Painless

Back in May (NO NO NO Not a spelling mistake for "I'm Backing May") but the month of May, I had to have a tooth pulled quickly just as my dentist was on holiday. The stand-in did a great job. Now it was time for my annual checkup, back with my normal dentist. As usual was expecting the worst but actually turned out well.

The young assistant did all the cleaning, de-scaling, polishing that is included in the free NHS check-up. I used to go for the much longer and not very pleasant "Professional Teeth Cleaning" option offered which costs around €70 but have dropped this the last year or so.

Doc Müller then as always very cheerfully entered the room and poked around exchanging a series of strange numbers and letters with the assistant, finally saying "everything OK, nothing to do".So I left happy but with a slight expectation that it may not be too long before I'm back - the assistant had detected one slightly wobbly tooth right at the back which reacted very slightly to her scratching off the scale.

I like to Blip a bit of art from the dentist's various rooms as the dentist family (father & son) have a bit of a thing about works of art. The assistant who knew about my Blip "tick" pointed out the new paintings which the dentist's wife and also a dentist in the practice, had got from a friend of hers, Andrea. I think the surname was Pfeiffer but I couldn't find anything on "Gurgle" to show she was a local star in the Ottobeuren Art Scene.

A quick visit to the butcher to pick up the weekly standing order for dog food and grabbed myself a very late breakfast or better lunch from their hot food selection - a schnitzel in a roll. Lovely.

Ottobeuren has it's street Christmas decorations up and this evening the best-known market in Bavaria (and probably Germany) was opened. For me and most people, today is the starting pistol for Advent and just to prove it, heard my first Christmas song on the car radio when driving home - a song written and sung when the USA was a damn sight better than it is now.

I doubt more than 6 Christmas songs played during the whole day on that station, one of the top two in Bavaria. They seemed to be concentrating on Beatles numbers and indeed I heard the appropriate "We can work it out" even though that is the last thing that is currently going on.

Thursday's newspapers were full of Armageddon warnings from the Bank of England and the Governments own experts. Enough to cause a collapse of a government but no, today's papers had dropped all that in favour of discussing who, where and what May & Corbyn might undertake a totally meaningless TV debate.

Wake up UK - there are only two choices available - No Deal or No Brexit which means there must be a first proper referendum that is binding and carried out with the voters now knowing what they are voting for.

The latest email from Mrs May today talks about signing off a deal so that planes will fly between canada and the UK after 29th March!! Just read the governments own headlines (I have highlighted a few words):

- Transport Secretary announces arrangement between UK and Canada guaranteeing vital routes will remain in place once the UK leaves the EU
- the arrangement provides certainty for businesses, allowing trade to continue driving tens of billions pounds into the UK economy
- builds on the successful conclusion of the government’s air services arrangement with the United States

You could think this was going to improve something. I have now checked on the US version mentioned above and see it was signed two days ago:

Chris Grayling, Transport Secretary, said:
- The UK and United States have a special relationship which has helped shape the modern world and there is no better example of this than in aviation.
- Our transatlantic flights have helped to bring our countries even closer together, strengthening our ties and boosting our economies.
- This new arrangement and those concluded with 8 other countries around the world are proof that the UK will continue to be a major player on the world stage after we leave the EU.

Isn't it great ... UK now has flight security with 9 countries worldwide.... just 184 more to do in 100 days. Go for it Chris!