MB (of Benjamin Towers) and his beloved 'Tedski' at Saturday's 2018 AGM.
Tedski oversaw the whole proceedings at the AGM and gave his seal of approval by coming out from behind the sofa!!!
I had to get approval to show this, copyright an' all that!
PS: Got more photos to come but they don't like coming out as a group! Work in progress!!
Ohh, thanks Terri. But I just hope this one doesn't get into the Tabloids.. ;-( 
Don't think so Mark, Tedski couldn't compete with Boris!...not in the same manner I hasten to add! Lovely photo of you both. 
Hello Mark, it's good to see Tedski is still around. Do wish him, and you naturally, a Happy New Year.
You might remember me Mark, I'm the One who 'Drove You Mad'- with Jokes, and Puns, about Tube Trains, along with, 'Ordinary Trains'.....Until they Hit the Buffers! I might ask, a random question like, ''What do you call a Penguin, in the desert?''....LOST! I might ask a Slightly Cleverer one like "No matter how hungry they became, Artic Explorers would Never eat a Penguin....Why?" Penguins are ONLY in the ANTarctic! That sort of Thing.
Is Tedski planning any more 'Trips', this year....Come to 'think', of it, has he even Told you? Does he ever just Go Off, on his own- maybe taking Your Girlfriend? ( I bet that she LOVES him, and he her) Perhaps a Note, left in the kitchen, 'Dear Mark off on, my Travels, see you Easter'.
By the way when IS Tedski going to 'Run' for Prime Minister? After all, he already knows the 'Bear' facts! Not only that, if anyone tells him to 'Get Stuffed', he can say 'I already am'!! If he forms 'A Cabinet', it will only be full of Lovely Soft Toys- surely a better system!!! Yes put Him UP, for Election.
One more before I go....A man walks into his Doctors, with a Steering Wheel between his legs. The Doctor asks "What have you got there then?" To which the man replies, the man replies "I don't know....but it's 'Driving Me Nuts'!"
Once again Happy New Year Mark...And Tedski, if you can find him....
AndrewT
Mark looks exactly how I pictured him! Sauve and sophisticated!
He'll like that for sure..
Thanks Chris, the cheque's in the post
Hi Telian! You certainly all seemed to have had fun on Saturday.👍
What I can’t understand is why MB has been so “quite” on here. Did you all tire him out?
Probably but think he's quietly overwhelmed and very happy with the whole day - plus meeting Us Lot of course! - think he liked us deep down if he's honest but don't think he'll admit it! Tedski must be keeping him in tow! How are you today?
I’m sure he thoroughly enjoyed himself. I can’t believe he hasn’t anything to say however. I wait with bated breath.😀
I’m tired - this up and down with daily temperatures really gets me. 19 degs one day 29 the next. Apart from that I’m doing fine.
We shall see...watch this space. Keep well Constance sounds like you know how to cope. x
Ha, Constance! Just re-grouping after the big day out. It really was a special day
Lovely picture...both looking so happy!....I`m supposing Tedski took in all that Prof Dasgupta had to say?....so what did you all glean from the meeting....apart from a meeting of minds?....
Hi Longtimer
Don't they just - you can see he's a very proud 'Dad'! Yes Tedski was there all the way through and like all of us he was very taken by Prof D and his talk. You have to listen to him to know what I mean - I can listen to him all day. Lots of talk around plans to continue with raising awareness of the illness - he's got buddy systems and help-lines in the pipeline - I don't know much about the buddy systems yet but help-lines have always been in Southend. In the early days of my illness (4yrs+) we could call the specialist nurses everyday between certain times but the days reduced, probably taking them out of too much clinic work, not sure, as now we speak to Prof D's secretary who takes ALL messages, must be so time consuming - have to say she is very efficient. In that light he will be able to offer advise as to how best it can be rolled out. Just hope it works as well elsewhere and they have the resources...and of course as SJ has already mentioned the need to increase fundraising is absolutely paramount. A very enjoyable informative day I thought...and quite a hike for some...
