19 January 2021

Bras and knickers come before books

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Living, coping and observing in the age of Covid #4 SO many Covid conundrums to confuse and ponder. The more our masters attempt to clarify, the murkier the restrictions become. How far from one’s home is “a reasonable distance” yet close enough to be accepted as an exercise zone? Precisely what qualifies as an “open… Continue Reading

12 January 2021

Cuddles for goals but not for grandma

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Celebratory cuddle as picture in the Daily Telegraph

Living, coping and observing in the age of Covid #3 04 Jan 2021: THOUGHT for the day: money does not buy brains. Nor can it buy common sense, or consideration for others or the community at large. Shell out zillions but there’s no guarantee the recipient will be transformed into a truly mature and responsible… Continue Reading

9 January 2021

Resolving not to make a resolution

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Living, coping and observing in the age of Covid #2 02 Jan 2021: SAME old, same old. Here we go again. Back on the media roundabout as the familiar format for each year’s beginning is once more regurgitated. Not even all the shifts in lifestyles forced upon us by the pandemic’s restrictions and changes can… Continue Reading

8 January 2021

Turning over a not so new leaf

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Living and coping: Year #2 of Covid-19 01 Jan 2021: AND so it goes; another New Year’s Day following yet one more New Year’s Eve. Ho hum. After enduring a long line of such pairings, I still have yet to gather much sense of endings and beginnings.  Something more than the mere flicking over a… Continue Reading

2 October 2020

Adrenalin overload, excessive effort and a hangover haze

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  NOW here’s a weird, even disturbing, thing; my trusty Garmin records a hilly four-mile run around the city where I live. Yet I have scant memory of it ever happening. How can this be? The watch tells of a continuous jog with every second accounted for. By contrast, my memory presents me with a… Continue Reading

23 July 2020

Patients need patience: the doctor will (not) see you now

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DOCTORS must be loving this new world order. The one where they filter enquiries to such an extent that they are rarely bothered with having to deal with patients face to face. Those nuisances (once known as patients) are kept firmly at arm’s length; or an aggravating (Dial 1 for …) phone call away. Barriers… Continue Reading

16 July 2020

The daily struggle: depression or pushups

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MOSTLY  I tend to ignore the endless flood of social media challenges nominating me to participate in the latest “Ten of …” lists. My main reason is an abiding suspicion of all posts that come without an identifiable source. Their origins are hidden deep beyond the “friend” who is suggesting I spend ten days naming… Continue Reading

13 June 2020

Unexpected intruders in pandemic dreamtime

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Hi Mum, everything all right? No reply. Morning Dad, how’s tricks? Silence, not a word. And why should I expect one? It’s been such a long time since we last spoke. Something like thirty years or more in dad’s case, probably going on for even lo ger. More recently with mu, almost in this century…. Continue Reading

22 May 2020

Relief! We can once again buy knickers and bras

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WITHOUT fanfare my local M&S has today reopened its ground floor clothing, cosmetics and sundry items section. No shouty newspaper or TV campaigns. Almost a whisper; a soft opening as similar cautious events are described. Yet hardly had the doors slid open to provide access to its Food Hall than the other racks of non-essentials… Continue Reading

2 May 2020

Cure needed for pandemic’s verbal virus

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The lexicographers are working overtime. New words are being coined, reviewed and added to dictionaries worldwide almost daily. It seems there’s nothing like disasters and pandemics to send the spin doctors into a frenzy of creativity as they try to find ways of cloaking and minimising what is actually happening. Plain speaking is avoided at… Continue Reading

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