So I'm sitting in the cardiology department at Harrogate Hospital waiting for Jan who is in for a check up. A patient is called and his wife who was sitting right opposite me and who looked rather uncomfortable said, "he won't be a minute he's just outside smoking a cigarette." I burst out laughing at this and she looked at me in an 'I know' kind of way.
Anyway as I was sitting next to the receptionist I couldn't help but hear her conversation with a patient who had phoned with a query. The receptionist was explaining the procedure that the enquirer was asking about and finished with this statement, "no it's not dangerous." She put the phone down and we looked at each other and giggled.
It all started in France. During winter months after taking the dogs for a walk we would light a fire, close the shutters and watch another episode from our CD collection.
Having just finished all five series of the American version of House of Cards we have just switched to Gomorra which we have recorded on Sky Atlantic. Its a gritty and bloodthirsty account of Naples gangs. Not for the faint hearted. Anyway during last nights episode they featured a scene from a hotel in downtown Naples. Jan jumped up and said "that's where we are staying at the end of April."
A lovely birthday present for me which she had booked. My uncle (now deceased) who lived in Naples was a top flight lawyer and had (vague) Mafia connections. I wonder if I can resurrect some old friendships.
If I don't come back they probably weren't real friendships.
Having lived here for several years I can't count the number of times that Jan has promised to use the wild garlic that grows in abundance in the woods near the house. Well finally she has picked some and has made a delicious soup. Well worth the seven years wait.
Between the ages of 11 and 18 I travelled between Harrogate and Leeds by train. A journey that took around 30 minutes. The railways were nationalised in those days and were frankly pretty disgusting. The trains were dirty and staffed with people who couldn't give a fuck.
It probably comes as no surprise therefore that I am against nationalising the railways. If you want a good example of what nationalising the railways can achieve take a look at France. SNCF runs at an annual loss of 3 Billion euros is 48 billion euros in the red has a workforce that can't be dismissed, with guaranteed jobs for life and retirement at 52. And they're still not happy.
Macron has a big job on his hands to create some order there. Bonne chance.
And while I'm at it I found the public crying of the Australian cricketers really false and it did nothing to make me feel sorry for them. On the contrary I despised them. If the reports of these arrogant cheats are anything to go by, to see them crying in what I can only describe as self pity made me despise them even more. The first rule of cheating is do not get caught and the second rule is take your punishment like a man not a self pitying baby.
Let me start by saying that I don't do organic. Whilst I can appreciate the sentiments behind the word organic I once read that 80% of the food sold as organic came from abroad where they have very different standards. So not organic. Organic has to me always been an excuse for charging more for food.
On the same theme, I always take my clean shirts 'from the left' and after 20+ years of being together I have finally persuaded Jan to hang any clean shirts on the right. This means that all my shirts get fair wear. If you do not do this it means that I always wear the same shirts (ask Jan). Right, so now that she's finally got the message (I can hear all you feminist bristling out there) I put on a new shirt today that I've never worn before. Never worn before as in the price tag was in pounds, shillings and pence (just kidding) and which told me it is organic linen. No doubt bought a long time ago in a moment of weakness or stupidity or both.
