Pub meet

[K&S]

How about 23rd March? Any suggestions on venue? I'll ask Emlyn to join plus an interesting friend I've recently met who drives (daily) a fantastic lightweight.

[Marc Lurie]

How about 23rd March? Any suggestions on venue? I'll ask Emlyn to join plus an interesting friend I've recently met who drives (daily) a fantastic lightweight.

Hi Kevin and Shirley. I should be around on the 23rd. I am scheduled to fly back into SA from Guinea Bissau on the 21st, so barring any monumental b@lls-up, I should be there.

Who's the guy with the lightweight? Not Norman the odd Scot?

I don't have a problem with the Keg and Archer, but it is quite a way out (especially for you two). Perhaps somewhere more central? What about the Radium Beer Hall in Orange Grove/Louis Botha Avenue? The food's pretty good there too.

A mate of mine owns a nice "old style working man's pub" (of course, women are more than welcome) in Wynberg called Golddiggers Grill. Adam Ford from 702's "A word on Cars" has his garage next door, and he often pops in for a dop before he does his show on a Friday evening. The food at Golddiggers is pretty good (they do a great Chorizo sausage served with flaming brandy), and their steaks are tasty. It's not as smart or fancy as a Keg or Baron, but it is a bit like Cheers, "where every body knows your name". :)

Marc

[K&S]

Who's the guy with the lightweight? Not Norman the odd Scot?


Yes :D .

Shirley & I like the sound of the Golddiggers Grill. If Eben is happy with it let's give it a try. 23rd at about 19h00?

[bvudzichena]

Barring any disasters - manmade or natural - I will be there.

[Marc Lurie]

Yes :D .

Shirley & I like the sound of the Golddiggers Grill. If Eben is happy with it let's give it a try. 23rd at about 19h00?

Ok cool. I'll call Jorge to find out if there's anything happening on the 23rd. He sometimes does s "special" on prawns or something like that.

It'll be quite nice to see a row of landies parked outside for a change. I'll also tell Drummond about it. He's a 'diggers regular and he drives a V8 Defender.

Now, onto Norman the odd Scot... I've known him for about 7 years now. I bumped into him at one of the landy repair guys, and he's been into our shop a few times for some radio bits and bobs. His air portable has actually been mentioned on this forum before somewhere, and I think there's even a photo somewhere on the forum. It must be one of the only air portable lightweights in Africa. (I've only ever seen one other, and that was ex-Belgian Army, and it was in Pemba, Mozambique).

I'll try to find the thread.

Marc

[Marc Lurie]

His air portable has actually been mentioned on this forum before somewhere, and I think there's even a photo somewhere on the forum.

Well, it was a thread started by Kevin some time back, and it's here (http://forum.landrovernet.com/showthread.php?t=47131)


I wonder why I called him Gordon instead of Norman?

[seekingserenity]

Do you northern types just drink more, or is it because the Cape guys are way too laid back that we can't seem to get a regular pub meet going down here? :)

[Marc Lurie]

Do you northern types just drink more,

Yes. ;)

[K&S]

It'll be quite nice to see a row of landies parked outside for a change.

Hopefully there'll be no complications in getting the halfshaft sorted so that mine will be there also. I'm having to also replace the brake hose which I see has a slight leak. I'm thinking maybe new wheel bearings whilst I have them off.

[Marc Lurie]

Are your bearings the same size as defender bearings? If so, I might have an unused set (ie. one wheel's worth) lying around the garage if you'd like them.

Now that I have the new Defender with a warantee, I hopefully won't need bearings for the next few 100,000 km's. :) so they're yours if you can use them.

BTW, if you listen to 702, have a listen out at 7am tomorrow. I'll be on the "Brain of Jo'burg" quiz. If I'm lucky I'll also be on during the day, and if i win for the day, I'll be in the 1/4 finals on Saturday.

