Articles by Oliver Fortune
Dementia – or is it old age?
A recent article in The Times set out the signifiers of dementia (viz. forgetfulness of something told an hour ago, putting objects in strange places, losing track of the season or passage of time, getting lost in a familiar place, becoming withdrawn and losing interest in hobbies and friends, [...]
It’s all about a load of hot air …
Now some two months into my new life living on the south coast of England, I have been learning much – in my terminally technologically illiterate way – about the practicalities of living upon semi-agricultural land. One of first stages in our project is going to be the transformation of our [...]
Drunks
A few weeks ago on the car radio I happened to hear A Good Read, a book recommendation programmme presented by Harriet Gilbert. Under the Milkwood by Dylan Thomas was advocated by one participant. There was much praise for the Welsh poet’s lyricism. Harriet Gilbert, as accompaniment, used an [...]
Covid injection appraised
I support the consensus view that the rollout vaccination programme has been extremely well organised – the cynic might say the government’s sole success to date. My letter of eligibility arrived a week ago, I made the appointment at the local racecourse for early morning last Thursday. [...]
Covid – it’s a nightmare
In Times 2 – the lifestyle and features section of the newspaper – last Monday a retired Harvard Professor Robert Sindgold wrote on nightmares caused by Covid anxiety. His conclusion was that though frequent these were nothing to fear. It was the brain working through the night [...]
A familiar tale
Last Saturday the Weekend Section of The Times featured an article titled I married a Conman – it cost me £150,000 and my self dignity”. I would provide the link but as a matter of policy we do not to those newspapers and journals which demand a subscription. Besides it’s a [...]
The art of being paid your true worth
As preachers might say “My text for today is …” a report by Bhvishya Patel upon remarks chippy made by Sarah Sands, the departing editor of Radio 4’s Today programme, about the disparity in salaries between BBC presenters and other staff who contribute to programmes – see here, as appears [...]
“You ought to check it out”
A familiar subject on the Rust is health for the senior citizen. One of my colleagues posted about a spidery mark on his forehead which when checked by a dermatologist proved to be nothing sinister. I had a similar issue with my calf and foot which have been swelling. It causes neither discomfort [...]
Full marks to M & S
A few years ago I suffered a potentially fatal disease which resulted in numerous skin grafts and scarring. After that experience I became involved in a charity helping victims of disfigurement and researching into it. So it’s an area where I have some experience. Last week I stopped at the M [...]