Maddening, isn't it, the way everything has to start again from the beginning? Just come back from the pharmacy, where an amiable young man in a bow tie gave me the good news that if I ate less and took more exercise, I'd be thinner and fitter. Who knew? The twist was that my reward for good behaviour would be a more enjoyable old age and - he seemed to be implying this - a quick death.
I remember a church service - something to do with a school - where the bishop of somewhere told us that if we gave our lives to God - actually, I forget. But the general message was "give your lives to God". I wanted to ask - in both cases - then what? I didn't tell the young chap at the pharmacy that I have been ... and I am ... , and yes, I did shake the bloke's hand at the door of the church and thank him for his advice.
But - yes, then what? Men of a certain age, and no doubt women, will have heard all that before. They'll have taken action, or not, and if I had to guess, I'd say they'd be likely to shut down ever so slightly at the advice to do whatever they're (not) already doing. Maybe the people who think they have all the answers could start with a few questions for a change?
All arguments have to be brought round to Brexit these days, so maybe I could just add that we're spending a lot of time debating the vote itself. Leavers changed their minds? Possibly. Remainers changed their minds - actually, no, that doesn't seem to have occurred to anybody. A second referendum to reverse the first? How about a third, for a decisive best of three? Or maybe we could start from where we are now, in the changed world of 2017, and negotiate a relationship with the EU.
I remember a church service - something to do with a school - where the bishop of somewhere told us that if we gave our lives to God - actually, I forget. But the general message was "give your lives to God". I wanted to ask - in both cases - then what? I didn't tell the young chap at the pharmacy that I have been ... and I am ... , and yes, I did shake the bloke's hand at the door of the church and thank him for his advice.
But - yes, then what? Men of a certain age, and no doubt women, will have heard all that before. They'll have taken action, or not, and if I had to guess, I'd say they'd be likely to shut down ever so slightly at the advice to do whatever they're (not) already doing. Maybe the people who think they have all the answers could start with a few questions for a change?
All arguments have to be brought round to Brexit these days, so maybe I could just add that we're spending a lot of time debating the vote itself. Leavers changed their minds? Possibly. Remainers changed their minds - actually, no, that doesn't seem to have occurred to anybody. A second referendum to reverse the first? How about a third, for a decisive best of three? Or maybe we could start from where we are now, in the changed world of 2017, and negotiate a relationship with the EU.
Consider the nettles. Guess there's a moral somewhere in this picture, although I can't immediately think what it might be.
What kind of an idea is sleep? You evolve to be helpless for eight hours in every twenty-four. It doesn’t make evolutionary sense. Some creatures don’t sleep – some operate on half-brainpower, I think? – so there are alternatives. What’s the trade-off that makes the risk of sleep worthwhile?