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This chapter is not intended as an exhaustive guide to all aspects of health and safety in the church. It is simply a guide to those aspects which are of particular relevance to the organist.
Health and safety is the obligation to take reasonable steps to prevent injury. Its obligation is both legal and moral, with the former attempting to enforce the latter. Compliance demonstrates a Christian commitment to look after each other. At a mundane level, it helps the church avoid claims and ensures compliance with insurance policies.
Many of our churches were built long before there was such awareness of safety, and so there can be particular problems applying modern standards to old churches. Also many churches are listed buildings. However, local authorities are sympathetic and can usually find satisfactory ways of making adaptations without undue damage.
Almost anything can be dangerous if improperly used. A pencil can blind someone, for example. There is a balance of duty between the individual to exercise personal responsibility and the occupiers of premises to avoid potential dangers. For this reason, health and safety legislation is full of provisions using the word "reasonable". Procedures are laid down by parliament and other authoritative bodies not to prevent all accidents, but to indicate a standard where the balance is between collective and personal responsibility. Following such procedures not only helps avoid accidents but helps avoid claims should an accident happen.
While most health and safety issues at church are the responsibility of the churchwardens and church council (or equivalents in non-Anglican churches), safety is a matter for everyone. In particular, an organist must consider:
Each of these is further discussed later.
Proper precautions not only avoid accidents, but prevent the pendulum attitude. This is where no-one takes an issue seriously until something happens, and then everything is banned. It is much better to have a balanced approach from day one.
The legal basis for health and safety derives from four main sources of law:
There are, however, many other aspects of law which can be relevant.
An organist is a representative of the church, and therefore can be liable under the law as a manager.
Health and safety at work
The main law is Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. This is designed to ensure that workplaces are safe for employees. If the church employs five or more people, it must have a written health and safety policy. The Health and Safety Executive recommends that volunteers are treated the same as paid employees.
Previously there were various regulations concerning factories and offices, which imposed a ragbag of conditions on the employer. The 1974 Act approaches the subject differently and puts a duty on employers and employees together to create a safe environment.
The general duty is summarised in section 2 of the Act, which imposes a general duty on the employer to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of employees with regard to:
The Act has been complemented by many regulations covering many aspects of health and safety.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for enforcing the Act and its regulations. Health and safety inspectors have the right to enter and inspect premises, see records, examine equipment, interview anyone, and take other reasonable steps. From 1 April 1990, local authorities are responsible for checking churches.
An inspector may serve an improvement notice which gives the employer at least 21 days notice to remedy a shortcoming. A prohibition notice takes effect immediately, unless it is a deferred prohibition notice. Inspectors may institute prosecution if there is no compliance with notices.
An inspector will first check what employees the church has. The legal adviser to General Synod has stated that volunteers playing the organ are not covered by this Act, however there is no reason why an unpaid organist should be put at greater risk than a paid organist.
In the Church of England, building work must also comply with the faculty jurisdiction, see page xxx.
Occupier's liability
A separate body of law relates to the liability someone has from occupying premises, whether as owner, tenant or licensee.
This imposes a general liability on the occupier to ensure that premises are safe, and creates a possible liability to anyone on the premises. This liability is not limited to those who are legally on the premises. In extreme circumstances, this can create a liability towards trespassers and even burglars.
The two main Acts are the Occupiers Liability Act 1957 which created the liability for employees and visitors. The Occupiers Liability Act 1984 extends that liability to others who are on the premises. This Act also requires notices for any temporary hazard, such as a slippery floor just after washing.
Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 requires employers to have at least £5 million insurance for injury or illness sustained by an employee. The certificate of insurance must be conspicuously displayed.
Negligence is a tort (a civil wrong) for which it is necessary to prove two things:
The failure to discharge the duty can involve little more than thoughtlessness or carelessness, that is not realising that there could be a danger or not taking sufficient steps to prevent it.
Where the negligence arose from not complying with the terms of a contract, it is usually easier to sue for breach of contract.
Disability Discrimination Act 1995
This Act became law on 2 December 1996. It imposes a general duty on service providers not to treat disabled people less favourably than able people. It was introduced in three stages.
From 1 October 1999, service providers must make reasonable adjustments to how they provide services.
From 1 October 2004, all service providers, including churches, must make reasonable adjustments to the physical premises. This includes provisions such as handrails, hearing loops and ramps.
Organists must similarly be prepared to adapt any choir procedures to accommodate disabled choristers. Examples may include:
A church should also make available large print sizes of hymn books and produce large print versions of service books.
As a minimum, candles should:
A candle flame burns at 1000°C. It will ignite flammable material within 1½ times the height of the flame, and scorch material further away.
It is unlikely to be a good idea to have lit candles in the choir stalls where the risk of igniting hair and paper is great. Girls' long hair often has wispy strands which can easily ignite and set hair on fire. If quick enough, a hair fire can safely be smothered with bare hands, but don't take the risk of fire in the first place. Similarly, a surplice can easily catch in an open flame.
Care should be taken to acquire the right type of candle. Slow-burning candles are the safest, and are usually more economical than cheaper but faster-burning candles. Candles and holders of various types are readily available from suppliers such as the Church Purchasing Scheme.
If the congregation must handle lit candles, they must be of a suitable type with adequate protection. Some candles are specifically made for this purpose. If children hold candles, they must be properly supervised.
In the Church of England there is unrepealed 19th century case law that the ceremonial use of candles is illegal. For example, the case Sumner v Wix [1870] held that holding lighted candles each side of the minister while the gospel is read was an illegal addition to ceremonial. However, several modern liturgies from the Alternative Service Book 1980 onwards include candles in the rubric. Candles purely for illumination have always been legal.
Guidance on fire precautions for the church are contained in a free Council for the Care of Churches leaflet, available from Church House Bookshop.
A main concern about fire is not to block exits. This is particularly relevant for concerts; the audience must be able to go straight to the exit without having to negotiate kettledrums or loudspeaker cabinets first.
Churches are generally exempt from fire regulations while having services but not for concerts. However good practice is that the same standards of compliance apply at all times. The local chief fire officer is able to give free advice, which should be followed.
You should know where the fire extinguishers are. There should be between one and four depending on the size of the church. There should be a carbon dioxide extinguisher by the organ console. This and dry powder extinguishers are the only type safe to use on electrical appliances, but powder and pipe organs do not mix – it can cost £8,000 or more to clean out the powder if an extinguisher is discharged by the organ.
Ensure that you have adequate exits even while rehearsing. One side door down some stone steps is not enough for a rehearsal with 50 singers.
For regular practices, you should include a fire drill at least once a year.
If the fire alarm goes off, never assume that it is an accident or a drill. Evacuate the building immediately, tell people where to assemble, do not take belongings with you and call the fire brigade.
Flammable material, such as paper and old robes, should not be stored in the organ chamber. If a fire starts, flue pipes, not surprisingly, act as flues.
