4 March 2013

People talking without speaking, people hearing without listening

I'm making toad in the hole and roast potatoes. Sherlock is gleeful. He is bouncing. John is too.

He was a bit grumpy earlier - zoomed down the stairs to semaphore at me, and clonked his cast very hard on the stair rail. Made him remember he isn't better yet.

Went to work today. Was hoarse and coughing. Had too many meetings to catch up with everyone, talked too much, did case reviews, talked too much. Met up with John, talked too much. Have now almost lost my voice. Still, I have retained the power of (watery) seal-pup eyes, croaking pitifully and I can comment or text John when I want something.

I was going to try and ring Mum today, but she'll have to wait now.



Here's a picture from the copper chopper today, down at Canary Wharf.


And here's a picture of a kiwi skeleton Sherlock showed me. Apparently they lay the biggest eggs in relation to body size. I wouldn't fancy it, that's for sure!!


Looks painful.

Also, hello to the new people commenting! There seem to suddenly be a few of you. Welcome, comment away. The more the merrier.


Also - want to feel old? I mean, this made me feel....really very old.

The Karate Kid... he's the same age now as Mr Miyagi was in the film. Isn't that a horrifying thought?

80 comments:

John H. D. Watson said...

...I am now ancient.

pandabob said...

You sound like you've had a interesting day Greg but lets be honest most things you want to communicate to John can be done without a voice can't they ;-)

Greg Lestrade said...

yeah yeah, still younger than me.

Sherlock said...

I don't even know who that is and kung fu is better than karate anyway and when is dinner ready I'm staaaaaarving

Greg Lestrade said...

In a whiiiile you are not staaaarving.

It's a film, Kiddo. The Karate Kid.

And you might enjoy kung fu more than karate, but there's no need to say one is better than the other.

Anonymous said...

I think I don't want to ask how old Mr Miyagi was in the film. I'm going to step gently away from that thought entirely.

REReader said...

All styles of martial arts have strengths and weaknesses. How well a person does in a fight depends on how advanced they are--and even more, how well practiced they are--far more than on what style they practice.

The egg-in-the-kiwi skeleton looks excrutiatingly painful... O_O

REReader said...

(Also, yay for Simon and Garfunkle!)

Anon Without A Name said...

I refuse to acknowledge that the Karate Kid has aged that much. It's... disturbing.

Also, John, I'm older than you, so perhaps we could compromise on "somewhere in the vicinity of middle-aged" rather than "ancient"?

Toad in the hole with roast potatoes sounds delicious, and has made me realise I'm hungry (although not staaaaaaarving, I'm happy to say.)

REReader said...

perhaps we could compromise on "somewhere in the vicinity of middle-aged" rather than "ancient"?

Besides, "The Ancient" is from Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, not The Karate Kid...

Sherlock said...

IT IS DELICIOUS I'm having seconds I bet you want some.

And Kung Fu IS better because I looked at all of the things I could do and Kung Fu was the best except maybe John's one because that sounds fun

REReader said...

Sherlock, if Kung Fu is the one you like doing the best, it is the best one for you to do.

Greg Lestrade said...

he's taking full advantage of silence from my end to get away with saying things he knows I'd normally dispute.

John H. D. Watson said...

Nameless - I suppose we could go with middle aged. L said basically the same thing, heh. And dinner is indeed delicious.

Sherlock said...

It's funny because he says SH-L- and nothing else comes out except a squeaky sound

Greg Lestrade said...

Hilarious, you little horror.

John H. D. Watson said...

( it is a bit funny...)

Greg Lestrade said...

You can hush too. Give me mouth to mouth or something.

Anon Without A Name said...

Sherlock, I would have wanted some, yes, but I'm vegetarian and I doubt your toad in the hole was; and anyway, I had a lovely dinner cooked for me (which involved roast potatoes). So I think we were both lucky to have someone cook us a nice meal this evening :-)

John - middle-aged it is, then :-)

Lestrade - you'll have to work on your glaring, the seal-eyes clearly aren't working on Sherlock...

John H. D. Watson said...

L - Come and sit with me then.

Greg Lestrade said...

feel really breathless. but then it might just be cause I'm thinking about it too much.

or it might be you.

