Ghost Hunting

As you may know from earlier blog posts, I love ghosts and the thought of the spirit world being all around us. I am also a bit of a family history geek and love researching the past from a family perspective, not learning loads of dates and facts that history classes were famous for.

I had the perfect opportunity to explore both on Friday. A student we have on placement at the school spoke to me at lunch in the staffroom on Friday asking if we had historic records for pupils going back many years. We are an old Victorian school which opened its doors to the city in 1892 and are lucky to have all the original school documents, log books and registers going back to the opening day. Amazingly, over 560 boys registered for the school on it's opening day in 1892.

Anyways, back to the story .... She (the student) had been to visit a medium with her mum the night before and had been gobsmacked at the information that the medium had shared. A great deal of it was personal information that very few knew about and this made her a little freaked out! The medium then interrupted to say that a young boy was trying to pass a message and then started to give loads of details about my school and it's past etc etc.

This young lad was called Daniel whose surname started with a W, and he apparently loved school and loved being in our school when he was a pupil. He hated the huge, heavy wooden doors but was really happy there and remains in the school to this day. He apparently died at the age of 12. He follows the student around the school at the moment, looking after her, and was telling the medium about incidents that had happened during her placement.

She was a little worried about this now because the medium had come up with this boys name which made things a little too real for her.

I jumped at the chance to investigate and after school on Friday we started to look through the original registration documents for all the children. We came across one pupil called Daniel whose surname started with a W. He was born on the 19th of June 1894.

Then came my family history enthusiasm! I have been searching the online documents and census information to find the boy and have currently drawn a blank!!! I am so disappointed and if truth be known, a little jealous of the student. I know that sounds a bit weird, but I love the thought of the spirit world and would love to think that a child from the schools past, who loved school, was looking after me when I was in the building.

I have many more school records to trawl through on the hunt for Daniel as this register only goes as far as 1912. I'll let you know if I find him :o)

Was needing a laugh

I was needing a laugh and logged into YouTube. I came up with these funny commercials:



She has a wicked sense of humour just like myself lol



These guys are just helping each other out in a difficult situation. Who says men can't multi-task!! pmsl



filthy minded buggers is all I will say on the matter !!!!!

PS - "McTavish" update - he is out of intensive care and HDU and is now on a ward. Things aint brilliant but his kidneys have started functioning again. Worried about liver function at the moment but he's getting there ;o) Thanks for all messages and emails xxxxxxxxxxxx

Awful week and worse weekend!

After making such a great recovery from major surgery, and with things looking all rosey and bright, things started to take a turn for the worse!

Dad was doing so well and looking so well in HDU that the decision was made to take him to his side room on the ward to recover. Big mistake!!! Things started to go downhill and he was in great amounts of pain and discomfort. He worked through it and 2 days later was feeling better. I got a phone call the next day to tell me that he was back in HDU and things were looking bad. I didn't realise just how bad that actually was until Friday.

A txt came through on my mobile to tell me that Dad had been transferred from Perth HDU to Dundee Intensive Care Unit by ambulance, with emergency doctor with all lights and sirens blaring! Things were not right at all and he may need yet more surgery.

I was with Mum when we got a call about an hour later to say that he was in Intensive Care and was settling comfortably. I went to visit friends and about 30 minutes later, Mum phoned; the surgeon had called to say Dad had deteriorated drastically and could not wait any longer, he would have to operate immediately. We were assured that it was pointless making our way to Dundee again as he would be in theatre and be sedated until the morning.

Mum and my sister went to see him first thing yesterday and were pulled aside by the doctor when they arrived. He had had his gall bladder drained but because it had been so enlarged it had been pressing everything upwards inside Dad and his kidneys were not working. Huge amounts of toxins were in his bloodstream and the MRSA was highly active. It was at this point he told Mum and wee Sis that he might not survive and to expect the worse!

Mum called me and I called round the family and friends to let them know the situation. Tears streaming down my face and voice cracking .... it was tough ... and I wanted to be there for Mum so couldn't show how upset I actually was at the news. My brother is out in the Maldives at the moment but we decided he had to know and she called him.

I went in with Mum and Aunt today. I never thought I would say this but THANK GOD Dad is a stubborn git!!!!! LOL He had a really good night in Intensive Care and whilst we were there today he came off the ventillator and had the breathing tubes removed. He was just about to have 4 hours of dialysis to purify his blood as the kidneys are not working. This will continue as long as the kidneys take to work again, if they start again at all.

He is still in a critical condition and things have a VERY long way to get back to where they were only last week, but I was so relieved after seeing and speaking to him today. There are monitors and screens and wires and tubes everywhere but I know he is in the best place possible for him at the moment.

To cap things off, when I was visiting friends on Friday night (before all the phone calls) another friend arrived unannounced. He had just come from hospital in Glasgow (despite what it seems .... we are not all ill buggers up here LOL) with the news that after bleeding from his eyes and having had numerous tests and scans etc over a week in hospital, he has been told he has a tumour that cannot be operated on and has between 3 and 6 months to live! FFS .. WHAT THE FUCK HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE ALL OF THIS ??????? I just feel that my whole world is crashing around my ears at the moment. Famiy and friends are great and VERY supportive ... thankfully! I think I'd be a greetin' wreck if they weren't.

I apologise for not visiting and posting as much as normal and apologise for not chatting to those I normally spend hours talking to, I have been a little "short" with some folks and ... I just have one or two things on my mind :o) hahahaha ... if I didn't laugh I'd cry :o) xxxxxxxx

Flying the flag ....

I am almost embarrassed to admit .... but what the hell .... I have been watching ...



