Freemartin

 

Freemartin

A child I taught, and who is now a veterinary surgeon, lived on a smallholding and had a house cow. She was very excited one day to tell me that the cow had given birth to twins because that was very unusual.

If the twins are both female, the heifers will develop as normal females. If the calf twins are a male and a female, the female may develop as a freemartin.

A freemartin is an infertile heifer. It is often more aggressive than its female counterparts and displays masculine characteristics. The condition occurs because male and female twins share blood circulation through their placentas, and male hormones are transferred from male to female. In a dairy herd, this is not a happy outcome, as the heifer has underdeveloped ovaries, so will never calve and produce milk.

Twin births occur in 0.5% to 2% of all bovine pregnancies. Although not all mixed twin calves will result in freemartins, it does occur in 90% of all such pregnancies.

Freemartins occur in other species and have been recorded in sheep, pigs, and goats, where the incidence in each species is about 1%. They have been recorded and discussed since 27 BCE.

In Aldoux Huxley's grim dystopian novel, Brave New World, babies are created in artificial wombs and it is a matter of shame and scandal to conceive a child naturally within the World State. A freemartin is a female foetus exposed to male hormones to render her infertile. The practice is part of the government's plan to control the population and only 30% of the female population are not freemartins.

County flags – Lincolnshire

 

County flags – Lincolnshire

                                         Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

The county flag of Lincolnshire was adopted on 24^th October, 2005. It was selected from a shortlist of six designs in a competition organised by Lincolnshire Life magazine in conjunction with BBC Radio Lincolnshire. It took place as the result of a campaign to raise the profile of the county. It was supported by local businesses, who thought it would be an effective way to encourage tourism and trade in the county of Lincolnshire. Thousands of local people took part in the vote.

The red cross on the flag is Saint George’s cross, for England. The fleur de lys at its centre is a recognised emblem of the City of Lincoln. The arable nature of Lincolnshire is represented by the yellow edging to the cross and also gives a nod to the nickname of people born and brought up in the county – Yellowbellies. The green on the flag signifies the lush abundance of the Fens, while the blue denotes the wide open skies and coastal waters of the county.

Lincolnshire is a rural county, on the eastern coast. It is known for the wetlands of the Fens, and the Lincolnshire Wolds, which are designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)

I enjoyed living in Lincolnshire, though I didn’t enjoy college. I had far more freedom to come and go at home in Kent and was confirmed in my suspicion that communal living was not for me.

Long Boi

Long Boi

Image Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

An item on BBC Radio 4 caught my attention on Thursday evening. The University of York had held a ceremony in the morning to unveil a bronze statue of a much-loved duck.

Long Boi was a very tall duck, initially incorrectly identified as the tallest mallard, though he was actually a cross between a mallard and an Indian runner duck. He had the height of an Indian runner duck and the colouring of a male mallard. He was first seen in 2018 in the grounds of the University of York, near the lake at Derwent College, where his statue will be sited. He was named Long Boi by the students.

When he had not been seen for two months in May 2023, it was assumed that he had died. He had been brought to public notice through the BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show, hosted by Greg James, and was regularly featured on the programme. He became an unofficial mascot for the University and amassed an Instagram following of more than 59,000 fans.

The unveiling ceremony was broadcast live on BBC Radio 1.

After the unveiling there was a minute’s quacking.

The Vice-Chancellor of York University, Professor Charlie Jeffery, said that Long Boi had become ‘a symbol of community, channelling the great spirit that we have at the university.’ The Students’ Union raised more than £5,300 to pay for the statue.

Addressing the audience at the ceremony, the art curator of the University, Helena Cox, said, ‘It is believed by myself and by this mighty institution that if you rub the beak of Long Boi, your essays will sparkle with genius, your exams shall be a breeze and luck will follow you wherever you go . . . whenever life gets difficult, go and rub that beak for good luck. You have the curator’s blessing.’

Greg James said, ‘Some people might not get why we are doing this . . . but silly things are important, silly things get us through the day and, look, silliness brings us together.’

The statue is life-sized, standing at 70 centimetres, and was carved in clay by Neil Mason, the award-winning wildlife sculptor. It was cast in bronze in Greece.

Mew and mewing

 

                                                                          Mew and mewing

There are many definitions of mew. A mew is a small gull (Larus canus), found in Eurasia and Western North America.  It is also a verb, meaning to make a high-pitched crying noise. Cats and some birds mew. A mewing cat is hard to ignore!

