But I'll.
I head off. So I got a taxi there at midday. And.
Got there. Just before one o'clock. I don't know.
Twenty to one or something. And. So there was a new ward.
He was on the left hand side. And he had someone opposite. Oh yeah.
There was a bloke. I got chatting to one of the blokes. That was the other side.
There was two. Two people waiting to go home. Basically.
And he was in his. His. He was just sitting there.
Again. Felt fine. Physically.
And. So he told me what the doctor said. So I'm like.
Okay. So we started having some quite serious conversations. And that.
And. So I'm there. I got home.
I couldn't even tell you what time I got home. About seven o'clock in the evening. And I was there again Sunday.
So I was leaving here. Probably. I think probably midday again on Sunday.
Get home about six or seven. Monday. I left about twenty to ten.
Quarter to ten in the morning. Got home about half six. In the evening.
That was Monday. Today. I tried to get a little bit earlier.
So I left here about ten past nine. But I missed the bus. This.
Because all the rest of the time I've been paying taxis. And it's twenty pound per visit. Twenty pound per trip.
And I've been doing two trips a day. So one trip on Friday. Two on Sunday.
No. One on Friday. Two on Saturday.
Two on Sunday. Two on Monday. So today.
I had to get the bus. I really didn't have any choice. And.
It's a journey. It's a real journey. Because two buses.
And. I missed the bus. No yesterday I got the bus back.
No I didn't get. I didn't use a taxi. I got a bus back.
And it took me. Two hours. From the hospital to my home.
It takes two hours. With two buses. Waiting and walking.
It's two hours. Which is. Kind of strange really.
And. So I got the bus again today. Missed the first bus.
And then I missed the connection. Coming back. In fact no I didn't miss the connection.
What happened is. I got the bus back from the hospital. To the bus station.
That bus station road was closed off. So the buses had to do a detour. I was waiting for a specific bus.
There was. It didn't stop. At the correct bus stop.
Because there was. I don't know why. It didn't stop there.
It went over. And there's all these other buses in the way. So I'm following it to see where it's going to park.
It parked further down the road. So I'm walking towards it. Thinking it's going to open the doors.
And let people out. So people are going to wait to get in. No.
It just drives off again. So I missed that bus. Then there's another bus.
Which is. Going to the airport. But it does go past where I live.
Go past the estate. Chopper. Chopper.
Chopper full. Proper full of people. All on their way to.
Holiday I guess. So suitcases and everything everywhere. I managed to get on.
And I did get a seat. Which was okay. But it was very noisy.
No I guess people were excited. They were on holiday. They just enjoyed themselves.
But it's. Yeah. It was.
Anyway. I got home. That's the bottom line.
I got home. I didn't. I didn't do a late one though.
Because I left. To get there for ten. And I told him that.
I can't leave. Vinnie on his own. For you know.
Seven. Eight hours a day. I can't.
I can't keep doing that. It's just not fair on him. Because he's.
He's been unhappy. He's. He's stopped eating his food.
And. I literally. I give him his food.
And his water. And. He's got everything he needs.
But he's in one room. Like the living room. It's not.
It's not a tiny room or anything. But the windows are open. So he's got air ventilation.
He can't get out. He can't get to the windows. And TV's on or something.
But. It's too long for him. And.
But he's now like. Rested. He's cuddled up to me.
And chilled out now. Because I got home a bit earlier. And I think it makes a difference.
So I took him for a walk. I took him out today. He's had three.
W-A-L-K's. I just realised I said the word. He's had three today.
Instead of one normal one. And one really short one. He's had three.
Normal length ones. So. He had one before I went out.
I was back. By. Quarter past two.
Maybe. Half past two. So.
It worked. Even though I missed the bus and everything. I still managed to get back by half past two.
And. He didn't seem quite as stressed out. As he was the last few days.
So that. Taking off that four. Four odd hours more.
Really seems to have made a difference. And. I gave him some food.
And he's eaten it. I gave him food yesterday. He wouldn't eat it.
