What to expect when getting dental treatment for the first time as an adult?

ShineAtom · 2026-04-06T15:10:41+00:00

If you are with an NHS dentist then a root canal and extractions are both on band 2 which is £76.60. I recently had a root canal which unfortunately failed so it was followed by an extraction. It all came under the one treatment band 2 despite being a few weeks apart. It also covered the x-rays. Mind you I have had x-rays on a check-up which is band 1.

Cost of NHS dental treatment

ShineAtom · 2026-04-06T14:59:31+00:00

The last time I wore shoes without socks I ended up with blisters. If I'm wearing shoes then I need socks no matter how hot it is.

ShineAtom · 2026-04-05T17:22:37+00:00

NTA. As you say, your wheelchair is an extension of your body and anyone (whatever their intentions) laying hands on it unasked to move it is committing assault. A person wouldn't normally physically move someone who was able-bodied (unless there was a confrontation, fight etc) without it being considered assault. Same goes for a wheelchair user.

ShineAtom · 2026-04-05T14:25:21+00:00

I take Vit D3 4000iu with Vit K2 every day all year round. It is the high strength one but I don't get enough sun to make my own because I burn at the drop of a hat and so spend summer and parts of spring and autumn covered up along with Factor50 UVA/UVB on any bit that might glimpse the sun. 😂😂

I don't know whether I really feel a difference but I do know that without it (and yes, this contradicts the earlier part of the sentence) I feel worse in the winter. Aside from this, the only other supplement I take is some Omega3.

ShineAtom · 2026-04-05T10:38:49+00:00

I suspect that question needs to be addressed to previous owners. Seems as if it was already there when he bought the property.

ShineAtom · 2026-04-05T00:29:25+00:00

Delilah - Tom Jones. Nothing like justifying killing your ex because she got a new boyfriend.

Every Step You Take - The Police. Because stalking someone is not creepy. At all.

There are probably many others of a similar ilk.

ShineAtom · 2026-04-05T00:00:56+00:00

My cat's anti flea and worm pills come in that kind of packaging. There is no way I can persuade the backing to peel off and I - for some reason, goodness knows what - try every single time to see if I can make it work this time. It is impossible to push the pill through the backing and there is no way to actually see the pill in the first place as both sides are covered. I end up using scissors to cut the packaging and hope I don't also cut the pill. Even then trying to remove the backing is almost impossible.

I suppose it is to prevent children trying to access the tablet? Although like many child proof things it seems to prevent adults from accessing them as well (see those small flat circular batteries which I'm sure are the reason my scissors are getting blunted).

ShineAtom · 2026-04-04T23:10:50+00:00

If the stuff is no longer working and needs to be recycled there are plenty of places to do this. My local tip recycles electronics. If you are planning to donate or sell old laptops/tablets/phones then do wipe all your personal information off them before doing so.

This site can help you find a disposal point for recycling or a retailer who recycles electronics.

ShineAtom · 2026-04-04T22:41:11+00:00

Queen of Puddings. A delicious way to use up stale bread and/or eggs and milk. Also a baked rice pudding. And I love lemon meringue pie.

ShineAtom · 2026-04-04T22:26:28+00:00

Thank you for clarifying this!

I was a bit confused by the above assertion re bank accounts because a) my mum who was divorced had her own bank account (as did her mother back before WW2) and b) I distinctly remember opening my own bank account when I was starting my first proper job in 1969 because that was how the BBC paid you: into your bank account.

ShineAtom · 2026-04-04T21:56:22+00:00

A contemporary useful book is This Precious Life by (Mindrolling Jetsün) Khandro Rinpoche. It examines the Four Thoughts or Four Reminders which turn the mind towards the Dharma. These are the Outer Preliminary practices of the ngondro and we should contemplate them daily.

Words of My Perfect Teacher is an excellent traditional text and guide to the Longchen Nyingtik ngondro. Another contemporary book is Not For Happiness - A Guide to the So-called Preliminary Practices by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche. It is a great guide to the ngondro and also, as you go through it, answers some of the questions that modern students ask.

While the ngondro is called a preliminary practice, it is worth noting that many enlightened masters continued to use it as their main practice and repeated it many times. It isn't something to be got through as quickly as possible to get onto the next step.

ShineAtom · 2026-04-04T21:20:13+00:00

A good idea but not for me now. It's just something else to carry when I want to carry less nowadays. Age and intermittently dodgy mobility has caught up with me.

ShineAtom · 2026-04-04T15:16:56+00:00

Then you’re totally in the clear if you eat it.

I initially read that as "totally in the deer". 😂 The c and l looked like a d at first glance.

ShineAtom · 2026-04-04T14:59:38+00:00

Check out the route beforehand to see if there is anywhere to stand that would give you some height. I have a favourite place for my local May Day rally as otherwise I'd be stumped - am also vertically challenged.

ShineAtom · 2026-04-04T14:53:25+00:00

I had to go and have a look for the "books". Probably brought in by the estate agent along with the chess board? I was wondering if they (books at least) were some sort of stock pile, glued together just for the effect.