 Trained hawks are kept in falconry mews, but a mews house is extremely desirable living accommodation converted from stables and highly sought after for those with the means. For example, mews properties in London can command prices of two million and more.

A mew sometimes describes a back street, or a place in which to hide.

There is an alternative meaning of mewing, which has nothing to do with cats, birds or houses. In the 1970s, a British orthodontist, Dr John Mew, posited the idea of proper tongue placement and facial exercises as a means of resculpting the face. It is also known as orthotropics. Basically, it requires the tongue to be pressed against the roof of the mouth and kept there.

It became popular in the early 2010s, through social media, but around 2018, vloggers brought the practice to greater notice through YouTube and other platforms like TikTok and Instagram. With the growing trend for health and beauty among younger people, and their desire to replicate the airbrushed, photoshopped celebrities they see wherever they look, there are now a multitude of apps and websites to assist them in their search for perfection.

Some of the claims are preposterous. For example, mewing might stimulate bone growth in the maxilla (upper jaw) and improve facial symmetry. Some practitioners have asserted that mewing has helped with sleep apnoea and swallowing problems. Apparently, ‘Improper swallowing may lead to skewed teeth.’

People are warned that the correct tongue placement should be maintained throughout both day and night. Visible results may not be seen for anything from months to years and may be subtle! Mewing should be conducted for at least twenty minutes a day and thirty minutes would be better.

Many claims have been made for the effectiveness of mewing exercises, but no scientific evidence has been found thus far.

The American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) states, ‘the scientific evidence supporting mewing’s jawline-sculpting claims is as thin as dental floss.’

I would say that that statement could apply to all the claims made for mewing.

Epitaph

 

Epitaph

 

I think they will remember this as the age of lamentations,

The age of broken minds and broken souls,

The age of hurt creatures sobbing out their sorrow to the rhythm of the blues –

The music of lost Africa’s desolation become the music of the town.

 

The age of failure of splendid things,

The age of deformity of splendid things.

The age of young men and bitter children,

The age of treachery and of great new faith,

The age of madness and machines,

Of broken bodies and fear twisted hearts,

 

The age of frenzied fumbling and possessive lusts –

And yet, deep down, an age unsatisfied by dirt and guns,

An age which though choked by the selfishness of the few who owned their bodies and souls,

Still struggled blindly to the end,

And in their time reached out magnificently

Even for the very stars themselves.

H.D. Carberry (1921-1989)

 

H.D. Carberry was born in Montreal, Canada, in 1921, the son of the former Jamaican Chief Justice, Sir John Carberry and Lady Georgina Carberry. He was taken to Jamaica as a small child and lived there for the rest of his life.

 

I felt this poem was particularly apt at a time of great unrest and cruelty across the world, when lives are cheap and greed is master, when the self is more important than others.

Zappers

 

Zappers

Sounds like a hairdresser, doesn’t it? There is actually a hairdresser in the village called Zappas, so I suppose that’s the association in my mind. We have an apparently inexhaustible supply of hair salons and barbers’ shops in Crowthorne as well as many charity shops supporting a variety of worthy causes.

Anyway, the Zappers I am referring to are insect destroyers. They emit ultraviolet light, which attracts insects and then electrocutes them. We only use them indoors against the annoying flies that buzz insistently round our heads and drive poor Gilbert mad. I am aware that more welcome bugs might be assassinated, but so far, it’s just the flies that have been done away with.

There is a loud ‘zap’ when an ill-starred fly is seduced by the light. Sometimes, though thankfully rarely, there is an unmistakeable smell of burning. I know that flies have their uses and it’s unfortunate that they have such a poor reputation. If only they would remain outside, they could live to buzz another day. Sadly, there is no chance of them learning by their mistakes.

Potoos

 

Potoos

                                 Great potoo (Nyctibius grandis)

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

I came across these birds quite by chance.

Potoos are related to nightjars and frogmouths. There are seven species of these pigeon-sized nocturnal insect-eaters, and they inhabit the tropics of Central and South America. They live in diverse habitats, from the dry Colombian deserts to the wetlands of Brazil, where they are known as ghost birds.

  Great potoo (Nyctibius grandis) 

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

During the day they rest motionless high up in the trees, their plumage acting like camouflage to resemble part of the perch. This is known as masquerading. At night, they perch and hunt from a lower branch. 

