Back to business

Glad to get back to business today after the spell of appalling weather. It was blustery but warm out on High Moor Lane, Halsall. I didn’t have high expectations of distributing many leaflets but ended handed out 4 which was great. I chose this method of raising awareness of Prostate Cancer because I felt it would give me the opportunity to talk to people who may not otherwise come across quality information about the disease. Mr Grimshaw didn’t need the facts because he has already been diagnosed and is already being treated with hormones but as we chatted he mentioned a number of his friends who are currently receiving treatment. He was fully supportive of any move to raise awareness and was happy to take a leaflet to pass on to someone who was less knowledgeable.

Mr Grimshaw is a farmer and like so many other self employed people a serious illness can have significant impact on the basic business of maintaining an income as well as dealing with the illness. Farmers have to work the crops, may have animals to look after, have contracts to fulfill and just keep things going day after day after day. They may work alone or have employees but you have to be a pretty wealthy farmer not to have to get out there and do the work. Many other tradesmen and business owners will have the same burden of responsibility adding to the stress of dealing with illness. The same applies to the many contract workers created in the last number of years as employers make economies by cutting back on the extra financial commitments of permanent employment. Chronic illness can be crippling in more than a physical sense.

So today the rubbish haul was fairly ordinary except for the bag of rubble which had been fly tipped, various car parts and a section of orange plastic “fencing”. I had parked by the canal and was horrified to discover a large piece of machinery which has been dumped. I have a feeling it will take some heavy duty lifting gear to get rid of it. I wasn’t sure which agency was responsible for dealing with this kind of thing in this location so I’ve sent a message to the local council and requested them to pass it on to the relevant authority.