John H. D. Watson said...

Probably not me. I'm going to listen to your lungs again before we go to sleep tonight.

Greg Lestrade said...

long as you promise to warm up your stethoscope.

Think it is you. You always take my breath away.

I admit there's a slight chance it could have been chasing Sherlock up the stairs.

John H. D. Watson said...

...That does seem a slightly more likely culprit. Is he back in bed?

Greg Lestrade said...

Yeah. Wanted to go to Kung Fu with his cast on. And have another roast potato. And know if I was going to be off work again.

John H. D. Watson said...

Are you?

Greg Lestrade said...

...not unless you think it would seriously detrimental to go in?

John H. D. Watson said...

I still want to listen to your lungs, but I think you're probably all right. I can't recommend chasing criminals up stairs though.

Greg Lestrade said...

I'll get an apb out, for everyone to warn all criminals I might come across to stand still and give up and not make me chase them.

You can do what every other doctor has done and told me I was an idiot for smoking and probably deserve asthma or something worse.

John H. D. Watson said...

I think all criminals should do that anyway. There should be a law.

You have seen a lot of very cranky doctors.

Greg Lestrade said...

I was a very bad patient ;)

C'mon...how would Doc like me...face down on the bed, or face up?

And if I start ejecting lungs during the night, I'll move to the sofa agin.

John H. D. Watson said...

Hmm...

Face down, I'll rub your back too.

If you start ejecting internal organs, wake me up. I like to know about these things.

Kestrel337 said...

Ralph Macchio is HOW OLD? Dang, I remember him from before Karate Kid.

So my celebration of recognizing the song title gets cut off by realization that my daughter is the same age I was when I saw the movie.

Hope you feel better tomorrow!

Greg Lestrade said...

Thanks, I am feeling a bit better. Wasn't up as much in the night.

Glad I made up for the easy song lyric with my little revelation at the end ;)

pandabob said...

more sleep sounds like a good step towards perfect health Greg :-)

hows work? desk based to avoid running yet not so boring you're struggling to stay awake I hope ;-)

John H. D. Watson said...

L - lunch? Coffee?

Greg Lestrade said...

Yes, brilliant yes. I can even speak audibly today. Just. And it's so sunny! Park?

Anonymous said...

Sunny - I'm jealous. I seriously think we're on about day 28 of no sunshine, just varying shades of grey! Enjoy the sun

L - I'm glad you're feeling better and you've got your voice back.

Have a great afternoon/evening, gentlemen (and Sherlook too) ;)

LyricalSinger

John H. D. Watson said...

Sun, park, relatively warm temperatures, a boyfriend who can communicate in words... What more could one ask for?

Greg Lestrade said...

And there I was priding myself on my non verbal communication.

John H. D. Watson said...

You do have excellent non-verbal communication skills. I'm not sure how well they'd work in the park though.

I'm so glad you're feeling a bit better.

Greg Lestrade said...

Me too. Thanks for taking care of me so well. You're the best.

Put in special dinner requests :)

John H. D. Watson said...

You're very welcome, love.

Risotto?

Greg Lestrade said...

Yeah, if its what you want. I don't mind doing anything though, elaborate as you like, within the timescale.

John H. D. Watson said...

I like risotto. Maybe with fish? I can get anything we need, Sherlock and I are still out.

He says, somewhat predictably, mango eggs. I told him I didn't think that would be happening tonight.

Greg Lestrade said...

How about seafood? Langoustine, clams, anything you want really? Or just get a fish you fancy and I'll use that.

John H. D. Watson said...

Clams would be nice. Do we need anything else?

Greg Lestrade said...

Can you get me some mozzarella, tomato, avocado and spinach?

John H. D. Watson said...

Absolutely. Sounds delicious, whatever you're planning on doing with it.

Greg Lestrade said...

...making my lunch for tomorrow? Sick of eating canteen food.

John H. D. Watson said...

Ha, all right. I was trying to work out how avocado went with risotto.

Greg Lestrade said...

can make you some too, leave it in the fridge...

on the way home.

Sherlock said...

can I take a mozzarella to school for lunch?

Greg Lestrade said...

