The Calcutta Cup

 

The Calcutta Cup

                                    A quaich - the two handles are called lugs.

The Calcutta Cup is the oldest trophy awarded to the winner of England versus Scotland in the Rugby Six Nations Championship.

The other trophies in the Six Nations Championship are the Millennium Trophy, won by the winner of the match played between England and Ireland, the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy for the winner of the France-Italy match, the Doddie Weir cup for Scotland-Wales, the Auld Alliance Trophy, which goes to the victor of the France-Scotland competition, and the Cuttitt Cup for Italy-Scotland. The Centenary Quaich goes to the Ireland-Scotland winners.

A quaich is a Gaelic shallow drinking cup with two handles. It is often called the cup of friendship or loving cup and originated in the Highlands as a drinking cup for whisky or brandy. Originally, they were made from wood, but can now be designed in sterling silver or pewter as well as wood. Some even have glass bottoms so that the drinkers, can see each other, or, in a double glass base, hold a lock of hair from a loved one. The two handles ensure that both hands are used to hold the vessel, thus ensuring that no-one can hold a weapon at the same time, and symbolising trust between the giver and the receiver. They often feature at Scottish wedding ceremonies.

Twenty-eight minutes after the start of the match the score was Scotland 24 to England 10. ‘Flower of Scotland’ rang around the stadium. At this point, I wondered how much more of the match we would be seeing, as complaints and criticism poured forth from the once-upon-a-time rugby player I live with. ‘Schoolboy errors,’ ‘What are they up to?’ ‘I’ve seen better play from clubs,’ and ‘Lack of discipline,’ are some of the politer comments.

Some of the commentators amused me. ‘Get your heads in there, sacrifice your ears.’ 

Two yellows and a red card for the England team before the end of the first half and the match was turned off. Oh, dear!

We then turned to the Ireland-Italy match. This was adjudged ‘much better.’ Thank goodness for that, though I wish Italy had won. It’s their turn for glory, surely.

Widdershins

 

Widdershins

The Three Witches from Macbeth: Double, Double, Toil and Trouble, 1781 (Mary Hoare, 1744-1820)

Thinking again about anti-clockwise and counter-clockwise, I remembered ‘widdershins, which has the same meaning as anti-clockwise, but with a little magic and mystery mixed in with superstition.

The period in Britain, from about 410 to 1066 used to be called the Dark Ages, not because they were evil or nothing happened, but because there were few written records. Modern historians are more likely now to use terms like Sub-Roman or Early Middle Ages.

However they are referred to, it was thought unlucky in those times in the west to walk widdershins round a church or a cauldron. Witches were believed to move in this way to strengthen their spells, or to gain entry to the fairy kingdom.

The opposite to widdershins is deosil, or ‘sunwise.’

In some religions it is customary for processions to travel counter-clockwise.

I think it’s an attractive word, which rolls easily off the tongue. There are not many circumstances in which it can be used, however!

 

 

 

Floaters

 

Floaters

Image source

Small, dark specks in the eyes that slip away before one can focus on them are a common occurrence. Usually, they become less noticeable as one becomes accustomed to them and able to ignore them.

They are caused by the vitreous gel in the eye shrinking and clumping as it ages, throwing shadows on the retina. They do not require treatment, though they can be annoying.

However, if there is a sudden, dramatic increase in the number of floaters, particularly if combined with flashes of light, professional advice should be sought. If a dark ‘curtain’ appears to descend across the eye, urgent help is required, as this may indicate a retinal detachment. If untreated this may lead to blindness.

The Spider in Barry's Eye caused some excitement in 2011.

Co-Enzyme Q10

 

Co-Enzyme Q10

                                                Image source

Knocking on, as we are, we need all the help we can get to maintain our goal of living healthy lives well into our century and a half (but only as long as we are still compos mentis and able to propel ourselves from A to B and possibly C.)

