Pleasure, Wish, Meldrew, Irritation, Brilliance
Pleasure: there’s been a bonus to being published that I never considered before. That’s being emailed by people you lost contact with and had wondered about for years. Over the couple of years I’ve had this site, it’s been fantastic. Paul Howlett, a friend from school who’d moved to Cardiff (and was The Unknown Warrior in the DragonQuest role playing that gave birth to The Raven), Hazel Stevens (who was Erienne, though she called the character Artemis and I couldn’t use that…), Chris Jennings who I and two others shared a house with in Sheffield City Poly days… he’s now a Headmaster in a Rotherham school. Great to hear from people and find out how far they’ve travelled.
Wish: That two other really old friends would drop me a line… Richard Bould, husband of Carol, old college mate, Wrexham fan and legendary computer games player. Are you out there, Bouldy? And James Young. We were at drama school together (London and International School of Acting). We lost touch soon after we left. Shame – those of us still talking still remember you. Come on, an email won’t hurt old son.
Meldrew: People who are always moaning about stuff. Wait a minute…
Irritation: Colonoscopy on a Friday morning. Actually, it’s the laxatives the day before that are the worst part. The investigation itself is actually fascinating (if very uncomfortable at times) though it sounds gross til you actually go through it and see the pictures.
Brilliance: Colonoscopy is one of the triumphs of modern preventative medicine and shows how the NHS can really work. Story: one side of my family has a predisposition to colon cancer. So we all get checked out every five years. It’s voluntary of course but the choice is an admittedly intrusive investigation or risk dying of a cancer you knew you could have stopped… hmm, tough one. That’s why it’s worth finding out family medical history (it is in the UK anyway) because the NHS are very good at preventing stuff if they have the first clue where to look. Be proactive people…
Today, the glass is well over half full…
