WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[Tizer]

The Somerset Levels has had man-made drainage since the Glastonbury abbey monks recovered land for growing crops 800 years ago (never miss a chance to make money, those monks - the bankers must be descended from them!). Drainage pumps are common here, lifting water into embanked rivers to be carried to the coast. Flood walls and banks are not possible, except in a few instances, because the backed up flood water damages agricultural land and threatens houses and businesses. They did build a wall about 10 years ago in an attempt to redirect water and prevent the local road flooding but it hasn't worked well - the water still finds a way round. Better to build a road above the water and let it flow away underneath. If too much water backs up it floods town centres upstream.

The projects would cost millions of pounds and be too expensive for local people to fund alone. The flood problem affects not only locals but has a knock-on effect on towns and the road has strategic importance as a route across the county for freight, emergency services and for tourists back and forth to Devon and Cornwall. If the M5 motorway is closed - which happens with increasing frequency - this road part of the re-directed traffic.

[Marilyn]

Ah...so you need bridges and fly-overs and sky hooks basically.
Would canals help?
Heard about a grass that has been developed that can hold incredible amounts of water. Used as lawn, it delays flooding. I know that there is a problem caused by everyone cementing their yards in uk and nowhere for water to seep. We are heading the same way. House blocks getting smaller and people trying to claw back car parking spaces in their front yards. Maybe they should encourage lawns and rain water tanks, and Swales...
( please don't think I am being glib. I saw footage of the flooding. Things were dire in places. But runoff from built up areas must be contributing)

[Tizer]

Last night we raised the issue of run-off from all the newly-built housing estates but the EA man said it was irrelevant in this largely rural area of the country. It represents only a tiny amount of the total water entering the rivers, and it's the rivers (lower downstream) that cause the flooding. And yet if you try to build a new house in the village the planners make a big fuss about having too much paving or not enough drainage!

[Stanley]

Maz is right of course, drainage is generally not upgraded to keep pace with increased run-off caused by development. This was found to be the main cause of the Carlisle floods about 18 months ago. It also applies to sewage, I remember a case where a small development had existed quite happily on the adequate sewer installed by the developer who built their small estate pre-war but another larger estate was built above them and connected into the existing sewer. Consequence was that the old drain couldn't cope and sewage bubbled up through the drains in the first development. I've experienced this myself when a new development was piped into the existing system. There is a limit to what existing sewers and drainage systems can deal with and the only cure is further investment. Problem is of course that the government is limited by funds and only reacts to the problems that make the most noise or have the greatest economic potential. One wonders what would happen if Tizer's problem was occurring in Westminster......

[PanBiker]

Yesterday of course but Angelina Jolie's elective double mastectomy surgery. Her actions in bringing this issue firmly into public perception due to her celebrity status is to be applauded. Her actions have raised the profile of genetic testing for potential hereditary carriers of the faulty BRCA1 and 2 genes which lead to a massively increased risk of developing breast or ovarian cancers. She is a very brave woman and has used her celebrity status well in her actions.

[Marilyn]

I was quite shocked to hear that in the general population ( that don't have increased risk factors due to family history), EVERY woman has a 12% chance of getting breast cancer.
That is 12 women out of every hundred.
That is way too high.
( either the reporter got their facts wrong or we have a real problem)
When you think of all the importance some folk attatch to having them a certain size or shape...how ridiculous is that in the big picture?
I am with Angelina. When they have done what they are designed to do...get rid if you are at that much risk.

[Stanley]

I agree with you Maz. Some of the most disturbing TV I have ever seen was wealthy mothers supporting spoiled children in their desire to have breast augmentation at an early age. It struck me at the time that this was in effect bad parenting and possibly child abuse.
The snow yesterday in many Midland areas...... Janet is in Derbyshire!
07:30. News coming in that BP is in trouble. You may remember that in 2010 in the middle of the Gulf Oil Spill I forecast the bleeding obvious that the only people who would come out of this well would be the lawyers. It's worse than even I suspected. Evidently, under the agreed scheme for BP paying compensation to firms damaged by the spill a process was set up that seems to have a flaw, the firms don't have to prove loss of profits but probable damage. The result of this is that it now becomes clear that the compensation costs are soaring and at the moment BP is in the US courts trying to get the rules revised. The general opinion is that this is unlikely to succeed and the consequence is that BP, once the most 'Blue Chip' investment on the market is losing credibility and there are even doubts as to whether it can survive. The big problem here for us ordinary mortals is that for many years BP was a favourite safe haven for pension fund capital and any problem there becomes a big problem for the investors. If they start to sell BP shares will plummet. Not a good outlook! See this LINK for the BBC report on the subject.

[Bruff]

Cancer is predominantly a disease of the old. As we are living longer, then all our chances of getting a cancer increase (there are of course many other risk factors, but this is a big one).

I think, though I may be wrong, currently all of us have a 1 in 3 chance of developing a cancer.

All I do is acknowledge this, drink sensibly, eat sensibly, don't smoke (but I was a smoker for 20 years), try and keep active, balance my life and toddle along to the annual 'well-man' clinic my GP surgery offers. Oh, and I keep my eye out for warning signs. Not really much more I can do.

