Remembering Peter Bocking - PUK, RIP

To the rest of the world Peter Bocking was a rock and roll guitarist from Great Britain.  Here at Just One Minute he was a reliable and reliably entertaining commenter.  Regrettably, PeterUK, aka "PUK" passed away last week.

Jeff Dobbs has put together a "Best Of" tribute.  This could be dangerous in large doses (and do set down anything you're drinking), so I will pick just one for flavor:

""I forgot to mention last night that following World War II war crime trials were convened. The Japanese were tried and convicted and hung for war crimes committed against American POWs. Among those charges for which they were convicted was waterboarding," he told reporters at a campaign event"

One tiny little detail is ignored - the Japanese lost!

This is probably a historical first,the victorious side leads itself off in chains.

This is a real loss.

I CAN STOP ANYTIME:

" Whadda buncha idiots. What are these people doing on television?"
forget television,what are they doing off a sex offender's register?

Comments

[clarice]

Sorry--I'll poost it there for you. I hate facebook. Just hate it.

[daddy]

I can't even figure out Facebook.

Hit, Thanks for those new tunes. Somehow on the first one I am able to listen to it and I only hear P'UK's guitar, crisp, and clear and nothing else. That comment about P'UK being less than a fan of Country/Western made me chuckle.

And the one yesterday of him banging away quietly on some old beat up acoustic in the back of some guy's wake, and everybody slowly getting quiet straining to hear him.

I am proud he chose to hang out with us. How very fortunate we were.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Wow, that YouTube, Coley Goodbye Brains does not sound like something from the seventies. Or ... very much LSD seventies maybe. Just wow!

[hit and run]

In an article about Pete Maclaine, entitled http://www.citylife.co.uk/music/news/2614__the_man_who_said_no_to_the_beatles>"The Man Who Said No to the Beatles", here is a little history of the song Yes I Do:

The Clan toured with the Stones, introducing Brian Jones and Bill Wyman to the curry houses of Manchester. But Maclaine's best shot at a hit record was thwarted in 1963. His single, Yes I Do, was selling like hot cakes, but supplies to the shops ran out because the Decca pressing plant was on a week's holiday. They recorded a follow-up, Good Golly Miss Molly, only to see the Swinging Blue Jeans pip them to the charts with the same song.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

I was watching a biography special last night where they talked about the artist being inducted into the UK Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Anyone know anything about the UKHofF?

[glasater]

OK JOM friends--Verner has up a post on the Peter Bocking Facebook page a way to contribute to the roses she will have sent to his Memorial.
If you contact Verner via that Facebook page she will send you her email address and anyone with a PayPa account can send money through that venue. It is so easy to do....so overcome any relunctance to deal with Facebook and let's help Verner out.
She deserves our support!!

[Extraneus]

At the time, I was obsessed with Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, Led Zepellin and so on. I brought this to him one week, it's a Vai piece from the movie Crossroads. The following week he had it down, and it's not easy! He then used it to explain how the arpeggios implied the harmony and then he showed me the Paganini Caprice that part of it is based on, and that led to a section from Bach's Violin Sonata in G Minor that he really impressed upon me to learn. That was a beautiful thing to do, I think. To take the rock stuff I was into, learn it and then blow my mind with all this other great stuff. And he did that with pretty much everything I brought to show him.

Wow.

Thanks for that link, Jim.

It's so great to read that. I was a lead guitarist for a few bands in my heyday, and have been playing for quite some time, but I don't have anything close to the knowledge this post indicates about Peter Bocking. This wasn't the 50s or 60s or even 70s he's talking about here, and if anyone doesn't know Steve Vai and Yngwie Malmsteen, they aren't some Lonnie Donnegan backup types. I've played a lot of Zeppelin, but this post from Mike Outram says more than any other about Peter's playing, as far as I'm concerned.

We are so lucky to have had that guy here. I've been reading this blog for years, not always as a commenter, and I never passed up a PUK comment from the first one I'd ever read. So glad to be able to say that.

[clarice]

There's a famous Donegan version of Pick a Bale of Cotton--there are some videos of the music with added pics of cottonpicking inthe south (no performers) .It was filmed at Totting Studio and s site called Freebase says Peter was the guitarist on this recording.

