Liberal England in 2015, Part 3

July

These days I have caring responsibilities for my mother, so it is harder to get away. I did manage a few days in Canterbury this month, only to be derailed at Chilham by cows.

In other news, Tim Farron was elected as leader of the Liberal Democrats (with my help).

With attention turning to the Labour contest, I suspected that Dan Jarvis was benefiting from Kieron Dyer Syndrome.

And I suggested that the fault line between David Cameron and George Osborne runs through Eynsham Cricket Club.

I explored the remains of Leicester Central railway station, while an old film about Hemel Hempstead provided some unexpected connections to my childhood.

August

I travelled to Sheringham in Norfolk and back in a day to see The Lone Pine Club a play based on the children's books by this blog's hero Malcolm Saville.

I suggested five likely consequences of Jeremy Corbyn becoming Labour leader and posted evidence that the Liberal Party was all too award of the activities of Cyril Smith.

Posts on Reculver and Dungeness drew on my holiday snaps.

Most notable of all, the nation mourned Stephen Lewis.

September

Another Arts Fresco street theatre festival was held in Market Harborough.

The press tried to manufacture a row about the Glee Club at the Liberal Democrat Conference.

Eric Joyce won Twitter and a water main burst to spectacular effect in my old ward.

Apart from that it was all sport...

After Frank Tyson died I found some footage of him bowling at one of Northamptonshire's outgrounds,.

David Miliband invented cleverball and Lord Bonkers introduced us to the film 'Straight Outta Nick Compton' and the controversial song 'Fuck tha Selectors'.


Now read...

Liberal England in 2015: Part 1
Liberal England in 2015: Part 2
Liberal England in 2015: Part 4

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Six of the Best 562

There is still crucial work to do on the campaign to reform the pub trade, says Gareth Epps.

"Dickensian would not only be inspired by Dickens’s novels: in its alternating layers of melodrama and comedy, like the ‘streaky bacon’ effect he wrote about in Oliver Twist, its style would also be truly Dickensian." Robert Douglas-Fairhurst is literary adviser to the BBC series.

"The heritage minister, Tracey Crouch, announced that Clouds Hill, the tiny home of T E Lawrence , near Wareham in Dorset has been given Grade II* status," reports David Hencke.

Alwyn Turner introduces us to William Charles Boyden-Mitchell, better known as Bill Mitchell, and better known still as Uncle Bill of British Forces Broadcasting Service.

A Lady in London discovers Eel Pie Island.

"The churches of mostly rural Suffolk ... harbour a curiosity - woodwoses (literally 'wild-men-of-the-woods'), hirsute manimals brandishing clubs." Matt Salusbury on creatures that make Jacks in the Green look tame.

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Record-breaking year for road repairs in Lincolnshire

We have our Headline of the Day, courtesy of the Rutland & Stamford Mercury.

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The opening night of Oliver!

Embed from Getty Images

9 July 1968 - Many belong to a species of stage boy, only related to childhood by their small size. All the other attributes of boyhood - youth, gaiety, innocence - have long since gone. Squat creatures, seemingly weaned on Woodbines, they are the boys who have been in Oliver! Lionel Bart has cut a swathe through the nation's youth like the 1914-18 war. They are the new Lost Generation.
Alan Bennett Writing Home (1994)

There is at present a good documentary from 2002 on the BBC iPlayer about the opening night of Lionel Bart's 'Oliver!' It includes interviews with the late Ron Moody and Tony Robinson, who was one of Fagin's gang.

I suspect a young Robinson is second from left in the photograph above. Holding the cake is Keith Hamshere, the original Oliver, who want on to become one of the leading stills photographers in the film industry.

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Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer

This is a cancer that develops from breast tissue, and it's one of the most common cancers affecting females. Most women who get it are over 40 years old, this is a ration of 8 to 10. Younger women and men also get this cancer in rare case. If it's treated early enough, breast cancer is curable and can be prevented from spreading to other parts of the body.

In this article, I will feature on breast cancer in women.

October

The month of October is worldwide Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It's dedicated to raise consciousness about the thousands of women who are diagnosed with the disease every year. The pink ribbon and the colour pink in general, is an international symbol for breast cancer month. Pink is considered feminine and the roles that come with this gender like being beautiful, caring, good and being cooperative.

Signs and Symptoms to look out for:

    Lump in the breast.

    Fluid coming from the nipple.

    Dimpling of the skin around the breast.

    A change in breast shape.

