General Witterings -
Spring Comes to Rosy

I'm sorry to hear all this bad news coming out of the UK at the moment.

These gales sound frightful, whilst, here in France, we have been basking in spring-like sunshine.  Indeed, the spring flowers are blooming on Rosy's roof at the moment.  The main, summer display this year will be Capucines (Fr)/Nasturtiums (Eng).  I still fancy an allotment on the roof, with early potatoes in grow-bags, and a nice range of salads, but nasturtiums seem to be a good compromise - easy to grow, with edible leaves.

I'm also concerned about all this projectile vomiting that the Brits are currently into.  Seems to me to be a dangerous pastime, especially in conjunction with the gales.

People may have read about the NHS patients who were shipped over to Lille for treatment.  It is easy to criticise the NHS, but it takes a real genius to get down to roots of the problem.  One such genius is Joe Hastings, a Scot, currently living in the USofA, who points out that, over the past decade, substantially more money has been spent on research regarding breast implants and Viagra than on Alzheimer's Disease.  He suggests that the inevitable result is that soon we will have a lot of people running around with huge breasts and persistent erections who cannot remember what to do with them.

I was in Oman when Viagra was introduced, and was friendly with the Brit Nurse Manager in the local private hospital.  Viagra took business away from them, as they had been making loot out of giving men injections to achieve the Viagra effect.  The injection had to be given in the hospital, and only lasted for an hour, so the procedure required some nifty organisation.  The man would arrive at the hospital in the evening (to avoid rush-hour on the roads!) on a day when the police estimated that traffic would be light.  Doctor readies the hypodermic syringe.  Man phones home to alert wife to his imminent arrival.  Man given injection, runs out to car, drives home etc. etc. etc.

I'm interested to know why, in England, people no longer talk to each other.  On an empty canal towing path, miles from no-where, you can pass someone without either acknowledging the presence of the other.

It is something one gets used to, but only realises it when one travels to a place where it doesn't happen.  After living in England for two or three years, I drove up to Scotland.  Stopping for petrol, I filled up, entered the shop to pay, and as I went in, the till girl said "Hello".  To me!!!  When I arrived at the destination, I was walking from the car-park when a passing person said to me "Looks like rain again".  In Oman, people wouldn't dream of passing by without saying "Hi" and passing the time of day.  (A special case was when I was walking down a busy shopping street the day after Princess Di died, and half a dozen people clasped my hand saying "You are English? Please accept my condolences about Princess Di".)  This behaviour is not quite so endemic here in France, but, after three months, I'm on speaking terms with more people here in Briare than I ever was after five or six years in Huntingdon (which, itself, has a reputation for being reasonably friendly).

GIRLIE THINGS?

Spring might be peeping through here in Briare, but Jess the woof seems unaffected by it.  Indeed, yesterday ...

Normally when we go out for a walk, she gets more and more excited as we near the park where we play ball/Aerobie.  When the first throw is made, she scampers away, collie style (that is to say running fast, but staying close to the ground (so as not to alarm the sheep!)), picks it up, and comes rushing back.  So.  Yesterday, I threw the Aerobie, and she stood next to me, watching it fly away.  Ne'er a muscle moved.

"Jess!!" (she looked at me).  "Go and get it."

She AMBLED off!!  When she got to it, she stood and looked at it, and then looked at me.

"Yes.  Come on Jess.  Here."

And she started AMBLING towards me!!

"NO!!  With the ******* ring!!!"

She stopped, with a quizzical look, ambled back to the ring, sniffed it, idly picked it up, ambled back and dropped it 20 yards away.

I'm not a very doggy person, so I'm not sure what's up.  Is she starting her period, perhaps?

Late breaking news:  Ooops!!  The wind is building up here!!

Funny ol' world, innit.

I keep forgetting to mention my web-site.  It's still under construction.  Amongst other delights, these 'Rosy' posts are all archived there.  It may be found at http://www.billybubbles.demon.co.uk.

Toodle pip!!

Bill