Justify yourself to me...

It is a strange world we live in, and only getting stranger by the day. As more of our lives seems to exist online, and the web of engagement opportunities grows, so does the audience and with that grows the number of opinions we get to see. Of course, opinions are like arseholes, everyone one has one, but for some reason some people think THEIR opinion is THE ONE! Regardless of what anyone else thinks, facts aside, they are right, and it is not up for discussion.

I have been seeing this more and more recently, especially since I started sharing videos from my cycling excursions. I like to think of myself as unbiased (I wish!) and happily share videos of motorists, cyclists and pedestrians alike. If they do something dumb, I am happy to post it online. But what always amazes me is the angry responses you get. Regardless of which pocket of society is involved in the video, there are always VERY angry people ready to unleash on you. 

Like I say, everyone is entitled to their opinion, I am fine with that, after all this is mine I am writing right now, and I am sure to some it is also wrong already, but hey ho. The problem comes when people turn opinion into facts. Stating their opinion as if it is factually correct. In a recent blog entry I talked about a video of an incident between a van and a cyclist. From the off it was my belief the cyclist messed up, things I said in the video highlighted that, or so I thought, however some chose to interpret these words differently.

The interesting bit comes when you engage with these comments to try and understand why they think what they think. Sure it is hard to understand a situation from a short clip, get the wrong end of the stick etc. But surely when the person IN the video explains what was meant by it, you grab the right end of the stick, and it all makes a bit more sense... But no, this is not the case at all. In fact all it seems to do is enrage the complete stranger, and make them even more adamant that they are right. Relying on their biases, and using them against the facts. 

Shouting angrily that as you are a cyclist you MUST be siding with "your mate", then when you explain this is not the case, you are back tracking and trying to make excuses. The irony of this is incredible. Someone's bias against cyclists is SO strong that they accuse the other person of acting in a biased manner, when in fact sad person is doing the complete opposite. Bias blindness is a real thing, and for some, it is genuinely crippling. Preventing them from being able to have an open and rational dialogue. 

Another example of this came only last night. A very polite guy on X, discussing a video of cyclists jumping red lights, and opening with an old favourite of mine "but what harm did it do?". This is a very simple yet at the same time complex arguement, so lets take a look at my opinion on it.

Red light means stop.... If you are a road user and you come to a red light, STOP. Simple as that. Unless you are an emergency service vehicle who there is am exception for, to pass through at low speed with good observations, OR you are directed by a police officer.... RED MEANS STOP! Everyone! This applies to cyclists also if they are using the main carriageway.

Then we come to pedestrian crossings. There for the safe passage across a road. Red signal means do not cross. However this is guidance and not a legal obligation, and there is no current offence of crossing against a red signal. For my rides, when coming to a road junction controlled by traffic lights, if a red light shows, I stop. When I am on a cycle way and reach a crossing point for pedestrians and it is red, I stop. However when I reach a point where the cycleway crosses a road, and there is a cycle crossing point, if the road is clear, and I mean CLEAR, not a small gap in traffic, I will go, regardless of the colour of the cross signal. That's me. I don't expect others to do the same and would never encourage it, nor berate people for not doing it. 

Going back to the video, all three clips with cyclists showed them going through a red traffic signal, some had had people crossing, others were clear. I want to say the majority of people are inclined to be against this sort of behaviour, with a small few wanting to argue "but it was clear", an then shout down the opposing arguement of "but it was red". Now I get it, stopping at red light after red light in town, sometimes for no one to cross at all, and there to be no traffic coming through the junction is frustrating, but sadly it is the law. Cyclists and pedestrians expect cars to stop at red lights regardless because "its the law", but then when the boot is on the other foot, the line becomes blurry.

I was told last night that because the crossing was empty, the cyclists had done nothing wrong. Also citing what was the worst that could happen being hit by a 15kg bike at 15mph. Well for starters, if I am on said bike it becomes 115kg, and the force of that at 15mph is quite damaging. "A soft human" was another phrase used. Well, humans aren't all soft, and even if they were, handlebars and cassettes to name a few bits of a bicycle are NOT soft, and can inflict horrible damage when striking someone. Then there is the risk of hitting a pedestrian and slamming them into the floor, as their head hits the floor, I am pretty sure injuries will occur. In fact lets look at the fact, with the two statements of a 15kg bike and a soft human equalling no harm, how have pedestrians been killed in collisions with cyclists?

Aaah now we get to it "yeah but cars....." The relentless follow up comment from the militant cyclists when presented with the fact that a small number of pedestrians have been killed in collisions with cyclists. "Yeah but cars kill X people a day on the roads"... So does that mean it's OK and acceptable for the occasional pedestrian to be killed by a cyclist? Because it is only a few here and there. I would love one of these people to speak to the families of someone killed by a cyclist and deliver their "yeah but cars" speech and expect to leave the room in one piece. 

I was accused of finger wagging at cyclists jumping red lights, but again the irony of having a finger wagged in my face saying "yeah but cyclists" and stating the law relating to red lights and cyclists was a bad one. OK by that logic, if I think a law is a bad one, I can ignore it? So if at 2am while driving I reach a red light, I can check if the junction is clear and then just drive through it? That will be a valid and legal arguement if I get flashed by a camera. No?

Of course I can't, and the militants will jump on this straight away with the "2 ton metal box" argument, there is a big difference they say. But is there?

Ignore vehicles for a moment.... Sitting at a red light at an "unoccupied junction" is frustrating, and for some there should be allowances made to be able to proceed if safe to do so. If there are no humans, and no traffic present, why should ANYONE wait at the red light? Well, for starters, it's the law! But some argue the law is a bad one, and if a cyclist comes to a red light, and it is deemed safe to proceed (at this point I am completely unclear on who determines it is safe) then the cyclist should be allowed to proceed with caution. OK, I am kinda on board with that, but as I have said, as soon as you add grey to a black and white scenario we then fall into the what shade of grey are you spiral. Red means stop, green means go (if safe to do so)... Easy right!

