An Uncomfortable Day

No more toothache! No more tooth….. farewell dear friend. You’ve been a good servant. I wonder if the tooth fairy will call tonight? Mind you, I have nothing to put under my pillow….. ah, well.

I had originally intended quite a full day one way and another today and, although I got up early to let the shopping delivery across the threshold, I went back to bed for an hour or two and forwent yoga, so really didn’t do a lot this morning. I had a headache. No idea why – just a thumping headache that wasn’t keen to ease, even after a cup of tea.

So, this morning it was just a potter about in the kitchen putting things away; exclaiming over the things which hadn’t arrived; cursing the things I’d forgotten to order; and delighting in the things I had.

John, meanwhile, spent all morning on the computer and chatting to his agent regarding the houses in Corby. One of the houses is in multiple occupancy and there are things to do, like make sure the contracts are up to date and the smoke alarms work, and so on.

“Will you be ready to go shortly?” I asked John as I started to prepare myself for the dentist’s chair. “Yep, all ready,” he said. I was very thankful that he drove me there and back. To be honest, I was expecting the dentist to tell me he’d have to extract the tooth, as I was pretty sure it had broken. But I was hoping not. And, sure enough, broken it was – clean in half. No saving that, then.

However, it wasn’t as bad as I anticipated, at all. A few wriggles with his pliers and there we were. As always, it’s the blooming injections that get you, isn’t it?? And, as I said to John, this is the first extraction of an adult tooth that I’ve had, so I think I haven’t done too badly. I’d like to have kept all my teeth in my head all my life, but it wasn’t to be. Too much chocolate, do you reckon? Or wine? Or just old age and lack-of-calcium teeth?

This afternoon, I spent it just pinned to the sofa. “I am just going to sit on the sofa, John, and take drugs,” I declared. So, paracetamol and ibuprofen at the ready, that’s exactly what I did. Although I didn’t feel too sorry for myself, I just enjoyed the opportunity to rest, which was nice.

I have been oblivious to what John has been doing though. I suspect he’s been faffing about on the computer mostly, but he hasn’t puffed and sighed, so it can’t have been all bad.

In COVID news, I had a chat with an anti-vaxxer/anti-masker in the dentist’s waiting room today. She arrived, sans mask, so I asked her if she had one. “Nah… you’re alright,” she replied, “I don’t believe in all that mask stuff.” And thus we fell into conversation. She wasn’t sure what was in the vaccine, so she wasn’t having any. She thought it was all hype on the news, “You can’t believe what the BBC say, can you?” (she might be right…) and wearing masks didn’t do anything.

I did my best to set information I’ve picked up from the scientists’ research before her, and my final comment was something along the lines of: “So I’m wearing my mask to protect you; and if you wear a mask, you’ll protect me.” She seemed rather struck by that. But whether she’d have forgotten it by the time she walked out of the room, I have no idea. Whichever way it goes, I do hope she doesn’t catch COVID. The majority of patients admitted to hospital are now those who are unvaccinated.

37,269 people tested positive for the virus today; 214 people died in hospitals; and 70 in hospitals in the last 48 hours. 1,005 people were admitted to hospital. That is over a thousand a day for the last seven days, on average.

In addition, over 108,000 children and young people (<25) are now stuck with Long COVID in the UK, according to the ONS (Office for National Statistics). Eeeh, dear.

Look after yourselves and your loved ones everyone. And wear a mask. God bless.

Susie Dent’s Word of the Day? ‘Flarnecking’ (19th century) – vulgar flaunting and shameless ostentation.

Happy Diwali, everyone!