MY BIRTHDAY, MY PATENT, MY CHILDREN COMING HOME AND THE 4TH WAVE.

 

When a writer can only find time to write his blog every four months then he begins to understand that he is slowing down with age. And so it is that I can only sit helplessly by and watch my birthday roll around again. With the pleasant memories of my 70^th still fresh in my mind. I was shocked when Val phoned up to say that she was arranging a party, this time to celebrate her 80^th on the 13^th of November, one day before my birthday. I was happy to let her take the reins as it was a big one for her. Eighty is quite some achievement. I doubt whether I will ever crack that milestone. I feel it will be more of a Millstone in my case, dragging me down into the grave. But she proved to be a good organizer and a memorable party was enjoyed by all at a local micro-brewery. The whole place, outside and in, was flat making it an ideal venue, not only for me and my wheelchair, but also her many octogenarian friends. Although her guests were mostly old, they certainly knew how to enjoy themselves, as well as make me feel welcome.

On the 18^th of October 2021 Dynacure held a Zoom report back meeting. The aim of which was to let all who are interested know how the Dyn101 trials are progressing. There are in fact two trials in progress. The Dynacure trial is an ascending dose study which aims to ascertain the ideal dose required. This trial is progressing smoothly, and they hope to have a result by mid-2022. The Gene therapy trial which is being conducted by Astellas Pharmaceuticals (formally Audentis) has had a setback where at least one, maybe three of the 24 people being treated died of impaired liver function. This is a single dose Genetic treatment that works like a vaccine. The liver function concerns have understandably led to a delay in the trial and results are now only expected late 2024. I am not sure that I am going last that long, what with the way my chest is behaving now. We sympathize with the Guinee pigs in the current trial and wish them well in the future. My life and happiness hang on their success or failure. Although I attended the meeting, I still had to clarify my understanding via email with Lori Gorski, even so, I am still not sure when a treatment will become available for the man in the street. I do not think that anybody, not even the trialists can say with any degree of certainty when relief will come to hand. We simply must hang in until we are called. The only safe bet is mid-2024 it seems and even that may not be achievable.

 

After Bill passed away, we tried to go to Greytown to hold a memorial service for him, but the rioters turned us back. The next opportunity that presented was during the Michaelmas school holidays. That was the first time that Shelbi’s sons, Nicholas, and Sabastian, could get off school. Riana unfortunately missed the event due to their dog taking ill at the last moment. Shani and Raymond came down from Mozambique and in the end some twenty-five of us met at Pat’s place for a hearty send off. It was good to hear stories that I had never heard before from people that worked with him. It seems that he was a well-liked and respected member of the small town of Grootvlei where he last lived and worked

Audrey and I booked into a B&B, The Lord Grey in Greytown. This was the nearest thing to disabled friendly accommodation in Greytown, but it was nowhere near suitable. From the parking lot there are ramps across the front of the old house, up the side and you are in. Once in everything is flat but a modern shower had been built too close to the toilet bowl for me to park my wheelchair next to it. I stayed there some 4 years back and I could manage then, but not anymore. The shower has a large step up so I could never use that. The bed was luckily the right height so I could get onto the single bed, but it was a bit too narrow for me to roll over comfortably in. We had a hearty breakfast the next morning and left for home without me having had my normal early morning expulsion. I managed to hold it in till we luckily got home. I say luckily because my car’s radiator sprang a leak. We only just managed to limp home after stopping for water at a local service station, which was no more than 10km from home. After this weekend away both Audrey and I decided that staying at home was a lot easier than going away. My days of holidaying away from home are well and truly over now.

As regards my health, I am well. This is illustrated by the fact that we still have half of our medical aids daily spend allowance available to us. This has not happened in the last nine years that Audrey and I have been married. It is normally depleted by late August or September. I attribute this to the fact that we wear masks whenever we move about in public. Noticeable is the fact that neither Audrey nor I have had so much as a head cold, let alone the flu virus these last two years. The masks and sanitizing of hands certainly help to keep many of the common viruses at bay.

My breathing has deteriorated, however. This even more so as the hot summer months approach. When it gets hot my sinuses seem to block up. So much so that I recently had to buy a nasal decongestant, Otravin. It works a treat but cannot be used for more than ten days at a stretch. Luckily, I have not needed to use it continuously yet. We are still in the cool rainy period of spring. I fear for the very hot summer months though. The dry months of January and February are the hottest and many older, especially overweight people complain that they cannot breathe properly. I will be joining them this year.

