Sending you energy and well wishes Al. I’m glad to assume no migraine was triggered in the event as well.
Cheers mate,
Guido
Cheers mate,
Guido
The Wanderer's Journey
- Thread starter AimlessWanderer
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #5,142
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Cheers Gents. It was a tough old start to the day, but we got through it, and the referee ultimately declared me the winner 
The ribcage has that "slightly overdone it at the gym" feeling this morning, from yesterday's coughing and fighting for air, but otherwise I'm feeling unscathed.
The ribcage has that "slightly overdone it at the gym" feeling this morning, from yesterday's coughing and fighting for air, but otherwise I'm feeling unscathed.
Glad you're doing better, Al.
I'm so happy that you are doing better.Hooray at free the point of use healthcare systems.
I left the house on oxygen at three am this morning, and they wired me up to a monitor in the noisy bus, before taking me to hospital. By the afternoon I was back home with tea and flapjack, issue resolved, and feeling perfectly fine (other than completely exhausted) without too many sharp objects being used.
Respiratory system is back working at normal flow/capacity. Two ECGs, pee test, two blood tests, and chest x-ray were all clear of stuff to worry about, and I even got a nice visit from the cup of tea fairy halfway through. I dread to think what the bill might be if I lived in a different land.
The plug of bodily stuff that had formed in my airways was deemed a one-off incident, but I blagged an inhaler off them just in case. My only complaint of the whole affair would be the ambulances and emergency care wards using incompatible ECG machinery, which means two sets of sticky pads to rip off hairy chests and shins.
No shave since Monday, but it can wait another night. I have a much more enjoyable planned outing tomorrow, so I will shave before that. Instead, I might celebrate being home and breathing, with a home delivery from some takeaway or other. Sadly, I'll have to pay for that though.
- Thread starter
- #5,145
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Cheers fellers 
I’m glad you’re doing much better
- Thread starter
- #5,147
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Hoping the data you recently collected helps make your day-to-day more comfortable, Al.
- Thread starter
- #5,149
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Do you mean the ticker monitor, Thom?
I've been told that as this is a routine rather than emergency test, the results may take up to six weeks to get back to me (I will allow eight), as the box has to go to a neighbouring health authority for full analysis. In the meantime, I'll be putting it out of mind, the doc's wanted it more than me, just to rule out a few potential nasties. I'm just glad to be rid of the damn thing. Two of the stickers were causing a fair bit of irritation by the end.
That’s the one I meant and I’m glad its related adhesives are no longer being bad relations to your skin.
No need for cross posting now that FFMM is over!!
- Thread starter
- #5,152
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
- Thread starter
- #5,153
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
40 hour growth. I had an early morning trek across town to return my heart monitor, as this was the first time the department had been open since takong it off, due to the religious event and associated bank holiday weekend.
Brush: Vulfix Old Original No.10
Soap: Phoenix and Beau Iceni
Method: Liquid Load
I haven't yet decided my brush pairing for the month, but wanted something that felt very different to last month's brush, and the No.10 was the first to hand. This mixed hair brush is a bit of an ineffective mop compared to my other mixed hair Vulfix brushes, but after a month of using the Jagger best badger, it felt like sheer luxury.
Razor: Game Changer 68-P
Blade: Wilkinson Sword Classic (17th shave)
I had to faff around swapping blades and razors around before shaving, putting last month's Wilkie in the 68-P, and the New Lord Platinum back in the 84-P. I plan on finishing off the Wilkie first, and was vary interested to see how it felt after a month in the 84-P.
Utter bliss!
Not only was the shave far more comfortable than last month's, it actually seemed rather more efficient too. I'm guessing that the additional blade feel in the 84-P was causing me to back off more than the blade needed. I have removed similar growth levels a few times last month in the other razor with this blade, and it required effort ant concentration. This set up effortlessly romped through the stubble, leaving just a smooth face and big grin.
