The past week has been spent in the twin departments of hell which are dentists and builders. Until now I hadn’t realised how dealing with the two is very similar. I am at their complete mercy – without a shred of knowledge in either area.
At the dentist, I was confronted with what he calls some ‘difficult decisions’. I stared at the X-rays, listened to issues about bone density and gum decay, lay supine and totally vulnerable as my mouth was probed and prodded.
And when I left, I was several hundred pounds poorer, with ‘difficult’ decisions to make but still none the wiser. Should I just trust my dentist?
It was the same with the builder who came to quote for some work we want done. I have no idea whether he is any good or not.
He seemed competent and understood the issues but I have no way of judging whether he’ll do a good job or not, as I don’t even know the questions to ask, let alone the right answers.
At the dentist, I was confronted with what he calls some ‘difficult decisions’. I stared at the X-rays, listened to issues about bone density and gum decay, lay supine and totally vulnerable as my mouth was probed and prodded. Pictured: stock image of woman at dentist
It was the same with the builder who came to quote for some work we want done. I have no idea whether he is any good or not. Pictured: stock image of builder
If I let him loose on the shower room, will I live to regret it?
In most areas of life, I have a modicum of knowledge to dip into but when it comes to dentistry and plumbing I am a blank page. Are the repairs essential? Is the decay they have discovered catastrophic. Am I being ripped off?
These questions are giving me sleepless nights along with one more. Am I a control freak?
MEET A TRULY UNHINGED DATE
A friend has been banned from the online dating app Hinge. Having arranged to meet another user for a drink, he got a message from her which said: ‘I only date unvaccinated men.’
My friend thought she must have been joking and cheerfully messaged back: ‘I’ve had three jabs.’ She shouted back ‘NO’ (or however you shout on Hinge), adding: ‘I said, ‘I only date unvaccinated men.’ ‘
To which he, not surprisingly, replied ‘You’re f****** bonkers’ – end of conversation. A few weeks later, Hinge sent him a message saying he was banned for life, with no specified reason. Really? Who’s the dangerous one at large out there?
Read Related Also: Five police officers investigated after anti-riot training descended into chaos
ENJOY LIFE’S LUXURIES BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE
In her engrossing memoir Dancing With The Red Devil, journalist Sarah Standing writes of how going through cancer treatment made her stop saving things for best. Why not fling the expensive Floris Rose Geranium oil into the bath rather than eke it out in drops?
I would take this attitude a stage further. Why save things for best when, in truth, none of us know what is ahead? Yes, it means spending a bit more money but if we have lovely things, we should use them to make the best of every day, rather bring them out for high days and holidays. That’s just wasting time.
SAVED: BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS
When I used to visit Paris for the fashion shows, my hotel, Le Lancaster, was just off the Champs-Elysees, where I often dashed for a packet of paracetamol or pair of tights. The hotel was an elegant haven, seconds away from the ugly, multi-lane highway that this once beautiful boulevard, had become. Cheap shops, interminable traffic and chain-store eateries had stripped the wide street of any of the glamour that used to be associated with the area.
So it’s great news that the Champs-Elysees is to be revamped by diminishing traffic, planting 1,000 trees and giving the stores a uniform appearance before the Paris Olympics next year.
It seems a lot to achieve in a short time but if the French authorities are successful, perhaps we could try to do something about London’s Oxford Street, once something special but now a similarly uninspiring tourist street.
MEN ARE CRYING OUT FOR HELP AT WORK, TOO
The appointment of Helen Tomlinson as the country’s first Menopause Employment Champion sounds a good thing. As a leader in recruitment, she should be well suited to ensuring that companies help keep women in the workplace when they might be struggling with the menopause.
But don’t men sometimes need help, too? I read about Helen’s appointment just after a male friend had been sitting in our kitchen worrying about his prostate cancer diagnosis. More particularly, he was concerned about having to endure hormone therapy and radiotherapy. In recent months, many other friends have discovered they have this very common cancer and face dealing with the depressing and difficult side effects of the unpleasant treatment options. Will employers develop policies to help them if they feel like crying or suffer problems with incontinence?
Surely it would be better to train HR departments to help all men and women and everyone in between when they are going through difficult times.
DOES HAIR KNOW IT’S HEADING FOR A CHOP?
Is our hair a cognitive being? I only ask because after every visit to the hairdresser, it decides to look good, whereas for days before, it has been a total mess.
One minute you feel able only to face the world under a hat, and then suddenly it’s decided to adopt a charming wave and frames the face nicely. Does hair have a kind of early-warning system when it knows it’s for the chop?
