Dates

Susan asked for Michael to bring a date home, she meant dates, edible dates, do not bring back a Moroccan man as a date. Things can get a little mixed up when conversing via FaceTime to foreign shores. Michael and Kate are in Morocco on a three weeks break, yep, three weeks is what I said. I am on leave this week, one week, but have slowly started relaxing. He must be comatose by now.




We did a short trip to Corfe Castle yesterday, that is one place you can never get too much of. It was really pleasant walking the old cobbled streets and finding new shops. Found one called All Seasons, well worth a visit but make sure you have funding in place as that is one treasure trove that could break your Christmas budget. The National Trust shop is also worth a browse, not sure if it is only me but do you not find the quality of what they sell slightly better than your average gift shop. Gifts you buy from there are made to last and are very practical and a quality product.




Susan and Jenson are training for the Couch to 5k, both are doing well and JB is slowly learning the art of running when you must and sniffing when you walk. He is quite a strong dog now and the running will slowly get him to start listening and hopefully walking on the lead without pulling your arm off. 




Sitting at Sandbanks Cafe and looking around I do find the age demographic is about my age but looking at them I feel the place is full of old people. Age and the years do count in the end. It is a cold day and the wind makes it feel colder, the sea is a beautiful, dark blue reflecting the dark clouds overhead. I was saying to Susan, today feels like a winters day but in saying that it is the start of November and 7 degrees C with a breeze is not uncommon for this time of the year. The beach is deserted with the exception of a solitary dog walker hunched up against the wind and stubbornly plodding on oblivious to the fact they are completely alone.




As you know, I do enjoy the cold winter. The early sunsets and late sunrises, turning the heating up a notch and watching a Christmas movie with a glass of red wine, you know it is very cold outside, making the warmth of the house that much more appreciated.




I ramble on but what I wanted to say must be said. In 1951, the BBC aired the first episode of Sherlock Holmes. Holmes had a theory, if you eat less your brain, will be much sharper. I do find that plausible, as the great writers and painter from the 17th century produced their best works when penniless. Van Gogh is a very good example.




Holmes said in a reply to a question from Dr. Watson about why he did not want to eat.

"Because the faculties become refined when you starve them. Why, surely, as a doctor, my dear Watson, you must admit that what your digestion gain in the way of blood supply is so much lost to the brain. I am a brain, Watson. The rest of me is a mere appendix. Therefore, it is the brain I must consider."




Arthur Conan Doyle once described his character Sherlock Holmes as a quintessential misunderstood genius, "where discourses on madness and creativity converge".  




Talking of Arthur Conan Doyle has anyone had a look at all the work he published in his lifetime. Really worth a little research. He wrote for all forms of literary work, the stage, historical, fiction, poetry and factual. The Great Boer War is one of his best known factual works.