Birthday present

I have ordered a 50th Birthday present.

As if going to the US in June wasn't enough, I have ordered myself a new camera. This will be the first new Leica that I have ever bought and I am going to have to wait for it to be made. They do not make them on a normal production run any more, but in small batches when they get sufficient orders to dedicate a week or two to production.

It's possibly the best looking camera ever made (in my opinion, of course - your's may vary!). It is an "MP" model, much like  this one.

 

Delivery dates are being quoted as roughly eight weeks, so, in maybe seven week's time, I will be getting a call. It would be great if it arrives before the end of May, but it's OK if it doesn't.

The black finish is paint on brass metal top and bottom plates. Over time, the edges get worn through, allowing the brass to show through the paint. This brassing gives the camera significant character and is a very personal thing. My previous M cameras have both been chrome plated and they do not wear at all. They remain looking as good as new for decades.

All the gears internally on this camera are brass and even out of the box, the action is extremely smooth. Again, over time, as the gears really bed in, the wind on gets smoother and smoother. 

It does have a built-in meter, but it is lacking the auto-exposure feature and the electronically controlled shutter mechanism of the M7 which I currently own. It will continue to work properly even in the absence of a working battery. It really is the ultimate mechanical camera and it will be interesting to see whether it changes my photography. I suspect I will get more incorrectly exposed shots!

I am going to try to get Pippa's old lead made into a strap for it. I will speak with the shoe repairer in town to see if he can attach the ends from a Leica neck strap to the leather of the lead. I can't see that it would be too difficult to do with the right tools.

So, more info when I have it.

Crufts

As suggested at the beginning of March, we did go to Crufts this year.

It was a very interesting day (well, half day) and it was good to see all of the Kennel Club approved breeds of terriers there.

The Norwich Terriers are nice little dogs as are the Welsh Terrier, but Ann seems to have her heart set on a Border - the scruffy, common breed :-)

We will still wait until we come back from the US in the summer, but it might be an idea to investigate local breeders etc now so that we know who might have a litter when we will be looking.

Soon comes round again

It's been nearly eight weeks since I last went for a top-up and Wednesday will see me back at the Countess for another dose of maintenance. This will be number four out of twelve.

I haven't experienced anything untoward, but I do think that I have had more colds this year than I would normally do. This is a known issue and not unexpected, given that the immune system is compromised to a certain extent. It seems that people on longer term Rituximab also have more likelihood of heart and lung problems, but I'm not sure what can be done about that. Look after your heart and lungs, presumably...

I am still being treated via Bupa, out of hours at the hospital, but I have been watching what is happening with the NICE approval. It seems that first remission Rituximab maintenance is still going through the system and should, with a bit of luck, be out the other side as anticipated in the Summer. This will mean that I don't have to inconvenience people at the hospital and can receive the treatment during the day like everyone else. That will be much better.

Keeping focussed

This month, I have been mostly trying varifocal glasses. Or rather, I haven't.

I bought some new glasses this time last year and at that time, the optician asked me whether I had considered varifocals. Not wishing to admit to my age, I said that I hadn't and didn't feel the need to.

Well, over the last 12 months, I have found myself taking my glasses off to read, and write and do other close work. Maybe it's time I went back and got myself sorted out, I thought.

What a mistake.

The first pair I tried were absolutely useless. Virtually nothing was in focus, they gave me a headache and I was amazed at how narrow the focusing area was. So I took them back and complained. The optician retested the fitting and sent the lenses back to be replaced.

These weren't much better. I could just about focus at a distance and close up, but middle distance was all wrong. Peripheral vision was virtually non-existent and they'd be extremely dangerous for driving in as a glance over the shoulder to overtake could result in something very nasty happening. Don't even think about reversing and looking over your shoulder.

These weren't even the cheaper varifocals - these were one step down from Zeiss ones (which cost about £400, just for the lenses only). Mine were £280.

So, yesterday, I took them back and have now had them changed for another pair of distance only glasses.

Much better.

Birthday weekend sorted out

It's my lucky year this year.

Not only is my remission going to plan, but it's a significant birthday too, so there are several plans afoot to cope with such a momentous occasion.

