"One She Dislikes"

What my Dad wrote on the back; This teacher likes or dislikes certain children and Jason is one she dislikes. He sits next to another boy who is very naughty, But I have sorted this out. L Tolmie



Trafalgar Junior School, Twickenham.

Name; Jason Paul Tolmie
Class; IW
Date; Summer 1979

English

Reading age; 7 years 2 months. Jason's reading has improved considerably this year and his word attack skills have also advanced a lot. His handwriting is still very cramped and slowly produced. He is able to write in sentences when he sets his mind to the task and is making a start on story writing. He makes little effort to learn his spellings for tests but there has been some improvement in this field because of his better reading skills.
He has little idea about punctuation. His written comprehension work is slowly improving but he dislikes the effort involved in answering fully and skimps this type of work. His aural comprehension work is better but still suffers from his poor concentration.

Mathematics

Jason has not made much effort to master the simple number bonds, nor has he learnt any of his multiplication tables. He can count on in two's with difficulty. His concept of place value is very shaky - he is fairly happy with tens and units but hundreds and thousands confuse him completely. He can add tens and units and is beginning to master carrying with the aid of Dienes apparatus. He can manage only the simplest subtraction and although he has had experience of multiplication and sharing he is not yet able to do simple sums using these operations. He cannot manage problems using the basic operations. He can measure accurately in centimeters but has difficulty in drawing straight lines and using a compass. He is still confused about telling the time. He can do simple money sums.

Environmental Studies

Jason has poor concentration and rarely listens for long in Environmental Studies lessons. He does not contribute to discussions nor is he able to answer questions sensibly. He is unable to record factual in his own words, although he is now able to copy notes accurately from the blackboard.
Although an eager participant in gymnastics and games he is not always a sensible one. In Country Dancing and Movement he is also frequently silly and does not listen to instructions. He makes little effort to join in singing lessons but has made a start with the recorder. His artwork is careless and he prefers to throw plasticene rather than model with it.

General Development

At the beginning of the year Jason avoided work whenever he could. Fortunately, he discovered that he had to finish work before he could play and this led to a dramatic increase in output. His standard of work has improved immeasurably and while not yet up to average he should be able to work more with his own class next year.
This improvement in work has not been reflected in his general behaviour. He has been frequently in trouble during this year. He is often slyly disobedient. He has been observed misbehaving or, more seriously, taking other childrens' property, and then steadfastly denies his guilt. He is violent towards other children, secure in the knowledge that they may not hit him back. While acknowledging the difficulties Jason faces because of his illness some action is necessary to stop Jason and his appalling behaviour.

Class Teacher; Miss S R Webber
Headmaster; Mr Emblin


Oh how sweet! What a Lovely little boy,
run with him, play with him like your favorite toy,
He was beautiful, he was shy, he wouldn't hurt a fly,
Ok, he'd pick off their wings, poke them in the eye,
he did throw pasticene all around the class,
straight over the other kids and into some glass,
he borrowed forever, another boys thing,
a boy who was happy, a boy who could sing,
poor concentration, I wonder why?
his illness and violence, why deny?
you may not hit me for I will bleed to death,
but if I deserve it, you may take my last breath.



I was eight and a half...just! I was a very shy boy and quiet most of the time but as you can see, I was a little sod too. But then I was the only boy in my school who spent hours up at the A&E in the middle of the night on a regular basis...crying in pain, trying not to think about the needle that I thought I was avoiding during the day at school, hoping my bleed would go away on it's own! They never did go away! So up to the hospital I went at 2am, back at home at 5am. Missing school the next day (hooray) because I was exhausted from all of the pain and feeling terribly frightened. I should have been asleep, dreaming. Like most other eight and a half (just) year old little boys.

I didn't know it at the time, neither did my teacher, nor my headmaster, nor my Mum & Dad, not even my doctors...but I had Hep C too! Let me throw plasticene for gods sake! Let me have some fun before it all goes tits up!

"You got haemophilia haven't you? And that means we ain't supposed to hit you doesn't it?"
...If I have done something to deserve being hit, then hit, hit away boys, I won't stop you...

Note; I don't remember being violent towards other children, I was just not that sort of kid. Yeah, all schools have their fair share of little shits and I was one of them...sometimes, when I needed to be one. If I was pushed or provoked, I would give back accordingly...maybe a little more just to make sure they didn't do it again. Some people you can talk your way out of a fight, others you just have to run and some just need to be hit straight away and hard. I have never hit anyone for no reason!




Jason









(C) JPT 2007.........2773.14 miles.

My Kayaking for August 2007...

More blood vicar?



Not a lot of kayaking in August! Just trips to Ealing pool every Thursday to practice my eskimo rolls etc...and have a laugh whilst keeping fit all at the same time:)
Also, I have absolutely no photos of me kayaking to go with the post so I have stuck in this pic taken in August of my blood being taken from my best kayaking arm...look at where the needle is! My favorite place to inject is the dark patch to the right of the needle...a whole inch or more away! I was brave though and didn't bat an eyelid;)

Thursday 2nd August 2007 @ 21:00pm, 1hr 30mins at Ealing Pool, Lee & others, Ian was back today after a few weeks recovering from a badly sprained ankle, Lee learned to hand roll like I was doing last week courtesy of Owen, and I have a blocked ear (right side) because my ear plugs are shit! Otherwise all is fine and dandy:)

Thursday 9th August 2007 @ 21:00pm, Ealing Pool, Lee & Ian etc, hurt my right shoulder mucking around with Lee...great laugh as always, 1hr 30mins.

Thursday 16th August 2007 @ 21:00pm, Ealing Pool with Lee & Ian etc, 1hr 30mins.

Thursday 23rd August 2007 @ 21:00pm, Ealing Pool with Lee & Ian, 1hr 3omins.

