FOUR (Count 'em - FOUR) COMICBOOK GOODIES FOR YOU... (Updated)

CONAN characters copyright CPI

Received today, the sixth issue of The Savage Sword Of Conan Reforged.  I think I'll call it quits with this one, as it appears to be a quarterly publication and I prefer to get my hands on my mags a month apart at the most.  If you're a Conan fan, you're probably in it for the long haul, but a nice half-dozen will do for me.

Below are two new DC Facsimile Editions - Detective Comics #27 and Showcase #4, the debuts of The Batman and The Flash, respectively.  I already have earlier facsimiles of DC #27, but this one doesn't have an intrusive barcode on the front cover, which has been consigned to the back, as I prefer.  (Same with Showcase and all DC facsimiles these days.)

Copyright DC COMICS

Bonus: A late arrival is The Silver Surfer #6 facsimile.  The 'Continued After Next Page' taglines have been placed over the the art at the foot of the page instead of under it, but I'll have to check my original issue to see if that's how it's meant to be.  (Only on the Surfer story, not on the Tales of The Watcher back-up strip.)  The size of the lettering on them looks a little smaller to me than it should be, but again, I'll have to check. 

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

UPDATE ON THE MEADOWBROOK CARE HOME SITUATION...

This isn't what it looks like - it's actually a headpiece to
electrocute dissatisfied and complaining relatives

Okay, Crivvies, for those interested in the continuing saga of my mother's 'incarceration' in Meadowbrook Care Home (part of Enhance Healthcare, remember), I received an email from the allocated Social Worker recently.  He's no longer allocated, as I insisted on having him replaced on account of him being about as useful as a chocolate fireguard (one or two instances aside), but he asked if I'd be interested in meeting with the Home's manageress (just back from holiday), about the possibility (nothing definite in other words) of me being allowed restricted access to the front of the building, where my mother would be brought out to see me at the door (or perhaps just inside).  It was stipulated it would have to be within working hours (I usually visit in the evening) so that staff were available to assist my mother from her room.  I was told this might (again, nothing definite) eventually lead to my visiting rights being restored at some unspecified future date.  (I'd be on 'probation' in other words.)

Think about that for a moment.  This is clearly a disingenuous and Machiavellian manoeuvre on their part to create the illusion that me being unable to visit my mother is my decision, as opposed to their 'Orwellian' diktat denying me access to her.  They imposed the ban, and they can lift it just as quickly and easily without requiring me to jump through hoops and, in so doing, tacitly 'admit' that I was 'guilty' of threatening and intimidating behaviour, inappropriate physical conduct, and sexual harassment, as has been falsely and maliciously claimed.  They want to demonstrate they call all the shots, and also humiliate me, as revenge for standing up to them and complaining about their continual incompetence, and ineptitude of their staff.  Anyway, I replied to the Social Worker and told him exactly how I felt about his enquiry, so the situation is far from being resolved to my satisfaction.

For myself, I'm ready and willing to resume my visits immediately, but not under the yoke of unacceptable and egregious conditions and inconvenient timescales that aren't suitable to my own physical infirmities and established practices, just to accommodate the Home's tyrannical desire to 'put me in my place'.  No doubt they'd insist I remove my blog posts detailing their bully-boy tactics and thereby suppress my free-expression of how they operate.  (That ain't gonna happen!)  Any visits to this disgrace of a Home would hopefully be only temporary, as I have restarted proceedings about getting my mother removed and admitted elsewhere, but this has proved impossible on at least three separate attempts before, as the system is designed to impede rather than assist in this endeavour.  By that I mean, prospective Care Homes prefer to prioritise the befuddled, confused, and fleeting feelings of Alzheimer's-stricken patients above those with POA and a Certificate of Incapacity.  In short, we're denied any real say in the matter.

I note their website claims that 'Trained caring staff treat residents with respect while providing high quality care.'  I'm trying not to laugh - my lips are chapped.

Feel free to comment.  For links to previous posts on this subject, see the one before this.      

FURTHER FACTUAL EXAMPLES OF MEADOWBROOK/ENHANCE INEPTITUDE...

Okay, let's return to the many deficiences of Whitehills/Meadowbrook Care Home, part of the Enhance Healthcare group.  My mother, who resides in the place, is extremely deaf and requires two hearing aids.  The batteries are supposed to last for at least five days, but such is the state of my mother's inability to hear, after around two or three days, even when there's still some power in the batteries, it's simply not enough to enable her to hear properly.  She may be able to faintly hear 'sounds', but not distinguish precisely what's being said to her. 

They're always telling me they check the batteries every few hours, but here's the thing.  When they record their tick-list of assigned tasks, it's not done at the time, but hours later.  That means they can record doing what they ought to have done, without ever actually having done it.  (Much like they claim to clean the rooms every day, yet I have time-and-date stamped photographic evidence proving the floor hasn't been cleaned in a week, or the toilet seat in three days.)  So the records suggest everything's been done properly, even when it hasn't.  As long as the paperwork looks okay, that's all they're interested in.