But now lets say red means stop, unless it is safe to proceed, but only for bikes, not motor vehicles. Right, so all bikes can go through red lights if it is safe? Single person bikes, tandems, e-bikes, cargo bikes, e-cargo bikes, e-cargo bikes with trailers, 4 wheeled cargo bike vans. Some of the latter are  weighing in excess of 250kg, that is more than most motorbikes... So by logic of proceeding safely, then mopeds and motorcycles should also be allowed to go through a red light of safe to do so. The Citroen Ami weighs about 450kg, so if you get one of the bigger cargo bikes, with trailer, we are in the same ball park, so can the Citroen go through the red light too?

Do you see where I am going with this? Saying the law is a bad one, and needs changing is fine, but with it comes complications. What speed can they pass through the crossing or junction at? should they come to a complete stop before proceeding? Should there be a weight limit to those allowed through? Should that include the weight of the rider and cargo? This is just skimming the surface of the complexities of a change in the rules. And all this confusion and grey just for a few entitled souls who don't feel the rules are right, therefore don't apply to them.

Add to it the fact that as you approach the light you have no idea of all the variables that apply. Sure you cant see anyone on the crossing from 50ft away, but someone has just seen their bus on the others side of the road, a green signal to cross and bolts out of the shops and legs it for the bus. You didn't see that coming, and I am 99.9% sure the cyclist in this case, on striking them would exclaim "they just came out of nowhere!". Yes, but the light was green for them, and if you had only stopped at the red light. 

I know a lot of this is whataboutery, what if this happened. Liklihood low, possibility present, end of, stop at the red light. 

The nonsense of entitlement is getting stupid now. Sure if you feel something is wrong, campaign to have rules changed, it's your democratic right to do so. But in the same breath, until the rule is changed, abide by the current one. Is that too much to ask? Apparently for some it is. 

When you have this discussion, or at least begin to, it is generally not long before the names start flying, your IQ is called into question, and the whole discussion falls apart. It is not about engagement for some, more enragement! Throwing their opinions around like they are facts, berating those who do not share their ideals, and always making sure they get the final word on the matter.

The other thing that really annoys me, going back to my viral video, is had the cyclist sustained an injury due to his poor decision making, regardless of if the van driver were blamed for it, the statistics would reflect an additional person on the KSI. The Killed or Seriously Injured statistics. The statistics that so many "campaigners" love to turn to when saying cars should be banned from the roads. Yet fault doesn't register. Now I am not saying if the person makes a silly decision thet are not worthy of being recognised, of course they are. But given how many incidents are on the list, it would be better to have a breakdown of what happened. I am not going to say "who was to blame" as the National Society of Calling Out Victim Blamers  will come down on me like a ton of bricks. I am simply saying that when these statistics are released, they should be transparent into the nature of the incident. Did any party ignore a traffic signal, road sign etc. 

Anyway, I have gone on long enough about this, and am sure that most who hold the views they do will not want to engage on the matter, after all it is all to civilised eh. But I have got it out of my system, so that's good.

For now I will continue to be (to quote some of the names and titles I have recently been given) a fat, old, bald, gay, lycra fairy, do gooder, law abiding, lying bullshiter of a cyclist. Stopping at red lights junctions and crossings, and calling out ANY bad cycling, riding, walking, or driving I see on my way.

What a beautiful world we live in, where freedom of speech gives everyone the opportunity to be a better person, however some fail miserably. Stay safe out there however you travel, and remember, not everyone has the same views as you, so green signal doesn't make it safe to cross, and a green light does't mean someone won't shoot out of a junction. The rules are SO stupid! 😂

The sad state of society.

It is the end of a long night shift, I haven't really slept in over 24 hours, and I am flagging, but I just had to write this to get the thoughts and feelings out of my head.

So lets go... This little rant is about society, entitlement and the sheer ferocity that some people use when engaging with complete strangers. We already know that social media is a rather toxic place, and as time goes on people feel more and more entitled to speak to people in any way they choose. Of course we are all entitled to our opinions, and should be free to express them. However some people for some reason feel the need to take it a few steps further . Allow me to explain my example of this.

A couple of years ago I posted a clip of an accident between a cyclist and a van. In the moment, and those that followed I expressed MY opinions on the incident, both openly on social media, and to friends on WhatsApp. It is clear from what I have written what my take on it was, so really not hard to grasp. In the video I can be heard saying "what the fuck..." as the cyclist dived down the inside of a turning van. My alarm at what the cyclist was about to do. After the collision I stop to check they are both OK, and say "I know its a bit of a moment for both side". This comment was referring to the shock they had both experienced in the collision.

At no point did I say anything about blame or fault for the incident, and I go on to ask if they are both OK, specifically pointing at the van driver expressing he had a shock. Anyway, those are the facts of what happened. But who am I to tell others what to think. 

Recently the video resurfaced and was shared and viewed many times, which obviously encourages people to comment, and that is where my alarm and disappointment begins. There are all sorts of comments, mostly people correctly directing fault to the cyclist. Some choose the use of some tasty and frankly unnecessary language, with some sad people deciding that more harm should have come to the cyclist involved.

Then we have the cycling haters, who just take any opportunity to spout the usual "shouldn't be on the road", "who's going to pay for the damage because bikes aren't insured". Par for the course really, and a group I am happy to ignore all day long. Or occasionally reply to just to anger the bee in their bonnet. 

But the ones that really alarm me the most are the ones who feel the need or right to be so angry about things, and demand that their version of events is the right one, and use any language they choose to get their point across in the loudest and most grotesque way. There have been plenty of people saying that the verbal comments heard on the video somehow blame the van driver for the collision. "It's clear..." is how the comments usually begin. Cyclist defending cyclist "you're all the same" A little ironic maybe?

Then we get onto the personal attacks. From a 50 second clip on the internet, these geniuses are able to determine my weight, age, sexuality and so much more. Well, its that or they are just opinionated morons with poor language skills and are unable to communicate what they actually think. Use your words little Timmy 😂. But seriously, these people walk among us, with their anger and instant opinions ready to go at a moments notice.  Seemingly unable of reading a quite footnote or description, incapable of engaging in a meaningful discussion, and unwilling for one moment, regardless of the facts presented, to admit they were wrong. Or lets be fair, not wrong, but simply misinterpreted the situation they saw.

