Life, Death & Funerals.

I have had heart issues for years & am now on my 3rd pacemaker. I've just spent 3 days in Cardiology in hospital having emergency surgery. Currently I can't drive or do much with my left arm. But thanks to the NHS, which, whatever it's problems, cares for acute patients amazingly, I am waking up each morning & functioning independently. The average survival after pacemaker implantation was 99.4 months (about 8.3 years). So I'm doing well, I've had one for 14 years.

Being alive seems to be the point as far as I can see. Those of us who have a life to live without war, famine, deprivation & all the ills besetting so many people in the world now, we are very lucky. Unfortunately it is all too easy to take our life for granted & not do very much with it. What is the point of a life if the living don't contribute something to the greater good? Maybe we should all think about the legacy we will leave behind before it's too late. Possibly we should keep a running tally of the good & the bad things we do day to day & try to make sure there is a positive balance.

Not everyone can do something really impressive, like invent a vaccine. But everyone can make someone elses life a little better. Everyone can care & be kind. Everyone can stand up for truth, peace & justice.

A friends husband has just died & I will go to his funeral this week. There is so much death in our world today that I worry that we will just become inured to it. Treat the news coverage like a CGI film. We are all dying. It's normal. I'm truly not afraid of illness or dying. The only thing that does bother me is the thought of dying alone in my house & being unable to contact anyone. The unacceptable face of death is what is happening today in places like Palestine, Yemen, Ukraine, Syria & Israel...... 

Grieving & Funerals vary a lot around the world. There are cultural differences. In the Middle East burial takes place as quickly as possible after death. The body is washed and covered with a sheet by family members. Here that is handled by undertakers. Family & friends attend the service, but are largely passive.

There is no right or wrong way to grieve or deal with the dead. There is only a right or wrong way to live ones life.

Perfume & Sensory Memory

When I think of my mother I think of 4711 Eau de Cologne. In 1693 Italian barber Giovanni Paolo Feminis created a perfume water called Aqua Admirabilis, today best known as eau de cologne. 4711 has natural essential oils of lemon, orange and bergamot (revitalising) with oils of lavender and rosemary (both calming and relaxing) and neroli (creates a positive mood). There wasn't much money to spare for anything other than basics, but she did love 4711 so buying her a gift was easy.

Interestingly when I came to research all the perfumes I have worn through my life, I realise I have always preferred green, citrus notes. I'm now wondering whether that is because of the strong sensory memory of my mother. The sense of smell (or olfaction) is our most primitive sense and yet is one of the most powerful senses that cannot be turned off. Of all the senses, the sense of smell is the most important trigger of memory. 

I like vintage perfumes. Over the years I have worn;-

• Sortilege - Le Galion
• Femme - Rochas
• Je Reviens - Worth
• Arpege - Lanvin
• Ma Griffe - Carven
• O - Lancome
• Chloe - Chloe
• L'Occitaine - L'Occitaine
• L'Aimant - Coty
  
• Aqua di Parma - Aqua di Parma
• Beautiful - Estee Lauder
• Georgio - Beverley Hills

I'm really surprised there have been so many. But then I have been wearing perfume for 60 years!

Perfume dates back to when ancient cultures burned incense. The word perfume comes from "per fumus" meaning through smoke. The earliest recorded use of ‘perfume’ is when the Mesopotamians first discovered incense 4000 years ago. Perfume first arrived in Egypt around 3000 B.C. Queen Hatshepsut popularised it. Persia dominated the international perfume trade for centuries. The Chinese were also influential in perfumery. 

The online database, updated weekly, archives profiles of over 17,000 perfumes, listing brand name, corporate group, creative director, gender, perfumer, date, country of origin, bottle designer, fragrance family, an image, an olfactory pyramid and a pronunciation guide. No wonder I can never make my mind up in airport duty free. Chanel No 5 is the world's favourite perfume. The global perfume market size was valued at USD 45.85 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow from USD 48.05 billion in 2023 to USD 69.25 billion by 2030. Utterly staggering statistics. 

Clive Christian's No1 Passant Guardant is officially recognised as the world's most expensive perfume - a statement of unbridled opulence and luxury. The website doesn't give the price. But the bottle is made of gold & diamonds. I can't help feeling that the money could be better spent in the world today.

Like most women I do love perfume. Everyone wants to be pleasant to be near. Today stores are selling Dupes, cheap yet often indistinguishable copies of the real deal - Zara, M&S & Aldi just to name 3. Dupes is short for duplicates. But maybe it also points to how women are ripped off by expensive perfumiers. Are we just paying for a name & fancy packaging? 

