It's New Year's Eve - traditionally in England that means excessive use of alcohol resulting in ridiculous behaviour that you spend the rest of the year apologising for. I shan't be joining in this year. Since I have been living with Cath, it's always been the one 'party' that we do our best to avoid, preferring an early night with a nice cup of tea. Still, I hope the rest of you at least think you are having a good time and don't feel too poorly tomorrow. I am going to a party this evening mind - an 'anti new years eve party' where a disparate bunch of musicians are all going to turn up with their instruments and attempt to make merry without glugging gallons of alcohol. I'd like to say that it will be fun, but I ain't sure.
Anyway on to hands, the supposed focus of this blog. Last night the left one woke me twice, actually causing me to scream out with the pain. This morning it's business as usual, purty sore but what the hey, we have codeine.
Somerset is beautiful this morning, covered in a light hoar-frost that makes everything sparkle - so I used my superb new cameras panorama facility to take this picture from my bathroom window. Right, more coffee I think.
I've always had a hankering to see David Gilmours houseboat on the Thames.
Browsing through my old photographs this evening I found this beauty, taken on the beach near Barnsaple two or three years ago whilst on a walk with Cath (my partner) and her sister.
Surely this image embodies all that is great about the British people?
Yesterday, Cath's daughter Emily came for her Christmas visit and blagged my old digital camera off me as a gift, allowing me to buy a nice new Fujifilm S1000fd - it takes REALLY nice snapshots at 10 megapixels and is the last purchase with the last gig money for some time.
Today my hand is pretty sore and I am starting to ponder more and more the impending surgical procedure - it's not so much the procedure that worries me as the NHS cavalier attitude to pain relief. Still, I am adamant that I will have it done under local anaesthetic.
The rest of the Boxing day gig money was spent on a new MP3 player (my old one crapped out) which I am now filling with a mixture of loud rock'n'roll (for those 'bonesaw' moments) and soothing psychedelia (Emily gave me 'Oar' by Skip Spence for Christmas - beauty!)
So, off we went to Sidmouth for some fresh air. When I go out, my hand looks like this.
A splendid bracing walk along the cliff top - jolly cold, and then down into the town to see if there was anything to buy.
Woolies was open - looking very bare and, as ever, nothing interesting or useful to purchase. BUT I have been looking for a decent umbrella for some time and the last one in the shop was just the job. Cost me £3.70 - a bargain. Also Catherine liberated one seashell sweet from the pick and mix!
The other thing I was after was balloons (don't ask) - all gone.......apart from one lone pink one lying amongst some debris on a low shelf. We liberated that too.
Here is where I am going to post updates about the surgery that I am about to undergo on my left thumb. As the weeks go by, I will attempt to keep this blog up to date with my thoughts, feelings and hopefully a few gory pictures to keep you all amused.
Of course, I might just get bored with the whole idea and give up, we'll see.
A little history for those not in the know:
I am an amateur guitar player in a well known local band in Taunton, Somerset UK (www.thewholehog.net). Three years ago, I started suffering pain in my wrists which was initially diagnosed as carpal tunnel syndrome. I decided to shell out a few quid and have a private consultation with the top local consultant who changed the diagnosis to osteo-arthritis in both thumbs. At the time I was pretty shattered by this, imagining that it meant (eventually) an end to my guitar playing. This is not really an option as the hobby has kept me sane for the last 20 years or so, through all kinds of adversity (but that's a whole other story!) Anyway, after much research and plenty more consultations, including many nasty injections of cortisone into the thumb joints, we have arrived at the point where I am about to have surgery to remove the diseased bone and (hopefully) give me complete relief from the nasty and worsening pain that I have been suffering in recent years.
For those of you with a stronger stomach, here is a wee video of what they are going to do to me on January the 6th 2009.
Zero, obviously, is no pain at all.
Five is mild nagging pain, but hands still useable.
Ten is serious nagging pain and occasional serious sharp jolts of agony. Swearing starts.
Fifteen is bring on the morphine.