Thursday 30th August 2007 @ 21:00pm, Ealing Pool with Lee & Ian etc, 1hr 30mins. I did 18 CtoC rolls all in a row...I was very dizzy!




Jason








(C) JPT 2007.........

My Cycling for August 2007...

Me on top of Holmbury Hill over looking the South Coast towards Brighton 26.08.07

Another month, another bunch of cycling...

This month (August) saw me do my first ever money raising bike ride ever. It was, as you probably already know in aid of the Haemophilia Society. I raised a total of over £700. Not bad eh for my first time:)
Anyway, sit back & enjoy my cycling statistics for August 2007. It don't get any more interesting than this eh;)


Wednesday 1st August 2007 @ 15:00pm, RPx1 & a half, then on to BPx1, 30.65 miles, 2hrs 9mins pedaling, warm and sunny, light breeze, felt quite tired during most of this ride...don't know why exactly? Must be getting old;), av 14, max 28.3 mph, temp 24, wind 6. Total 2318.47 miles...(1924.2 miles since Cateye)

Friday 3rd August 2007 @ 17:00pm, RPx1 & a half, then on to BPx1 (via Thames tow-path), 30.13 miles, 2hrs 7mins pedaling, warm and sunny with a medium wind, bumped into my wonderful (upstairs) neighbours Debbie & Graham along the river in Kingston, av 14.1, max 26 mph, temp 24, wind 13. Total 2348.60 miles...(1954.4 miles since Cateye)

Sunday 5th August 2007 @ 11am, Pitch Hill & Holmbury Hill, 11.22 miles with Phil from Blood, Sweat & Tyres, very warm and dry and hardly any wind, metcheck say 22 degrees but my car said 29!, 1hr 26 mins pedaling, tonnes of mountain bikers up there today, we did all the main trails...Reservoir Dogs, Barry Knows Best (also known as Golden Birdies & Ronnie Barkers & Knobby Knows Best), T1 and The Yoghurt Pots, brilliant day for a ride:), av 7.8, max 28.7 mph, temp 22, wind 5. Total 2359.82 miles...(1965.6 miles since new Cateye)

Wednesday 8th August 2007 @ 15:00pm, 21.62 miles, RPx1, BPx1, 1hr 33mins, sunny and warm, av 14, max 29.5 mph, temp 21, wind7. Total 2381.44 miles...(1987.2 miles since Cateye)

Saturday 11th August 2007 @ 12:30pm, South Downs Way North of Worthing with Matthew & Phil, 3hrs 17mins, 35.11 miles, very warm and sunny all day long, av 10.6, max 33.2 mph, temp 20, wind 7. Total 2416.55 miles...(2022.3 miles since Cateye)

Sunday 12th August 2007 @ 1pm, Lee, Holmbury Hill & Pitch Hills, 10.43 miles, 1hr 26 mins, pissed down with rain and made a very dry terrain into a very wet and muddy terrain!, good fun though, av 7.2, max 25.2 mph, temp 18, wind 15. Total 2426.98 miles...(2032.8 miles since Cateye)

Tuesday 14th August 2007 @ 21:00pm, 3 miles only as I got a puncture and I got Lee to pick me up as I didn't have any stuff to fix it! Thanks Lee:), rainy, dark and windy but very warm, 10mins pedaling, av 10, max 23.3 mph, wind 15, temp 19. Total 2429.98 miles...(2036.5 miles since Cateye)

Wednesday 15th August 2007 @ 2pm, 40.08 miles, 3hrs pedaling, warm, very windy, dry, sunny and cloudy all afternoon, av 13.4, max 28.4 mph, temp 21, wind 20+. Total 2470.06 miles...(2076.6 miles since Cateye)

Saturday 18th & Sunday 19th August 2007 @ (see blog post for BST ride for details...106.77 miles for the weekend broken up into 45.79 for Sat & 60.98 for Sun, we had sun, wind, rain, mud and cloud. Total 2576.83 miles...(2183.3 miles since Cateye)

Tuesday 21st August 2007 @ 17:00pm, 25.84 miles, RPx1 and a half, BPx1, cloudy and spitting with rain for most of it, windy and mild, 2hrs 3mins, av 12.5, max 27.4 mph, temp 17, wind 9. Total 2602.67 miles...(2209.2 miles since Cateye)

Friday 24th August 2007 @ 18:45pm, Lee, BP, RP, BP again, 30.77 miles, sunny and warm then dark and warm, mist patches in the low areas of RP and across the plains in BP too, av 12, max 26.2 mph, 2hrs 33mins pedaling, temp 16, wind 3. Total 2633.44 miles...(2240 miles since Cateye)

Saturday 25th August 2007 @ 11am, Phil, Box Hill then Holmbury & Pitch Hills, 13.08 miles, very hot & sunny with no wind, av 7.9, max 31.2 mph, quite muddy, 1hr 39mins pedaling. Total 2646.52 miles...(2253 miles since Cateye)

Sunday 26th August 2007 @ 14:00pm, Lee, Holmbury, Leith & Pitch Hills, 21.04 miles, hot & sunny and still muddy, no wind at all, av 8.3, max 28.1 mph, 2hrs 31mins pedaling. Total 2667.56 miles...(2274.1 miles since Cateye)

Tuesday 28th August 2007 @ 20:10pm, RPx1 and a half, 17.56 miles, dark and warm, no wind, 1hr 17 mins pedaling, av 13.5, max 23.6 mph, temp 16, wind 5. Total 2685.12 miles...(2291.6 miles since Cateye)

Friday 31st August 2007 @ 18:50pm, Lee, RPx1 and a half and BPx1, 25.40 miles, dark & mild with cool bits, bit of a breeze, av 12.4, max 27.1 mph, 2hrs 3mins pedaling, temp 18, wind 10. Total 2710.52 miles...(2317 miles since Cateye)



Jason








(C) JPT 2007.........