For example, I'll visit my mother and ask whether she can hear me or not and she doesn't even realise I'm speaking to her if she's got an eye on the TV.  (She reads the subtitles.)  I'll tell a staff member my mother can't hear me and get the reply "That's funny - she could hear me ten minutes ago when I asked if she wanted a cup of tea."  I'll say "Speak to her now then" and the staff's words fall literally on deaf ears.  "I can't hear what you're saying" my mother will say, "I can't hear what you're saying."  I suspect my mother sometimes guesses or lipreads what's being said (she'll be asked if she wants a cuppa at approximately the same time every day), and when she gives any kind of response to someone speaking, they simply assume she can hear them.

What's ridiculous is some staff will stand right next to her with their lips pressed right against her ear and speak in a loud voice.  If they get any kind of response, they say to me "See, she can hear me!", as though I'm expected to spend an hour with my lips glued to my mother's ear in order to chat with her.  I have video evidence of my mother being totally deaf to my attempts at conversing with her (and I don't have a soft voice), which once I remind myself of how to do it, I'll upload onto the blog.  I also have one where she could hear me right away, and just to be fair, I'll upload that one as well.  This was after I'd been complaining for some time, so they must've changed the batteries not long before I arrived that night.  If only they'd do so all the time. 

Sometimes I'll be told fresh batteries were fitted earlier in the day, but when I check, one hearing aid might have no battery at all, while the other battery is the wrong size.  It'll be the correct circumference, but too narrow to make proper contact.  I kid you not, this is a regular occurrence.  I'll then email the manageress, who'll claim the records show the batteries were checked or replaced at such-and-such a time during the day, as if that settles the matter.  So why couldn't my mother hear me then, or the member of staff?  It's just too much of a coincidence to suggest the batteries always die just 10 or 15 minutes before I arrive on my visit.

No, what records prove are some staff must be lying about having checked or replaced the batteries when they haven't, or not put in the right ones, or not pressed the reset switch - or not waited 60 seconds after having removed the orange sticker as per the battery instructions.  Sometimes the orange stickers haven't even been removed from the batteries beforehand, and this is people who are supposed to know what they're doing but clearly don't have a scooby.

'Care' should be more than just giving residents tea and toast, it should also be about ensuring they're equipped to face the day and be able to communicate with those aound them instead of being isolated in silence, which happens often.  Why?  Because most of the staff just don't care!  It's my firm conviction my mother should be enabled to hear at all times, but Meadowbrook seem to think otherwise and consider me a pain in the @rse because I expect - nay, demand - she's looked after properly.  Wouldn't you if it were your mother?

More horror stories to come.  Comments welcome.  And for those unaware of prior posts, links to them are presented below...

Link 1      Link 2      Link 3      Link 4      Link 5      Link 6      Link 7      Link 8

Link 9      Link 10

SUPERMAN, BATMAN, ORION, And DOOMLORD...

Copyright DC COMICS

Above, DC's Facsimile Edition of World's Finest Comics # 195, below, their facsimile of New Gods #1, not long arrived at Castel Crivens and straight on to my scanner to share with you Crivs.  Nothing to complain about with either of these two titles, so I heartily recommend them to you as worthy additions to your collections.  The World's Finest cover looks like a 'Swanderson' effort to me, but perhaps regular reader McS will tell me it's pencilled by Adams and inked by Anderson - I'm considering the possibility 'cos I'm too lazy to look it up for myself. 

Next, Hybernia Books' two volumes of collected reprints of the 'new' Eagle's Doomlord stories from the '80s, the first consisting of illustrated picture strips, the second being photo stories in the style of girls' romance mags.  Interestingly, the copyright of these publications isn't attributed to Rebellion, but rather The Dan Dare Corporation.  I can't find a date on the first one, though I think it's from a few years back, while the second is a bang-up-to-date 2026 release.  Hey, you could spend your dosh on far worse things.  Comments welcome.

Copyright The DAN DARE Corporation

TWO GREAT MAGS AVAILABLE NOW!

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Here's a couple of great comics that arrived today.  I already have an individual reprint of Spidey #100, as well as collected editions that include it, but it's nice to have an actual facsimile of the way the mag was originally published, ads, letters, and all.

Copyright DC COMICS

Also, the fourth and final issue of a four-part Swamp Thing tale intended for publication decades ago prior to the mag being cancelled before the story ever saw print.  Both these comics classics are a great addition to any collection, trust me.

Will you be buying either of these two mags?  Comments more than welcome.

The CURIOUS CASE Of The MYSTERIOUSLY VANISHING ITEMS...

When I was younger, if ever I was involved with fiddly, futery work (like building a model kit or taking something apart and reassembling it) and I dropped something on the floor or lay it to the side of me, I could retrieve it almost immediately without having to search for it.  It was almost like I had a sixth sense which led me unerringly and with no hesitation to where the dropped or set-aside item lay.  Same if I dropped a coin - I saw or heard where it rolled to and recovered it with no bother.  Nowadays, though, if I drop or place a part of something aside for a moment, when I reach for it, it seems to have disappeared into the Twilight Zone and, search as I might, it remains beyond my ken.