He didn't eat the food all day long. And the food I gave him. He wouldn't eat either.
I mean on. On Saturday. Or Sunday.
Sunday I think it was. Or maybe Monday. I gave him his food.
And his water. And I gave him a. T-R-E-E-E-E-T. One of his favourite ones.
And I put it down. He grabbed it. Brought it in the hat.
Into the room. And then I closed the door. And he's.
He's just going. Bananas. Because he doesn't want me to leave.
I come home. You know. Eight.
Nine hours late. Or whatever. The food's untouched.
The treat's still on the floor. He's not even touched the treat. So.
Yeah. He's. He's been a little bit affected.
I mean. The problem is. I've never left him on his own.
Hardly at all. The whole time I've had him. It's been 24 hours a day.
Pretty much. Together. And.
There's been a couple of occasions. Where I've had to leave him. For a few hours.
But never more than a few hours. I think maybe four. Four hours.
Five hours at the most. It's. You know.
It's a very. It's a rare. And this has been every day.
For four. For four days. Five days.
But he seems to be a bit more chilled out today. Because I. I took him out. I had to sit down first.
Because I was knackered. And I took him out. About a quarter to three.
And then I took him out again. About seven. So he's had a. He's been out.
And he's. He's done all he needs to do out there. It's now dark.
So it's probably about ten o'clock at night. And I don't feel so tired as well. Because I had a nap.
When I got back here. I took him out. Then I had a nap.
For about an hour. Hour and a half. And.
I think I woke up. I think maybe I went to bed about four. Woke up about six.
I needed. I needed. To sleep.
Because it was. I was so tired. And.
I'm still tired enough to go to bed. Now. You know.
Because it's what. It might be gone ten. I don't know how long I'll be talking for.
I started this about nine o'clock. It's very dark. So knackering.
And. It's. What's really strange.
Is. My neighbour. Has started to talk.
About his life. Which he never used to do. It's always about sport.
Generally. And. Now he's.
We've been going out. Because he doesn't have to stay in the ward. All the time.
I mean. I mean. Legally.
He can do whatever he wants. He doesn't have to stay in the ward ever. You know.
He can come and go. And do what he wants. But.
You know. As far as. From a medical perspective.
As long as he lets them know. And if he's got a doctor. On the way.
Then he stays. You know. They say.
Well can you wait until the doctor's seen you. And he needs to be there. When they're doing the meals as well.
Because. Otherwise it messes it up. For other people.
So. Outside of that. For the last three days.
Or. I think Sunday. Monday.
Tuesday. Yeah. The last three days.
Maybe Saturday as well. We've been going out for a walk. We've gone outside.
And sat down. And. Yeah.
Saturday. Sunday. Monday.
And Tuesday. All four days. And.
Which is weird. Because yesterday. We were sitting at this bench.
And a duck started pecking at my groin. And for a second I thought it was Vinnie. It's because I'm so used to having him with me.
I'm not saying that Vinnie pecks at my groin. But just. If there's movement in my pants.
This sounds wrong. Oh dear, there's movement in my pants, I assume it's Vinnie, no, if, you know, I'm used to him like, rubbing up against me, again that sounds wrong, you know, just things like licking, no, that sounds wrong as well, just, you know, him doing his thing, like jumping on me or laying down and cuddling up to my feet or just things, or walking on my feet, stuff like that, or, you know, so it was weird because I nearly said to Vinnie, what are you doing?