"365 Days Later"

Big Ben can't tell the time...what a silly Ben;)


It's been a whole year since I posted my first ever post on my first ever Blog. This is my 177th post! Not a good number but hey, who's looking eh? Why not a good number? You might see just a number, but it reminds me of the word "ILL"& I don't like "ILL". 771 will be another post that will haunt me for a day, but that one won't come along for another few years yet...if ever. Numbers eh...who needs em?
Anyway my friends, Is it weird or even just slightly odd that the first thing I notice when I write a new post is what number it is? I mean please! What's going on? When I was a child I used to have wide awake dreams (or should that be nightmares?) where numbers would be ruling my life, coming at me on an invisible conveyor belt from one side of my peripheral vision and pass right by my eyes...one ofter the other after the other...continuously and without an end! The area where the numbers were was pitch black and the light showing the numbers came from some unknown origin. I could be wide awake and my eyes would be open or I could fast asleep and they would not go away! The numbers were BIG! Not big like say three million, six hundred thousand & eighty one, but BIG as in actual size! They were gigantic! Taller than any skyscraper ever built with corners that were hard and straight and sharpe! Machined to perfection and perfectly steady in their journey past me! It was a terrible feeling and although they didn't stay in my head for long, I didn't know that at the time. I remember sitting on the edge of my bath when I was very young and saying to my Mum if they would stop. My Mum probably said something like they won't hurt you my dear...they're just numbers. I couldn't make them go away myself either...I just had to wait until they went. Very odd indeed. Why didn't I dream of normal things? Like not being able to run or being chased by a strange man who wanted to do horrible things to me? Maybe numbers freaked me out so much back then because I was useless at maths. I could not and still cannot get my head around bloody numbers! People I understand, or at least I know what they are capable of...but numbers? You can keep your numbers thank you very much!

So there you go. Happy Birthday to my Blog...And to Ample's too:)

It seems I have lost the ability to write interesting posts anymore. I just don't seem to have the concentration to come up with anything more exciting than watching an empty crisp packet floating down the street in the wind. It just sounds so boring going on about my cycling around Richmond Park and what not! And kayaking and going to these public inquiries every now and then. I went to two in two days last week (Wednesday & Thursday) and all I seemed to be able to do was nod off listening to various doctors & professors talking about how it was like to manufacture, distribute & ultimately administer vast quantities of Factor VIII, unbeknownst to them at the time (allegedly) harboring various blood bourne viruses! Terrible I know because it is so important. I was tired though after all the cycling I have been doing. Ros was there too which was nice as always and Matthew (another bleeder) who is funny and easy to get along with. They're all very friendly people as it happens. I like the bits in between the actual reading of evidence where we go down the road to the cafe or pub and chat and stuff. I reckon I only go because of those bits...and the mice on the London Underground. I saw the cutest little mouse on the underground and all I wanted to do was pick it up and put it in my pocket and take it home and care for it forever and ever! But I didn't...because I couldn't quite reach it...just out of my reach...as always. One very good thing though is at least I know it will still be there next time I go on the underground...waiting for me:) I wish they allowed bikes on the underground. It'd be so much easier on my wrecked ankles! I hate walking! I don't do walking very well! It hurts too much at times. If only you could jump into my feet for a little while someday...and find out what it's like. Maybe I could jump into your feet someday and feel what it's like without the pain?

Rub, rub, rub those sore little feet,
Until all the pain has gone to sleep,
Your dreams much longer with less of that yawning,
Feelings of happiness when you wake in the morning:)

What have you all been up to? Have you noticed just how quickly it gets dark in the evenings now! I've had to put my big lights on my bike for the first time since the beginning of the year. I like it when it is dark as you are forced to look only in one spot in front of you...and it feels like you are going so fast too, like you're in a long dark tunnel full of flies and deer and rabbits and grass and dirt and roots and... I'm looking forward to a bit of night riding up in the Surrey Hills soon. It's a totally different place up there in the night time.

Talking of cycling, Lee, Phil & I have a mountain bike marathon scheduled for the 16th September up in North Wales. Not a sponsored ride this time. It is the end race of a series; www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/events/ruthin.php Not sure what distance to ride yet? Probably not the 100k route as we have to drive back that night to London and definitely not the 25k as it would be far too easy. Either the 50k or 75k. Depending on the weather. I'm very excited as I Love North Wales:)

Just a quick update on the amount raised so far for the North Downs Way ride two weeks ago. You wonderful people have been donating since we did the ride and I am now up to a whopping £697. I'm eagerly awaiting for someone to whack it up to the £700 mark;) Anybody got a spare three squids? My fundraising page is still active if you want to sponsor me. It won't close until around the 18th October. So if you haven't already sponsored me, it isn't too late. Go for it;)

The Blood, Sweat & Tyres crew have raised a total of £1513. Well done guys! Absolutely brilliant!



Jason








(C) JPT 2007.........2710.52 miles.

Blood, Sweat & Tyres...

Matthew admirably leading the way through a field of wheat somewhere in the middle of the North Downs Way.


...and punctures & laughs & rain & sun & more punctures & more laughs & crashes & cramps & mud & diversions & eye watering downhills & Pain & leg and lung busting uphills & more rain & yet more punctures & even more laughs...

So there you have it...Blood, Sweat & Tyres 2007 in a nutshell. We had it all! All and more!

Day One...Dover to Lenham via Canterbury.