I tell myself every year that it is a load of tosh but I get hooked each time. Leon Jackson is the Scottish contingent on the show with a really unusual quality to his voice, a little like Paulo Nutini. Here's a wee clip ...



I think the guy has a fantastic voice but Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh have it in for Leon and he has little hope of going much further if he doesn't lose his nerves on stage.

I'll keep rooting for the lad :o)

Now I'll go and hide my face in shame at watching X Factor pmsl .. and blogging on it ffs!!!!!!!

the 'old man'

HUGE hugs and thanks for those asking for my dad and for the emails I have received .. much appreciated!!! XXXXXXXXXX mwah

I got a phone call on Sunday evening from my dad ... there was no real purpose for the call, he was calling my brothers, sister and I before he went into hospital and I later found out from my mum that he was in tears after the calls. He had decided that he was not coming back from the operating theatre alive! Mum, who was holding it together told me this later and I was in tears myself.

He went into theatre on Monday morning at 9.20am and I called the hospital at 4pm to see how he was recovering. I was a bit shocked and worried when they told me that he was STILL in the theatre. He got out at 6pm that night! I had visions of the surgeons opening their "piece box" and having their sandwiches and flasks of coffee in the middle of the operation lmao

The surgeons had said that everything went well but it was much more complicated than they had first thought and dad almost went into renal failure during the operation! FFS ... he doesn't like to do things by half!

I called the High Dependency Unit to get the latest and was greeted with a friendly nurse saying " *Scots* is that you?" [*insert any name you wish hahaha] It was a friend of mine from school who is looking after him :o) pmsl He couldn't be in better hands.

I went in this evening to see him after finishing work and had a right good blether. He was getting pretty emotional again when he was telling me that he thought he wasn't going to make it. This was a bit of a shocker for me as my dad has NEVER been the emotional type at all.

He is looking fantastic - if that is possible attached to lots of machines hahaha ... but the surgeons are really pleased and he is moving to his wee pvt room (the lucky bugger) probably tomorrow. He still has a long way to go but everything has been corrected and is all in working order again!

My mum has gotten so used to driving his car that he has decided that it would be too much hassle to get it back so he's going to have to buy another for himself hahahahahaha .... good on my mum!

She took great delight in calling his district nurses (who have been absolutely feckin amazing) to tell them that they can collect the 3 boxes of medical supplies from the house as he won't be needing them lol It will be strange not seeing them around as they have been visiting almost daily for the past few months :o)

I must confess that it was a HUGE relief to get the good news and to see how well he actually looks. It may sound a bit weird, but seeing him today, he looked more healthy than he has done for months - even though he is attached to so many machines etc at the moment.

Thanks again for the concern, messages and emails ... love you all loads XXXXXXXXX

Scottish

I was reading the great Scottish dictionary over at His Girl Fridays place and remembered about this corker ..



translations available :o)

Charity ...

... begins at home in my humble opinion!

The season of the charity collectors is upon us and everywhere I seem to go, the jingle of charity collection tins is ringing in the air. This annoys the hell out of me!!! I really don't know exactly why it irks me so much, but it does!

I don't mind the calls of "Big Issue, Sir?" as I walk down the street. I usually buy a copy and then tell the rest "no thanks, mate" in a polite way which seems to go down ok with the folks selling the magazine. But, tin shakers .... the glare and scowl from them as you walk past, jeez ... if looks could kill there would be a messy bloodbath outside M&S. Nuns! Nuns with collecting tins ... watch out ... not just a glare when you don't put your money in the tin, but I am sure they are having a word with the good Lord upstairs and placing a curse on you as well.

Now, I am not a scrooge and I do support a few charities. I actively support NCH Scotland, a fabulous charity raising money for kids. I support them so much that I was prepared to jump out of a perfectly good aeroplane (well, that is debatable) 2 miles up into the sky and skydive to raise money for them a couple of years ago and actively fundraise still.

What a day to remember that was! Up very early to drive to the airfield, do the safety stuff, get kitted out and wait for the weather to clear to get jumping. 2 jumpers were called and I was one of them. We went off to the hangar to have our final checks and then into the plane. Jeezo! The plane with no door and no seats!!!!!



It took 20 minutes to get to the right altitude to jump and everything was looking beautiful until the instructor of my fellow jumper told her to get into the doorway and prepare to jump. I watched as Gillian fell into the clouds below and knew it was my turn next.

I got into the doorway and waited for my instructor to push out of the door. We were off! OH MY GOD - the rush of adrenalin was amazing! We were falling to the ground, through the clouds at over 175mph. The noise was deafening. After falling for 10 000 feet it was time to pull the ripcord and hope to hell that the canopy would open! The fact that I am typing this lets you know that it did open :o)



The noise disappeared and everything was silent. I was able to look at the patchwork of fields below being crossed by roads and I was able to see the Ochil Hills that I see from my flat everyday, from above!

It took about 15 minutes to parachute the second 10 000ft and sadly it was all over. I was desperate to get right back on the plane and get up there to do it all again.



SO ... when I have people rattling charity collection tins in my face and asking for money I get very tempted to ask them if they would do what I have done to raise money and not judge me just because I didn't put a few coins in their tin. I did raise a huge amount for charity with the huge help of my friends and family .. although I do sometimes wonder if some gave so generously on the off-chance that I may have been splattered across the rural Perthshire countryside :o) LOL


Haven't been around for a bit and haven't been visiting as often as I should have ... apologies! Things ain't quite all rosey here at the moment but I'll be back as often as I can :o) Dad going into hospital for major surgery (again) tomorrow so I may be away for a bit xxx