I looked down and it was this duck looking up at me and it's pecking at me bits, gently, very gentle lover, well to be honest, very, I'm glad because they've got those big old beaks, I could imagine they could cause problems, but he didn't, it was very lovely, his name's Cyril, we get on quite well, we swap numbers, you know, we're going to see how it goes, so I, he's been talking, he's been opening up and he's been asking me about me, which he never normally does, asking me about my childhood,
talking about his own childhood, and I'm not sure if he ever saw me as a human before, I don't know, if he ever saw me as a person, just a neighbour, I don't think, I'm not sure if he saw me as a, I don't know, as a person with feelings and, or had any interest, but I understand that because I'm a bit like that myself, but then, you know, he never really talks about his life normally, it's just all about sport and I get bored, I tell him, I don't pretend,
I tell him I'm not interested in hearing about football, I say it's boring to me, it's not boring to you, it's not boring to most people, but to me, I switch off, if you, I like talking about boxing, but generally I only like talking about boxing to people that know about boxing, because I would probably say that I'm more than a casual fan of boxing, you know, it's something that I really have loved for decades, I'd say I'm probably more than just a, I don't just watch the big fights,
although they are the best fights quite often, but once, not always actually, anyway, so that's not really about boxing is it that's recorded, and I've done a, I've made a few faux pas along the way, so I was taking my, going to take my friend outside and I said to his neighbour, oh yeah, he got moved to another ward on Monday morning I think, or Sunday morning, Monday, I'm losing track of the days to be honest, I think it might be Sunday morning,
and he got moved because there was someone was starting and being problematic with him, I don't know really what that was about, and so we, it's quite funny I said to him, do you want me to go and visit him and go and name a ward, because they basically moved my neighbour, not the bloke, and he said no, he laughed, but then we were out for a walk, he said are we going to go and see that bloke, I was like no, I didn't mean it, I said look,
I think it's really worth remembering that people react differently to being unwell, you know, and some people are very patient, some people are not, some people are, you know, it's just, it's no way, we're all different, we all react different, and I try just like to say to them, everyone in the beds, every bed, apart from maybe, well you know, most beds, I'm sure places like the baby, maternal, maternity ward, there's a lot of, probably a lot of very happy people in those beds, I'm guessing, after giving birth, I don't know,
I've never, I've never had a baby, but outside of that, I try to sort of say to them like, no one's here because they want to be here, and they're, everyone that's in those beds are unwell, so you've got to just, you need to just try and give everyone a break if you can, don't take it too personally.
I think I've been quite lucky in life, in a sense of, I've done some jobs which have involved a lot of rejection, like sales, sales is one job where it doesn't matter how good you are, rejection's the majority, you know, it's people saying no most of the time, and I kind of got used to that, and also being in a, working in a call centre, I got used to a lot of very rude people as well, and I kind of become accustomed to it, and then when I became a counsellor,
I got to find out a lot of what people are going through behind the scenes, as humans, that is not, you know, because I've kind of got my own experiences and I've got that to work with, but then hearing in depth hundreds of other people's experiences over, I don't know, five years or whatever I was a counsellor, that was like wow, it was very educational I guess.
So I think with those experiences mixed together, I'm kind of able to look at situations from different angles, and I'm not saying I do it well, because sometimes I really don't, yeah I'm not always perfect, I'm never perfect, I don't even, I don't even want to be perfect, I never really, I think just being decent, I like to be known as kind, and that's, but naturally kind, not doing it for any other reason, not doing it because I want attention, or because I want people to think, oh he's so kind,
not like that, but just genuine, like a decent person, but not perfect, because it's easy, there's only one way to go once you're perfect, you can't go any higher up can you, so I'd rather just, I'd rather kind of surf, surf in the middle somewhere possibly, and yeah anyway I said to this, his neighbour who's in the ward, so I've got talking to two of the people, because he's now in the ward with four people, one of the people doesn't talk to me, but admit that he can't anyway, so he's,