    A red scaly patch of skin.

    Swollen lymph nodes, around the breast.

    Shortness of breath.

Causes

No one knows the exact cause of this cancer. Medics rarely know why some women develop it while others don't. Most women who have this cancer will never be able to tell the exact cause. One thing for sure this cancer is always caused by damage to a cell's DNA.

Risks factors

Some of these risks can be changed and for some we can do little about as we have absolutely no control over them.

    A female whose female relatives have had breast cancer is two to three times more likely to develop the disease. This is because the disease is hereditary.

    Advancing in age. As we saw earlier the big percentage of cancer patients lies from 40 years of age onwards.

 Lack of childbearing or lack of breastfeeding.

    Great exposure to estrogen hormone. Estrogen makes cells to divide, the more the cells divide, they become abnormal, thus becoming cancerous. Estrogen exposure is greatly affected by the age a lady starts and stops menstruating, the average length of her menstrual cycle, and her age at first childbirth. Her risk for this cancer is increased if she starts menstruating before age 12, has her first child after age 30, or stops menstruating after age the age of 50 years and above. Also, if she has her menstrual cycle shorter or longer than the average 24-28 days.

    Radiation exposure. If you get radiation treatments to your chest as a child or young adult, your risk of the disease is increased.

    Diet. Research has shown that women with high fat intake diets are more prone to getting the disease.

    Lack of physical activity.

    The ladies that smoke and drink alcohol increase the risk of developing this cancer.

    Chances of getting breast cancer are increased if you've had breast cancer in one breast before.

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Massage Improves Immune Function in Women With Breast Cancer

Massages not only help you relax but have many other benefits such as supporting the healing process, boosting your energy levels, eases pain, lifts your mood and an over-all feeling of well-being. It is a "hands on" treatment meaning a therapist manipulates muscles and other soft tissues of the body. There are a variety of massages that go from gentle stroking (also known as effleurage) and kneading of muscles and other soft tissues to a deeper more intense technique.

This is what happens while getting a massage. The therapist proceeds to massage soft tissue which transmits electrical signals to local areas of the body and also throughout the body. In the process, these signals help heal damaged muscle, improve circulation, detoxify by getting rid of waste products via the lymphatic system, boosts the immune system, reduces pain and creates a calming effect.

There is scientific evidence that shows how effective massage can be in reducing pain and improving quality of life in cancer patients, people with autism, back pain, atopic dermatitis, ADHD (attention deficit hyperactive disorder), bulimia, cystic fibrosis, diabetes and arthritis. It is also very useful for lowering blood pressure.

Now let's spend a little time discussing breast cancer. The term "breast cancer" is when there is an abnormal growth of cells which come together to form one or more tumors in the breast. Both men and women can have breast cancer but as we are all aware of it does occur more in women. Statistics show that approximately 230,000 women and 2,300 men in the US are diagnosed with breast cancer each year.

Breast cancer most commonly occurs in the cells of the ducts (tubes that carry milk from the lobule to the nipple) known as ductal cancer but can also occur in the cells that line the lobules (milk-producing glands) known as lobular cancer. It can also occur in the fatty and fibrous tissues of the breast, although, this happens less frequently.

Another important fact is the main cause of breast cancer is when a mistake is made during cell division (a genetic abnormality). Abnormal cells inherited from your parents only cause 5-10% of cancers. The largest percentage 85-90% of breast cancers occurs because of the aging process (genetic abnormalities forming along the way).

Now that we have an overview of massage and breast cancer let's check out this study.

Researchers investigated how effective massage could be on immune function and stress in women with breast cancer. They enrolled thirty women, 50 to 75 years of age with breast cancer undergoing 5 weeks of adjuvant radiation therapy.

The protocol was 15 women were to be administered massage in the form of a full-body light pressure effleurage treatment for 45 minutes, and the other 15 women - the control group - were given an equal amount of attention but no massage.

The results were the massage group experienced significant reduction in the deterioration of NK cell activity which occurs during radiation treatment while the control group did not. This translates into the massage was able to boost the women's immune systems. The massage group also experienced decreased heart rate and blood pressure indicating they were less stressed than the control group.

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The Crystal Palace and South London Junction Railway

Built to service the Crystal Palace exhibition and opened in 1865, the Crystal Palace and South London Junction Railway ran between Nunhead and Crystal Palace. It closed in 1954.

There is more about Crystal Palace High Level station on London Reconnections.

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