[Melinda Romanoff]

I'm learning so much here. If there's anything I can help with, let me know.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Melinda:

Have you joined the Peter Bocking Facebook page?

[PD]

What a huge shame none of us ever had the luck to get to spend a few hours knowing him over a beer.

I'm curious; did any of us actually know him personally? Did anyone other than clarice even know his real name?

[centralcal]

You know, PD, for the first several days after the news of his passing, I wondered the same things as you.

Now, I realize, I knew Peter Bocking - not his name, not all of his history, only a smidgen of it - but yet I knew his heart and his soul. Both were beautiful things that he shared with all of us at JOM.

He didn't have to be a musician, or a musician of note, he was just a wonderfual man. For me, nothing else even matters. Nothing. Only PeterUK. PUK. That is the man I knew and loved

[clarice]

Some more on PUK--two photos with Donegan (on one of which he seems to have skipped the photo shoot and probably was in the bar.)
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/149/392621001_0953d291dd.jpg&imgrefurl=http://flickr.com/photos/87986015%40N00/392621001&usg=__UT-1gEVH3P972E_J3Xi5Sy2Js44=&h=500&w=386&sz=100&hl=en&start=13&sig2=hZeSC2lprO_b4d7yeoFpWQ&um=1&tbnid=NeUSVIANGAa-qM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=100&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpeter%2Bbocking%26ndsp%3D21%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4GGLJ_en___US283%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1&ei=aef0SqrFGoWONuiZjOkF>PUK 1

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/149/392621001_0953d291dd.jpg&imgrefurl=http://flickr.com/photos/87986015%40N00/392621001&usg=__UT-1gEVH3P972E_J3Xi5Sy2Js44=&h=500&w=386&sz=100&hl=en&start=13&sig2=hZeSC2lprO_b4d7yeoFpWQ&um=1&tbnid=NeUSVIANGAa-qM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=100&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpeter%2Bbocking%26ndsp%3D21%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4GGLJ_en___US283%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1&ei=aef0SqrFGoWONuiZjOkF>Puk 1

[Ann]

cc:

I so agree with what you just said from your heart. ♥

And I think you just wrote the card that should be attached to our JOM flowers when we gather across the pond to celebrate his life and how much he gave to all of us. The world surely didn't give enough back to him.

Peter Bocking would not want us to be sad but I am

[clarice]

oops--here's Puk actually in the picture.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/149/392621001_0953d291dd.jpg&imgrefurl=http://flickr.com/photos/87986015%40N00/392621001&usg=__UT-1gEVH3P972E_J3Xi5Sy2Js44=&h=500&w=386&sz=100&hl=en&start=13&sig2=hZeSC2lprO_b4d7yeoFpWQ&um=1&tbnid=NeUSVIANGAa-qM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=100&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpeter%2Bbocking%26ndsp%3D21%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4GGLJ_en___US283%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1&ei=aef0SqrFGoWONuiZjOkF>PUK2

[clarice]

Let me try again:
(From Google images--and same flikr set as above)
http://l.yimg.com/g/images/spaceball.gif>Puk2

[clarice]

Sorry--this is maddening
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/149/392621001_0953d291dd.jpg&imgrefurl=http://flickr.com/photos/87986015%40N00/392621001&usg=__UT-1gEVH3P972E_J3Xi5Sy2Js44=&h=500&w=386&sz=100&hl=en&start=13&sig2=hZeSC2lprO_b4d7yeoFpWQ&um=1&tbnid=NeUSVIANGAa-qM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=100&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpeter%2Bbocking%26ndsp%3D21%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4GGLJ_en___US283%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1&ei=aef0SqrFGoWONuiZjOkF>PUK2

[clarice]

For some reason the second picture in the series cannot be posted either as an image or by the url.Hit PUK1 and then go to the 2d photo in that series to see it..It's from the same Hamburg concert we have a video of.

[Melinda Romanoff]

c-cal-

That's how I felt, especially after being schooled on "be-bop", which must have been a particular passion of his. And here I go and flub the start of what could have been a fascinating conversation. But then I'm known for barging in first, asking questions some time next week. Just ask Rick. Stubbed my toes on that one. Oh, well.

I still miss him.

[glasater]

The thing that is bugging me right now for browsers--I get a message saying "this site could cause your computer to crash" when I go to drudge or breitbart.