A cassock should be at least three inches above the floor and no lower. This should reach no lower than the ankle so the chorister cannot trip while processing.
If you have children in the choir, cassocks should be checked every year against the child's growth, and changed or adjusted as necessary. Do not be tempted to give a child a long cassock to "grow into". If it reaches below the ankles, take up the bottom hem, which is a simple job for someone adept at such things. The hem can always be lowered again.
Sometimes a choir may need to negotiate a user-unfriendly staircase, such as a stone spiral staircase to a tower or gallery. You must:
Organ chambers are not designed for public access. It is advisable for the organist to see the pipes and workings of the organ at least once. While it is good practice to encourage interest in organs and how they work, be very cautious about allowing people into the organ chamber. Any person let in must be supervised by the organist, organ tuner or other experienced people. If using a ladder, take extra care with one person remaining on the ground. There are specific safety guidelines on the use of ladders.
Section K1 of the building regulations gives these requirements for the building of staircases in institutional buildings. Building regulations apply only to what may be built, not to existing staircases, but give an indication of what is considered safe. There are further regulations for spiral staircases.
Provision K2 of the Building Regulations 2000 requires that a gallery should have a protecting wall up to 1.1 metres (3 feet 7½ inches) high. This only applies to new buildings, but indicates what may be regarded as safe. (Similar sentiments are found in Deuteronomy 22:8.) A rail should be fitted to an existing gallery of less than 1.1 metres. The wall should either be solid, or at least designed so that a child cannot slip through it.
Choristers, particularly children, should be told not to stand near the edge, not to lean over, and not to lark around.
Electrical work is subject to many specific regulations, particularly Electricity at Work Regulations. In general, fixed electrical work must be inspected every five years. There are regulations produced by The Institution of Electrical Engineers, British Standard BS 7671 and Part P of the Building Regulations. General guidance is available in the book Wiring in Churches published by Church House Publishing in 1997.
From 1 January 2005, electrical work in a home or garden must generally be undertaken by an approved electrician and not by yourself or an unapproved friend. This restriction does not apply to:
Strictly, these regulations do not apply to churches, but it is considered good practice that the same standard is followed there as for homes. If the church engages an approved electrician (as it should), that electrician is obliged to follow BS 7671 and other regulations. A church which permits electrical work by someone not approved to do it could find itself in difficulties with its insurance company and its own church authorities.
The main concerns for electricity are that:
Perhaps the most important consideration for an organist is that all trailing wires are securely fixed to the floor across the whole length where anyone may walk. There are special cable protectors made for this. In 2005, the cost approximated to £10 per metre, though with regular re-use this can become cheaper than tape. It is also much cheaper than an accident. Masking tape or gaffer tape (also known as elephant tape, duck tape and by other names) is widely used, and is better than nothing, but it will not properly protect cables from stiletto and similar heels or other forms of mechanical damage. Without any protection, people will easily trip over a loose wire. Unused lengths of extension leads should be coiled and kept away from any passage.
The organist may know where the church's fuse box is, but should only change a fuse if he can do so properly. Modern fuse boxes are circuit breakers which you simply switch back on. If a fuse keeps blowing, there is a problem with the electrical circuit somewhere. The organist must always report a blown fuse to the appropriate church officer, as this could indicate a problem with the electrical supply. The organ and fixed electrical heaters usually have their own power supply.
For normal 240-volt mains electricity, one kilowatt uses about four amps. Mains plugs are fitted with 13-amp fuses, though lower fuses are available. Thirteen amps is sufficient for just over three kilowatts. Power points are usually on circuits which typically have a total output of 30 amps. It is possible for ten amps in a 13-amp power point to overload the system if you already have 25 amps on other points. Unless running many free-standing heaters, it is most unlikely that you will ever get near that limit to overload a system. If you do have a power cut-out, there is probably a problem elsewhere, for which the church should get an electrician.
Electrical heaters are the heaviest users of electricity; a one-bar fire, fan heater or electric kettle uses one kilowatt. Amplifiers use little electricity. A deafening 100-watt amplifier uses about one fifth of one kilowatt. A standard 100-watt light bulb uses one tenth of a kilowatt. Electric keyboards, hi-fi systems, computers and clocks use tiny amounts of electricity.
Provided the total kilowattage does not exceed the total for the power point or circuit, there is no limit to the number of plugs that may be connected to a single power point using adaptors and gangboards. Gangboards are preferable to adaptors.
Note that some modern organs are vulnerable to power surges in the mains supply in the same way that computers are. This is because they use similar circuitry. A power supply to a modern organ will need a surge protector, which is simply a special type of plug or adaptor, readily available from electrical stores.
All electrical connections should be properly made and protective covers securely fixed. It is worth learning to wire up a plug properly; it is not difficult. A badly-wired plug is more likely simply to stop working than be dangerous, but that is also a situation to avoid. Plugs must be securely closed with no wires other than the outer cable showing. Poorly wired plugs in amplification systems can cause sound problems.
Portable electrical appliances, including heaters, kettles, amplifiers, keyboards etc. should be "PAT tested" on a regular basis, dependant on usage. The regulations do not state any specific interval, but give criteria to allow the user to decide.
For organs, Ecclesiastical Insurance Group offers this guidance:
In addition, the Institute of British Organbuilding recommends the use of low voltage (50 volts) inspection lamps and circuit breakers on all power sockets.
Sometimes an anglepoise lamp is used instead of a permanently wired console light. This is not ideal, but if it must be used, it should either be bolted to the organ console or otherwise have a weighted base and be situated where it cannot readily fall over.
You should know who checks the organ's electrical wiring. It is not unknown for the organ builder to assume the electrician checks it, and for the electrician to assume that the organ builder does.
A general safety guide for electrical appliances is:
Power points near the floor in buildings used by young children should have safety covers fitted, which should be used. As these covers are easily lost, the church should keep a plentiful supply.
In addition to these electrical hazards, many organ blower housings contain asbestos. This can mean that any work on the housing must comply with the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations.
Organ humidifiers which are not properly maintained can spread Legionnaires disease. There is a code of practice which must be followed to minimise this risk.
Choir vestries soon accumulate vast amounts of music and junk. Items can be precariously piled on top of cabinets and can easily fall on top of you.
Avoid unstable piles of music. Find proper homes for all sets of books, even if it means putting some music in storage. Alternatively use some of the choir budget for a new bookcase, if you have room.
Some modern furniture, particularly flat-pack furniture, is not strong enough to carry the full weight of music. Full size sheet music weighs 36 pounds per foot (53 Kg per metre). This means that a four-foot shelf can be required to support more than a hundredweight of paper. Flat-pack furniture shelves need to be braced along their whole length.
Music must be accessible without having to balance on one foot while standing on the piano. Even standing on a chair can be dangerous. A short set of aluminium steps is inexpensive, takes little space and is readily available.