Seemingly invisible and intangible, I then have to stand up, step away from where I was, move things, double and triple check, curse like a trooper, feel around the carpet, and it takes ages and much displacement of surrounding objects before I eventually locate the apparently vanished item.  Whether it's a pair of scissors, a pen, a craft knife, a screw, a needle - whatever it happens to be - it's a major operation to find it again, impeding my progress in whatever undertaking I'm involved with.  Is it just down to advancing years and oncoming senility, or is there some mysterious pixie involved (Mr. Mxyzptlk perhaps), who's only allowed to torment folk of an increasingly advanced age?

If you're of a similar vintage to myself, I'd be interested in reading whether you Crivs have also experienced this type of perplexing and infuriating situation that, at this moment in time, remains unexplained.  Please help to enlighten me.

MORE ABOUT MEADOWBROOK's DISGRACEFUL BEHAVIOUR...

My ol' Mother a couple or so years back

In the UK, NHS hospitals are non-profit institutions whose chief concerns are administering to those who are ill and ailing and in need of medical treatment or lifesaving surgery.  Making money doesn't even enter into it, something for which all of us in Britain should be thankful for.

Care Homes, on the other hand, are all about making dosh by exploiting those who can't look after elderly and infirm relatives (or themselves), and doing so at the cheapest possible option (to them) in order to maximise their profits.  Their raison d'etre is simply to make money, and any good that comes from that is merely a by-product in their pursuit of financial acquisition.

Some care workers will be conscientious and do their best in their administrations of care, but far too many are uninterested and see it as only a job which they wouldn't be doing if they could get something else.  In Meadowbrook Care Home (owned by Enhance Healthcare) where my mother currently resides, I know from personal experience that many of the staff are next-to-useless in their day-to-day tasks.

For example, not cleaning the floor and tables in my mother's room, leaving excrement stains on her toilet seat for days after I've brought it to their attention, placing footwear in the wardrobe, either out of sight and reach on the top shelf, or concealing them under a duvet on the bottom.  Leaving medicine on the bedside table without, as they're supposed to do, ensuring my mother has taken it before they leave the room.  I could go on for ages yet, but I'm sure you get the idea.

Regular readers will already know the story, but for those who don't, the Home has now resorted to making false and malicious allegations against me in order to discredit me as I threatened to go public with this tale of woe.  Certain staff, possibly at the urging of management in pursuit of their agenda to silence me, have participated in these allegations, such as intimidating and threatening behaviour on my part, inappropriate physical conduct, and even sexual harassment.  What's ludicrous about that last one is that most of the women I've seen in the place are, in my opinion, total munters who I wouldn't look once at, never mind twice.

It seems to be the weapon of choice these days for some women to make false accusations against men (usually), under the cloak of anonymity and without detailing the precise nature of their 'complaint', as they don't have to prove their allegations, merely level them in order for the damage to be done.  It's their first port of call in their desire to avenge themselves against anyone they take a dislike to, and because of the volume of complaints I've made about staff and the Home over the years, they've finally decided to get their own back on me.

However, they hadn't reckoned on my fortitude in dealing with lies, as I refuse to be embarrassed or intimidated by things I haven't done, hence this and my previous posts on the topic.  Let's just remind ourselves of those responsible for this orchestrated attempt at character assassination.

Ashleigh Walmsley, the operations manager, took the opportunity of the Home's manageress being on holiday to jump in feet first and demonstrate to his colleagues just how to deal with the likes of me.  Seems to me he'd be more suited to the kind of job where he asks "Do you want fries with that?" several times throughout the day.

Michelle Hampson, the 'nice-but-dim' Care Home manageress, whose emails to me are filled with spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors.  (There is marks on the floor, as opposed to there are marks on the floor, being but one.)  I believe that, initially, she attempted to implement improvements in certain areas, but unfortunately her staff don't appear to be singing from the same hymn sheet.  A job where asking customers "Do you want to go large?" would be more her forte, and going by the number of staff with fat @rses, many have 'gone large' on numerous occasions.  She once suggested I put a shoe-rack in my mother's room to address the footwear issue - despite me already having put a large wooden shoe-rack against the wall under the window some months before.  Trust me, far too many of them walk around with their eyes closed and are seemingly unaware of their surroundings. 

And then there's Lorraine Miller, who didn't spend all the money I gave her for my mother's newspapers on newspapers, despite me giving her a £20 'gratuity' (over the price of the papers) every month.  And let's not forget Janette Beckinridge, who's been surly, contemptuous, unhelpful, and just plain downright rude in several interactions with me.  It's beyond me how people of this ilk seem to be regarded as some kind of asset by their employers.

So let me repeat my firm belief that those who would use a 104-year-old woman (with Alzheimer's and cancer, remember) as a weapon to try and discredit and silence me from publicly revealing the truth about them and their professional inadequacies are complete and utter scum, as well as total bastards!  Ashleigh Walmsley accused me of slander, despite me saying nothing that isn't true, and also threatened to set his legal team on me.  You reading this, Walmsley?  Bring it on - and don't think this is going away anytime soon - I will be regularly updating any readers who are interested in how you and your 'Care' company abuse their position.  Fate has a way of paying people back for their transgressions, and it's my firm intention to give Fate all the help I can.

