I'm doing my overtime shift now, but unfortunately we are off the road at the moment, my ginger-bearded crewmate (not my normal crewmate) managed to reset the computer we have in the ambulance - this has caused an intense whining sound from the speakers, and more disturbingly a smell of electrical burning.

"We'd like to return to base please", we asked Control over the radio, "we can smell burnng".

"Are you sure it's safe", they replied.

"I hope so, we'll find out on the way", was my crewmates reply.

As of yet it hasn't burst into flames - but we parked it in the middle of the yard so that if it did decide to self-immolate it wouldn't damage the station building and it's very important tea-making facilities.

So now we are trying to find a spare motor, as the only other motor on station at the moment doesn't have any internal lights - which considering we are working at night - would make the shift "interesting" at least.

We have only done two jobs so far, and need an ambulance so we can go get some kebabs for our midnight snack, that and how can I torture drunks if I'm stuck on station?

I've gone back over the last month and have answered any questions that were put in the comments of postings. Remember, you can always get a quick answer off me if you email me. From some of the search terms that bring people here, I'd be more than happy to dispense my wisdom on those as well (If I know what I'm talking about).

I spoke to a copper from Limehouse today - they still haven't found the transit van with the Phosgene, that coupled with the 'attack' on the House of Commons yesterday seem to be reminding the Emergency (and 'essential') services that there is always the risk of trouble. Yet there hasn't been any information from the media, is this the "secrecy" that the Panorama programme was talking about?

If you want to know what is happening in Manchester with the Fire Service, you could do worse than to look here. Basically the FBU were made promises that have yet to be fulfilled.

Now time to relax and enjoy the fictional 24.

Today would be the last of my 12hr shifts. Except I'm doing over-time this Friday, I'm a bit of a whore for money at the moment, so I'll have the fun of a Friday night shift before my seven day shifts with an overtime shift at the end of that stretch.
I'm enamoured of blogging on the move, I use my PDA for all sorts of stuff, e-books, calendar and the odd game on a slow night; but coupled with the excellent (and not $90) Blogware it makes blogging from the cab a piece of cake. I'm writing this while sitting outside Newham hospital and means I can sleep and eat when I get home, rather than blogging as a 'duty to my readers'.
For the past couple of days we've not had anything that could be considered an 'emergency', lots of walking wounded and 'LOB' (Load Of Bollocks).
Our first call was a chest pain, who looked fine, if hypertensive with a history of angina, he hadn't taken his own GTN (angina medicine), so we got him on the back of the ambulance, did a 12 lead ecg - which showed an angina attack and gave him GTN and an aspirin.
Within a minute he was sweating profusely, his blood pressure had dropped and his level of consciousness had crashed, with little seizures. He became bradycardic and for a moment we thought he was going to arrest in front of us. It
Just goes toshow how quickly you have to 'wake uo'. Luckily for all concerned (especially him), it was just a 'vagal' attack brought on by an over sensitivity to the GTN (which is why he had not taken his own supply), so now he is comfortable in hospital and we avoided a ton of paperwork...
Now we are outside the hospital watching the planes taking off and landing from City airport awaiting our next call.
(And I've managed to have another fried breakfast - I'll manage to fit my 44" trousers yet...)

So damn tired...

I'm currently at that point where I wonder whether I am hungry enough to cook dinner before I go to sleep. Which biological urge will win out?

Today, our control wanted us to go to an emergency call when we were the other side of the Thames - I rather politely asked them if we were the nearest motor as we weren't actually a boat, the reply was, "Yes, do you have your water wings?". So we ended up going a couple of miles out of our way to cross the river.

The call was a faint, probably from the heat that is roasting London at the moment - at least the women are wearing revealing clothes, which makes our job of cruising through the street a bit more enjoyable.

Picked up two psychiatric drug-using patients in a row who were drunk and laying in the road perhaps 500 yards away from each other. Some children were poking the last one with a stick...

Then there was the 51 year old 4' 4" Asian grandmother who, upon seeing her husbands car being stolen jumped on the back and hung onto the rear windscreen wiper. She was flung off and thankfully not seriously hurt, mainly bruising and gravel rash. Unfortunately the car that was stolen including her house keys and bank books. The A&E was so busy they had to put her out in the waiting room - something that annoyed me no end, especially as the nurse that did it had already annoyed me by suggesting that I didn't know what the symptoms of Bulimia were.

Now to eat/sleep - then lather/rinse/repeat tomorrow.

I'm writing this on the move, once more towards occupational health, however for once it's not actually for me, but instead my crewmate. (He has a dodgy shoulder). The first job of the day was a classic early morning job, 87 year old male who had collapsed or fell last night (he didn't know which) and had spent the night laying on the bathroom floor. The first thing he said to me as I entered the room was "Hello, how are you?". Luckily he wasn't injured but we took him to hospital for a check-up anyway. His wife told us he was 87, "which is old for a man". What annoyed me was that these two lovely old folk were living in a group of flats that had a drug-dealer and prostitutes working out of. It doesn't seem like a nice retirement for a lifetime of work, and service in the army during World War II., but it's something we see time and time again.

