GERWYN THOMAS
Thursday 17 December 18.00
Rita has just had a text message from Gerwyn to say that he is being discharged tomorrow and will be staying with his sister in Carmarthenshire. Wonderful news. I will add more if he wants his location publicised.
Tuesday 15 December
Phoned Coronary Care Unit on 703634 and was told Gerwyn is still making good progress and that they expected to transfer him to a more general ward in a couple of days, which is another good sign.
They are still trying to cure his chest infection. He has been for ongoing series of tests but there is no indication that he will need another stent or other operation. Visiting hours are 11am to 3pm and 5.30pm to 8pm, these hours may be different on the new ward.
Saturday 12 December
Visited by Eric, who has taken charge of Jive, and a little later by Brian and Joan and found in very good form. His nurse bantered that 'he is feeling much better because he is getting cheekier'. He himself said he was 100% better than the day before when Rita had visited. Certainly there was no sign of physical weakness in sitting up and moving around the bed, though plenty of banter that he could stop slipping down the bed however much he adjusted it with his hand held zappa.
He had also been on his feet a little thus proving to himself that he will walk again OK.
Joan, I and a couple of nurses had lots of laughs. Gerwyn remembers the previous U3A visit by Eric as a laugh a minute.
In between he was with Byron and Byron's mother Teresa, who flew over from Cyprus several days ago She is now going home and Byron is to spend a couple of days working in London before returning early next week. Other family will be visiting tomorrow, Sunday 13 December.
It looks to me like a normal recovery from here on in, though he has got a troublesome chest infection to throw off. We stayed an hour and didn't feel we were straining him at all. He thanks the many U3A members who have sent cards and enquired and was pleased Dorothy Little was taking over MOTO for the present. My feeling is that he would enjoy visits next week - try and organise between yourselves.
Friday 11 December
Rita reports back after first attempting to check suitability to visit with his son Byron at Gerwyn's own number 817229, but failing there called his nurse at Coronary Care, Morriston Hospital. Above all she was impressed by his excellent good humour, it would seem to have been a good giggle for them both. Gerwyn of course is still weak and has a lot of recovery to make, as his nurse emphasised to me when I phoned this afternoon. I think Rita (on her first visit) was a little taken back by how little physical strength he had even to change position in bed. He was very pleased with the many cards he had received and got Rita to read them all out, the funnier the better, even the one from Eric (now taking Jive) which suggested this was all just a ruse to miss Christmas, or the one from the Monkey Cafe with two wicked monkeys. He remembered seeing Joan, 24 hours in, last Sunday, but not me - we were together I swear - and I thought he waved on recognition of me; but it was Joan he saw - how like Gerwyn.
Wednesday 9 December
Bob Hughes visited him in Coronary Care at Morriston, bearing gifts from the Jive Group and cards from both Jive and The Monkey Cafe.
He found him sitting up. He was pleased with the cards and gifts, and pleased to know Jive was running properly without him. Nevertheless he was still looking gaunt, not yet eating properly and sleeping a lot, all to be expected after the trauma he has endured.
I will endeavour to keep this blog up to date with his progress so as to take pressure off the hospital telephone lines, but in general will not be issuing Blog alert emails for these edits. Whenever accessing the blog you will always see my latest published news.
His progress in the 72 hours since the event has been from near death to an encouraging recovery. Although initially in the Intensive Therapy Unit South he is now on the Coronary Care Unit and is off both ventilator and the balloon pump which were assisting breathing and circulation of the blood. Now read on.
This will come as a shock to many readers. Gerwyn Thomas suffered a severe heart attack (I knew this when I wrote stroke earlier - you can't trust everything you see on this blog!). He collapsed at the Osprey's Liberty Stadium on Saturday evening and after being seen by the team doctor was sent by ambulance to Morriston A & E where the blockage was removed and a stent fitted and the heart restarted, following which he went onto Intensive Care at Morriston. Sunday morning his condition was given as unstable but his son was with him from 11pm Saturday, having travelled by taxi from London and been warned his dad may well not survive.
By 23.00 on Sunday 6 December he was classed as stable, not yet speaking (probably still unconscious) but sedated and a continuing concern.
When Joan and I went to visit Monday evening we met Byron, his son, a very relieved young man who told us that on first seeing his lifeless dad he thought there was no hope of his survival. As we approached Gerwyn's bed he recognised us lifted his hand and waved weakly and then asked 'How did you find me here?' Though, as Joan kept reminding me afterwards, he was still very groggy with no recall of events - even being at the match. But his wicked sense of humour was still there. The nurses moved in to with a
'Gerwyn we want to tidy you up'.