The number of exchanges with such people has really been quite shocking. While I am not offended, and don't take any of their comments or name calling to heart, I just think it is so sad that there are THAT many people out there with such vile thoughts. On the flip side I am sad for them, as in reality they have nothing better to do than troll the internet, looking for things to have twisted opinions on. Of course I realise that some of these are people who just get kicks out of being an arsehole to others, and if that is what floats your boat so be it.

The worst part about all this is that this is the comments on ONE video, albeit a popular one. But these people are everywhere, filling comment sections with uneducated biased opinions, with the sole purpose of causing offence and upsetting people. As I say, on this occasion no offence has been taken and no harm done. However there are vulnerable people out there who are seriously affected by these things, and these trolls are hell bent on getting to them, and getting a reaction.

I don't know what the actual point of me writing this is, other than to ironically have my opinion on their opinions, and to express my concerns at how low society has fallen. With people from all walks of life chiming in on things just to try their hardest to cause offence. I really can't get my head around people feeling the need to go beyond stating their opinion on the facts at hand. As I say it is quite nice that I would say the majority are able to just say a quick comment saying what they think happened. Some are even willing to engage in discussion to gather further info. But some, nope, not having it, I know what I saw, and it was this... Followed by a load of personal insults. I don't get it!

I should point out that I know I have and possibly still do make quick judgements on situations and people, it is after all human nature to make a quick decision so we can act accordingly. However I refrain from personal attacks, and while I might think something, I would never think it was OK to post it on social media.

My take away from this is that we live in a world which takes life 15 seconds at a time, one TikTok, Instagram Reel, and whatever Facebook call theirs, at a time, and feel that everything is there to be judges. Almost like the jesters and acts for royalty in medieval times, a simple thumbs up and thumbs down does not suffice. And a thumbs down turns into being locked into the stocks of social media and flogged to exhaustion. What a world!

So my message to those who think they have the right to bully, attack, berate and target people on social media, especially when you have misinterpreted the facts, the joke is on your moron. While you think you are being clever, you are actually making a complete arse of yourself, and showing the world what a sad individual you are. The fact that most hide behind fake profiles just says it all. You don't even have the courage or confidence to speak as yourself. So your words are hollow to most. However, be aware to some they are damaging and dangerous, and your words may have consequences. While you might feel that doesn't affect you, remember just how many people struggle with their mental health, and become vulnerable. One day the target of one of these attacks my be on someone you care about, or even yourself whilst having a low. 

What's better, the world is set right, and my thoughts are at rest now. Rant over. 

PS, I did say at the start I was tired, so if this reads as a jumbled mess of words and makes no sense, I make no apologies. 😜

PPS If you wanted to see the clip and the comments they are here. 

https://www.instagram.com/share/reel/BBvCXP9hPM 

Two weeks later - I'm healing well

So it has been just over two weeks now since surgery, and I have has a check up. All is healing well , and  a stitch has been removed . The gums are healing well, with my one little sore spot finally making its own little fightback and starting to be less sensitive and heal up slowly, Much to my relief, drinking and occasionally eating is pretty much without discomfort now. 

I say about eating, I have eggs and fish most evenings as a meal, just to put something solid but with plenty of protein in my stomach, with the exception of the other night where I had a small cottage pie. OMG, taste and sensation overload or what! As delicious as it was, I am keen to avoid such foods for now for a couple of reasons. First being the discomfort of getting food caught in the little gaps, and the still healing gums. It is quite an uncomfortable feeling to try and get the food particles  back out again, so easier to avoid for a bit longer.  

The second reason being, I am enjoying the weight loss, and this was always part of the plan. I am not feeling ill or weak, and am still getting 1000-1500 calories a day, whilst making sure I get some moderate exercise in where possible, mainly walking or some indoor bike training.  But mainly the primary reason is to keep things clean and easier to maintain for me.

Speaking of maintainance I am brushing now, even the gums, which feels like such a strange sensation. For starters having back teeth is weird, so much more work to do with all these teeth, but I have a second chance here and I am not gonna blow it. This has been a long time in the making and I really want the best outcome possible. Also I can use my water flosser too now. I have never had one before, so this evening will be my first time using one, and I reckon things are gonna get messy.

So there, teeth, all going well. I am back in the chair in two weeks time for the teeth to come out for a scan, and maybe a little gum sculpting too, sounds very exciting doesn't it haha. The scan iis to check all is well, and to plan for the next set of temporary teeth which should hopefully come in a couple of weeks time. I am looking forward to the differences with those, and it is hoped that it might help correct the slight lisp I have developed due to the bulk of the first set of temp teeth. The next ones apparently should be a little more streamlined.

I mentioned weightloss, so a quick update. So far in the past two and a bit weeks, I have shifted somewhere in the region of 18lbs, which I am definitely starting to feel now, The routine of mainly liquids is fine with me, with very little in the way of urges to scoff a load of food down. That said, the thought process is still there and I occasionally see pizza or pastries and imagine what it would feel like to down a few slices. But that is all about self control and willpower. Not to mention changing my relationship with food for the better. Anything is OK in moderation, especially when things are under control, but for not I will stay on the easy path, and reap the rewards of weightloss. 

Definitely no regrets about going through the process with the teeth, and each time I think about it, it feels like better and better value for money. The support has been incredible, both from the dental practise and close friends, so I am sincerely grateful to everyone for their help, and non judgement on this.

Post dental surgery check-in.

So, where do I start? It has been a long week, but a productive one.

I think I covered most of the details in my last entry, but will quickly run through it all again now for those who didn't read that far into the last entry.

On Tuesday 14th Jan I went in for dental surgery in Forest Hill. It lasted approx 10-11 hours, during which time I had 19 teeth removed, 13 implants placed, bone and gum grafts, and quite a few stitches. At the end of which two temporary dental bridges were placed on the top and bottom jaws, giving me teeth again.  I know that sounds a very strange thing to read, trust me, it feels even stranger writing it or actually living it.