 

Free Speech, Disinformation & Conspiracy Theories

Article 10 of the Human Rights Act -  a right that's fundamental to our democracy means we're free to hold opinions and ideas and to share them with others without the State interfering. But the State does modify that. There are a range of restrictions in the Malicious Communications Act 1988, which covers indecent or grossly offensive, threatening, false or believed to be false content. In addition, if the purpose for sending the message is to cause distress or anxiety. The Communications Act 2003 criminalises “indecent or grossly offensive” messages and threats.

Fortunately it isn't 1984 & we don't yet have "thought police" technology. I am free to think what I like, which is fortunate because I am of a generation that is not "woke" enough to social inequalities such as racial justice, sexism and LGBT rights. So, for example, I simply don't understand how there can be between 72 - 107 different genders. I can grasp male, female, straight / heterosexual, homosexual, lesbian & trans. That's about as far as it goes. The danger is that possibly due to ignorance I could contravene free speech. I have certainly had my 18 year old grandsons tell me "you can't say that granny!"

To my mind it is important that speech or opinion is not hidden away or "no platformed". If someone makes a defamatory statement such as Libel, (a defamatory statement that is written) or Slander (a defamatory statement that is oral), the Law can intervene & protect the person being defamed. But if we don't hear adverse opinion that we don't agree with how can we argue our case or challenge the ideas? The "bad " ideas simply go underground, are hidden & insidiously build up momentum.

In our post truth world of deliberate lies & misinformation facts are becoming irrelevant. There are now a whole host of fact checking websites & organisations aiming to counter this tide of misinformation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fact-checking_websites. The BBC has introduced BBC Verify / BBC Reality Check / More or Less for example. 

I find it shocking that lies have become a common currency of Political discourse. It's brazen & completely amoral. 

It's now up to each & everyone of us to ensure that we are not simply accepting everything we are told. We also have to be aware that Conspiracy Theories abound & most are utter rubbish. The EU has a website devoted to identifying Conspiracy Theories   https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/coronavirus-response/fighting-disinformation/identifying-conspiracy-theories_en

We all have to be aware that just because something is being spread about it isn't necessarily true. We have to be responsible for our own Fact Checking. We shouldn't run with the herd. We shouldn't be swayed by influencers & charismatic leaders of politics or international companies. The immensly powerful & wealthy have their own axe to grind. They are not necessarily on our side.

If we want a well ordered & peaceful world we have to stop being lambs to the slaughter & start using our brains to fight for our human rights through real democracy.

Instant Gratification

We fortunate ones, (Haves), are used to instant gratification. We want to go somewhere, we get in our cars or use a public transport system. We want to buy something, we use our credit cards, which delays actually paying for it. We have clean water on tap. We have instant gas & electricity for light & heat. We have shops & online outlets everywhere for anything our hearts desire. We have takeaways & restaurants. We have a huge selection of leisure opportunities. We have hobbies we enjoy in our spare time. We go on holidays. We have purchasing power & we are safe. We have expectations of what we are entitled to & we are blessed. We take all of this & more for granted. 

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/standard-of-living-by-country - The UK ramks 22 in the quality of life index.

According to World Vision 

• 719 million people — 9.2% of the world’s population — are living on less than $2.15 a day.
• Children and youths account for two-thirds of the world’s poor, and women represent a majority in most regions.
• Extreme poverty is largely concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa.
• 24% of the world’s population, which equates to 1.9 billion people, live in fragile contexts, characterized by impoverished conditions and dire circumstances.
• By 2030, more than half of the world’s poor will live in fragile contexts.
• About 63% of people older than 15 who live in extreme poverty have no schooling or only some basic education.
• 1.2 billion people in 111 developing countries live in multidimensional poverty, accounting for 19% of the world’s population.
• 593 million children are experiencing multidimensional poverty.
• Over 37 million people were living in poverty in the U.S. in 2021. Children account for 11.1 million of those.

These are the "Have Nots". Absolute poverty is when a person cannot afford the basics, such as food, shelter, and clothing. Relative poverty is a household income below a certain percentage, typically 50% or 60%, of that country’s median income. Even if a person’s income is above the poverty line, their family may still not have basic services such as electricity, access to clean water, sanitation, and education.

https://www.worldvision.org/sponsorship-news-stories/global-poverty-facts#how-many

 

The question is how on earth can this extreme polarisation be changed so that human beings everywhere get a reasonable share of the things we feel are necessary for a good life? If we cannot solve that problem & reduce the disparity between people, the world will continue on the disastrous path it is on currently. Worldwide instant communication means that the disposessed & the Have Nots know how the other half live. The Haves also know, very clearly, just how fortunate they are. 

