Rothwell & Bowring Ltd, Newfoundland, Canada

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Julie Goucher
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Ramblings from my Desk…..(6)

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Julie Goucher

It has been a few months since my last ramblings post. My back problem has finally been diagnosed as a prolapsed disc and the injection I was to have in March came and went and give me about 40% pain relief, simply by blocking the pain at the nerve root.  I have managed to reduce the pain killers and returned to work, on reduced hours at the beginning of May. I have a second injection next week and if that does not prove more successful, then surgery is the only option left.

I am still not over keen on the specialist, but what can I do? I did though at the last appointment express that I was less than happy that she repeatedly does not listen to me and that whilst I am in pain, very fed up and frustrated I am not a moron. By the end of the consultation I felt better that I had expressed exactly how I felt. I feel sure that I am not in her top 5 favourite patient list!

Returning to work has been enlightening, both in terms of changes within the business, profession and my realisation that actually I have also changed. The change has got me to focus on a few things and ponder, and I mean really ponder on what is right for me going forward. Just as I returned to work something else happened on the health front and whilst I won’t share it here, it was one of those moments that I hoped I would never have and for a moment or two I felt my world stop. So this is a period of adjustment and acknowledgement that there must be adjustments made. Not easy for someone who has always worked well beyond the paid hours; and whilst that is not right, it is how I have always worked.

Meanwhile, my Continual Professional Development (CPD) was called by the Regulating body and duly submitted on line via the Regulating body site. Even though I have a training background I still find the process of the on line structure tedious, but of course support the need for constant re-evaluation.

In the land of Blogging I have been busy. I have read a few books and reviewed them and seem to have had a real surge in review requests, which is excellent. I took part in the A – Z Blogging Challenge and I have to say, I loved it – you can read the various posts and the reflection posts via the tag line.

I have a considerable backlog of genealogical type posts to proof read and post, which I am hoping to do over the next few weeks, although I have been saying that for already a week!

Meanwhile, the sun is out and we are seeing some warm temperatures, although I do feel that 24 degrees is too warm! I am spending the coming weeks, back allowing, completing several projects I have been working on.

Until next time!

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100 Word Challenge – Week 43

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Julie Goucher
Joining the weekly 100 words challenge for Grown ups. This week the prompt is to use the following words.

….The flame flickered before…. 

The cellar of the church was very poorly lit. No one comes down here the Church Warden announced, you’re the first, for many many years, which is why we are still using candles.

She nodded, keen to get on and read the records she was seeking. The flame flickered and then reappeared. Thankfully her pencil zipped across the page, all the while she hoped the flame would not go out.

She wrote out another few pages then the flame flickered before finally turning the cellar deadly black. As she panicked, fear rising in her throat her thoughts were “Never again”


Taking part in the 100 word Challenge for Grown Ups – Week #43
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Guest Post at A-Z Challenge Blog

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Julie Goucher
Having recently complete the A- Z Challenge I was invited to write a guest post, which has been posted at the A-Z Challenge blog today
Click to read the post – Preparation is 9/10th of the Work!


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Guest Post – Allen Wyler

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Julie Goucher
A few weeks ago I was approached to review the latest book by Allen Wyler. As I read review books in order and there is a little backlog I offered a guest post to Allen in view of the wait and here it is!

Synopsis & Press Release

World renowned neurosurgeon Jon Ritter is on the verge of a medical breakthrough that will change the world.  His groundbreaking surgical treatment, using transplanted non-human stem cells, is set to eradicate the scourge of Alzheimer’s disease and give hope to millions.  But when the procedure is slated for testing, it all comes to an abrupt and terrifying halt.  Ritter’s colleague is gunned down and Ritter himself is threatened by a radical anti-abortion group that not only claims responsibility, but promises more of the same.
Faced with a dangerous reality but determined to succeed, Ritter turns to his long-time colleague, corporate biotech CEO Richard Stillman, for help.  Together, they conspire to conduct a clandestine clinical trial in Seoul, Korea.  But the danger is more determined, and more lethal, than Ritter could have imagined.
After successful surgical trials, Ritter and his allies are thrown into a horrifying nightmare scenario:  The trial patients have been murdered and Ritter is the number one suspect. Aided by his beautiful lab assistant, Yeonhee, Ritter flees the country, now the target of an international manhunt involving Interpol, the FBI, zealous fanatics and a coldly efficient assassin named Fiest.
Dead End Deal is a fast paced, heart-pounding, and sophisticated thriller. Penned by master neurosurgeon, Allen Wyler—who often draws from experience, actual events and hotbutton issues when writing—Dead End Deal is unmatched as a technical procedural. Its medical and scientific details can impress even the most seasoned medical practitioners. And yet, the technical expertise is seamlessly woven into a riveting plot, with enough action and surprises to engross even the most well-read thriller enthusiast.

About the Author

Allen Wyler is a renowned neurosurgeon who earned an international reputation for pioneering surgical techniques to record brain activity. He has served on the faculties of both the University of Washington and the University of Tennessee, and in 1992 was recruited by the prestigious Swedish Medical Center to develop a neuroscience institute.


In 2002, he left active practice to become Medical Director for a startup med-tech company (that went public in 2006) and he now chairs the Institutional Review Board of a major medical center in the Pacific Northwest.

Leveraging a love for thrillers since the early 70’s, Wyler devoted himself to fiction writing in earnest, eventually serving as Vice President of the International Thriller Writers organization for several years. After publishing his first two medical thrillers Deadly Errors (2005) and Dead Head (2007), he officially retired from medicine to devote himself to writing full time.

