New Blog Title...New Start

It's been all go in the Aginoth Household this last week or so.

Firstly, and at long long last I have won my seemingly endless battle with my employer to be retired on medical grounds. I have in my possession now the Certificate signed by the Ministry of Defence Medical Advisor that I am permanently unable to work for the MoD due to Psoriatic Arthropy (Arthitis).

Offically my last day of employment will probably be 30th November 2007, but I am still torteceive confirmation. So I have today been filling in the forms to claim on my Life Insurance which with great presence of forthought on our part includes critical illness cover for permanent disability certified by an employers medical advisor. With my pension lump sum that means we should hopefully be able to pay of a very large chunk of our mortgage before too much longer, and clear all of our other debts. This will leave us clear to move house early next year to somewhere a bit easer for me to get around now my joints are getting worse (our current house is 3 stories high and I rarely go to the top floor now).

Second. Mrs.A won a car !!! OK so it's a quadricycle really, a REVA G-wiz, and totally impractical for any real use where we live due to Somerset being Mainly Rural and populated by Cows and Sheep. So it's getting deliverd to my mother in law's house in London where it will allow the commuter we sell it to to travel for free into the congestion zone, and be able to park for free in Westminster (I hear Boris Johnson has one!)
Small isn't it?

More details on it here if you are interested. She won it on a webite called My Offers! which is full of competitions every month.

Third. I should finally receive some pay this month, I have been off sick since March, but have not actually been paid any Sick Pay since the end of June, despite my employer agreeing to pay me as if I was receiving my pension already, as you might imagine after nearly 4 months finances are a little stretched to say the least. I am watching my Bank account avidly for the money.

Fourth. Life changing time, I have started my application to study BA Archaeology and Medieval History at Cardiff University from September 2008. I have to do something with all this spare time I have now I am retired, and as I will be receiving my pension we can afford for me to go back to University, this time to study something I'm interested in for myself and not for work.

Fifth. I know I have been neglecting my blog over recent months and I will try to do better ... honest... no I will... probably :o)

PS did you notice The name of the blog changed :o)

Slacker

Sat at home, signed off for 2 weeks again, wrists are sore and ankles (Arthritis) they flared after a nasty little head cold earlier this week, on top of that i have a couple of minor infections that need Antibiotics...same old same old.

so whilst avoiding the dreary world that is daytime TV, and not really able to do a lot of DiY or sewing to prepare for the next re-enactment season I found myself time to read, yes I am restricting my time playing Eve too atm.

Currently reading Blood, Sweat and Tea by Tom Reynolds of Random Acts of Reality Blog Fame. I've read his blog for a couple of years and got the book of the best of his blog entries for Xmas.

It's a damned good read, especially good as I am already familiar with a lot of the entries, it's interesting to see them laid out in this format, i'm not pedantic enough to go scan his blog to see if anything has been edited, or which entries were omitted; but I would recommend this book to anyone as an insight into the way in which these ambulance folk serve us all and the crap they have to put up with, most notably from unecessary 999 calls.

Oh and go read Tom's Blog.....then buy his book.

What else is going on, been to the Dermatologist this morning for a review of my expensive psoriasis drugs, the Primary Care Trust agreed funding runs out in 2 months time and the Derm is now begining to make my case for continued funding (£9k per year). Enbrel is the only drug in 11 years of Psoriasis that has ever worked for a prolonged period and I am a little concerned that the funding won't be renewed in light of current NHS spending caps, I'm probably worrying over nothing, after all the medical experts think i should keep taking it, but there is just a smidge of a worry the bean-counters won't agree.

I'm still waiting to see if I am going to be medically retired from work; caught sight of a letter from my employer to my Rheumatologist in my notes this morning asking for a written report on me, and I know they should have also have written to my GP (Family Doctor). I saw my GP, Yesterday and he agreed to support my being medically retired when he is asked for a report, so that's good.

I just wish they'd get a move on so many possible future plans to sort out, but no basis in reality to get things moving. Stuck in Limbo at the moment.