Cheers,
Marc

[bvudzichena]

BTW, if you listen to 702, have a listen out at 7am tomorrow. I'll be on the "Brain of Jo'burg" quiz. If I'm lucky I'll also be on during the day, and if i win for the day, I'll be in the 1/4 finals on Saturday.


Good morning Uboetie!

Given the fact that this was a brand new competition and you were the very first contestant, I think you did very well and that congratulations are in order for doing as well as you did.

Unfortunately we never know who or what we will be up against and I feel that your opponent had an unfair the advantage. He knew what the format was. He knew the level of difficulty of the questions and even though he gave the impression of being a cool cat, I think if he'd gone first he would have lost.

By the way, I been thinking of possibly having an extended pub trip to the Addo Elephant Park in the Eastern Cape, but since you've been there before, maybe we should look at going to Kenya :D :D :D

[Marc Lurie]

Good morning Uboetie!

Eiish!!!

I know that Addo is Eastern Cape, but for some reason my mouth said Northern. And I was there in December!!! Boy, is Brigid pi$$ed at me for that :o After that mistake I was a bit flustered, but no excuses, I b@llsed it up.:(

It's not fair... I'm not a morning person, and definitely not a Monday morning person... :(

Oh well, best be gracious in defeat. :)

I'm off to slash my wrists now.

[bvudzichena]

I'm off to slash my wrists now.


Can I have your Defender Kalahari? Please? Pretty please? Pretty please with a cherry on top?

On second thoughts you can't slash your wrists yet as I've lost the contact details for your mate out west who I need to get those GME-GX300 radio's from in the next couple of weeks.

[Marc Lurie]

His name is Romeo Nardini, and the company is Rosh Electronics (011) 476-1787

Cheers,
Marc

[bvudzichena]

Thanks Marc!

I'd like to have one fitted to the white Disco by pub meet, but I have no idea where to mount the thing. I'm thinking of making some sort of a mounting plate / bracket and putting it where the Merc's used to mount their handsfree kits.

[Marc Lurie]

I'd like to have one fitted to the white Disco by pub meet, but I have no idea where to mount the thing.

The transmission tunnel/hump is a common place, either on the passenger side or on top of it. In the Defender you would be able to fit a small radio on the transmission tunnel behind the handbrake lever.

[bvudzichena]

The transmission tunnel/hump is a common place, either on the passenger side or on top of it. In the Defender you would be able to fit a small radio on the transmission tunnel behind the handbrake lever.

Cheers Marc!

[Marc Lurie]

I have just been speaking with Jorge at Golddiggers about our Pub meet. I didn't realise the time (19h00) which is usually after Jorge has sent his kitchen staff home, but if we are going to be eating, he'll happily keep the chef on for us.

What he can always do without kitchen staff is chourico sausage and bar snack thingies if we order beforehand. Not exactly a good healthy meal, but very filling and the chourico is tasty.

It's up to you, I'm easy either way.

If we meet earlier, that of course would be easier. I will probably go straight there from work (as I often do on a Friday), so I get there just before 5pm. Adam Ford is usually there until about 6pm because he has to get over to Sandton to do his show.

How many people are we expecting: Kevin, Shirley, Me, Brigid, Eben, Emlyn, Norman ... anyone else?

Marc

[K&S]

I can get there earlier so I don't mind. 5pm will be great. My boss pushes me hard but I'll twist his arm to let me go early ;) . There'll just be the eternal traffic to get through though.

Marc, I was at Dover today and they reckon Defender bearings won't fit the Series, so thanks very much for the offer but I'll pass. As it turns out they didn't have bearings anyway so if I can't get to Rob Leimer I'll just use the old ones again.

Emlyn, Shirley and I will definitely be there. I'll let you know if the numbers increase.

[bvudzichena]

My boss is also a an ass, but I'm sure I'll be able to leave work by 3:00 to be there between 4:00 and 5:00pm.

Bvudzi confirmed. I may or may not bring someone along...

[K&S]

Norman says he will be there.

[Marc Lurie]

Norman says he will be there.

Och Aye!

