During a visit to the hospital the other day I was accidentally mistagged as Mrs Underhill, age 93.

It was 4 hours before I noticed. And it was the Dr’s name on my wrist that I found strange, not my date of birth.

I wonder whether Mrs Underhill noticed.

I enjoyed being her, it rather cheered me up considering the circumstances.

Texas Alexander 1928

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlLkuEpWsxs&w=420&h=240]

I was surprised to read doing some research that the statistics for suicide are not necessarily higher during Christmas. I had surmised they likely peaked during that time. I was also surprised to see that Ireland had the lowest suicide rates until the 1950’s. That’s no longer the case, this year the numbers are high with one Offaly coroner describing suicide as “rampant” in rural Ireland. (RTE Jan 2011) By April this year Ireland’s suicide rate was described by Minister of State for Health Kathleen Lynch as “the highest in its history” (Source: Irish Times April 8, 2011). A letter to the Irish Times last week cited that “…from 2003 to 2011, Ireland lost 4,408 young men and women to suicide.”

How are we to reach people and persuade or convince them otherwise? How can the stigma of mental illness be overcome? How can problems that seem insurmountable appear otherwise? Is our general inarticulateness around death also contributing? Why do we continue to understand so little about the brain?

It occurred to me today that Beckett’s experience of not being born properly (& the Bion exchange that resulted) may have been partly why he was subsequently so insightful on demise.

Week 47 flu strains

Here’s the flu report for week 47 (this week): the Perth flu strain is whipping it this week. (Why are the strains thus named I wonder?)

 Since the start of the season, the National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) has antigenically characterized 12 influenza viruses (seven A/H3N2 and five B). All seven A/H3N2 viruses (from BC, AB & ON) are antigenically related to A/Perth/16/2009. Three of the influenza B viruses characterized (from AB & QC) are antigenically related to the vaccine strain B/Brisbane/60/2008 (Victoria lineage). The other two influenza B viruses (from BC) are antigenically related to the reference virus B/Wisconsin/01/2010-like, which belongs to the Yamagata lineage

source: Flu Watch

Fever does not sit so well with Christmas music.

I have been able to catch up on reading copies of the NYRB despite the undulating blaze.

My males are both wonderfully festive, so I enjoy listening to them delight, while reclining in a more Proustian predicament.

A fierce storm is brewing off the West coast of Vancouver Island. Here we are all stillness, light rain and glooms.

Clean up yesterday unveiled my vintage book on weather forecasting.

Kissed it & replaced it upon the shelf.

Hot port

Hot port, porter cheese, natter and the small male’s cough accompaniment.

Today the xmas cards still come from Ireland.

Yesterday was a day with sad news but happy company.

I have only just realized tomorrow is xmas eve.

The small male does not agree that he needs a food dehydrator or a ukelele for his xmas present.

I knitted my way to Wednesday without even noticing that Tuesday had passed.

The vest/pullover is finally finished. It very cute in a made from mishaps kind of way. It has a bit of a transgendered Amish vibe to it. But I have yet to put it on the man for whom it is intended. I am thrilled with it. It is also unique due to the mess-ups through out its creation.

Must post a picture of it for full display..

I have found a clothes peg very useful when reading a book. It aides keeping the pages flat on the left hand side (will only work for early sections of a book, unless you source a mega-sized clothes peg).