[And brief.]

You don't have to ask Rick. I remember. It was ugly.
===============================

[Jane]

Well I can't get to the second picture - was PUK in that same outfit? What a hoot!

[verner]

Hey Clarice,
That's Mark Goodwin's flickr set. He was Peter's band mate, room mate during touring with Lonnie and good friend for many years.

He;s a member of our Flickr group, and he posted that lovely tribute to Peter that I have linked on line.

[clarice]

Yes. it is..verner.

Maybe he was prescient, Jane, and deliberately missed the shooting of that pic..The 2d pic really is just another shot of the group in Germany rehearsing for the number we have a video of .

BTW Paul McCartney is interviewed in the Sun saying the Beatles wasn't so fantastic until they did their German tour, too.

[centralcal]

I read in one of the Manchester friend's tributes that PUK didn't much cotton to TV and didn't own one. Well, he must have watched some TV from time to time, because he sure could nail Gordie Brown's mannerisms in ways one wouldn't pick up from still photos.

[clarice]

He watched it on the IT--My last correspondence with him was to about a link from Lucianne to a site which provided absolutely free cable channels from everywhere in the world.

He refused to pay the tellie tx to sustain the BBC and he told us that.

[centralcal]

LOL - Clarice! I guess I missed many comments of PUKs over the years, but how perfect that he didn't want to help sustain the BBC.

Gosh, maybe we should all find that free cable channel link . . . hhmmm.

[clarice]

Here's the link--enjoy.

http://www.tvfree4u.net/

[clarice]

He remarked that he hoped the BBC was not one of the over 1,000 channels listed there because he wouldn't allow that one into his house.

[centralcal]

Thanks for the link and another giggle with PUK not allowing BBC in his house.

[hit and run]

Got an email from boris. He's been too busy to come and comment,but like all of us says how much he is going to miss PUK.

[Rocco]

Have we seen this yet from the Encyclopedia Britannica?

The only sign of life was in the late 1950s skiffle craze, spearheaded by Scotlands Lonnie Donegan.

And here's what the encyclopedia says about Lonnie Donegan when you click on his link.

Scottish musician (b. April 29, 1931, Glasgow, Scot.—d. Nov. 3, 2002, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, Eng.), became known as the king of skiffle—a blend of music styles that encompassed folk, country, jazz, blues, and jug band—and in the process served as the inspiration for the British rock and roll musicians who followed in the 1960s, including Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Pete Townshend, and Van Morrison. Among his hits were the Leadbelly classic “Rock Island Line” (1956), which sold some three million singles, and the million-selling “Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (on the Bedpost Overnight)?” (1959) and “My Old Man’s a Dustman” (1960). Donegan was made MBE in 2000.

[Rocco]

The Encyclopedia Britannica on skiffle

Lennon and McCartney were among thousands of British boys who, inspired by Donegan, formed skiffle groups—in their case, the Quarrymen—as a first step on the road to rock and roll.

[Rocco]

Forgive me if this photo has been posted already. That's PUK on the left.

[clarice]

That's the one I kept trying unsuccessfully to post yesterday..Thanks.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Did you read the comments under Rocco's photo? They are just finding out that PUK died. Some new names there. One a student of PUK's.

[Parking Lot]

I posted at JOM for just a short months and checking in today and learning that one of the great forum lights has passed on ... well there are no words. It is so very sad.

His wit made me laugh out loud and his wide ranging knowledge of history educated me. That there was such a fine mind on this side of politics reaffirmed to me, once again, that this is the correct side. I did not know about his musical talent, but that just adds to the picture of an unpretentious but great man.

Some days I just hate this world we live in, the sorrowful losses that we have to bear, but my ever hope is that God never abandons us here or hereafter, and that Peter continues evermore.

Thank you, dear Peter, for adding good to my life.

[centralcal]

Clarice, I notice that the comments date back 5, 6 & 7 days ago, so that was about the time we were all finding out, too. Last Saturday was your shocking announcement, I think.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

I don't have a Yahoo account and don't want to set one up just to comment. I see Clarice has told them about the Manchester Beat tribute page, but someone who can post should leave a comment with the Peter Bocking Facebook link.

[Jane]

That was wonderful Parking Lot.