'I'd rather be called Mr Thomas'
'We called you whatever we liked when you were asleep'
Tuesdays afternoon's news is that he has now been downgraded again and moved to Coronary Care ward and that the Balloon Pump has been removed, which was I think helping circulate the blood, another clearly positive indication of his recovery. Bob Hughes was going to visit him tonight but on the advice of the nursing staff, who said he was sleeping intends to visit tomorrow instead.
Visiting on Coronary Care ward is 11am till 3pm and 5.30pm till 8pm but visits of U3A members should please be informally coordinated, and if those who do visit will pass news to me I will edit this blog posting to keep it up to date.
GROUP NEWS
JIVE
Will meet tomorrow Wednesday as usual at the Monkey Cafe at 10.30am, a message which may well have been carried over the grapevine. I will bring along my laptop with some traditional jazz to which we can jive. Although there will be no lesson as such we can enjoy dancing and mixing and deciding on the way forward. I feel there is enough know-how in the more experienced members to at least help us retain our knowledge of many moves Gerwyn has already taught us.
ITALIAN
Attendance was just sufficient last Monday for the group to decide to continue meeting in 2010. The next meeting will be Monday 11 January at 10am Dry side of Craft Room. Just five people plus myself attended last week, so the group is on the edge as regards support. The good news is that convenor Mervyn Howells was amongst them and will be available on a regular basis from now on.
Barbara Ellis, painting next door, was amazed at the amount of laughter coming from the room! Carolina with a less structured teaching style not to every-ones liking (though it appeals to me) balances this with good humour, a native tongue gives her excellent pronunciation when speaking or reading Italian, plus a love of her beautiful language.
CHESS
The next meeting will be the third Wednesday 18 January 2010 at 10am.
David Croxall (510470 and david.croxall@ntlworld.com)
Peter Tyler (467405 and petertyler8@googlemail.com)
will together take over the convenors role from me and Joan. Thanks are due to Joan who has seen this group improve in support whilst I have tried to nurture the Italian group.
The group would like and welcome additional members of any standard of either sex.
FRENCH
Their last meeting before Christmas will be Thursday 10 December at 10am. Beryl Edney takes a group increasingly concentrated on conversation.
Celia is simultaneously taking a group in the other half classroom starting the language from scratch, currently with four members and plenty of room to expand. It is fair that the current members have some shaky little used experience of the language from school.
QUILTING and PATCHWORK
Pearl Wiseman is now running this as as an official U3A Group. They are meeting from 2pm to 4pm every Thursday at Hazel Court. They specialise in making quilts for charity, for instance several have already gone to a Baby Care Unit. I have just received 2 photos and a detailed write up which I intend to use on the next blog posting.
BOOK READING GROUP 5
Only one person turned up for the inaugural meeting at Hazel Court on Tuesday 1 December though all the many had indicated interest on Opening Day on the strength of which we had booked a room at Hazel Court for 2010.
Anyone still interested should contact Cecily Hughes, the Chairman's wife on 363875 or bobhughes1504@hotmail.com before the end of December. We will cancel the booking unless there is sufficient support.
CALLIGRAPHY
Maureen Thomas is running a weekly, four week, course starting 2pm Thursday 21 January again at Hazel Court. Anyone interested should contact Maureen on 401132 or g.thomas37@ntlworld.com
WATER COLOUR
Brenda Sweet a new member is intending to start a weekly water colour class also on Thursdays but starting around 11 March. All those who signed the interest list for Beginners Water Colour who should contact Brenda to confirm continuing interest in joining the course on 850518 or madras@rasweet.entadsl.com
Although initially intended to cater for beginners wanted to get started it is not restricted to this category. Confirmation by members is urgently required as once again we have made bookings at Hazel Court.
NICK and JENNY HILL
Are incomunicado thanks to the storm destruction of all comms in their area. They suggest either leaving messages on their mobile 07881 947779 (note number originally a digit short) or email, since they will check both at 24 hour intervals. He advises that people calling his home number will probably be diverted to his mobile.
MOBILE PHONES
I haven't joined the modern age yet, but for those who have Marilyn Croft suggests finding and making a record of your own phone's serial number.
If you key in
*#06#
the15 digit Serial Number will appear on the screen. Very useful if your phone is stolen because can block access to that phone rendering it useless.