Pianos can be dangerous in three ways:
A piano weighs from 650 pounds (300 Kg, or a third of a ton) for a small upright, up to 1400 pounds (635 Kg, or two-thirds of a ton) for a model D Steinway Grand. Lifting them requires great care and knowing how to lift properly. There are companies which specialise in moving pianos. Normally you need four men to lift a piano safely, fewer if particularly strong and trained. Even digital pianos can be surprisingly heavy. Don't even think of moving a piano if you have back trouble.
The tension on a piano string is about 165 pounds (75 Kg). As there are over 200 strings, the total tension across a piano frame ranges from 18 tons for a normal upright to 30 tons for a concert grand. If a string snaps it can be like a cheesewire with sufficient force to cut off a man's arm. So do not tempt fate by plucking strings or smashing up an old piano. A broken string should be replaced promptly by a piano technician.
Most of a piano's weight is in the iron frame which holds the strings. In an upright piano, this is at the back making a piano unstable while being moved. Most pianos have special castors for moving. There is a special school piano castor, which must be fitted properly.
On carpets, it is advisable for the piano castors to sit in castor trays. Although a carpet provides enough stability for a castor, it will leave a permanent mark in the carpet.
Rehearse in plenty of light. Churches are full of hazards, made much worse if visibility is poor. Also poor light for singing causes eye strain.
It is a fool's economy to keep lights off to economise. Twenty lights provides plenty of illumination. Even at 10p per unit, this costs less than 20p an hour. Your choir is worth it.
The organist, and the choir, should be warm when practising. This may require portable heating appliances. The recommended portable heater is convector or fan assisted and fitted with a thermostatic cut-out. If the existing appliance is 'of some age', ie "resting and rusting" in the back of some kind person's garage for 20 years until resurrected and donated to the church, it may be cheaper to replace it with a modern brand than to PAT test it.
The use of LPG (bottled gas) heaters is not recommended. Changing bottles is hazardous to feet when the full bottle is dropped on them, and to backs when changing bottles in the heater. Cassocks can catch fire if the flowing robe is too close to the flame.
It is reasonable to expect the church to be warm for services and choir practices. It is not reasonable to expect the church to be heated for private organ practice, unless this is part of the organist's employment. A traditional stone church has a high thermal capacity where it can take weeks for its mass to warm up in summer and cool down in winter.
An organist may need to practise in a freezing building. The following advice is offered in A Practical Guide to Playing the Organ by Anne Marsden Thomas (published by Middle Eight Music Ltd):
Cold weather affects an organ tuning by making flue pipes go flat by up to a painful quarter-tone. This is to do with the speed that cold air travels through pipes. It does not affect reed pipes in the same way. Cold weather makes pianos go sharp as the metal strings contract. An organist should always leave swell boxes open, and be careful of tuning in cold weather.
Working conditions
Ideal working conditions are:
For temperature, the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations SI 1992 require a minimum temperature of 16°C for sedentary work.
A person's physical output halves for every additional 5°C above 20°, so someone is working at one eighth capacity at 35°C.
The 1992 regulations also require:
Other hazards
An organist shares responsibility with other church officers for ensuring that the church is safe, and should therefore ensure that he does nothing to compromise that safety. This requires an appreciation of general safety checks.
A health and safety inspection of a church should check:
Churches can be required to carry out risk assessments on particular aspects of their work. There are separate health and hygiene regulations for kitchens. The Central Council of Church Bell Ringers has produced its own safety guidance.
All Anglican churches must be inspected by an architect once every five years under Inspection of Churches Measure 1955. Any defects he identifies must be corrected within the timescale stipulated.
The local authority is always pleased to advise in these matters.
In addition to the risks from tangible items, there are other safety factors which need to be considered.
Personal safety
Organists are frequently in the church alone, practising or sorting music. Organists are usually church keyholders. It is good practice to organise activities such as cleaning and flower arranging to ensure a presence in the church most of the time it is open. Sometimes churches organise a rota of church sitters. Any presence is a deterrent. It is also good practice for there to be visits by church officers at random times. Organ practice contributes to church security.
Churches are not immune to theft and vandalism, but attacks on people are much rarer. An organist is not at greater risk in a church than elsewhere. The following good practice can help:
Do not see people who come into a church as being a threat. Most casual visitors simply want to admire the architecture or enjoy quiet. This need not stop your organ practice. Most visitors quite enjoy hearing organ practice even when you are tediously repeating a difficult pedal passage.
If someone starts talking to you about their problems, you may wish to listen, but explain that you are the organist. You should not attempt counselling unless trained. Direct them to the vicarage, or call someone who may be able to help. People rightly seek help from the church, and are entitled to see those able to provide it.
Sometimes church entrances are used by tramps or addicts. It is recommended that such areas are fitted with locked gates and kept illuminated. Such people may seem intimidating but are rarely any physical threat. Avoid dark passageways to get to a side-door. Either insist on using a well-lit main entrance or for side entrances to be adequately lit.
Many organists in empty churches at some point believe they are joined by ghosts through hearing footsteps, voices and similar. Perhaps we are. However it is more likely to be the effect of a church's cavernous acoustics on wind, pigeons and heating pipes. If you are still spooked by this, remember there is no known incident of an organist being attacked by a ghost.
A different sort of personal issue arises from stress.
Most organists have frantic periods. Stress becomes an issue when the organist cannot cope. Stress is a state of mind rather than a state of play, in that some people can happily cope with a situation which stresses someone else.
Stress derives from the concept of fight or flight. If faced with a physical threat, such as from a dangerous person or a wild animal, the human instinctively prepares either to fight or run away. This instinct involves arching the back, clenching fists and draining blood from the skin and releasing glucose and fat into the bloodstream to produce energy. The same phenomena happen even when the threat is not a physical one. About two-thirds of employees suffer from some form of workplace stress. About half of all stress is caused by colleagues rather than the job itself.
The body can take short periods of stress quite easily. However prolonged stress can lead to personality changes in attitude and behaviour. More serious cases can lead to weight loss, headaches, skin disorder and other symptoms. Eventually stress can lead to a breakdown, for which time off and treatment is necessary.
An employer is obliged to take reasonable precautions to avoid stress. An organist should not be put under unreasonable pressure, nor should an organist expose choir members or others to unreasonable pressure.
An employer can be liable for stress to an employee on the same basis as for any other accident or illness suffered in the workplace. This legal principle was established by the case Walker v Northumberland County Council [1995]. The position was clarified by the case Rorrison v West Lothian College and Lothian Regional Council [2000] which held that an employer is liable for psychiatric injury only to extent that such injury was foreseeable.
This law was further explained by the House of Lords in the leading stress case of Barber v Somerset County Council [2004]. The Lords made the following points:
Fatigue is a reduction in energy which prevents completion of a task. Fatigue is a purely physical condition; there is no such thing as mental fatigue. The sensation is caused by a change in the chemical composition of certain body fluids.