The New Lord Platinum will remain in the 84-P though. Right where it belongs. That pairing is the complete reverse in this pairing, with the blade effortlessly and comfortably cutting in the 84-P, but requiring effort and concentration for a less comfortable shave in the 68-P. Historically, I have stubbornly stuck to whichever blades perform best in my primary razors, and written off anything else as "no good for me". Now when I use one of those secondary blades, I'll be giving them a whirl in the 84-P first, to see what kind of performance transformation occurs.
That's for later though. I'll be running this blade to expiration in this razor, then running the Lord blade to expiration in the other. I might give the 84-P another try with this blade when it feels like it's done all it can in this razor, but I may as well finish off that other blade first.
Brush: Vulfix Old Original No.10
Soap: Phoenix and Beau Iceni
Method: Liquid Load
I haven't yet decided my brush pairing for the month, but wanted something that felt very different to last month's brush, and the No.10 was the first to hand. This mixed hair brush is a bit of an ineffective mop compared to my other mixed hair Vulfix brushes, but after a month of using the Jagger best badger, it felt like sheer luxury.
Razor: Game Changer 68-P
Blade: Wilkinson Sword Classic (17th shave)
I had to faff around swapping blades and razors around before shaving, putting last month's Wilkie in the 68-P, and the New Lord Platinum back in the 84-P. I plan on finishing off the Wilkie first, and was vary interested to see how it felt after a month in the 84-P.
Utter bliss!
Not only was the shave far more comfortable than last month's, it actually seemed rather more efficient too. I'm guessing that the additional blade feel in the 84-P was causing me to back off more than the blade needed. I have removed similar growth levels a few times last month in the other razor with this blade, and it required effort ant concentration. This set up effortlessly romped through the stubble, leaving just a smooth face and big grin.
The New Lord Platinum will remain in the 84-P though. Right where it belongs. That pairing is the complete reverse in this pairing, with the blade effortlessly and comfortably cutting in the 84-P, but requiring effort and concentration for a less comfortable shave in the 68-P. Historically, I have stubbornly stuck to whichever blades perform best in my primary razors, and written off anything else as "no good for me". Now when I use one of those secondary blades, I'll be giving them a whirl in the 84-P first, to see what kind of performance transformation occurs.
That's for later though. I'll be running this blade to expiration in this razor, then running the Lord blade to expiration in the other. I might give the 84-P another try with this blade when it feels like it's done all it can in this razor, but I may as well finish off that other blade first.
- Thread starter
- #5,154
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
On visiting the bathroom earlier today, for non-shaving purposes, I realised I still hadn't sorted out the brush pairing for the month. So I collected the Jagger Best and Old Original No.10, and went to swap them.
Putting those two back in their storage tubes was the easy part. I stood staring at the mass of other brushes, and realised I didn't have a clue about how to fish out a suitable pair, without digging out my handmade notes. Those in hand, it still seemed overwhelming, and the realities of the brush overload hit hard. I definitely need to start letting these dwindle.
In the end, I decided on a couple of the Vulfix London Series brushes, the 513B Piccadilly and 514B Hyde Park. (The two on the right in the pic below). Both pure badger, but different in feel. I want to run them together, to see just how different they are.
I also think I might have got my blade info kerfuffled in the last post. I think it was the blade before the Lord Platinum that failed to perform in the 68-P. It's been a while. I have somewhat lost track. I'll worry about making sense of that when I have finished with the Wilkie though. After being overwhelmed with brush choices, my desire to be overwhelmed with blade data too, is pretty much non-existent.
Putting those two back in their storage tubes was the easy part. I stood staring at the mass of other brushes, and realised I didn't have a clue about how to fish out a suitable pair, without digging out my handmade notes. Those in hand, it still seemed overwhelming, and the realities of the brush overload hit hard. I definitely need to start letting these dwindle.
In the end, I decided on a couple of the Vulfix London Series brushes, the 513B Piccadilly and 514B Hyde Park. (The two on the right in the pic below). Both pure badger, but different in feel. I want to run them together, to see just how different they are.