[Rocco]

Is the 2nd pub in this youtube of Lonnie Donegans "Have A Drink On Me", the Nursery Inn?

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

The end of that video is funny. Is that PUK playing?

[Rocco]

More pics on manchesterbeat...again, apologies
if these have been posted already.

[hit and run]

On your link,Rocco,of The Clan reunion is this caption to one of the photos

Steve Foley filmed the gig for prosperity

Somebody track down Steve Foley.

I Want That Video.

[bad]

The pictures were new to me and I enjoyed them very much, Rocco.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

A caption says: Steve Foley filmed the gig for prosperity

We need to find a copy of this film.

[Rocco]

Do you think he meant posterity or is that a little British humor?

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Well if he charges for copies, then I'd say prosperity. We need a copy!

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

I asked on the Pete Maclaine and the Clan page if anyone knew of any Pete Bocking Six recordings. Got this response this morning:

Pete Maclaine and the Clan Unfortunately no there isn't, but he is on Yes I do, Pete Maclaine and the Clan single from 1963, which can be heard on youtube.

[Ann]

PUk was so great at finding lyrics to suit the occasion, the "Yes I do" song begs for our new leader to come up with something against "Yes We Can" doesn't it?

Yes We Can = Socialism, Acorn, SEIU, Nancy Pelosi and Tyranny

Yes I Do = Individual liberty, less goverment, and the Tea parties

I think Peter would be honored if we fought and won with his song! All we need is some new lyrics....anybody what to try?

Besides, I refuse to let this thread stop until we say good bye to our wonderful friend PUK on Thursday at our time which I think would be 9:30 am on Thursday.

[hit and run]

Ann:
I refuse to let this thread stop until we say good bye to our wonderful friend PUK on Thursday at our time which I think would be 9:30 am on Thursday.

Um,Ann,threads in typepad get closed after one week.

This thread was opened Tuesday, 03 Nov.

It will be closed Tuesday, 10 Nov.

Unless TM intervenes to override typepad's defaults.

No matter our earnestness,unless TM steps in,our fervency means nothing.

Will you email him too?

More importantly,perhaps,can JMH email him with the specific typepad instructions on how to allow a thread to continue...

All hands on deck.

[Ann]

well**what*** means want**

Elliott emailed that he will attend. JIB, thanks for your research and caring about our dedication to PUK in Manchester. Funny, I come from a Welsh family and Ann has been a name we always have given our children.

God Bless you both. JOM is just First Class!

[Ann]

Hit:

Honestly, TM, you need to intervene and override typepad's defaults.

ALL HANDS ON DECK!!!! Indeed.

[hit and run]

http://thevimh.blogspot.com/2009/11/listening-to-peter-bocking_09.html>New post at thevimh with songs featuring PUK passed along by his friend Tony Glaser.

Thanks Clarice for getting him to dig those up!

[clarice]

Hit, I can get all the PUK videos on Google video EXCEPT the US Mail one. I don't know what happened there.

[clarice]

I can get it by using the url on your page in the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCPGvP47LPw&feature=player_embedded

But I cannot get this one my googling peter bocking video.

[And every Blue Moon or so, here.]

I see our old pal Syl at the tribute site. I run across her now and then on the climate sites. Also windansea.
===============================

[hit and run]

Huh,I have no idea what the issue with googling that one is,Clarice....

[clarice]

Me, neither--OTOH if you google on Web Peter Bocking--you get a link to your site with all the videos..

[centralcal]

Kim - So is Syl - Sylvia Lutnes? I thought it was our other commenter, sylvia.

[Our Peter, Who Art in Heaven.]

Yes, cc, and that's why I mention it. They are two separate people.

Another Peter gem from an Instapundit link in 2004. Note how dreadfully timeless it is.

"Rooting for the other side is also tacitly saying that the person next to you is your enemy and a legitimate target. The Bush/Hitler comparison would be hilarious if it were not so insultingly ugly. These people can only say this precisely because Bush is not Hitler; their ignorance ensures that if history does repeat itself they won't recognize it."

I like the optimism present despite his insight and prescience. Stay with us, Peter.
=============================

[That's Air Mail.]

Whoa, listen to the twenty seconds starting at 1:25 into US Mail.
======================================

[clarice]

I also loved all his posts on Zimbabwe..Remember all those ZANU workers and millet pickers conferences?