Common potoo (Nyctibius griseus) 

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Hint: the bird is on the left as you look at the photograph

They have huge eyes and an extremely wide beak, which is brightly coloured inside, to attract insects. There is something that looks like a tooth in the upper part of the bill that helps them grasp their prey. One species of potoo, the great potoo, is capable of catching and swallowing small birds and bats whole.

Potoos do not build nests but lay their eggs on rotting tree stumps or a scrape on a branch. All potoos are thought to be monogamous, with both parents sharing the task of incubating the single egg and then feeding the chick.

Eggs and young potoo chicks may fall victim to monkeys and weasels. Excellent camouflage provides great protection for adult birds, but they, too, are predated on by monkeys, weasels, and birds of prey.

These remarkable and unusual birds live for twelve to fourteen years.

Potoo range

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
 

 

 

Microfiction again

 

Microfiction again

Another image to tempt you into a response of 140 or less characters. (Spaces are characters, too!)

‘I’ve pickled onions, bottled plums, preserved cherries, strawberries, gooseberries, red, white and blackcurrants and now you tell me you only eat fresh foods?’

(137 characters)

 

Human and veterinary medical procedures

 

Human and veterinary medical procedures

Barry had his nose medically photographed again. It’s a fine nose, but he’ll be getting above his station if people keep taking photographs of it. It’s for the dermatology department to consider what next to do, if anything.

In the afternoon of that day, a doctor called to say that Barry should present himself at hospital on the following Friday for a colonography – another sort of photograph, really! Thursday was spent ‘preparing’ so he didn’t stray far from the house.

We’re not superstitious, so Friday 13^th didn’t bother us and all I had to do was worry, anyway. I’m very good at that – I’ve had lots of practice.

On Monday 16^th, Barry intended to go to the walk-in centre at one of the local hospitals for a chest x-ray, but something cropped up to prevent that, so he decided to go in on Tuesday. However, there was a call on Tuesday morning, to tell him that he needed a colonoscopy to remove some polyps. This would be organised very soon.

The colonography had also revealed a potential problem with the prostate and ‘someone from Urology would call.’ In the afternoon, ‘someone from Urology did call’ to tell him to report immediately to the Emergency Surgical Unit. They thought it highly unlikely he would be kept in overnight, but Barry obeyed Flanagan’s Law and prepared as if to stay. It was fortunate he did, as he stayed in for two nights. 

Once again, it was not a restful stay, with the man in the bed next to him needing the attention of two nurses all night, to calm him down and make sure he stayed in bed. Barry was pleased to get home on Thursday, and was greeted rapturously by Roxy and Gilbert, and also by Arthur and Lottie, who had spent the day with me.

Jellicoe, our diabetic cat, ate very little on Thursday evening, which is most unusual. On Friday morning, he ate most of his breakfast, but then started behaving quite strangely. He was sniffing his way cautiously round the house and we deduced that he had suddenly gone blind and perhaps had had a stroke. He spent the day with the vets and came home in the afternoon, quite his usual self. There had been a diabetic imbalance in his system. Feline diabetes can be difficult to control, and Jellicoe is particularly challenging.

Roxy also went to the vet, for a pedicure. We have not been able to take the dogs out very much recently and her claws were exceptionally long. Before Barry could prevent her, she ate all her toe clippings!

So, the chest x-ray will now be next week, I suppose, unless something else urgently needs attention. There are two family birthdays next week. My daughter-in-law has her birthday on 25^th September, and my great-grandson, Fergus, is ten years old the following day.

                                                                            

Thirty-two times

 

Thirty-two times

Have you ever tried following the advice to chew every mouthful thirty-two times? Counting the number of chews one makes is an odd thing to do. I just did it while eating some toast and each mouthful took about forty-three chews. Presumably, it would be less for refined white bread and much more for pumpernickel.

Chewing is the first stage in the digestive process, beginning the breakdown of food into smaller pieces. Taking longer to consume food can help to reduce the amount we eat and can also aid weight loss. If we eat faster, we tend to eat more, with a consequent intake of more calories than required and ultimately more flesh on our bones.

I had to smile at the following online advice, even though it makes perfect sense:

How to chew

When you’re eating, there is a right and wrong way to chew. Here’s how to get the most out of your meals:

• Don’t overload your spoon or fork. Food should stay on without falling off. This puts me in mind of Spike Milligan’s little ditty.

‘I eat my peas with honey,

I’ve done it all my life,

It makes the peas taste funny

But it keeps them on the knife.’