While the main holiday is obviously to the States in June, we have been thinking about what to on my birthday weekend later in the year. It's at the beginning of the summer holidays, so foreign travel is out.

One idea we had was for a weekend in Canterbury (see the last entry). This is a great idea - until you realise why all the hotels in Kent are full that weekend. I thought it might be because people we on their way to the channel crossings, but it's worse than that. The Open Golf is being held near Sandwich - hotels for miles around have been fully booked for two years or more...

Ann suggested that we should go somewhere we have been before, but not been for a while.

So, next idea was to go to the Inn at Whitewell in the Trough of Bowland. It's only an hour or so away, but a fantastic spot and great for walking. We had a very nice stay there about ten years ago with the kids and some friends and one of the best meals we have ever had. But then again, we can go there virtually any weekend for a walk or a meal (subject to cost!).

Alternatively, there is the Acorn Inn at Evershot in Dorset. Another terrific place to stay with great rooms and excellent food.

Finally we decided to head off to Norwich. We had previously been to a very nice hotel (I'll link to it when we get back...) and have decided to return. There are some friends there that we want to see again that we haven't seen for years and there's some family stuff that we can look into while we are there.

No progress yet on the dog front but we are working on that. A trip to Crufts could be on the cards next week (Saturday is terrier etc day...). Lots of photo opportunities, plus lots of different dogs to see. Having never been before, it could be very interesting. We really do need to get another little friend.

Steady as she goes II, Boston and Palermo

First things first. The third maintenance session went according to plan, but I notice that the haematologist has called me back after 8 weeks, rather than two months next time. Not that it makes a great deal of difference, but my carefully set out calendar through to August 2012 has been somewhat messed about with.

I spoke with him about the mistletoe. I explained about the research that I'd done and he looked at me as if I were mad. Clearly, this treatment hasn't reached the NHS yet, not even for druids, so I think it's probably for the best if I drop this idea for a while. I will check out the link that Phil on the Leica Forum sent to me. The treatment is common in Germany, so some more work may need to be done.

I was told not to worry about the odd itch that I have had either. Itchiness is a symptom of Hodgkin's Lymphoma, not Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma apparently. I'm pretty sure that I had read otherwise, so that's another thing to check up on.

So what else has been happening? 

Have arranged all the accommodation for the New England trip now. We went with a different cottage on Cape Cod than the one first planned. The first one still hasn't come back to me with a contract, despite a reminder, so that's his loss. The new one is in a smaller town "inside the elbow" of the Cape, and it looks great.

I have also booked the hotel for the Palermo trip in October. This one was Number 1 on TripAdvisor, but still extremely reasonable. TA haven't let us down so far, so fingers crossed for this time. I think that we will try to hire a car on the Friday and see if we can't take a bit of a trip round the island. There is a fabulous looking Greek temple not too far from Palermo that looks well worth a visit. Especially if you've not visited any Greek temples before.

Taking of temples, this week's POTW was taken yesterday in Canterbury Cathedral. What a fantastic building, especially, as yesterday, when there aren't very many tourists about. Will definitely have to go back - but out of season.

Photography at night

I have decided that this year, I will mostly be taking photographs at night. Well, mostly might be overstating it a bit, but "sometimes" might cover it. "More frequently than in the past" might also be more accurate.

While we were in London last weekend, I took most of my shots in the evening or at night. Obviously there are some additional challenges there when compared to daytime shots, but the dramatic contrast between the lit and unlit areas is, to my eye, quite pleasing. For example, here's one of Tower Bridge, Been done a billion times before, but the floodlighting certainly adds something to the drama of the scene. I metered off the stonework while we were crossing and the exposure has worked out perfectly.

This week's "Photo of the week" was also taken on that visit - that one was at dusk and has an exposure time of about 4 seconds.

There are also examples that I took in Venice for the "Night Challenge" that I like. Now, I must make sure that I get hold of a stock of Neopan 1600 before it all disappears. These two shots were with Tri-X, though, which is probably the best all round black and white film ever made.

The book arrived yesterday. I am very pleased with it. The better quality paper is probably worth the addition couple of quid. One frustrating thing, ironically, is watching the track page of the FedEx website. "Come on! It's been stuck in Paris for 12 hours now! What's going on?" kind of thing.