Following the advice of a very helpful young doctor, who said Co-Enzyme Q10 was the only supplement she used and endorsed, (and who was about to leave our benighted practice for greener pastures a couple of miles away) Barry set about ordering the very product from the supplier she had recommended.

All went well, until the order failed to arrive. The supplier insisted it had been dispatched, but the courier denied all knowledge of it. Queries to the supplier went unanswered, and much time and temper was wasted. Eventually, the credit card company was informed, which is never a good outcome for a supplier, the money was reimbursed and the search commenced for another supplier.

Success!

So, what is it and what does it do?

From the British Heart Foundation:

CoQ10 has an important role in helping your cells produce energy. It may also act as an antioxidant, which means it can help reduce inflammation and keep your blood vessels healthy. 

Under certain circumstances, such as ageing, statin use and heart failure, it is thought that your body’s production of CoQ10 may slow down, and the amount in a normal diet may not be enough to provide what you need.

Statins reduce the amount of cholesterol your liver makes. They do this by blocking a chain of chemical reactions in your body’s cells which is needed to make cholesterol. This same chain of reactions is also used to produce CoQ10. So, taking statins may lead to lower levels of CoQ10. 

Now we wait to see if we’re suddenly imbued with more energy. The years will drop away!

MOT

 

MOT

Red pyracantha by our front door

It was time for the MOT and annual service of our nineteen-year-old car, so we drove it to the local garage and left it there yesterday. This morning, the garage called to inform us that the car was ready to be picked up so off we trotted to collect it.

Struggling to survive

As we were about to leave, I was shocked to notice the parlous condition of the large pyracantha bush between the dining room window and the garage door. At least a third of it had dropped its leaves and there was little evidence of new growth on a normally vigorous evergreen shrub.

 I don’t know why I didn’t notice it yesterday morning. Possibly the rain concentrated my attention on getting into the dog box out of the driving wetness.

Not long for this world, I fear.

Anyway, there is much work to be done on hacking back what remains of the plant and hoping it recovers its usual glory. We planted it many years ago, and it is possible that it has outlived its span. The birds will have to feast on others of our pyracanthas. Strangely, they never seem to sample the bush by the front door, which is full of fat red berries, or the yellow-berried one at the foot of the drive.

I wonder if exhaust fumes from the car parked by the bush has contributed to its sorry state, though it seems strange that it should suddenly be affected after all these years.

Anti-clockwise tracks

 

Anti-clockwise tracks

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons 

We haven’t watched all of the Winter Olympics, but did see Lindsey Vonn airlifted off the slopes after her dreadful crash. The delay as she was attended to must have been nerve-racking for competitors waiting to make their bid for Olympic honour. It was mesmerising to watch them visualising the track and making graceful movements with their hands and arms as they rehearsed the downhill course they were to follow.

We watched quite a lot of curling. There’s something very appealing about a sport that is not dynamic, but measured and somehow peaceful.

Ice hockey is fast and furious and something I privately call ‘ice brawling.’

Speed skating is graceful and powerful, but as the men, with their enormous thighs, glided at speed (can you glide at speed?) round the ice rink, I wondered why racing tracks always run anti-clockwise.

The answer seems to be that it has always been thus. When Roman charioteers raced, they held their swords in their right hands. Most people are right-handed, so to run counter-clockwise means that the stronger right leg can cope more efficiently with curves.

Once standardised, it became impossible – and inconvenient - to change the arrangement. It seems a little unfair to left-handers, though. Question: How many of the great track runners in the world have been left-handed?

The same does not hold true for horse-racing, however, and there are many famous clockwise courses in the UK, including Ascot and Goodwood.

Progress

 

Progress

The amaryllis flowers are going over now, but meanwhile the two bulbs I planted on January 11^th are making progress. The one in the sitting room is growing steadily, almost visibly, but the conservatory bulb is sleepy and has barely started, so I’ve moved it to join its friend.

Allowing for six weeks to pass before flowering happens, we can hope for flowers just after St Valentine’s Day, and then, possibly, more in early March from the sleepy bulb.

What an exciting life I lead!