Lee & I met the others at Dover Priory Station on the East Kent coast at 10:45am on a sunny Saturday morning...Matthew, Phil, Raj, James, Mike & Ben all turned up already clothed in their mountain bike clobber. I was still in my jeans and an old t-shirt. I had made just the day before a laminated number plate each for the riders. They were numbered from 1 to 6 and I had myself the number 999 because 9 is my favorite number and being the only haemophiliac on board I thought having the emergency services number attached to the front of my bike would be handy in case of an emergency;) I handed them out and off we went. Then barely five minutes into the ride I get the first puncture of 8 for the whole weekend...still in Dover! This would be the first of 8 rubber related deflations. The weather was good for us for most of the day...Sunday would be an altogether different affair! My friends Debbie & Graham met us too to see us off and would also be feeding us for lunch just 20 miles away in Canterbury. It took us 4hrs 50mins actual time to arrive at Debbies, courtesy of four punctures (of which I had three...the first of which happened whilst we were still in Dover!) & several miles of the North Downs Way that was very well hidden and not very well sign posted. In fact most of the NDW is quite well hidden and if it wasn't for Matthew's GPS computer and waterproof map we would most probably be in France by now;) At one stage we were beginning to think that whoever owns the NDW doesn't want anyone to find it. But find it we did!

So after a string of punctures and a bramble whipping or two we finally arrived to the most amazing lunch ever at Debbie & Grahams. I am not exaggerating when I say that you will never meet a Lovelier couple as D&G!! Thank you guys from the bottom of our belly's for such a memorable feeding:)
Lee, my best friend & our support vehicle driver was already there and fixed yet another puncture as we all tucked into our fine lunch. This time it was James who had gotten a thorn still attached to it's stem stuck in his tyre, but amazingly the tyre stayed up and we continued for another several miles before it eventually went down just as we pushed our bikes into D&G's back garden...talk about perfect timing:) After our lunch of hot jacket potatoes, cornish pasties, chicken and cakes and bananas and fruit juice and pickle and avocados and loads more besides, we made tracks back onto the streets of Canterbury until we found the NDW again. Then James had a bit of leg cramps on the side of the road and with the help of our number one (Matthew) stretched it back into shape in what to the passers by in their cars must have looked like some kind of roadside pilates class. On our way again, through several tiny very picturesque villages with names like Chilham, Broughton Lees, Charing & Kennington we ran out of daylight and time and I needed my 20:28 tablets which were in the van with Lee several miles away in Lenham...and it began to rain too. We anticipated arriving in Lenham at 7pm for an 8pm dinner. But because of all the punctures and little diversions trying to find the NDW we ran a little late. Lee came and picked us up at 20:20pm just in time for my tablets and after two small journeys we were all sitting around a dinner table where we all enjoyed a wonderful meal each. Lots of chatting and joking and scoffing later we were all in bed snoring like babies. My legs were alright and my arm & ankles were amazing! It was a very good weekend where my joints were concerned. In the days leading up to the ride I was petrified of having one of my bad spells and not being able to walk let alone ride a bike! Thank goodness my joints behaved as well as they did is all I can say.

Day Two...Lenham to South Godstone via Trosley Country Park.

Then came along Sunday morning, after dreams of pedaling along, came a grey but dry view from our bedroom window and after last nights rain things were looking good. My legs were still feeling great and I was ready for a 60 odd mile bike ride. I filled myself up with some yummy factor VIII at 07:30. Breakfast came and went and off to the van we went to get the bikes ready and fill our Camelbaks up with much needed drink. Then it started to rain! It continued to rain on and off (mostly on) for the rest of the day! It was still raining when I was at home some 12 or 13 hours later! But did it detract from the fun? Hell no! It was a wonderful experience being out in the elements with such a great bunch of guys. The trails were slippery and the hills were long and hard going up and fast and bloody dangerous coming down. A few of us had some crashes courtesy of the wet chalk that the North Downs Way are made up of. Phil took a tumble as did Mike (twice). In fact I even fell off myself whilst riding up (yes, you read that right...Up hill;) through a field of wheat when my speed became so low that I had to put a foot down (chocolate footing) but my foot was stuck in my pedal and over I went in to the wheat. I remember lying there for a few seconds thinking how strange a field of wheat looks from your back looking up into the sky. Everyone who crashed were fine thank goodness! And we were able to carry on covered in mud and scratches and stinging nettle stings on our arms and shins! I even managed to get a scratch on the end of my nose...Jason The Red Nosed Twit;)

So on we cycled through more pretty looking villages called Eyhorne Street, Thurnham, Blue Bell Hill & Detling until we reached a rather miserable looking Rochester. The NDW (Pilgrims Way) winds it's way through the outskirts of the City along back roads and main roads. It was wet and grey but quite interesting to see such a diverse mix of scenery on out ride. We eventually came out the other side of Rochester and crossed the River Medway by the M2 and met Lee (at 12:20pm) to stock up on drinks and bananas. Just outside Rochester we came across a tiny little village called Upper Bush and wondered whether there was a Lower or indeed a Middle Bush. The silly things boys will get up to eh;)
More rain and another puncture for Matthew from a thorn which was about 2 or 3 inches long & we were on our way to a place called Trosley Country Park where we had lunch at 14:20pm. By this stage we were covered in mud and wet through and hungry! Hot food was on order and we filled our bellies up with jacket potatoes, sausage rolls and cheese and bacon panini's (I asked for chicken but there wasn't any to be found!) washed down with hot tea. Some of us changed into dry, clean cycling gear and filled our CamelBaks up once again. Then at 15:20 we made tracks and plodded off in the on/off (more on) rain towards Dorking (another 30 odd miles away to the West). Through villages called Chevening, Westerham, Titsey, Oxted & Tandridge. We hit some rather nice trails winding it's way through, up & down some quite thick woods. At one point Matthew had to bail out from his bike whilst negotiating a rather low tree branch that was hanging over the trail. His dive onto his right shoulder would have looked good in any action movie;).
Light was fading again and the rain was falling...again. Time had run out and we were behind schedule due to the weather and so many punctures slowing us down so much and Matthew had to make the decision to end our ride at South Godstone station in Surrey just 12 or so miles away from Dorking (by car) and more like 15-20 miles by bike. I was the only one that had a set of lights out of the seven of us and we had to call it a day. But we did however manage to pass the 100 mile mark in total distance travelled and by the time we reached a soggy & grey South Godstone train station we had cycled a total of 106.77 miles and 60.98 miles for the day! Yay!! We did it! Even if we didn't make it to Dorking. It would have been far too dangerous to continue in the dark and Matthew's decision to end there was like all the other decisions that he made during the weekend...Absolutely spot on! I really don't know how he did it to be quite honest! Reading a GPS that he was still getting used to and reading a waterproof map whilst cycling along and making sure that the rest of his riders were ok...one of which was a severe haemophiliac! You really have to take your hat off to him for completing such a well organized event! And to Lee too for being so patient with us taking our time finding the stop points and doing all that driving! I know that Lee would have rather been riding alongside us but instead drove the support vehicle...Way to go Lee! And to all the other riders too, who I am pretty sure I will meet again someday:)
And lastly thank you to Debbie for feeding me yet again when I arrived back home in Teddington absolutely covered in mud! That gravy was out of this world:)