First off, the questions. How many of my own teeth do I have left. Answer 0. 

Was I knocked out or sedated for the procedure? No, it was all done under local anaesthetic.

Was it scary / painful. Nope. I was incredibly well looked after throughout. From informing me of what would happen, to what was happening each moment.  Constant checks on my comfort, able to pause whenever I felt the need. Distracted most of the time watching beautiful videos on the TV on the ceiling over my head.

I have been asked lots of questions about the whole deal, but the most important one to answer is WHY? And the answer is simple, oral health. I have gone over ths before but just wanted to reiterate, this is not about vanity or looks. The goal here was to have a healthy future proof mouth, and if that came with shiny new teeth and a good smile, so be it. 

Anyway, onto the here and now.

It has been about five days now, so I thought I would note down what is happening with me, how things are going and how I feel. 

First notable thing is the temporary teeth are 3D printed. It is notable as they are slightly thicker than the final fits will be, so there is a slight sensation of having a full mouth. Of course I have to add that I was missing a lot of rear teeth before, so the feeling of having a mouth full of teeth again is weird on its own. But the thickness is every so slightly noticeable to me. Far from terrible though, so don't think of that as a negative point. 

Then of course there are the gums. They have been through a lot and are a little delicate, but again, we are not talking any great levels of discomfort. Tender in places, aware there are some stitches in them, but again, far from what some would expect to be feeling after having that many teeth removed. Like any oral stitch, they are a bit irritating as it feels like you have a persistent hair in your mouth, so your tongue constantly tries to move it. Which causes a bit of soreness. 

The soreness from constantly prodding and pushing my gums with my tongue is actually the largest source of discomfort for me, and that is all self inflicted, as I know full well that this is what happens, but can't help myself lol. The other sensation is slight pressure in my jaw. Obviously having recently had lots of metal work screwed into the jaw bones this is hardly a surprise, but something I am aware of.  Worth noting here that the sensations I am talking about are nothing a couple of Ibuprofen a day can't take care of. 

I am really looking forward to the subsidence of all the sensations, and the gums being fully healed, however I am coping just fine. There has been minimal swelling and no bruising since day 1, so that was a very pleasant surprise for me, as I was genuinely expecting lots more discomfort on all fronts. 

My palete is a bit delicate at the moment. If you have ever burnt your mouth with food, you will know the sensation, tender and soft, but soon heals up. That is the process I am in the middle of now.

The other thing to address here is food. With that much going on in your mouth, how do you eat? Well, put simply, right now I don't. I have been on shakes and soup since Tuesday morning now. Making sure I have plenty of protein, lots of fluids, and rinse as much as I can to keep things clean. In that time I have lost over half a stone in weight, and have to say I am happy to be achieving some good from the recovery process. I aim to keep on the reduced calories for as long as I can. I have done this before, with good results. Only difference being is that last time I was not recovering from surgery.

This time around due to the healing, I am unable to keep myself active and busy in the ways I have before, which for my mind is quite testing. Whenever I am faced with a challenge, being active and getting out of my own head always helps. Because it is cold out, and I am a bit low on energy, and maybe a little low mood too (its grey out there!), I am struggling a bit to distract myself as much as I would like to. But I am gonna try my hardest over the coming week. 

At the end of next week I go back to work. Which I must say weighed heavy on me for a bit over the past few days. Worried about my speech, and any discomfort I would feel being on the phone all day, I had a few moments where I wondered if I would be able to so soon. But truth be told, I have been speaking "quite well" since the day after surgery, and in general it is improving more and more each day. So in five days time I should be in a much better place, and will address it with work before my return if the need arises. 

Right, as you might be able to tell from the stuttered format of this entry, I need some rest, so am gonna go get some. I have consumed a massive 974 calories today, so am ready to recharge. Hopefully in the coming days I can start being a bit more active again, and feel a bit more like myself, but til then, goodnight, and thanks for reading. 

I will leave you will a big, over exagurrated smile lol

Dental surgery TOMORROW!!

Toofsday is almost upon us, and this time tomorrow, I will be over half way through the surgery, exciting eh!

I did promise to go into more detail about it all so here goes. First some background again.

As a kid I had prep work for braces done, dentist visits were quite a regular thing, routine checkups etc. After having 4 back teeth removed in preparation for braces, it all came to an abrupt stop. I don't recall being against having the braces done, no more than any normal kid that age anyway, but for one reason or another they never happened. And instead I slowly developed very cramped and crooked teeth, with a nice big buck tooth at the front.

As life progressed and I got into adulthood, interest in dental care took a back seat, dental hygiene and wellbeing took a nose dive, resulting in decay, extractions, poor gum health, teeth getting wonkier and so on. I made a bit of an effort about 10 years ago to try and sort things out, but was already very much resigned to the fact that I would never have a toothy smile, never have any confidence in smiling, and would always be self aware when my mouth was open. Not a great feeling, but at the end of the day life went on. 

After many years of not putting myself first, the change of job, change of lifestyle and change of pace has helped me rethink things. Finding myself in a position to do something about my oral health, I decided to take a look at the extremes of making things right. Knowing I have loose teeth, wonky teeth, missing teeth etc, I did a deep dive into what is possible, and what the best outcomes were, and decided on the most extreme. REMOVAL!

Now this decision has not come lightly, and I have consulted at length about the pros and cons of all options. Eventually deciding that the most effective way to do it was to have removals, implants and bridges, to give my jaw and gums the best possible chances for the future. You see this is more about oral health than vanity, but I am not going to say vanity doesn't matter, because when you are spending big money, you want the best you can get. And after looking at practises out there, I really do feel I have chosen the best possible option out there, both treatment and dentist (prosthodontist in this case).

We discussed many options from treatment and straightening, to simple dentures. Single implants, to what I settled on which is All-On-6. The latter feeling like the best solution for a natural looking outcome, which also allowed the best potential for my gum recovery and health. I have visited a number of times now to have examinations, x-rays, CT scan, 3D scan, design consultations, oral hygiene work etc. 

To put things in perspective before I move on, and answer the common question of "are you getting them done in Turkey?" NO!