A whole one? No!

John H. D. Watson said...

can make you some too, leave it in the fridge...

Are you sure you don't mind? It does sound good.

Greg Lestrade said...

Course I don't mind, foolish man.

Love you.

John H. D. Watson said...

I love you too. :)

Greg Lestrade said...

Think Sherlock's school would like a visit from the MPSMPU? (river police). On...well, safety and stuff? They're always up for visiting schools and groups.

John H. D. Watson said...

I can ask Mrs N about it tomorrow if you like. I think the kids would love someone new to interrogate. Do the river police know what they'd be getting into?

Greg Lestrade said...

they do it all the time - cubs, scouts, schools, all sorts.

Is it his parents evening next week? Maybe mention it to her, yeah.

John H. D. Watson said...

Yes, but not at Sherlock's school...

It is, yeah.

Greg Lestrade said...

it's win-win - they like doing it because it gets them away from dragging decomposing corpses out of the water, or diving in the murky Thames.

I'd rather they were doing those things than talking to schools ;)

So if they enjoy it, lovely - if they don't, they'll be more appreciative of their days jobs!

John H. D. Watson said...

Point. If that were my job, I'd rather go and talk to Sherlock's school, too. Probably.

Speaking of which, his art class is meant to start soon.

Greg Lestrade said...

I'd rather have the bodies...

Oh, the art class you're going to help with? Well, it'll keep you off the streets.

John H. D. Watson said...

The art class you're going to help with...

Small Hobbit said...

My Brownies would love the river police - pity they're so far away.

Greg Lestrade said...

there might be someone nearer you, SH?

Danger - I'm not free that evening.

John H. D. Watson said...

Mmhmm. We'll see about that.

Kestrel337 said...

Police visists are always fun (at least the social/educational ones). My three saved their pocket money to donate to the K9 fund for our local police. When I called to ask if we could come in to donate, they offered to send the officer and dog to our house instead.

Best Day Ever.

Anonymous said...

Semi-serious question: how does the Thames dive team keep from getting E.coli like, all the time?

Greg Lestrade said...

I don't know. I mean, I imagine they do try not to drink it :)

And as long as we haven't had very heavy rain the Thames is fairly clean. And I guess they wash well after!

Maybe Sherlock can ask them?

REReader said...

How big is a whole mozarella?

The art class should be a lot of fun! Whoever ends up going to help, have fun and show us what you end up creating... :)

Greg Lestrade said...

About the size of the palm of your hand, and like a slightly squashed sphere. Although one of the cheese shops here does a plait, which is even bigger.

REReader said...

That does sound like more cheese than I'd want for one meal.

(Are they smaller in Italy? Because Calvin Trillin wrote about mozzarella "eggs" being his favorite Italian market snack...although he also described himself as having a hearty appetite. :))

Piplover said...

I try to avoid fast food because it's an easy trap for me to fall into and it can get expensive! But I've found when I have migraines one of the few things I crave is either Chinese fast food or Burger King fries. My sister can only eat McDonald's fries when she's got one. Something about the salt/grease combo.

But after I eat it, even if my headache gets better, I feel rather icky, and it never tastes as good as I think it will.

Piplover said...

Ack! Sorry, wrong blog!

Greg Lestrade said...

RR - they come in different sizes wherever you buy them. There is no standard size.

REReader said...

Interesting. I've never bought any fresh mozzarella, only the packaged (usually shredded) kind. There used to be a couple of kosher cheese shops on the Lower East Side where you buy actual fresh-made cheeses (I remember getting really, really fresh Muenster there, yummmm), but they are long gone, alas.

Greg Lestrade said...

Partially dehydrated mozzarella - the sort I think you're talking about - is basically nothing at all like 'real' mozzarella. The real stuff is so soft it's verging on a cream cheese, with a slight 'skin' on the outside where it all hangs together.

http://grassrootgourmet.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/mozzarella.jpg

It's an amazing flavour, for something so mild.

REReader said...

Yeah, not had that. (It looks really good!)

It's not the easiest thing, to get kosher cheese, because of the rennet problem--most kosher cheese is made with vegetarian/chemical rennets now.

Post a Comment