That's a promise!

For the full story so far, click on the following links...

Link 1      Link 2      Link 3      Link 4      Link 5      Link 6      Link 7      Link 8

TALES Of INCOMPETENCE: MORE MEADOWBROOK MAYHEM, MISERY, And MEDIOCRITY...

A couple or so months back, my elderly mother had a fall in the room of the Care Home she currently resides in.  She was taken to hospital the next day to be checked out for injuries as she was in pain, and when she returned to the Home a day after that, her bed was moved from the side of the wall to the middle of the room in order to allow staff to stand either side of her bed, presumably to more easily assist her if she needed to sit up.

One night while I was visiting, two staff members came into the room and tried to lower the bed on one side (perhaps to take my mother to the toilet), but clearly didn't know what they were doing and the bed suddenly collapsed on one side with an almighty clang.  My mother was flung from the middle of the mattress and into one set of the wooden 'barriers' around the bed, screaming "Stop!  Stop!  You're killing me, you're killing me!" and moaning and groaning in pain.

I was then asked to step out of the room for a moment, which I did, thinking they were going to do something that required privacy, but, on reflection, I later wondered if it was to prevent me from seeing further instances of their incompetence.  (One of them had only started two or three days before.)  I've lost count of how many instances I've witnessed of ineptitude by staff, many of whom seem poorly trained and completely uninterested in their job, which is far from a ringing endorsement for the standard of 'care' that Meadowbrook provides.

(One example of poor training - or no training to be exact - is when I asked a staff member to replace the batteries in my mother's hearing aids.  She replied she didn't know where the batteries were kept, and that she didn't know how to fit them anyway.  Her response to my enquiry of how long she'd worked there was "Four years".  Staggering!  Other staff have also told me they don't know how to fit them, even after I'd been told they'd been shown how.)

So, Crivvies, you've likely read my previous posts about this awful excuse for a Care Home*.  What would you do if you found yourselves in such a situation?

*And in case you haven't, allow me to remind you via the following links...

Link 1      Link 2      Link 3      Link 4      Link 5      Link 6      Link 7      Link 8

Bear Alley Books - The SHRINKER - Available NOW!

Copyright REBELLION

Above, is the latest release from Bear Alley Books - The Shrinker.  My copy arrived at Castel Crivens yesterday and I've had a browse-through but not read it yet.  However, BAB's founder Steve Holland decided to publish this collection as it was one of his favourite strips when he was younger, so The Shrinker is unlikely to be a stinker (free poem).  The strip first appeared in Buster in the early '60s, though this collection is sourced from reprints in Valiant a few years later.  You can discover more details by visiting his site, which can be found in my Blog List in the sidebar to the right of you.

ROBERT The ROBOT Has COME 'OME...

Robert copyright relevant owner

My pal Robert touched down in Fireball Junior this morning (which then flew off), so I thought I'd show a photie (as we say in Glasgow) of him.  He talks (at the press of a button), and his eyes light up (though not in synchronisation to his speech) at the flick of a switch, and his chest lights up when he's speaking (but not in sync to each word).  I was going to make a video, but I've forgotten how to put it on the blog, so the above piccie will have to do.  His eyes flash from one-to-another, then both at the same time - hours of endless fun (though if it's hours it's not endless, but you know what I mean).  The cord you see belongs to the roller blind, not Robert.  "Hey, Rob - have you got Venus's 'phone number?  Give it 'ere, you pile of nuts and bolts."

MEADOWBROOK CARE HOME COULD DO WITH A LITTLE ENHANCEMENT. (OKAY, A LOT.)

A screen-grab of my stats on June 29th.  Click to enlarge

You don't need to reply to this, Crivs - I'm only reminding my hundreds of thousands of readers (and that's no exaggeration) of Meadowbrook Care Home's failure in certain aspects of my 104-year-old mother's care.  Also, don't forget Ashleigh Walmsley, the operations manager, who banned me from visiting my Alzheimer's and cancer-stricken mum for saying I thought staff who make false and malicious 'allegations' are 'scum'!  I stand by every word.  Don't forget, Meadowbrook's parent company is Enhance Healthcare.  (I wonder how they like them apples?)  Hope they set their legal team on me, 'cos I'd welcome my day in court, and have dozens of photos and email evidence of proof of my complaints.

And let's add the Social Work Department to that list, as they tell me they only want what's best for my mother (like I don't?) and 'don't recommend' moving her to another Home.  In what way does it benefit my mother to be denied visits from her son?

For those who missed my earlier posts, click on the links to them below.  I'll also be publishing these posts on my other blog; why should I deprive those readers of knowing what's going on in the world of 'care'?

Link 1      Link 2      Link 3      Link 4      Link 5      Link 6      Link 7      Link 8

FIREBALL XL5's ROBERT The ROBOT...