It isn't a recipe for worldwide peace & harmony. We have to learn to share. We Haves need to forgo some of our "perks". If we don't, armies & fortresses won't protect us from the displaced, the disenfranchised & the economically challenged who have very little to be grateful for. 

There are 2,640 billionaires with a total net wealth of $12.2 trillion. Today Bernard Arnault CEO of LVMH is the richest man in the world with $211 billion. Followed closely by Elon Musk with $180 billion. There are 47 million millionaires globally. 28,420 are so-called centi-millionaires worldwide.

How is it acceptable for individuals & their families to have this level of wealth when so many are suffering huge deprivation? It's a resipe for civil unrest.  

 

War, Pestilence & Malthus Theory of Population

I did Biology at A Level. Hard work, but fascinating. I remember well the bit about "Malthus Theory of Population". Since then I have become a member of a charity called "Population Matters". That too is facinating & the most reliable source if you really want to understand the complexities & dangers of population growth. https://populationmatters.org/campaign-graphics/

Back to Malthus, who believed that the human population grows more rapidly than the food supply until famines, war or disease reduces the population. He also believed that population growth is exponential but food & resources growth is linear, which triggers catastrophe & population decline, forcing correction back to a more sustainable level. It's the Malthusian Trap.

Does any of this sound at all familiar?

The modern version of this is Galor & Ashraf's theory that as long as higher income has a positive effect on reproduction and land remains a limiting factor in resource production, then technological progress has only a temporary effect on per capita income. While in the short-run technological progress increases income per capita, resource abundance created by technological progress would enable population growth, and would eventually bring the per capita income back to its original long-run level. 

Are you still with me? In simplistic terms humans need war, pestilence & natural disasters to keep the population at a level that our planet can sustain. Because there is no alternative Earth. 

I don't believe in God in the organised religion sense. Religions are too male dominated & hierarchical & have far too much bad stuff to answer for as far as I can see. But I do think that we live in a wondrous, complex, interrelated, biosystem that I can believe didn't just happen on it's own. A system that we are comprehensively damaging to the point of complete destruction of the human place in it.

So I have to wonder is what has been happening since the Arab Spring in 2010 all part of an inbuilt cosmic control system? Our major religions all have something to say about the end of the world. Christianity - Book of Revelation. Hinduism - Vishnu's return to battle evil. In Islam the end of the world is referred to as the Hour. In Judaism the Day of the Lord.

I hope we aren't already in the End Game. But it does seem to me that catastrophic events are arriving fast & furious. At the very least it should be a warning that we heed & take action to control to enable a more equitable sharing of the undoubted gifts we have been given

 

Outrage, Emotion, War & Collateral Damage

Outrage is a strong moral emotion characterized by a combination of surprise, shock, disgust, indignation & anger, usually in reaction to violence & brutality or a grave personal offense. The important word in that definition is emotion.

Emotion is an instinctive or intuitive strong feeling or mental state as distinguished from reasoning or knowledge.

When I listen or watch the news now I find it very difficult, if not impossible, to understand how the many conflicts ongoing in the world have anything to do with rational thought. I was tempted to say that war is less likely to happen if leaders are women, because women are more empathetic & work more collaboratively than men. I could only think of Thatcher & the Falklands. It seems that I am wrong. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2022/03/08/sheryl-sandberg-says-female-leaders-dont-go-to-war-heres-what-research-says/?sh=c7f86dc1fa77

One of the most unacceptable phrases in the English language is Collateral Damage - deaths and injuries that are a result of the fighting in a war but happen to people who are not in the military. In 2017, at least 630 million women and children—10% of women and 16% of children worldwide— were either displaced by conflict or resided dangerously close to armed conflict events. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7612212/  If you don't have the time to read the whole thing skip to the Key Messages.

Wars are not won by anyone. One side may vanquish another, but everyone loses. The price is too high. Eventually there has to be negotiation & some sort of peace treaty. Wars cause death, appalling injury, suffering, destruction & damage beyond comprehension. 

Why do people go to war? Wars have been caused by competition over land, religious conflicts, nationalism, imperialism, racism, & slavery. I would argue that the root of all of that is Power & Fundamentalism. 

While the arms industry continues to be such a money spinner wars will continue. UK arms export licences more than doubled to £8.5bn in 2022. The biggest sales were to Saudi Arabia, Turkey & Qatar. The United States is the biggest arms dealer on earth. From 2017 to 2021 it sold weapons to over 100 nations, and in 2020 alone, American companies made $111 billion from foreign military sales. The estimate of the financial value of the global arms trade for 2020 was at least $112 billion.