Sleeping is the bad time. If I get too hot during the day, I find that moving outdoors seems to relieve the symptoms. I am not clear on why this should be. When I am sleeping however, I seem to do well up until 3am. Then I wake up, cannot breathe freely, and cannot get back to sleep. Very bad. A blast of Astavent, also known as rescue, is all that helps at this time.

I am still trying to find someone that can build a prototype of my invention for me. A few months ago, everyone was crying out for work. At the height of the pandemic, factories were shutting their doors, laying off staff and pleading poverty. Now that I need someone to build my mobi they are all up to their eyeballs in work and cannot even consider taking on more work. If they do look at it then the prices that they are quoting to build it are insane. Just my luck. If only I had acted earlier. But still, I must not give up hope. I am sure there is someone out there that can help me.

My other big news is that both Stephanie and Paul are coming to visit me early December. Paul left for the UK in August 2018. That is more than 3 years ago. Stephanie left even earlier. The pandemic has prevented them from coming home sooner, but things are looking up and they will be home soon. I am super excited. Seeing them in the flesh and getting a hug from them will be mind-blowing.

But breaking news, 26^th of November is that the UK has put SA on their red list again and as of today no flights from SA will be able to land in the UK. The red list is only reviewed every 3 weeks, no exceptions and Paul is due to fly in 6 days-time. Worse is that he only has 9 days leave and is thus due to return on the 11^th of Dec. The first review is due the 17^th. He will thus be forced to cancel his trip. I am super pissed-off. Stephanie has suffered the same fate. Cyril addressed the nation on Sunday 28^th November and left matters as they were. (Stage 1 lockdown) The 4^th wave virus, now named Omicron has not spread as far and fast as was expected and the symptoms of those infected are proving to be mild. We need more time for a clear picture to emerge. It now seems possible that the UK acted rashly and may even lift their travel ban to and from SA much sooner than expected. Here is hoping that we still get to see S and P before Christmas.

Poor Audrey has booked a seven-day holiday at Golden Harvest whilst the children are here to look after me. She deserves and desperately needs a holiday away from me. I am not very demanding, but she does all the work around the house, putting on my stockings in the morning, preparing all the meals, making the beds, cleaning the house, tending the garden then taking my stockings off again at night. She deserves a holiday. If Covid keeps my kids at home, then I will need to make some other plan. Kiara, her 18-year-old grand-daughter has just written matric and is currently without employ. I think I have my answer.

Till next time. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year. Just keep dodging the old Corona virus.

 

BILL, RIOTS AND COVID VACCINES.

 

The last month or so has been nothing short of life changing.

First my brother Bill passed away, then Jacob Zuma was sent to jail, which is a huge shift in the behaviour of the ANC. His incarceration led to mass riots, widespread looting and in the end, what amounted to a coup attempt. I had my second Covid vaccination.

On the 6^th of July 2021 my dear brother, 3 years my senior and lifelong friend passed away. His end came suddenly. He had just come back from an exciting two week visit to his daughter, Shani in Mozambique. On his way home he visited a friend in Salt Rock then spent a pleasant three days visiting me and left for home on the 30^th of May. He had had a really good time in Mozambique and was planning a trip to the Cape to see his son Shelbi who had recently moved down to Riebeek Casteel. 37 days later he was dead. He was involved in a motor accident and never recovered from trauma to the head and chest. I was on my way to his memorial service in Greytown on Saturday 10^th of July but rioting and road closures in Pietermaritzburg turned us back.

I miss him already and think I will for the rest of my life. It is not easy to accept that I will never see him again.

