Pausing To Draw Breath

Ailz asked me why I was late to bed and I told her I'd just finished Tess of the d'Urbervilles and needed time to wind down.

I think I'll wait a day or two before launching into Jude the Obscure.

Quackery

Earlier this week we took my mother to the doctor's to have him look at her leg- which has been giving her problems for about a week. He diagnosed a "flair-up" and prescribed extra pain-killers.  See what he did there?  Basically nothing- but the trick is to do it reassuringly and with an air of professional competence.

Today we're taking her to the hospital in Maidstone for an injection into her eye. This is a new treatment and we suspect she's being used as a guinea pig. But why not? She's losing her sight and this might save it. No harm in trying...