• With food in your mouth, close your lips and start chewing. Your tongue should move the food from side to side and your jaw should rotate slightly. The rotating jaw can be seen clearly in cows chewing the cud.
• Chew slowly, counting to 32 with each bite of food. You may need more or less time depending on the type of food.
• Once the bite has lost all texture, you can swallow. It may have lost all flavour by now, as well.

Further advice includes not drinking coffee immediately after a meal as it can speed up digestion and may cause heartburn. Doubtless, tea also has the same effect. Fruit and desserts should be avoided after a meal, too, because sugary foods are readily digested and can lead to bloating.

Basically, don’t eat too fast or you’ll get indigestion. 

Keys

 

Keys

                               Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

When I was five years old, my parents bought a small shop which sold newspapers and magazines, tobacco, confectionery and stationery. We lived in the flat above the shop and it was quite a contrast to the large house from which we had moved. The only way to access the flat was through the shop.

In those days, the police had regular foot patrols around the streets throughout the night. They checked all the locks on business premises and were tasked to enter unlocked doors and investigate.

One night, my parents were awoken from a deep sleep by a beat copper standing at the foot of their bed. He had found the shop door unlocked and walked through the shop and up two flights of stairs before finding them. Thereafter, we were all very aware that doors must be checked and double-checked before we could relax.

Eventually, I reached an age when I was allowed out on my own and I wandered far and wide out of the town and into the countryside, always on my own. Although I was not permitted to stay out late, there were occasions when I reached home after the shop had shut. My parents decided that I should have a key, and I was told that I must guard it very carefully. It had a long shaft and one day, to my horror, it snapped as I unlocked the door. Expecting to find myself in hot water, I said nothing, but took it to the local hardware store to see if it could be mended. Of course, it couldn’t, and I had to have a replacement made, which took a few days.

This happened during the summer holidays, when I spent most of my days at the local outdoor swimming pool, where I met my friends. I returned home only when the pool closed, by which time the shop was also closed. While I anxiously waited for my replacement key, I made sure I reached home before the door was locked. It was unusual behaviour but was not commented on. 

Much later on, I realised that my parents must have known all along what had happened. All the traders knew each other very well and were customers in our shop, so it’s more than likely that my ‘secret’ was relayed to my parents long before the new key was safely in my hands. It was never mentioned – very wise, my parents.

It was comforting then, at least to the law-abiding citizens, to see police officers walking the streets and to know that they would deal with any problems. It’s rare to see police foot patrols now, at least in my reasonably civilised part of the world. Maybe there would be less yobbish behaviour if they were reintroduced, for, despite the generally pleasant surroundings, there is a rowdy element in the community that sometimes causes problems.

County flags – Kent

 

County flags – Kent

Invicta flag

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

The first county flag I became aware of was the Kent flag. I was born and brought up in Kent, known as the Garden of England, with its fruit orchards and hop fields. I lived there until I left home for college in Lincolnshire and didn’t live there full-time after that.

The flag depicts the rearing, (rampant in heraldic language) White Horse of Kent on a red background. It is seen everywhere in the county, though not always in colour. It is also known as the Invicta flag. Invicta means ‘unconquered’ and is the motto of Kent.

The White Horse of Kent dates from the Jutish Kingdom of Kent in the 6^th to 8^th centuries. The legend holds that the horse was the symbol of Horsa, the brother of Hengest/Hengist. The Old English name Horsa means ‘horse.’ Hengest means ‘stallion.’

It is believed that Hengist and Horsa were Germanic warrior brothers, who led the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes to invade Britain in the 5^th century. At first, they supported Vortigern, King of the Britons, but turned against him. Horsa was killed in the fighting, but Hengist conquered Kent in 449 and is regarded as the first Jutish king of Kent. He is said to have been buried at Hengistbury Head, in Dorset.

However, the assertions made by the Venerable Bede in his 8^th century ‘Ecclesiastical History,’ could not be proved. The general consensus is that Hengist and Horsa were creatures of legend, probably based on real people, but we shall never know for certain.      

Electric Teeth update

 

Electric Teeth update

Image source
We have been enjoying our new Philips Sonicare toothbrush for just about three weeks. It has a really business-like low-pitched quiet rumbling buzz and cleans efficiently. Barry says it makes his ears tickle, but I haven’t noticed that. Unsurprisingly, for the man our son’s school friends used to call Inspector Gadget, he has also connected the free Philips Sonicare app, which will accomplish the following (copied from the internet):

The Philips Sonicare app is a free app that works with connected Philips Sonicare toothbrushes to help improve brushing habits. The app offers features such as: 

• Real-time guidance: Monitors brushing habits like time, pressure, and coverage of the mouth 

• SenseIQ: Automatically adjusts brushing style 

 

• Auto-sync: Updates without the phone nearby 

 

• Mouth map: Provides position guidance and notifications for missed areas 

 

• Provides brushing guides and a SmarTimer 

 

• Brush head reorder: Automatically reorders brush heads  

Additionally, the toothbrush turns off automatically when the tooth cleaning cycle is completed.

