Know how to save a precious life....

A couple of weeks ago the assembled staff of The Chandos Clinic attended a First Aid in the Workplace training day and we are now all certifiably competent and confident! The following day I bumped in to a friend who was glowing from the fact that earlier that morning she had "revived a bee"! I'm sure I'm not alone in frequently seeing bees who look dead or very nearly dying. It never occurred to me that they were actually just exhausted and that I could revive them with a simple mixture of white sugar and water. I'm mourning all the bees I haven't saved, but hopefully someone followed behind me who knew what to do. In future, I'll now follow the advice of the RSPB below, though unlike my friend, not add a nip of brandy to the bee pick-me-up (she said it still flew off, though who knows how unsteadily and whether it had a thumper of a head the next day). Another website advises only ever using white sugar, (surprisingly not honey) never demerara, and certainly not muscavado! In these current days when the world seems so bent on horrors, it seems especially rich and vital that we can do something as simple and precious as save the life of a weary bee, (without needing to remember the recovery position or try and keep a heart going whilst singing "Staying Alive!")

http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/details.aspx?id=tcm:9-224256

Lyme Disease

The sun is out, the sky is blue... even more of a reason to go yomping in to the wilds, or Ashton Court if you're shorter on time. For those of you that already walk there, you cannot have missed the many warning signs, especially on gates entering the brackeny dear park, about the presence of ticks and Lyme Disease. I saw a tick just the other day and was surprised at how tiny it was, so you do need to check really thoroughly after your walk, and get a friend to help check the places you can't see yourself! Check your dogs too. Long sleeves and long trousers tucked in to socks are the best attire. There is a lot of useful info in this NHS link, so enjoy your walk, but just be vigilant when walking anywhere where ticks might be lying in wait!

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Lyme-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx