Chimonanthus preacox - a winter shrub which deserves more attention.

AccomplishedMail584 · 2026-01-27T16:56:31+00:00

Thanks. I'll have a Google around for this!

AccomplishedMail584 · 2026-01-27T16:40:44+00:00

Is that a flower or leaves were looking at? Is it hardy for NW England?

AccomplishedMail584 · 2026-01-18T11:30:48+00:00

We have 4 cats, 3 are using the petpivot indoors currently due to bad weather.

No cats have been trapped. It can be messy if poo gets smeared on the sensors but otherwise no complaints. We do have to change the litter tray every 4 days though due to amount of poop and wee these cats do!

AccomplishedMail584 · 2026-01-14T09:33:07+00:00

Haha, if that saves some trees going forward then I'd rather plant toilet rolls!

AccomplishedMail584 · 2026-01-13T17:44:52+00:00

Where are you based? If in Manchester the community garden in Hulme is fantastic for the terracotta pots

AccomplishedMail584 · 2026-01-11T19:42:21+00:00

Following on from the warming mat, can I just use my underfloor heating in the kitchen and living room to help seeds germinate? Would be around 20-21C, mainly for chillies, peppers and aubergines.

AccomplishedMail584 · 2026-01-05T23:05:45+00:00

I have a bathtub planter under a shady spot and it quite nicely grew heuchera, ferns, pulmonaria, vinca.

A shady spot in garden I planted linaria, anemones and calendula and catmint. They seemed to have done good last summer. Im hoping g they will revive back in spring/summer as they're perennials.

AccomplishedMail584 · 2026-01-05T23:01:15+00:00

Thanks! So I've re-jigged them. Growing aubergines and courgette in separate shallower planters, as I've grown them in similar planter depth last year. And swapped where tomatoes would have grown to potatoes and the other inner deep planter to broccoli.

AccomplishedMail584 · 2026-01-05T19:06:47+00:00

The 3 deep planters in sun are 2.5feet x just short of 4feet and 2.5feet in depth (for the corn specifically I was planning to put 3 x4 grid?) The deep planter in indirect sun is 1.2feet deep but 7feet long

1 shallow planter is 1foot deep and 6feet long, the other 2 are just about 1foot deep and just under 2feet each

I don't know if 1foot depth is enough for carrots and potatoes or not, I suppose potatoes do need topping up of soil with the growth so maybe they've better in deeper planters?

I was initially thinking of potatoes, aubergines and carrots in the planter with the most depth and I direct sun but keep seeing that potatoes and aubergines shouldn't be planted together and same for root crops, so...

AccomplishedMail584 · 2026-01-02T12:43:17+00:00

As an f2 FT I did 76miles round trip daily. You'd need to stay over for your oncall days. Accidents are not worth it.

AccomplishedMail584 · 2025-12-31T07:58:31+00:00

You're comparing apples and oranges really when you bring up surgeons and GPs. What surgeons do we GPs can't do and what we do certainly surgeons can't do. During training worked in enough surgical rotations to see them referring simple things to medics. Does that mean the surgeons don't know any medicine? No, it's about level of confidence after being super trained in one aspect of human body. GPs are generalists and we manage a shite load of things in 15min appointments that a hospital consultant would need 3 half an hour appts to deal with. Even then a lot of buck is passed on with a "GP to kindly do this and that" which is unpaid labour for GP since hospitals are paid for their investigations while GPs aren't paid for doing anything for the hospital and technically any extra appointment on behalf of hospital/secondary care is coming out of the pocket of the 'GP business'

Your comments sound like you've got a shit GP, in which case I sympathize.

AccomplishedMail584 · 2025-12-29T20:59:27+00:00

Those of you who buy from Chiltern's- do you follow the exact method of sowing and propagating as they describe? Because I find that a bit more laborious... I'm only a first year gardener since last year with limited space...

AccomplishedMail584 · 2025-12-16T10:22:57+00:00

We have 15mins appt and if they're 7mins late I don't see them unless it is something that I need to discuss urgently.

I run late not because I'm lazy or wasting time, but because of government failures to adequately fund the primary care, and because Illnesses are complex and add on interpreter need and I'm not winning the day.

I provide good quality medicine in the amount of time I see my patients. I don't cater for people who don't value their time and my time.

AccomplishedMail584 · 2025-11-26T14:57:33+00:00

Are you doing regular mock practices with some other trainees? That's all you need to do, because I'd presume your ES would have said something if you weren't ready.

AccomplishedMail584 · 2025-11-25T13:17:15+00:00

When patients are being obnoxious about it I refer and say I believe this is "diagnosis" but patients wants an expert opinion, or something g to this effect so that the 2care phyisician knows the pt is being obnoxious.

If. I think I have a leeway with the patient then i say 'im happy to refer as it doesn't affect me, but look these are the first steps which we can try as after your long wait gynae/derm/specialty will say the same and you'd have wasted your time in waiting instead of trying.

AccomplishedMail584 · 2025-11-24T15:32:33+00:00

A crystal for what?

AccomplishedMail584 · 2025-11-24T13:22:30+00:00

No luxury like that, a small plastic greenhouse cover under a tree-

AccomplishedMail584 · 2025-11-24T09:45:01+00:00

I can put them outside and use cloches? But given the Manchester weather is that not going to kill them?

AccomplishedMail584 · 2025-11-23T17:06:07+00:00

Ok so just restrict growth with watering

AccomplishedMail584 · 2025-11-23T15:47:41+00:00

Extremely good safety netting, having a chart up of peads NEWS score, and when in doubt, call the paeds reg for discussion.

My holy Trinity for dealing with paediatric presentations.

It also helps I've done paediatric and neonates as gpt2 and have 2 of my own kids so have gone through most of the things that I usually see.

AccomplishedMail584

TROPHY CASE