Philip (Phil) England

I was standing in the kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil, with my walking stick in hand, looking out the window, I had a feeling of emptiness as I stood. I made my tea, went out in to the hall, cuppa in hand, sat on the sofa feeling down, until Smokie jumped up and meowed at me then started purring - bless him. I have a friend, Su, who has lost her cat Minnie. Seems she may have wandered off, but I have noticed a number of black cats that have gone missing lately around Swansea. I have been talking to Smokie, and thinking. I do think Smokie needs to be with her. At Su's Smokie can go outside to frolic in the 🌞 sun and be company for her.  While it pains me to have to give him up, I feel it will be best for him in the long run. He has his toys and his boxes what would go with him, with familiar smells on them, I could still spoil him lots.  I think I need a dog so I have a reason for going out and get gentle exercise. I have tried twice to put Smokie on a harness, wasn't a

So the plan for Wales to come out of its mothballs / box / bubble wrap / cold storage / lockdown is as follows, with my own views in brackets and itallics Here are some key dates: March 13: Stay at home requirement lifted - Five mile rule comes in  ( basically what I am doing now in my support bubble) March 15: Hairdressers reopen and more pupils back in school  ( I do my own hair, don't have kids, but at least less stress for parents ) March 22: Supermarkets can sell non-essential items ( while a good thing, I think other shops should also open... or it's not fair ) March 27: You can travel anywhere in Wales  ( so excited about this one... long drives ahead! - while this is a great thing to happen, no one from other parts of the UK will be able to come in to Wales, and no one from Wales can go outside of Wales ) April 12: All shops can reopen and all pupils return to schools  ( all shops should open on March 22nd ) Mid to late April: Wales is considering reopening some outdoor

So, Saturday I had the first part of the Covid vaccine . I had the Oxford AstraZeneca one. Don't get me wrong, I am over joyed to have been called up for it, but the side effects since are not too good, but as people keep telling me, "it's a sign it is working", geee, thanks for that! Before I go any further I want to say a massive thank you to AstraZeneca and also the University of Oxford, and the Swansea Bay NHS health board for getting this out. During yesterday afternoon my arm started hurting and then I started feeling as if I had a head cold coming on. Later in the evening my mind got a bit foggy. Day two since first part of vaccine jab,  I was woken at about 5am this morning. Feeling worse,  , woke up in a pool of sweat, and somehow managed to squash my pillow up and out of its pillowcase in the night. The sweat I could have done without, it was horrible waking up to that, when all I wanted to do was stay in bed, waking up in sweat just made me have to get up s

Mental Health and the Pandemic https://youtu.be/odDr7lTplJc via @YouTube In this video I talk about Mental Health and the Pandemic, with a video from Mind, the mental health charity and some information slides at the end. Take care, stay safe

Phil's Video Blog 180 , view it at https://youtu.be/kpPE3A8lWsQ This video blog it's a MARS SPECIAL . To start I tell you about the covid test I have been asked to get via email from the Zoe C-19 app. The rover touched down on the red planet, and is sending back footage. Witness the moment when it touched down, and the moment the first picture came in. See more footage that the Mars rover is sending back at https://youtu.be/6B_6K-splRU #StaySafe​

Started off not too bed, was sick with pain though, that soon passed, but as the day has gone on I have been feeling more and more pain in my neck, shoulders and top part of back, feeling sick again with the pain. It really knocks me for six when I get pain sometimes, its like I been hit with a sledge hammer. My cat even seems to pick up on how I am feeling. Any one else get pain like this? Please share your experiences here, thank you 

I read on a friend's Facebook wall that "life as we know it ended last March, and will never be the same again", this is a negative way of looking at it. I want to shake my world up, get things sorted health wise so I can claw my life back and start doing long walks again, hence why I'm looking towards India for their health care Life as we know it may have ended, but soon enough with the vaccine and science life will be back, and may be better than before.  This time has given us all time to look at our lives and take stock. I did an online journalism course and got a pass grade, bettering my self in the process. Look to the future, life is what you make it. Learn something while we are all restricted, better yourself for your future. The future is yet to come, make it a positive bright one. Things seem gloomy right now, but that will change, the cloud cover will clear. As George Burns said 'I look to the future because that's where I'm going to spend the

Been watching The Real Marigold Hotel on BBC iPlayer, where 8 senior citizens go to India to see if they could retire out there, or at the very least, see if they can get their health issues sorted out. It got me thinking if I should look in to treatment elsewhere in the world to get my problems sorted out, as it seems I have fallen down in to the cracks of the NHS system as things are not bad enough to go in and fix just yet, and one injection I am on has stopped Ankylosing Spondylitis it in its tracks but its not making it get better, yet its not bad enough to go in and fix. My neck has problems as well that needs looking at, spinal cord damage apparently. I also have issues with both my knees and my left hip and leg in between. Going to somewhere like India has to be an option, I can't keep living between the gaps of a system, being a drain on the NHS for my medication month after month, year after year, it is no way to live. If I went private in the UK it would cost thousands,

I have been living with mental health issues for too many years to remember. A few years ago I was put on anti depressants at a low dose, which helped. Back in March last year when the whole UK was thrown in to lockdown it felt like the end for me. I was cut off from all my friends I had relied on for support, both mental and physical. With various measures in place in Wales, things started to play on my mind. With a stubborn Father, who kept going out for long drives to goodness knows where, my mental anguish and state of mind really took a wallop.  I was on the verge of a mental meltdown. I found myself crying on the phone to my sister. She phoned our Father, who then phoned me. I pleaded with him to stay close to home, and travel no further than 5 miles away, which when I told him about my mental state of mind, he was happy to do. Shortly after this, my medication us increased, which was something I didn't really want, but knew it was needed. Living with mental health is one thi

H ave you seen this? https ://tinyurl.com/y4vawqgy The first person in the world has received the Covid-19 vaccine, right here in an NHS hospital in Coventry. 90 year old Margaret Keenan is all over the papers and on social media. It’s a momentous day - and the news we’ve all been waiting for. Today marks the first step on the journey to protecting all of us from Coronavirus. And while the consequences of this pandemic will be felt by many of us for years to come, today - thanks to scientists and our NHS - the end could finally be in sight. We know that the vaccination programme will better protect ourselves and our loved ones - and get our country back on its feet - if all of us get vaccinated when our turn comes. There are hundreds of thousands of us reading this today - and there’s one thing we can all do to help. Will you let your friends and family know you’ll be getting vaccinated when it’s your turn? When you click on the button you’ll be taken to a page where you can share your