Aaah, some warmth at last. It’s 35degC today and was 37deg yesterday. Whacko, summer is here, and right on time. Even though it’s only 30 November (I usually switch on 1 December), I had my first cold shower of the summer this morning. Aaaah, lovely.

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The headline refers to my pain. It’s still here, and as bad as ever, but my wails to the GP seem to have reached the ears of the pain specialist. He actually phoned me at home on Friday. Wow.

What he said was that the CAT scan and the MRI scan show there is nothing to worry about – there are no tumours, no cancer, nothing sinister as doctors say. Phew!! That’s a relief.

He could see where I’d broken a couple of ribs in the past and I said, “Yeah, about 15 years ago, at a guess.” It was at the old (Trigg) house where I had two hard falls. The first was when I slipped on wet leaves on the downward sloping concrete path to the workshop in winter. Yow! I remember that one. The second was a similar fall near the front of the house. In both cases, I knew I’d cracked a rib or two, but I didn’t do anything about it because, well, whatcha gonna do? You can’t put a bandage on it.

Anyway, the pain doctor says he thinks it’s a nerve problem and offered ‘nerve block’. Would I like that? I don’t know what it is and I’m not sure I’m comfortable with it, but the pain is bad enough that I’ll consider anything. I haven’t heard anything further as yet.

What I don’t understand is why analgesics don’t work. I’ve tried paracetamol, Panadeine Forte (paracetamol + codeine), tepantadol and oxycontin. None of them works. Bloody hell, what do I have to do? Why?

Anyway, I’m getting used to it to a certain extent – a constant nagging pain at one specific location in my left chest, with sharp (!!) jabbing pains around under my left arm and into my back, with similar jabs around the front of my chest and upper abdomen.

As well as this, I get severe peripheral neuropathic pains in my feet and toes. My feet ache constantly.

On top of that, I’ve had painful pees for many months and I’ve just completed a week long course of antibiotic to try to kill off any bladder bacteria. As well as making me pee razor blades, I feel weak, tired, achey like the ‘flu.

I don’t think the antibiotic has fixed it. I’ll have to wait until Friday to have another urine test to see whether the bug is fixed.

Sigh. This ain’t fun.

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It’s Bring Out Your Dead week around here, meaning the annual bulk rubbish collection.

I can’t believe the amount of stuff that people pile up on the verges to be taken away. Whole fake leather lounge suites are one of the most common items, with outdoor tables and chairs a close second. Whole stainless steel barbecues! Washing machines and fridges. Folding tables. Beds. No-one seems to look after their stuff, or fix anything. They’d rather just throw it out and replace it. I even saw a flat screen TV the other day. The days of being an electronics or electrical service person are long gone. If you charge what it costs to fix anything, customers won’t want to pay it.That’s assuming you can get the parts.

Anyway, I put a small amount of stuff out, including a small Coles shopping trolley I’ve had for a few years. It held some “good” junk that I had held onto, computer cables and plugs and sockets, but I realised that once it’s gone, I don’t even remember what it was.

I’m addicted to buying magazines and for many years I’ve just put them in piles on my bookshelves. But I’ve realised that, again, I never look at them and don’t even know what I’ve got. Out! Out!

Unfortunately, they are not wanted for recycling apparently because the glossy paper is not suitable to break down. So, into the land-fill bin. What a waste. A few years ago I was able to get rid of a lot of them to the doctor and pharmacy waiting rooms, but come the pandemic, they won’t take them any more. What a pity, because I was getting appreciative comments that the patrons liked them and were taking them home and wanted more.

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I came across the word Livery the other day, meaning the decorative lines and colours and symbols and scripts on cars, buses, trains and aircraft. That’s where I read it, meaning the way aircraft are painted and the decorations and symbols on the fuselage and tail. Using the trusty etymological dictionary https://www.etymonline.com I found this:

c. 1300, “household allowance of any kind (food, provisions, clothing) to retainers or servants,” from Anglo-French livere (late 13c.; Old French liveree, Modern French livrée), “allowance, ration, pay,” originally “(clothes) delivered by a master to his retinue,” from fem. past participle of livrer “to dispense, deliver, hand over,” from Latin liberare “to set free” (see liberate).

The sense later was reduced to “servants’ rations” and “provender for horses” (mid-15c.). The former led to the meaning “distinctive clothing given to servants” (early 14c.); the latter now is obsolete, unless livery stable (1705) survives. Related: Liveried.

It’s hard to see how the modern usage of decorative colours, lines, patterns and symbols is a derivation. It’s strange. I don’t know the answer.

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Ugh! It’s one thing after another. For no apparent reason, my left lower back and hip suddenly started hurting this morning, and now I’m hobbling and in pain. This is on top of the left chest/abdomen pain, which is still stabbing me, right now.

I was thinking of a lunch meetup with a friend on Friday, but he’s messaged me to say his wife has come down with COVID (tested positive on a RAT test and is feeling unwell), so I’m a bit relieved that I won’t have to go out.

On the other hand, I have a doctor’s appointment at midday, so I have to go out anyway. Ouch. I hope it will improve by then.