It's Always More Complicated

Or that's what it feels like, over the last just over a week.

There was going to the solicitors to sign our wills.

There was going over to coughingbear and hano's for a get-together (very nice to see people!)

There was deciding that maybe a knee support would be advantageous for the knee which has been being bit wonky of late so I ordered one Click and Collect from the local Argos. And it does seem to ameliorate the situation somewhat though I think I probably need to set about making a GP appointment about it, since it has not gone away in a few days as I hoped it would.

In other health matters have been being mildly hassled by my dental practice about booking a hygienist appointment, which, when I got round to, found they could not actually fit me in for for the next 4 weeks.

There was going to Book Launch for work by a long-term acquaintance in academic field, at rather elite venue in The City, a bit of a faff to get to, though part of that might have been getting off the bus at the wrong stop, though building works occluding street names did not help. Very few people I knew apart from Author, who was besieged by people wanting her to sign copies of The Book, but had nice chat with an editor who knew somewhat of My Earlier Work.

Yesterday I flopped at home apart from attending an online seminar (actually a substitution offered for the one I'd booked for last week which was cancelled, felt it would be civil to attend).

Today we boogeyed on down to the Register Office to Register Our Intention of Civil Partnership, at which they interrogate one not only about previous marriages etc but endeavour to ascertain whether one is Under Duress.

So yesterday I had further converse with another person apropos giving a talk as part of a series of events in connection with an exhibition of archives at a local record office some months hence and they sound keen, and it is something I can do, and have a fair amount of material including visual stuff already. Plus, besides expenses, there will also be a modest honorarium - they actually asked what do I usually get paid - errrr.

So there's that.

And the long review essay is finally in production and while I had some rather confusing emails about this yesterday I think this is down to Academic Journals Having Really Confusing Systems, it is indeed going ahead, and I was obliged to compose a short biographical note, both to reflect current institutional state and also be pertinent to topics addressed in review (my last bio note leaned rather heavily on my relationship with Sid).

And I am beginning to get to grips with article for review, though slightly fearing I may be Interrogating From the Wrong Perspective (journal is Not My Disciplinary Field, though article certainly overlaps it).

Have had the very cheering news that a conference I thought I would never get to again because it would involve transatlantic travel, is coming to London next year, yay yay yay, I am already pondering a paper.

In other personal news, have booked dental checkup and hygienist appointment for next week.

And in other news, the National Trust has reached its target to buy the land around the Cerne Giant:

The money will be used to improve access to the 55-metre (180ft) figure and to link up a patchwork of habitats, improving conditions for species such as the rare Duke of Burgundy butterfly.
It will also enable further archaeological work to help solve the enduring mystery of whom the giant depicts, and when and why it was created.

Just one of those weeks that felt like a strain - lower back flareups and insomnia and long-scheduled commitments that could not be deferred -

Though I did get a few small bits of life admin accomplished, like finally making an appointment for the first session of dental inlay work and chasing up whether journal reviews editor actually got my review.

But at the moment having the blahs.

Well, yesterday, besides achieving valid British Library reader pass, in case I ever decide to go and do research there (I think there are/were also some offsite advantages, or at least, I tried to avail myself of some facility on their site some while ago and was told 'not if you are not in possession of current pass'- I think recently enough that it was not something obliterated by cyberattack??) -

- anyway, the reason I actually got myself together with expired pass and acceptable ID was that my dental practice is almost opposite BL and I had a hygienist appointment.

And apart from a couple of small things where I could give them a bit more brush action, I am keeping the ol' toofypegs in pretty good nick, considering.

So those things were fairly on the okay side of the balance.

On another prickly paw, something about the physio exercises for my hips set off a lower-back flare - not as bad perhaps as the one in May but I am now proceeding with caution, and building up numbers rather than doing the full sets of repetitions.

In the realm of Internette Troublez, partner has been having Issues with a certain Rail Company booking tickets, where they are booked - y/n? - charged to card but not actually available to download - this is iterating. Sigh.

While Publishing Person and Web Manager for my fictional endeavours is having An Issue with FTP, and as they are the one I tend to turn to when having Techno Problems, uhhhhhh. Am now communicating with Internet Provider Support Team.

Am progressing towards getting physio for my shoulders - contacted the Musculo-Skeletal Service by phone; who then texted me a link to register with them, and I also got a link from the online portal to complete online details. I did the registration thing but I didn't actually deal with this immediately and the portal link timed out. However they sent it again the following day and I expeditiously engaged with the chatbot about my condition.

So, today I had a phonecall making me an appointment for an initial phone consultation preliminary to face-to-face interaction, just over a week hence.

Well, at least things are moving forward....

I have also been sent a reminder that I am due a dental hygienist appointment - it seems like only yesterday I last had one but I think all the toing and froing for other dental matters may have confused my time-scale on this. I've just checked and it was only October, this seems a bit of a short interval.

Today I got the filling that fell out replaced: this was done very expeditious.

Back again next week for the implants.

Yay modern dentistry, I suppose.

***

I have been Irked the last couple of days by somebody emailing me, that retired nearly 10 years ago, with a query relating to their research in the archives at Former Workplace. They are located abroad but are currently in London until the end of the week.

