Update 10

When you learn that you have a limited time left to live, your first thought is not necessarily to think just how normal this is. Every single one of us is going to die and most us are going to be given notice of it in one form or another. Death has come to all my human predecessors and will happen to all who follow on. It is a perfectly natural phenomenon, albeit one with its less attractive aspects.

I am becoming more aware of its implications as headaches are becoming more frequent, and I am increasingly tired. Afternoon naps have been joined by morning ones and lethargy makes conversation more demanding. Sadly, I am reducing the number of calls I can handle, though emails are still manageable. Sadly, my ability to fall asleep during the days is only occasionally replicated during the night.

On a more positive note, I can report that I did buy a four-wheel rollator which supported me successfully when we went to Bosco for Sunday lunch last weekend. Two of our grandsons drove over from Madley and joined us for what was a thoroughly enjoyable meal including another bottle of their excellent Gavi di Gavi.

Last night I was question master for an online quiz group to which I’ve belonged since the lockdowns began. We take it in turns to set the 30 questions, so my turn (I always set music questions) comes around every few weeks but I suspect that may have been the last that I’ll be able to manage without difficulty.

For this week’s photo, Eddie has vacated the sofa and I’m joined by son Simon and daughter Joanna

Politically I’m a bit stuck for subject matter. It looks as though Truss is set to rule over us even though most of us have had no say in the matter. Personally, I’m totally unimpressed by the woman. She speaks in clichés, seems somewhat naively to believe that on its own, cutting taxes can solve all our many challenges, she still stands by the retiring oaf and wants to continue his approach - what on earth could possibly go right….. 

My view is very similar to that of former Tory MP Matthew Paris as expressed in his Times column this morning: “Liz Truss is a planet sized mass of over confidence and ambition teetering on a pinhead of a political brain - it must all come crashing down”. We shall find out whether he’s right soon enough.

I still believe that the most unforgivable mistake of this government (and the last 12 years) has been the total failure even to begin to tackle our huge social care problem. At a stroke, one of the NHS’s greatest burdens could have been lifted - literally thousands of beds could have been freed up. On his election as PM Johnson announced that he had a plan, but he’s never revealed it. He announced an increase in NI to pay for one but then said the money would go to the nhs instead and even reduced the amount. I see this morning that far from reducing immigration (apparently a key element of the Brexit appeal) Health Secretary Steve Barclay is promoting a massive immigration campaign to recruit thousands of NHS workers from overseas - a Brexit benefit being undone here, whilst simultaneously seeking to undermine the health care systems of countries elsewhere?

I have been introduced to a writer named Philip Kerr whose character Bernie Gunther solves crime in 1930s Berlin - a city that fascinates me and which I would have loved to have visited more often. His first three novels can be found in an excellent compendium ‘Berlin Noir’ published by Putnam.