A couple of days ago, a secondary school class I was working in were discussing the pros and cons of migration. Just to clear this up: we’re not talking birdies here flying south for the winter. These are more your human economic migrants.
The very same day, in Sainsbury, I was served at the cake counter by someone who just did not understand English well enough to do the job. Fair play to the worker for blagging the position. You’d think the supermarket would know better though. Lucky for me that in-store barbering is not a feature of my local branch.
My time living in Prague lasted from 1996-2000. During that time I’m sure that I must have annoyed people with my vague grasp on their language. Maybe people were more forgiving because I worked for a film company.
More and more people I meet tell me about the rather rubbish side effects of my current medication for epilepsy. The drug is called Epilim and comes from the generic, Sodium Valproate. Depakine is the main form of SV in North America.
In a nutshell: Valproate increases your appetite and is likely to lead to weight gain. The downside (it seems to me) is that all the other alternatives meds tend to induce feelings of drowsiness.
So folks.... It’s Michelin Man or Night Of The Living Dead. One of the many McChoices offered by modern medicine, no doubt. The problem is I am liable to go into a non-stop, ‘possible personal doomsday’ (PPD) seizure without the drugs.
My epilepsy is controlled and I am very lucky. A couple of weeks ago, I met a teenager whose seizures are triggered by hearing or seeing anything with a rhythm. This includes music, light, finger clicking, knocking at the door, etc. Blimey.
The weekend remained with me until late on Monday night. This was, largely, down to the consumption of some rather nice red wine from the Collioure region of France (Domain Mas Blanc). 2001 was a classic Roussillon vintage, although this one was showing it’s age somewhat. I still like a bit of bite, you know. If you ask me, the so-called ‘English taste’ for super-mature wine is all a bit Emperor’s New Clothes.
Leave a comment