I joined a samba band earlier this year - its a community band for all ages, our youngest member is 7, our oldest is 71. When I joined they saw my, ahem, portly size and said we've got just the drum for you! So I now bang the biggest drum and keep the rythym going. Its great fun but I especially enjoy the outdoor events. Most of them are during the summer - for carnivals and fairs. But tomorrow we are performing at the Bewdley Lights Festival when the Christmas lights are officially switched on. We'll be playing from 2pm - 4pm then walking with the parade at 5pm.

This was very much in the local news recently. A Cessna carrying a live liver crashed and exploded into a fireball in dense fog at Birmingham International Airport. The pilots survived the crash although were injured. It would have been a lot worse if it wasn't for the quick thinking and extreme bravery of an air ambulance pilot who dived into the wreckage and switched off the fuel supply. BHX is one of the busiest airports in the UK outside of London - all flights were diverted for 24 hours.

Luckily the organ survived the crash and was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital under police escort. I'm very pleased to hear that the transplant was a success and is said to be recovering well.

http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2010/11/22/birmingham-airport-crash-liver-transplant-patient-recovering-well-97319-27690349/

Talking of which. Birmingham is my home city, technically I'm a "Brummie" although I live in a little town called Bewdley now - popular at the weekends with both Brummies and "Black Country" people - called the Black Country because it used to be covered in soot from all the manufacturing.

My wife Val had a kidney transplant at the QE Hospital and used to dialyse there too. The staff were always wonderful but the hospital was showing its age a bit. The dialysis units have been in "temporary" port cabins for 20 years I think. The dialysis and renal units have now finally moved into the new hospital this month. http://www.birminghampost.net/news/west-midlands-news/2010/11/15/second-phase-of-move-into-birmingham-s-new-super-hospital-begins-65233-27664228/

You don't see one for ages then 500 turn up...

I've been "volunteered" to run in the Santa Jog 12/12/2010. With my "Santa Size" it will be more like a verrrrrryyyyy sloooooooowwwwwwww run.... Some would call it a walk....

Its taking place in Mary Stevens Park, Stourbridge and we will be raising cash for Mary Stevens Hospice.

I'm *cough* running *cough* with my friend Dee and her 2 young children, Kathan and Brannan.

I'm hoping to raise £50 and I'm appealing for donations however small. If you are a UK taxpayer, then the charity will also receive gift aid.

If you don't hear from me after the run, then call the coastguard ;)

I was looking through some old photos and found one of myself with Dr Stephen Fadem. We had a stand at the ERA-EDTA congress in Glasgow 2006 - kindly donated to us by the ERA.

It was great to meet him as we had communicated often when I first set up Global Dialysis. Dr Fadem created http://www.nephron.com in 1996 a website for nephrology. He was a great help in the beginning and very enthusastic about our website. Really pleased I meet him in 2006, he is a jolly chap!

Oh and he very kindly awarded Global Dialysis with the Golden Nephron Award 2000 for "sites that have advanced the field of nephrology through the Internet."

Here in the UK we have an annual award called the Pride of Britain. It honours the unspoken heroes of Britain.

I watched it on TV last night, there were tears as always with these type of things. But there was one remarkable woman that stood out for me.

Dr Allison John was born with cystic fibrosis. Her liver failed when she was 14, it was two years before a donor was found. By 18, her lungs and heart had to be transplanted, donating her own heart in the process. She vowed to repay the medical world, so decided to train to be a doctor and went to medical school. But then in 2005 she had kidney failure. Her dad was a match, so she had a live kidney - making medical history by becoming the first person in Britain to have all major organs transplanted. She still went back to medical school, and after and qualified as a doctor this year.

She received a "special recognition" award and now works a junior doctor at Nevill Hall Hospital in Aberganny, Wales