On Wednesday, 7^th July Jacob Zuma, our former president reluctantly handed himself over to the authorities to start a 15-month prison sentence handed down by the Constitutional Court, for refusing to appear in front of the Zondo Commission (A judicial commission of enquiry) to answer questions relating to state capture involving the Gupta brothers. This incarceration was enough to send first KwaZulu Natal into chaos followed shortly thereafter by Gauteng. Both areas have large populations of Zulus. The wanton destruction and looting were unprecedented in the history of SA. Over 160 shopping malls and certain factories and industrial warehousing sites were targeted in what appeared to be a well-planned strategy to destabilize the province and even possibly the nation. Some conspiracy theorists are now suggesting that this was a coup attempt to get rid of Cyril Ramaposa, our president. I doubt this because it was too narrowly confined to KZN and Gauteng, notwithstanding the fact that over 50% of SA’s economic activity takes place in these two provinces. It seems to be a resumption of the faction fighting that plagued the province, KZN, just after independence in 1994. Our president addressed the nation on the 16^th and confirmed that an attempt had been made to destabilize the country, but the popular uprising anticipated had not occurred. Maybe our people are growing up and are not so easily suckered into helping the strong man dictator to take over. Maybe democracy does have a chance to succeed in SA after all. It is not over yet. Time will tell.

It is now the 18^th of July and thing have quietened down to almost normal in Amanzimtoti. Some reports of sporadic looting at selected sites still come in, but the army have now arrived with 25 000 men. They are not allowed to shoot but their mere presence should lend some support to the overstretched police force. It remains to be seen what the attitudes of the locals will be in the weeks to come. We have not seen open racial antagonism yet, but the local citizens of Toti were called upon to protect their own. The police were nowhere to be seen most of the time. Our street, Kingsley Terrace, a cul-de-sac was barricaded and manned 24 hours a day and still is. The boys are angry but to our delight the local Induna has stepped up and he and a large contingent of Zulu men and women are sharing the duty of protecting our streets and town from attack. Audrey my good wife takes coffee for at least 10 men every morning early and has cook’s supper the same number of men on two occasions now. She is a really compassionate woman.

In fact, the masses are hungry. The country is in full lock down again due to the Covid virus. Many thousands have lost their jobs. All restaurants, pubs, bottle stores and taverns are closed. Many companies and municipal offices are closed. Thousands are out of work with no income. They are starving, black and white people alike. A chance to loot and run riot must have been seen as a welcome relief, even at the risk of being shot and killed, by the unemployed. Ramaposa has been accused of being weak and reacting too slowly to the mass destruction of the infrastructure of KZN and Gauteng. A final count still must still be made but can you imagine the outcry if a single shot had been fired, a single life lost at the hands of the security force. The Marikana fiasco still looms large in the minds of many SA’s. Cyril would not dare give the shoot to kill order. He was thus forced to sit quietly and ride it out. He has just addressed the nation. He admits the country was ill prepared for this type of uprising. He was incredibly lucky that the population did not revolt against him. He says the security forces have identified the ring leaders and are busy apprehending them. He asks us all to help clean up the mess and keep doing so. He wants a clean country. ?

I hope he acts more decisively against the guilty than he did against the looters. This insurrection and the response by the local population has, I am sure, hardened the attitudes of a lot of citizens of this province. I can only hope it does not erupt into further violence weeks and months from now.

This disruption of the normal routine of life has brought the essential programme of Covid vaccination in the province to a halt. I was lucky in that I was scheduled to get my second Pfizer jab on Friday the 9^th of July, just a day before the rioting got totally out of hand. I am now fully inoculated.

Life has been hectic the last two months. A lot has happened notwithstanding the fact that we are in lockdown, and I cannot move out of the house. I got a bright idea and patented it. My patent attorney is busy processing the patent so I cannot elaborate at this time without getting you to sign a non-disclosure agreement. I will tell you about it once I have the provisional patent in my hands. A lot of work still needs to be done if I want it to become a profitable venture.

Life is never dull in Africa. Let us hope it never gets as exciting as these last few weeks were though.

As for CNM, I have not had time to worry about that recently. Sorry, only joking.

It is mid-winter. My worst time. I get even weaker when I am cold although I breathe a little easier. Not much better mind, just a little. I use my Vannair in the evening before I go to sleep, out of fear of not sleeping well rather than any positive, tangible reason. Not in the morning whilst the temp remains around 20 deg C. Rolling over in bed with 3 blankets on me is difficult but still manageable. My biggest problem is getting my legs up onto the bed from a sitting position. If my legs get cold, they will not swing up and I must use my trusty rope to lift, especially the right, second leg up. If I succeed, then I struggle to get the rope off my foot again. I just cannot win. It has only happened 3 times this season, but that is more than enough. I must always keep my legs warm.

