Solstice Solipsism

Living near Charing X Hospital I see and hear a lot of ambulances.

Today the drivers, etc are on strike. I am not judgemental but I wonder when you were last transported in an ambulance? I would not remember except it was the day JFK was assassinated. Ambulances are not a free Medi-Uber and those of us who are unwell should go by car or taxi to hospital. If you are reading this I suspect you already know if anything’s up with the old ticker get to a hospital pronto. When you arrive there will be a bottleneck but that’s another problem. I hope I’m not being negative because the great thing about the NHS is that it’s available 24/7. Robert, Bertie and I do not have health insurance; if we did it would be fine to claim on a weekday daytime but if we felt unwell on a Sunday morning we would have to rely on the NHS or Medivet. The nub is too many people expect too much from a ‘free’ NHS. It’s like an eat all you can buffet to get value from the tax one might, or might not, have paid.

OK, I’ve got that off my chest. Today is the winter solstice. I have a bit to say on the subject but I don’t want to repeat myself. In case you have forgotten read a post from seven years ago. This morning it was cloudy and wet in Co Meath; a disappointment for the dawn tumulus twitchers.

This morning I dithered over two things to write about but it turns out I have written about neither, so there you go. President Eisenhower did not dither, he knew what he liked and he watched this film on four successive evenings at the White House. I only met Charlton Heston once, in New York in 1983. I never met Gregory Peck. But I think you might enjoy their movie.