Sep 3, 2024
I find it hard to believe it's September already and I have allowed the entire summer to pass without a newsletter. It's fair to say it has been a busy summer, both at work and socially.
As mentioned in the previous blog, Karenn has now left Gentle Dental for pastures new closer to where she lives. Shilpa her replacement is doing just on day per week currently so I am taking up the slack with appointments. This means my diary is inceredibly full and busy.
Please don't worry if we have to book your next appointment farther out than you would like as the reception team are doing an amazing job of bringing appointments forward to where they should be when the diary alters. It may well be worth make a note of when your hygiene appointment is booked and bearing this in mind when booking work or other committments so you don't have to move it.
As always thank you for your continued referral of friends and family. We really appreciate it. It certainly keeps us out of mischief!
I have fab news to share with you. Oral B have again issued vouchers, valid for 12 months, so until June 30th 2025, for electric toothbrushes. This time around the vouchers are based on the iO toothbrush which is the newest Oral B technology. The original (and in my honest opinion NOT the best) technology was based on a metal shank which caused the toothbrush head to pulsate and oscillate. The new magnet driven technology means that as well as the brush head oscillating and pulsating, the bristles vibrate. The iO does leave your mouth feeling amazingly clean (when used properly).
The offer is for
62% off an iO3 – 4 bushing modes app connectivity - no £60 versus £160 rrp
67% off an iO4 – 4 brushing modes app connectivity - yes £79 versus £240 rrp
The offer is also for an iO6 and iO8 both of which connect to an app and have numerous modes and are available for £100 &£150 respectively. If you want to know more about the iO range revisit the blog from July 2023 (about the Oral B offer) where you will find a table outlining the details.
If you are interested in the offer just ask for a card when you are in or email/call/text and the reception team will forward the code to you.
Of course, although I say the iO is better technology, the old shaft driven version still works extremely well and the Pro3 can still be purchased for approx £40 when on offer. The iO just has the edge.
With regard to the title of the blog, I was channeling my inner Britney Spears, I really have gone and done it again.
Having taken 25 hours and 2 minutes to complete the ‘100km in 24 hours’ challenge last year I felt honour bound to give it a go again and see if I can make it in the 24 hours.
The walk, this time is on the South Coast, so Eastbourne to Arundel, and is happening this Saturday Sept 7th. Gotta say I am not thrilled by the current weather!
Our chosen charity this year is Wilton Riding for the Disabled. They are aiming to raise £7,500 this year so they can refurbish their outdoor riding arena.
I haven’t made a song and dance about fundraising this time around as it gets so boring when the same folk keep haranguing you for sponsorship. However numerous clients who have attended recently want to donate to the charity (I have paid the required sponsorship amount personally). Therefore, I have set up a Just Giving page for anyone who feels they would like to support this cause. If you follow the link above you can donate directly to the charity if you prefer. There will also be a collection box at the practice for anyone who prefers to just pop spare change in a box.
If you do want to track if I made it in 24 hours this time follow this link and my bib number is 1148. This will only update when I check in at each checkpoint and is not live as to where I am on the route.
I guess I should also mention that I will be doing the walk on my own. My partner in crime, Rob, is away so the ‘Batman and Robin dynamic duo’ have been separated for this event. (I, of course, am Batman in this scenario!). It will be interesting to see how I fare on my own for the overnight section. Our son did overnight training for an ultra marathon and said the eyes reflecting back at you are quite, quite spooky! I’ll let you know in the next blog how I did.
The summer hasn’t all been about walking and, as I said at the outset, we have managed to have lots of social time.
I’ve popped a selection of photos below.
I did my annual visit to my relatives in the US. Jim (the Clint Eastwood lookalike) also knows as the cyborg because he never seems to need to eat or drink, puts us through our paces with walking, cycling and kayaking. He reckons it is us putting it up to him but I'm not sure. For an 85 year old, he is hard to keep up with. My beautiful Aunt Olive sadly has dementia and while she can't join in the activites she can still makes us laugh.
 |
 |
 |
We had the team and their partners around to ours for a BBQ and to say farewell to Kat (who has since come back bits and pieces to help out) and Patricia who has finally hung up her hat after 18 years with Gentle Dental. She semi retired for a year or two while her husband was ill and has been working mainly remotely since 2020, so some of you may not really have come across her. We miss her already, but she has insisted on an invitation to the Christmas and summer do in perpetuity as part of her leaving package. You wll note my sons (Ruaidhri) dog Xeno was loving all the attention,...and snacks!
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
We went on a jolly in Spain with Practice Plan where I had the best Bloody Mary I have ever tasted. Weird as it sounds, the addition of pickle juice, finger chillies and slices of crispy streaky bacon was A-MAZ-ING. The 4 star beach resort was slightly wasted on us as neither of us are beach people, so we just had to make do with the view from the balcony.
 |
 |
I also had the annual 'Egan family' gathering in Ireland. Scattered around the pics are my 3 brothers, 3 sisters and my mam (Irish for Mum, as in an Irish Mammy). The rest are all outlaws! None of the younger/next generation made it along this year so we went out to a restaurant on the river Shannon. Untypically for Ireland we had beautiful sunshine and typically for Ireland, amazing views.
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
The sharp eyed amongst you will note Rob is absent from the pics. He was in Sweden on a wilderness trip with 20 youngsters (aged 16). Our kids went to the Steiner school in Ringwood and this is one of the tradition trips they do each year. He was asked to go along as one of the repsonsible adults!!!!!
In the main they sleep in hammocks - too rocky to pitch tents - and the youngsters cook for everyone over a woodfire. To Robs delight he got to sleep in a cabin on the first and last night, basic but bliss after the hammock.
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
And in answer to that age old question - bears really do poo in the woods!
My responsible adult invitation was to cub camp for 8th Salisbury Scouts where I was chief cook and bottle washer for 40 Beavers, cubs and leaders for the weekend. No pics due to data protection and under age permission. As always it was hard work but fun. My view for the weekend was the sink and the cooker - no beautiful lakes. I am obviously doing something wrong!!
Or maybe not. I had the use of a proper toilet and a comfy bed in my camper van. Maybe not such a bad deal afterall.
Next outing was the 75th birthdays celebration of the British Society for Hygienists and Therapists (BSDHT), to which both Karenn and myself were lucky enough to be invited. We had afternoon tea at the RAF Club in Piccadilly which is an impressive venue. I managed to get a pic of the current and past presidents spanning the past 18 years and having been fortunate enough to have worked alongside 9 of them, it felt like another massive family do.
|
|
 |
 |
And last, but by no means least, Rob and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary with a slap-up meal at Core by Claire Smyth in London. Now that was an experience!
We were well outdone on the day as Paul and Soo, the other couple who were with us, were married for 44 years on that day.
The final person in the pic (with the hat) was Robs best man and he felt it incumbent on him to continue his duty and attend the anniversary celebration as well.
It is hard to pick a favourite course but for hard work and ingenuity the apple, that wasnt really an apple, had it.
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
Apologies for the poorly laid out pics. Every time I sit down to do a blog I promise myself I will take the time to get a lesson from my IT guru (Saoirse) on how to make it look better. But I never remember until I'm again sat down to do it. Ho Hum!
I will endeavour to not leave it so long between blogs moving forward. Fingers crossed for an Indian summer for us all.
Regards
Niamh, Rob and the Gentle Dental team.