Research done more than 100 years ago has established that:
As with stress, the abilities to pace yourself, stay calm and prioritise helps greatly.


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Tesfu Gessesse – Director
[email protected]
I joined The Welcoming as Director in January 2019. I have worked at management level for many years for various different charities in Edinburgh as well as overseas, and I am excited to be joining The Welcoming as a next step. I specialise in advocacy, community development and public mobilisation and I am looking forward to helping The Welcoming continue to grow and consolidate their work in Edinburgh.
As a Director of the Welcoming Association, I have five key areas that I am responsible for:
• Safeguarding and protecting the welfare of the staff and volunteers through transparent, inclusive and empowering policies and practices.
• Providing strategic leadership to the workforce and supporting the Board of Directors of the Association.
• Establishing effective partnerships and promoting the work of the Association.
• Ensuring our services are demand-led and the experiences of our beneficiaries contribute to local and national policy design.
• Supporting the work of local authorities and the Scottish Government through constructive engagement.

subset: commoncrawl


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- Create your Dauntless account here.
- Go to the giveaway page.
- Login, scroll down and click the button to unlock your key


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Málaga – Motril
Follow the coastal road towards Motril but before getting
to Motril you will pass a village called Salobreña; just after
that there is a turn-off with a sign to Granada. Take this turn-off and
at the roundabout follow the road to Granada.
Keep an eye out for the sign to Las Alpujarras or Órgiva on the
right; it will be just before a large dam.
You will see a small bridge that crosses a dry riverbed; take this turnoff
and follow the winding road around the side of the mountain.
After going through a small tunnel there is a road to the left heading
towards Órgiva. Go over the bridge and follow the road up into Órgiva.
Go through the village and as you leave it you will cross another bridge:
just after that, look for the sign to Trevélez on the right. Take
this turn and drive uphill for about 20 minutes until you see a restaurant
on the left called 'Los Llanos' (across from the restaurant
there is a Mongolian tent with old things for sale outside).
Drive on for a few more curves until you see a small church on the right
hand side of the road called 'Padre Eterno'. Opposite this
small church there is a forest road, indicated in Spanish as camino forestal.
Turn left onto this road and follow it until you see the sign to O.Sel.Ling
on the right hand side. Take this dirt track up following the signs until
you get to our car park.


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Local Trade Copier For Metatrader 4
Of all the momentum indicators out there, I like PMO, developed by Carl Swenlin. This proprietary indicator is based on a rate-of-change calculation, which is exponentially smoothed. PMO behaves similar to the MACD momentum oscillator developed by Gerald Appel. We use the weekly PMO and MACD on the indexes to pick trends that usually last from three to six months.
Figure 6.13 shows the topping process in the S&P 500 in January to March 2004, as discussed previously. Notice here that both the PMO and MACD indicators had bearish crossovers and triggered sell signals in early March 2004, which predicted a decline that would last several months. The next bullish weekly crossover on the PMO and MACD did not come until mid-October 2004; therefore, the decline from the March high lasted seven months. During this time frame, traders would have been out of the market or short.
Also notice a bullish weekly crossover of PMO and MACD came in March 2003, and both PMO and MACD trended higher into March 2004, which would have kept traders long for an entire year. This was a good time to be in the market because traders clearly had the wind at their backs. Note that PMO gave a clearer view to stay long from March 2003 to March 2004 than MACD, which is one of the reasons I prefer PMO over MACD.
Next, let 's examine the bullish crossovers of PMO and MACD in SPY, from early 2004 to early 2007, and compare them with the bullish signals generated by McClellan Summation Index in the same time frame. PMO and MACD buy signals are illustrated in Figure 6.14, and the bullish signals triggered by McClellan Summation Index are represented in Figure 6.15 -
Remember, a bullish signal is triggered when the Summation Index trades below —500 and then turns up.
In all instances the Summation Index triggered buy signals before PMO and MACD had bullish crossovers. Also notice that, in most cases, MACD had earlier buy signals than PMO.
To complete the buy signal setup, let 's take a zero in on one of the bottoms and do a volume analysis of that low. Figure 6.16 focuses on the April 2005 bottom. A "Selling Climax Day" (see Chapter 4) occurred on April 15, 2005, with volume near 2.85 billion shares in the S&P 500. The next day, the price low was put in, which became the target for a future retest. On April 20, a "False Break" occurred with low volume that implied the decline would not continue.
A retest of that same low came on April 29 on lighter volume, which was another buy signal. Referring back to Figure 6.15 ' we can see that this bottom corresponded exactly with the Summation Index triggering a buy signal by turning up from below -500. Traders who had done
FIGURE 6.14 PMO and MACD Indicators Trigger Buy Signals in SPY during
2004-2007 Time Frame
Source: Chart courtesy of DecisionPoint.com.
FIGURE 6.14 PMO and MACD Indicators Trigger Buy Signals in SPY during
2004-2007 Time Frame
Source: Chart courtesy of DecisionPoint.com.
these analyses would have known it was time to get long the market, and really would have put the wind at their backs. More conservative investors could have waited for the weekly PMO and/or MACD to turn up, or they could have bought and put stops below the price low of the "Selling Climax Day," just in case there were more retests of the recent lows. Having buy signals triggered by both breadth and volume analyses, however, the odds were very good that the momentum indicators would be turning up soon, as well.
Now let 's switch to the bearish crossovers of the PMO and MACD in the time frame of early 2004 to early 2007, comparing them with the bearish signals generated by the McClellan Summation Index in that same time frame, as illustrated by Figures 6.17 and 6.18.
As Figure 6.17 shows, PMO and MAC sell signals are always after the top because price weakness needs to be present first in order for these indicators to turn downward. By contrast, the Summation Index (see Figure 6.18) measures breadth weakness as a top is approaching
and give a "heads up" for potential topping patterns. Notice that the signals generated by both methods were very closely aligned time-wise in picking the same direction in the market. PMO and MACD did pick a top in early 2007, but the McClellan Summation Index negated that bearish signal by turning bullish (which occurred when the Summation Index traded above its previous high).
By combining breadth analysis with momentum analysis, traders can have more confidence when putting their money to work. (The volume
FIGURE 6.16 Snapshot of April 2005 Low, with Selling Climax Day Followed by False Break on Low Volume
Source: Chart courtesy of DecisionPoint.com.
FIGURE 6.16 Snapshot of April 2005 Low, with Selling Climax Day Followed by False Break on Low Volume
Source: Chart courtesy of DecisionPoint.com.
analysis sell signal for SPY at the February and March 2004 high can be reviewed in Figures 6.10 and 6.11.)
