Too true.  This was a reading we chose for our civil partnership ceremony:

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil.

For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow;
but woe to him who is alone when he falls
and has not another to lift him up.

Again, if two lie together, they are warm; but how can one be warm alone?

And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him.
A threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Ecclesiastes 4. 9 - 12

The registry office didn't realise it was from the Bible, or they would not have allowed it.  I found it on a gay Greek Orthodox web site.

I was completely wrong with my dates, it was January 1982 and affected Wales, the West Country, the Midlands and Shropshire.  The lowest ever temperature of -26 was recorded in Newport, Shropshire.  Parts of West Wales were still cut off 10 days later.  Troops were brought in.  I have found a report about it which says it was comparable to the 62-63 Winter
http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/reports/philip-eden/Record-cold-and-snow.htm

Having felt dodgy on Saturday evening, then felt a lot better yesterday, I now have a stinking, rip-roaring, crepulant cold. I went in to teach this morning, but quickly realised I wouldn’t last and came home again. The thing is, it’s just so awkward missing teaching that then has to be somehow  made up. It’s almost more trouble than it’s worth. So now I not only feel like ****, but I’m stressed about letting students down too. 

Marts, sorry that you feel like carp but stressing up to your eyebrows isn't going to shift that bar steward bug. Can you not retreat under the duvet, at least for today, and sleep things away? Onion and garlic soup is ace for giving a cold a good kicking, although you probably don't feel much like cooking. Got any Eucalyptus oil around for an inhalation? Some people swear by echinachea and Zinc to reduce the severity of the symptoms. Hope the bug buglers off soon

I had a problem with 'dermographic urticaria' a few years ago, aka hives.  Basically all my skin gets incredibly itchy for no apparent reason and if I scratch it it comes up in nice ridges and/or a rash.  It was really getting me down at the time and I was referred to a specialist, who sent me through every antihistamine known to man, each of which worked brilliantly for approximately 25 minutes and then never again.  I also had a small barrage of tests and was eventually pronounced idiopathic (not for the first time  ).

It went away of its own accord eventually, but it suddenly came back a week ago and it's driving me insane.  I haven't changed anything - not my washing powder, shower gel, moisturiser, nothing at all.  I haven't even started a new bottle of anything.  Does anyone else suffer from this at all?  Any ideas?   

Ruby, oh dear that's a nasty one!

I've found this - I expect you know but just in case, acetylsalicilic acid is aspirin.


Treatment
Because so little is known about the causes of dermographic urticaria, the therapeutic options are limited. All dermographic urticaria patients are first advised to avoid triggering stimulations as far as is possible. This includes avoidance of all tight, pinching and scouring clothing and tight belts. Dermographic urticaria patients should also avoid specific drugs, including fever-reducing pain medicines (acetylsalicylic acid, Diclofenac, Ibuprofen), penicillin and codeine, to whatever degree is possible. Only in rare cases can a cure be attempted by treating associated illnesses.

Modern antihistamines are usually an effective way of treating dermographic urticaria. The greatest problem is night-time occurrences of itchiness. In these cases, a lightly sedative antihistamine or a cream to sooth the itchiness can be used for the night. Other forms of therapy (such as drugs for suppressing the immune system) may be considered in individual cases, although accurate prognoses about the expected therapeutic success are rarely possible.


I expect you've tried everything on there.  Have you tried DiproBase?  I find that very good for rashes. Very soothing and you can buy it over the counter.  Ask the pharmacist first though in case there's any reason why you shouldn't for d.u.

My sympathies Ruby, I come out in very large and painful hives as a reaction to paracetamol (so as long as I read the label I can steer clear)  Have you been taking any sort of new headache tablets for example?  It seems stress can also be involved as a factor in urticaria, could it be that you have been very stressed about your OH?

i was, and I'd already changed GPs once since moving back to London. What he said was that first we should give the cortisone a couple of months to see if it worked and then he'd see what to do next. But actually we'd been through a lot of that in Berlin just before leaving, so we knew what we were talking about and what we wanted. However this seemed not to count for anything. The GP also said that the Homeopathic would be closing down in a few months anyway so there was no point in referring us to it. I have come across no other reference to this impending closure so I assume he was talking out of his a**e. So we've made appointments in Berlin while we're there over Xmas, which seems a bit extreme but at the same time it also seems the only way that isn't going to end up with me getting high blood pressure and having yet another rage at a member of the medical profession. (I will get manhandled out of a surgery and into a cell one of these days, or carried out in a stretcher, I swear.)

Sorry Ruby, I've hijacked your rant. Mine is now finished.

PS no it isn't. The GP's name is Dr Lindall and he works at the Penrhyn Surgery in Walthamstow.