aboveboard
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Will I exist in a few months time?
I'm in the process of trying to sell my house and intend to rent or stay with my parents until I find somewhere to buy. It occurred to me this morning that once I've moved out to a temporary address I might have difficulty proving my identity. I will have no utility or council tax bills, my driving licence has no photo of me and will have the wrong address, I've no passport and no job. I don't know how the current money-laundering regulations have affected villains but they're a bane for honest folk. In a few months' time I might be unable to open new accounts or withdraw money from my existing ones. On paper I could appear a suspicious character. Will I be able to vote?
Thought for today
The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later; in a dictatorship you don't have to waste your time voting.
Charles Bukowski 1972
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2.2.06 19:59
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Fit to move
Discovered there's something called a 'Citizen Card' that might be the answer to my future lack of proof of identity. The Citizen Card seems to have been introduced for teenagers to provide proof of their age so they can buy tobacco and alcohol. However, it might also do for me. I don't need proof of my age, anyone can see that my teenage years are long since gone; I just need proof that I'm me.
Went to the bus station this morning to get passport photos for my Citizen Card application. I hope they are accepted; I do look grim.
Selling, buying and moving house is such hard work that it helps to be fit. There's so much to do, and I'm not at the moving stage yet. Glad I started planning three years ago. Those in the local charity shops must recognise me by now.
Dropped into the Postgraduate Centre this morning on my way home and collected a copy of t'Trust's 'Team Brief'. At the top is written 'Please find to follow the latest team brief' which doesn't make sense to me. There is a section headed 'Turnaround teams'. 'The Dept of Health has announced that we are one of 18 Trusts that are to receive support from a team of specialists to help us address our financial challenges'. Makes it sound as if the Trust has won a prize. Management missives seem to be exercises in how to make something bad sound good. How to make a failure appear a success.
Thought for today
More is missed by not looking than by not knowing.
Thomas McCrae 1870 - 1935
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3.2.06 19:43
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Time to be brutal
The realisation that moving in a month or two might be a possibility concentrates the mind. Now it's time to be brutal and chuck out stuff that I hadn't looked at for years, especially stuff that I didn't know I had. I have decided to burn my school and student diaries. They are dull and I don't wish to be reminded of my failures and feebleness. Tomorrow I will cremate them with a little ceremony. They've been in the loft for the last 18 years and are bent and musty. Time to move on. I haven't the space to save everything, and I haven't the strength to pack everything.
Thought for the day
All religions are founded on the fear of the many and the cleverness of the few.
Stendhal
Since the masses of the people are inconstant, full of unruly desires, passionate and reckless of consequence, they must be filled with fears to keep them in good order. The ancients did well, therefore, to invent gods, and the belief in punishment after death.
Polybius, Histories c. 125 BC
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4.2.06 19:29
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Up in flames
Today I put my past life to rest. I burnt my old diaries; hope I burn better then they did when it's my turn to be cremated. My life now is organised. It wasn't in my teens and early twenties. Too haphazard, no routines. Now I'm more in control of myself and of my life, and this has made a world of difference, made life easier. Feel annoyed that the handwriting of some of the entries was so bad that they were almost illegible. What is the point of writing if no one can read it? Wasted effort, wasted time.
Thought for today
Do we have a 'democratic right' to object to something we don't like? Surely our only democratic right is to vote for a different government at the next election.
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5.2.06 18:34
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One of those things
The chap who fell down stairs in the Fitzwilliam Museum recently and broke three vases (valued at £100,000) was interviewed on Radio 4 this morning. He confirmed that he did trip over one of his shoelaces. The interviewer never asked him about this; I would have. How come he was able to trip over his shoelace? Had he left it undone? Had he tied it insecurely? The chap sounded a bit dozey. He said nothing about checking in future that his shoelaces were tied properly. I can see museums looking at visitors' shoes as well as in their bags before allowing them entry.
Programme on Radio 4 about diabetes and obesity. One speaker suggested subsidies on healthy food, though never said what he considered healthy food to be. Obesity is associated with poverty, and so subsidies would reduce the incidence of obesity and thus diabetes among poor people. How could he reach that conclusion without looking at what people ate? Poverty leading to obesity might be due to lack of education rather than lack of money. Porridge, bread, milk, cheese, fruit and vegetables (in season) are cheap. Processed, pre-packed food is not.
Achieved something today; passed my three-yearly advanced driver retest.
Thought for today
Faith is an illogical belief in the occurrence of the improbable.
H L Mencken
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6.2.06 19:01
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So much to do, so little time
Received an email yesterday asking me to write a review of a book that I had recently read. Could have done without that at this time. However, not wishing to disappoint, I composed it during one of my walks. Hope people didn't see me muttering to myself as I marched along. I include it here.
Have the men had enough? Margaret Forster 1989
Have the men had enough? is a phrase repeated, endlessly, by Grandma as her memory slowly disappears. Her decline into dementia is seen through the eyes of her granddaughter, Hannah, and her daughter-in-law, Jenny, Hannah's mother.
The book illustrates the problems faced, though often concealed, by families affected by dementia; it reveals their plight. Written almost twenty years ago it will, I fear, not date.
At first glance the book looks heavy-going as it appears to contain little dialogue. However, the dialogue is unusually but cleverly presented. Family interchanges, of which there are plenty, are written without attributions and without quotation marks. This speeds up the reading and mimics the short, snappy nature of family conversation.
Dementia is destructive but attracts little public attention. It affects not just those with the failing memories; many are involved. Families, friends, carers, staff in care homes, all have no easy time as the book reveals. Unfortunately, sometimes only death provides relief.
The book is thought-provoking; it amuses, saddens, frustrates. It should be read by all not just for entertainment but for education. We should think about our future. Increased life-expectancy comes at a price; sometimes the body outlives the brain. Hope may keep us cheerful but will not prevent or lessen the wide-reaching effects of dementia.
To use the words of the Lottery: It could be you.
Thought for today
He that lives upon hope will die fasting. Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790)
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8.2.06 20:23
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More space, more junk
Freedom of speech comes with responsibilities. Sometimes questioning means mocking. Sensible words from Ann Leslie on Any Questions? this evening.
I've been clearing stuff out of my house and garage for the last two years in preparation for moving, yet there's still more to go. Why did I save so much stuff? Found a paraffin heater and bathroom cabinet in the loft today. They must have been there almost twenty years; still in good condition. Also found two ancient hockey sticks. What did I save those for? I shall not be hoarding in future.
Someone sent me an email this morning attaching four of her holiday photos; 2.5Mb's worth. GB, I was chuntering. Took ages on my dial up line. Why don't people ask before sending huge files? Not everyone has broadband.
Thought for today
What is the purpose of the NHS?
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10.2.06 20:41
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