From left to right; Right at the end...A very damp Matthew (No1), Phil (No2), James (No3), Mike (No4), Raj (No5), Ben (No6), Me (No999) & Lee (I did make him a number plate but with his name on instead) at South Godstone station in Surrey aftar 106.77 miles of riding across the North Downs Way. Well done lads!!

Stats for Saturday;

45.79 miles in 4hrs 55mins pedaling (9hrs from start to finish) with an average speed of 9.3mph and a max speed of 30.3mph and 7 punctures!

Stats for Sunday;

66.98 miles in 5hrs 46mins pedaling (10hrs 45mins from start to finish) with an average speed of 9.8mph and a max speed of 39.1mph and one puncture.

Total miles ridden;

106.77 miles

Total time pedaling along;

10hrs 51mins

Total time out with bikes;

19hrs 45mins

Total punctures; = 8


(Update 21.08.07)

Well what do ya know? Yet another puncture...Number nine! I was on a 30 miler tonight and at the 24 mile mark in Bushy Park having already done a lap and a half of Richmond Park, I got it! The tiniest of thorns imaginable! So I fix the bastard and what happens? It goes down on my way home, but not enough to prevent me from cycling the last two miles with a very soft tyre. I'll sort it out in the morning...maybe;)




Jason









(C) JPT 2007.........2602.67 miles.

"My Mate Factor VIII"

Me yesterday on Pitch Hill with a very clean Elvis...and look!, I've got my ruck-sack on back to front and I lost my Hep C Badge that was punned to it too! What a wally!



Firstly let me wish my best mate Lee a very happy birthday for Friday just gone. He turned a whopping 36 years old on that day. I've known him for nigh on 26 years and you couldn't even dream of finding a nicer buddy such as Lee has been to me! Cheers dude and thanks Nicola & Evie too for the wonderful BBQ in your new garden. Also hello to Pam (Lee's Mum) who was there too who might be reading this Blog for the very first time.

Right, so on to my Factor VIII level test results...again! This second lot (taken on the 1st August) of doing without F8 for a full 6 days produced some just as interesting results as the last time. This time I went to 4% after absolutely no F8 for 6 days when I am supposed to be less than 1% considering I am a severe haemophiliac! But no! I am 4%. Not 5% like I was last time a few weeks ago...and not less than 1% like I must have been when I was diagnosed back in 1973...but 4%. So...they want to do it all over again a third time in a few months time to see if it changes again. I reckon that the rate I am giving away my bloody blood I shall have less bloody blood in me than a blood bank that has just been bloody robbed!
They (My docs) said that your original haemophilia diagnoses can actually improve as you get older. The normal range for a normal normal person is between 50% and 150% Factor VIII. Maybe by the time I am old and grey (around the 360yrs mark) I shall be a Haemophiliac no longer. Will I become a Moderate to severe as time goes on or shall I remain a severe for as long as I live no matter what my Factor VIII levels are? I was born a severe...therefore I shall die a severe! So up yours ugly!!

Christ! You should have seen the needle they stuck in my vein! And it was a vein I have never ever used in the whole of my bleeding life ever in the whole wide world...ever!! It was just three inches short off the height, length & width of an actual London Underground train! But fortunately not as blunt and as slow;) And did it suck the blood out too! When I cut myself shaving later on when I was back home I bled water! They bloody took it all!

Ok, the weekend. Saturday was spent down on a small section of the South Downs Way just outside Worthing on the South Coast where my friend Matthew lives. He's the creator/founder of the website Blood, Sweat & Tyres. He raises money for the Haemophilia Society by riding bikes over long distances with other riders who are willing to ride along with him and raise a little money on the way. He's the chap and his mate Phil (among others) who I am riding with next weekend across the North Downs Way.

Phil (left) & Matthew on the South Downs Way Saturday.

Matthew, Phil & I did 35 miles in total on what has to be one of the best days weather wise this summer (see photo above). The sun shone the whole time, the route Matthew choose was very scenic and was a very pleasant ride indeed. It was kind of a small taster of what to expect maybe next weekend during our 100 plus miler across the North Downs Way from Dover to Dorking. There will be seven of us riding and an eighth man (My mate Lee) who'll be driving the support vehicle. All seems to be going according to plan and the ride should be hard but very rewarding. I can't wait!