Richard Broughton

[Tardis]

Very true, my dad is currently in Airedale ungoing his second treatment for bladder cancer (long term smoker) 75+

Non-malignant as far as I'm aware.

[Tardis]

The Library computers are finally to be upgraded so that some of the issues around Yahoo mail and other programs might be resolved

[Stanley]

Richard, I do the same, live moderately and eat well, all the defence I have....

It looks as though I have got my moderator status back......

[Tizer]

Maz, here's a table from the Cancer Research UK web site:

showing a lifetime risk of 1 in 8 which is about the same as 12%. But I've coincidentally just mentioned on another OG page that we are shown too many averages these days and not given enough explanation of their limitations. What we have to remember here is that this 12% is a calculated value for the `average woman'...who doesn't exist! Many women have a risk higher than 12% due to unfavourable genetic, diet and lifestyle factors. A substantial part of the risk is avoidable, so it's possible for women to lower their risk well below this average 12% value. For example the web site states: "Compared to lean (BMI 22.5-24.9) women, overweight post-menopausal women have a 10-20% increased risk of breast cancer, and obese post-menopausal women a 30% increase in risk. Women with a BMI under 22.5 have a 15% reduction in risk compared to women with a BMI of 22.5-24.9." Someone born with a `stout' body can't suddenly become a waif (unless they're starved!) but there's nevertheless a lot of people overweight simply through eating too much and they could decrease their risk if they ate less - in other words, follow Bruff's advice. If you can do so, including a lot of veg and fruit in your diet will make a big difference to cancer risk too. I can't do that due to my gut problems and it bothers me to see other folk who could eat loads of fruit and veg to improve their diet failing to do so.

[Marilyn]

Yes, but a 12% chance of getting breast cancer ( in women with no other risk factors) is not acceptable at all.
I find that quite shocking for natural grown anatomy!
Do men have a 12 % risk of testicular cancer simply because nature intended them to have testes?
(I have enough problems controlling my weight without factoring in the extra risk of breast cancer)

Angelina is now planning to have her ovaries removed.

[Stanley]

Tiz, good piece in this week's PE on the drainage of the Somerset Levels. Raises some knotty points! (Agri Brigade. Page 11.)
A major investigation covering five pages in the same issue. Examines the problem of the LLCs and shows how the UK is the world leader in shell companies for laundering money. ('Where there's muck there's brass plates) Well worth a read. Well researched and presented, makes a convincing case.

[Bruff]

Testicular cancer is an interesting one in that it predominantly affects adolescent boys and young men (and it is one if detected early that is very amenable to a full recovery). Self-examination campaigns focus on these groups, with the usual laughs around adolescent boys in particular having no problems with this activity. Once you hit your mid-30s and certainly beyond 40 (I think) the risk is very, very low indeed.

It's prostate cancer which you have to look out for then and for many men over say 75, is almost a lifestyle thing in that it's akin to dodgy knees. It's lived with and something else drags you off.

To some extent I wonder whether this is the case with breast cancer? The lifetime risk reflects the prevalence among more elderly women who live with it much as elderly men do with prostate cancer? I don't know, but I do know that either way, it's not a recipe for complacency. Perhaps more a recipe for a pragmatic appreciation of what the 1 in 12 lifetime risk reflects?

Richard Broughton

[Stanley]

Testicular or Scrotal cancer was once so prevalent amongst Mule Spinners it was known as 'Spinner's Cancer'. It was caused by the fine mist of oil thrown off by the rapidly revolving spindles at the front of the machine directly in line with the groin. See this LINK for a Wiki article on it.

[Stanley]

How warm the house was (the stove is still lit and on low all night).

[Bodger]

Do'nt try this at home, a scary demonstration of a saw safety device
http://www.thejournal.ie/saw-stop-inven ... 1-May2013/

[Thomo]

Much noise about a British schoolgirl drowning in an Egyptian swimming pool, had she been where should have been, it wouldn't have happened. The same applies to Madeline McCann's parents.

[Tardis]

The next round of the NHS begins

[Stanley]

Bodge, not for me! I knew a bloke that committed suicide by throwing himself on a large unguarded circular saw. It worked and yes, he wasn't wired up like us!
My day was made by a visit from Daughter Susan..... We had a good gossip about the family....
I keep meaning to mention that the William Hill Organisation have applied for a gambling license and planning permission to convert the olf HSBC bank into a betting shop. Sad comment on our times, from bank to gambling, or perhaps there isn't that much difference these days. When do we get our first pay-day loan company in Barlick? Lending and gambling seem to be growth areas.
A single lottery ticket bought in Florida has won $590 million. This is a mad mad world.
News item. 'Man admitted to hospital with an enlarged prostitute' I'll leave your imagination to deal with that one!

[Stanley]

What used to be The Occasion, then Bontoft's opticians, is poised to become a frozen yoghurt bar. Can't see that replacing hot bacon butties given our weather!

[Marilyn]

I realised things have been a bit busy of late when had to stand and think if today was Monday or Tuesday!

[Stanley]

Maz, I lose track frequently, switching the computer on sets me straight!

[Cathy]

I miss not having the Random Photo's up on the scr een. I saved '6 Back Colne Road' on the old site (and many more) and into my computer favourites, and they are all gone What to do, what to do ??