Owing to a production error, the Medical Practice news for November 2004 was omitted from the Oracle, for which we sincerely apologise.

 

 Another opportunity for a celebration came on October 1st.  It was exactly 20 years since Dr. Myers joined the Practice and we celebrated by presenting him with a bottle of champagne and his wife, Dr. Jane McNeill, with a bouquet of flowers.

 

Thank you to all of those patients who were good enough to complete the questionnaires handed out randomly to patients during October. Once the data has been collated and returned to us, we will publish the findings.

 

We have applied to close Marchwiel surgery and this process is ongoing having recently met with Marchwiel Community Council. The proposed closure was not an easy decision to make.  It is felt that we can give a better quality of service to the whole community from the new premises at Overton and utilise the doctor, nurse and staff time more productively.  The delivery service from the Hightown Chemist for those eligible will still continue.

 

We are aware a rumour is circulating that we also plan to close Bangor-on-Dee surgery.  We would like to take this opportunity to state that we have no intention of doing so.  Indeed, we would like to improve our services there and to this end we have made an application to dispense medicines directly to our patients at Bangor-on-Dee.  Hopefully this will enable patients to obtain medication more easily.

 

There have also been rumours that we intend to take over the Pharmacy in the new surgery but we would reassure everyone that this is not the case.  It is not our intention to dispense to Overton patients.  Overton patients will benefit from having the Rowland Pharmacy incorporated into our new building and we hope to work closely with the Pharmacy for many years to come.

 

Unfortunately our opening date has been put back to sometime in December, we will publish the date as soon as possible.

 

May we take this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy and Healthy Christmas.

 

 

A Memorable Day Out By Maxine

Some weeks ago I got an offer I couldn’t refuse, a trip to Noo Yoik.  Perhaps I am the product of a relatively sheltered upbringing because I have always held a morbid fascination with the gangland element of this city, far removed from my life in East Yorkshire! Fuelled by the scenes in Taxi Driver, Mean Streets and the Godfather series, one of the highlights of my visit was to be a day out in Little Italy.   New York has had more than its fair helping of gangland executions, many in Little Italy, a district of lower Manhattan squeezed between the financial district and Chinatown.  Here the cooking is authentic Sicilian and the dialogue pure Don Corleone.

 

Umbertos clam House marks the northern edge of Little Italy on Mulberry Street.  Famous locally for its linguine with white clam sauce, it is less well known as the place where Joey Gallo, a local mafia boss “got wacked” The day-to-day running of the clam house passed to Ianniello’s brother, Matthew (Matty the Horse), until he got on the wrong side of the Feds and ended up in jail.  Now, Ianniello’s son Robert jr, looks after the joint with the help of Anthony Fanuiullo, his brother-in-law and Joey “Clams” Caruso, a trio of tough guys who look like they have just stepped out of GoodFellas.  I hear its great food; just don’t forget to pay the bill! Despite the sinister tone to my article, having a population of more than 8 million people, New York City consistently ranks in the top ten safest large cities.

 

It seems that Christmas is upon us, which was probably why Macy's was among the first to reveal their Christmas window this year, the theme is The Polar Express which is based on the classic Christmas story by Chris Van Allsburg. Many New York City department stores had unveiled their holiday windows, the timing of our visit coincided with Thanksgiving a non religious holiday that apart from an excuse to eat turkey – it is known as turkey day! 

 

As we careered in our taxi through the glass and concrete canyons of Manhattan I had to pinch myself there is large scale and there is New York scale.  I been to many cities but none seems to have the same energy and visual appeal as New York.  Its very odd being in a City whose skyline is so familiar, and then be taken aback when you experience them first hand, The Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, to name a few, are truly breathtaking. 

 

Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the structure of the Guggenheim Museum is an exhibit unto itself, uniquely designed to allow visitors to seamlessly navigate through the main exhibit (which changes several times a year), both the temporary and permanent collections of the Guggenheim Museum are a great choice for visitors to New York City interested in art and architecture.  I have wanted to visit this site for many years….imagine my despair as the by the time I had spiralled to the 4th floor I needed to retire to the coffee shop…the building had made me feel ill, now that’s what I call radical design!

The New York City subway has come a long way since it was first put into use in 1904, this year celebrating 100th year anniversary. Believe it or not, it's possible to ride the subway 31 miles without a transfer - on the A train beginning at 207th Street-Inwood in Manhattan and ending at Far Rockaway-Mott Ave. in Queens. There are over 31,000 turnstiles in the New York City subway and 734 information booths. Approximately 4.5 million passengers ride the subway daily, totalling 1.384 billion rides in 2003. There I go again bleating on about scale but everything is huge. My diet consisted of Pizza – only the one slice administered daily with a light beer (dimension of slice 8” x 6” for a mere $2).  Another opportunity to gain an understanding of scale came when we took a helicopter tour of the New York skyline this was a real thrill  and an experience that I recommend truly amazing I knew this would be “my kinda town”

 

It is difficult to give a brief synopsis of my 8 day experience, all I can say is treat yourself to a few days away from Overton on Dee, expect to be blown away.  I am pleased that I have been able to experience this before I sleep with the fishes (that gangland jargon doesn’t leave me!) and if you see a lady  wandering down the High Street saying “you talking to me”?? Just ignore, it’s only the ramblings of a woman in love, with this village and that City.