Saturday 4 December 2010

inclined to ramble

Suffolk medicine
Although I am no longer a "youth who is inclined to ramble" (cf Paul Brady) I am certainly a man who is inclined to ramble - and to repeat myself, obviously. Due to the current bad weather I awoke this morning without the scheduled hangover.  That in itself is probably a good thing.

However, the weather in this section of the UK was awful last night - frozen roads and paths by 3 pm and treacherous conditions generally.  I had walked to work yesterday - a late start was a bonus - and walking home was not pleasant.  I had worn my walking boots (yes, alright, I know they're ALL walking boots) and I found some of the paths impossible - literally like glass. My friend who was going to visit had texted and said that it would be foolish to try to travel down on such a night and the head cold I had been suffering for the last three days was in full flow.  Feeling quite miserable I decided to turn down an offer of a trip to the pub (I felt that bad) and Mrs Dave and I ordered a takeaway instead.  We had a fantastic Hindustani Gosht - lamb with green chillies to blast the cold away.  I was going to say it was just what the doctor ordered; perhaps the order got mixed up, but as a joke it received a stony silence earlier, so I won't bother.  Anyway - although I still feel a bit "woozy" in the old head department, the cold does seem to be on the run now.

I think the old adage was "feed a cold and starve a fever" but it could be vice versa - I'm sure someone will put me right.  I'm eating loads at the moment.  Mrs Dave is in the kitchen as we speak fiddling with her famous fish pie - which I'm aware sounds like an entry in Roger's Profanisaurus (it isn't). I'm not allowed to help. So I'm taking the edge off of my cold with a glass of Adnam's Bitter.  I'm sure it'll work. But I might need more than one.

Last night I was going to post a blog about Fred Hoyle's theory on the coming Ice Age - you know, so much for global warming etc - but I found out that his theories have generally been pooh-poohed* by everyone else and then I watched some comedy programmes on iPlayer instead and couldn't be bothered.

The other point of rambl . . . er, posting is because I realised that I left off a song from the "songs that make me happy" cd that actually really makes me happy.  I'm not going to change it now, I'll have to save it for another time. If This Was The Last Night of the World by Bruce Cockburn was the one song I wanted to hear on the Millenium night and I will be playing it this New Year's Eve too.  A great song which always brings a smile to these jaded lips. Can you have "jaded lips"?

I've just bought a copy of Roger Deakin's Waterlog as I've left the last book I was reading (The Black Cloud by Fred Hoyle) in Harvey.  That and a copy of Country Walking that promises lots of great pub walks.  Plenty to read then.

Meanwhile, back to the weather.  When I finally got up and looked out the window:  where's all the snow and ice gone? The cold, haily, windy night soon got rid of all that silliness.  The three inch pile of snow on the little table outside the room I am corresponding from was gone. Vanished, like an old oak table.  However, we are warned that the temperature will drop again tomorrow - we're not out of the woods yet.

Oh well, the first pint hasn't worked, time for another . . .

*I always come over all Stephen Fry when I use that phrase

2 comments:

Andy Wright said...

I like your music choices Dave and know most of your selection well. I also understand exactly what was meant in respect of Neil Young....just very glad the Grim Reaper was elsewhere at the time the comment was made!

To state the blindingly obvious the weather in this country is a fickle,teasing thing which appears to be able to make fools of us all, without effort.

Friday afternoon felt 'dangerous; in terms of what the elements might be capable of throwing at me along dark (and fast) roads and the decision to abandon the mission appeared sensible. (possibly wimpish and 'middle-aged' but nevertheless 'sensible')

When Saturday dawned sans snow and ice, I felt like a fraud. The day sneered at me and far from a continuation of the Siberian blasts of previous days provided temperatures akin to an early April day. 'An opportunity wasted' I berated myself.......but I shouldn't be too hard about the outcome, I reasoned. Like you, I had no hangover but unlike you I didn't have a wonderful sounding Indian meal or even the smallest dose of Suffolk medicine.....So let me be quite clear and scrupulously honest...it WAS a wasted opportunity and one which we will recover with gusto (I like that expression)before too many suns have set.

'Concerned about road conditions and the weather.....' Pathetic!

Oh and Happy Advent.

Dave Leeke said...

And a Merry Advent-nous to you, too.

I know what you mean - I think everyone was a bit shocked on Saturday morning; it was as though people felt a bit sheepish and thought what was all the fuss about? I'm sure lots of other parts of the country still have it bad. At least we can get out and about now.

I still have the snuffles and a bit of a sore throat but on the whole, this milder weather is very welcome. Mrs D said I don't need to put the stove on but I'm going out to chop some logs anyway.

Don't worry about it, Andy, you were right not to put yourself in danger - it was a bloody awful night here especially later when the rain and wind were howling down the street. I know this because third born came in late from Ipswich. As drinking is legal now, he seems to have taken to it quite well.