Following my first surgery in May 2011, I was fitted with braces and now, finally, they have been removed. This has been a long process and I am grateful to all who have helped me, both here and in the virtual world.

I will have to wear retainers when I sleep and they will take some getting used to, in particular overcoming the gag reflex wen putting them in , especially the top one but a quick search for techniques in overcoming the gag reflex has helped tremendously.

This is my first pic without braces and once again, much thanks and gratitude to all who have helped put this smile on my face.

WARNING: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS. STOP READING NOW IF YOU ON‘T WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS.

Ok. I shall give my order and the reasons for doing so and I hope you will share your preferred order and reasons for doing so.

ONE: Star Wars (or A New Hope if you must)

Reason: This film helped set up the story without clunky exposition and just threw you into the action. There were hints at adventures that had happened before, such as the Clone Wars and the conflict between Anakin and Darth Vader. A great start to the series and the only film to feature a fully built Death Star.

TWO: The Phantom Menace

Reason: It had to go somewhere and Star Wars works better as an introduction to this universe. Watching the 2 back-to-back will reveal some inconsistencies and some “how small is this universe anyway” questions. Are the Jedi part of a “hokey religion” or is it biological? Why are R2D2 and C3PO in the early films (or at least why is there no mention that they are decades old/retro in the later chapters).

THREE: Attack of the Clones

Reason: It fits well here. The Clone Wars has already been mentioned and here we get to see the beginning of the war and we also see the similarities between the clone troopers and the storm troopers to make us wonder what happened. We also see Jango Fett and his son Boba.

FOUR: The Empire Strikes Back

Reason: Nothing so far has ruined the big reveal in this film. Admittedly we may be wondering where Darth Vader is but having seen Darth Maul and Count Dooku, we can believe he will make his appearance soon. We also see the adult Boba Fett for the first time and as we have been away from this group of characters for 2 films, we feel that some time has passed since Star Wars and we welcome back these characters which makes the freezing of Han more shocking. The main drawback with watching films in this order is our first encounter with Yoda, although watching them this way gives the viewer the insider knowledge about who Yoda is and enjoy his odd behaviour compared to the Yoda we have already encountered. Now we have the big reveal and we are left at te end of the movie with two questions. What will happen to Han and how did Anakin become Darth Vader.

FIVE: Revenge of the Sith

Reason:  It has been said that it is darkest before the dawn and this film is probably the darkest. We also get the confirmation about Yoda mentioning “another” in Empire and we see the fall of Anakin and a partially constructed Death Star.

SIX: Return of the Jedi

Reason: The title is more poignant after having seen the demise of the Jedi in Sith. We also begin with a partially constructed Death Star. We finally have confirmation that Luke and Leia are siblings and the final battle sees the redemption of Anakin (I leave it to your judgement as whether to watch the theatrical version where the elder Anakin (the one who threw the Emperor to his death and saved his son) shows up at the end or whether you watch the new edit with Hayden Christensen looking like the Anakin who slaughetered the “younglings” in Sith).

So that is my choice of which order to watch the films. What‘s your prevered viewing order*? *and I mean watching ALL six.

Here is an interesting YouTube link about what was done wrong with episode 4-6

On Wednesday 27th August 2014, I shall be admitted into Southern General hospital in Glasgow where I will have the second of my jaw surgeries. A brief recap, A few years ago a had a pain in my teeth and went to the dentist who referred me to the hospital. After some x-rays and scans it transpired that my jaw bone had started growing again (doctors are unsure why this happened). Surgery was planned to remove the excess bone which was causing my jaw to go out of alignment. After surgery my jaw was now like “J” whereas most jaws are like “U”. My teeth were put in braces until a decision was made as to how to re set my jaw. The surgery had helped get my jaw to get back to where it was or at least about 80%. At present I can’t bring molars on my left side together and have a strong bite on my right side. My teeth at the front dont meet either which makes eating thin food (wraps, lettuce and bacon for example) problematic. Continuing measurements of my teeth (scans and molds) have shown that if jaw realigned then bite would fit again. This Tuesday, (5th August) I will get ball hooks attached to my braces. This is so that during surgery, my jaw can be wired together. A scan last December was used to make a 3D printout of my jaw and the surgeons had to decide whether to just move my jaw back into place (a possibility but jaw may not stay in place) or to make a replacement joint to replace that which was removed making my “J” jaw more like a “U”. It was the latter that was decided upon and that is what will happen in a few weeks time. I have to be there for 8am in the morning (so no need for anesthetic as I’ll be asleep already and the surgery takes all day with a recovery time of 4 weeks.

Yet again, my surgery coincides  with the start of a new series of Doctor Who (last time it was at the start of Matt Smith’s second year as the Doctor) but with all the crashes at the Tour de France, the star studded Vuelta a Espana will be there to help me recover.

