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With the snow overnight the less travelled roads can reveal pretty views, albeit with treacherous surfaces. More pictures at our Flickr site.

Tags: Photo Weather snow scenery

Things are getting a little crazy when it comes to the super bowl performances, the FCC are now looking at shadows cast by Prince (article –

Link to NME.COM – News – Prince’s half-time show under scrutiny).

Firstly, I’d be more concerned about the lyrics sung by an artists like Prince long before an visual element.  My real point is that legislation for the FCC and OFCOM in the UK is that they act to protect innocent minds, and would an innocent mind be looking for crude and rude images in shadows being cast?  I don’t think so as you would have to have some understanding of crude images to make the association, which means you can’t have an innocent mind.

I does make me laugh that statistics say that by the age of 18 you’ll have seen thousands of images of killing and death – yet an image that are associated with procreation and sexuality cause such a fury.

I’ve recently had a rather unpleasant experience with my dental practice, and thought I’d share my experiences, so people may avoid the grief that I’ve had.

Some months ago, it turns out that my dentist was stopped from practicing – not from poor treatment, if anything I’d say he was very good but from what I can determine from financial malpractice. It seems that he had a number of patients who were meant to be treated under the NHS but had been charged private rates. I had thought I’d been one of his NHS patients, but it turns out not to have been the case – but I only discovered this when it was too late.

As my dentist owned and ran the practice as a solo operation, he had to bring in a locum until he could sell the practice. By this stage the practice was meant to have supplied the local Primary Care Trust with details of those patients he had on his records that are under the NHS – those people where then given the chance to change dentists, no other patients where told of the problems, and it may have been possible that not all NHS patients had been advised of the circumstances as the practice’s records I’m told are very poor.

Anyway, my tooth ache was a bad tooth that was going to need some root canal work. Over two visits the dentist attempts to clear the canal, on the second visit the drill bit jams into my tooth, and he can’t get the drill bit out. So after the practice staff put my dentist through to a local endo-dentist (read specialist) he holds a very loud phone conversation discussing the mess we’re in.

No I’m not the most comfortable person in the dental chair – is anyone? So hearing the phone conversation isn’t pleasant, to the point I’m wanting to be sick – but dare not move my mouth as I have a chunk of metal lodged in it!

The conclusion is that either I lose the tooth or I’m patched up and referred to the specialist. Losing one of your first molars isn’t attractive, so its the referral, at this point I’m told the cost of the treatment has gone from the original estimate of £280 to £600! The drill piece is cut and my tooth is patched up – then dentist charges me another £80 for that session on top of the 1st one.

A couple of hours after leaving the dentist the situation really hits home and, the question begs – why should I have to pay the extra costs – all £320 extra for something that wasn’t my mistake.

So I start calling, first NHS direct – sorry can’t help and at a loss as to who I should speak with as they’ve not got any information since the way dentists are payed and employed through the NHS. Try the PCT, to discover the full extend of the back story, and that now I’ve effectively started with private treatment, they have no responsibility and no dentist will take on the work given the rate paid by the NHS for this treatment may not cover the cost of fixing the mess. Back to my practice – the dentist’s reaction – will only pay if I can prove malpractice; but given its the drill that broke not the dentists – not easy thing to achieve. Next up – General Dental Council, nope they can’t help even though they’re supposed to represent the dentists. Then an email or two the ambulance chasing legal companies – no answer. Finally I run across the Dental Complaints Service , and I can’t praise them enough.

When I explained the problem and the run around I’d had, they very quickly agreed that they could help. First up – I was advised to write to the dentist and inform him formally of my complaint, and the discussion with the complaints service. Complicated a bit the fact that the locum had returned to Germany, and then comeback to the UK at a practice in Scotland. In the meantime they gave me the paper work which allowed them to see my dental records. The council basically, have to give the dentist to address the complaint, otherwise they can then take legal action on your behalf.

In the end the dentist offered to pay some of the costs. Given that this had dragged on from the start of the treatment to finding someone who would help me, I accepted this rather than the frustration and problems of a legal battle with someone who may not be in the UK for very long.

From all of this my advise is:

• If you’re having any treatment done, and you think you’re an NHS patient – make sure that that is the case
• Any extended treatment – don’t do with a locum who may go tomorrow.
• If go private – make sure got plenty of cover, after that you get what you pay for. The endo-dentist was very good, but very expensive.

I’ve been looking at LinkedIn as means to network with old colleagues, I’m rather impressed by the idea, where you can use the site to contact people for business purposes through mutual acquaintances. Not only that the site is pleasing to use – clear and uncluttered.

Anyway my profile is here.

Damien Rice is finally back with a follow up to his well reviewed O. The first album wasn’t bad, but the new album – 9 is a definite step up. This gets lots of thumbs up, and if you like your music more acoustic/singer song writer like Tom McRae and Ray LaMontagne then go check it out.

We’ve not been posting for a few weeks as we’ve just become parents for the first time and have been getting the hang of managing our little bundle of fun. New service should resume soon.

I was lucky enough to see Mark Thomas perform live last night. For those who haven’t heard of Mark, he is part investigative journalist, part comedian and part campaigner.

Mark’s research and knowledge on things he investigates upon is tremendous.  For example, the SOCPA legislation which includes provisions to prevents demonstration near Parliament without a license – a crazy law that was passed ostensibly to help protect parliament from terrorism, like a terrorist would worry about small legal issues as that. The definition of demonstration means that for one or more people to demonstrate about anything requires a license to be issued by the Police. So Mark, related how he addressed this organising individual demonstrations on subjects like ‘the decline of surrealism’ and going as far as arranging for several hundred people to demonstrate together, all demonstrating for their own thing on the same day – creating hilarious results.  For more about this see Mark’s website here.

Then there is the question is celebrating Guy Fawkes night, actually an act of glorifying terrorism now?  If so, how many years will you get sent down for if you wave a sparkler about?

Although these things may not sound very funny, Mark’s humour comes from relating back the characters that he comes across, on his travels and the juxtapositions of some of the situations he finds himself in when investigating or trying to highlight issues.

The tour in part is to help promote his new book about the arms trade and the extent that they will go to circumvent national and international legislation.  I got an autographed copy of the book last night and started reading, initial impression is that it is as both entertaining and informative as his live show – so would recommend it, even if you don’t agree with his views.

The Times have a review of an earlier performance in the tour here.