I also think I might have got my blade info kerfuffled in the last post. I think it was the blade before the Lord Platinum that failed to perform in the 68-P. It's been a while. I have somewhat lost track. I'll worry about making sense of that when I have finished with the Wilkie though. After being overwhelmed with brush choices, my desire to be overwhelmed with blade data too, is pretty much non-existent.
- Thread starter
- #5,155
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
35 hour growth.
Brush: Vulfix London Series 513b Piccadilly
Soap: Phoenix and Beau Sanskrit
Method: Conventional Face Lathering
Sometimes, when you get an itch, three or four gentle flicks of a fingernail over the surface, puts that itch to rest almost indefinitely. Othertimes, as soon as you make contact with the irritated area, you have to set about it with your whole hand, scratching and scratching from multiple different directions, trying to tire out every single last nerve ending. Your arm simply refuses to stop and let go. That second one is what this brush was like today.
I'd half convinced myself I had picked a scrbby brush for last month. Well, it kind of was at first, but really it was (and still is to some extent) just a prickly brush. This was proper short lofted pure badger scrub today, and even after I'd lathered up, I just couldn't stop scrubbing over and over. It felt absolutely brilliant.
Razor: Game Changer 68-P
Blade: Wilkinson Sword Classic (18th shave)
Effortless. At first it wasn't super close all over, but with the skin feeling that good after a good scrub, I rinsed off the razor and fine tuned it a bit with water only. Simply marvellous. My skin feels happier now than it did all last month. I hadn't realised just how much I'd missed that occasional exfoliating scrub.
Brush: Vulfix London Series 513b Piccadilly
Soap: Phoenix and Beau Sanskrit
Method: Conventional Face Lathering
Sometimes, when you get an itch, three or four gentle flicks of a fingernail over the surface, puts that itch to rest almost indefinitely. Othertimes, as soon as you make contact with the irritated area, you have to set about it with your whole hand, scratching and scratching from multiple different directions, trying to tire out every single last nerve ending. Your arm simply refuses to stop and let go. That second one is what this brush was like today.
I'd half convinced myself I had picked a scrbby brush for last month. Well, it kind of was at first, but really it was (and still is to some extent) just a prickly brush. This was proper short lofted pure badger scrub today, and even after I'd lathered up, I just couldn't stop scrubbing over and over. It felt absolutely brilliant.
Razor: Game Changer 68-P
Blade: Wilkinson Sword Classic (18th shave)
Effortless. At first it wasn't super close all over, but with the skin feeling that good after a good scrub, I rinsed off the razor and fine tuned it a bit with water only. Simply marvellous. My skin feels happier now than it did all last month. I hadn't realised just how much I'd missed that occasional exfoliating scrub.
- Thread starter
- #5,156
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
48 hour growth.
Brush: Vulfix London Series 514b Hyde Park
Soap: Phoenix and Beau Sanskrit
Method: Conventional Face Lathering ... or that's what I tried to do
I'm at that last crescent shaped smear of soap in the dish, that inadvertantly bowl lathers as fast as you are trying to load. As such, when the lather looked right, it was actually a bit airy and not slick enough, and so I had to add more soap and make the lather too rich, for it to be just right.
I think out of all the brushes that have accumulated here, this has got to be one of my favourites. It's not particulary scrubby, but has a wonderful "everday brush" feel about it. As such, it pairs wonderfuly with it's little sibling (the 513b Picadilly) that I used yesterday. It was interesting that it prompted me to realise that I'm not really certain which my favourite brushes are yet. Part of this is that it depends on beard growth, soap used, and which brush you were using immediately before. As I mentioned a few posts back, the Vulfix Old Original felt better than it usually did, because it was following the Jagger in Best. If I used it after using today's brush for a while, it might feel quite underwhelming.
