Haggis

Traditional Scottish dish haggis has been a source of contention between the Scottish Rural Affairs Department (SEERAD) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for twenty two years, when the offal-based dish was banned in the USA. Following Britain's BSE outbreak in 1989, authorities made the controversial decision to ban imports of haggis, although both SEERAD and the British Food Standards Agency have subsequently asserted the consumption of haggis is perfectly healthy.

While rumours circulated back in January 2010 that the US was due to lift its ban on haggis, unluckily for American haggis fans, the ban - which has been under review for over a year - is still in place today. Although US residents are able to get their hands on American haggis, this is generally considered to be very different from the real thing, often being made from beef and always lacking one essential authentic ingredient: sheep's lungs - an ingredient that has been illegal in the US since 1971.

I've not got a huge problem with what I'm about to blog, but there seem to be some who do. Every time I log onto the site and click to see who is in chat, I see myself smiling back often. If i were already in chat, I'd not be looking to see who was there, now would i? lol
I actually have very rarely used the option to check who's in chat until this past couple of weeks when its been pointed out by a few people that it says I'm always there. As much as i love the fun in the chatrooms i, unfortunately, have to do ll the other neccessities life has to offer...like shop, cook, clean, work....oh and sleep!!!
If you really wanna definitively know who is in there, enter and see......novel notion I know, but hey, there might be someone not on the the list that you wann talk with too.
Be grateful for all the extra options we have on here, but please realise not all of them are infallible, especially over the time the servers have been changed and there are small glitches to be ironed out.

Normally I try and see the more positive side of life and not dwell on the shitty stuff thats going on...this past week however, I've found it quite difficult. I'm hoping that by getting it out on here it somehow helps. I'm not one for broadcasting health worries about myself or anyone else close to me, especially in a blog.
A really dear long time friend was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus 3 years ago, now thats one of the treatable but not curable ones. A really fit, healthy, young guy would have 10 yrs max after diagnosis, he was a 50 year old, 60 a day smoker and heavy drinker. Last Monday I got a call I'd been waiting on for a couple of months as I'd seen him gradually slipping again....the tumour is back, not as bad as it was but surgery for a second time is out so its a load of rounds of chemo and radiotherapy again for him.
On Sunday my ex called to tell me that his father had been diagnosed with tumours on his pancreas and lung. He's my son's grandfather so I'm still in closeish contact with him. Hes going to be 80 this coming March, but in the past 17 months has had a stroke, been diagnosed with diabetes and had a pacemaker fitted. He's refusing any and all treatment for the cance, except analgesia. He was given less than a year with or without chemo, so he'd just rather spend what time he has not throwing up. I don't like it, but i do respect his decision.
My youngest son has always had problems with his ears, various infections, earache etc and had an operation to insert a grommet almost 5 yrs ago in the hope it would help his failing hearing. In November he went back for a routine hearing test to be told that in 18 months the hearing in his right ear had dropped from 78% to 17%. More tests were done and we were told a 'small operation' would be needed to remove a cyst. Last Thursday he went for the operation and when he came round the doctor explained that what he had was a cholesteatoma and it couldnt all be removed but he'd be scheduled for another operation sometime in January. Half his eardrum is necrotised and the other half is so thin it wont be long til its the same way. He needs an operation to remove the rest of the 'cyst' (which was actually the doctors nice way of saying tumour!) and to rebuild his eardrum. Now I didn't even know you COULD rebuild an eardrum, always learning in this world, I am. Steven doesnt realise actually how serious this is. He has a 1in100 chance of losing his hearing completely, 1in1000 of facial paralyisis, 90% of losing taste for a few months, if he goes ahead......if he doesnt, he has a 1in3 chance of the tumour growing further back, piercing the membrane surrounding his brain and contracting scepticemia. And I'm not telling until after christmas, I don't want him worrying about it all for the next 5 weeks until his next appointment. I've only told 2 close friends how serious it is. Steven's dad read the hospital literature and also knows its not an everyday 5 minute thing too, but has agreed not to say to him, just til after xmas.
So if it comes in 3's thats my 3 done!
I really don't know if to expect some kind of cathartacism from this blog...but I just cant bring myself to bring everyone around me down by talking about it, most of them, unlike me, actually like christmas and I'm not taking that away from them.
If you made it to the end, you should give yourself a chocolate lollipop  lol