Copyright relevant owner

Waheyy!  A new friend is coming to live with me tomorrow - Robert The Robot!  This 21 inch talking robot with flashing eye-lights is on his way to me as I type (hence two of the seller's piccies) and I'm already on the 'phone to Professor Matthew Matic at Space City to find out the best way to look after him.  (Just kidding about that last part - you think I'm bonkers?)  I'll post my own photos once he arrives - handsome little chap, ain't he?  What else is there to say but buy your own!  (And should Venus ever become available, I'm the very chappie for her.)  If you watched Fireball XL5 as a kid, share your reminiscences in our scintillating comments section.  

DISTASTEFUL TALES - The NEXT CHAPTER...

So let's now return to Meadowbrook Care Home owned by Enhance Healthcare and whose operationa manager is one Ashleigh Walmsley.  Before we get to him directly (yeah, surprise, I first thought he was a she), let's take another look at the email I received, which was sent in the name of Michelle Hampson, but wasn't composed by her.  Her emails are usually filled with spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors, and there are no screamingly obvious ones in the following email, to which I've interspersed some comments.

Re: Meadowbrook - Immediate Suspension of Visiting Rights

Dear Mr. Robson,

I am writing to you formally on behalf of Meadowbrook and Enhance Healthcare regarding the decision to suspend your visiting rights to the home, effective immediately.

Further to our previous corredpondence dated 23 July 2026, there continues to be an escalation of similar conduct per previous correspondence.  You have continued to engage in inappropriate and slanderous communications regarding the service and its staff.  (He means libelous, which would only be the case if they're untrue - which they're not.)

This ongoing conduct has had a significant impact of the wellbeing of Meadowbrook as a service: on the staff who deliver care day to day, on the wider atmosphere within the home, and, by extension, on the residents who depend on a stable and settled environment.  Enhance Healthcare has a duty to protect the wellbeing of everyone connected to the service, and we are no longer able to reconcile that duty with continued visits from you under the current circumstances.  (In other words, they don't like the truth getting out about them and prefer to shoot the messenger rather than deal with what's causing the problem - their staff.)

As previously noted in our correspondence of 23 July 2026, our Zero Tolerance Policy  (I also operate a zero tolerance policy - in that I won't put up with shit) and Sexual Harassment Policy (Same again - I don't like to be harassed by false complaints of a sexual nature) both apply to this situation, and the relevant provisions of each were set out for you at that time, further reiterated by communications had with Mrs. Robson's allocated social worker, Martin Gourlay.  Given the cumulative impact of concerns outlined above, and in line with policies previously referenced, you are hereby banned from visiting Meadowbrook with immediate effect from the date of this letter.  (Actually, they banned me because I said that those who make false allegations of this nature are scum.  Anyone disagree?)

This ban reflects both the seriousness with which we view it and our responsibility to protect the wellbeing of the service.  (Their reputaion is what they actually mean, as well as protect themselves from the consequences of their continued incompetence).  Should any further inappropriate conduct (Like complaining about incompetence) towards the service or its staff occur, whether in person, in writing, or otherwise, the matter will be referred to our legal team.  (Go ahead, make my day!)

We understand this is a difficult letter to receive.  Any concerns you wish to raise going forward should be directed to Martin Gourlay, Social Worker, who can support communication between yourself and the service.  Enhance Healthcare and Meadowbrook always endeavour to work alongside families (My @rse) and external partners to provide the best possible care and to close any gaps where they arise, however at this point we feel the relationship has broken down beyond repair.  (As Corporal Jones used to say on Dad's Army - "They don't like it up 'em!) 

Yours sincerely,

Ash Walmsley

Operations Manager

Enhance Healthcare

Below are extracts from my email responses to them...

The only people who have indulged in slander and libel are yourselves, by making false and malicious accustaions against me that have no basis in reality.  I have stated nothing that isn't manifestly true, and your reaction shows you're running scared and seek to use visiting rights as a weapon against me.  No doubt the reason you have taken this action is because you simply don't like the truth and wish to quash it.  I will be posting more truthful and factual incidents of how inadequate certain aspects of your alleged service are in the near future.  Incidentally, I visited my local police station today, who informed me they have no record of anyone making complaints against me.  See you in the local press, who will, I'm sure, be interested in reporting you denying a son of the right to visit his mother.  Also, give me precise dates and times of when these alleged (and imaginary) incidents are supposed to have happened.

And I reserve the right to describe any of your staff as 'useless' if I happen to find that they are useless.  And many are on occasion.  Examples?  Not cleaning the toilet seat properly, or ensuring the floor and tables are clean, and being unable to ensure my mother's footwear does not go 'walkabout' when she's not wearing her shoes and slippers.  I see nothing useful about that.  You, I assume, regard such instances as examples of 'exceptional' care and attention?  The frustration and anger I naturally express at clear examples of incompetence are only to be expected.  Once Meadowbrook can get its act together and fulfil its promises, there would be no need for me to respond in such a way to continual provocation.  Anyway, going by my mother's woeful condition on Saturday, I don't expect you will have to worry about my responses for too much longer.

You are utterly pathetic.  I have never touched any member of staff, inappropriately or otherwise, and as I am disabled and can hardly walk without a rollator, I am far from intimidating.  This is a tissue of lies and I will be seeing a lawyer at my earliest opportunity.  Refer to your cameras and you will see that I have never touched anyone - at all - far less in anything resembling a sexual way.  Fighting dirty, eh?  This proves to me that you and any of your staff who are claiming these things are complete and utter scum!

