The Dangers of Gardening

Three days ago, I woke up unable to move one of my knees. It throbbed, it clicked, it would do everything except its job. I left it alone until yesterday, when I realised it was huge, so rang NHS 111.

On the phone: 'No minor injury? Ring your surgery and ask for an appointment today. We'll send these notes across right now, so that should help. '
At the GP's: 'Clearly a lot of fluid on it, very swollen. More worried re your leg, because it's also swollen and hard. Malta you say? Best make sure you don't have a clot. Making you an appointment for hospital.'
Bloods nurse at hospital: There now that didn't hurt did it?
Me:Yes it did.
Bloods nurse: No it didn't. I've been doing this for years.
Me (thinks) Doing it badly since 1917 I reckon.
Ultrasound: Lots of fluid, no clot, no bakers cyst.
X Ray:No fracture, but this doesn't account for wear and tear or cartilage damage.
Bloods back: You do have a marker for inflammation, but we'd kind of expect this after cancer.
Specialist: This looks like an effusion. Don't want to stick a needle in it cos it's not infected now and there's a small chance a needle could change that. Use this combination of painkillers and these crutches. Keep 'em. Keep it up, don't do anything. Get back to us instantly if it gets hot/bigger/worse because then we'll have to drain it. Should be fine in days/weeks.

I leave the hospital with that sense of judgement looming over me; You must have done something!

OK so, I recently planted out some wildflowers, and of course knelt on the ground to do that. There, that's the nearest my knees have come to an adventure. Yes, Osteopenia lowers bone mass, but it's also very common among Scots, basically Ye Malady of Oldebone, exacerbated by Letrozole. It didn't stop the warriors who followed William Wallace or Robert the Bruce, never stopped the Caledonians from wild battles against the Romans, it really shouldn't stop me. But here I am.

Pfff.

Adolescence and The White Lotus

Adolescence is phenomenal. Harrowing though. One thing I find interesting is what reviewers leave out as well as what they emphasise. Social media and misogynistic influences on the perp get a lot of necessary attention, but the victim's relationship with social media is barely touched upon. The victim is a cyberbully; in real life, sooner or later she'd face a turning worm. Hopefully the results would be as far from this as possible, but they would never have been pleasant. Some detractors have complained that episode 4 does not move in the most dramatic direction, i.e the trial, but I think they're missing the point. Episode 4 has a weakness in so much as Jamie Miller (well portrayed by Owen Cooper) is not seen, but that adds to the power of what he says and the way he says it. As to Stephen Graham's performance as Eddie Miller, it's probably a lifetime best.

Oh, and schools? Never easy. My mind goes to all my friends who became teachers; I can't think of one still in that profession.

Then there was The White Lotus. Hmm.

Season 1 was just brilliant, a mini anthology all woven in together, shrewdly absurd, funny, sometimes uncomfortable. I was caught up in it. The feud between Armond and Shane, the break out performance of Susan Coolidge as Tanya McQuoid, the conclusion of Quinn's arc, it all worked.

Season 2 was very pretty, but leaned a lot harder on the character of Tanya. It was funny in places but nothing like as sharp.

Season 3? I guess I should wait til the end to be sure, but right now, it's a slow burn. Not dull, but far from the spark of the first season. Satire loses its edge when it repeats itself. There's word that two more seasons are planned. I think they're milking it.