This year has flown by so quickly and we find ourselves in the second part of the year. I know a lot of people are getting in the holiday mood, myself included. It is very nice to be able to visit friends or go to explore new surroundings and I know many people look forward to the change of routine and the chance of taking thing easy. For those of you who have been on holiday I hope you have had a restful time and, if you are about to go, enjoy the experience.

What a wonderful evening we had with our speaker George Baker. His talk was most interesting and I know the ladies were very pleased to be able to meet him.

The ladies were again busy with P.S.A. testing and I extend my thanks to those who work tirelessly on these very busy evenings. I think we only did 152 blood tests. Nevertheless it was still very rewarding that men now want to come and have this test. It is not only publicity in the local press or the handing out of leaflets, but it seems that friends and neighbours are talking about P.SA. Tests. When asked how he had heard about the session one man told me “Oh, my neighbour told me about it”. It now seems to have become a talking point in some areas.

The Widows’ Group have now chosen to meet back in the Hospital League of Friends’ Coffee Shop as there were minor problems encountered at the Wolverley Church Hall. However, we have been very grateful for the facilities that were made available to us.

The ladies have lunches arranged in the near future as well as a skittles morning which will be followed by a fish and chip lunch. It is nice to be able to go out as a group but unfortunately, now that the group is bigger, it is becoming more difficult for all the ladies to meet together.

I look forward to seeing those of you who are coming to Salisbury so all we have to hope for is another fine day.

With best wishes to you all,

We had another full house at the Town Hall for our three monthly July meeting when the guest speaker was George Baker of Inspector Wexford fame as well as many other stage and film roles.

Our chairman, Paul Brothwell, opened the evening with, among other things, a reminder of “Help the Aged” day in August and whetting our appetites yet again with the announcement that Martin Bell, former T.V. reporter and ex. M.P. will be our next speaker in October. Two cheques were presented for £450 and £230 to the group which were gratefully received by our president.

D.B.S. welcomed everyone to the July Summer Meeting and praised the sensible action of those men turning up for P.S.A. testing. News was also given of Nick Owen, one of our patrons, and also of Sir Ranulph Fiennes who was very disappointed at not quite completing his Everest climb but nevertheless raised £2million for the Marie Curie Foundation. We hope to have him join us as one of our speakers in the future.

Our president then introduced George Baker, complete with his own chair, which on hearing about his various ailments, he most certainly required. Here was quite an amazing man having had radical prostate surgery ten years ago, breaking six ribs and a shoulder and puncturing a lung whilst horse-riding, possessing a tin-leg, losing toes of one foot due to diabetes type 2 and, to crown it all, he admitted to being dyslexic which is an awkward thing to have as an actor. None of these affected his charm or joy of life.

He spoke of his fascinating childhood in Bulgaria and his father’s experiences in Russia and having a mother who was a nurse from Ireland this competed the League of Nations. He certainly left one avidly waiting for the next instalment as he was a most interesting raconteur. Questions followed from the floor after which he was presented with a gift from the group.

First you forget names, then you forget faces.

Then you forget to pull up your zipper.

But it is worse when you forget to pull it down!

You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks.

A dramatic fall in deaths from Prostate Cancer in the U.S. has raised questions about Britain’s poor performance against the commonest cancer in men. Deaths from the disease have declined four times faster in the U.S. than in the U.K. over the past decade having peaked in both countries in the early 1990s at almost identical rates. Specialists claim that a combination of screening for early detection of the disease combined with more aggressive treatments is the secret of the U.S. success.

However, sceptics say screening and aggressive treatment come at too high a cost causing unnecessary suffering to patients who do not need treatment and serious side-effects such as impotence and incontinence.

There are 35,000 cases of Prostate Cancer diagnosed annually in the U.K. and 10,000 deaths. Simon Colin, from the University of Bristol, who compared the U.S. and the U.K. says that the differing outcomes are worrying. Trends in U.S death rates in other cancers such as breast and bowel have closely followed those in the U.K. but for Prostate Cancer they have sharply diverged in the past decade. “Something different is happening with Prostate Cancer” Mr Colin said.

A key difference between the countries lies in the extent of screening with the P.S.A. blood test. 57% of U.S. men over 50 reported being screened in the past twelve months compared with 6% in the U.K. In addition treatment in the U.S. is more aggressive with a high use of radical surgery, radiotherapy and hormone treatment. Mr Colin said “Prostate Cancers are detected predominantly when they are still localised in the U.S. because of screening whereas in the U.K. they tend to be picked up later. The big question is does early detection lead to a survival benefit. It is plausible that early detection and more aggressive treatment does improve survival. The caveat is that you detect a lot of Prostate Cancer if you look for it and much of it is indolent (not needing treatment).”

“Prostate Cancer is often slow growing and does not affect the quality or length of the patient’s life. In these patient’s the treatment may be worse than the disease and sometimes the nature of Prostate Cancer is that you are more likely to die with it than from it”.
 

Rangoon has been much in the news lately for all sorts of reasons but mainly for the destruction which was caused by the recent earthquake.

Going back in time I was serving in the Royal Navy on board HMS Cleopatra which was the flag ship of the East Indies fleet with Admiral Sir Arthur Power on board. We were in Singapore on VJ day and following on from this we took Sir Reginald Dorman Smith, Lady Dorman Smith, their daughter and the dog aboard HMS Cleopatra to Rangoon to take up the post as Governor of Burma.

We were anchored on the Irrawaddy and the lucky ones to go ashore included myself and other shipmates. I well remember the destruction of the area but we were rewarded with a visit to the Schwedagon Pagoda. Even then the Pagoda was indescribably beautiful and one wonders why so little damage was done. One removed shoes to go inside and ascend a large number of steps to wonder at this marvel.

We are now sixty plus years on but my interest has been revived by looking up the Pagoda on the Internet. This reveals 22,000 solid gold bars, 5,448 diamonds, 2,317 rubies, sapphires and other gems. One thousand and sixty five gold bells and, at the very top, a very single 76 carat diamond. It is obviously priceless and one wonders about the uneven distribution of wealth in such a poor country.

How much has changed since that memorable day?

Noel Shakespeare - ex-Royal Navy Telegraphist T/O        

The friendly crew on LA2
Sure have a tough assignment,
The damn machine keeps breaking down
Or needs some re-alignment.
They set the programme in advance
Give treatment round the clock
But when the wretched thing breaks down
The schedules go to put.
The neon flashing sign relates
‘Sixty minutes delay on Two’
We’re told they’ll catch up very soon
We sit and hope they do.
“Keep drinking water” Nicky says
“Not just to quench your thirst
You need to keep your bladder full”
Mine feels it’s fit to burst.

At last I’m called “It’s time to go”
The girls say with a smile
I’m glad to have my turn at last
We’ve been waiting quite a while.
Then I have time to think it through
It’s no use causing strife
I’m just so very grateful that
They are aiming to save my life.
I’d like to give them all a hug
But with protocol - daren’t risk it
So when you have your well earned break
Drink your tea with a chocolate biscuit.

Anon.