I depose:

a) that you should have asked these questions before you set off on your research travels.

b) you should probably address them to the persons currently i/c the collections who will have a much more current idea of what is there and has been catalogued, no?

c) have you actually considered that your project may encounter issues around Data Protection? (they are based in the EU, surely they are aware of these things?)

I will also admit that the peeves are rioting around me in the supposition that the very helpful hand-curated thematic guides to archival sources that were once one of the prides of our operation have gone the way of the dodo, and the current catalogue interface is a nightmare.

It may possibly be that somebody helpfully said that they should talk to that Very Helpful and Exceedingly Knowledgeable Dr Oursin, but I really think there is no substitute for being in quotidien up to date contact with the archivesto answer this sort of enquiry.

Appointment today with the dental implant guy, who was v pleased with the way things have gone on, and - oh joy - the next phase can be incorporated into my existing appointment later this week with my usual dentist which was to replace the crown that came off the other week, by extending it somewhat.

In other corporeality stuff, really should get round to setting up an eye-test.

***

In other news, did a podcast interview with a student yesterday - apparently this is A Thing these days, that students find A Nexpert to interview on some historical subject (I daresay there is some equivalent in other subjects?)? and make a podcast? o tempora, o mores, etc.

(And having turned one eager young thing down on the grounds I was not sufficiently A Nexpert, this was something I was fuming about Before It Was Cool, i.e. complete myth invented by 1 'historian' in the 90s which Will Not Die, though at least there is increasing pushback, so felt I should do it.)

It may be remembered that I was being nagged apropos of a trip to the dental hygienist.

Well, at the weekend I had the joyous experience of one of my dental crowns detaching itself: I did managed to catch it before swallowing it.

So priority 1 yesterday was making appointment with dentist about that, and asking could this be incorporated with sandblasting the gnashers while I was there, and it could.

So today off I trotted, and had my pearlies polished and shone.

And my dentist is of the opinion that crown needs entire replacing though (relief) the root is in healthy condition.

So I am down for several trips in connection with this in the next few weeks, plus an appointment to do with next phase of implants.

Wot a round of fun and jollity, eh, wot larks.

Plus, had a text from the GP requesting that I make a routine review appointment to discuss the findings of my health check last week, as the cholesterol is a little high. As far as I can see from looking at the test results online, it is the Right Sort of cholesterol that is on the high side, but so are some other things. So anyway, have made phone appointment for next week.

Sometime I need to fit in an eyetest, but for all they say slots are going fast, when I checked yesterday they had ones for the next day and the whole of the week, so I'm not greatly perturbed there.

Yes, I know 'English teeth' are deemed unaesthestic, but perhaps that's better than wildly changing one's gnashers to accord with what turns out to be a constantly changing dental aesthetic: Jawbreakers Young patients want beautifully imperfect veneers. They’re getting pain, debt, and regret.

I may have had a fair amount of dental interventions (some of which have probably been due to overtreatment in earlier days), but at least I have not gone in for dental veneers:

[D]ental veneers are invasive medical prosthetics, and in many cases they alter patients’ teeth drastically and permanently. The most common form are porcelain veneers, which typically need to be glued onto a rough surface, created by shaving off a layer of the patients’ teeth. There is no dental procedure that can replace the lost enamel. Composite veneers, which allow for a resin to be applied directly onto teeth, can in theory avoid this damage, so long as there are no complications. In the very best cases, porcelain veneers need to be replaced every 15 to 20 years; composites last roughly half as long. But veneers done poorly are a different story altogether: They can lead to major and irreparable health consequences, including rotting teeth, gum infections and disease, TMJ disorders, and other chronic conditions, including unresolvable pain and degradation of the jawbone.

***

I am even more, 'So glad I grew up when and where I did', when I come across this: going WHAT? WHAT? Erotic asphyxiation has become mainstream among under-35s. How did we get here?

I remember having a journo contact me about the history of this a few years ago and it used to be very very niche and usually only really emerged when a case came up of auto-erotic strangulation.

So, today I had the checkup, a month after the first round of extractions/placing of initial implant stuff, and it is all looking fine, wheeee????

So carry on, I need not avoid chewing on that side, I can leave off the medicated mouthwash (good, I think it has been affecting my tastebuds), and gently deploy a manual toothbrush.

For several months until the next round, as the bone needs to strengthen (it was a bit soft, apparently).

As I was also being nagged about having a hygienist session, while I was there I booked that, plus a general checkup, which I had been delaying on while all the other stuff was going on, but if it is going to stretch out to the crack o'doom, might as well get it done, and anything that needs seeing to, seen to.

Given that the paucity of NHS dental provision is becoming a cause of national horror, and people are resorting to all sorts of expedients, this article from an academic acquaintance of mine seems timely and apposite: ‘Monty, Bring the Blood Can!’ Pulling Teeth in Working-Class Lancashire, 1900–48

Interesting, because I would have anticipated, or perhaps not, more provision under Public Health Services following the revelations of the rates of rejections of recruits for the war in South Africa on the grounds of gross dental conditions. (Which did, though I'm not sure it's actually explicit in the article, lead to the School Dental Service though that was possibly also part of other OMG by beginning of C20th infant/child mortality has not declined anything like overall mortality, handwring, handwring, gawdsakery panic.)