Figures 6.19 and 6.20 spotlight the high in August and September 2005 in the SPY. Figure 6.19 is a weekly candlestick chart. The week of August 5 tested the previous high at 124.74 on lighter volume and closed below the previous week's high, which triggered a sell signal. The volume during the week of August 5 was not enough energy to get through the weekly high of July 28, and therefore the market reversed.
Notice that on the week of August 5, volume did not shrink a great deal, which is only a weak sell signal. As stated in Chapter 4, the greater the degree of volume shrinkage on a retest of a previous high, the stronger the sell signal. The weekly August 5 test of the previous high of July 29 had only a minor degree of shrinkage in volume, and therefore a weak sell signal resulted.
The market did go down for a month and then rallied back to test the weekly July 29 high during the week of September 9. Notice that the
FIGURE 6.17 PMO and MACD Sell Signals Generated in SPY in the 2004-2007 Time Frame
Source: Chart courtesy of DecisionPoint.com.
FIGURE 6.17 PMO and MACD Sell Signals Generated in SPY in the 2004-2007 Time Frame
Source: Chart courtesy of DecisionPoint.com.
weekly September 9 test of the July 29 high came on much reduced volume and triggered a stronger sell signal compared to the sell signal on August 5. The weekly sell signal of September 9 lines up well with the bearish crossover of the PMO momentum indicator and the McClellan Summation Index sell signal in September 2005, as shown in Figure 6.18 . Therefore, the week of September 9 generated the better sell signal.
Figure 6.20 (on page 133) shows the Ord-Volume chart of SPY for the same time frame. Although its not depicted here, Ord-Volume did generate a sell signal at the late July/early August high. However, Ord-Volume indicated much more going into the September 2005 high.
From the late August 2005 low, Ord-Volume had a strong first up leg of 83 million as the market hit a high of 123.15. This was followed by a weak down leg with Ord-Volume of 47 million, which implied that the uptrend should continue because there was more energy pushing upward than downward.
The next up leg tells a lot about the upward strength in the market. Ord-Volume on that up leg declined to 45 million—nearly half the energy of the previous up leg. This shows that the uptrend is very weak. Normally, indexes do not have this degree of volume shrinkage from one leg to another as stocks do. When an index does have volume shrinkage of this magnitude, it is showing that there is a great deal of weakness in that
FIGURE 6.19 Candlestick Chart for SPY Shows a Retest of the Weekly July 29 High
Source: Chart courtesy of DecisionPoint.com.
FIGURE 6.19 Candlestick Chart for SPY Shows a Retest of the Weekly July 29 High
Source: Chart courtesy of DecisionPoint.com.
trend. A sell signal was triggered when the SPY closed below the previous high of 123.15.
Notice on the down leg from the 124.74 high Ord-Volume increased by 50 percent to 68 million compared to the previous up leg volume of 45 million going into the 124.74 high. This increase in volume on the down leg confirmed the downtrend. (See Chapter 3 to review Ord-Volume techniques.)
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"You're going to die! You can't get vitamin B12 as a vegan!"
True, vitamin B12 is important.
It's needed to make red blood cells, and supports your brain and nerve function (among other roles).
And it's true that on typical western vegan diets, you won't get much (if any) vitamin B12 (although some foods are fortified with B12).
The issue is blown way out of proportion.
Your body's vitamin B stores can last for multiple years, because you don't need much per day. So if you're a brand new vegan and ate a typical diet before, you don't need to panic.
That being said, you will want to get a supplement at some point, and it never hurts to get it early.
You may be able to get enough B12 through fortification (non-dairy milks, cereals, nutritional yeast, etc), but unless you eat a lot of them, a supplement is more of a guarantee.
So which supplement should you get?
There are a few things that make finding a vitamin B12 supplement confusing:
- There are both vegan and non-vegan B12 supplements.
- There are 4 main different forms of B12.
- Some supplements have doses of 1000%+ of your daily value – Why?
I'm going to clear up any confusion around these questions, and then give you a few recommendation of the best brands.
What to Look for in a Vitamin B12 Supplement for a Vegan
These things may seem overwhelming, and let's be real, you probably don't care.
You just want a supplement that is vegan and works.
So I'll answer these questions, but as briefly and simply as possible so we can get to the actual products.
Why Are There Non-Vegan Vitamin B12 Supplements? (And how do you spot them?)
All vitamin B12 is made by bacteria or archaea.
But animals eat and store B12, mainly in the dirt of plants (we just clean our plants well).
Some supplement manufacturers make their own B12 in labs (vegan), others extract it from animals (non-vegan).
Most vegan B12 supplements will clearly state that they are vegetarian or vegan (vegetarian is equivalent in this situation).
Which Type of Vitamin B12 Supplement is Best for Vegans?
B12 can actually take multiple forms (in terms of chemical structure), some are easier to absorb than others.
Here are the main 4:
- Cyanocobalamin – A synthetic form, made in a lab. But is harder for the body to absorb and takes more energy to convert it to a more usable form.
- Methylcobalamin – A synthetic form, made in a lab. It's the most easily usable form of B12. It's what most vegan supplements are made from.
- Hydroxocobalamin – The most "natural" form of B12, found in animal products. The body later converts this to methylcobalamin. It's used to treat cyanide poisoning and B12 deficiency in medical settings.
- Adenosylcobalamin – The least stable form of B12, rarely used in supplements.
The type is usually clearly labeled in multiple places on the product label:
Does it matter which type a supplement uses? It doesn't make a huge difference either way, but we're looking for the first 2 types (mainly methylcobalamin).
What Dosage is Ideal for Vegan Vitamin B12 Supplements?
Some supplements have a few micrograms (mcg) of B12, while others have thousands of micrograms. They often cost a similar amount.
What's the deal?
The recommended daily allowance (RDA) of vitamin B12 is 2.4 mcg. That's really not much.
It's easy to put a lot more than the RDA in a supplement without much extra cost.
Since it's a water-soluble vitamin, your body just doesn't absorb any excess in a supplement. In fact, your body only absorbs about 13 mcg from a 1,000 mcg B12 supplement.
Currently, there's no upper intake level set for B12, and studies have shown that daily oral supplements of up to 2 mg (2,000 mcg) are safe and effective in treating B12 deficiency
There is weak evidence that having to much could increase risk of heart attack and stroke. So maybe avoid mega high doses, but for the most part you don't have to worry about overdoing it.
One final thing to consider is that high doses of vitamin B12 trigger acne in some people. If you're worried about that, stick to a supplement on the lower end of the range.
Why Do B12 Supplements Have Other Minerals or Vitamins Added to Them?
There's no specific reason as far as I can tell, it's just for convenience in case you also wanted to take iron or vitamin D supplements, which vegans often do (but aren't mandatory like B12 is).
The 4 Best Vitamin B12 Supplements for Vegans
So from everything above, we're looking for a B12 supplement that is:
- Clearly labeled vegan (or vegetarian).
- At least 2,000 mcg (2 mg) per serving (more if you want to take less often).