he's very, not very unwell, so, but he does talk to the others, they've all got to know him a little bit, because they're in the same room with him 24 hours a day, but he's, his wife's usually there when I go there, so I say hello to her, but the two other blokes in there, I got, got chatting to them, they know my name and everything, and so I've been starting to go and get coffees for them, and sort of saying do you need anything,
and it turns out neither of them are allowed to leave the ward, but my neighbour can, so it's like for medical reasons, and I really put my foot in it, so I said to the blokes in the bed next to my neighbour, I said well if you fancy it, you can come for a walk with us if you want, if you want to get out, because he hadn't had any visitors for a day or so, and he said no I can't, I said well it's up to you, if it's really up to you,
if you don't want to, he said no I can't walk, I said I'm so sorry, he laughed, he said no you didn't know did you, because I've only seen him in the bed, I had no idea that he, he wasn't able to walk, and I said well if you, if you want to get a chair, I'm happy to push you down, you know, and he said I'm not allowed out, I said okay, I think there's a bit of rejection, I think he just, I'm not saying he's pretending,
but he might be pretending he's not allowed to leave, I mean that's what I mean, he's, perhaps I'm boring him, but he's, he's a nice bloke, and the one opposite asked me can you take me out, and I said well when you're released from the hospital we can perhaps go for a drink, he said no, no, I want, can you just help me go outside, I said oh okay sorry, that was embarrassing, and he said to me why do you do that, I said what do you mean,
he said well why do you like go on about like, or having dates with men, when you're, you like women, I said so, he said well it just seems a weird thing to do, I said why, he said just, I don't know, just a lot of straight people don't say things like that, you know, I said well I'm not a lot of straight people, he said that doesn't make sense, I said I know, nothing does, and then we all just like looked at each other, and like that moment,
you know that moment where you all realize, that's true, nothing really does make sense does it, if you really like delve into it, it's like okay, wow, so anyway, and then I just, I did a little dance, again, I thought I shouldn't have done that, the last, if someone tells you they can't walk, you don't start dancing in front of them, that's kind of just, I wasn't doing it for that reason, I was just, I just had a bit of nervous energy, you know, it was strange, but he forgave me anyway,
so I was kind of like, I can't believe I just said do you want to go for a walk, and he said yeah, I'm not a dog as well, just don't, don't, don't put it in that word, do you want to go for a walk, can I take you for a walk, I said I didn't say that did I, he said yeah you did, he said another thing, I said what's that, he said when you do that, don't hold a dog lead in your hand, and don't say good boy,
good boy, do you want to go for a walk, good boy, and don't call me Vinnie, I said okay, sorry, I miss him, the other bloke, he said they're not taking me outside, I said okay, and he said I've been here since, I don't know, he's been there for five days, six days, five days, and he's not been outside since he's been there, and I went to the reception, I said can I take, what's his name out, he's asked me, and she said no, I said I'll go on, she said no,
I said please, she said no, I said is that all you can say, just no, she said no, that's when I realised that she could say other things, and I thought maybe she might, I just figured she'd won the argument really, and she said the reason that he can't go out is because he needs a medically trained person with him, are you medically trained, I said yes, she said are you really, I said no, I'm not, she said why did you say yes, I thought maybe you'd believe me,
I said why don't you just stick to your guns then, if you say yes, why didn't you say yes twice, I said because I didn't think you would believe me, it was weird, so she said no, but I did say to her if you need someone to take him out, I'm happy to take him out, or any of the other people, either with my neighbour or separately, I don't care, while I'm here I'm happy to be useful, which is a weird, weird thing, I'd rather do something than just not do anything,
not in life, but just in a hospital setting, because I see there's so much, so many people working so hard, and I kind of, like for example, the man next to my neighbour, he asked one of the nurses, or I don't know if it was a nurse or a carer, I don't know, there's different workers isn't there in hospital, if he could get a bag, because he had a lot of rubbish on his bin, on his table, and I said I can get rid of that for you, there's only bins over there,
I'll just take it bit by bit, so I emptied his table, and he seemed surprised I did that, it makes no difference to me, and yeah, I just, shoo his eye, there's a hero, if you look inside your pants, it's, I don't know why I say that, I'm not saying this for like, oh look how good I am, I emptied someone's table, it's not, I don't think that's going to be my epitaph is it, it was a bit annoying, but he did empty people's tables, they didn't want him to,
