Modern cars
Yesterday, because Sophie and I need help, we had visits from eight people before lunchtime. Each one of these people had their own car. In consequence of this on a weekly basis, I find I am subconsciously researching the complaints of motorists concerning the electrics of their cars, and the number of complaints made concerning the fact that once the computerised system within a modern car breaks down, the repairers appear nonplussed, and the car is off the road for weeks at a time, time and again, is ememse. The interesting thing about this is that the people who are complaining don’t want all these clever add-ons that are now part of the electrical system, and yearn for the good old simple ways.
The cult of the celebrities
I know I have spoken of this before, how the media are obsessed with the doings and the wrong doings of the people they call celebrities, but who are all really actors and actresses with minor roles in many cases, but considerable exposure. Why I’m writing now is because of the fore of the Michael Jackson saga, and in particular the way he died. As you know my age, you will realise that when he was at his prime, I was too old to be a fan, but I was aware that this young man, with his incredible physique and energy, was unusual, and I could understand why he was popular for those who enjoy that type of music. What I find particularly obnoxious is this media frenzy concerning the way he died, purely for gain rather than the possibility of a crime. Anyone who has been on painkillers for months or even years, for whatever reason, and approved by a physician, would find it easy to build up a collection of potent drugs, along with the written admonitions of the side-effects, and the effects of the combination of the drugs. No matter how careful a doctor is, and I have found from my own experience that repeat prescriptions are carefully monitored within the surgery system, to ensure that people only get what they’re entitled to. To this collection one can also add alcohol, and the subsequent cocktail, not necessarily administered by a doctor, is lethal. I am at an age when a very large number of friends and acquaintances have died while in severe pain, and I have always concluded that some of them personally administered their own fatal dose. I rest my case.