Taking the waters

I’m away from home for a little bit, in Bath, having treatment to help the aches and stiffness resulting from a lot of years of ankylosing spondylitis. I used to go every 3 or so years, but since everything stopped during Covid it’s been over six years since I was last here. In that time the old Mineral Water hospital in the centre of Bath has closed and the course has relocated to the bigger hospital on the outskirts of the city. The facilities are first rate, as is the accommodation, but it just ain’t the same not being in the centre of town.

Phone snap of the new 'Min'.  The hydro pool is on the right, behind the fancy windows.

Facilities in the Brownsword Therapies Centre. 
Right at the top is the Ankylosing Spondylitis Course.  Quite right, too!

Having called it ankylosing spondylitis (AS) for several decades we now have to get used to a new, umbrella term: Axial Spondyloarthropathy, or AxSpa for short (phew!)  Well, AS is still valid, but only where skeletal changes are present under X-ray.  With the advent of biologic drugs some years ago, there are fewer cases presenting with bone fusion, which is of course a good thing.  So with my fused spine and neck, I come under Radiographic AxSpa, whereas someone without the fusion (but still with inflammation and probably pain) would be labelled Non-radiographic AxSpa.  Got it?!

Ivy, in iron

 While standing around the square near the entrance to the Bodleian I noticed this rather lovely bit of railing at the base of one of the stone columns:

Spotmatic/28mm/FP4+/Foma133
I reckon this would lith well.  It's a while since I've done any lith printing - I'll rectify that soon.

I like the way it wends its way around the column, almost like an ivy.  Although the little spikes look like happy jesters (or sad, for the drooping ones).  Either way, it must have taken a bit of skill.  

My mum was listening to a radio programme the other day and it happened to offer a reason why the beautiful buildings in Oxford weren't obliterated during the Second World War.  It's an interesting reason.  Wanna take a guess?

Scroll down and I'll tell yah, then.

The reason?  A certain Mr Hitler rather fancied setting up home in Oxford after his successful invasion of England. Obviously he didn't want to live in a bombed out shell of a city.  I told you it was a good one!

Contrast to Bath, which was bombed a lot, especially around the Circus and Royal Crescent.  Amazingly both survived untouched, but most of the buildings around them were destroyed.