As you can see from the above, Crivs, I don't take prisoners.  And I repeat my firm opinion that those who make such unfounded allegations like Meadowbrook are scum - and total bastards as well.  And that includes the so-called 'operations manager'.  Hah!  (The words 'piss-up' and 'brewery' spring to mind.)  How else would you describe someone who would deny a 104-year-old-woman with Alzheimer's and cancer visits from her son, a disabled pensioner with a litany of medical conditions and debilitating ailments?  If anything, I'd say I was quite restrained in my reaction.  To paraphrase Charlton Heston - Damn them!  Damn them all to hell!

Incidentally, there's much more to come.  And all my complaints are documented in emails and photographs, and acknowledged with no denial by management.  Also, my complaints against a certain member of staff were partially upheld, so I can back up every word I say in court.  However, so as not to weary you with this saga, I'll space out future instalments with longer gaps.

The RETURN Of ULYSSES...

Saturday August 1st.  Today is precisely 39 years since my parents, myself, and the dog* returned to the house in which, along with my brother, we'd lived for 11 years before moving elsewhere.  Four years later we moved back (sans brother), and those 39 years don't seem one whit longer than our previous period of habitation.  Sometimes I have difficulty remembering precisely when certain events took place; was it during our first stay or our second?  It's hard to recall exactly, unless I can associate something with a cover-dated comic.  (Out of the last 56 years, I've spent 52 of them in my current home.)

Anyway, just thought I'd mark the occasion.  But where the hell did the last 39 years go?

*It was a different dog, though of the same breed (German Shepherd).  Tara died three years into our stay in that other house, her successor, Zara, joined our family in our last year there.  Also, although we moved back in on the 1st, the official tenancy commencement date was Tuesday 4th.

To The VICTOR, The SPOILS...

Copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

Here's a nice book from 2010 that I won at auction recently - for less than its original price.  (Oops, my mistake - it was 51p more.  I was mixing it up with another item I also won.)  I read a handful of pals' Victor comics when I was a kid and bought the occasional free-gift issues as a teenager, but that apart, I wasn't a particular fan of the weekly periodical.  Why?  Probably because it consisted mainly of War and Sports stories.  However, something about the book caught my fancy so I decided it was going to be mine - and it now is!  Incidentally, the slightly grubby look in places on the cover is part of its design, not the result of 'shelf (or any other kind of) wear'.  I think I'll enjoy reading it.  (And it still has its free gift.)

Did any of you read The Victor when you were younger and is this the sort of book you'd like to own?  Tell your fellow Crivvies in the comments section.  (Or I'll bore you all witless with more shocking Care Home revelations.)

BABE Of The DAY - JANE RUSSELL

Here's jaunty Jane Russell to tell

you that further appalling revelations about

Meadowbrook Care Home in East Kilbride

haven't been abandoned.  More 100% true stories

about the place will be coming soon - I'm just having

a rest to give all you Crivs a break from a series I've

decided to call Distasteful Tales.  They can't sue

me for telling the truth, though they can try if

  they like.  I'd welcome my day in court.

TV21 (NEW SERIES) #105 (LAST ISSUE)...

Copyright relevant owner

Well, I suppose I'd better do a post on comics before you forget what this site's supposed to be about and decide to bail out on me.  I couldn't blame you if you did, 'cos some of my recent posts make for tedious reading, but it's cathartic for me and my chief way of addressing certain injustices perpetrated against me.

Anyway, TV21 #105 was the final issue of the 'New Series' direction of what had once been known as TV Century 21, which first appeared on newsagents' counters in January 1965 (cover-dated 2065).  It had switched from its original title to simply TV21 with #155 in December (cover-dated January) 1968, and by the time of New Series #105 on September 1971, contained no Gerry Anderson-based strips, having been gradually phased out over the preceding months.

What's easily forgotten is that TV21 fearured a number of Marvel strips, Spider-Man and Silver Surfer among them.  They didn't survive into the combined issue of Valiant & TV21 the following week and were hastily brought to unsatisfactory conclusions with this issue.  Around a year and two weeks later, Marvel strips were resurrected in The Mighty World Of Marvel #1, and it's amzing just how many people now forget Marvel characters had still been appearing in a UK comic only 12 and-a-half months previously.

So, here are a few pages to remind you of Marvel's last stand in a UK comic by a British publisher, before 'official' Marvel took up the reins.  Alan Class, of course, was still publishing his UK reprints, but they were monthly as opposed to weekly, and Class didn't resize and rearrange the strips in the way Odhams and IPC did.

Comments most welcome, Crivs.  And don't forget to click on images to enlarge, then click again for optimum size.  You don't wanna strain your eyes, do ya?!

Note the Surfer strip doesn't distinguish between the motivations of The Inhumans and Maximus

and his followers, giving the misleading impression that both groups are as bad as one another 

The ending of this strip uses a random selection of panels to draw things to a close.  Note they've

neglected to remove Spidey's 'Spider Sense' wiggly lines, even though he's in no danger

The first combined issue

SOCIAL WORKER ZONE? Huh! More Like The TWILIGHT ZONE - (Or The PHANTOM ZONE)...

