Omphaloskepsis beckons by Trevor Plumbly
Recently, I’ve been having trouble filling my days, so I’ve taken to exploring the oddities of life and seeking internal inspiration. Though I’ve always lusted after an enquiring mind, I’ve never really had time to develop one, but now I’m retired, off the morphine and three parts blind, I’m determined to have a crack at deeper thought. Those who practise omphaloskepsis seem deeper thinkers than the playwrights and poets everyone raves about who just scribble away and come up with heaps of stuff during their lifetime, but only a few snippets survive… Read More
Morphine musings by Trevor Plumbly
Milligram miracles Prior to my recent hospital visit, my experience with drugs was limited to malt whisky and strong beer. Whilst not generally accepted as clinical pain relievers, they didn’t do a bad job when the old Plumbly spirit level dropped a bit. To be fair to the medical profession, these liquid lifelines largely eased emotional wounds rather than physical pain. I’ve always held a mild distrust of tablets, to me they just don’t add up: there you are, writhing in pain, up pops Doc and slips you something about the size… Read More
Party Games by Trevor Plumbly
ACTing up I know I’m lucky to live in a country like NZ and shouldn’t take the Mickey out of the place, but Brits are Brits and we tend to find humour in the strangest places. We also realise that we can do stuff all to control those who control us. Outside the periodic use of the ballot box, the best form of retaliation is mockery. The political system here, if it can be called that, is MMP, if you’re politically learned you’ll understand MMP, if not it would be like trying… Read More
On the Brighter Side by Trevor Plumbly
They’re Coming to Get Ya! I generally regard the off-beat and just plain cranky as adding a bit of spice to everyday life, but a couple of things lately have made that a bit more difficult to do. I was a 60s person and we weren’t short of the odd nutter in those days: some held the theory that whacking your brain with LSD led to great personal enlightenment, while others held the less harmful belief that carting around a crystal bead protected you from all sorts of nasties. My personal favourite… Read More
The Day the Music Died by Trevor Plumbly
A Non-Golden Silence I was collapsed in the armchair enjoying Julian Lloyd Webber playing ‘The Prelude in E Minor’ (opus I forget which), when the worst happened: a bloody power cut. I checked the fuse box: no blue smoke or strange odours, so it must be external, but caused by what? Earthquake, power surge, electrical storms or whatever, it was still an annoying interruption to an afternoon that had kicked off with a posh lunch that should have led to hours of quiet contemplation rather than half-mouthed curses at the electricity supply… Read More
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