Even before a single thing has happened, I already realise and appreciate why getting them done in the UK is better. I am fortunate enough to have a expert on my doorstep in Forest Hill, that is a massive bonus already. However, when you see the promises from the online ads for "teeth in a day" in Turkey, you need to ready between the lines, or the gaps in the teeth if you may.

First up, all these appointments and checks I have had prior to surgery... If I was doing all the prep work via email and Teams before a trip to Turkey, how would the examinations take place? A separate trip there and back each time. Even a single trip to do all the scans would be long winded. 

Then the planning and design stage. Again, no face to face discussions, just online chats, images shared, without much opportunity to think of and ask questions. Just rushed and informal.

Then there is the pricing. What I have noticed with the ads is the small print. Prices promising the work to be done at half the cost of the UK. But when you read closer, that is for the work on the day, no appointments before, no consultations, no treatments or examinations. It also doesn't include the price of flights and accomodation, or any additional work needed such as bone grafting. That alone when you look at the additional costs can ramp the price up massively. 

Then there is the next concern, aftercare.

If you have an issue, you have a 4 hour flight back to Turkey. OK you could do a round trip in a day, but how much do last minute flights cost, would you be fit to fly, could they even fit you in? Even without an issue, how are your post op checks done? The plan for me is to have a number of follow up appointments to check how things are healing, how the teeth and implants are settling, addressing any issues. Identifying if there are any little infections that need medication and so on. Again, how is this done from 2,500 miles away?

Next up, there is the teeth themselves. The plan we are going with is to have a couple of sets of temp teeth, to let things heal, make any adjustments necessary, make sure all is well, before the final fitment of teeth. Shape, contour, colour (vampire fangs!! Lol) It is all up for discussion and consideration during the coming weeks and months, as well as on the run up to tomorrow. How does this work when you have to fly to another country? Again from reading the adverts it suggests you will get your final teeth on the day, job done. Just all seems so rushed and uncertain for the sake of POSSIBLY saving some money.

Obviously this is just my take on things, and I am lucky enough to be able to afford to take the plunge and get the work done in the UK.

However if I was not able to afford it in the UK, I am not sure I would want to do it abroad, knowing the differences in approaches taken, and the accelerated timescale of things just to save a few grand. 

So, the details. I currently have 11 top teeth and 8 bottom teeth. I can only bite on one side of my mouth due to lack of back teeth. My teeth are so wonky that my mouth closes further than it naturally would, so my face appears shorter with my mouth closed. My teeth don't simply meet in the middle, the overlap and cross over like meshing your fingers together. As you can see from my last post, the gaps are all over the place. So the goal is to address a number of things.

Firstly, a straight bite, and teeth meeting naturally and evenly. Allowing me not only a big beaming smile, but also a healthier bite, and opening my jaw back up a little when my mouth is closed. 

Next up is the width. At the moment my teeth angle inwards, so instead of holding my cheeks out, and giving me a wide jaw so to speak, everything leans in, leaving my cheeks to collapse in, and narrowing my mouth. So currently I have a short narrow mouth / bite. Forgive me at this stage for my absolute lack of knowledge of the correct terms here, I only hope it makes a little bit of sense. 

The process is brutal, extreme, and not to everyones taste I am sure, but before I go on, please understand that my oral health is poor, and will only continue to worsten without some serious intervention. This is MY choice and NOT simply following the recommendations of a dentist. 

The 19 teeth I mentioned, a few are really loose, a few more quite loose, and eating has become uncomfortable. So they are ALL coming out! Yup, you heard me, tomorrow I am having 19 teeth taken out!

In their place 12 implants will be placed, 6 top and 6 bottom. The gums will be manipulated a little bit to form a workable gum line, then bridges (uncertain of how many yet) will be placed on the top and bottom jaws, with complete sets of teeth. These will be the first set, used to heal around, and form a foundation for the future. The design, colour, and shapes of the teeth have been custom done to best fit my mouth in order to achieve the best possible fit, feel and of course look.

The whole day is booked out for this procedure, and I am sure it is going to be as uncomfortable as it sounds, but I have faith that I am ready for this huge next step.

Once it is all done, the recommendation is no solid food for a week or two, then slowly introducing the softest of foods over the coming weeks and so on. Needless to say there is some weight loss on the horizon, which is much needed, so I get the bonus of losing some weight, so something to smile about with my new smile in due course. This is going to be a great opportunity for me to reset my relationship with food, and quite frankly I am really excited about that too.

The biggest curiousity for me right now is what it is going to feel like having teeth at the back of my mouth again, feeling them meeting together from front to back is bound to feel strange for a while, but I can't wait. 

After tomorrow, there are a number of follow up appointments to check healing, adjust and fit another set of temporary teeth to make sure things are going the way it has been planned, and then finally when all is well, I get my final smile fitment. High gloss, bright white, with vampire fangs, and glow under UV... How about that!!! 

Haha, just kidding, I think the prosthodontist would kill me if I asked for that.

So watch this space, and lets see what happens over the next day, then coming months.

I will leave you with a range of pics of my current fat face, poor grimace, and failing teeth. 

Thanks for reading, til next time. 

Smile!

Ironic title, given how infrequently I actually smile, but that might all be about to change. I have one more shift at work to complete before I take a couple of weeks off for dental surgery. I was in there earlier this week for one last good clean, and spoke to the staff about how I was 80% excited, 20% anxious. Maybe that's nearer 90/10 actually.

In my earlier blog I covered off the basics of what is being done, I will be going into more detail in time, but for now just wanted to mark the countdown to the big day, and the fact that between now there is no more work for me, woohoo! 

This is what we are starting with. It's a bit of a mess and sight not seen by many for a long long time. Now as I have said before this is not an aesthetics thing, well not primarily anyway, but more a health thing first. 

I am hoping to get some more pictures from the dentist, and hopefully some more during too (maybe). But as you can see, they have their work cutout for them, however I have complete faith in them, and can't wait to see the end results. But that is a while away yet. 

