Another map diversion sees light of day

New Beeston town map seems well received, but first...

11 days ago I opened one of the rear passenger doors on our car and, for a agonising10-20 seconds or so my left arm was frozen in space, and my left shoulder felt as if it was being torn from my body. I let out a cry which had my wife Susan asking in the urgent voice she reserves for such occasions ‘What have you done?’

‘Torn a muscle I think’ I replied, but sitting in the car as we headed home which, fortunately, was a only couple of miles away, and holding my left shoulder with my right hand, I said ‘It feels just like the trapped ulnar nerve I had in my left elbow a few years back.’

Once home I took painkillers and applied an ice-pack (which I did continuously for the next 5-6 days). Neither helped very much, so the next morning (a Friday) I tried to get a referral to a physio via my doctor, but there turned out to be a six week wait just for a telephone appointment, so I decided to go and see a private osteopath down the hill from where we live, which I got for the Monday. The three days I waited were so agonising that I took myself off to a NHS walk-in emergency self-referral clinic in Nottingham City Centre early Sunday morning. Just seeing all the other patients was a fascinating experience and a kind nurse prescribed my more powerful pain killers, which I then got from a nearby pharmacy.

They helped a little but it was Harry the Osteopath on the Monday who worked some magic, or was it alchemy?, and said it something to do with my ‘rotary cuff’. Then with a mix of massage, acupuncture and blue tape on my left shoulder I felt the pain reducing there and then. At this point the movement in my left shoulder and arm had been close to zilch and what made it even worse is the fact that I am left-handed!

Harry the osteopath alchemist cum magician also took me though a couple of simple exercises to do 4/5 times a day. The cost of just over an hour of this young man’s time was £50 and he was worth every penny. For some reason, with a few exceptions, osteopathy is not available on the NHS (which seems crazy to me) and physiotherapists no longer touch you - they listen to you and ask you about what mobility you have before showing you exercises to do.

I left Harry still hurting but the pain had gone down from 10 to 5 and by the time I saw harry again yesterday the pain was down to 2, providing I avoided any extreme movements with my arm and shoulder (which is still the case). Today is the first time I have sat down at my computer in close on a fortnight, so I have a bit of catching up to do and typing this much my shoulder is telling me it’s time to stop and to take some painkillers.

The point of sharing this story with you is how, time and again, it is seemingly little things that can knock us off our feet and I am old enough to know that you should stay down for as long as it takes to feel better, and at 80 I am not a hero!

Now, what this post was meant to be about. This year I have had two Beeston (the town where I live) maps published. The latest a fortnight ago. I will let them speak for themselves. The leaflet is aimed at Nottingham University students, but is already something others are asking about. Just one thing about my ‘spider map’. I put Beeston on a north south linear axis, whereas geographically the town is on a south-west north-east axis because that way I can get much more information on the map.

‘OK OK I hear you.’ My shoulder shouting at me. ‘Four clicks and I’m done I promise.’ I think I just heard my shoulder laugh!

A P.S. I won’t be back on my computer for a few days.🐰