‘In The Chair’…… Final Top Find Of 2024…… From ‘Wild Justice’………
by Bernie Bell - 08:52 on 09 January 2025
“In the chair
Chemo today. I was discussing the experience with one of the highly skilled and professional nurses at the Macmillan Renton Unit in Hereford. People regard chemotherapy with dread, but, unless you’ve done it, this dread is almost superstitious.
It’s not great, of course it’s not. People can suffer from all kinds of side effects, from well-known, like hair loss and fatigue, to less well known, like nails shredding, to mysterious, like my current inability to work out where my legs are, exactly.
But the lounge is a lovely place, a holy place, what the old Celtic monks called ‘a thin place.’ There is real fellowship among all who are involved, staff and patients alike. The nurses are tender and loving and today they let me sleep. They are the best, bar none, at putting in cannulas. And, my friends, I should fucking well know.
One of the main characters in ‘The Breaking Wave’ has terminal cancer. I hope readers will think I send them to a better place (via Newhaven Cemetary), surrounded by love. A communal dying, dying in the arms of a group of beloved friends, is a special thing. I’ve witnessed it a few times now, and I want to do this experience justice. Another of my characters is sick of soap opera, and so am I. Jeopardy, my arse. Of course go gentle, Dylan you nutter. Of course.
Today’s soundtrack: I have literally just this very moment discovered that links can be posted. Every day is school day, unless it’s been snowed off. Anyway, here’s a lovely thing from 2024 by Roseaux ft. Aloe Blacc - Loving You Is All I Want To Do. It’s a real proper lovers rock/bluebeat/ska thing. It reminds me that love, like death, is often tender and sweet, and that this is worth writing about too.
Today’s writing tip ‘If the prose isn’t there, then you’re reduced to what are merely secondary interests, like story, plot, characterisation, psychological insight and form.’ - Martin Amis
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Jan 7
When I read Ian’s first piece about the Smoking Lounge, I thought it was a good thing he’s doing - writing about that experience. People say – quite casually…..“S/he’s having chemo” without really thinking about what that entails - why should they? How would they know unless they had someone they know, have that experience? My take on it was that folk can be a bit un-thinking about it.
Ian was giving some idea of how much such a treatment can step in and take over a life. Another old friend had a similar experience with dialysis.
And now in this piece, Ian approaches it from a different perspective to what I was thinking – that of when folk make almost too much of it – have a superstitious dread of it.
I’m tying myself in knots a bit– what I want to say is - good on you Ian – you’re getting a set of very valuable messages across. Again - more power to your pen. Keep on keeping on.
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Final Top Find Of 2024……
https://www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/2024s-top-finds-decorated-orthostat-marked-twenty-sevens-entrance/
Aaaaand…..available on-line….
https://www.nessofbrodgar.co.uk/link-smithsonian-2025/
And my own round-up of the 2024 dig….
https://theorkneynews.scot/2024/07/29/the-ness-of-brodgar-2024/
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From ‘Wild Justice’………
“Good morning!
Today’s newsletter is all about lead ammunition. We now have a chance, after decades of campaigning, to end the use of toxic lead ammunition by the shooting industry. Please help us make lead ammunition history.
Lead ammunition has been poisoning our wildlife for decades. Over 7,000 tonnes of it is scattered into the environment every year in the UK. Wild Justice has been campaigning on lead for years – see our work here – and you’ve been active in responding to consultations about lead ammunition.
Now the government has the opportunity to ban almost all lead ammunition for good.
In December the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published their 'Opinion on the Proposal for a Restriction', in which they proposed several measures to restrict the use and sale of lead ammunition. If these proposals are accepted, we will see very welcome restrictions on the use of lead shot and bullets.
But this win isn’t a given – the shooting industry has resisted this change at every step and will be pushing hard behind the scenes to try to maintain the environmentally damaging status quo.
We’re joining WWT, RSPB and ChemTrust to call on Steve Reed, the Secretary of State, to help make lead history – will you join us?
Send an email to Steve Reed – click here – your action can make a difference.
Wild Justice has also written separately to Steve Reed, asking him to notify us of his conclusions following HSE’s proposals. Click here to read our letter.
That’s it for now – more soon!
Thank you.
P.S. Thank you to all of you who donated over the Christmas break – your support is very much appreciated!
Wild Justice (Directors: Mark Avery, Chris Packham and Ruth Tingay).
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