[K&S]

Just a reminder about Friday, not that we need reminding I'm sure. Bvudzi won't be there unfortunately as he's sick. GET WELL soon :SmileNursthere's beer to be drunk out there :cheers:

[Marc Lurie]

I'll be there. Just need a day to recover from Guinea-Bissau. Got back this afternoon.

Cheers,
Marc

[bvudzichena]

Marc,

I'm sure about this yet, but it starting to look like I need to add a mozzie net to my travel kit. Going for bloodwork in the morning, but all the symptoms are there...

[Marc Lurie]

Were you in Zim?

BTW, you don't get crabs from mosquitos... ;)

[seekingserenity]

Sies Marc! Don't kick the poor man when he's down.. :D

[bvudzichena]

Were you in Zim?

BTW, you don't get crabs from mosquitos... ;)

India mate!

The shampoo should have killed the craps, it's the fever and the vomiting and the other less pleasant bits that have me worried :rolleyes:

[Marc Lurie]

The shampoo should have killed the craps, it's the fever and the vomiting and the other less pleasant bits that have me worried :rolleyes:

Ouch! I'm sure I don't have to tell you this, but I will anyway...

When you go for the blood work, you have to tell them that you were in India, not Africa, and they must look not just for P. Falciparum, but P. Vivax as well.

Vivax is far more prevalent in India than in Africa, (I think that Vivax is actually more prevelent in India than Falciparum) so most technicians here never look for it. A colleague went for malaria tests and they came back negative, twice. He continued getting sicker, and went to the tropical diseases hospital where they decided to look harder, and they found Vivax.

Have you noticed a repeating pattern in the fever spikes? The two main types of malaria have different fever patterns as the parasite blooms in the liver, but this can be confusing as you could have been infected more than once, with blooms happening alternately, making it seem that fever spikes are happening twice as often.

There is a growing occurence of Vivax and concurrent Dengue Fever infections in India. No SA lab technician is going to look for Dengue unless told to do so.

Please let us know what happens with the blood work.

[Marc Lurie]

Sies Marc! Don't kick the poor man when he's down.. :D


Have you seen Bvudzi?

He's 6 foot something and a half, and I'm 5 foot 5 inches if I wear very thick socks and a wooly hat. The only time I'd ever be able to kick him is when he's down. ;)

A friend of mine served in the German Merchant Navy during WWII. He told me that the cure they used for crabs (pubic lice) at sea was to wrap their loins in a sort of diaper soaked in a mixture of bunker oil, camphor cream, and turpentine, and wear it for a few days. Aparently it hurt like hell, and all the skin peeled off, but it stopped the itching and killed the crabs. :eek:

[bvudzichena]

Marc,

I had this exact fight with the lab chickie last week. I told her to do tests for Paramecium Falciparum and P. Vivax. She came around to my house to draw the blood on her way to work and I got out my old Tuks academic record and showed her that I'd passed "parasietologie 110" as part or my B Ing, that I could look into a microscope and identify the things. She - being my cousin who happens to live in the same walled, gated community as me - told me not to be a smart **** and that she'd personally do the tests and check to make sure that anything found in my blood would be identified.

Needles to say, there was nothing last week.

I told my doctor where I'd been and he took a number of ampules of blood. His theory is Trypanosomiasis, but he's a bit of a twit. I told him that I hadn't been in any areas where Trypanosoma was prevelant and that he needed to think again. I've seen what Tsotsi Flies can do and avoid them at all costs - thank you very much.

Anyways, now we wait. I called my cousin at the lab, told her to expect blood from me and to test it for Vivax.

My current symptoms.

I feel like poo.
Hot and cold flashes. I'm typing this wearing nothing but a pair of rugby shorts. I was wearing a jumper not so long ago and it's 30.4 degrees celcius outside.
Profuse perspiration as soon as I do anything physical. Even driving my car from home to the ossif and back would mean I'd have to change my clothes and have a shower.
Steek in die oor. Whatever that is in English.
Elevated temperature
Sore sinus cavities. The ones above my eyes are driving me nuts.
Nose and ear bleeds
I look jaundiced.

