The Longest Day
This will day that will long in the memory, not least for the exit poll when I finally “hit the hay” at 10.00pm.
My first appointment was to see my ophthalmic surgeon and hopefully see him afterwards for a minor procedure to remove a membrane from my left eye. I assured my p/a the ever concerned Polly that there should be no complications but the only certainty was that it would be expensive. I was right on both counts.
The procedure is called a laser capsulotomy. I am always interested how charges are computed and the surgeon charged some £250 for the procedure which lasted no longer than 5 minutes and a further £250 for the use of his laser. Not that many service providers charge for expertise and capital cost of machinery.
Nonetheless, thanks to my surgeon and the insertion of new lenses after cataract removal, I went from someone so myopic that I failed the driving eyesight test to someone who did not need glasses at all. There is small chance of the operation going wrong and to avoid that and to have the reassurance I am in the best hands I am prepared to pay and pay I have.
After lunch with an old friend who can converse on anything from sport to films (he once said he dated Elizabeth Taylor) to politics and deliver such bon mots as “Fidel Castro delivered pharmaceuticals, housing and education but could not deliver breakfast, lunch and dinner” I returned home for my normal siesta.
Our latest contributor Algy Belville invited me to a tasting of South African and Californian wines at a local hotel.
Ally confessed he found wine tastings hard to manage because of the wide variety of people present: the connoisseur, the client, the good timer, the time waster. As we numbered 5 I wondered if we had one of each.
Irritatingly a lady with cropped hair to my right immediately produced her mobile phone to text whilst the chief wine taster held forth which struck me as rude, another seemed more of a know-all whilst a married couple seems eager to learn.
I learned little nuggets like aromatic wine like Gewürztraminer should not be chilled too long as it will lose flavour. By the 6th offering a Zinfandel everyone was quite merry. My neighbour, rather than pass down the wine to our end, decided to photograph it. It was almost as if, worried about being on her own, she needed her mobile as company.
Somewhat tired I got him to listen to hear the first exit poll. It’s been an election that has changed from a shoe-in for Theresa May to a spirited campaign by Jeremy Corbyn that actually produced one victor in the unlikely shape of the DUP. Northern Ireland may not have devolved government but will be calling the shots and will shortly have the best roads in Europe.