Next comes Sunday (yesterday) and I went for my second ride of the weekend this time with Lee. And instead of the SDW we headed for a small section of the NDW and did 10 miles around Pitch & Holmbury Hills. And what a complete contrast in the weather! Just half a mile into our ride the heavens opened and completely and utterly drenched us and our hills! The trees were next to useless at being umbrellas so we headed off back to the car and almost went home because we were so wet but the rain stopped and the sun kinda came out again and off we went and did another nine and a half miles through water logged single track where the roots are as slippery as eels and the mud was as brown as dark chocolate ice cream! I fell off twice at very slow speeds because I couldn't get my feet out of my pedals quick enough. I blame it on the eels! We had a bite to eat by Peaslake Village and watched the other mountain bikers come and go covered head to toe in mud and water as were we. We did in fact end up having a great time and a good laugh too. I certainly didn't look as clean as I do in the photo at the top of post.

Oh...remember I said I went to see The Eighties MatchBox B-Line Disaster late last month? Well, I went again last Tuesday in London. I took an old friend who used to live down my Mums road in Twickenham as I knew he would like them. Another great live band experience! Very loud & atmospheric! This time I recorded the whole gig on my digital camera and have been uploading it onto YouTube the last several days. If you go to this link; http://www.youtube.com/TheMightyC you'll see all my videos in one place. Check out the gig at London's The Scala. The quality seems to be worse on YouTube than it is on my Mac. I think the uploading process downsizes the file size and therefore the picture quality too. But it's still ok. The highlight of the night was when I stole a poster advertising the gig from one of the inside doors directing us to the stage area. I missed out last time in Brighton as I waited until I came out and well, it was gone! Also right at the end of last Tuesdays gig, Guy (singer in the band) threw some bottles of water over and into the crowd and one of them landed right at my feet. And being the sad case that I am...I picked it up and still got it in my kitchen.




Jason


Happy Birthday to Claire (15th) & Becky (11th) too:)xXx






(C) JPT 2007.........2426.98 miles.

"The (un) Infected"

Heart Shaped Moss that I found on the entrance into Teddington Lock over looking the River Thames the day before I got my SVR results (18.07.07) I was out cycling and had a rest and a think and a contemplate before I went back home just around the corner.



Oh yes! The uninfected will keep going on about it won't they. I must remember to remember that I'm not totally uninfected am I, & my Hep C could come back...couldn't it? I must try and remember that. Did I just say that? Oh Yes, I did;)
You know what I mean though don't you. My Hep C is still up in viral heaven, heavily indulged in some sort of sordid sex act no doubt with someone else's recently gotten rid of Hep C. I can just imagine them both right now, entwined together like a couple of horny slugs, with a sign on the wall saying "HIV virus welcome" (You never know, maybe one day eh). They're not bothered about their previous owners in the very least! They're far too stupid to care about us anymore.
As a result of my good result, I have found (as I new I would) that my cycling OCD has more or less gone away and although I am feeling quite tired these last few weeks during my rides I am still doing the miles. 30 on Monday and another 30 Wednesday afternoon and yet another 30 miles yesterday afternoon. Talking of cycling, maybe someone can help me...Warrior Woman? A few times now whilst riding around RP I have almost collided with a few runners coming from the opposite direction on the Tamsin Trail. What happened was that as I was going along minding me own business, listening to me moosic on't i-pod and also minding to stay on the left hand side of the track (just like you would on the roads here in the UK) these runners were on their right and seemed surprised that I didn't move over for them and instead carried on as I thought I ought to. I wasn't going too fast and could see that they could see me and anyway, they didn't like it and right at the last minute jumped out of my way and shouted something. I didn't say a word as I really don't know what the score is for a shared public footpaths/trails. Is it the same as on public roads, like I had thought? If it is then they should be on their left too right? Maybe they don't drive cars and don't have a clue what side to be on (but then do many car drivers either?). Most cyclists stay on their left and so do some runners...but most people just walk/run/cycle wherever the hell they want! I won't be the one crying when my bar end pierces someones soft belly or tangles up with another cyclist (believe me, it has nearly happened on more than one occasion!) and we both end up on the gravel apologizing to each other with me shouting "Stay away from my blood dude! You really don't want to get involved!";)

Also yesterday I was up at the RFH having an MOT on my joints, in particular my right elbow (also known as my 'Glass Elbow' and my 'Broken Wing') and both my ankles. My physiotherapist (Paul) drew some marks onto a sheet of paper that had an outline of my entire body on (back & front) and began to mark it with a biro where I was having problems. He also moved and pulled and twisted (firmly but very comfortably I might add) all my joints and came to the conclusion that both my ankles and my right elbow are indeed fucked and booked me in for another visit in two weeks time. He also X-Ray'd my left ankle as it has been playing up quite a bit whilst walking. He thinks there might be something rough or sticking out where the two bones rub together. Hopefully the X-Ray will show us what there is and maybe what can be done...if anything. I told him about all the cycling I do and kayaking and not once did he say that I shouldn't (which is good). Actually, even if he had I would have said 'Up-yours' and walked out...No bike...No Jae...Simple!

I had a great (last) weekend away in Kidderminster & Shrewsbury with a whole bunch of people from the Hep C forum which Joan had wonderfully organized. Ros & her Hubby Ade put me up for a couple of nights at their Kidderminster home and fed me & bathed me and watered me too:) Then on the Saturday we drove to Shrewsbury and met up with Joan and her Hubby Steve and loads of others too who are either on tx or have been on tx. And what a great bunch of people they are too. The weather was great and the food was also very tasty...especially Ros's flapjacks:)

Anyway, enough about that. What about my dreams? Have you noticed in the last several months that there has been a distinct lack of dreams in my blog? I thought you did. Ever since I finished my treatment for Hep C my vivid and highly detailed dreams have dried up terribly and left me with just tiny bits and bobs...even straight after waking from my dreams I can't remember them much at all! For instance; I had a few dreams the night before the night before last that I almost certainly would have remembered in much more detail previously. My bike gets stolen from a railway station, I look for it, find it and stick a scalpel into the young man that took it! In another one the same night I dreamed that a very good friend of mine got their Hep C back. But where are the details? And what's happened to my poetry? Where has it all gone? I do have a few dreams saved that I never posted whilst I was on tx. The one about the freeze dried vagina's (which I like) and another about a little boy who gets crushed under the wheels of a very big lorry (which I don't) and another where I come face to face with a green (and very sexy) woman swimming in this flood (which was also green) just outside my front room window (I like that one too).
Oh, one thing I do remember is that when I found my bike the wheels were all loose and wouldn't spin properly and just a little more gross is that when I stuck the scalpel into the Man's body I could feel it digging & picking into his bones!