Coming from Gerwyn's problems is the observation the everyone with a mobile phone should include ICE in their phone number directory (ICE stands for In Case of Emergency) and the number should therefore be of the person to contact in case of emergency and perhaps another entry for Next of Kin as well.
Maybe there is something to be said in favour of mobiles after all!
CHRONICLE
Please send articles, poems, photos, snippets for next years edition to Editor Derrick Jenkins at
122 Belgrave Road
Gorseinon
Swansea
SA4 6RB
THE COTTLE FAMILY
It was a delightful evening at Jazzlands last Wednesday, though I certainly called the wrong type of music in suggesting there would be plenty of jazz-rock. It was The Peter Cottle Legacy Band, children and grandsons performing like chips off the old block. They last played together as a family at the club 10 years ago, just before Peter died of a heart attack, the only rock came from the lead guitar of grandson Peter who was presumably born after granddads death, who started like Pink Floyd before becoming more jazzy being egged on by uncle Dave on keyboards who pushed him to show us all what he could do.
But the concert started with as very good traditional jazz band in the form they had played in the family band of their youth - including Butlins at Barry - Dave normally on keyboards was playing trumpet and on vocals, as they say. Richard normally also on keyboards was on clarinet. Laurence now a well respected London based session player on bass guitar was playing trombone so well and with such a beautiful tone that made one wonder why he switched to bass guitar, and Tom (Dave's eldest son) was on drums. Their younger sister Rosemary sang a couple of vocals, remembering her under-age appearances at Butlins (son Peter was the guitarist).
It took Joan and I back to the jazz which originally brought us into the genre, in my case early fifties. Humphrey Lyttleton had just started to play in the basement at 100 Oxford St, still a jazz venue to this day, but then known to afficionados as Macks from its previous life as a restaurant. I recall fondly the evenings I spent sitting on the stage watching the girls jive whilst being blown away by Humphrey, Wally Fawkes and Keith Christie later replaced by Bruce Turner on alto sax, before nipping out to the pub behind Oxford Street where the band drank in the interval. Nostalgia there may have been but the sound and technical ability was so similar it could have been them. these were the great days of British Trad Jazz which included the bands of Chris Barber, Ken Collyer, Sandy Brown, Mick Mulligan, Terry Lightfoot and vocals of George Melly and Otillie Patterson. So much were we students anti modern jazz in those days that we shunned Ronnie Scott's and iconic players like Tubby Hayes. Five years later I was still in the same groove in San Francisco seeking out Turk Murphy rather than Miles Davis (though he was in New York at the time). But now I know so much much better.
The first switch brought on Richards family, son Dave about 12 on drums and his older brother Joseph on keyboards, which he played exceptionally well with the panache of a born showman, whilst Richard continued on reeds clarinet, alto and tenor saxophones, continually encouraging his children to ever better performances.
Not to be outdone Dave played keyboards, son Tom and his younger brother Andrew played modern jazz on alto sax with Laurence on bass guitar. Running out of combinations Alun Vaughan, the trio's usual bass guitar, was elected as Honorary Cottle so Laurence could play trombone and they could operate in even bigger formats.
That so much outstanding musical talent, far beyond anything in my my direct experience including my own musical family, was passed on to two generations by granddad Peter Cottle's genes is amazing. Derrick Jenkins wrote in to say he was at school with Peter. I think it was Richard who remarked that the music followed the male side but the girls were brainy.
COMMITTEE
At the December meeting we discussed the ongoing crisis of renewal and confirmed that at the next AGM due to retirement we will need tio fill the following posts.
Chairman to replace Bob Hughes
Vice Chairman to work with and deputise for the new Chairman
Membership Secretary to replace Pat Herbert
Minutes Secretary (monthly meetings) to replace Esther Searle
But we were all encouraged to set out to establish how the heavy loads assumed by today's Chairman and Membership could be broken down so the committee could itself be better organised to share the load. As so often when posts are filled by such dynamic people as Bob Hughes and Pat Herbert the job expands way beyond its essentials, perhaps that will apply to me too when my turn comes to hand over. In the case of the Chairman my thoughts are to separate the roles of Chairman of Swansea U3A with control of the Committee and in charge of Strategy, from the role of Chairing every Wednesday lecture, a task which itself could be split into say three terms.
But no amount of re-organisation can hide the fact that responsible and rewarding posts need to filled, so we are expecting people to come forward and the more jobs are split the more people will be required. To fill the vacant position of Vice Chairman is especially important so someone can be trained now to move seamlessly up to Chairman at the June AGM.
BOB's PHOTOS FROM CHRISTMAS LUNCH
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