Illness Break

My readers will be puzzled by my silence of the past few weeks - so let me explain.

Global and European events do, of course, make it is increasingly difficult to present the positive note I strive for here. After all, this is a blog crafted by someone who values discovery and openness and who has always opposed the ravings of ideologues and conspiratorialists which seem to overwhelm us these days…….

But that is not the only reason for my silence of the past 6 weeks…… I have been hit by a debilitating condition which doesn’t seem to have a strong media profile – known in Britain by a term which resonates with seas-side holidays – that of “shingles”. It’s a virus which affects the nervous system and starts with Herpes (which I always associated with sexually-transmitted disease!) and can often then transmute (as it did in my case) into full-blown “Post herpetic neuralgia” which numbs part of the face and gives periodic sharp pains....

Initially I had toothache and the dentist was about to do an extraction (and a couple of implants) when the anesthetist alerted him to a heart irregularity, leading to a visit to the cardiologist who put me on a “halter” for a 24 hour test. By then the Herpes was identified – and, a week later, the full PHN.

For the next few weeks, therefore, I am resigned to this daily discomfort. I eat minimally and stopped all alcoholic intake – with my belly already showing the benefits! The downside, however, is listlessness…….

So please take advantage of this gap to read the various books I have put online….not just In Praise of Doubt – a blogger’s year but previous years’ posts which are available on an annual basis

And the thematic treatments which can be accessed at the top right of the blog……