The Tony Nicklinson Case
This is a very difficult case and Tony Nicklinson seems certain that he wants to end his life, as is reported here on the BBC.
I am not sure, how I would feel if I were in the same state as Mr. Nicklinson. In fact as I am not anywhere near in the same state, I don’t think I have any right to comment.
But I do have more experience in this area than most.
Over the last five years, two of my closest relatives have died in great pain from cancer. My wife, when she was near the end, had wished it could have been ended, whereas our son carried on until the bitter end, not wishing it could be terminated.
So I have witnessed two totally different reactions, from a mother and son.
If I am honest, my reaction might be closer to that of my son, but that’s only because I am a very stubborn person and tend to feel that if there is life there is hope.
i also wouldn’t want to put anybody in a position, that they did something against their conscience. I also wouldn’t do something like throw myself under a train, as I know the reality of that from stories told to C, by one of her clients. I also wouldn’t like to mentally upset someone, who was just doing his job.
I am rapidly coming to a conclusion.
Everybody should have the right to do what they think best!
And no so-called religious man or politician has any rights over my choice. Years ago though, when I was down, but not suicidal, I spoke for twenty minutes or so with the Rev. Chad Varah. His advice saved our marriage. But then they don’t make them like him any more.
So to return to the Tony Nicklinson case. I feel that if he wants to end his life, then that is up to him. Provided of course he is of sound mind and capable of making a rational decision.
The Elsenham Level Crossing
NetworkRail has pleaded guilty to causing the death of two girls at the Elsenham level crossing in Essex.
There is now an immense footbridge there, so you don’t have to walk over the level crossing. It would be a difficult climb for someone like me at 64 with a dodgy heart valve. So does everybody use it? Sometimes level crossings with proper warning systems are much better for most people, except the stupid and impulsive. At a similar level crossing at Foxton, pedestrian access across the tracks is controlled by locks on the gates controlled by the signalling system. That system has been at Foxton for years, so why wasn’t it installed Elsenham?
Further north, just south of Newmarket there is a level crossing on the Ipswich to Cambridge line at Six Mile Bottom. It is on a long straight road with a thirty miles per hour limit and the crossing has barriers and flashing lights. But it still manages to have had a couple of cars hit trains in the last twenty years.
My view has always been that all level crossings should be eliminated on railways, as they have always been a major place for tragic accidents. And also for suicides, as at Ufton Nervet, where several people died. But to eliminate some level crossings, like say the one at Six Mile Bottom would cost several million pounds.
Another Senseless Multiple Gun Murder
In the North East over Christmas, Michel Atherton apparently murdered three others and then killed himself with legally-held weapons.
For many years, the National Farmers Union has always felt that shotguns and other legally-held weapons, should be kept in a locked cabinet, with two separate keys, that must be held by two people.
Their reasons are mainly to do with preventing suicide amongst farmers and others in the countryside, who have fallen on hard times or are depressed.
Sensibly applied, these rules might well help to prevent tragedies. Especially, if the two key holders live in different dwellings.
An acquaintance of mine was murdered because a shot gun was easily available. If this rule had applied, he might still be alive.
Another Train Delay
Last night when I went to Ipswich, the trains were delayed because of someone being hit by a train at Romford. One member of staff thought it was a suicide. From the traffic reports during thye day, I also got the impression, there had been another suicide in West London.
We didn’t get this number of suicides on the train lines, when it was easier to buy drugs in the chemist to take a fatal overdose. So you stop it one way and then people change their tactics.
C once did the divorce for a paramedic, who used to climb under the trains to get people out, after they had jumped in front of a tube train. Often they didn’t succeed in their aim and just lost both of their legs.
Let’s face it, some have worried that I might commit suicide after the last few years I’ve had.
But whilst I can still carry on, I will.
There might come a time, when I am in so much pain, that suicide might be a better option for some. But I suspect, I’ll still carry on, as after all, when the lights go out, there is nothing there at all!
My Fourth Christmas Alone
That sounds bad, but the previous three were very good. In the first I actually helped out with the pensioners’ Christmas Dinner in Bury St. Edmunds and I think, if I’d been here a month or so, I’d have done something similar this year. In the intervening two years, I’ve spent it with either friends or family and today I shall be having lunch with my son and his friends.
One thing C and I always used to dread over Christmas was waking up to some really bad news, like the invasion of Afghanistan by the Russians, Cyclone Tracy, Taeyokale Hotel fire in Seoul or the Indian Ocean tsunami. The last was Boxing Day, but you get my jist.