- Methylcobalamin is ideal, it's the easiest form to absorb (but others are okay).
- You should take vitamin B12 supplements without food, ideally first thing in the morning.
Recall that the RDA is 2 mcg, I'll use mcg exclusively from here on to make it easier.
All of these supplements are good, and they're not in any particular order.
I made a simple summary table here, but I've gone into a bit more detail for each one below.
|B12 per serving
|Cost per serving
|Type of B12
|Garden of Life
|1,000 mcg
|Standard capsules
|EZ Melts B12
|2,500 mcg
|Dissolving flavored tablets
|Zhou Methyl B12 Supplement
|5,000 mcg
|Flavored micro lozenges
|Deva Vegan Vitamin B-12
|1,000 mcg
|Flavored lozenges
Note about cost: Prices change on a regular basis, so these dollar signs just represent that typical cost per serving of each supplement. More dollar signs mean that a product is more expensive than another.
1. Garden of Life Vitamin Code Raw B12 Whole Food Supplement
B12 in serving: 1,000 mcg
Cost per serving: $$$$
Garden of Life is a very reputable brand who makes a wide variety of vegan supplements.
However, it's the most expensive of any of these options by far.
The reason it's more expensive is that this supplement also contains probiotics and digestive enzymes. These are definitely optional, but if you typically take these supplements anyways, it can be convenient.
These are standard sizes pills, which are fine for most people. If you have a hard time swallowing pills, choose a different option.
There's 1,000 mcg per pill, and having once a day is more than enough to ensure that you have healthy B12 levels.
2. EZ Melts B12 Supplement
B12 in serving: 2,500 mcg
Cost per serving: $$
This B12 supplement has 2,500 mcg per serving, so you only need to have it every day or two.
Instead of a pill, these are dissolvable, cherry flavored tablets that "melts" quickly in your mouth.
It's sweetened with a sugar alcohol – mannitol.
Note that the cost is relatively cheap per serving, and if you're not having it every day, it's even cheaper than the other "daily" options on this list.
3. Zhou Methyl B12 Supplement
B12 in serving: 5,000 mcg
Cost per serving: $$
This is the most convenient and cheapest vegan vitamin B12 supplement on this list.
Note that it has 5,000 mcg per serving, so having this once or twice a week will keep your levels topped up.
Another advantage is that these capsules are micro-lozenges, which are about half the size of a normal lozenge. It will dissolve quickly in your mouth.
It's sweetened with a sugar alcohol as well, xylitol in this case.
4. Deva Vegan Vitamin B-12
B12 in serving: 1000 mcg
Cost per serving: $
Deva is another well-known brand that makes a wide range of vegan supplements. It's also the cheapest one on this list per serving.
This is a daily B12 supplement, you should have 1 per day according to the label, which seems about right.
These are also lozenges that dissolve in your mouth (normal sized), and sweetened with xylitol.
One More Option for Costco Members
It's not clearly stated on the bottle whether or not Kirkland's B12 is vegan.
I contacted customer support and found out that Kirkland's vitamin B12 supplements are indeed vegan. It's probably the cheapest option for vegans that shop at Costco.
Which B12 Supplement is Best For You?
The whole B12 issue is made out to be more complicated than it really is.
Any of the supplements on this page will be great for a vegan. You can also find vegan B12 supplements in many local drugstores (and now you should know what to look for).
Pick one based on how often you're willing to take a supplement, and what type of capsule (pill or lozenge) you prefer.
So while vitamin B12 supplements are important for vegans, it's hard to go wrong.
If you have any questions, leave them below and I'll try to answer.
Standard disclaimer: I'm not a doctor, and this isn't medical advice. If you suspect you have a vitamin B12 deficiency, go see a doctor and get professional advice.


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PHILADELPHIA — One of the aims of cognitive neuroscience is to understand how the brain works on two distinct levels: the psychological experience of mental tasks and the underlying neurobiology that enables them. Tools like functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, have allowed cognitive neuroscientists to connect those two levels for a variety of everyday experiences, such as solving a math problem or remembering a word. Now, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have used fMRI to make an important finding about how people recognize individual objects and how they can mentally combine them into complex scenes.
The research was conducted by Russell Epstein, an associate professor of psychology at Penn's Center for Cognitive Neuroscience in the School of Arts and Sciences, and Sean MacEvoy, a former postdoctoral fellow at Penn, now an assistant professor at Boston College.
Their work was published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
Epstein has long studied the neural basis of scene recognition. More than a decade ago, working with Nancy Kanwisher of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he discovered a part of the brain now known as the Parahippocampal Place Area. As its name suggests, the PPA responds strongly when people view images of places — complex scenes such as an intersection or a crowded beach — but only weakly when they view discrete objects, like a stop sign or a beach ball. That response allows people to rapidly recognize what scene they are seeing.
"I could flash you a picture of an office or a kitchen very briefly, say a few milliseconds, and you'd immediately know which one it is," Epstein said. "We've known for about 40 years that people can do this, but how people can do this remains a big question within the field of visual cognition."
During the last few years, several hypotheses have come out regarding the mechanisms at work in the PPA. In this study, Epstein and MacEvoy tested a hypothesis about a different area of the brain that also processes visual information: the lateral occipital cortex, or LO.
As opposed to the PPA, the LO is active when people look at individual objects, rather than scenes. But thanks to an elegant experiment design, Epstein and MacEvoy have shown that the LO can combine information about key objects into a constructive recognition of a scene.
"This suggests," Epstein said, "that there are two different routes to scene recognition, one by the LO on the basis of the objects within the scene, the other by the PPA through the scene's overall qualities, like the three-dimensional geometry of the space."
Epstein and MacEvoy tested the LO's role by choosing four scenes and picking two signature objects that are commonly associated with each of them. Toilets and bathtubs went with bathrooms, refrigerators and ovens with kitchens, cars and traffic lights with intersections and slides and swing-sets with playgrounds. The researchers selected multiple pictures of each of the scenes and objects, and, though all of the scenes contained examples of their signature objects, none of the object pictures was taking directly from any of the scenes.
The researchers showed these pictures to experiment participants while an fMRI machine scanned their brains. By measuring what parts of the brain showed the most metabolism while looking at each picture, the researchers could see the areas in both the LO and PPA that were working hardest. They could also go a step further by analyzing the patterns of activation in those regions, looking for similarities and differences in the responses to different pictures. Pattern similarities in an individual looking at two different pictures would suggest a common mental representation for both.
While the researches did multiple experiments and comparisons, the most important finding was that the LO patterns produced when an individual looked at a scene resembled the average of the patterns produced when that person looked at that scene's two signature objects.
"If I take the patterns that an individual has when looking at stoves and average it together with the patterns that an individual has when looking at refrigerators and then compare it to the pattern that comes from looking at kitchens, it's more similar to the kitchen pattern that is the patterns of any of the other scenes," Epstein said.
