1 December 2011

I mentioned, in yesterday’s entry, that early in the morning I started to feel unwell. At that stage I stopped doing anything and just rested  but got worse and worse as the day went on. Both eyes were streaming badly and my nose was pouring but worst of all I had the most awful discomfort in my stomach. I felt seriously ill and couldn’t think straight and really thought I was in for a bout of something very serious. I had nothing to eat or drink all day. As it came towards my bedtie, I got more and more panicky as to what would happen if I was sick with the possibility of choking on my own vomit. Frankly this frightens me..

Because of my concern we rang our local doctor who dropped in and diagnosed ‘flu. So much for the flu jab which I had a few weeks ago. Even the doctor admitted that there were useless. He prescribed a strong dose of antibiotics and I took the first tablet before he left. The doctor asked me if I wanted to go to hospital but bearing in mind it iwa Thursday he said it was almost certain I would have to spend the weekend there. There was no way that I wanted to go the hospital as, frankly, at the weekend especiallys, the doctor on duty almost likely to be junior consultant, or registrar, if you’re lucky, then the rest of the time you’re just left languishing in bed. I’ve been there before. You press the alarm button and wait about 10 min before the nurse arrives unless you are in intensive care unit will you do not get much nursing and I knew I would be much better off at home. All sorts of suggestions were made about sleeping at night setting up in bed without my respirator. I really didn’t fancy that as I couldn’t see how I could sleep as I always sleep on my side. In the event I tried lying down as usual and after a few minutes the breathing settled down and although I felt like death that seemed the best sleeping solution. ‘My lovely’ one was her wonderful self and came down regularly, during the night, to turn e over. Although I don’t think I slept a great deal the night passed without event except for one emergency when I was quite sure I was going to be sick..

In the morning, miracle of miracles, the terrible sick feeling had virtually disappeared from my stomach and although I felt a little weak not having eaten or drunk anything . for 24 hours I got up and followed my usual routine. All very weird because if it was’flu, as a doctor suggested, in clear up in 24 hours seem pretty amazing, particularly as he was not prepared to commit himself as to how long it would take to clear up. I suppose the most encouraging sign was that he listened to my lungs and confirmed that they sounded quite normal. Without which, I imagine, I might have been liable to get pneumonia.

As a result of this indisposition I missed much of the news concerning the Chancellors Autumn Statement. Unfortunately I simply cannot manage a newspaper so from the snippets I picked up from the radio it seems that everyone is bracing themselves for the possible collapse of the euro, at least, they have contingency plans in place to minimiize the damage. There is still much about the possible breakup of the Eurozone followed by a limited reconstituted smaller group of countries should Italy, for example, default. The Governor of the Bank Of England made one of his rare television appearances when he stressed how very precarious was our economy today

I suppose one of the good pieces of news is the slow down in the growth in China’s economy to just under 9%. This is partially due to an increase in internal consumption and the slowdown in exports. The trouble with the global economy today, is that a shudder in America and China will reverberate in the world markets.

Now for something completely different. There have been so many new dances introduced since my youth but the one that really impressed me most which I was never really able to do was the Boogie Woogie, I think it was probably introduced to us by the Americans when they came over during the war. Some of my older readers will remember it and for them I say, sit back, turn up the sound, close your eyes, wallow in your memories and enjoy this! Incidentally, the piano player is Swiss.

Boogie Woogie is very popular in Switzerland especially in the Suisse Romande and Ticino. If you experience any trouble tapping your foot to the beat, you had better hurry and schedule an appointment with your physician.

Click here to see some real experts with fast feet and fingers!

Watch what his feet and knees are doing. Note that the top of his heard remains at a constant height ,no matter what his legs and feet are doing. The pianist from Switzerland, and plays some of the best Boogie Woogie anywhere. He is so BIG in the USA, that they hold a week-long Boogie Woogie contest every year and all the best players in the world are invited. In this video he is joined by 2 amazing dancers… The male dancer even has a haircut from the forties.

Do you think this is the time for a revival? It certainly beats aerobic classes and the latest craze, Simba dancing, But if you could keep up boogie Woogie, at anything like the pace at these two are going you will certainly get very fit indeed and were able to forget all about aerobic classes..