he used to walk randomly around hospitals and put people's stuff in the bin, it was very annoying, and yeah, so I'm trying to think of any other weird things that have happened since, oh there's one, one weird occasion is, ordered a taxi, no this is, this is weird, yeah, ordered a taxi, and I did it, it's got like this automatic auto system and at the end of it, they couldn't even understand what I was saying, but at the end of it, they said, so we're picking you up from your address and delivering you back to your address,
my home address, and I wanted to pick me up at the hospital and take me to my address, so they were going to pick me up and drop me off at the same place, you'd think that'd like, cause some kind of an error in the system wouldn't you, but no, so I phoned them up again and as I phoned them up, they phoned me up, so I hung up, answered the phone that they were calling me, and I said, she said, oh is that whatever, I said yeah, you made a booking,
I said yeah and I was about to explain, and she said, oh wait, it was, she didn't say I'm talking, but it was kind of that attitude, like wait a minute, let me finish so she went on and on and said, she said, so you don't want to be picked up from that address, I said no, she said ok, I'll cancel it then and I'd already explained to her that I was at a hospital and I wanted to go there from the hospital, I assumed that by telling her that,
that she would send me a taxi, no she cancelled the taxi, altogether, so I'm waiting for half an hour, nothing comes, I phone up the taxi office again, this time I speak to someone different and they say, oh no, it's cancelled, I said, oh, ok, and he was surprised it was cancelled and they didn't send me a taxi, so he said, well I'll get someone with you now so, probably about another 15-20 minutes and I got a taxi turn up, and I might be exaggerating the timescale here, for effect,
I don't know what type of effect, to be honest, a boring effect so he pulls up, and I don't know, he doesn't look like he didn't know me anyway, but he parked up and he didn't seem to be indicating who he was for, because there was always people waiting for taxis so I went to where his door is, where he was sitting, in the car, it was definitely from the company I'd ordered, but it could have been for anyone, and I said, are you here for Jason, he said, yeah,
but he had a weird look on his face, I said, are you alright, he said, no, I can't go anywhere at the moment I said, why not, and he pointed to the screen, which was the payment thing, and it said, they're telling me the journey's going to be £7, I'm not taking you all the way there for £7, it was actually £17, I'll give a £3 tip, but, so they'd missed out the £10 so what they'd done, is they'd put on the same thing, where it was the same price as the original journey,
so what they'd charged me, to pick me up and drop me off at the same address was £7 I said, why would you want to be picked up and dropped, I mean, literally, picked up, so you get in the car, give them £7, and then you get out of the car again, out of the taxi, I mean, why, unless you're, the only time I've seen anyone get into a car and then get straight out again, and I think this was a taxi, it was Superman movie like, in the late 70s,
he gets in a taxi and gets out the other side and he's Superman, goes in Clark Kent, and I think there's a taxi, was it a taxi or was it police, it might have been a police car, that was a bit rude though if it was a police car, a bit rude any car really isn't it and he said, we're not going anywhere, look, I'm not taking anyone anywhere until I get the proper price, and I said to him, look, it's £17, I'm paying you £20 anyway, and he said, oh,
get in then, I said, you know, there's no arguing on my side, I'm too tired to argue and I know that it's not £7 I've done the journey since, well I've done it, I think I've done it four times at that point, and he just, halfway through the journey, the office called him up and he explained the situation and they said, oh, they didn't know what was going on and eventually they changed it they changed it to, it came up properly at £17 but it's like, I couldn't wait around,
I was like, I want to really, because would he charge me waiting time, that's what I was thinking, is he going to charge me waiting time, because he's waiting on the proper price I don't know, but he was a cool bloke, so that was an easy situation to change or to remedy and so basically, you know, my friend's under observation, he's got things, you know, going to be observed, etc but going back and forward has really, really connected me, really, in a way that I'm surprised at,
I kind of just didn't expect it to be honest I managed to get my prescription, which is good, on the way, and I had a weird experience today, I went into, because they've got a WH Smiths, they've got a Costa Coffee in the hospital, there's a supermarket, what is it, Marks and Spencers I think, yeah there's two Costa Coffees actually, one small one and one larger one, where you can eat, like you can sit down so I go into, WH Smiths as well, so I go into Marks and Spencers,
