I'm Back!

[Matthew_]

Andrew,
To answer your question about hayfever (which may out us in the realms of the general forum), it has been a wee bit of a challenge.
The associated photo-phobia has lead to me taking weeks off lenses which means I cannot drive. At its worst I couldn't go out of the house when it was sunny. I finally gave up on trying and took myself back to the contact lens clinic, where we discovered abrasions on both eyes, particularly the left. Apparently the allergy also makes the cornea more susesptible to this damage. Anyway I'm off lenses for a couple of days and hitting the eyes with drops (sodium cromogligate) plus viscotears to repair the damage and mitigate the allergy. I am hoping that the drops will make things better. So in future years, I will better prepared. I am also looking for a good pair of sunglasses because the phot-phobia is intense. I have my eye on some North Face Summit glasses but they are prohibitively expensive at £150. I've tried cheaper and its getting me no-where, so I think I may have to curb my coffee habit and get saving!

[GarethB]

Matthew,

April 2005 had exactly the same thing.

I found once the treatment finsihed back came the problem and for six months we battled to find a fix. It was nut until the December as the hospital was about to cal it quits when I cut out the caffeine and fizzy drinks. Instead of fruit drinks have the whole fruit, drink plent of water and use the systane too.

In my opinion, not only does the Systane lubricate the eye, it is longer lasting and is as if it forms a barrier between the conrea and lens and eye lid and lens.

Since then the pollen on my lenses had not irritated my eyes, last summer was not a problem and so far this spring is problem free too.

[Andrew MacLean]

During WWII they built flower corvettes on the lower clyde. when they went into the water they more-or-less went directly into service so that the skipper and crew were on hand to take delivery.

At that time they revived an old Celtic Blessing for new ships. At the end of the war the distinctive feature of the blessing fell again into disuse until it was drawn to my attention and I put it back into service at launches in Ferguson's Shipyard.

The thing that makes this Celtic blessing distinctive is that it allows that different people 'own' a ship: the designers, fabricators, finishing trades, engineers, owners, crew etc, all have a stake in the vessel, and each can say truly, "this is my ship".

So the blessing acknowledges the distinctive "ownership" held by each group and allows them to say, "Bless our ship".

Matthew, a diver would be a really good idea, but he would have to be careful that the bufoon on the jet ski didn't rev up the engine at the worst possible moment and take off his fingers.

Andrew

[Matthew_]

Gareth,
Not sure I'm ready to give up on caffeine just yet! But I'm hoping once the eye drops kick in. I won't have to. I do pretty much everything else you suggest there. I also only drink coffee in the morning (I like to sleep in the afternoon )

Andrew,
I like your blessing, it appeals to me as someone who has lived in Ship-Building towns for a long time (Glasgow & Barrow). I think those who build the ship always feel a tie to it thereafter.

I am now going to unashamedly reveal the beauty of this place in the summer...





Of course its pretty dire in the winter...

[Andrew MacLean]

Matthew, magnificent photographs!

Not such a good view this morning, but when the mist burns off I think it is going to be another sizzler!

Andrew

[Matthew_]

Aye!

[Andrew MacLean]

Was up at Ross Priory for lunch today, on the bonnie bonnie banks (near Gartocharn). I had to go over the river to see some folks, and we took the opportunity to walk through the gardens and along the shore.

The sun was shining, although the air was not very clear. It was, nevertheless, a lovely way to spend a couple of hours.

Matthew

I forgot to mention that I had found a solution to being unable to afford mega-expensive sunspecs: Have a birthday! Just before my most recent one, my wife took me to Tiso and asked me to select from their very extensive range a pair of industrial strength sunglasses designed for Alpine Ski conditions: very bright sun and clean white snow.

Then, she wouldn't let me look at the price.

Andrew

[Andrew MacLean]

I had my phone in my hand while I was walking this afternoon, and here is the view as I approached my house. As you can see, it is a bit cloudy.



Andrew

[Matthew_]

Brilliant picture. You can almost see my house to the right of your picture! Well if you had hawk eye-sight, which is not in abundance on this web sight!
I should go take a picture from Helensburgh seafront across to you on the reciprocal bearing!

Like the sunglasses idea. I always forget come my birthday because it is in October and by them I have forgotten about the pain of the summer. This year however it has been a lot worse with lens too, so I should remember! The other solution, which I discovered when I was driving on Sunday was to wear 3 pairs of cheap sunglasses at once. My eyes were still streaming but it was a lot easier. I stopped short of pinching my son's Bob the Builder Sunglasses!

[Andrew MacLean]

I am afraid that I do not have a camera, so the picture came from my mobile telephone. I reckon that with a better lens I could have got a lot more definition on Helensburgh. From our window, and with a pair of average birdwatchers' binoculars, we can see clearly the Hill House.

Three pairs of sunglasses?!? That must have been a sight to see!

Is it entirely legal to drive with thre pairs of sunglasses?

All the best

Andrew