Alan Stubbs

I fully agree. Liverpool is very lucky to have the A & E at the Royal and the Heart & Chest Hospital. Use of the words 'Please' and 'Thank You' seemed to generate highly positive results, as I have found in most places. These guys took the meaning of the word 'care' to a new level - bearing in mind it's an area I understand extremely well.

Ryan Bertrand of Chelsea withdrew from the England squad to play against San marino with a sore throat. What I want to know is, can Paul Wood can still make 'wood'?

It was a year ago yesterday that I signed a consent form for a triple bypass - Ironically to cure the same thing that killed my father on the very same day 8 years previously. The sugery was on 19th October and I was back at work on 3rd January. The NHS has its detractors, but I can't thank them enough for the care they gave me. There are people queueing up to finish their training at the Heart and Chest hospital in Broadgreen, Liverpool. I can fully understand why.

Nobody should die in the course of doing their job.... not even a soldier in a battle zone. This is really gang warfare gone way too far. I gather he had two armed officers alongside when he was in the dock this morning. I admire their restraint.

On the other hand, the much vaunted map feature is pathetic.... Leamington Spa is listed as 'Royal Spa' and is located where Daventry is. Shakespeare's birthplace is wrongly located, and according to the map, Woolworth still have a store open. How clever. Another triumph of hype over content.

I'll give you £20 for the other one.

There's no harm in bishops having a say, we don't have to listen. The C of E has offered such poor leadership over the last 45 years or so it amazes me that people still listen. They're talking about not capping benefits at £26k, which isn't a surprise as the maximum stipend for a vicar is £22,000.

What colour are its legs and bill? If they're red, it's a chough...very coastal... otherwise I'm sure from the description it's a raven.

I resigned from the RSPB after 40 years after I became annoyed at the constant self interest masquerading as conservation. The only conservation the RSPB has a mandate for is birdlife and that is what they do - although their methods are frequently dressed up to be somewhat wider. If they were genuinely interested in the full 'conservation schtick' they'd look at fishing in a more fair-minded way.

A beautiful summation of a wonderful lady. I was having an emotionally strained day when she called. She promptly deflected my issues and talked openly and in depth of her health issues. It is a special kind of friend who does that.... I got very upset when people chose to have a go at Jan, simply for being Mrs Newt. Sometimes Jan and I had divergent opinions, but such was the lady's inner beauty, we always reconciled these by explaining our respective rationale and remained forever friends. May Newt find solace in the knowledge that Jan was treasured as a friend by many, many people.

I had a few days back in hospital at the start of the week. Gastritis and aggravated gallstones. This is trivial in the scheme of things after Elton called me this morning. My entire thought process is focussed on Newt and his family.

I spent 25 minted looking for my glasses the other day. You know, the ones I was wearing! D'uh!

It takes a lot for me to rant..... Woman got into her car as I was crossing the road on a crossing. No indication and reversed across the crossing and around a corner. The words 'Blind, braindead f*ckwit' were uttered. With feeling. Apparently, I should have looked where I was going. I was within an inch of being hit by her..... in fact, my hand print forms the dent on her boot. I wanted it in her face...with a passion....but it's against my moral principals. She had a woman and child sat on woman's lap in the front passenger seat of the car. Nice.

Since the op, my attention span is shorter than a scene from a US sitcom, Phone. I'm in the same boat.

Thanks all. Minor setback yesterday. Got up to go to the newsagent, but forgot to allow time for my b/p to stabilise. Got outside and fainted. Twice. I was terrified for the girls, but with help they got me up off the floor and back into bed. This morning, I set the alarm for my meds and breakfast and sat on the edge of the bed for 20 minutes. Felt much better and walked to the newsagent, the coffee shop and a friend who's 40 today. I sat and laughed for a couple of hours and his wife drove me home. All in all a good day. Small daily steps add up. Tomorrow a necessary trip into Liverpool One. Scary!

Thanks to everyone for their good wishes. 8 days and 5 bypass grafts later, I am home recuperating. Well, OK, I did walk to the local newsagent and coffee shop and back earlier. From the outset, I want to say that we in the North West are lucky ot have a facility like the Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital to call upon. The work these people do is little short of outstanding and they genuinely care about the little things that make a difference in additiion to the basics. The NHS takes mch abuse, but I will always maintain that it sets the benchmark for overall healthcare. My GP aside - who is at best a deaf, semi-literate buffoon, I have had care at the hands of the Rotal Liverpool and the LCHC trusts which was phenomenally good. from first presenting with a suspected heart attack to transfer to the LCHC was 3 weeks. At the Pre-op assessment, Mr Darryl Cheung said 'When do you want it done?' 'I've been off work for 6 weeks and I'm bored with the limitation of mobility....' 'Fair enough. How about next week - come in Thursday and we'll do it Friday morning.' As it turned out I had a call on the Tuesday and they said, 'We've got a theatre slot available...it's yours if you come in at 2 today and we'll do it tomorrow afternoon'. Sorry to labour the point, but the selling point to me sa talking to a staff nurse oing the pre-op tests who said she had the heart and kidneys of a young scots lad. She'd had a heart and kidney transplant the year before in the same hospital with my consultant. A hell of an incwentive, don't you thnk? What I will say to you all as a bit of an evangelist.... dont ignore chest pains - go to the A&E. Secondly, learn to eat sensibly and listen to yur body. I've been very lucky and don't weant to waste the second or third chance. OK, I didn't want to be preachy, but like the newly non-smoker - or even Elton and his giving up the booze, I feel I speak from A) experience and care for my fellow man - care for your body an watch your diet. Thanks for allowing me to write this. Alan

Well, this time last week I was feeling very rough, less than 24 hours after the start of what transpired to be 7 hours' surgery and 5 hour's on ventilation afterwards. Today I got myself out of bed (it hurt) without help. Showered myself, dressed, had lunch and am waiting for the pharmacist before being allowed home. I climbed two flights of stairs without having to pause. A first for over two years. Thanks to all those on AN for their support and encouragement - especially Elton, the Vail's, Rob Ward, Rob Stubbs (and Imogen!) and Adam Humphries. Thanks to you all for making the site what it is.... A brilliant resource. Just in case you missed the point, I'm home today!

Thanks all. Can't really feign surprise as I've got previous history in this area. It runs in my father's side of the family. That said, the engine needing new fuel lines has come as a bit of a shock. Still, I've already been making plans to be on the river and canal by March, and the lakes earlier.... much to Bernadette's pleasure. Oh yes, my better half likes me when I'm fishing...she calls it 'joining the hman race!'

Not been online much lately, here. Been a guest of the local hospital. Had a small heart attack on 5th September, and going back into hospital for a triple bypass. It's been good to keep in touch via the iPhone with a few of you, particularly Elton and Adam247, the Burgess Brothers and our resident nurse, the lovely Judy. I reckon it'll be mid-November before I'm able to post regularly. In the meantime, keep the good work going!

Richard Cranium..... if it wasn't so pathetic, I'd laugh fit to burst!

I use a gate needle, it works just as well and you can thus cut down on the stuff you take with you.

I'd suggest that metaphorically speaking, he is still a damned sight younger than I fell this week!

I thought stret-pegging was a style of fishing over-depth, but shot to give minimum initial resistance when the bait is taken. To me, 'holding back' was something I did as an integral part of trotting. Confusing, this fishing stuff!

It's very satisfying that what got me excited appears to have got people talking and teaching. Thanks everyone.