Love, Poetry and Revolution - Thursday 9th March 2023

Disturbed by the bin men, who appeared to have arrived earlier than ever before (6:30 a.m.), so I threw on my dressing gown (it's cfold out) and took out the rubbish. False alarm, they're not actually stopping here.  One of my neighbours was equally tricked and dashed out in shorts and a t-shirt. Life in the fast lane.

I've got a double eye-test booked this morning: contact lenses first and then the full gamut of sight tests, photos of my retina and all that jazz. The most recent machine they've added is just shy of being actual torture, so I expect when I go back in a year they'll have perfected it. The most important point is that my prescription has not changed, my eyes have pretty much stayed the same (two, one on the left, one on the right, not too close together etc), which is quite good when you become dilapidated.  Cue Primal Scream song.  There is one thing I do have to start doing - putting eye drops in twice a day (at least) whilst wearing lenses.  Apparently your tears dry as you get older. Can't say I've noticed. I guess it depends on how soppy you are (thanks Q 😄).

Oh, yes, work. Back to that.  

This week's poem is something completely different, but a bit of a favourite from someone I really admire.  Here's 'Teeth' by Spike Milligan. 

English Teeth, English Teeth!

Shining in the sun

A part of British heritage

Aye, each and every one.

 

English Teeth, Happy Teeth!

Always having fun

Clamping down on bits of fish

And sausages half done.

 

English Teeth! HEROES' Teeth!

Hear them click! and clack!

Let's sing a song of praise to them -

Three Cheers for the Brown Grey and Black.

 

At lunchtime I had a chat with Q who was driving back from the station having dropped her daughter there.  Φ is on her way to the airport for a flight to Europe.

Back to work until it was time to pack up ahead of the Idler Drinks Zoom call.  Tonight's guest is Sam Delaney, talking about men's mental health, a subject he's written about in his book 'Sort Your Head Out: Mental Health Without The Bollocks'. Here's a link to an extract from it.

It was a really thought-provoking talk on a subject close to my heart and close to home.  Son #1 was on the call and asked Sam a question. I saved my thoughts for the after chat talk with my Idler friends.  A really good evening.

After the talk, which son #1 didn't stay on for, he made dinner - a ready-made paella because we both knew we'd be busy - which we ate while watching the first of Paul Whitehouse's documentary on river pollution in this country.  It made me angry, since a lot of blame can be laid at the door of the water companies and ultimately it goes back to Margaret Thatcher. The controls she had put in place were laughable, and still are.  The water companies need to be re-nationalised.

After that we had a family WhatsApp video call with all three sons, including son #2 in CR.  That was good.

Now its bedtime and time for a chat with Q before reading more of 'The Edge Of The Orison' and the chance of sleep.

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band / 'Give My Compliments To The Chef' / (Live on OGWT)

[[]]