I'm getting my terminal ileum removed in the next few months, any advice for preparation? I'm concerned about healing with a connective tissue disorder, as it's relatively easy for me to tear my skin or the odd ligament. Would abdominal exercise decrease the chance of hernias? How best can I minimise risks or stroke/dvt etc? Any advice/reassurance would be great - TIA!
I volunteered at parkrun for the first time and was assigned to the funnel: the end of the run between crossing the finish line and scanning your barcode. There were loads of us volunteering, and our job was essentially to keep people moving and in order of finish, to stop the funnel getting backed up.
What happened regardless, was hundreds of people crossing the finish line and immediately stopping to look at their phones, talk to their friends, grab a snack, etc. The funnel blocked instantly and it became half an hour of watching runners standing on the wrong side of the finish line waiting to get through, messing up their times, while everyone on the other side showed zero care to move along enough to help solve the issue.
I lost my voice shouting for people to keep moving, close large gaps in the queue, be mindful they were preventing other runners from finishing, and was mostly either completely ignored or met with 'the gen z stare'. People started eating and (deliberately) dropping their litter on the floor for us to pick up. People stopped still to take group photos, despite only having a short few paces left before they wouldn't be in people's way - and while they are doing that I have to tell the people behind that they can't overtake.
I had such a positive view of parkrun before, but the realisation of how many people just don't care one iota about the people around them and are happy to be in the way once they've got their own time, really has me feeling like I never want to go back.
If you are one of these people, please try volunteering now and again so you can see how these actions affect other people, and how taking a few extra minutes to be helpful can make all the difference as a whole. A little bit of social awareness goes a long way.
Thanks to all the volunteers who make parkrun happen every week and keep coming back, I don't know how you do it. And for all this moaning I really did notice and appreciate all the thank yous and runners stopping to pitch in afterwards. I'm sure I will go back at some point, but sadly I don't think I'll ever see it the same way again.
Looked last year and couldn't find anyone for standard, pay-by-the-hour garden maintenance, could only find landscapers charging one-off fees to strip everything back.
Can anyone suggest a gardener who could come for an hour a week (or so) to chip away at odd jobs? Info on hourly rates would be helpful too - TIA!