That said, the initial day should see quite the change. The appointment is booked for 570 mins, which I am sure anyone who doesn't enjoy the dentist will appreciate is quite a while. 

 Anyway, I just thought I would share that image, to show others what is happening.

Anyway, that's me for now. 

New Year - New Me 2025 edition.

 It has been forever since I last wrote anything in this blog, so thought it was about time I did. For the past 10 months or so everything has been about my mental state and how I am coping with the ever changing world I find myself in. However I am pleased to report that things have slowed down a little now, and I find myself able to both think about and talk about other things.

One of the things that has always bugged me in life is my teeth. Yup, simple as that, I hate my teeth, have always had a bad situation in my mouth since childhood, and now finally find myself wanting to do something long term about it, and in a position to actually do something about it. 

I have looked at what I can do about it for a few years now, and considered many options, but never gone so far as to actually enquire and get pricing on it. HOWEVER.. that all changed earlier this month when I walked into London Dental Arts for an appointment and consultation for what my options were. To say I was surprised is an understatement. 

Due to things being so bad orally, it has been a while since I went to the dentist, and had definitely never been to a private dentist. LDA is a completely private dentist, so things are a little different to what I am used to. For the better I might add. Last time I had any imaging done it was done using the little thing that you held in your mouth while they positioned a little machine to the side of your mouth.  So standing up with the machine moving around my head seemed space aged.

The first imaging that was done was a lovely crystal clear x-ray, which was then analysed by AI to work out the lay of the land so to speak. This image was enough for the dentist, sorry the Specialist Prosthodontist (SP) to discuss my options and work out both some plans of attack and some pricing based on my decisions. 

After the initial conversation another appointment was planned for some more imaging to be done to allow them to further explore the options I was leaning towards. The second appointment was to have a CT scan done this time, so they could see in better detail my bone density and any other things that could impact the treatment. Seeing the imaging created by this was absolutely stunning. I have seen these images on TV but never in person. WOW !!

Once these images were done, and the SP had had some time to look them over, the next step was to see if what I wanted was possible, and if it was, how it would happen, and a timeline. This was done at another appointment, where even further imaging was done, this time a 3D scan of the mouth, including gum, palette etc. Again, I was shocked to see how good this imaging was.

My final appointments to date were with the SP and the hygienist. For a good clean, and then a chat with the SP to confirm the plan, sign some consent paperwork, agree the pricing and treatment plan, and confirm the date of it all. On top of this I was able to speak to the SP about the look I wanted for the teeth, and look at some provisional renders of what I would look like smiling. I am 52 in Feb, so me smiling showing teeth is not something that feel natural to me, so it was alarming and amusing to see  none the less. 

To say I am excited about this is an understatement, and with just a couple of weeks to go, and one final appointment with the hygienist to make sure everything is clean and bacteria free before the surgery, it is all very real too. Once the process starts the first step will be massive and drastic, not to mention uncomfortable if that is the right word for it. Everything after that will be incremental and hopefully an improvement each time. 

A few people know what I am having done, and I am sure I will reveal more after the initial surgery on the 14th Jan, but until then, thank you for entertaining this blog entry, and I hope to update soon with some more interesting and exciting information. 

All I will say is... it IS drastic, and it IS expensive... But its for the rest of my life, so I feel its worth it too. 

Fantastic Florida

 The past few months have been hectic, so I am writing this retrospectively, so please forgive any muddles in the timeline or tense some things are written in. I am going to try and make it sound recent, but I was in Florida in August and it is now mid November.

Here goes...

After being  made redundant at the start of the year, I have spent the past few months trying to secure a job I am interested in. There have been some interesting options, which are all discussed over on my other blog at  www.snazy.co.uk.  But this is about what came next. Once I had secured the job of my dreams, it was time to hit the reset button HARD before starting my new job, and what better place to do that (in my books) than Florida.

Travelling in the school summer holidays is never cheap, so if you are going to spend good money, have a damn good time. For me the main pillar of any trip to Florida is the accomodation. Having stayed on Legacy Park last year when we got married in Florida, we were 100% sure we wanted to stay there again. A lovely little gated community, just off the US27, and within a short drive of almost anything you could want to do in the Orlando or surrounding area. This is further helped by the fact that the US27 around Davenport is a 5-10 min drive to reach the 192 or I4, so the world is your oyster.

Now just to find somewhere. A quick search on AirBnB brought up a few options, however this one really ticked all the boxes for me. Here is a link to it. https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/35381840

Let me start with a summary of it..... A beautiful corner plot with fantastic views of the estate from the upstairs windows. The sunrises and sunsets are absolutely stunning from by the pool, or from the master bedroom. Fully equipped with all the creature comforts, and beautifully kept. From the kitchen having plenty of cutlery and crockery, not to mention every kind of utensil you could want (not something I have found in other properties), to the games room for those moments you just want to relax, or the weather isn't behaving itself. 

One thing I will say that you don't usually find in peoples blogs or reviews about properties they have stayed in is, what it is like to be in during a tropical storm or hurricane. We were fortunate/unfortunate enough to be in Florida for Storm Debby, which made a nice pass over the house in the early hours. Being able to use the TV as a source of information, and receive up to date warnings of any tornado threats was helpful, and of course when the time came, the emergency broadcast system kicked in perfectly, on both the TV and our phones. Thankfully it was nothing more than some very heavy rain, and strong winds with some powerful gusts. My main point of writing this part is just to say, at no point did we feel at risk from what was happening outside. No leaks, no winds whistling into the house. Like the 3rd little Piggy, we were safe and sound. 

Back to the fun stuff though. Starting the day having breakfast by the pool, and a nice cool dip to get ready for the day was a delight. In the time we were there I think the pool guys were there twice for pool maintenance and a little lanai repair. As I say, this place is very well looked after. 

Speaking of being looked after, there were a couple of times we needed to contact the management about little trivial things, and both times we were treated with respect and courtesy. To the point of when they visited to do a little repair we ended up chatting for ages and got to know them really well. Definitely makes you feel comfortable highlighting any issues you might have, and very happy to help with any other enquiries about things to do around the area also. A great point of contact, and it just went to show how good the management and upkeep of the property is.  Which as I say, showed clearly in the property. 