 I just miss my brother.

End.

The 3rd wave of Covid-19 and a patent.

 

3^rd May 2021

THE SECOND WAVE

I am ecstatic. Kimberly Bashaw phoned from Chicago to tell me that she has read my CNM book and finds that we have a lot in common. Kimberly hosts the CNM Facebook site and is a force to be reckoned with in the USA. She has referred my book to the Mayo Clinic

3^rd July2021

My how time flies when you are busy. And I have been busy.

Covid-19 initially eased up, but the 3^rd wave struck mid-June and we have been in stage 4 lockdown since 28^th June. All restaurants, taverns are shut. They can supply takeaways only. Bottle stores are totally shut. Provincial borders are closed, public meetings, such as church services, movies, clubs etc. are banned.  The government is trying not to shut industry and business down but many government departments, libraries etc. are shut.  Yesterday over 24270 people were diagnosed and over 303 died of covid-19. This thing is serious.

I was inoculated with the Pfizer vaccine on the 27^{th of} May. I get the 2^nd booster on the 8^{th of} July, 6 weeks later. I did not suffer any side effects, but Audrey complained of a sore arm for over 2 weeks after the jab. This jab will not stop you from catching the virus but the symptoms will be less they say.

SA has recorded 2.2 million cases since 28^th March 2019, 1.77m have recovered fully, 61332 have died. Worldwide 183 million have been diagnosed and 3.97 million have died. This is bad.

Bill, my brother had a motor accident on the 9^{th of} June and has been in hospital since. He has concussion and now stage 4 lung cancer. The prognosis is not good.

I recently scrapped the idea of writing and publishing a 3^rd book and took out a patent for a “Back-saver” chair instead. The patent application was submitted to CIPC, the patent office last week. I will say more once the patent has been granted and registered.

I continue to write articles for USCAA, the July offering entitled, “Famous artists and their mothers”

Almost every artist that you look up has had a stab at painting their mother. Whistler is most famous for the side on view of his mother but there are many more. A lovely subject.

BOOK NUMBER 3

 How time flies. My last post was in December 2020. It is now the 15th March 2021. A full 3 months later. Strangely, Covid-19 has ensured that not much has happened over the last 3 months. Off course life happens, but it all seems to be in slow motion.

My major events are that I revamped my flat in Pinetown. A full makeover. I painted the walls, varnished the woodwork, fitted burglar bars to all the windows, replaced the kitchen tops with granite and retiled the bathroom fitting a new bath and shower unit whilst we were at it. I am now completely broke, but it was all worth it for the very nice tenant I now have. A Malawian professor and his wife, Very good payers.

My other big news is that Paul may be getting married to Ellery soon. As soon as the red tape has been completed in the UK. It is a minefield and he has been forced to employ lawyers to help him through the process. Good luck to him. And Carina, my God child is going to marry Rene' on the 22nd March 2022. She has booked a very nice venue in the winelands @ Mont Rouge, Tulbagh. Love is in the air.

And then I have decided to publish a third book. I think I will call it AFSP. (Anthology of flash fiction, short stories and poetry or Audrey, Frank, Stephanie and Paul.). This is fitting as one of my companies is called FSP Enterprises. FSP for Frank, Stephanie and Paul. Its only right that I bring Audrey into the equation here and it slots in perfectly.

I started writing after I was laid off work in 2003. I joined the Writers Circle in about 2006 but only started entering competitions in 2008. Anyway, I now have bits and pieces of writing dating from 2008 to the present. I have not been very active in the Circle for years now, Audrey didn't like the type of people that attended their meetings, but I have entered certain competitions from time to time. The closest I have ever got to winning was a third place about a year ago. I won R50. Great stuff!

Whilst at a Writers meeting I met Ros Fielding who dragged me off to LIPS (Live Poet Society) meetings, much against my will initially. I have never considered myself a poet and had, and still do have a pretty low opinion of poets in general. I hate it when they get all dramatic with angst, gnashing of teeth and rending of sack cloth. They simply over dramatis any subject to death. My poetry style is to follow the classic style of the type or genre of poetry being written to the letter, or as best I can. All very academic and formal. The first and third lines rhyme. Then the second and forth lines rhyme. Scholarly but correct. I have produced a few good pieces I think. You be the judge when the book is finally published. Don't hold your breath, it will still be a long while before I publish. I may have to write more to get the desired number of pages.

