Living the Nightmare

Let us hope that you do not know the feeling when you are looking at the damage caused by the bathroom ceiling falling down onto your living room floor, together with a cascade of water from the burst pipe which started the adventure, when you friend rushes in and says, some young lad has driven his car into yours, and it looks like yours is a write off.

You struggle to find a suitable expression to articulate your sense of horror, which could also be published in a family Blog, when the phone rings, and it is your spouse just telling you that they have been made redundant from their job with immediate effect.

On the face of it , that light-hearted trip with friends to that exciting new “Health Cake” store where the skilled assistant can reveal the news that a diet of whipped cream, marzipan and fudge can slim your figure back to teenage perfection and give you the cardio vascular system of an Olympic athlete will have to be delayed.

After some reflection you come up with the only word which seems to cover all these misfortune’s . “Bother” you say. Your sense of utter desolation and bewilderment is understood immediately by all those around you. They too may have had their dance with “The Princess of Gloom”, whose slick but colourless dress sense gives few clues about the length of her talons or the remorseless hold she can have on you once she has you in her grip.

Luckily the above scenario is fictitious but we all go through phases of bad luck or periods of significant stress and it is hard to express these in print and in a calm and orderly manner. Recently I have had to deal with a stressful situation, and face up to the news that increasing my cream, fudge and marzipan intake may not lead to the improvements in my figure which I originally hoped.

I thank you for your sympathy in advance, and you have mine for any unpleasant situation you find yourselves in. Sometimes, I have discovered, there is no choice but to walk onto the street and face the things you most dread single-handedly and alone, in an old style “Western” duel. People may cheer from the side lines but it will not improve your aim. The main thing is to stop your hand from shaking. Easier said than done.