A Rant: Glandular Fucking Fever...

Now I am not a terribly abstemious person. I like to eat good food, I like to drink, I like to smoke. I wouldn't say I am gluttonous, nor a drunkard, nor do I smoke ridiculously. But I enjoy these comforts, and along with coffee, they are the four pillars on which I stand.

I have toppled over now, due to the horribleness that is glandular fever. 

Good food? No way- I feel as though its the opposite of the famous Seinfeld quote from the Soup Nazi episode ('No soup for you'), for me is 'Only soup for you!' Sigh... I am not generally a soup person, except for exceedingly spicy or flavourful Asian soups like Hot & Sour or Tom Kha Gai. But these are out too... my tender throat surely couldn't even bear the first spoonful.

Drinking? Well, I originally thought I had tonsillitis from a bacterial infection. This was two weeks ago. I took penicillin, I missed two work shifts, I stayed at home for five days and felt better. The penicillin worked I thought. Ok, so a little bit of drinking... bad idea, especially since it wasn't bacterial, my immune system had just finally taken the upper hand. So yeah, even when I feel better from this viral Epstein Barr shite that has afflicted me, I still cannot drink for like a month... sigh...

Smoking? Nope. I was foolish, I had a smoke after I felt better the first time, but it stung my throat horribly. I should have thought... hmmmm... bad idea, I shouldn't smoke for a while. Well, I'm paying for it now, I shouldn't smoke for at least a month after I feel back to normal. I guess its a good thing I am not addicted to tobacco, I just really like it.

Coffee? They say one is tired all the time with glandular fever, and that is certainly true. I walk about in a stupor and sit in general malaise. But it is so damned difficult to sleep properly. In any position one lays, saliva pools in the mouth, so either you have to constantly wake up to spit it out, swallow it with difficulty or just let it drool out. Unfortunately sleeping has become a combination of all three. In addition, there are times I'll just wake up at random hours of the night, sit up, and just not want to lie back down. Of course, since I am not doing my normal daily walking of a couple miles to work, to the city centre or wherever, I have horribly restless legs. So coffee? I could, but it's probably not a good idea. I have never drunk so much herbal tea in my life.

If I was religious, I would think that god was punishing me by not respecting Lent for the last several years by making me give up my four pillars of happiness all at once, during Lent. As an agnostic, I find it a bit ironic.

Perhaps even the worst part of this is I have had to pass up two dates with someone, and if he hasn't had glandular fever before, then he will surely get it unless we were to not kiss for something like six months according to some website... so there we go, fifth happy pillar that sometimes but not always exists, gone too...

Ok, I should say that as an illness goes, there are a plethora of other things that are worse, and I have the deepest respect for that. I know, I am just pissing and moaning... But I have extreme sympathy for all who have gone through this, which so I understand is nearly everyone at some point in their lifetimes.

Re-Designing the Durham Marketplace

As a part of Durham's 2020 Vision project, they are thinking about (and probably will be) re-designing the Marketplace. Apparently the council have allocated £5.2 million for this project which extends from Fowlers Yard on the west side of the peninsula to the east side of the peninsula. The aim is to make the Marketplace more spacious, more up-to-date, and  to repave and increase the lighting of the vennels.

www.durhamcityvision.co.uk/page/708 Visit this link to access the proposed ideas.

The Marketplace has been the central hub of the city for hundreds of years. It is lined by several listed buildings such as the Guild Hall and St. Nicholas' Church. The market is the hub of all the pedestrian traffic in the city, it is the place all the tourists go to first even if only on their way to Palace Green. With all the shops and sites, it is essentially the heart of Durham.

There has been considerable controversy over the proposals. Indeed, there is even a facebook group! Shock Horror! www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=68561121207&ref=nf  They are complaining that everything will be ripped down. On the contrary, the council are not changing any of the buildings, and are proposing only to move the statues. Everything else is quite minor.

I am not one for change, generally... And I like the Marketplace, generally... But I have to say, after reviewing all the several Mb pdf files on the Durham Vision website, I think they're onto something.

So this is what the council wants to do:

First, they want to move the two statues: The Marquis of Londonderry statue up to the top of Silver street, and the Neptune to in front of St. Nicholas' Church. I think this will increase the usable area of the market, and will allow the re-design of the pedestrian and traffic thoroughfares and event spaces.

They want to repave the market and all the vennels with new sandstone or granite. Fair enough. I think repaving and opening up the vennels is a great idea. OK, a lot of people like the cobbles in the market, but I would rather the entire area by repaved with nice stone than what we currently have, which is cobbles and stones, patched with ugly tarmac. They also want to deal with the slope of the marketplace by creating some curved steps in the pedestrian area, and making the main central bit completely level. As long as it's done well, I cannot complain, and having a large level central area will increase the functionality of the area.

New lighting. As long as the lamps they install are in keeping with the medieval character of the market, again, with this I have no qualms. I also think by adding new lighting to the vennels, they will increase their functionality greatly.

New benches and signs. Again, as long as they are keeping in character, fine. Signs for instance should be brushed antique brass instead of plastic...

I sent the council my thoughts, begging them to please keep everything in character. I can see them really butchering this, but I can also see it considerably improving the Marketplace. To be honest, I think it looks a bit grubby at the moment and can do with a revamp.