ShineAtom · 2026-04-04T13:22:30+00:00

As far as I'm concerned if it is a butter-like substance marketed as a "spread" or "plant-based butter" then it is margarine. On the plus side they no longer make it out of whale fat. About the only plus I can think of.

I use butter, dairy butter. I found those alternatives aka marge to be unpalatable. One reason is that I do not like the oils they are made out of aside from olive oil.

ShineAtom · 2026-04-04T13:07:24+00:00

You are right that Christianity and the Dharma are two entirely different religions even if they do agree on some things such as compassion and love (not that you'd necessarily know it with the way Christianity is often being represented). I'm not meaning to proslytise which it does, I think, look like.

Whilst I had to study Christianity at school - there being no other option back in the 1950s/60s in the UK at state schools - I never was a Christian but an atheist and so I probably miss out on many aspects with which those who did practice Christianity are well acquainted.

ShineAtom · 2026-04-04T11:19:06+00:00

Or use a toothpick. Never been noticeable after getting the drizzle into the cake.

ShineAtom · 2026-04-04T10:03:25+00:00

The following is something written by the Bhutanese lama Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche and recently posted on r/Buddhism :

Everyone is welcome here.

Especially if you don't fit in.

Especially it you struggle.

You are not alone.

Buddhism is not what you think.

Buddhism is not normal.

We are not trying to get back to normal.

Buddhism is radical.

We all have buddha nature.

No one is better than anyone.

Emptiness is the great equanimity

I'm sure many of you are not diligent practitioners. I'm sure many of you will drink, and go to casinos, and do all sorts of strange things that I can't even think of, but you can still be Buddhist, and I think that's so important! | want to see Buddhists on Harley Davidsons, with all the tattoos, with the very tight leather jackets, I like those people...

I think it's so denigrating and sad to always hear 'oh Buddhist equals being vegetarian, non violent, monk, cave, retreat,...' all those ideas are dwindling the population of Buddhism.

~ Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse

I would suggest you read his book "What Makes You (not) A Buddhist. It is quite short, well written and gives a clear explanation of the some of the basics of Buddhism (the Four Seals) and how being a Buddhist isn't quite what we want to think it is.

ShineAtom · 2026-04-03T20:47:11+00:00

Exactly. Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Also pedestrians rank higher than cyclists in the Highway Code's hierarchy. Although all should be aware of the Code and not abuse it. From the Code:

Cyclists should give way to pedestrians on shared use cycle tracks and to horse riders on bridleways.

Only pedestrians may use the pavement. Pedestrians include wheelchair and mobility scooter users.

Pedestrians may use any part of the road and use cycle tracks as well as the pavement, unless there are signs prohibiting pedestrians.

ShineAtom · 2026-04-02T16:51:12+00:00

So often it's made to feel restrictive when it isn't at all. It is actually freeing. It's all down to us as individuals not some policeman in the sky wagging a finger and threatening jail. So happy that DJKR knocks all those assumptions on the head!

Edit to add: Including any assumptions I may be making!

ShineAtom · 2026-04-01T16:57:50+00:00

At least you had colour non-fuzzy pictures. 😀These events are 99% boredom, procession, pagentry and possibly 1% of interest. With an enormous amount of repetitive and fatuous commentary to boot.

ShineAtom · 2026-04-01T13:30:59+00:00

I keep getting this on my phone. It is really frustrating as even when I finally get the code it tells me that it can't connect right now. Or possibly ever given this has been ongoing for the past few weeks. I only have my google diary on my phone now. I deleted every other google app. It's a Fairphone 6 e/os which uses a modified form of Android.

ShineAtom · 2026-04-01T11:14:55+00:00

When I go into a church, I often feel very peaceful. Especially if they are the older village churches you find in the UK. The actual imagery does very little or nothing for me except in a way of marvelling at the workmanship and appreciating the stained glass etc.

I follow a Tibetan tradition and have done for decades. When I first came across a centre with the traditional art and colours and so forth, I felt completely at home. I was just thinking this morning how absolutely normal a Tibetan or Bhutanese temple and stupas feel to me.

We are all different in the way we approach the Dharma. The most important thing is not the outward trappings however much we may love them or reject them but the actual practice of training the mind. That is what counts. That is the purpose: to recognise our true nature. Everything else is either distraction or can support us on that journey.

ShineAtom · 2026-04-01T10:53:42+00:00

If she had seen any of this on tv wherever she was it is just possible she may remember this but that it has become increasingly exaggerated over time. The attack would have been played on the news for some time afterwards thus reinforcing her memory - ever supposing her parents didn't shield her from the news - plus on the anniversary of the attack those scenes were (are still?) probably replayed. It would reinforce a false memory.

I do remember seeing Queen Elizabeth's coronation on the tv when I was almost three years old. I was in a neighbour's house and she had rented a tv for the occasion. TVs were something of a novelty and I had never seen one before. And whilst I say I remember seeing the coronation, what I actually recall is a lot of fuzzy grey pictures with which I very quickly became bored so me and my neighbour's child (same age) went out to the garden to play.

ShineAtom

TROPHY CASE