Okay, seeing as how Ash Walmsley introduced him into the discussion in his letter to me, now let's talk about social worker Martin Gourlay.  When I first met him, he didn't strike me as willing to be particularly helpful, though, eventually, he appeared to come round to my way of thinking on a couple of issues and managed to get the Home to do likewise.  Namely, ensuring my mother's door was shut at all times so that she wasn't subject to the gaze of visitors or other residents when she might not have been fully dressed, or lying in her bed.  I wanted my mother's privacy and dignity to be preserved, not have her open to public scrutiny or intrusion when she wasn't very presentable (and even when she was).

The other thing was to get the Home to prepare my mother for bed by 10 p.m. as I had originally stipulated when she first went into the place.  Staff were in the habit of letting her sit up until whenever time she wanted to, because some numpty of an alleged 'senior carer' decided that as my mother sometimes went to bed early of her own accord, she was then therefore perfectly capable of going to bed at 10 p.m.  This led to my mother sitting up extremely late, resulting in her being too tired to get up at the allotted time in the morning.  I'd visit in the evening, only to find her still in bed and unresponsive because she was half-asleep.  (Sometimes she was in a deep sleep, and I'd sit with her for a while and then come home.)

It occurs to me now that perhaps he only assisted me in this in order to keep me happy so I had less to complain about, which in turn kept the Care Home happy.  However, staff continued to leave my mother's door wide open (or not close it when they saw it was open as they'd been instructed to do).  I'll give you more details on that at another time.  Like I said in a previous post, I had been trying to get my mother moved elsewhere, but Mr. Gourlay always hit me with the same spiel.  "I'd advise against that as it wouldn't be in her best interests" he'd say, though as the relative with POA and a certificate of incapacity, that should have been my decision.

Given recent comments of his, it appears he effectively sabotaged my efforts to have my mother moved by informing Homes I applied to I was always moaning and complaining, inevitably resulting in them not wanting her.  And how absurd is it for someone to visit my mother to evaluate her, then decide she seemed happy enough where she was?  (Perhaps influenced by Mr. Gourlay's input?)  As I said before, my mother would've been happy anywhere as she didn't know where she was to begin with.  (She sometimes thinks I live there and asks me what room I'm in.)  Moving her to another Care Home would've had no more (if any) adverse effect on her than moving her to another part of the building, which has already been done.  As she is deemed unfit to make decisions for herself (aside from minor things like what colour of cardigan she'd like to wear, and what she wants to eat), that decision fell within my purview.

(Also, he said that seeing faces of new staff might be disorientating for her, though there's new staff in the place all the time, they don't keep anyone for long.  And I doubt my mother recognises any long-term staff anyway.  Nothing but feeble and unconvincing excuses to avoid moving her.  No Care Home wants residents removed due to families not being happy with them as it looks bad, and it seems to me Mr. Gourlay is far more concerned with what Care Homes want than what families want.) 

When I was 'phoning through a list of lawyers, one told me she had the same problem as I had, but in reverse.  Social Work wanted to take her mother into care, whereas she wanted her mother to stay at home and be looked after - as did her mother.  That's the thing about social workers - they impose themselves into your life and try and take over, making decisions that should lie within the province of families or individuals themselves.  His boss returns from holiday on August 10th; I'm then going to see if I can have him replaced as my mother's allocated social worker with someone else.  Even if the Home reverses its ban on me, how can I ever go into the place again, with staff holding the upper hand and being in a position of being able to make any accusations against me they like and be believed?  It would be an untenable situation.

Given recent remarks of his, he seems to be siding with Meadowbrook and its employees on this one, without letting me know precisely what I'm supposed to have said (something about sitting on my knee) and who said it, thereby denying me the ability to hold her to account (in a legal way) for it.  I've used the line "Well, sit on my knee and tell me what you want for Christmas" around a dozen times in response to people telling me I look like Santa over the last couple of months (with no negative reaction), and I have a dim memory of saying, in response to a comment about there not being enough room to swing a cat in my mother's room, something like "I know - if you wanted to sit down, it'd have to be on my knee, 'cos you're not getting my chair."  Sexual harassment?  My perfectly formed and finely-chiselled @rse!

Whichever it was, there was no sexual intent behind it, and all lawyers I've spoken to are incredulous about it.  (As are various women I'm friendly with.)  Knowing the precise words and the identity of my accuser would assist me in having a clearer recollection and help cut through my brain fog.  How do I even know my accuser is the person I spoke to?  She may have heard a colleague laughing about my remark and appropriated it for her own sinister ends.  Meadowbrook doesn't care, as it provides them with ammunition against me.

That's why, whichever one it was, I suspect it's been seized upon in a blatant attempt to 'bring me to heel', in order to discredit my claims and complaints about some of the staff, and to deter me from making their many lapses public (as I threatened to do), out of fear that their (false) allegations of 'sexual impropriety' against me also become known.  A scare tactic in other words.  Or maybe even just to get their own back on me for making formal complaints about some of them.  Hey, it could even be both, as neither possibilities are mutually exclusive.

