10 May 2022

Diversion

 

Exactly two weeks after transporting Simon to hospital, I took him home today. He still has his two silicone stents in place - one in his trachea and the other in his oesophagus. I have no idea how long they are going to sit there, facilitating his breathing and his consumption of food. Similarly, I have no idea what the next hospital steps might be, if any, and I remain in the dark about the previously intended removal of one of his kidneys. He can be very evasive and snappy.

Anyway, he's back in his draughty old cottage now, glad to get away from bleeping hospital machines, other patients and bothersome medical staff. The nights were very long and his sleep was always fitful. He is used to his own company and quietness. The first thing he did when he got in was to roll up a cigarette. Yuk!

Travelling back through Beverley, I saw a sign up ahead nor far from Beverley Minster at the end of Keldgate. It read, "ROAD CLOSED" and there was also a yellow "Diversion" sign. Stupidly, I followed it, imagining that the diversion would be short, soon bringing me back onto Keldgate.

On the diversion by the aptly named Long Lane

Maybe I missed one or two of the yellow diversion signs or more likely they were never placed in position but I found myself on a ridiculous five mile diversion via Woodmansey and the new Beverley by-pass.

It was one of those situations where doing the right thing was not necessarily doing the best thing. I have the strong suspicion that if Clint had dodged the road closure sign we could have driven along Keldgate with no bother. After all, residents still have permission to access their street and their houses. The reason for the road closure remains a mystery.

Next time I meet a yellow diversion sign, I will have second thoughts about following it. Today's diversionary route must have been dreamt up by a practical joker. However, it wasn't funny. Fortunately, I wasn't in a particular rush to get home.

The diversion took me to Woodmansey

38 comments:

  1. Woodmansey looks like a nice side trip.

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  2. Diversion probably referred to the fun someone had watching drivers get lost after they had placed the sign there.
    Hope Simon copes OK now he is back home.

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    1. That first notion occurred to me too!

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  3. I'm happy to hear Simon is home. Draughty or not, it must feel like heaven after a hospital stay. His health situation sounds bleak but at least he still has some control over his life...the smoking being an example.

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  4. Anonymous11:25 pm

    Not as a joke but by road workers, are road closed signs, diversion signs and more. Sometimes the signs tell the truth, sometimes not. I can understand why people ignore them and try anyway.

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    1. Yup! That is what I should have done Andrew.

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  5. I imagine what happens next with Simon, depends on what the docs have found on his scans.

    At least you got some nice photos on the diversion.

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    1. I guess you are right Nurse Lily. What we have now is just some respite.

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  6. You like a little adventure in your life! A little diversion would give some adventure.

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    1. I drove along a road I had never been down before. I did not see any moose.

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  7. We dodged a road closure sign recently and discovered a bridge out.

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    1. Good job you didn't try to drive across that bridge Tigger!

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  8. Diversions are rarely signposted properly, there seems to be an assumption that everyone has some local knowledge and can self direct, which has rarely been the case for me!
    Smoking is how Simon got to be here but he doesn't need to give up now so he might as well enjoy it

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    1. I wasn't about to admonish him even though I detest the stench of cigarette smoke.

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  9. Reminds me of the Batheaston bypass, beautifully constructed but always empty as people still drove through the village on the old road.

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    1. It can take a while for people to get used to a bypass.

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  10. I bet he is glad to be home and rolling up a ciggie right away had me thinking of my dad. In hospital, dying from lung cancer, yet shuffling out onto the veranda 2-3 times a day for a couple of smokes. He said once you get to that point there's no sense in quitting.

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    1. He was probably right. It was too damned late. Cigarette companies have a lot to answer for.

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  11. Around here you can often come across a sign that says " Road Closed Ahead". but it is often a side road that is not a problem to anyone on the main road! So annoying. Why can't they say which road is closed?

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    1. And often there'll be nobody working there!

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  12. Probably an anathema, but you might have to get a satnav.

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    1. I had heard of TomTom and Garmin but I didn't realise that Anathema made satnavs.

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    2. They make them especially for people like you and me.

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    3. You mean people with excellent geographical skills?

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  13. Anathema are a Liverpool Prog Rock band.

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    1. Sure it is not something you push up where the sun don't shine when constipated.?

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  14. Our diversion signs are called "detour" which sounds much more pragmatic and not as entertaining.

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    1. "Diversion" has different meanings and sometimes being diverted can be a welcome state.

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  15. You'd think if it was a long diversion they'd say that right at the beginning. "Diversion, next five miles" or some such. I'm glad Simon is home and I'm sure he is too.

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    1. Two weeks in hospital is a long time these days but there will be more chapters ahead.

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  16. I want to share your brother's story with my son, Brian, who is 41 and is a smoker. But I know it won't do any good and he will do what he wants to do.
    I think it is true that your brother might as well enjoy his smokes now as it is too late and they calm him down. I wonder if he will decide to stop medical intervention.
    At least the detour took you through new territory and you got home anyway!

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    1. Sorry to hear that Brian got hooked on cigarettes. Cigarette companies have a lot to answer for.

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  17. Probably a boring day for the road workers, not much going on, no holes to dig, or cones to spread about. They found a few spare Diversion signs and decided to give everyone a treat - another way to get lost and waste petrol! At least you did see somewhere new, some contented cows, and Woodmansey looks very peaceful.
    Glad that Simon is home and he can enjoy some time without interference.
    I learned long ago that you'll never stop a dedicated smoker. My late husband smoked like the proverbial chimney, and after he was diagnosed with lung cancer, he smoked throughout the treatment. Not surprisingly, after a short reprieve, the cancer returned.

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    1. It is easy to blame the smokers but what about the tobacco companies? In the end, they were the profiteering dealers. He left you too early. You might have had him with you for another decade. So very sad.

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    2. I hear what you say YP - but how do you account for all those who, like myself, have never smoked? We've been able to resist the allure of the tobacco companies.

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    3. Good point Miss Marple. I guess it's about getting hooked in the first place. If you don't make that jump then they haven't won you over and all the money you will end up paying them - often over a few decades.

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