Old Age, Death and Last Rights by Trevor Plumbly
How Old is Old? I learned today that in Japan there’s a man who’s 116 years old and this provoked a bit of reflective thinking. I reckon getting to 80 is not a bad innings. Let’s face it; if you haven’t done all you want to in that time you can’t have been trying hard enough. But assuming I make it to 80, if I thought for one moment I had another 36 years to go, I’d have to do some serious thinking. It’s funny really how such mildly interesting snippets of… Read More
My Struggle (Mein Kampf) by Trevor Plumbly
A Lifetime’s Commitment to Neutrality Looking back over my colleagues’ blogs, I couldn’t help noting (kindly of course) the change in the content of their articles: Angela, it seems, has morphed from the darling of definition to the Doberman of the downtrodden, while more disturbingly, Emily has aspired to become Baroness of the besmirched by metaphorically flinging her undergarments at a sad old soap opera star accused of all sorts of nasties. You will, I hope, be pleased to hear that I’ve remained true to my early commitment to truth, justice and… Read More
My Grapple with Death by Trevor Plumbly
A Hearty Lunch Housework done, washing out and the cryptic crossword knocked-off; with the Morriston Orpheus Choir at full volume (try it!), I contemplated lunch. Healthy, I decided was the way to go, having had meat pie and chips the previous day. Delving into the fridge, I struck some pastrami, which with a bit of Cheddar, pickled onion and a lettuce leaf to balance the books, so to speak, sandwiched up nicely. I had scarcely finished this creation when the pain kicked in. It wasn’t your rolling around the floor gasping kind… Read More
Grandparents’ Delight by Angela Caldin
Bucolic Idyll Envisaged When my lovely son-in-law asked if we could look after our three delightful granddaughters for a day, while he and our daughter enjoyed a wine tour on Waiheke Island, we agreed with alacrity. What a blissful win-win arrangement, I thought: we would have the three little ones all to ourselves while their parents had a well-deserved and happy day-out together. But as the day drew nearer, the attractiveness of the prospect began to wane ever so slightly, mainly because the uninterrupted summer sunshine of the last few months was… Read More
verbalberbal 