Many thanks for those of you who have shown me great kindness in the past and I hope you’re having a great day whenever you read this.

Ball hooks have now been added to braces.

A 3D printout of my jaw was made and the next stage of surgery will require the fitting of an artificial joint to my jaw, making it U shaped once again. The surgery will take a day and is scheduled for 27th August 2014.

Thank you to those of you who have supported me.

P.S. I shall post a pic of 3D printout when I get the chance to see it

I'm also working on an eBook celebrating 50 years of Doctor Who in haiku. My working title for it is Fifty, Eleven, Seventeen (50 years, 11 Doctors and 17 syllables). There will be at least one haiku for each story with some other haiku for returning monsters, companions and a narrative of the history of the show. I hope I'll get it done in time for the 50th anniversary this November.

Thank you for taking the time to read and I hope you'll enjoy the pics.

I’ve been working on a series of zombie shorts that will hopefully be appearing over advent. I have written a prologue to it which can be found here I hope you will enjoy it. I have a few ideas for it but I may just see how it progresses.

I have also written a blog to commemorate the anniversary of the very first regeneration in Doctor Who which can be found here. As 2013 is the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, I am hoping to complete a celebration of Doctor Who in haiku. Watch this space for more details as they happen…

Health wise, I am currently battling a cold and yesterday had my braces serviced.

Poetry wise, I’ve not done much recently but you can find some stuff here

Thank you for reading, please feel free to leave a comment and I hope you’re having a fun day.

The next stage is for me to have braces fitted to my teeth which will keep them in a consistent place while preparations are made for the surgery on the other side of my jaw to balance my bite out. The moulds taken of my teeth suggest that if the positioning is done correctly, everything should proceed well.

Last Friday (25th May 2012) I had the braces fitted. I’ll be in them for about 2 1/2 years (during which I shall have the second surgery). I am still getting used to them and I need to improve my ability to put the wax over any protruding bits of steel. I still am unable to raise my right eyebrow so if you need a Roger Moore tribute act, you know who to call.

Brace yourself…

A mouth of metal
The steel shines in the sunshine
As I bare my teeth

I hope you will like it and watch this space for more possible exciting news regarding an illustrated version of the poem.

I hope you will have a wonderful Christmas and thank you so much for reading my words.

Thank you for reading

Have a wonderful Christmas

And a great New Year

My figure was once beautiful,

My name whispered by mortal men.

Now my name is foreign to their lips.

They stumble over it

As if it were made of stone.

As I if I were some old lover from a past,

Replaced by another. Remembered

In vague memories,

But with nothing there worth dwelling on. 

I hope you had a nice weekend. I certainly did, with most of the fun being on Saturday.

What happened on Saturday? I imagine you asking.

I’m so glad you asked. On Saturday, I went into Glasgow and was part of an Instagram meetup. For those of you who don’t know what instagram is, let me tell you. It is an iPhone camera app. It’s kind of like twitter with pics instead of tweets but also like facebook with the likes and comments.

If I am clever and remember, I will put a link HERE. (Unfortunately, you need to view the instagram pics through the app but check out flickr and twitter

The Event was organised by @igersscotland (aka @nannyf) other members of our merry band were; @ladrumbot @lupsv @mmosoca @r2builder @shazzerini  @socobloke @socobird @t_baws and pics were tagged #scotwalk1

They all took amazing pics and unbelievably for Scotland in November, there were blue skies and sunshine….and no rain.

We met up in George Square. As it was the first time we had met, it was wise to look out for people playing with their iPhones.

Their prayers fall upon deaf ears.

There are no gods left and

Even if there were, we would not help.

I have been blind now for many years,

The smog from the city burns my eyes,

But I doubt much has changed.

They that wander below go no where.

They replaced us for another god

And now he feels our pain.

He is second to a god

That gives them their heart’s desire.

How long before he is carved

Into this sandstone,

Like a gargoyle?

We walked along George Street and up to the gardens where the maternity hospital once stood. The sun continued to shine and we went onwards, past the High Kirk of Glasgow and up to the Necropolis. There we wandered round the graves as the sun set.

My figure is scratched away

Layer by layer until I cannot feel a thing.

But hell hath no fury than

A woman scorned,

Or forgotten. So I wait

With those who hide against the sandstone,

Where human eyes glaze over us,

As we forgotten gods hold their arches

And their proud buildings tall.

Then we headed back into Glasgow, where I had to bid farewell.

Why?

I had to return to Falkirk and then onto Linlithgow so that I could hear my friend perform at an open mic event that was part of the Linlithgow Book Festival.

I enjoyed the performances of the other speakers but I really enjoyed the poem that you my have noticed in this post. The poem is called Aphrodite and my friend’s name is Karyn Dougan (@missnovocaine on twitter, next time you’re there, please tell her how amazing her poem is). Karyn also recited a short story, but that will be for another time…