21 November 2012 (Wednesday) - Fun with Orinoco

This morning as I checked what was happening on Facebook I was rather shocked to hear the news from an old friend. I've known Kev for over thirty years. We don't meet up anywhere near as much as I'd like, but we do catch up a few times each year. Most recently a month ago at the Hastings bonfire parade. By trade Kev is a tree surgeon, and earlier this week he had a very nasty accident with a chain saw. His left arm was severely lacerated with serious muscle and nerve damage done. He's had specialist surgery in Brighton and the prognosis for recovery is good. This news rather put my own worries into proportion.

Having said that I seem to have developed a really painful knuckle overnight. I wonder what that's all about.

 

The national news goes from ridiculous to farcical with allegations that the late Cyril Smith was also a kiddy fiddler. Stories of his alleged fiddling date from 1974. If anyone can give an honest detailed account of what they were doing thirty eight years ago I would be very surprised. There can hardly be a celebrity left who isn't absolutely terrified of such slanders. Being in the public eye seems to have given the media carte blanche to pursue such stories, and being dead serves their purpose even more.

I for one am certainly racking my brains trying to remember anyone remotely famous whom I encountered as a child. No one springs to mind at the moment, but if any of my loyal readers could name someone famous who was in the general vicinity of Hastings in the early 1970s, I am quite happy to go halves on whatever money I can get out of making up stories of having been fiddled by them. I can remember that the Wombles opened a supermarket near my mum's house at one point during those years. I wonder if I could make out that Orinoco put his hands where he shouldn't have?

 

I overheard an interesting conversation today. One person had apparently just come back from a holiday in Mexico. She'd been there for two weeks and spent the entire time in the hotel. When asked what tourist attractions she'd been to she thought for a bit, and then said that she'd been to the hotel's pool, and to the hotel's cabaret. She apparently had no interest in leaving the hotel at all. When asked what part of Mexico she'd been to she replied "Mexico - by the airport". And when asked the question of which airport she replied "Mexico airport". From her tone the "dur!!!" following the statement was very much implied.

Why do people travel half way round the world just to sit by a swimming pool.

 

Today I met up with one of my ex-students who had just come back from a holiday in India. Whilst away he'd thought of me, and had brought me a whole load of Indian fighting kites. I was rather choked up at his thinking of me - I'd not seen him in over a year.

And a chap I'd known vaguely for twenty years retired today. He was a good fellow. It's sad to see him go, and I can't help but wonder how long it will be before I get to retire myself. It can't come quickly enough. When I'm at work I rather miss my dog....