Doc's given me a broad spectrum antibiotic, booked me off work for five days and told me to expect a call once they have the test results.

My skivvie in third year is now head of ENT at one of the hospitals in Pretoria. I'm going to give him a call this evening - he's doing operations all day today - and get his opinion. Maybe he can refer me to someone who knows about tropical diseases.

My own GP has a nice little practise here in Waterkloof where the worst he has to deal with is the odd case of gonorrhea after hubby's come back from a "business trip" to Hong Kong or fitting wifie's new IUD. He's much younger than us - having taken over the surgery from one of his relatives, who was my doc from when I was a student - and just doesn't have a clue...

Did your friend who was in the Navy expand on how they contracted these crabs? I've heard stories of them seconding pretty girls from concentration camps and taking them along on the ships for "entertainment" :eek:

[Marc Lurie]

Here's directions to Golddiggers Grill:

Take the Grayston Drive offramp on the M1, and turn East. (ie: away from Sandton). If you were on the M1 North, you take the off ramp and then turn right to cross the bridge over the highway.

At the traffic light at 6th Street (there's a Caltex(?) on your left hand side) turn left and follow the road almost to the T-junction.

Golddiggers is on the right hand side, at Number 772 6th Street. There's a green pergola outside. Their number is 011 440-6649.

Marc

[Marc Lurie]

My current symptoms.

I feel like poo.
Hot and cold flashes. I'm typing this wearing nothing but a pair of rugby shorts. I was wearing a jumper not so long ago and it's 30.4 degrees celcius outside.
Profuse perspiration as soon as I do anything physical. Even driving my car from home to the ossif and back would mean I'd have to change my clothes and have a shower.
Steek in die oor. Whatever that is in English.
Elevated temperature
Sore sinus cavities. The ones above my eyes are driving me nuts.
Nose and ear bleeds
I look jaundiced.


Symptoms entirely consistent with malaria, but also many other diseases.

Trypanosomiasis can probably be ruled out as it is found ONLY between 15 degrees north and south of the equator, ONLY in Africa. There is a South American version of tryp, but we can rule that out. The incubation period for try can be several years, but it is usually less than 21 days, so unless you've been in a tstetse area within the past month, you probably don't have tryp. Also, two common symptoms of tryp are joint pain and general itching. You didn't mention those.

The pain above and behind the eyes is very common in malaria. If you tested negative for Falciparum, my money's definitely on Vivax.

You need to get it sorted IMMEDIATELY. If you don't get a positive answer by the end of today, you have to go to specialists. I'd suggest the Sizwe Tropical Diseases Hospital quite close to where I work. It's a state hospital, but they really are the experts. My colleague went there, they took blood and asked him to come back in two hours. By that time they'd made a positive diagnosis, and dispensed the drugs he needed. It's the ONLY tropical diseases hospital south of the Sahara, so they know what they're doing.

Marc

[bvudzichena]

Marc,

When I called the doc just now, the nurse told me not to be silly and to call back tomorrow or Saturday for my test results.

I'm going through to Kempton now - where my cousin works - to find out what's happening. If the tests show nothing, I'll drive through to Sizwe and join the queue.

[Marc Lurie]

When I called the doc just now, the nurse told me not to be silly and to call back tomorrow or Saturday for my test results.

The nurse should be flogged publicly. If you have Falciparum two days could mean the difference between life and death. At the very best, two extra days of Falciparum breeding in your body will add at least 10 days to your recovery period. The nurse is showing a tragic and shocking lack of experience and/or training.

Are you OK to drive?

Sizwe Hospital is alongside the new Sandringham Police Station, opposite the National Institute of Virology off the corner of George Avenue and Club Street.

From Pretoria, take the R25/Johannesburg offramp on the N3 South and follow signs to Sandringham. From Kempton Park, take the R24, then get onto the N3 North and take the Linksfield offramp.