Wish me well, Crivvies - and this isn't the end of this story - it's only the beginning.

******

Update: I've now been informed the 'incident' doesn't relate to either of the two possibilities I suggested (they did occur, but I can't remember who was involved in the first one, and there were a dozen or more separate individuals in the second - outside of the Home - so that makes whatever it was (my knee still features in the allegation, oddly) a definite fabrication.  So it's either Meadowbrook trying to frighten me off from revealing any more of their shortcomings, or vengeful staff seeking payback for me complaining about them.  Maybe even both.  I'm determined to get to the bottom of it.

The 'MYSTERY' Of The MISSING SLIPPERS...

Okay, still on the subject of Meadowbank Care Home, which used to be known as Whitehills Care Home, let's talk about the litttle matter of theft that goes on within the place.  Money (£10 in one case) has been stolen from my mother's purse within her room on two separate occasions, unopened bottles of Lucozade regularly went missing, and her footwear has now gone 'walkabout' at least six times.  Perhaps I should say five-and-a-half times, because in one instamce, it was 'only' one item of footwear.  On that occasion it was a slipper, and I'm still slightly baffled as to how a single slipper can disappear without the other one going missing at the same time.  Maybe they fell out, eh?  So, to date, that's three and-a-half pairs of slippers and two pairs of shoes that have 'mysteriously' vanished.

At the time, I was still in the unenviable position of having to make regular complaints about the place; windows being left open on cold winter nights with no heating on, and - get this - staff continually placing my mother's footwear on the top shelf of the wardrobe out of sight and reach of my mother - or under a duvet on the bottom of the wardrobe where they couldn't be seen.  I remind you that my mother has Alzheimer's, so if something is out of sight, it's also out of mind, yet no matter how many times I politely pointed this out, it still persisted.  Surely this constitutes a striking example of stupidity if nothing else does?  I eventually wrote on a whiteboard a note requesting that staff refrain from putting her shoes and slippers in the wardrobe.  Did it make a blind bit of difference?  Did it 'eck as like!

One evening, I mentioned to a member of staff who came into the room that this was still happening, despite the neatly printed sign requesting it desist.  I indicated the sign to her (it was above the radiator at the side of my mother's armchair) and she looked at it and said "How long has that beem there?"  "About a year" I replied.  "Rubbish" she said, "I've never seen it before!"  "That's more a reflection on your powers of observation - or lack of them - than it is on the sign's visibility" I responded.  How could anyone come into a room over the course of a year and not see a clearly visible sign?  The short answer is that quite a number of staff in the place walk about like farts in a trance and don't pay attention to what's going on around them.  And too many of them are, in my opinion based on experience, simply stupid.

Incidentally, these are all documented facts, preserved in emails I sent to management and which I still have to this day.  Regarding the missing footwear, I'm convinced they were purloined out of spite by a disgruntled staff member with a grudge against me because I regularly complained about lots of things.  Well, wouldn't you if it were your mother?  If ever a search was implemented of other residents' rooms (or anywhere else) to see if some befuddled biddy had decided to 'adopt' them, there was never any sign of them.  As Sherlock Holmes said, "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth!"  A simple matter of logic, which, unfortunately, isn't much in evidence at Meadowbrook.  If none of the residents had removed the footwear, then it must've been a member of staff.

My mother hadn't been in the Home long when she mentioned one day her watch was missing.  I searched the room, sliding my hands down the sides and back of her armchair and under any items which might be obscuring sight of it.  No, definitely missing so I reported it to staff.  A few days later I received a 'phone call informing me the watch had been found down the side of her armchair.  Not possible.  That's one instance where another resident had clearly made off with it and it had been discovered in her room.  The Home obviously didn't want me thinking there were any light-fingered old ladies around who were attracted to glittery things they might take a liking to.  Not theft exactly, but 'appropriation' by a confused and unfortunate individual.  However, it showed me that staff were prepared to lie in order to protect the Home's reputation.

(Oh, here's another one I just remembered.  As I arrived one night, I noticed that someone had peed all over the floor outside the reception office.  It didn't appear to have been noticed [no yellow signs around it] so I brought it to a member of staff's attention.  She looked at it and then said "No, it's just cold tea."  Cold tea my @rse - I know pee when I see [and smell] it.) 

And then there's the matter of the toilet seat.  You've already seen the photos.  Whenever I noticed excrement on the seat, I drew it the staff's attention as I was leaving, and they said they'd clean it.  On my next visit I could see that although it had been wiped, it hadn't been wiped thoroughly and the seat or porcelain under it still had traces of schect on view.  When I compared the photos I took, it was obvious from the 'pattern' it was the same as on my previous visit.  This catalogue of past events, along with more recent ones, explains why some staff, possibly at the urging of the 'higher ups', are trying to blacken my name with ludicrous allegations and bully me into silence.  Anyway, I'm getting tired so I'm off to my scratcher.  More true and documented stories about the failings of Whitehills/Meadowbrook coming soon - and that's a promise.

(Don't worry, Martin, your turn in the spotlight is also coming soon.)