Razor: Game Changer 68-P
Blade: Wilkinson Sword Classic (19th shave)
As I had part shaved, aborted, relathered, and started again, I could feel that I had slightly overshaved on the right hand side of my face. I chose to admonish myself with a splash of Superdrug Forest Fresh aftershave, but surprisingly there wasn't much sting at all. I also had to work a little harder for the closeness, due to the lather beingslightly richer than normal, so that might well have contributed to the slight skin warmth too.
Brush: Vulfix London Series 514b Hyde Park
Soap: Phoenix and Beau Sanskrit
Method: Conventional Face Lathering ... or that's what I tried to do
I'm at that last crescent shaped smear of soap in the dish, that inadvertantly bowl lathers as fast as you are trying to load. As such, when the lather looked right, it was actually a bit airy and not slick enough, and so I had to add more soap and make the lather too rich, for it to be just right.
I think out of all the brushes that have accumulated here, this has got to be one of my favourites. It's not particulary scrubby, but has a wonderful "everday brush" feel about it. As such, it pairs wonderfuly with it's little sibling (the 513b Picadilly) that I used yesterday. It was interesting that it prompted me to realise that I'm not really certain which my favourite brushes are yet. Part of this is that it depends on beard growth, soap used, and which brush you were using immediately before. As I mentioned a few posts back, the Vulfix Old Original felt better than it usually did, because it was following the Jagger in Best. If I used it after using today's brush for a while, it might feel quite underwhelming.
Razor: Game Changer 68-P
Blade: Wilkinson Sword Classic (19th shave)
As I had part shaved, aborted, relathered, and started again, I could feel that I had slightly overshaved on the right hand side of my face. I chose to admonish myself with a splash of Superdrug Forest Fresh aftershave, but surprisingly there wasn't much sting at all. I also had to work a little harder for the closeness, due to the lather beingslightly richer than normal, so that might well have contributed to the slight skin warmth too.
- Thread starter
- #5,157
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
70 hour growth.
Brush: Vulfix London Series 513b Piccadilly
Soap: Phoenix and Beau Sanskrit
Method: Conventional Face Lathering
I'm still at that last crescent shaped smear of soap in the dish, and semi tempted to get rid, wash the dish, and load afresh. The brush coped well though, and the lather was decent enough
Razor: Game Changer 68-P
Blade: Wilkinson Sword Classic (20th shave)
Short choppy strokes needed for the first pass today. There's very definite blade fade, but it's still cutting well once the thick of the stubble is gone, so I'm not tempted to bounce the blade back to the 84-P yet. I still got the usual closeness and comfort on the second pass.
Brush: Vulfix London Series 513b Piccadilly
Soap: Phoenix and Beau Sanskrit
Method: Conventional Face Lathering
I'm still at that last crescent shaped smear of soap in the dish, and semi tempted to get rid, wash the dish, and load afresh. The brush coped well though, and the lather was decent enough
Razor: Game Changer 68-P
Blade: Wilkinson Sword Classic (20th shave)
Short choppy strokes needed for the first pass today. There's very definite blade fade, but it's still cutting well once the thick of the stubble is gone, so I'm not tempted to bounce the blade back to the 84-P yet. I still got the usual closeness and comfort on the second pass.
- Thread starter
- #5,158
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
70 hour growth.
My stubble hasn't put up a fight like this for quite some time
Brush: Vulfix London Series 514b Hyde Park
Soap: Phoenix and Beau Sanskrit
Method: Hybrid Face Lathering
I managed to use up the last of the soap smear today, but it felt like the important parts of the soap had already been used up. It looked, smelled, and felt like proper lather, but the performance was abysmal.
Razor: Game Changer 68-P
Blade: Wilkinson Sword Classic (21st shave)
Gone was the "buttering toast" sound and feedback, and replaced with "scraping heavy ice off the windscreen". A well used blade like this needs good lather to cut well. I had to settle for brute force instead. Somehow though, I compensated for it well enough and the end result was actually rather good. I can still feel hints of stubble if I go searching for them, but certainly a good enough shave for stopping at home with.