He and his wife, Lily, divide their time between Seattle and the San Juan Islands.

I still had a question or two for the author

“What made you take the path from neurosurgeon to author and what were your biggest challenges?”

Writing always interested me. Even in grade school I read like a fiend. So it seemed like a good idea to major in English instead of the traditional chemistry or zoology when I was taking my premed courses. This caused me considerable grief because it was difficult to get in all my required credits. But I figured once I got into medical school I’d never have another shot at the literature courses. And that’s exactly what happened —medical school and post graduate training consumed all my time. Then one Saturday, after starting practice, I came home from making rounds at the hospital and decided to start writing. Just like that. I began a novel that ended up to be really awful. Then I wrote another one, which was better but still not ready for prime time. At that point I started trolling for an agent and finally secured one, but could not sell my work. Years later, I got the call I’d been waiting for. It was quite a thrill. I guess, in the end, my biggest challenge was finding enough time to devote to writing. For me the writing process is difficult and requires a ton of work. I now enjoy the luxury of having sufficient time to work on my craft. It’s a dream come true.

You can purchase Dead End Deal by visiting the following webpage, which will allow you to select easily the format of your choice.

Disclaimer & Thanks

Thanks go to the author and publicist for proving the details for to create this guest post. I received an e-book from the publisher in order for me to create an honest book review, which will be along in due course.

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Sepia Saturday 126

Posted on May 19, 2012 by Julie Goucher
It seems especially fitting that I share with you a photograph from our family collection. Taken at Puttenham Surrey in 1959 at the wedding of my 1st Cousin once removed.
What is especially sad, is that most of the people in this photo are no longer with us. My Grandparents are in the centre of the photograph, on the right is my Grandfather’s sister and her husband. To the left of my Grandmother is my Mum. 
The reason that this is especially fitting is that the groom of this wedding passed away recently, having been married for a little more than half a Century. His funeral is on Monday, where I will stand with the rest of my family to say a goodbye.  
I will though take a selection of our photographs with me. The reason for this is that it is at times like these that, certainly in my family, we turn into ourselves as a group and remember those who went before us and made an impact on our lives. We share photos and stories and whilst it is a very sad time for us as a wider family and his immediate family, we share the joy that we are very fortunate despite the miles that separate some of us that we can come together and share those things.
Taking part in Sepia Saturday
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Postcard Friendship Friday – Italian Heraldic Postcard

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Julie Goucher

This is one of my favourite post cards. I like and especially collect those postcards which display a coat of arms or a map. They seem to especially intrigue me.
Hosted by The Best Hearts are Crunchy 

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100 Word Challenge – Week 42

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Julie Goucher
Joining the weekly 100 words challenge for Grown ups. This week the prompt is to use the following words.

LIBERTY –  EMPIRE  – APPLE – YELLOW – ENORMOUS

They were eager to land and start exploring the delights of the City that never sleeps. The enormous guidebook sat taunting them.

Having checked into their hotel they looked at their travel list, held in a yellow filofax. In alphabetical order was a rather impressive list that included the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty. Icons of the big Apple. Frank Sinatra would have been so proud of their planning and organisation.

They stood on the sidewalk and simply lapped up the feel of the City. Reaching for each others hands they headed off to explore.

Taking part in the 100 word Challenge for Grown Ups – Week #42
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Mass Observation

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Julie Goucher

Mass Observation - Recording everyday life in Britain The project, founded in 1937 is now housed at the University of Sussex. It provides a valuable insight into the lives of regular people. The original work continued until the late 1950s.

The original archive which predominately covers 1937 – 1949, with some additions from the 1950s and 1960s is open to the public. Covering the period leading up to, during and for four years after the Second World War it does provide some really useful information of the social and domestic lives of individuals.

In 1981 the project was revived. In recent years a specific date has been selected – 12th May and anyone can email the project with what they did, ate, saw,read, wore etc.

You can read about the project via the website. You can read some of the entries from 12th May 2010 HERE. If you want to submit your entry for 12th May 2012 read the instructions HERE

I have just emailed my entry off to the email address provided on the instruction page. There appears not to be a closing date listed, so anyone reading this can probably send them in over the next few days.

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Nuncio and The Gypsy Girl by Kristin Alexandre, illustrated by Tom Loepp

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Julie Goucher

I really didn’t know what to expect  of this book when I was approached by the author’s publicist for a review. Graphic fiction is not something that I have especially read in the past, but nonetheless, I accepted the offer to review the book.

Set in the United States in 1912 we explore the life of a young gypsy girl called Neci, who falls in love with a man, older than herself called Ezra. Meanwhile, despite being besotted with Neci, Ezra’s head is turned when he meets another women, who is well connected.

The two women confront each other and at once the well connected women realises that she has some serious competition for the affections of Ezra. Neci is then offered the chance to sail across the Atlantic, not realising the risks to the ship she is boarding, which was sunk with a great loss of life during the First World War.

The book concludes, with the tragic episode of the bombing and subsequent sinking of the Lusitania and we must await the next book in the series to find out the fate of Neci and Ezra.

The illustrations throughout are brilliant and are produced by the very talented Tom Loepp. I did enjoy the book. It took a bit of getting use to as the story is narrated through Nuncio, a grey African parrot, which made the story turn into fantasy. I especially liked the historical aspects of the story and these have been researched well.

Disclaimer – I was provided with a free copy of the e-book, in exchange for an honest review. The review and my thoughts expressed here are my own.

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