You’ll Catch your Death of Cold

I have a rotten cold and cough. It is strange that you take for granted being healthy until you get a cold, and then you remember how nice it was not to be coughing or have a runny nose.

Probably because of security, Waitrose self-scan checkout flashes red when you have bought anything like Lempsip or Beachams Capsules, although I’ve never heard of anyone under age overdosing on them or getting any kind of high from them.

There used to be a silly rule which limited the amount you could but, so if you wanted one packet at home, one in the office, you had to buy one there, then pop to the nearby chemist. Fortunately that silly rule has gone.

Condor Ferries seem to have caught a cold, in a sense, with two vessels having problems.

I feel sorry for Condor. They bought what they had promised as a shiny new ship, which suffers continual problems, and all kinds of other troubles - ramps etc seem to be happening. They must be thinking: when will this nightmare end?

I remember buying a car - an Opal Cadet, I got someone mechanically minded to look over it, all seemed ok, but the problems I had with it stalling and calling the AA to tow me to town, get it checked etc etc. Then the petrol tank leaked into the back of the car. I was lucky - I got rid of it, and got a second hand Mini. But what options are there for Condor, with a large loan on their new ship?

Certainly, as the Facebook crowds tend to say – hitting them with heavy fines will do no good, and would only damage which must by now be increasingly problematic cash flow. What would probably help more would be some kind of investigation by an independent maritime engineer as to why their ships are so beset with engineering failures. Problem solving is what is needed.

I see that Tributes have been paid to Irish actor Frank Kelly, best known for playing Father Jack Hackett in the comedy sitcom Father Ted, who has died aged 77. His character would say that a drink is called for as part of the wake! DRINK!

There were really no redeeming features to Father Jack. He was a monster, played without sympathy, and that is why he was so funny. Sometimes playing it straight can make for better comedy, and that horrendous ruin of a priest, who swore and drank, and hardly moved from his chair, was a wonderful creation by the actor.

Despite the cough, I managed to go for a walk and visited the cemetery next to the new housing estate being built. I had gone there to get a photograph for La Baguette about the opening of the new estate. But by way of rest, Jeff and I paused to sit in the graveyard, which is looking very tidy, and it was sheltered, and sunny, and very peaceful.

Which brings me to the end of this blog, and at the end of each day I put “And so to bed... quote for tonight is from…” on Facebook. A recent one by J.R. R. Tolkien addresses these themes of mortality, and is appropriate for this bitter cold weather, whether sitting beside the fire, with a hot toddy to easy the cough and cold, seems like an excellent idea.

I sit beside the fire and think
Of how the world will be
When winter comes without a spring
That I shall ever see

For still there are so many things
That I have never seen
In every wood in every spring
There is a different green

I sit beside the fire and think
Of people long ago
And people that will see a world
That I shall never know