Mo and I sit down with our individual coffees for a catch up; it’s been a while and I feel sure there’s much to chat about.
“You know my mother’s in Southwick, Richard, in one of those retirement places which offers everything those of a certain age need, without taking away anyone’s individuality?
“Yes; She’s got her own flat, hasn’t she? Am I right, she has become obsessed with the Assisted Dying Bill?”
“I suppose it’s bound to be on everyone’s lips, with the worriers wondering whether their offspring will use it to hasten their departure and those more sanguine thinking it’s needed for those with life-limiting conditions. The ‘Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill’, as it’s officially called, is currently at the Committee stage in the House of Lords. (See PS) But we had a bit of a scare last month; her doctor found she’d developed an infection that had created more fluid than normal around her heart. It’s called Pericardial Effusion and the fluid squeezes the heart muscle, so it needs to be drained, slowly.”
“All good now?”
“Yes. Just needs to take some antibiotics for a couple of weeks to clear the infection.”
“Hearts seem to be on everyone’s lips. You’ll remember before Christmas, a yoga chum’s sister, aged 59, had gone to bed early and her husband had found her dead before midnight? Well, our masseuse had a very good friend who had a fatal heart attack last month at 62, then last week her nephew had a heart attack, went into a coma and was allowed to die; he was 39! Now news of your mother, although pleased her heart issue was easily dealt with.”
“God, that sounds awful. I guess the message is, if in doubt about any ache or pain around your heart, go and get it checked – NOW! And how’s your daughter, Richard?”
“Half term last week and I suspect that was a real relief; a hard first half. In addition to her full-on teaching role and head of year, personally she’d become somewhat deficient in iron, a vital chemical for our bodies to function at 100%. She had to have two iron infusions, a fortnight apart ….. and suffered a rather swollen tongue for a few hours afterwards. A little investigation says this is a common reaction.”
“If it had been me, I would have panicked!!”
“For me, it brought back a memory from a different era when, during the long summer holidays, my brother and I found ourselves playing cricket near home in Balcombe. My own cricket experience was from a preparatory school when, despite being hopeless at either batting, bowling or fielding, so every aspect of the game (!) I realised the team needed someone to keep score. And there was the added attraction of the after-match cream teas!
Two scratch teams came together using the pitch of a local school. Apart from the fact it was a glorious summer’s day, I remember little of the cricket. But during the tea, I hadn’t realised a bee had landed on the cream éclair I was about to stuff into my mouth. The last action of its short life was to sting my tongue. One’s body reacts to certain chemicals quickly and my tongue rapidly grew in size! Someone recognised this as a Medical Emergency and called an ambulance. I obviously survived …… but the memory of that jab of its barbed stinger into my tongue remains to this day.”
“You wrote in your last postcard about The Hope Café (PC 475 New Year in The Hope 23 January) that you were curious the Waitrose produce-picker had chosen Pomegranate seeds as a substitute for an order of Red Currents. I read that the recent storms in Southern Europe and North Africa have created a potential dearth in the UK of soft fruit like raspberries (Note 1), strawberries, blackberries, and blue berries. We have got used to being able to buy them all the year around, haven’t we – even if we accept that the blueberries in winter come from Peru!”
“Whenever I hear about berries I remember the delightful story about the colour of the mulberry.”
“The colour of the mulberry?”
“I wrote about it in PC 242 ‘What is This Thing Called Love? (1)’ (August 2021). In summary Thisbe has found her lover Pyramus’ body next to a white Mulberry bush, covered in his blood. Her heart broken, Thisbe kills herself with the same sword that Pyramus had used. The gods are so moved that the colour of the Mulberry fruit is forever changed to blood red!”
“Ah! That’s such a nice story! I think, like you Richard, I generally have the radio station Classic FM murmuring on in the background at home. A commercial station, its revenue comes from advertising. Having read PC 478 Eating Habits (13 February 2026) I have become a little more aware of what I am eating! Recently Classic FM was broadcasting an advertisement for Nestle’s Shredded Wheat.
The voiceover says: “I’ve been asked to read out the ingredients.” Of course, these days we are led to expect lots of ‘E’ numbers, flavourings and colourings, so it is a pleasant surprise when she continues: “Whole grain wheat.” Then there’s a pause and she comes on again: “That’s it, whole grain wheat. Nothing else.”
And that’s what the box shows ……. plus the disclaimer about nuts (!), although it this case Peanuts seem to be in a category of their own (?)”
“You mentioning Classic FM reminds me! A couple of weeks ago I was scanning The Times at breakfast. Having learned to play the trumpet at school I was attracted to the obituary of John Wallace CBE, whose career as a trumpeter took him all over the world with his renowned brass group The Wallace Collection, which he’d formed in 1986. In a lovely twist, as I was reading of his career, Classic FM was broadcasting Haydn’s famous Trumpet Concerto in E flat, the Andante movement of which I played for my audition for the National Youth Orchestra. (See PPS)”
“Need to rush, Richard. Lovely to chat ….. see yer!”
Richard 27th February 2026
Hove
PS Yesterday the Government of Jersey passed its own ‘Assisted Dying Bill’ and that will need Royal Assent; probable within 18 months. The Isle of Man’s bill is still awaiting Royal Assent. It’s likely that England & Wales’s own Assisted Dying Bill will fail due to lack of time. It is a Private Member’s Bill so does not have the Government’s support.
PPS Wasn’t successful! I could play something I had practised but the sight-reading test was a nightmare.
Note 1 To make the point, in this morning’s Waitrose online order, Raspberries have been substituted by …… Strawberries!!
postcards 