I was delighted with the smiling face, something akin to this

when I'd finished brushing, child that I am, but Barry is rewarded with an animated smile, if you can imagine such a thing.

He says he will connect my iPhone if I wish, but I have enough difficulty remembering where my phone is if it’s not on its charging base. I don’t have pockets to carry it safely, but he is rarely parted from his, like the rest of our family.

Bathroom routines take even longer now! 

UPDATE: My apologies! I've mixed up OralB and Sonicare. Ours is an OralB, as in the picture. However, Barry has installed an app which tells him how well he's cleaning his teeth.

In Our Time

 

In Our Time

Atomic structural model of bacteriophage T4

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

‘In Our Time’ is a BBC radio 4 discussion programme, hosted by Melvyn Bragg. It covers a variety of interesting subjects, inviting experts in their field to discuss such topics as science, history, and philosophy, among other things. They can be accessed as podcasts.

One recent podcast discussed bacteriophages, usually referred to as phages. Bacteriophages are bacteria eaters and were discovered in the early 20^th century, although it had been observed in 1896 that ‘something’ unspecified, had effected antibacterial action against cholera in India.

 Bacteriophages are viruses that specifically target bacteria and are the most abundant life form on earth. They are found in the depths of the ocean, in the soil and in the human gut and in countless other places. They outnumber bacterial cells in the order of 10 to 1. For example, there are one trillion bacteriophages for every grain of sand in the world.

About five million people die from bacterial infection every year, and it is estimated that that number will rise to ten million by 2050. That is only twenty-six years away.

Maybe phages will be the answer to antimicrobial resistance. There is more information here.

                                                                         

The Home Counties

 

The Home Counties

The home counties are those English counties which border London. They are commonly accepted to be the six counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, and Surrey. Why are Essex, Kent, and Surrey not given the suffix ‘shire’ for they are counties, too?

‘Shire’ refers to an area governed by a local official, known as the ‘shire reeve’ or ‘sheriff.’ Essex, Kent and Surrey were former Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, so were never designated ‘shires.’ 

Sometimes the term ‘home counties’ is broadened to include counties a little further from London, which do not surround the city, like Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, East Sussex and West Sussex. All of these areas are within easy reach of London and can be regarded as commuter accessible. That leads to the further conclusion that the home counties provide many of the workers in London and are therefore associated with business, finance and growth. They are some of the wealthiest regions in Britain.

One theory for the origin of the term ‘Home Counties,’ a term that has been in use since at least the 17^th century, suggests that it refers to the Home Counties Circuit of courts surrounding London since the 18^th century. That seems a little illogical if the phrase had been used a century before. Another suggestion is that government officials and civil servants could live reasonably close to London, while still retaining homes in the country. Such a practice has been in train since the Tudor period.

A third theory poses the idea that the home counties were the places of disembarkation for military and naval personnel returning from postings abroad.

In general, the home counties are pleasant places to live, usually with access to pretty countryside, or the sea, or, if you’re particularly lucky, both country and seaside, though each of them has their darker spots.

A Plumber’s Tale – helmet and headtorch

 

A Plumber’s Tale – helmet and headtorch

This is a post reworked from August 2010

My son-in-law, Paul, known to his friends as Doddy, was tasked to fit a central heating system in an old wooden-framed building. He had to lay pipes under the floor but didn’t want to lift the floorboards, so decided to create a trapdoor into the cavity underneath. He thought this would create less work and proceeded with his plan.

With his safety helmet and headtorch in place, he lowered himself through the hatch into the dark and dirty space below. Plumbers frequently have to work in odd positions in restricted spaces, and Paul was on his back, tapping supports for the pipes onto the underside of the flooring above. He became aware of a crunching noise under his body and looked to see piles of empty snail shells. As he was wondering how they came to be there in such incalculable numbers, he heard a loud hiss and was extremely alarmed to see a badger far too close for comfort.