For our stay it was just the two of us, so we only used the master bedroom, however the house is huge and perfect for a large family or a group of friends who want to stay together, but also like their own space. The lounge area has a great seating arrangement, and super for a get together to watch some TV, or just relax and unwind after a day out.

Then there is the dining room, perfect for a nice sit down, meal and chat. Strangely I don't think I have ever used a dining room in all the times I have stayed in Florida houses, but they are a welcome addition, especially for those who like to do things more formally at times, and be together as a family. Just off the dining room is another smaller lounge area, with sofas and a coffee table. Nice for just sitting down and getting some alone time in for a bit, or for different family members to do their own thing. For us, it was a good staging area to start the day in. Putting shoes on, gathering things we needed for out day out, or on the flip side, putting all the bags and bags of shopping down as we came in from trips to the malls.

The kitchen is huge and well equipped, with an island and breakfast bar which personally I loved sitting at with a coffee in the mornings before heading out to the pool and sunshine. Again the island is perfect for keeping stuff on, easy to grab for when you are heading out, or need to get something from the car etc. But obviously serves a practical purpose too, especially for larger groups, being able to have breakfast and meals in separate areas depending what suits. Side note, the stools for the breakfast bar are super heavy and well made, another indicator of the quality to expect in the property.

Speaking of the pool and the sunshine, the pool area gets sun all day round, from sunrise to sunset, there is a part of the pool area which will ensure you get the rays you went to Florida for. There is ample seating, a large table to sit around and an abundance of loungers too, all with good quality cushioning too, not a guaranteed thing at some houses as I have found. And again, the quality counts here too. After the rain a quick wipe is all they need to be usable again. Some places tend to have cheaper cushions which soak up the rain and are unusable for days after. 

The community itself is well kept, and groundskeeping staff are there almost every day keeping the grass cut, bushes trimmed, and carrying out any other maintenance that is needed. This is course is all separate to the house itself, but worth mentioning. I enjoyed morning sunrise walks and runs daily, both inside the gated area of the community, and sometimes heading out into the streets and other communities in Legacy Park. Occasionally venturing even further afield to the US27 for a few extra miles. 

Just outside Legacy Park there are plenty of places that you might find useful. From the Publix supermarket a mile up the road, to the Walmart a couple of miles down the road just past the 192 exit. Not to mention lots of places to eat, from the mainstream to the independents. There are of course the must haves like KFC and McDonalds for those who like to stick to what they know, as well as Chick-fil-A, Dominos, iHop, Applebee's.  Shopping is plentiful too locally, with Target, the aforementioned Walmart, as well as Dickies, Best Buy and much much more just up the road. Or if you feel a little more adventurous, a 10 min drive will put you on the I4 and you will be at Mall at Millenia in no time.

In the time we were fortunate enough to be staying at this beautiful house we ventured to many places both near and far, but it was always lovely to come through the gates, drive onto the driveway, and walk into a place which instantly felt like home to us. Feeling safe and secure, in an area I was happy to go out for walks and runs in the early hours in darkness to watch the sun rising. It is hard to convey how perfect it all felt. Regardless of what you felt like doing, you had a good base to start from. And even on days where we barely did a thing, being able to lay in bed and watch TV, not on a microscopic stamp on the wall sized TV,  but a decent one was lovely. 

Getting ready to go out was great too, having a choice of bathrooms to use is always a bonus. Laundry room upstairs, right where you need it, right by all the bedrooms. Plenty of towels available too, so one less thing to have to waste your precious luggage allowance on too. Definitely noteworthy!

I could carry on all day but will just finish up by saying. When you are looking for a place to stay, this is a definite contender. Regardless if you are a large family or just a couple, this is massive bang for the buck, and I am pretty sure you will never look at another properly again. Why settle for a little single storey cramped place, sandwiched between others, when you can have the luxury of a beautiful corner plot, loads of space to do your own thing, and everything in a house you could want for.

High speed internet, great selection of TV channels, even showing the F1 which was a nice bonus for me. A games room in the garage, ice machine in the huge fridge freezer in the kitchen, shower room just off the pool, leading back into the house, which also doubles as your downstairs WC. No more frantic drying off to go in to use the loo, or dripping walks to the bathroom to shower after a swim. 

Seriously, if you read my other blogs you will see that I complain and moan a lot, but there is none of that here, saying it as I see it, this is a stunning house which I will happily re-book to stay in again and again. As I write this I am eyeing up dates to book off work, and flights I can book to enjoy my next dose of the Sunshine State, and an amazing home from home. 

Massive thanks to the owners and management for an amazing stay, here's to many more.

PS there are plenty of genuine, as it really is, pictures on the AirBnB link, so I will refrain from posting anymore. 

PPS, for amazing slow mornings, may I recommend a stroll around Lake Rianhard with a breakfast pastry and coffee from the Starbucks which is at right there on the lakeside. 

Look up you **** !

 What is it with people today, not paying attention to where they are going, and when they finally realised that they are on a collision course with you, they just stare blankly at you, wondering what the **** you are doing there. How dare you be in THEIR way.

This isn't a new thing, and it certainly isn't limited to any particular demographic. In fact, it seems almost part of evolution. Years back a joke illustration was made of the evolution of the human race, showing it going from hunched, to stooped, to walking upright. With a new addition at the end of the human starting to stoop again to naturally be in a "staring at phone screen" position,

But here's the thing, it's not even just phone zombies now, nor the latest addition, hoodie wearing cybermen, as predicted by Doctor Who decades ago. Wherever you go, you are sure to find one of the varieties of the human race who are incapable of looking where they are going.

Coffee drinks away with the fairies, phone zombies fixated on their screens, school mums too busy chatting to acknowledge anyone else around them, regardless of the danger they pose. Headphone wearing day dreamers, or just plain ignorant ****s. There are many more, as well as combinations of the able, but lets keep this basic shall we. 