And another thing. I have to do that study again where I do without Factor VIII for 72hrs to determine what my Factor VIII levels are because my results came back at around the 5% mark (I'm supposed to be less than 1%). What does this mean? Am I a moderate to severe (or even mild?) haemophiliac all of a sudden? I'm sure they think I didn't do my bit and stay away from the Factor during those 72hrs. I assure you my droogs that I did.
So back I go on Tuesday next week to have more blood sucked out from my leech-like vein and a whole weekend without any Factor whatsoever. Must remember to take it easy when I'm out up in the Surrey Hills on Sunday with Phil from 'Blood, Sweat & Tyres';)
And on Tuesday night I am up at The Scala in Kings Cross to see The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster' again:) Jac's on holiday in Portugal for that week so I have to find someone else to go with me who doesn't mind getting kicked in the head by crowd surfers or going deaf even!

Check out the video for their new EP 'In The Garden' in this link;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5ELJfSbm58

I Love this band!



P.s. If a bucket is too much, then a milk bottle will do;)




Jason








(C) JPT 2007.........2348.60 miles.

My Kayaking for July 2007...

Jac rhymes with Kack which is short for Kayak;) Taken on 31st July (yesterday)...just minutes before my last kack of the month.


Can you believe I didn't take a single photo of myself kayaking during the whole of July! May have had something to do with me being just ever so slightly preoccupied with a certain blood test result arriving! Plus it is just sooo much easier to carry a camera around with you on a bike than in a kayak...cameras don't really like water;) But I do have this photo which I took just yesterday of my good friend Jac...and just after this was taken I was in the Thames paddling in the wonderful sunshine. That's me in the reflection of Jac's glasses (well, the one on the right is anyway...the one on the left is my double;)...Jac will be mortified that I used this pic of her on my blog;)



Sunday 1st July 2007 @ 11am, Hurley weir on the Thames, Ian, 1hr 40mins paddling (See blog post of the same date for full details...it was interesting to say the least), warmish and windy, very choppy water in weir and fast flowing, temp 18, wind 18.

Wednesday 4th July 2007 @ 21:40pm, Twickenham to Teddington Lock Weir & back on my own, strong current going and fast coming back, dark but warm, breezy too, 53 mins paddling. Had my six month post Hep C treatment blood test today at the RFH...Oh yes...A beautiful swan cheered me up no end today:)

Thursday 5th July 2007 @ 21:00pm, Ealing Pool with Ian and loads of others, 1hr 30mins paddling, did (several) my first ever left handed rolls tonight.

Monday 9th July 2007 @ 15:20pm, Twickenham to Teddington Lock weir and back, 1hr 20mins paddling, warm & sunny then my God!! Thunder, lightning, wind, heavy rain mixed with hail!, I had to beach near Teddington Lock and hide under a tree that was stooping into the river...the thunder was so loud and close it was amazing! If you can imagine being about two or three miles away from Mt Everest and half of it's five mile high mass splits away and falls onto the ground right at its foot...that is what this thunder sounded like! Then the sun came back out and was Lovely again...for a bit;) Temp 21 (with a low of 16 during the storm), wind 9 (with a high of 23 during the storm)...I found two tennis balls after the storm on my way back to Twickenham.

Thursday 12th July 2007 @ 21:00pm, Ealing Pool, Lee, Ian & others..., I took my big yellow sea kayak tonight to see if I could roll it...and yes I can. First time too:) Lee tried also and did it first time, 1hr 30mins paddling.

Saturday 14th July 2007 @ 17:08pm, Twickenham to Teddington Lock Weir and back, 52 mins paddling, warm, sunny and quite breezy, As I was paddling past a massive dead fish by the Barmy Arms a fisherman shouted out what kind of fish it was...I almost shouted back that it was a dead fish;) But didn't...it was a Carp of some kind. Temp 22, wind 11...just the one ball today and it wasn't even a tennis ball! It was a bright red plastic ball like the type you find in children's ball pens. It was a nice colour though.

Monday 16th July 2007 @ 16:50pm, 1hr 10mins paddling, Twickenham high tide around Eel Pie Island a few times and up to the boats just past Radnor gardens, the river was filthy having picked up all the rubbish from the paths and roads etc...including no less that 7 balls! 6 tennis balls and another bright red child's play pen ball. What a result! Temp 23, wind 8.

Thursday 19th July 2007 @ 21:00pm, Ealing Pool, Lee, Ian & others, 1hr 30mins paddling, more larking around as usual, in a more than usually good mood due to the fact that I got my SVR test result that afternoon...No more Hep C for Mr T:), I also tested out my new kayaking helmet...an Andrew Ainsworth (of Star Wars fame) Skid Lid in carbon fibre effect black, very comfortable helmet.

Thursday 26th July 2007 @ 21:00pm, Ealing Pool, Lee and others, 1hr 30mins, Owen taught me how to do a different hand roll that I was used to, the pool was quite empty as it happens and we more or less had the whole pool to ourselves, Ian wasn't there as he had badly sprained his ankle playing football with his Son.

Tuesday 31st July 2007 @ 17:45pm, 53 mins paddling, Twickenham to Tedd Lock and back, fast flowing head current going!!, warm and sunny, light breeze, Temp 21, wind 7...absolutely no bastard tennis balls! I did see two lots of Canadian Geese fly right by me just inches from the rivers surface at high speed which was pretty cool!