 Badgers can be exceedingly aggressive, particularly in confined areas, so Paul removed himself from a potentially very unpleasant situation as quickly as he could, leaving his helmet and head-torch behind. In order to complete the job, he had to lift the floorboards after all.

The helmet and head-torch remain beneath the floor. I wonder what future archaeologists will make of them.

Painting rocks

 

Painting rocks

There was a popular trend in this area about six years ago. People, adults and children, painted rocks or pebbles and hid them, usually in plain sight, in walking areas. 

They might be found in woods, on park benches, outside shops, in playgrounds. It made walking with children interesting and was a good method of increasing their observation skills. When searchers found them, they could keep them, or photograph them, or remove them to another hiding place.

Some rocks lent themselves to particular decorations. I painted one in Dalmatian guise and others as ladybirds. My art skills are very basic, but some of the local painters produced beautifully detailed miniatures and even fulfilled commissions. Little children painted bright, splashy pictures on their rocks.

Apparently, the idea originated in the States with the Kindness Rocks Project and grew in popularity, spreading to other countries. As a way of brightening people’s days, it worked very well, but it seems to have fallen out of favour in recent years.

Gilbert’s language development

 

Gilbert’s language development

We’re quite concerned about Gilbert’s language development. He understands all food related words and sounds. If he hears an apple or a peach being cut up, he is immediately in attendance. He’s equally alert to any talk of going out.

He just can’t get the idea of names being attached to people and toys. It’s our fault, of course. We talk to him endlessly, but obviously not about the right things, and he listens carefully, his beautiful eyes trained on us. He also indicates, very clearly, the things he wants, like his honking duck, which needs repair once again, and the roast chicken pan and the gravy saucepan, the yoghourt pot and the almost empty butter dish – he and Roxy share those, turn and turn about (and they go in the dishwasher for a thorough sterilising clean when finished) It’s just our names and the names of his toys he can’t quite grasp.

Maybe he has too many toys – typical spoilt youngest! ‘Find your toy’ promotes a happy galloping off to find a toy, but the names elude him. He’s just about learnt Quintopus. Our son’s dog, a toy poodle, is very smart – knows all her toys’ names, brings his and his wife’s slippers to them, as well as a myriad other accomplishments.

 I know we shouldn’t compare – it’s disastrous, as bad as it is for children.

Maybe you remember, ‘What reading level is your child on?‘ ‘Which maths book is he working on?’ ‘What part has she got in the school play?’ No matter what your school may tell you, all children know exactly where they are in the class, who’s the best reader, who’s top of the class in maths, who’s naughtiest, who’s teacher’s pet.

Returning to Gilbert, the subject of this post . . . people! Today I asked him to go and find Barry and he immediately went into the kitchen and picked up his grunting pig, which I thought was hilarious. After some while, Barry eventually saw the funny side. To be fair, Barry has had his mind on other things, principally the colonography and the medical photograph of the lesion at the side of his nose and the chest x-ray and the microcytic anaemia and yet another blood test, but even so – come on! Actually, he’s much more relaxed about the whole series of examinations than I am, and worse things happen at sea, and all that.

Anyway, we are revising our opinions of Gilbert’s intelligence, but don’t tell him. We wouldn’t want to hurt his feelings.

And we bought a nail-filing tray for Roxy and so far all they‘ve managed to do is file their teeth and tongues.

                        Roxy: What do I do with this? Give us a clue!

                                            Gilbert: Try this!

                                    Roxy: Let's try it this way . . .

There are pictures and reports of dogs cracking the problem in seconds. Not our dogs.

Maybe it’s working Labradors. My daughter’s younger Labrador was incredibly pleased to be given a Yakker, a chew made with Yak milk, and carried it around for an hour, not knowing quite what to do with it, but wagging her tail the whole time, to show she appreciated the gift.

Writing daily

 

Writing daily

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

I am told that I make light of things - well, don’t we all? Sometimes people accuse me of trivialising problems. I don’t. I just compartmentalise them and look for a lighter tone to carry me through. That’s along the lines of, ‘Laugh, and the world laughs with you, Weep, and you weep alone,’ and I’d rather not weep, thank you.

I do have an errant sense of humour, which is not always appropriate, I suppose.

My writing is entirely selfish. I do it to keep myself on an even keel and not let events overwhelm me. It takes me away from miseries I would rather not dwell on that would make the lives of everyone around me (that would be Barry!) miserable, too. As well as my blog, I keep a daily journal.

I wondered about the origin of ‘Laugh and the world laughs with you.’ The lines are from this poem by the American author and poet, Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919).