The PPA scene patterns showed no similarity to the patterns of their related objects.
"The patterns for both areas distinguish between the types of scenes, but it's only in the LO where the scene representations are built out of the object representations," Epstein said. "We still think the main purpose of the LO is to recognize objects, but it can also recognize scenes by making an average representation of all the objects there. The LO can do double duty, depending on whether you are paying attention to one object or attending generally to the entire scene."
Though more research is needed to determine exactly how and why the brain splits up scene recognition between the LO and PPA, there are many situations where having two parallel systems could potentially come in handy.
"It may be that PPA scene recognition is good enough most of the time, but there are situations where you need information about the objects to distinguish between two similar scenes," Epstein said. "The difference between a living room and a bedroom, for example, is all in the objects."
This work was supported by National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health.


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If you're itching to get away for the weekend, to enjoy open spaces and fresh sea air without having to take a plane or ferry boat, Ocean Queen could be the answer. Be aware, however, that the drive is not for the faint of heart – the 4-hour drive covers less than 100 km but is evenly divided into 2 hours of traffic through Sukabumi and 2 hours of nausea-inducing zig zagging through hilly palm forest terrain.
The facilities at Ocean Queen are rustic and welcoming, with reasonably priced beach-front bungalows. There is a pool, where you may end up spending most of your time as the sea is often too rough to swim in (but a favorite with surfers). The cafe serves a mixture of Indonesian and western dishes. The bungalows come with simple cooking facilities and a refrigerator, so you can bring your own food. Upon request, staff can set up the barbecue pit in front of your bungalow and provide you with fresh fish and seafood. Simply put in your order early enough in the morning and they'll deliver it by evening time.
There are various activities you can do. Simply ask the front desk to you in making arrangements for whitewater rafting, caving, deep sea fishing, boat trips and massages.
Tip: The bungalows can be full of mosquitoes when you arrive so bring along some bug spray (like Baygon) and spray the bedrooms right away so that by evening time the odors would have dissipated.
Visit the Ocean Queen site.
Read the reviews on TripAdvisor.


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Building and maintaining mobile apps natively with two separate codebases was a time-consuming process, so Sennheiser switched to a native cross-platform development approach via NativeScript. This enabled Sennheiser to save time will still delivering native, consumer-grade experiences.
Sennheiser wanted to create native apps to deliver better digital experiences but creating and maintaining separate native apps was costly.
NativeScript enabled Sennheiser to develop across iOS and Android with ease while still delivering native app performance. The platform's architecture also improved app testing, thanks to the shared code.
With NativeScript, 85% of the app's total code is shared and 100% of the UI shared. This helps Sennheiser develop apps 40% faster, including significant time savings during the testing process.
Copyright © 2020 Progress Software Corporation and/or its subsidiaries or affiliates.All Rights Reserved.
Progress, Telerik, Ipswitch, and certain product names used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Progress Software Corporation and/or one of its subsidiaries or affiliates in the U.S. and/or other countries. See Trademarks for appropriate markings.


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An English form of the Greek name Loukas, meaning "from Lucania", a region in Southern Italy. In Greek the meaning of the name Luke is "light giving".
Pronounced: Loo k
Pronounced: Loo k
Luke is a popular name for characters in both film and television. Luke Skywalker is the main character in the "Star Wars" series, and the 1967 film "Cool Hand Luke" has a protagonist of the same name. Characters named Luke also feature prominently in the TV series "Gilmore Girls" and "The Dukes of Hazard".
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Who We Are Benchmark Family Services is a network of professional, therapeutic foster homes and committed staff across four states with the goal of providing stable out-of-home placements for children in need. We work alongside child welfare…
Rachel Smiddy or Josh Watson
Kim Roberts
We are a dedicated foster care agency. Dedicated to build families for youth who are in our of home care.
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A Fistful Of Fives (essay)
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You Kill Me (song lyrics)
You Kill Me by Mark Zucker I can't have ya but ya haunt me cuz I want ya cuz ya kill me The pressure of your essence Makes it stressful to stay present Hard to say just something … Continue reading
The Work of the Teachers (song lyrics)
The Work of the Teachers (original lyrics, based on the Irish folk tune "The Work of the Weavers") Now teaching is a trade that never should be lost Unless you're unafraid of ignorance's cost The future's being made the … Continue reading
Come Inside (song lyrics)
(listen to the song in Music) I'm cruising in my junker feeling like I'm running low on air, low on air How's a man to find a pumper in the middle of god knows where, god knows where First … Continue reading
Graceful Exits (a tersely-told tale)
(lyrics narrated with musical accompaniment) So I'm walking down the street and who do I run into but Tony the T and frankly I'm wishing I'm somewhere else but all I can do is act naturally pleased at the happy … Continue reading
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You might connect futons with economical furniture reserved for kids and dormitory spaces, but if so, think once again. Futon style options are plentiful. Accented with a good choice of pillows, a futon fits in with any style of decoration you can envision.
Comfy bedroom set is, by far, the most essential piece of furniture in your entire house. Amongst some of the primary elements that influence individuals's selection are design and cost, but there are also various other elements that ought to be taken into consideration like wellness, environmental benefits and, of course, functionality of the bedroom furniture set.
Detailed below are a handful of products to keep in mind while obtaining a futon bunkbed. The top mattress has to be just nine inches thick. Be sure that the top bunk beds which are available making use of the matching action ladder are surrounded by long lasting guardrails for security. A couple of futon bunk beds have the ability to really quickly convert into two individual beds. Remember to choose a futon mattress, that is able to fold over, for the bunk below. The lower futon frame of a futon bunk bed folds down rapidly to change into a comfy full-sized bed. Never ever link or suspend any product that's not established for use with twinover futon bunk beds. The metal frames are covered in powder in a assortment of attractive colors. Futon bunk beds may need some assemblage making use of common residence devices.
You have to make sure that you are not getting an ordinary pillow merely labeled as a neck support pillow. You can likewise inform that a pillow has authentic orthopaedic homes if it adjusts to your body's natural shapes.
Have you come up yet with which quilt material to get for making a baby quilt? Quilts are undoubtedly a lovely memento from the past.
The mirror has been a wise addition in the modern-day period. A strategically put mirror can really boost not just the appearance of the space however can likewise offer you an illusion of a larger area. Incorporating the functions of a mirror with the storage and arranging abilities of a jewelry armoire has made this furniture piece very versatile.
The first thing that people see in a bedroom is the furniture, and it takes up a bulk of the bedroom space. Make your bedroom appearance stunning with trendy bedroom sets, and complete the feel with lights and home decoration add-ons. Bedroom sets largely include beds with appealing headboards, nightstands, drawer chest, dressers and mirrors. If you have a modest bedroom space, always select bedroom sets that are compact and equipped with adequate storage choices for storing your bedroom fundamentals. This will ensure that the furniture is arranged in an ideal way, and your bedroom looks neat and arranged. This article tells you how to choose bedroom sets and make your bedroom appearance comfortable, welcoming and stunning.