See ya next month...and be sure to check out my cycling for July post directly below this one:)



Jason







(C) JPT 2007.........2318.47 miles.

My Cycling for July 2007...

Just one day after my wonderful "SVR' result. 20.07.07



Sunday 1st July 2007 @ 19:30pm, tow-path to Hampton Court Palace and then one entire lap of Bushy Park, 15.07 miles, 1hr 3mins pedaling, warmish & sunny with a strongish breeze, av 14.2, max 22 mph, temp 18, wind 18. Total 1959.76 miles...(1575.5 miles since Cateye)

Tuesday 3rd July 2007 @ 15:30pmish, RPx2, 24.96 miles, 1hr 55mins pedaling, sunny and cloudy with medium wind with a massive rain storm halfway around with thunder & lightning...I hid under a tree overlooking Twickenham by the towel day tree with three Italians, my ankle started to hurt as soon as it got wet...I got absolutely soaked and covered in grit and mud and it was really cold too!, av 12.9, max 30.1 mph, temp 18, wind 10. Total 1984.72 miles...(1600.5 miles since Cateye)

Friday 6th July 2007 @ 19:30pm, Tow-path to BP then one lap then tow-path home, 15.28 miles, 1hr 3 mins pedaling, sunny and windyish, right arm hurts now!, av 14.4, max 22.7 mph, temp 18, wind 16. Total 2000 miles Yay:)...(1615.7 miles since Cateye)

Sunday 8th July 2007 @ 09:00am, Nirvana Cycles in Westcott, met with Matthew & Phil of Blood, Sweat & Tyres, did Leith Hill & half of Holmbury Hill and then Leith Hill again, very nice chaps indeed, 18.36 miles, 2hrs 16mins pedaling...finished around 2pm, very warm and sunny, dry and quite grippy terrain, av 8, max 28.7 mph, temp 18, wind 5. Total 2018.36 miles...(1634.1 miles since Cateye)

Wednesday 11th July 2007 @ 19:30pm, RP, after a long day up at The Houses of Parliament with Ros & the inquiry I went and did 18.43 miles, Lovely evening with plenty of sun and not a lot of wind, 1hr 24mins pedaling, av 13, max 29.4 mph, temp 20, wind 5. Total 2036.79 miles...(1652.5 miles since Cateye)

Friday 13th July 2007 @ 18:40pm, BP, RP, 30.07 miles, 2hrs 25mins peddling, Met Lee at Hampton side of BP (he's moved now & living in new house in Hampton with Nic & Evie) and cycled to RP along the river Thames tow-path then did an entire lap and then headed back to BP via Ham tow-path & roads then I saw Lee off at Hampton gate in BP and went home myself, dry, warm & sunny (then dusk then dark) with a medium breeze, av 12.4, max 28.5 mph, temp 22, wind 10. Lee did very well although his legs were hurting and his arse, but he hadn't been out since June 8th...so bloody well done Lee! Total 2066.86 miles...(1682.6 miles since Cateye)

Sunday 15th July 2007 @ 14:00pm, RPx2 laps in sun then a thunder storm with rain (on way home I popped around my Mums house and sat in the garden to read a bit...Shadow of the Wind...she's away on holiday at the mo in Cornwall) then sunny again, warm and very humid and no wind, 30.83 miles, 2hrs 27mins peddling, av 12.5, max 29.3 mph, temp 24, wind 4. Total 2097.69 miles...(1713.4 miles since new Cateye)

Wednesday 18th July 2007 @ 13:15pm (back home at 19:30pm), 40.56 miles, RPx2, BPx1 and between the two by tow-path, 3hrs 21mins pedaling, sunny and warm, light breeze, I used my SPD's for the first time in nearly three years and found them quite good (pedals), had lunch in Marble Hill Park in the Old Coach House (Jane Horrock's was in there too), sat in Bushy Park on't deserted cricket pitch for a bit in the sun then again over at Teddington Lock by the river, av 12.1, max 35.9 mph, temp 24, wind 14. Total 2148.25 miles...(1754.0 miles since Cateye)

Friday 20th July 2007 @ 18:40pm, 35.02 miles, BP & RP with Lee, 2hrs 45mins pedaling, nice clearish evening with slight breeze and some sunshine, av 12.7, max 25.4 mph, temp 17, wind 15. Total 2183.27 miles...(1789 miles since Cateye)

Sunday 22nd July 2007 @ 13:09, 31.32 miles, RPx2, 2hrs 26mins pedaling, warm & sunny and breezy, on my way home I popped around Tarns and saw Millie, Dasiy, Naif & Jac, av12.8, max 25.7 mph, temp 20, wind 9. Total 2214.59 miles...(1820.3 miles since Cateye)

Tuesday 24th July 2007 @ 18:00pm, RPx2, 23.07 miles, 1hr 37mins pedaling, av 14.1, max 28.1 mph, temp 21, wind 12. Total 2237.66 miles...(1843.4 miles since Cateye)

Friday 27th July 2007 @ 17:40pm, 20.10 miles around the Kidderminster area, quite hilly and pretty, windy, vey warm and sunny too, 1hr 21mins pedaling, av 14.9, max 35.4 mph. Total 2257.76 miles...(1863.5 miles since Cateye)

Monday 30th July 2007 @ 18:30pm, 30.6 miles, RPx1, BPx1, and the River Thames tow-path in between, 2hrs 6mins pedaling, nice and warm & sunny with a medium breeze, av 14.2, max36.3 mph, temp 19, wind 7. Total 2287.83 miles...(1893.6 miles since Cateye)


See you next month folks...and be sure to check out my kayaking for July post just above this one:)



Jason








(C) JPT 2007.........2318.47