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Rocco:

I've tried twice to post your draft letter, but it doesn't post.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Talk about tears. After You're Gone was one of my Mother's favorite songs. When I was little, she had a recording of it and I remember her playing it and singing along or sometimes I'd hear her humming it as she went about her daily business. It is one of those triggers that happens when you least expect it. Whew!

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

After You'VE Gone, see that's what happens when you type thru tears.

[daddy]

Thank you thank you thank you Hit and Run,

Great great stuff.

[Janet]

Thank you hit for the audio & video of PUK. What a wonderful group of people here at JOM. Really, it is a pleasure to read your posts. Sure miss PeterUK's comments- with all the nonsense coming out of Washington he would have been on fire!

[Rocco]

Thanks Sara, I just tried too with no luck, don't know why?

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Rocco: It is probably the links. Too many for Typepad to authorize. Probably thinks it's spam.

[Rocco]

Dear Special Selection Committee Members

It’s my understanding that your committee is responsible for nominating musicians for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I am writing for your consideration to propose Manchester guitar legend Peter Bocking, who passed away in October of this year, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Early Influences category. I hope you’ll agree that his guitar playing had a profound influence on many of rock's leading artists, as webmaster Paul Mlynarz of manchesterbeat.com details

http://www.manchesterbeat.com/tributes/petebocking/petebocking.php

[Jack is Back!]

After reading all of this thread so far, especially the H&R collection of PUK bon mots, zingers, spit balls and clever come backs, I have to wonder what his library looked or looks like? Most people of his intellect and sharp mind are usually well read especially in the classics, history and philosophy.

Just a curiosity but my bet is it was a dandy library.

[Rocco]

"His first band the Jets was formed in 1958 with friends John "Butch" Mepham, Derrick Quinn and Joe Abrams and was fronted by Johnny Peters. Being one of the earliest rock and roll bands in Manchester, rather than a skiffle group, they made a big impact on the local youth club circuit. In 1960 the band changed their name to the Fourtones and backed a duo that went by the name of Ricky and Dane Young, better known as Allan Clark and Graham Nash, who later went on to form The Hollies.

[Rocco]

Peter was a man of immense talent and determination and even in his teenage years he was seldom seen without a guitar in his hands. A regular in the music shops of Oxford Road he would be seen perched on a Vox AC30 amplifier with a Gretsch or Fender guitar across his lap effortlessly picking out complicated guitar licks.

[Rocco]

A young guitarist watched amazed as Bocking played the bass line with his thumb while picking out the top line with his fingers, astonished at his dexterity the lad asked him what he was doing.”Flat Top Picking", was the answer, "have you never listened to Chet Atkins?" The young chap shook his head, left the shop and found the nearest record store and a Chet Atkins album.

[Rocco]

That guitarist was Peter Cowap, a legend in his own right, who made a living from that style of playing, but to Peter Bocking it was just another style to master along with Jazz and Classical. The two men were very close friends until Peter Cowap's death in 1997.

[Rocco]

Pete Maclaine and the Clan were one of the top bands in the North of England in the early sixties, partly due to the talented, young front man, but Pete Bocking was also gaining a fan base of his own as young guitarists traveled from all over the North West to watch in awe. Around 1962 he bought a Barney Kessel guitar. Impressed by the master his influences changed to jazz as opposed to the popular music of the day and it was at this point that he and Pete Maclaine parted company.

[Rocco]

The Pete Bocking Six had two saxes and a tight rhythm section it became a bands band in which Peter could indulge his love of jazz, weaving jazz riffs into the fabric of the contemporary songs the audience wanted to hear. He also slipped in the odd classic such as Take Five, made famous by the Dave Brubeck quartet. One can only imagine the thrill the Beatles had finding they were booked at the Oasis on the same bill as Pete Bocking.

[Rocco]

By the early seventies Peter’s ability on the guitar was well known and his skill as a reader opened doors as a session musician and as backing for touring artists. In 1972 he landed the job of lead guitarist with Lonnie Donegan on his world tour. Peter was a long time admirer of Donegan and regarded him as one of the most influential figures in British contemporary music. Peter traveled the continent and worked as far a field as Australia and the USA, including Las Vega, the entertainment capital of the world.”

