Scientists have discovered an almost foolproof test that will ascertain whether you have Alzheimer’s disease, twenty years before the onset of obvious symptoms. This is tremendously good news. It now means that instead of becoming increasingly grouchy and useless at 70, you can start anticipating the joys of ageing whilst still in the prime of life. If the combination of COVID, Lockdown, teenage children, recession/depression, pollution, state sponsored hackers and impending poverty weren’t enough to bring on terminal depression then this exciting news is surely all that was needed to curl up in a ball under the duvet and stay there longer than Rip Van Winkle.
I resisted the urge this morning as we are staying with an old school friend in Norfolk and he had kindly organised a day out at Pensthorpe Natural Park near Fakenham. If you’re interested in getting up close and personal with a Scaly-sided Merganser this is the place to go. They are handsome ducks whose natural habitat is The Great Forest of the Russian Far East where they are in danger of becoming extinct and Pensthorpe is therefore breeding them, along with red squirrels which can also be found in the Great Forest and they too are endangered. If plants are more your thing there’s a stunning Millennium Garden designed by the World Famous (so says the guide) Dutch designer Piet Oudolf. I am ashamed to confess that it’s a name that had previously escaped my attention but I am assured by my very knowledgeable hostess that he’s a Chelsea gold medal winner and a star of the global scene. With hints of Monet’s bridge and a wonderful kaleidoscope of colour and form it’s well worth a detour if you’re anywhere nearby.
Mine host is a farmer with his genus’s inbuilt ability to use his hands to great effect. At school I remember him whittling a block of wood for days that eventually became a spiral table lamp. His latest project has been to build a very upmarket tree house, quite high up in a large cherry tree at the bottom of the garden. It’s piece de resistance is a zip wire that allows you to jump out of the house and plunge earthwards at high speed towards the veggie patch; well ok, it’s a beautifully kept kitchen garden. My head for heights isn’t what it used to be, but I find a glass or three of vino helps enormously.
I am writing this under the stars in Peter and Gill’s stunning showcase garden, with the strong scent of tobacco plants wafting my way. I can still recall their names and mine and vaguely remember most of what I’ve done today, so hopefully Alzheimer’s hasn’t yet dug it’s icy claws into my ageing grey matter. I certainly won’t be taking any tests to find out.
ADayInTheStrifeOf 