They said it.

Aside

‘The Beatles are dying in the wrong order.’ Victor Lewis-Smith

‘Quotations will tell the full measure of meaning – if you have enough of them.’

James Murray.

‘Life is anything that dies when you stomp on it.’ Dave Barry

‘The world is disgracefully managed, one hardly knows to whom to complain.’

Ronald Firbank.

‘Men don’t care what’s on TV. They only care what else is on TV.’ Jerry Seinfield

‘A man can sleep around but if a woman makes 19 or 20 mistakes she’s a tramp.’ Joan Rivers.

‘Sex is the poor man’s polo.’ Clifford Odets

‘The majority of husbands remind me of an orang –utan trying to play the violin.’

Honore De Balzac

‘Never raise your hand to your children - it leaves your mid section unprotected.’

Robert Orben

‘I never drink coffee at lunch. I find it keeps me awake for the afternoon.’

Ronald Reagan.

The Answer

Sir Paul Stephenson, the new Commissioner for New Scotland Yard and I both went to the same school – Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School – although not at the same time – I’m senior to him. The second thing we have in common is that neither of us went to university. I shall be taking note.

GUESS WHAT!


(Lewis Whyld PA)

Sir Paul Stephenson - the new Commissioner for New Scotland Yard and I, have two things in common.

Julie Walters by Tim whitby

Homage to Julie

Aside

Julie Walters is one of my favourite actresses. I can’t think of any other who can move me to tears as well as make me hysterical with laughter. She is totally devoid of vanity and ‘luvvie -ness.’ Just one example of her unique comic brilliance is the sketch ‘Two Soups’ which I hope I can successfully embed – but if not there are many examples on You tube. The PC brigade may think it is mocking the old but the older I get – the funnier I find it.

There are many examples of her ability to capture the essence of a character and engage the emotions of the audience – the latest of which was her portrayal, the other night on TV, in ‘A Short Stay in Switzerland’; a true story of a doctor stricken with an illness –Progressive Supranuclear Palsy that would render her completely helpless, and this after she had cared for her husband until his death, from a similar disease. She describes it as ‘a bomb going off in my body – slowly but surely,’ and decides to go to a clinic in Zurich, for an assisted suicide, whilst she still has the strength to get there.

She tries to convince her three grown –up children that this is what she must do but they protest vehemently and help her to move from her large, beautiful house into a tiny bungalow. In despair at her increasing helplessness, she attempts suicide, crushing many tablets in orange juice and gin, drinking it and putting a plastic bag over her face, but her children – alerted by no answer to their telephone calls - rush round and save her.

Slowly they each come round to agreeing to accompany her to Switzerland so that she can die with dignity. Her best friend will not accept that she is choosing a ‘good death’ as opposed to a ‘bad death’ and calls her selfish, cruel and stupid, and their friendship ends.

In the clinic she has to declare her condition and that she is completely determined to end her life and does this without the children present. After the children rejoin her, she is given the fatal dose, which is bitter, drinks it unflinchingly, is helped onto the bed where she dies in the arms of the children.

The play leaves lots of questions and no real answers. Which is the more selfish: to deprive your children of their mother, or save them from having the responsibility of care, whilst you slowly become totally helpless like their father did, but to a more severe degree. I hope I never have to face the dilemma.

PS I got Two Soups on my edit posts but it won’t transfer. You can see it on You Tube normally – not just now.

The Dragon House


Our lunch table.

Lunch

As usual Iforgot the first course until I had eaten it:)

Coffee in the other room


Guess which is which.

Out to Lunch

Aside
Saturday was sunny so I suggested to MTL we might like to go out to lunch and he agreed, with the proviso that we went somewhere different. Not wishing to appear bossy – like Ulrika - I let him decide and he chose The Dragon House which is between us and Williton. We had been years ago when the hotel was having problems and it somehow dropped off our radar.

It was built 300 years ago by smugglers from the proceeds of a shipwreck off Blue Anchor Bay, and over the years it has been an inn, a place of worship, a private house and now a country house hotel. I telephoned first to ensure we could get a bar lunch as opposed to a full blown restaurant meal and it was fine.

We got a warm welcome and the choice of two rooms so we had lunch in one and coffee in the other. We were pleased with our choices – a Thai dish for me with chicken, lemon grass, chillies, coconut milk and rice and what was basically the most glorious dish of fish and chips for MTL, In the interest of research I tasted both and I shall definitely have his choice next time, which could be for my birthday in March, when we could stay the night. Why not?

Would we care for desserts? Is the Pope catholic? We ordered a dark chocolate fondant with caramel ice cream and a chocolate vodka shot. Think about it
Also an iced parfait of nougat glace with raspberry compote. Both divine, then we waddled to the bar for coffee and stuff. What a good idea MTL!