[Rocco]

The extent of his influence on those who came after is apparent in this obituary at http://www.manchesterbeat.com/tributes/petebocking/pb_obit.jpg

Indeed, his name appears in several places on the Liverpool wall of early Rock and Roll stars as shown here at http://www.rickresource.com/liverpool/liverpoolwof.html

Few extent examples of his work exist but here's one with Lonnie Donegan
http://www.muzu.tv/mybeatclub/lonnie-donegan-speak-to-the-sky-music-video/201542?country=us

And here's another with Pete Maclaine and the Clan at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW6Q41Fj3Ic

In conclusion, if you agree that Peter Bocking was an artist who had an impact on the evolution of Rock and Roll and in the process inspired Rock’s leading artists then he should be included in your recommendations

Thank you for your consideration

Regards

[Rocco]

The extent of his influence on those who came after is apparent in this obituary at http://www.manchesterbeat.com/tributes/petebocking/pb_obit.jpg

[Rocco]

scratch that last paragraph, I didn't think it posted so I posted it again. It's basically verbatim of the tribute page but I figured we couldn't go wrong with those facts. All I did was write thew opening and closing

[Rocco]

And I used this as a reference

[Rocco]

Thank you clarice and Sara for your help.

[hit and run]

Wonderful job,Rocco.

[Rocco]

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation
Special Selection Committee-Early Influences Category
1290 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10104
(United States of America)

[Rocco]

Thank you hit.

[the other peter]

Boy, you can really get a nice thread going about yourself in this blog--all you have to do is be a brilliant guitarist, post about a million clever posts, and die.

We miss you PUK

[clarice]

Sara and/ or Hit, Can you put this together in a single sheet and perhaps post it on your site, invite people to copy, sign and mail it isn AND send a copy to Manchester Beat asking those there and at the wake to do the same?

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

I'd be happy to do that Clarice, but will wait to see what Hit says since he already has links to his site for other PUK stuff. Hit???

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Can we get Verner to post it on PUK's Facebook page or I will as a comment? Let me know. Verner???

[hit and run]

I'd be more than happy to post it. But I don't get nearly enough traffic for it to make much impact unless it were to be picked up elsewhere...

Sara, you should definitely post it too.

Can you or Rocco email me the file with all of the links in it?

And email it to Elliott as well. He can get email whilst across the pond.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Give me the email addresses again and I'll send it right away.

I'll post it on the Pete Bocking Facebook page.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Remember when we had that massive thread on John Kerry and the Winter Soldiers? I just found an email from PUK to me that was written at that time:

Sara, Thank for writing.If ever there were a cause worth writing about it is the effect of the Vietnam War upon ordinary people,not the pop stars of politics,the families,the troops who came home in shame because they had been traduced in their own homeland. This was not accidental,it was a deliberate undermining by the left,it was the age when America lost its innocence,when the "creative" left injected sleaze and cynicism into their view of life. I don't know Nolans political affiliations,but he is a sigle issue obssessive,a planespotter,unable to comprehend the moral and social context of what happened,you can. Until Vietnam becomes just another war like many others, it will fester in American society,someone has to start the ball rolling,why not you? There is need of a Truth and Reconciliation campaign,the left has siezed the moral high ground,it has to be retaken. If you interviewed relatives and veterans who simply did their duty,excising the lunatic fringe from the central point of the narrative there would be a clearer picture of what millions suffered through the campaign of vilification manufactured by the left. It is interesting that for the left the Winter Soldier testifiers have to be veterans and heroes,even a little malcontent who was there for less than two months. A book should be written,I think you should write it,there are many who would give you help serving and civilian,those who have nothing to leave their grandchildren but their honour. Regards Peter

[hit and run]

jomhitandrun at gmail dot com

thanks

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Sent, Hit. Also posted on the Peter Bocking Facebook page but Verner will have to go in and fix the spacing. It is hard to post as a commenter.

[hit and run]

Got it. Sent it to Elliott. He's boarding his plane.

Thanks Sara.

