Taipan and my Ausie mate Mark

I have my Aussie mate Mark visiting this week, his Mum died last week so he is across for the funeral in England and came to visit us here for a week before she is released after a post mortem.

Mark was telling me he was bitten by a Taipan snake earlier in the year, he was really lucky as the snake did not inject him with venom and also the one that bit him was the slightly less venomous cousin of the Inland Taipan which is the worlds most venomous snake, the coastal Taipan ranks third in the world. Its venom contains primarily taicatoxin, a highly potent neurotoxin affecting the nervous system and the blood’s ability to clot. Bite victims may experience headache, nausea/vomiting, collapse, convulsions, paralysis, internal bleeding, myolysis (destruction of muscle tissue) and kidney damage. In case of severe envenomation, death can occur as early as 30 minutes after being bitten, but average death time after a bite is around 2.5 hours and it is variable, depending on various factors such as the nature of the bite and the health state of the victim. Untreated bites have a mortality rate of 100% as it always delivers a fatal dose of venom, so seek immediate medical attention even for apparently minor bites. Before the introduction of specific antivenom by the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories in 1956, nearly all bites were fatal.

We have had a couple of nights out since he has been here, I won at poker on the first night (thats four second places and one first in the five times I have played in this particular venue :) ) then we went on to a sesun at another pub and enjoyed the live music. Last night his girlfriend stayed over and we had dinner a few drinks and popped down the road for one before coming back and watching movies. 

My Yankee helper is staying the weekend in Galway with his girl and will be back on Tuesday so I am hoping the cold dry spell that we have today lasts for a good few days, the forecast is good. My diet has kind of stalled due to beer but I am still off the bread and dairy products. I have lost about six kg and hope to lose 10 more before Paddy and Emma's wedding, so I can get the kilt on easier.  I will have to start thinking about a speech as I am the best man at the wedding.