There's still a bit of the P+B Iceni in the other dish, so I'll use that up before refilling them both. If the next shave is still a battle, I might consider moving this blade back to the 84-P, and see how it feels there.
My stubble hasn't put up a fight like this for quite some time
Brush: Vulfix London Series 514b Hyde Park
Soap: Phoenix and Beau Sanskrit
Method: Hybrid Face Lathering
I managed to use up the last of the soap smear today, but it felt like the important parts of the soap had already been used up. It looked, smelled, and felt like proper lather, but the performance was abysmal.
Razor: Game Changer 68-P
Blade: Wilkinson Sword Classic (21st shave)
Gone was the "buttering toast" sound and feedback, and replaced with "scraping heavy ice off the windscreen". A well used blade like this needs good lather to cut well. I had to settle for brute force instead. Somehow though, I compensated for it well enough and the end result was actually rather good. I can still feel hints of stubble if I go searching for them, but certainly a good enough shave for stopping at home with.
There's still a bit of the P+B Iceni in the other dish, so I'll use that up before refilling them both. If the next shave is still a battle, I might consider moving this blade back to the 84-P, and see how it feels there.
- Thread starter
- #5,159
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
74 hour growth.
Brush: Vulfix London Series 513b Piccadilly
Soap: Phoenix and Beau Iceni
Method: Conventional Face Lathering
This is a great little brush. It is possible to overscrub with it, particularly if doing daily shaves, but it handles these 3 day shaves with aplomb.
Razor: Game Changer 68-P
Blade: Wilkinson Sword Classic (21st shave)
While better than the last shave, the first few swipes still felt tuggy. For a lark, I flipped the blade over. It was much more aggressive, but also rather harsh. Some edge deformation methinks.
The harshness had smoothed out a lot by the end of the second pass, and I was back in familiar closeness and comfort territory. I just had to think a little more than normal on the way there.
Brush: Vulfix London Series 513b Piccadilly
Soap: Phoenix and Beau Iceni
Method: Conventional Face Lathering
This is a great little brush. It is possible to overscrub with it, particularly if doing daily shaves, but it handles these 3 day shaves with aplomb.
Razor: Game Changer 68-P
Blade: Wilkinson Sword Classic (21st shave)
While better than the last shave, the first few swipes still felt tuggy. For a lark, I flipped the blade over. It was much more aggressive, but also rather harsh. Some edge deformation methinks.
The harshness had smoothed out a lot by the end of the second pass, and I was back in familiar closeness and comfort territory. I just had to think a little more than normal on the way there.
- Thread starter
- #5,160
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
96 hour growth? Nah, I must have missed a shave.
Brush: Vulfix London Series 513b Piccadilly
Soap: Phoenix and Beau Iceni
Method: Layering
I was ambushed by a brutal migraine on Tuesday, and am still in the groggy hangover phase from that. Vision and coordination are sluggish, and so a layered lather was the safest lather. Messy, but very slick.
Razor: Game Changer 68-P
Blade: Wilkinson Sword Classic (24th shave)
Definitely not a four day beard. There was tired blade feel, because it is a tired blade, but I didn't need to get heavy handed on the front bumper to keep the blade down to skin. Considering the state of blade and brain, this was surprisingly close and comfortable.
Brush: Vulfix London Series 513b Piccadilly
Soap: Phoenix and Beau Iceni
Method: Layering
I was ambushed by a brutal migraine on Tuesday, and am still in the groggy hangover phase from that. Vision and coordination are sluggish, and so a layered lather was the safest lather. Messy, but very slick.
Razor: Game Changer 68-P
Blade: Wilkinson Sword Classic (24th shave)
Definitely not a four day beard. There was tired blade feel, because it is a tired blade, but I didn't need to get heavy handed on the front bumper to keep the blade down to skin. Considering the state of blade and brain, this was surprisingly close and comfortable.
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