Currently what we are seeing in the Middle East & Europe is beyond any logic & rational thought. It simply is "Beyond the Pale". I use that term advisedly - look up the origins.  

Its all about money & power & we should be outraged at the leaders who allow this to happen so often. Or actually cause it.

 

Pain's a Pain

I follow "Versus Arthritis" because I've had osteoarthritic pain for decades. Probably since I was in my late 20's early 30's. Around 15.5 million people in England (34% of the population) have chronic pain. Approximately 5.5 million people (12% of the population) have high-impact chronic pain and struggle to take part in daily activities. 10 million people (22% of the population) have low-impact chronic pain.

I have also had Fibromyalgia for decades. It's quite common, possibly 1 person in every 25 may be affected. Many people do not seek medical help, or are misdiagnosed so there are more. There may be 1.5 to 2 million people in the UK with Fibromyalgia. It's more common than rheumatoid arthritis. The main symptoms of fibromyalgia are chronic, widespread pain throughout the body at multiple sites, tenderness throughout the body, as well as fatigue and trouble sleeping. Pain is often felt in the arms, legs, head, chest, abdomen, back, and buttocks. People often describe it as aching, burning, or throbbing. People with the disorder have a heightened sensitivity to pain, so they feel pain when others do not. It tends to run in families & is more commen in women - I am my mother reincarnated.

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/chronic-pain/background-information/prevalence/

I would say that Osteoarthritic pain is skeletal & Fibromyalgia pain is muscular. So it's a double whammy.

Chronic pain sufferers have to live with the effects of pain 24/7. In many cases there is no cure. A doctor can't wave a magic wand. Surprisingly, given the above statistics, Medics get very little training in any aspect of pain. https://www.pathways.health/blog/how-much-pain-education-do-medical-professionals-receive/  In my experience the main treatment for pain is a "suck it & see" system of various pain medications from Paracetamol to Opioids.

I am an expert in pain management. I have years of experience of what works & what doesn't. I use a variety of techniques to manage daily life. When I have an acute "flare up" nothing works, including painkillers, apart from, given time, a good osteopath. I just have to "live with it". When it comes down to it pain is very isolating. In my circle of family, friends & aquaintances there are few who have any idea what living with chronic pain is like.

The point of writing this is that the NHS, for all it's sucesses, fails chronic pain sufferers. We each have to become well informed, pro active, managers of our own conditions, because the majority of people we come into contact with, including medics, have no idea what our lives are like & what to do about our disability. 

If sufferers are financially secure & can pay for alternative therapies, physiotherapy, gym & pool memberships, exercise classes....they can maintain a reasonable level of fitness. If not the pain & disability must be overwhelming. It is truly a "use it or lose it" situation. Inactivity is the worst thing for chronic pain.

 

Braverman the Afghanistan "Evacuation" & Human Rights

I watched the Channel 4 documentary "Evacuation" last night. It was shocking, despite the fact that I had followed the withdrawl from Afghanistan on the news at the time. Hearing the first hand accounts of professional soldiers was heartrending & very difficult to stomach. How they live with the memories they must have I simply don't know.

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/evacuation

That is juxtaposed, in my mind, with Suella Bravermans alarmist Washington speech about the need for human rights reform because, according to her, immigrents are an "existential challenge" to countries. 

The UK is on the UN Security Council & helped to shape international law, including the ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights). Braverman was suggesting that the conservatives might decide to leave that agreement. The ECHR was created in 1951 so is more than 70 years old. The world has changed. It may well be that the convention needs to be brought into the 21st century. 

We live in a world of mass continental population movements due to war, discrimination, poverty, climate change... Maybe there needs to be a discussion about where the boundary between persecution and discrimination is & what we should do about it. What we shouldn't do is throw the baby out with the bathwater - Literally. "Evacuation" showed the impact of the withdrawl on so many babies & children & the impact that had on the soldiers forced to do a job most of us would have been totally unable to do with any humanity.

Humanity seems to be in short supply in our world today. Yes there are things wrong with the United Kingdom. Yes many people are struggling now to have the basics - food, warmth, a home, a job, good health...But we generally don't live with an existential threat, we aren't in fear of our lives, we don't suffer appalling discrimination as do women & gay people in many parts of the world. We can mostly get by. We have a temperate climate, clean water, freedom of speech, rule of law....We are lucky to live in the UK.

The extreme right wingers of our world would do well to really think about what they would do if they lived in Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Yemen or any of the numerous countries really suffering today. If we lose our ability to empathise we lose our humanity. Ultimately no amount of political power can replace that. There will be a reckoning ultimately.