Lockdown Day 38: Time for another clap

In the case of this neighbour, aided by some colourful extra hands. Another week of appreciation for the NHS and other key workers. The enthusiasm doesn’t seem to be waning. 

Mystic Em made me hot chocolate this afternoon. In return I explained to her that the reason she couldn’t find the orange handled scissors in the kitchen drawer was because her brain had constructed a mental image of the object she was looking for as having black handles. The brain does not project external reality on to a screen inside our head, rather it takes the data from our senses and reconstructs that reality in a subjective way having filtered and reorganised the information in a form that it thinks is useful to us. This from a new kindle book I am reading about the psychological basis of storytelling and how it mimics human neural activity.

The hot chocolate was bloody delicious by the way.

The thirty eighth day of lockdown coincided with the twenty seventh anniversary of the founding of the internet as we know it. A numerologist would see this as significant. You take the two and the seven and shift the number up by one in each case and you come up with three and eight. Apparently the number 38 is about relationships, teamwork, pulling together, companionship, diplomacy, and cooperation. Twenty seven represents the kind hearted, tolerant, intelligent, team worker who wants to see humanity better off than it is. So basically today is a big love-in over the World Wide Web which is potentially one definition of this period we are living through. This last interpretation is from another kindle book I am reading which suggests we can find the life affirming content of everything that happens in our day and thus reconstruct our brains to be more positive through hardwiring happiness.

Might not work if your experience of lockdown is that you are broke, unemployed, going mad, lonely, or about to be eaten alive by your dogs. Or possibly all of the above.

Another significant fact about today was that it would have been Aged P’s 98th birthday. As usual we celebrated with anecdotes and memories on our family WhatsApp group.

My achievements today were mainly domestic but they were achievements. Actually there were also personal achievements such as writing this blog, staying calm, and not letting my one eye get me down. Although my sons did not help in this respect. One of them asked me to check a form he was completing “as it is always good to have a fresh pair of eyes in these matters”. The other one was guilty of displaying too much builder’s bum whilst hoovering and when I complained he said I should “turn a blind eye”. Both said the pun was unintentional. Being a forgiving sort of bloke I gave them both a smiling two word response, in each case the second word being “ - off”.

I am learning a lot about wearing an eye patch. In fact I have ordered a new one which I hope will be more effective. There is a lot more to being one-eyed than you think. I just hope it isn’t a permanent arrangement, I’m getting fed up with pouring coffee all over the work surface because my monocular vision means I miss the mug... However I was sufficiently co-ordinated to sous chef for The Dizzle this evening in the production of a rather superior Buddha bowl, which everyone raved about (see extra). We make a good team in the kitchen when we don’t argue.

Good day.