Recent images from Dave Walker

posted by Dave Walker 18.12.18


Granddads, father and son, grandson
Rising sun, setting sun

Don't just sit there

Posted by Dave Walker


I am not a massive fan of Giles Coren of The Times, but just occasionally he writes something with a ring to it. November 24th to be precise.

Giles suggests adults should follow the initiative of some primary schools who have compiled a list of stuff their kids must do in addition to the 3Rs - like climbing a tree, sleeping under canvas and tilling a veg patch. His adult list includes: drive somewhere using a map, buy a book from a bookshop, try to remember something using only your memory, make plans for the weekend without checking a weather app, reverse into a parking space using only your eyes/neck/hopefully hands, pay cash for something, drink a pint of beer that doesn't smell of flowers.

The gist is there - it's not our natural state to rely on gadgets, which begs the question what is our natural state. Anyway just go along with the idea that everything was good before computers, satnavs and mobile phones. Never mind how old you are, get off your arse and do something.

An earlier Times piece suggested we shouldn't worry too much about forgetting things. My satnav lady is very temperamental and a tad unreliable and so is my map reading. So I do get lost quite a bit. The weather forecast on the BBC is incomprehensible - when was rain or snow or low? yesterday, tomorrow or the weekend? I wait and make my own assessment on the day and do what I was going to do anyway. Sadly I don't carry cash and am I missing out on a car-reversing doofer? And bookshops, first and secondhand (and libraries) are great, especially the 3 for 2's which are presumably how best-selling authors are best-selling.

I like beer that smells of flowers, particularly Ossett Blonde of Wakefield.

So a mixed reception, but I go along with most of it. Except 'Read and article in an actual newspaper and when you have finished, sit quietly, and decide what you think about it, even form a judgement ... AND THEN KEEP IT TO YOURSELF'.

What would us bloggers write about without these curation opportunities?

Did I mean a denture bath?

  Posted by David Walker


How many of us own traditional tooth mugs? Plastic, about the size of a cream slice, but semi-round with a straight edge. And creased, presumably a fashion statement. It's certainly a design issue - dirt, grease, and whatever else accumulates in impossible-to-clean crevices. Inside can be similar, particularly if you haven't washed it out for a while. So the top is secured by a plastic hinge, part of the overall structure and vulnerable. I think mine lasted quite a long time before becoming permanently detached.
  I needed a new one. Not available except in chemists. I visited my local in Scarborough. 
  "Do you have a tooth mug?"
  "No."
  "Oh, okay then," and I turned towards the door.
  I'd was nearly out on the street when the assistant called out, "Did you mean a denture bath?"