Sunday, September 26, 2021

The store room.

One of the farmers stops in his white Peugeot van. A man in his mid fifties. I don't know his name although we've waved at each other for a decade. He's got used to seeing this foreigner sitting on the concrete storm drain conversing with a shaggy dog.  This morning he gets out of his van and tells me he's going into hospital for an operation. Quite a major one.

Sophie is happy being around some people and howls at others. The farmer is clearly a dog person so he is ignored. She settles down by my side as he describes the intricacy of the operation. Angus remains surprised by the way the French will happily provide the most intimate of details about any and everything medical.


Another of those perfect mornings. We stop by the river to look at the swans and admire two house  boats. Sophie has a lengthy and noisy drink.


Angus is off to London tomorrow to talk to the Manhattanites and have some root canal work. The Manhattanites have an outside dining room on the top floor of their building in London. This is where we will meet. They seem to be as prudent about the Delta variant as they were three months ago.


In a couple of weeks time the regulations will change and there will be no need for a pre-flight Covid test if you're double jabbed. As it stands Angus has to phone the pharmacist to have a test for tomorrows trip. I'm early for the appointment. The lady behind the counter opens up the side door by the zimmer frame display and shows me into a stockroom full of surgical stockings. This is where my test is done. Within ten minutes I have the results on my phone and on the desk top. The efficiency of this continues to amaze me.


New hotel e-mail of the day. A Greek hotel in Spain :https://ikosresorts.com/resorts/ikos-andalusia/


Live better, longer. A start up aiming to produce life enhancing pharmaceuticals for mans best friend :https://loyalfordogs.com/#:~:text=Loyal%20is%20a%20clinical%2Dstage,as%20we%20can%20give%20them.

15 comments:

WFT Nobby said...

Your topic of conversation with the farmer explains why my mother always felt an affinity with the French! Did you learn his name as well as the intimate details of his medical situation?
Best of luck with the trip to London. I hope the talk with the Manhattanites precedes the root cause work ...

Angus said...

You can be sure dinner with the Manhattanites is the night before the root canal session.

Virginia said...

I’m hoping the rot canal work goes smoothly nd the normal pain relief is all you need. Best of luck.

Coppa's girl said...

Who knew there were so many different styles of surgical stocking!
This time Sophie will have no need to worry about a decline in the ROF's standard of culinary excellence.
I hope it doesn't rain when you have dinner with your Manhattanites. Good luck with the dentist.

Taste of France said...

I got to see a similar room at the pharmacy when I got my Covid vaccine. The lab I went to here has a ground-floor window with a table on the outside for you to fill out your form, if you didn't do it in advance online. Then you wait outside for them to slide open the window, stick the probe up your proboscis, and slide it shut again before you can breathe on them further. I thought it was well-designed.
I wonder whether the oversharing health worries with strangers is a way for people to get it off their chest and talk about it, without overburdening friends and family.
Good luck at the dentist. I have a root canal on Wednesday. Old filling that's given out, too near to the nerve to replace.

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
Most folk requiring medical stockings need to be measured and fitted, just as for couture suits or shoes... the material is important in the process too. Yxx

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
Well, at least Angus will have some good food inside him prior to the procedure - should help overcome some of the anaesthetic effects if nothing else! I too was wondering about rain and outside dining, though heartily approve of the prudence in that choice. YAM xx

Jean said...

The wisdom of removing the need for the pre-departure covid test that ensures nobody who is infected can board the plane, train or ferry, whilst keeping the 2-day test after arrival in the UK, escapes me. Surely the former is safer than allowing infected people to infect a load of other passengers and contacts before they find out that they have brought it into the country.

Camille said...

Root canals are so vastly improved from years ago. I was the recipient of one a few months ago and it was no big deal. My only complaint was the length of time it took for the novocaine to wear off and the price tag! Happy trails and wishing you smooth flying.

Lisa in France said...

The outdoor dining room sounds very nice, so long as you can keep your mind off the next day's root canal. I hope you will be able to share with us the Manhattanites current view of the world.

Travel said...

Good health and a speedy recovery to the french farmer, enjoy the trip,

Angus said...

Thank you. Never having had one before that's hugely reassuring.

Angus said...

Talking to a friendly stranger with a shaggy dog may be a good way of destressing.

sillygirl said...

We all need some connection with others and it is sometimes easier to share with a stranger than with concerned family. You were an angel to listen.

rottrover said...

My last root canal ended up becoming a dental implant - extracting the tooth, placing a screw under the gum and then 4 months later placement of a crown. While expensive, it's permanent and pretty easy on the patient! It's another option. Hoping the entire trip goes smoothly. (Also, Like Camille, the earlier root canal was no big deal. Easy peasy!)