All I need to do now is find enough material of a high enough quality to warrant publication. I'm afraid I was not very good at writing in 2008.

As regards my health, which you probably don't want to hear about, But I include it so that you will not be too surprised if I pop off the twig one day.

My cellulitis is still with me after heaven knows how long. I started taking antibiotics, Purbac again on Saturday. The infection is still there, but seems to be confined to a very small circle on the top of my right foot. I know this strain is resistant to antibiotics but it is my only option. The Purbac comes from a months supply that I could not take earlier. I was sure that the antibiotics were making me sick after two months of taking them, so I stopped. Anyway, I am taking them now, first a five day course then if no improvement I have enough for another five days. We live in hope.

As for sales of my first two books. There are no sales. All my Shell contacts, all my bowls contacts, all the people in Toti, nobody is buying. I gave two books to Carina, my Godchild for her birthday. Even she did not bother to buy a copy of the books published by her Godfather. Nice hey?  I also gave a copy of each to Amanda, who has published two books on Amazon, but she is too poor to import any copies. How sad is that? A published author without a copy of her own books in hand. I referred her to Malherbe Uitgewers. They will publish for her at a reasonable price.

I gave a copy of both of my books to the library at Galleria They promised to acknowledge the generous donation, but never did. So much for getting rich from the sale of books. Forget it, I am going to starve.

Otherwise I continue to struggle to breath in the Durban heat. It is particularly bad when the temp is above 29 deg C during the day and the humidity is above 85, or over 24 degrees C at night, and the humidity is above 85 percent. Atmospheric pressure below standard, 1013 mbar also seems to to be bad. My Vannair asthma pump is critical at these times. Without the pump I would never sleep. I have always said that high temperatures are good for me, my muscles work when it is warm, but now I cannot breath. How pathetic is that?

And on that cheerful note, I leave you. Till next time then.

Still dodging the Covid bullet

 5th December 2020

We are at last getting to the end of this very bad year. May it never return.

Nothing much has changed on the home front. My cellulitis is still with me after 66 days of antibiotics. I can take them for 3 months so I will stick at it. My leg is a bit softer and the inflammation is minimal. Almost healed, but not quite. I still have 24 days of tablets. 29th Dec is D-Day.

We had a smashing party on the 14th Nov. Some 38 people present. Everyone apparently enjoyed the day and I sold 2 books. What a let down. They just will not buy.

I have recently contacted many of my old Shell colleagues, including Ian Howse my old MD  who promised to buy, as well as Reg Hoddinott, Corney de Villiers and Alan Wills. Many of my old bowling pals via WhatsApp and e-mail but no sales as yet. I gave a free copy of each to Mandy Sargent. Ruon van Zyl is still on top of the world, Sherwood bowling club is still going, mainly as a party, wedding venue, but the greens are still in use. Poor Merry Meredith, Kim's mum had got dementia and hardly remembers me. My cousin Lorraine Fourie bought a copy of each and some unknown bought a copy of The Bridge. Only 3 sales from Malherbe. Pathetic. 

I bought 30 copies of CNM and have sold or given away 23 so far. The rest won't last long. I want to stock the local libraries. I will start with Galleria on Tuesday 8th Dec. 

I saw a posting by Dynacure regarding their Dyn101 trials. They are aiming for full completion around 22nd April 2022. There are many imponderables. Will they start world wide trials earlier than this date? Will more trials even be necessary? Will they go to full sales after this date? I don't know but we at least have a target date now. 

I hope I survive that long. I struggle terribly to breath when it gets hot. That means above 24 degrees C, especially at night. I manage well at 18 deg c. At 20 I need the Astavent pump, at 24 night time temp I die. Very bad. The humidity also plays a part. It is now the rainy season and the high temps have not hit us yet. I hope to survive this summer. Summer 2021 will be a major challenge. Then who knows. Possibly a miracle cure. 

