I was just going out on my bike to the village shop when the army started rolling by - tanks, jeeps, gun carriers and other assorted vehicles. I waited for them all to pass before venturing out into the road. By the time I got to the village, the vehicles had blocked all the streets. Not surprising really as one tank fills both sides of a road. Cars and trucks were beginning to fill the roads behind and I did wonder whether the truck or the tank would have to back up. I also wondered what they were doing there but not enough to stop myself weaving through the assorted vehicles to get to the shop. The village shop has a five person rule , which was clearly being totally ignored as it was packed with army personnel - buying bread. Well Napoleon did say 'an army marches on its stomach.'
My father could play the piano. Not an unusual skill but he was deaf. He lost his hearing fighting in the army in India in the 30s so he was an adult when he lost it and therefore remembered tunes, even though he couldn't hear him. However he didn't have the skill to learn anything new so either you liked the old music or you didn't. He used to say that he played by ear and then would roar with laughter. He would have struggled in many ways with modern living but most of all during the pandemic, he would have lost his ability to communicate as he always lip read. There must be thousands of people like him today who still rely on reading lips to understand, in fact all of us do it to some extent, so please be patient if someone is struggling to communicate while you are wearing a mask. I went to the supermarket today and at the check out, the cashier asked me to move the trolley into a particular position. As I manoeuvred it ...
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