...and the bits I can see I missed out:
The Theme, the 10th Anniversary of PMRGCAuk
Professor Dasgupta talked about the last ten years and how far thing have come. He talked about the new patient education project (buddy system and helplines). More to come out on the detail I'm sure. Professor Dasgupta has worked within the field of PMRGCAuk all of his working life since the 80s a very dedicated man to the service. He came to the meeting straight from Europe.
Kate Gilbert talked about the 10th anniversary and how far the Charity had come in terms of fund raising - her passion was admirable - stressing the importance of continued fund raising for the Charity (see SJs post).
Dr Charlotte Harden heads TARGET (Treatment According to Response in Giant cEll arTeritis) at Leeds - very interesting work they do behind the scenes and was keen for patients to get in touch with their own experiences. So much so Dr Charlotte gave out her contact details: c.j.harden@leeds.ac.uk Tel: 0113 206 7387 Mob: 07981 112 5380.
Mark Benjamin - The Lighter Side of..... funny and food for thought...encouraged us to take a step back and look at the type of person we see ourselves as and how that affects our outlook day to day and how/if that could be improved - if necessary.
Dr Sarah Mackie talked about Research and what happens next - very in depth. There should be a video coming out as it was all recorded.
The content of each speaker's talk was carefully planned as not to be repetitive - was very well organised.
Telian, want to read about Bhaskhar, here is a link, his story on his own words.
The Autumn Newsletter 2012 'You are Not alone'
pmr-gca-northeast.org.uk/as...
Front Page, title 'A passionate man'. Not his title by the way - mine.
That's one I haven't seen but I will read it, thank you, as have read others. He is my Rheumie, and have seen him on every but one visit in the last four + years, he says I am now well enough to see his Nurse Specialist - she's lovely too and so knowledgable, I feel safe in their hands. Have seen her once beofre and she had to speak to him prior to my appointment and after, it was a difficult time then - so all in all I feel blessed - am worried about moving out of area though and finding another so good.
Thank you very much for that....I was hoping there would be aspects of research and so on discussed....
You are lucky to have had such a rheumy as the Prof...isn`t it a pity he couldn`t train them all!
Absolutely right! If it was physically possible I think he would! It takes years of experience and dedication to get where he is. Southend is a teaching hospital and I had two trainees in on my last consultation where he was teaching them how to do Ultra Sound, a German chap and English lady - I found it fascinating. It's more than technical and part of what they have to learn is a) what they're looking for and b) how to use different pressures to get correct results - think it takes a lot of practice.... I was told Prof D is the only one who scans and gives the results immediately. His doctors cannot give out their own results unless he's checked them or, in his absence, by another trained doctor in the team so at least two have to agree results. Probably explains why there's a shortage of hospitals carrying out US - lack of trained staff.
Any u/s technique takes about 6 months to learn properly - and you have to keep your hand/eye in. My colleagues used to say they noticed the difference even after a 2 week holiday!
Tedski spent a lot of time ‘ undercover’. Lol. 🤣🤣
Well, he is prone to loitering around in his mac in unusual places with a bunch of odd people.. ;-D
He did, but was out following Mark's presentation wasn't he?
He cuts a fine figure, doesn't he? Athletic, suave and sophisticated. But that's enough about Tedski. MB doesn't look in bad shape either - for an old geezer with PMR, that is... 
Don't get too carried away!
I see, I see - it’s starting!😂
Is it the good life at MB Mansions, or is Tedski also on Pred?
karools, he does get through quite a lot of Stroganoff...
Thought it was the Smirnoff??
So tedski wasn't a figment of your imagination Mark?!
Jackoh, keep up please. We are BOTH a figment of my imagination... ;-/
I thought in the very early days I heard a mention of Steiff...
Maybe when he's sold a few more books....
Dear Terri, and any others here who are daft enough to be following this silly thread.
To clear-up any confusion (but not easy in dealing with a bunch of Pred-heads?):
I'll have all of You Lot know that I've already sold literally several of my books to my six-and-a-half (allegedly) Followers here. And I posted them myself. Ohh, such dedication to an impoverished Author's cause?
Just remember Us when your sales get to fever pitch.......
If I get into double figures of book sales I'll let you know.
Out of date Prednisolone tablets
Atrial fibrillation now as well!
GCA came out of the blue!
Is anybody out there?
Actemra Is Now In My Life