Mistletoe

I have been doing a bit of research into mistletoe. Apparently, it could be very helpful for people with low grade, indolent, follicular B-Cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma - like me. It boosts the immune system for a start.

So, next time I see my specialist (Wednesday next week), I will ask him whether he knows anything about it.

While in London at the weekend, we went into a herbalist in Neal's Yard and asked about it. The assistant was extremely helpful, but they were reticent about selling it to me, given that I actually have something wrong with me. If I were just a healthy Druid, she'd have had no problem. In fact, for the first time in my life, I was asked "Are you a Druid?" I look so much like a Druid, I'm amazed she had even a slight doubt.

So, it's "Vitamin R" session Nr 3 next week.

Good news is that progress is being made with the NICE approval and with a bit of luck it will go onto the approved list before the summer, meaning this nonsense about turning up as the ward closes will be over and I can have the treatment along with everyone else.

Checking the website at Blurb, I see that my book is due for dispatch tomorrow, so with a bit of luck it will be here by Friday. I'm looking forward to seeing it, of course and, since it's only 10x8 inches, I will be able to carry it round in my briefcase easily to show off what I do.

I have a few prints being printed this week for hanging on the office meeting room walls. Which reminds me, I must do an invoice for them...

Other news? Well, I need to research the possibility of hiring a long lens to go on holiday with this year. We have booked to go to New England in June and a long lens would be very handy when it comes to watching (and shooting) whales. I'm not sure about insurance for one, though, but if I get a chance, I might pop into Calumet this week or next and ask. Will definitely take the binoculars of course. We haven't been on a long haul holiday for nearly 10 years (indeed, we've only been long haul once before at all), so the experience is going to be an interesting one. We fly into and out of Boston, but spend a week on Cape Cod, then follow up with a bit of touring round the coast and the countryside. Should be good.

Only 4 months away now.

A work in progress

I finally got round to putting some of my photographs in a book.

A WORK IN PROGRESS by Andy Barton | Make Your Own Book

I will let you know how it looks when it arrives - hopefully before the end of January.

A very bad December

Now I can do a post about what happened during December.

Starting with the treatment, I did manage to be seen on the Friday evening. The nurse who had volunteered to stay behind on the Thursday also did so on the Friday too, so that was much appreciated. Clearly, this is proving much more difficult for him to organise than he first thought (especially as he’d been in the US for several days at a conference, running up to the treatment day). Maybe, if he is actually in the country, February’s session will run more smoothly. We will see.

However, as you will have gathered, the big news for December, was that Pippa died. She was absolutely fine on the Wednesday evening until about 9:30, when she took herself off to one of her favourite chairs, in the dining room, overlooking the back garden. I went downstairs to let her outside at bed-time, around 11:30, and found that she had been sick in several places around the house. I let her into the garden while I cleared this up, and found that she wouldn’t (or couldn’t) come back. She was lying on the grass, in the cold and obviously pretty unwell.

I picked her up, brought her back in and settled her into her bed.

In the morning, she was pretty much lifeless. She couldn’t stand and her breathing was laboured and shallow. I took her to the vet and waited outside with her until he opened. She was on the passenger seat of the car, and her breathing more or less stopped while we waited. I couldn’t feel a heartbeat and thought that she had died then.

On his surgery table, he heard a faint beat and I obviously left her with him. I kissed her on her head as he took her into the treatment room and she just about managed to look at me. She died at around 11:30. The vet thinks that she probably had a massive stroke on the Wednesday evening. She was only 9 ½ and she was a beautiful dog.

We will collect her ashes after the New Year holidays are over and take her up to Thurstaston Common, her favourite local walk. Lots of squirrels to chase for eternity up there. (Tears are rolling down my cheeks as I type this…)

The house is so empty. Yesterday, New Year’s Eve, was the first time in those 9 ½ years that I had been totally alone in the house. She was like a Philip Pullman daemon. She was always with you and I reckon that I spent more time in her company than Ann’s. Her loss has been terrible. I loved that dog.

So. We will need to buy another dog sometime this year – probably in the Summer when we get back from holiday. A 50^th Birthday present, maybe. The house and the family is now incomplete without one.