I get some milk, because I've got no milk at home, for my breakfast in the morning and I realise I've got very little breakfast cereal either, so I'm looking for the breakfast cereal, and what I've noticed in this Marks and Spencers, it's just, maybe it's the same, maybe it's always the same, I haven't been in Marks and Spencers for years but everything is home brand, there's no normal branded stuff, it's just Marks and Spencers stuff, perhaps that's the norm, because things like Sainsbury's, they have their own brand,
but they also sell popular brands as well, maybe Marks and Spencers don't do that, but I thought they did, I thought they sold both hmm, I'm not sure, anyway, this one doesn't seem to, so I'm looking for, maybe just some cornflakes or something like that, and I end up in this corner where they've got Marks and Spencers home brand biscuits, like Weetabix, and I think another one is like Muesli, something like that but there's this smell, it's not a horrible smell or anything, but it's like a foodie kind of smell,
and it felt very familiar, but from the past, it was very strange, I had a very unusual feeling, like I've smelt that before but it's like a long, long, long time ago, and I just stood there for a second just thinking, hmm, how strange in fact, when I visit next time, I might go in there and just have a little sniff, again, just have a little like, hmm, because it's going to bug me, I kind of want to know what that reminds me of, because it was emotions connected to it emotions connected to it,
emotions connected to it, I'm not sure if I'm even talking correctly anymore, oh, I'm so tired so that's it really, that's the updated version of where I've been, and why I have not made any recordings this week, since Friday I think, because I didn't do anything Saturday, Sunday, Monday today's Tuesday, yeah, I don't know, I can't even really predict if I'm going to make any more recordings this week, it's just hard to know, so probably no Q&A Friday, and hopefully, fingers crossed, I'll get back to doing a normal week next week but I don't know,
I'm kind of surprised that I was able to do a recording today, but up till now I just haven't been able to, it's just being around so many people, I just find it very draining, I just do, I always have done and it's, I can thrive off it for a while, but then after a couple of hours, or an hour or two, I was like, oh, and then after four or five hours of being out, I'm nearly falling asleep on the bus back today, or in a taxi back and technically,
I've not really, I've not done anything physical, I mean literally, I've not done anything physical other than just a little, probably a bit more walking than normal, because just walking around those hospitals is probably more than I do when I take him for a walk big old places, aren't they?
and that's it really, that's pretty much the update, there's, I'm sure there's other stuff that's happened that I've not thought about, or that I was thinking about, and I haven't remembered and there was one thing, there was these two nurses came in and asked one of the other patients if they could borrow her, his skin cream, because she had sunburn, and I said, you've got sunburn, and she said, oh yeah, look at this, because she had a costume, a uniform on, and she showed me a picture and it was like,
her back, and showed her where it was like sunburn on her back, and I said, oh okay, and she's holding it, she's looking at it, and I said, next picture please, and they laughed, thankfully, they didn't show me another picture, but it was just, I thought, at least I can get away with it still because that's the kind of stuff I used to say when I was younger, maybe I get away with it now because I'm so old, and they're just looking at me like a grandfather or something,
but it was nice, it was just, I'm not saying looking at the picture was nice, it's just nice to have that friendliness and they've all been friendly, everyone I've met at the hospital has been very friendly, and it's just cool, and that is the end of this recording, so as a summary, the website is back up and running, I will edit this tomorrow, I'll try and do it when I wake up I don't know when I'm going to wake up, it won't be early early, because it may be getting onto 11 o'clock now,
I don't know how long I've been talking for, in fact let me have a look, if I can do it without, it's 20 past 11, and I've been talking for 99, I've been talking for 100 minutes what's that, an hour and 40 minutes, so yeah, I thought I started at 10, I thought I started at 9, couldn't have done, 100 minutes, so 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, an hour and 40, ok, so that's it, thank you for listening and remember to be kind to yourself, because you do deserve to be happy, and be gentle with yourself, you deserve to feel safe, lots of love, bye
Paragraph spacing and recurring name or title errors have been tidied. Because this began as a voice transcription, an occasional word or piece of punctuation may still be incorrect.