I am extremely busy at the moment, I'm often posting from my PDA and mobile phone. I should be catching up with stuff on Friday (including answering all those comments people have left).
Got some blood results (post PEP stuff), seems my White Cell Count is still going down. I think they have a life-span of 120 days, so it might get lower before it gets better. Still it gives me an excuse to see the rather pretty occupational health nurse.
Today we did the usual of little old ladies who feel unwell calling their GP and the GP calling us to take them to hospital because they are too busy to actually drag their arses out of their office to visit sick people. On the Radio it seems that lots of people are dropping dead - the weather is quite a bit warmer (24 Celsius) so the old are placed under a bit more physiological stress.
I have a hundred and one things to do, and no time to do it - simple stuff like paying bills can be incredibly hard when you are single and a shift worker.

And I think I'm moaning too much...

I'm off to bed now - goodnight all.

Well, they still haven't found the chemical weapons which have gone missing in London - yet. East London is a melting pot, there are 220+ languages, probably as many religions and racists hang around outside schools looking to beat up ethnic minorities. Eastern Europeans have a fight every Friday night, we have Mosques, Churches Temples and Gurdwaras . We have people who are quite plainly insane, and people who are "bad, not mad". We have organised crime and individual psychopaths.

There are enough individuals and groups who bear others a grudge that the find of Phosgene would seem like a gift from god.

Our Chemical Decontamination team are looking nervously at each other...

Oh, well - fingers crossed.

Hopefully I'll have another 10 year old who wants to avoid school so I can get a nice fried breakfast at the hospital today. The weather is lovely, so cruising the streets of Newham looking for sick people is actually a pleasure.

Are my priorities in the right place?

A van carrying Phosgene and Methyl Bromide was stolen today from Bow.

Phosgene, for those of you who don't know, is a poisonous gas which was used in the trenches of World War I - hideously fatal to humans. Methyl Bromide is an insecticide - and is not much fun to be around either. Why was a van carrying, for want of a better term, chemical weapons left unguarded? Was it stolen to order? Why hasn't the government mentioned this - why isn't it on every news programme in the country?
This is the secret knowledge of the ambulance service...Does it make you sleep soundly in your bed knowing that this stuff happens and you never know about it?

If you smell a mossy/cut grass smell then go upwind and await the emergency services in their "noddy suits".

Is it naughty to take someone to hospital, who doesn't really need to go, just in order to get a fry up breakfast there?

As promised I spent Saturday going to see Van Helsing and Kill Bill 2, both very enjoyable films, although for two different reasons. Van Helsing was good, old fashioned comic book fun; Kill Bill however had me captivated by Tarrantino's grasp of dialogue and story.
Then I stayed at my brother's place to watch the Eurovision song contest (for the Americans in the audience this is a cross-Europe song contest where a number of countries try not to win by, showing off god-awful songs)
A bottle of port, a bottle of wine and most of a bottle of vodka were finished off during the night. There were only two songs that I liked; the Malta entry and Ukrainian "Xena - warrior princess and her Goth backing dancers". The Ukrainian entry managed to win, which was nice for them, but unfortunate for the Ukrainians as a whole, because they have to pay to run the show next year.
Turkey's entry was a nice bit of Ska; Bosnia's entry was sung by a spiky haired, dyed blonde boy in a pink tankini - and I'm sorry, with a get up like that you will look gay no matter how much the female backing dancers grope at you. The Russians entered their version of Avril Lavine, while Romania won the prize for "singer wearing the least amount of clothing".
As always it was the commentary by Terry Wogan which made the night entertaining - typical gems were...

"The Netherlands haven't won in 29 years - well make that thirty" - Just after the Netherlands had performed.
"Well 1 out of 3 ain't bad" - After attempting to talk live to three different countries, and failing to make contact with two of them.
"Good idea they are bigger than you after all" - After Belorus gave Russia the full 12 points.
"No they are having a terrible time" - After the presenters asked Germany if they were enjoying the contest.
And of course the near constant calls he made to be allowed to lay down in a dark room and given another stiff drink, while his commentary degenerated into hysterical laughter.

The voting went along the normal political lines, and the UK didn't get "null points" unlike last year (quite possibly something to do with a little war in the middle East this time last year). To be honest I think the UK song was like a poor Dido track on Mogadon.

A very enjoyable night ruined for my brother by a crippling hangover the next day - he has spent almost all of today laying in bed.

Now I'm off to listen to some ABBA.

I have a small problem...

I bought Pokémon Colosseum today - and I'm already hooked. (Yes I know it's a "kids" game - but I don't care, it's fun) I've read that the single player campaign is fairly short which will mean I'll soon be back to posting at my normal rate. So I spent 9 hours playing this thing (it's a lovely game it tells you exactly how much time you have wasted on it) and now when I close my eyes all I just see a blur of primary colours.

The problem is, once I get obsessed with something I find myself playing until 4am in the morning...

I'll have to give it a miss playing it tomorrow and Sunday, as I'm visiting my brother to (a) Watch 3 movies (Kill Bill 2, Van Helsing and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - I have varied tastes) and (b) Drink alcohol and enjoy the Eurovision Song Contest (If only for the sparkling, and then later drunken commentary by Terry Wogan).

Then back to work on Monday from 07:00 to 19:00.

On Sunday I'll get round to answering all the comments people have been leaving (with any luck) - I promise I won't play any more Pokémon until after I've answered them.