Marc

[Spysmys]

Marc,



I feel like poo.
Hot and cold flashes. I'm typing this wearing nothing but a pair of rugby shorts. I was wearing a jumper not so long ago and it's 30.4 degrees celcius outside.
Profuse perspiration as soon as I do anything physical. Even driving my car from home to the ossif and back would mean I'd have to change my clothes and have a shower.
Steek in die oor. Whatever that is in English.
Elevated temperature
Sore sinus cavities. The ones above my eyes are driving me nuts.
Nose and ear bleeds
I look jaundiced.


Fook me, that is one serious babelaas !

Are you ok boet ? I suggest you rush yourself over to hospital (or get someone to do it), as Marc said, it sounds like the big M to me..........

Let us know as soon as you can, good luck.

[Fettler]

Good luck that man,
Hope you get the treatment you need real soon and start feeling better. Sounds really nasty.

[seekingserenity]

Bvudzi asked me to post this quickly for him.

All the many many blood tests he had this week showed nothing, but he's been feeling absolutely terrible - so there's definitely something wrong. No-one could put a finger on it. No evidence of malaria or anything else bacterial in the bloodwork. Every test has come back negative.

A few minutes ago he went to blow his nose and half a worm came out. Do we have pictures? Of COURSE we do! ;) He's packaged it up and is off to the ENT at the hospital right now to retrieve the rest and check what needs checking.

Hoping there's no other alien species hanging around where it shouldn't be. Google's turned up some nasty issues with similar things.

[seekingserenity]

Update - Bvudzi is in the queue to get a CT scan of the sinuses at casualty, check out what's going on with that and then with the fibre optics. Being a Friday night, this could take a while....

[seekingserenity]

Another update (consider this a blow-by-blow commentary!). Bvudzi has been renting out nasal accommodation to a couple of whipworms it seems. There's no easy way to get them out without them breaking off and causing further hassles, so a parasite specialist has been called.

And we wait...

[Fettler]

Bvudzi, sort yor sell out man. Time to dish the worms and move on. Many more microrganisms need a host.

On more serious note

GET WELL SOON:o

[Marc Lurie]

Wow! I didn't see that one comming. The symptoms fit whipworm perfectly, but I was so convinced it would probably be malaria. Whipworm is a bit of a nasty! However it's usually 100% removed after a treatment of mebendazole or one of the other fancy chemicals available. It can be very tenacious though, particularly if they are in the sinuses.

Get well soon Bvudzi. :SmileNurs And drink Bioplus. It'll replace some of the iron that the wurms were depleting your body of.

[bvudzichena]

Thanks Marc and Fettler for your well wishes.

Thank you Nurse Michelle for your help :D

I'm on a seven day course of mebendazole (aka Vermox) that should (hopefully) evict my squatters. I've also got a nasal spray that I'm using every couple of hours just to make their lives that bit more uncomfortable.

Thanks for the tip regarding Bioplus - Marc, I'll get some later in the day when I have enough energy to brave the mall.

The thing that gets me is that I spend a lot of time in the bush, and with the exception of one dose of malaria 12 years ago, I've never had any of these nasty tropical diseases that we hear people getting. Not even bilharzia! Then a two day trip to Pune sees me breathing in some nasty evil spores / eggs and now this!

[adrianandkate]

It sounds disgusting. In fact I even made the mistake of looking at the pix last night when I was having tea. Fortunately it didn't resemble anything on the plate.

It reminds me of Bilharzia - ok I know Marc - not strictly a worm but still disgusting. Used to freak the life out of me when I was travelling through India. Never went paddling in the Ganges.

I digress. So what is whipworm and how do you get it? And will I regret asking those questions? And hope Bud is better asap. K&A

[K&S]

Hey Bvudzi, at least you know what is wrong. Get well soon and ready for the next pub meet. Had a great time last night, Marc, Norman, Emlyn Shirley and I. We had that drink for you as promised and here is the pic. Excuse the colour of the photo, we all look like we've got malaria :rolleyes: .