Every time I leave the house, for a walk, a dog walk, a run, a ride, or to drive somewhere I am guaranteed to encounter a number of them. Running along, balancing along the kerb so I don't have to run into traffic, but hey, you do you, why should you budge over just a tiny bit, how dare someone else need to use the pavement. 

Walking the dog, the phone zombies staggering down the road, I try to keep property side of the pavement, dog on my left to use myself as a barrier between the person and the dog. Here they come, swerving down the road like a drunk at 2am after kicking out time. Suddenly they reach me, looking up in shock and disgust. Confronted by a furry face who is now interested why they are so close to their human. But hey, my bad !!

It just goes on and on, scooter riders, as well as bike riders, just popping out of nowhere, then suddenly joining the road right in front of the car, but again, shocker, they are surprised there is a car on the road, imagine that.

The point I am getting to here is a simple one. Spacial awareness, it is something built into us as part of self preservation. Awareness of danger around us, avoiding coming into physical conflict with anything which poses a threat to our well-being. But alas, it's slowly being evolved out of us, and replaced by entitlement. 

The dirty looks you get from someone who just put themselves in mortal danger is a thing! Rather than shock, relief and maybe an apology, you now get confusion, aggression and an entitled rant. "You should have been looking out for me".... NO! YOU should look where you are going and be more aware of your surroundings. 

Phone snatchers thrive on this new mentality, do as you please without recourse.  Walk down the road in your own little world, completely unaware that there is an e-bike heading towards you with a rider in a balaclava, woosh, suddenly there is no more distraction, and your phone is gone, probably with all your credit cards etc too. If only you were move considerate and aware of what was happening around you. Rather than rudely barrelling through the streets expecting the world to part like the Red Sea.

Then we have pedestrians and cyclists who end up being hit by bicycles, mopeds, scooters and cars. Everyone else is to blame, it is never the person involved. The ability to take responsibility for our actions and occasional mistakes is gone. Replaced by... yup you guessed it, entitlement. Some scenarios and how they play out.

Pedestrian bumps into phone zombie... pedestrians fault.
Phone zombie walks into road and is hit by cyclist... cyclists fault.
Cyclist jumps red light and hits a car... cars fault.

The list goes on an on, but somehow, every time, the entitled arsehole somehow manages to blame the other party. 

And then you have cyclist mentality, which is a whole thing of its own. I recently saw an old clip on X which was of a cyclist running a red light and close passing a woman with a buggy. Alarmingly quite a few people went either with "didn't hit her, whats the problem" or, "shes was in the wrong for stopping when she saw him, she could have caused an accident". Unreal! Don't defend the indefensible, don't make yourself look stupid, and take some damn responsibility for your actions. 

If things carry on the way they are going, the world is doomed, and the human race, especially the western world, is done for. Sod climate change, attitude change is the thing that is most damaging to the existence of humans on this planet. And what makes it even worse, is the infrastructure and laws of the land are changing to support these arrogant entitled attitudes. 

That's better, now I don't have to think about writing this blog every time I go out and encounter these arseholes.

Thanks for reading.

Wiped out!

 Phew, what a roller-coaster the past dozen or so days have been. Dieting, exercising, counting calories, and trying to find a balance that fits me. Making sure I am getting enough food in to power the furnace, and making sure I don't over do the exercise and out the fire out. 

Yesterday was a busy old day, but before I get onto that, let me mention my highlights so far. 
Increased exercise load, or back to my old normal should I say (with exception to yesterday, but we will come to that)
Reduced food intake, more specifically reduced calorie intake. Ending most days with a 1500+ calorie deficit.

The result of which is a loss from between 14 and 19lbs, depending which starting weight you use. I will be conservative and call it 14lbs. But that is in 10 days, so I am not complaining at that. As usual all weigh-ins are dry. Post activity, post pee etc. Dropping from low 240s to high 220s in that time makes me happy.

I am of course mindful of a couple of things. Early days in weight loss are always productive, seeing a big drop off, then it tapers, but I am OK with that. Even OK with a couple of fluctuations along the way. I am not expecting the same from next week, and would guess at 224 by the end of next week, 222 would be amazing. 
I am also well aware that I carry a lot of muscle mass too, so getting anywhere near what some of the guides recommend. For example, after a weightloss program I did before, I was down to 196lbs. I was asked if I was seriously ill, and told I looked unwell.

So when you see the chart below, it is a bit of a concern. The 132-167 is normal range. 174-202 is overweight, then the next 2 are obese and severely obese. OK 278+ is a bit of a reach even for me, but if I was 174 I would have lost a lot of muscle mass and be wasting away, and somehow still be overweight. Another great reason to ignore science at times.

5 ft 10 in (70 in)	132–167 lb	174–202 lb	209–271 lb	278–376 lb

Next up is blood pressure, when it was tested at a job assessment recently it was quite high. Obviously stress of the situation wasn't helping, but on checking when I got home, it was indeed high. In 2 months I have brought that down to a much better place, and can feel the difference.

Also resting heart rate is a good measure for me, as the weight has gone on, the resting HR has risen. For my weekly average to be 45 or more is a sign I am not doing great, and that is roughly where it has been of late. However the last few weeks have seen that decrease too, and I am back around 40-41bpm average now. Again my body feels in rhythm and unstressed like this. 

However that brings me on to yesterday and today. Deciding to push myself a bit yesterday, I was off, the weather was nice and all that. I first did a 4.5 mile dog walk, then came home and went to the park to do 3 miles of running, including a 10 min benchmark run at high intensity. Then I came home, had a bowl od porridge, and went out for a 30 mile bike ride. The calorie deficit for yesterday was 3,300 by the end of the day, so massive!

I went to bed knowing sleep would not be great, and I was right. Lately my sleep score has been high 80s, last night, just 57. My resting HR was also up to 43, and I woke feeling lethargic. As expected really then. 

So today I need to take things a bit easier, nothing big planned, just a walk in a little while, then maybe a turbo session this afternoon just to loosen things up and keep things moving. Amazingly from all that, I have no aches and pains that I didn't before the day started, so that is nice.

Now if I can just wake up a bit, I can go for a little walk, stretch the legs, relax the mind, and get some fresh air. 

Thanks for reading.