 

MY FRIENDS MUST BE VERY POOR

 30th OCTOBER 2020

I now think that my friends must be very poor, or they are just not interested in my story, or they cannot read. There must be a reason that I don't know off yet. I hope I find out one day. I say this because the article in the South Coast Sun was a resounding success. Everyone in Toti that I have met since it appeared on Thursday 15th October has commented on it and wished me well, but I have only sold one miserable copy. Only one to a dear, 83-year-old friend of mine, Rosemary Dickens. I find it astonishing that more copies have not been sold. What must I do to get people to part with their money, The only method that has worked so far is to confront the people face to face. Then they cannot run and generally buy. One has taken the book and promised to pay me later. I hope later arrives soon.

I have given a few copies away, One was to my domestic, Doreen Gubese. She offered to buy a copy of The Promised Bridge so I gave it to her. She didn't ask for Living with CNM but I gave her one anyway. I know I don't pay her enough to make her buy a copy. A bit risky maybe, but she has been with us for 8 years and watched me go from walking quite strongly to sitting in a chair permanently. Maybe she deserves to know why. It is also good that she at least likes reading. Nery our missionary bought one, but has not paid for it yet. 4 books were sold into the complex. I still need to ship a whole bunch of books around the country. Next week maybe.

My 70th birthday is coming up on the 14th of November. Audrey has decided that it is a milestone that must be celebrated, so she is arranging a party at The Garden of Eden, or Evil, as some would like to call it. A small, simple affair with 26 odd friends. Or so I thought. One of the invitees is Val Hazel. I forgot that her birthday is on the 13th of November. On hearing my plans she immediately proposed that we have a joint party, She wants to invite 6 or 8 of her closes friends. That's great. Now we are looking at a party of some 32 or more. You just cannot keep a good party small it seems.

My cellulitis is still with me. After 10 days of injections in the bum every day and oral antibiotics twice a day, it seems to be almost healed, but not quite. Technology has moved on though and there is now an antibiotic, antibacterial called Purbac that can be taken for three solid months. If that doesn't kill the bug then nothing will, or I will have to go to the hospital. I do not want to go to hospital. There are too many stories told of people going to the hospital, only to catch Covid-19 or worse, and then dying. That is not for me. The general perception of hospitals is that they are no longer viewed as the Safe Havens that they once were. I am getting so desperate that I am now trying Colloidal Silver, 20 ml by mouth a day and a topical rubdown of the affected area every morning. It has been 8 days now and no miracle cure has happened. Silver is a very effective antibacterial, but streptococcus is not on the list it seems. I am now on 3 months of antibiotics as well as anti-inflammatories. Please pray for me.

More next time.

SPREADING THE WORD.

 It never was and is still not my intention to get rich from selling my books. I know that what I have written will never appeal to the masses and sell thousands of copies. Having said this I do need to recoup my costs. I bought 50 copies from Malherbe the other week and it cost over R4000. Cash upfront. I desperately need all or at least the majority of that money back. There are a lot of people and institutions that need free copies. I would like to give each of the four local libraries a copy each. There are some very close friends that are old and technologically stunted, this means they will never buy a copy from a website on their own, that I will give copies to. The National Library gets a free copy for providing the ISBN number. There are numerous other worthy causes that will get free copies. These costs are lost, but I do need to sell the rest for a profit. I will sell at the same price that Malherbe charges. The saving will be in the courier fees which can be quite high.

    But I also need to sell.

And what better way is there to let the community of Amanzimtoti know that I have arrived than to invite the local newspaper around for a cup of tea, He refused the tea but Earl was a very likeable chap that seemed to take a real interest in what I had to say. He took copious notes and assures me that a full article will appear in next weeks edition of the SUN. That should spread the word far and wide. We also approached Readers Rest, the local book store in Seadoone Mall and they were very keen to take a few copies on consignment stock to put on their shelves. I will continue to search for other sales avenues.

In the meantime my health continues to let me know it means business. I got a bout of Cellulitis on Wed 30th September. Audrey was suffering from high blood pressure at the same time so I sent a picture of my pathetic foot, all red and swollen to my local GP and begged for antibiotics. She responded with a 5-day course. They almost worked, another two days and I would have been healed, so she prescribed a 10-day course of Penicillin, which has worked before. Three days in and accompanied by a very rigorous bout of de-watering, three times a day, and I seem on track to full recovery. I hope so. This bout has been quite painful where previous infections have been relatively pain-free. And so life trundles on, never dull, never boring.