So today we wake up to the news that a suicide bomber has killed dozens in an aid queue in Pakistan. As he died, the bastard who did it, didn’t even get any satisfaction to know that he done what he intended. But if that is what religion is about, then, I’m on a better track in saying that outside of the humanity and downright goodness shown by most of the world’s great religions, the rest is all about bigotry and hate and is best avoided and certainly to be actively discouraged.
I think in part C and I’s apprehension about Christmas were caused by some of our own little disasters. I think we ran out of gas at least twice, as we forgot to order it and on one Christmas the electric AGA died. That won’t happen this year, as if my son’s cooker fails, he can put everything in a car and get here in ten minutes. He claims to know how my cooker works and I can muddle through, so dinner might be late but it will happen.
We did have a couple of frosty Christmases though concerning C’s mother, who at times could be a bit difficult. I think I appreciate her problems more now, that I’m widowed myself. One Christmas she was staying with us and the film on Christmas Eve was Five Easy Pieces. She didn’t speak to us for forty-eight hours after that! She was also with us when the AGA failed and that had a similar result.
The best Christmas in some ways we had with C’s mother was when she collapsed in our flat in the Barbican with heart trouble. We felt really guilty, as she was taken into Bart’s Hospital, where they did a great job in sorting her out and giving her perhaps another ten years more of life, than she would have got otherwise. She also enjoyed being in Hospital over Christmas, as they looked after her so well and she could tell everybody about all of the myriad medical problems she’d suffered with in her life.
Should We Nominate Inept Suicide Bombers for Darwin Awards?
The Swedish suicide bomber, Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly, seems to have been particularly inept, just as I hope most killers and would be terrorists are!
If like Taimour, they kill no-one else, then surely they have made themselves eligible for a Darwin Award, by removing themselves from the gene pool. Sadly, he did injure a couple of innocent people, so this probably means he’s ineligible for an award.
Troubles on the Newmarket Cambridge Line
Although the day ended well with a good meal at Lorenzo, Friday started badly as I tried to get into Cambridge from Dullingham. I had intended to catch the 11:20, but when I got to the station, the signalman said that the train wasn’t coming as someone had been hit by a train. So I got my carer to drive me back home, where I did some productive work.
I was also watching the trains on the Internet, but it wasn’t until 15:20, that I was able to get the train into Cambridge, before changing for London. This meant that I had to fight my way across London in the rush hour to get to Anerley, near to where my friends live.
I thought it would be better coming back tonight, but the train was fifteen minutes late out of Cambridge. This time it was due to signalling problems. At least I had a friendly taxi-driver from Crystal Cars to take me home.
The taxi driver told me that the accident on Friday had been the suicide of the mother of someone who had been hit by a train at the same point a few weeks ago.
So very sad!
I Don’t Like Guns!
Basically, because they kill people, but I do realise that some people need to hold them. In a review on the Derrick Bird killings in Cumbria, changes are recommended to the gun laws.
I feel that we need just one change to the gun laws and that is to make sure that guns are always locked safely away, when they are not in use, under a dual-key system.
My reason is incidents such as those in which Derrick Bird was involved are not that common, but there have been quite a few suicides involving legally-held weapons. There have also been the odd accident, where children have been playing with weapons. Incidentally, in the United States, a lot of minors are killed accidentally by legally-held firearms.
So locking them up securely with two keys held by two responsible people may be a simple measure that could cut a lot of deaths. Imagine a ard-up farmer, who perhaps felt suicide was a good way to go, having to convince, say his wife, that he needed the guns, when he was not in a fit mental state.
I have actually heard the NFU saying that this is a sensible measure.
Was Robert Enke a Coeliac?
When I heard of the sad death of Robert Enke, the German goalkeeper, I wondered if his depression was caused by being a coeliac. Note that one of the symptoms of coeliac disease is depression, because your brain doesn’t get all the vitamins it needs. All top class sportsmen are fit and extremely well-monitored for any small health problem. They also often take high-pasta diets to improve stamina.
There have been several cases of top-class sportsman suffering depression and other similar problems, when they appear to have everything going for them.
I would never have posted this question, but someone found this blog, by typing “Robert Enke Coeliac” into a search engine. So I’m not the only person who thinks that this might possibly have been his problem. Note that I said might and I’m only speculating.
It should also be said, that if one in a hundred of the UK population is a coeliac, why is Hayley Turner, the very successful jockey, the only known coeliac?
Terry Pratchett on Assisted Suicide
Terry is on the BBC Breakfast program at the moment. A lot of sense about assisted suicide.
The Anonymous Widower 