Adverse conditions

After very heavy rain Thursday night, I walked down to Blackweir Bridge to inspect the river level and found that it was a few inches short of overflowing on to the path and still rising. There was more rain during Friday and I got very wet, with soaked shoes, despite wearing my new rain jacket and rain trousers. It was a struggle to make my daily mileage target.

I received a letter from First Minister Mark Drakeford AM in response to mine sent to him on 4th February. His response merely re-iterated information I have already received from the Patient Care Co-ordinator, nothing more. My really essential question to the Welsh government about the way patients are kept waiting for treatment is why it's impossible to get any more than a minimum of general information. I will write to him again.

In any other public service with a waiting list, clients are given a ticket and there's an information display which indicates where they are in a queue. If managing the queue is halted for any reason, an explanation my be offered. Keeping people in the dark causes anxiety and doesn't generate good-will. Coronavirus experts are saying how it's the the public's benefit to give as much information as possible and treat people as if they can handle this responsibly as it's in everyone's best interests. Too much power is being exercise with too little accountability by everyone in public service, and it's set to get worse, given the appalling behaviour of Boris Johnson's government.

We had supper at Stefano's Restaurant this evening. It's always a pleasant and sociable experience. We were saddened to learn that its' closing down at the beginning of May. The property, owned by the family has been given planning permission to be turned into a couple of flats. It will, in the long term provide them with a steady stable income for less effort. The family has done business in the property and catering sectors of the market for half a century with considerable success. I guess retirement must be on the cards for someone.

Repeat performance

I still haven't had a response from the hospital's surgical administrators to the query I raised ten days ago about the strange date for my interim outpatient appointment, ten weeks instead of four weeks after my operation. Neither has our GP surgery practice manager. So, yesterday, on her advice I rang the number of an office of the Cardiff and Vale Community Health Council, which offers support to patients in sorting out appointment concerns.

I spoke to a sympathetic lady called Donna who made notes on the story I told her and promised to get in touch with those responsible, and find out what is meant to be happening. 

There was no further contact from her at the end of the afternoon - typical Friday afternoon I guess, and there was nothing in the mail and no phone call today. We'll see what Monday brings. The same office helps people to make official complaints to the Local Health Board, and if this isn't sorted out in the coming week, in time for the outpatient appointment I was promised, this is the path I will take. It seems that however excellent the medical, surgical or nursing service that's offered, the managing of it all is chaotic, inefficient and error prone. And to think of the money spent on paying the elite few to oversee and support the front line teams!

Anyway, this evening, we went to the Millennium Centre for the WNO's performance of the third of Donizetti's Tudor cycle of operas 'Roberto Devereux'. It was the same production was we last saw on 6th October 2013, with a different cast of excellent singers, but still with Carlo Rizzi conducting. He's a great favourite with audience. It was only as the opera progressed that I realised that I had seen it before. The music and its performance were wonderful, but there are no memorable popular arias to establish it in the long term memory. I appreciate the sheer virtuosity in 'bel canto' operas, but this doesn't imprint itself upon me emotionally. The drab production was forgettable too. Looking back at what I wrote after last seeing this, my opinion hasn't changed.

The best part about the evening was bumping into Fr Hywel Davies in the foyer beforehand. He had been given four free tickets for the performance, and had invited Diana, Pete and Val, all of who we know. We had time for a snack supper together and a natter before the performance. Diana offered us a lift home by text, but as our phones were off, we didn't pick up the message until we were on the bus heading to the city centre. If fact, we were lucky to get a bus which left just minutes after we arrived at the stop, saving us a half hour wait. LIkewise in Westgate Street, where we took a 17 to Canton Cross and walked. We were back home, forty minutes after the performance. I wonder how long it took to retrieve cars and drive the same distance? I must remember to ask.