Although it is not considered a downright need for any bed room the bed skirt is lastly coming into its own. This is the crowning touch for any bed and it adds elegance and a trendy look to your resting space. A bed skirt is the one item you need to loop the overall search for your bed room. Choosing ruffled bed skirts can be a stylish way to finish the look of your bed linens and this is one way to nicely cover the box springtimes and bed rails. You are likewise able to make use of ruffled bed skirts as camouflage for the space below your bed.
Online web stores like offer you the luxury of browsing through hundreds of patterns and pick a one from among them. You and your bedroom be worthy of to be pampered from time to time.
Your child will regularly think about style, color, and kind of bedroom sets where as you have to think about usage, construct quality, and price. You will be buying good quality, good looking kid bedroom sets that you both delight in. When selecting the children bedroom sets you should think about the amount of years you desire it to last.


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SINGAPORE - Some online services of the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board are still down, more than two weeks after a website upgrade caused a major service outage.
The CPF Board last night said that, together with its vendor Microsoft, it had identified the cause to be an "integration component" used by the website which malfunctioned because of high traffic and caused the wrong information to be displayed.
The system has been taken off-line as a safeguard and the board is working with Microsoft to progressively restore all online services.
"Much as we would like to bring the e-services online as quickly as possible, we cannot afford to compromise (their) stability and reliability," said CPF Board's chief executive officer Ng Chee Peng.
As at 10pm yesterday, the only services available on the site were the checking and printing of statements and transaction history.
As a result of the disruption to the online services, the CPF service centre in Bishan yesterday had long queues of people.
Terminals that normally provided access to online services were switched off.
While an electronic board displayed a waiting time of two hours, some people told The Straits Times they had been informed by CPF staff that the wait could be as long as three hours.
Some customers could be seen leaving in frustration.
Airport screening officer Stanley Ruben Joseph had gone to the service centre to check his statement after being unable to do so on his smartphone.
"I saw the crowd and walked out," said the 58-year-old.
Madam Jessie Lee said she had tried several times to withdraw money from her Medisave account through the website, but was unable to do so.
The 61-year-old executive said she had been unable to get through to the CPF call centre to make an appointment.
She said the CPF Board should try to resolve the problem soon.
Madam Lee said she had to wait in line for an hour, but the staff were helpful and guided her to where she needed to go.
Last year, 54 million transactions were carried out on the CPF website, which had won a Singapore Government Web Excellence Award in 2010 for user-friendliness.


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"The staff is very accommodating and very helpful and nice. Dr Nguyen is great and I would recommend both him and the clinic." Terry W.
"I am a new patient here. The reception is very professional and quick. Dr. Nguyen treated me well. He is very knowledgeable and answered all of my questions. Some young doctors are very fortunate to have all of the new information, and the older doctors have the experience. I would come back here again, as this is my new home for dermatology. And I will always ask for Dr. Nguyen." Gary H.
"I have seen Dr. Liu in the past and now Dr. Nguyen. He has good professional manners, and he likes to laugh. We have been through a lot given how long I have been here. I have also recommended many people to see him, and they have been happy too. I have not one complaint about the staff here. They are very personable and cheery. I don't feel like I am inconveniencing them if I ask them questions." Gerald G.
"I have seen 3 doctors here. 2 have now retired. I have felt that they have spent the time to do a thorough examination and explained things to me. With the turnover, I am pleased with the new doctor, Dr. Nguyen. The front office staff are efficient and easy to work with - this is different from other offices." Arthur T.
"Very speedy check in. No waiting, which I greatly appreciate. Dr. Liu is very discreet and respectful/courteous." Agueda O.
"Dr. Caldwell and his nurses are terrific - very professional - take time to answer questions!" Sharron W.
"I have met and worked with many of the staff here at Bellevue Dermatology in the course (ongoing currently) of treatment on a very stubborn chronic illness. EVERYONE has been terrific & very positive, which has helped me to realize I am very fortunate." Bonnie F.
"The front desk staff is always friendly. I've been coming in monthly for the last year and have no complaints." Jill N.
"Dr. Gogenola was amazing! My first visit was quick yet thorough & pain free! I should have come in sooner." Tracy H.
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Tag Archives: friendship
Leave It To The Wind
" If you reveal your secrets to the wind, you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees." – Khalil Gibran Winter is holding fast these days, clinging tight with icy fingers to its overdue reign – … Continue reading
Posted in blog, journaling, life, memoir, travel Tagged architecture, city, company, compass, friendship, heart, hope, mexico, Spring, tea, travel, Trees Organic Cafe, Vancouver, wind, writing. walking, Yaletown 15 Comments
Lucid Dreaming
Prologue – Sitting on this fast moving bus my thoughts stray to the dinner I'll soon share with my good friend – bathed in candlelight and good conversation her home is an oasis against dark thoughts and deeds. There are … Continue reading
Posted in poetry Tagged apocalypse, change, forest, friendship, life, lucid dreaming, nature, New Year, path, poetry, reality, snow, time 23 Comments
Autumn Deep
In these latter days of autumn there's no time to mourn the last golden leaves still clinging to dark, bare branches. The earth's long pirouette has been gathering in the cold from celestial blue above and the warmth of the … Continue reading
Posted in poetry Tagged Autumn, Bright Nights, chocolate, christmas, cinnamon, December, friendship, ice, magic, moon, poetry, polar bear, snow, taste, winter 18 Comments
Throw Down Your Heart
" One love, one heart, one destiny. " – Bob Marley I just came back from a long walk by the ocean on this beautiful first day of fall, it was wonderful to clear my head and just take in … Continue reading
Posted in journaling, life, memoir, travel Tagged Bela Fleck, dice, fall, friendship, heart, life, love, mexico, poetry, risks, seasons, tattoos, travel, Vancouver 9 Comments
To Travel Is To Breathe
" Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow." – Anita Desai What a beautiful backdrop for writing down my thoughts this morning; a blue heron just flew by the balcony door windows on it's elegant way back to the … Continue reading
Posted in journaling, travel Tagged friendship, mexico, stanley park, travel, Vancouver 13 Comments
The Alchemy of Letting Go
" Despite the forecast, live like it's Spring." – Lilly Pulitzer The title for this post came to me one evening while out with friends at a local coffee bar – one of them currently in the middle of this … Continue reading
Posted in journaling, travel Tagged friendship, mexico, simplicity, travel 4 Comments
Twilight Revels
" The Realm of Fairy is a strange shadowland lying just beyond the fields we know." – Author Unknown The wind is whistling and howling up against the glass of the balcony windows, a reminder from Winter, even though my eyes … Continue reading