Skin rash?

I was shocked when a doctor told me several years ago that I had Scabies and that it was a notifiable disease (in the UK), meaning I had to cancel Christmas and notify recent contacts!

I thought it was a thing of the past, but not so.

I'd been scratching at an itch on my neck, which soon appeared on an arm and one shin, becoming persistent and concerning, so off I went to the "quack".  He took all of 15 seconds to diagnose Scabies, saying I'd probably picked it up 2-3 weeks previously from "someone" or shared materials. (towel/sheet/pillow?)

It itches like fury as mites burrow and feed under your skin, depositing their eggs along the way. A prescribed cream kills them, though the process by which your skin exudes them over time itches even more! It was months until my skin went back to normal and I was greatly relieved.

BUT; not all ailments of the skin are as straightforward to diagnose and these days, with the NHS and GP services failing, there must be many people waiting for an accurate diagnosis of what is wrong with their skin, though some do get lucky. 

That which caused me to search for skin problems recently was finally diagnosed as Cellulitis, but while you wait you may wish to peruse these sites.

Scabies

 Common adult skin diseases

Blotchy skin?

Psoriasis

Less common skin diseases

Erythrasma 1 and Erythrasma 2

The NHS has this to say

Happens 2-3 times a year, lasting about a week?

Kill these Chinese invaders

Chinese invaders that need to be killed (note yellow legs)

These Chinese invaders were first detected in France in 2014, arriving as a nest in a consignment of pottery, but being aggressive critters they have spread widely (Belgium, Germany, Holland, Spain, Portugal) and finally got established in the UK, as far north as Hull, via trade with our Channel Islands.

They are not good news!    They need to be killed on sight!

As we know, nature isn't the fluffy world of cuteness often portrayed on TV, but an adversarial system that promotes dominance, and so it is with the "Yellow Legged Asian Hornet"; they are tough, invasive, aggressive and wiping out many of the UKs native pollinating bee species, especially docile honey bees which they eat. 

Without help from us they will wipe-out honey bees for they are able to kill a hive of Honey Bees in a single day. Their method is to simply sit at the entrance of a beehive, agitate the hive into attack mode, then bite their heads off and take the protein-rich bodies away to their nest to feed. (If you are a bee friend you may enjoy this site.)

Know the size (2p coin) and colours of your enemy 

The life cycle of the Yellow Legged Asian Hornet is two-fold and it is at the first stage (Spring nest) that it is easy to eradicate (squash) them. The second stage (large nest) needs professional help to retrieve and kill them.

This link is more detailed

WORDS OF WARNING - Hornets bite hard!

Spring nest eradication is easy. Merely observe the nest, identify its occupants as Yellow Legged Asian Hornets (not native harmless wasps), then dislodge the nest into a bag with a gloved hand and then squash the bag.  A spring nest is typically no bigger than a tennis ball and best dealt with at dusk when they are at home and quiet. Don't poke the nest - just place a bag over it, knock it off and squish it. Spring nests are usually built in March/April, in sheds, lofts, garages or porches: places protected from the weather. Kill them at this stage and they can't breed in the second life cycle phase during the summer.

Knock Spring nest into a bag

Report  Larger Nests

The second life cycle nest, in the summer, will be a lot larger, usually up a tree, so after observing the occupants are actually the target (see identity marks in the picture), report it for official eradication. It will be dealt within days by trained people. Record the location and if possible take pictures, then contact the NNSS (Non Native Species Secretariat) on the email address alertnonnativ@ceh.ac.uk, or the National Bee Unit at York. Remember to look out for yellow legs.

If you happen to live in and around Hull, contact the Beverley Beekeepers Association if you suspect a sighting of a Yellow Legged Asian Hornet. You will be saving their industry, preserving parts of your food supply and eradicate what is an invasive and dangerous species. Please be vigilant and pass this information to as many people as you can.

The native bees that we do want in the UK are these.

Update Feb 9th 2024

Though their invasion continues there is a sign that evolutionary processes are at work, at least with the most common of European Bumble bee species.

Update May 20th 2024

Throughout 2023 a record number of reported sighting were recorded, with 72 nests in 56 locations (mostly in Kent), with 8 so far in 2024. Without continued vigilance and help from the general public their numbers will grow to a point of there being zero chance of their eradication. Go to it public!

Update Sep 5th 2024

The race is on, using ingenuity in the Asian Hornet race.

Update  Apr 18th 2025

Please take a look at the current situation here.

Gut reaction

This article popped up for me and crystalized my thoughts into a simple statement. "Fuck that, just send him home", as did a news report about an illegal immigrant still applying for asylum (from what?), who has been jailed for espousing and glorifying terrorism. Don't jail this parasite, just force him back to Turkey.

We don't need people like this importing their fights, their bigotry, their sob-stories, their desires, their criminality, their lack of comprehension about their newly desired social norms, their rabid religious inclinations, their "tribal" and "ethno-centric" aspirations for themselves but not the women around them, nor anyone else who is not like them.

To the British government I repeat myself - grow a pair, stop being nice to anyone who rocks up illegally, or those that facilitate their uninvited arrival. Block any appeal that they or their parasitic legal teams come up with and stop pandering to thought's of being "fair" - life isn't fair and gratuitous charity just leads to dependence or further deceptions. 

If the UK were likened to a ship, the crew are reaching mutiny because the captain will not repel boarders.

I don't want to feel like this!

I've just read this back to myself and never thought I could endorse such thoughts, but I am sick to death of  hearing the incessant drip of the national mantra that we must help such parasitic peoples of the world. If arriving from a war zone house them as "guests" then repatriate them as one would prisoners of war.

At the age of 68 I'm almost ashamed, but actuality has pushed me here.

Why come to us to for sanctuary as you "fight" your hate-fuelled cause?

Remember: Charlotte "Betty" Webb MBE (Bletchley Park)

Once again I am thinking of one of the "little" people of the world who often achieve great things, only to slip down the cracks of history, back into general obscurity. English born Charlotte "Betty" Webb, contributed to our general well-being in the UK but was deliberately obscured for decades by the National Secrets Act, for she worked within Bletchley Park; well known since the 90's as the forerunner of GCHQ and their ilk.

"Betty" in her initial service days

Betty joined Bletchley at the age of 18 and thereafter her life, both personal and private became a national secret she kept until released from her bond of silence in 1975. To everyone she was a secretary, though it later transpired she was a fluent German speaking codebreaker of such expertise that following the end of WW2 the Americans snapped her up and she relocated to The Pentagon in the USA. Her contribution to the West's security demands our remembrance of her.

RIP Betty Webb MBE, Légion d'Honneur (1924-2025)

N.B. Bletchley Park house and grounds are now a museum open to the public. Here is their official site