Bring on the trumpets! Apparently.

Thanks to all those who stopped by and left well wishes. I can honestly say I haven't felt so awfully ill in a long looooong time. I am much improved though still far from well, weak as a kitten and still having difficulty breathing properly and that darned cough is still here. I've been coughing for over a month now and the novelty has worn off somewhat shall we say. Enough for me to go back to the doctors next week if needs be despite really hating going anywhere near anything medical. And this time I will refuse to see Dr. Deaf if they give me an appointment with him.

Anyway, I am still working on a post from my trip to Edinburgh (there will be a couple eventually, I promise), but in the meantime I thought I would leave you with this little video. It's an advert for some very tasty natural sweeties that have recently been launched in the UK. It just tickled me is all. The humour is right off the wall and right up my alley :)

Doctor Deaf

I didn't take this advice. Bob seemed unwilling and quite frankly his fur tickles my nose so I stuck to regular tissues despite getting through a box a day for the past couple of days. Of course it has to be the aloe balm ones as my nose is sore enough as it is, a sure sign that the 'slime monster' has come back for another party bash in my head. This time he has bought reinforcements in the shape of Headache Horace, Achey Al, Temperature Teena and Coughin' Colin. Actually, Colin was already here, I guess he never really left when I was ill this time last month. It appears that my bronchi are inflamed somewhat and this is playing merry hell with my asthma and I'm wheezing like a pair of old bellows.

All this prompted a return visit to the doctors which is somewhere I hate to go. I've never been fond of medical people due to a couple of negative experiences when I was younger, including one when I was getting headaches nearly everyday only to have the doctor write 'HYPOCHONDRIAC' on my notes. I know that he wrote this as years later I took a look and saw it there in capital letters. The thing is, soon after he wrote this I was eventually diagnosed with migraines.

The doctor I saw this week reminded me of that doctor. I tried to explain that I have had a cough for about a month, and that I had just got much worse but he was not listening. He had read on my notes that I have asthma and that was all he could hear. I tried to explain that I no longer considered myself asthmatic as it never bothers me unless I am ill but all he would do was say my asthma was playing up. I then asked if I could have an airomir inhaler as it's difficult for me to use a normal one at the moment. He refused saying they were too expensive (why do I pay my National Insurance contributions?). I left feeling very frustrated and discontented with the whole experience.

So here I am, off work and pretty much sofa/bed bound. I am bored beyond belief but my head hurts if I use the computer too much. I am working on an Edinburgh post at the moment which I hope to have finished soon, meanwhile I have a photo of an orangutan on my photoblog if you feel like taking a look.

Sir Penguin

Nils Olav II inspecting the troops - Edinburgh Zoo

When I visited Edinburgh Zoo in June I had no idea I was in the presence of a famous and high ranking military King Penguin called Nils Olav II. Nils (to his friends) was knighted on 15th August having previously carried the rank of colonel-in-chief. Nils has been promoted each time the Norwegian Kings Guard visit the zoo when they attend the Edinburgh Military Tattoo and Nils is the first penguin to be Knighted which is approved by the King himself. A video of the ceremony which was held at Edinburgh zoo can be seen *here*.

This all came about when a lieutenant called Nils Egelien became interested in Edinburgh Zoo's penguin colony when he attended the Tattoo in 1961. When the Guards once again returned to Edinburgh in 1972, he arranged for the unit to adopt a penguin which was named Nils Olav in honour of Nils Egelien and King Olav V of Norway. The new recruit was given the rank of lance corporal and has been promoted each time the King's Guard has returned to the Tattoo. The original Nils Olav died shortly after his promotion to sergeant, and his place of honour was taken by Nils Olav II. You can hear more about Nils and this bizarre but endearing relationship as a mascot for the Norwegian Kings Guard *here* which is a broadcast from the BBC Today Programme.

The photo above is a picture I took of the King penguins when I visited the zoo. The penguins are let out of their pen every day for a voluntary walk which is a huge attraction. I have no idea if one of them is Nils or not but they all had a military bearing, walking regally along the path taking in the admiration of the crowds. Well, they are King penguins after all!

I will announce the winner of the 'Whose Bedroom' competition soon :)

Whose Bedroom?

So... I am still coughing. It's gradually fading away and I am coughing less but the wet weather we are having at the moment has made it worse and if I try and do any exercise I end up having a huge coughing fit so I have had to slow down somewhat :(

I've not done anything exciting lately due to a combination of the coughing and the wet weather. Work is going well. I'm starting to find my feet a little though there is so much to learn. I often come home tired because there is so much to take in. I had some bad news this week. For some reason my Personal appraisal wasn't assigned to one of the panels to be assessed for a bonus. This means that I won't get anything this month when bonus payments are made and I will have to wait an extra month to find out. I should get the basic bonus as I meet these criteria at least, but after the extra responsibility and work I took on when my boss was sick for months I feel I am due a bigger pat on the back. I don't normally like to blow my own trumpet but I deserve it this time even if I do say so myself. It would be nice if my organisation recognised this too.

Anyway, as I haven't got anything exciting to tell you I thought I would share a couple of photo's from my Edinburgh break back in June and pose a question:

Whose bedroom was this?

It is preserved exactly as it would have looked while it was in use with the original furniture. I'm not sure how easy or difficult this will be, but I hope it will be fun. I will draw a name at random from the correct guesses and send that person a handwritten post card from me with a pretty picture of somewhere in the UK. Probably a castle 'cause I like them. So get guessing and try and guess before you read other comments which may either give the game away or lead you astray :) I am working on a post about my break in Edinburgh which I hope will be coming to this blog soon...

Update

That picture about sums it up for me. These past two weeks I have had such low energy levels since I was ill and my new job seems to suck any energy I have left from me so that by the end of the day it's all I can do to flop onto the sofa. Despite a course of antibiotics, I am still plagued with a really annoying cough too, though thank goodness the slime monster that was inhabiting my head has now vacated the premises. Looks like I will have to go back to the Doctor's if this cough doesn't get better soon though. I'm hoping they'll prescribe a good looking man to rub lineament on my chest...

The new job is going okay though... so far so good... It's a really busy area and now I have been there 4 weeks I am regarded as an expert despite the fact that it takes a good few months to get your feet under the table properly and rediscover the comfort zone. Luckily I'm good at winging it and picking things up as there is so much to learn!

When I rediscover some energy I will post something more interesting. In the mean time you are welcome to drop by my photoblog and check out the cool otter I met while in Edinburgh.