[hit and run]

http://justoneminute.typepad.com/main/2009/08/as-the-debate-winds-down/comments/page/3/#comment-6a00d83451b2aa69e20120a53dcdf6970c>They're together now

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I always used to go round to see my mother each day to make sure she had everything she needed. One morning I got the urge to ring her for some inexplicable reason,she sounded hoarse,so it seemed a good idea to pop round and check her out.She was unwell so I called the doctor out,he prescribed some antibiotics and said "keep an eye on her". Since the carers were due at that time it was possible to collect the prescription and get some shopping done. Having done that,I went home,her cleaner was there,she was also a friend.

Later that day,the cleaner phoned to say my mother had "crawled upstairs" and gone to bed. She was like that very independent.

She was in bed and having trouble breathing and could not lie down,it appeared to be heart failure,a familiar condition. I gave her ten minutes to decide on an ambulance or a cup of tea.She opted for the ambulance.

The ambulance was rapid,since they had a description of the problem,the paramedics dealt with the situation efficiently and professionally. Unfortunately I could not go in the ambulance with her,because,it was night,my money and medication were at home,all I was wearing was trousers and a T shirt.

On arrival in the ward the following morning,a doctor ushered me into a side room.

"We treated her for heart failure not knowing she had bad kidneys" "She has about a month,all I can tell you is when it happens it will be quick"

All I could think of saying was "Have you anything else to say to me"

The doctor hesitated "No", he said and left the room with his assistant,(witness)

Visiting was Hell! It was a fight to get flexible visiting times,the jobsworths fought it every inch,despite my being the only family member.

I watched my mother die alone, in a side room,the nurse was on her tea break,the pain killing drugs that had been promised, unadministered. She was eighty four.

Fuck the National Health Service!!!!
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Kidney failure is horrendous. Victims literally die before your eyes as the salt builds up in their bodies,the faculties decay, one by one. I watched her go blind an assume the characteristics of dementia.

One sister said,when I asked her to help her move."She can do it herself"!

Whilst General Practitioners know their patients,hospitals can be on the level of battery chicken factories.
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Terrible indeed. Medical have to be impersonal to a certain extent to stay sane,but that doesn't help the patient or their families.

A friend of mine,a philosopher,says that the moral component has disappeared from medical ethics. Everything is now distilled down to utilitarian and legal considerations

This,I think, removes the humanity from medicine,and indeed many other areas of life.
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It wasn't about me,I just did what ever was best for my mother.If it took grovelling the so be it,if it took a temper tantrum,off we go.Plenty of schmoozing the nurses who looked after her. Whatever creates the best environment.
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I've never talked about it before,I sense it is a more common experience.There needs to be a greater concentration on medical ethics,doctors aren't fixing clunkers,but human beings.
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The worst was watching the end,despite promises, my mother did not die easy.She was obviously in great pain when the salt reached her heart.As she went her false teeth came out.I put them back and stroked her hair into place,gave her a last kiss on her forehead,spent some time,I know not how long,with while the nurses came and pronounced her dead.

Then I rang my lift who had gone home,not thinking it would be so quick,and walked the four miles back to her house,locked up and went home.
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I was alone with her in the room.They always wheeled them into that side room to die.It was the absence of nursing or other staff that was appalling,that and the lack of any palliative medication.
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She died the 8th July 2003.
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Not hard to keep calm.I'm neurotic about things like losing a pair of glasses,but anything serious and I go ice cold efficient. Just made that way I suppose.
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Amazing how the human race adapts to the most cruel afflictions.That is why the "death panels" are so obscene,people can live a life even under the most difficult conditions. Who is some little Nazi like Emanuel to withhold treatment?
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This is the story of the human race,it is all our stories,they should be taken into account in any health system.

The quality of their lives and magnitude of their losses should be factored into the equation.We should start a movement for morality and humanity in medicine.

[Ann]

Hit:

Have I told you lately how much I adore you?

xxxooo

[cathyf]

Thanks for finding this, H&R. I want to figure out some way to spread this all over, because this was PUK passionately trying to warn us about what it takes to implement euthanasia. You have to get the nurses and the nurses aides to debase themselves in order to carry it out.

I have a friend who has since died because every time doctors did something to her it made her condition worse and not better, and the side effects of her treatments were worse than the disease they were trying to treat. She would tell her long gruesome tale with the introduction: Learn about me, so that you do not become me.

PUK was trying to teach us. He stepped from behind his usual terse snark and wrote these long passionate warnings to us. We need to somehow spread this around!