AlaraApothecary: We Brighten Your Day

Goodness gracious, the whole world has gone nuts again. Having survived the extremely dangerous drive from London to the countryside last week, I’m afraid the allure of snow has worn off big time. And can I just say that I was not at all loving the freezing sleet last Monday either. The eternal sunshine of  the spotless mind, it was not. I actually did enjoy shopping for once though. Fave store? Selfridges, no contest. Their windows are always really good and I loved the giant revolving Santa. Oh, for an air rifle. Pull!!! 🙂

Anyhoo, people seem to have gone mad, rushing around like headless chickens. I sense a change in the air though: even though there is the usual frenetic end-of-year target palaver, it just seems a bit more chilled this year. I am awash with bottles of Prosecco and flowers and biscuits from my awesome clients so I expect this has coloured my perspective somewhat. For all the people out there who are really stressed, I’ve hunted down some jokes for you. I also have a copy of one of my favourite images of man on the moon. Did we go into space? No comment. I’m sure I’m just too stupid to understand the science, that’s why I’m such a sceptic. All I’m saying is, I want to see those suckers replicate the moon landings with us all watching in real-time. I’m not holding my breath…..

I also have a picture of Alain Ducasse’s restaurant in the Plaza Athenee Hotel in Paris for you. It’s completely mad, isn’t it? I love it; just looking at the picture makes me smile. If you’re going to go over the top, do it with verve. I’m going there the first chance I get- once I can find someone nuts enough to stump up the 800 bucks for dinner for two cos’ I surely won’t pay that for a meal. Please form an orderly queue.

Last but not the least, I leave you with the following:

A boy asks his father to explain the differences between irritation, aggravation, and frustration. Dad picks up the phone and dials a number at random. When the phone is answered he asks, “Can I speak to Alf, please?” “There’s no one named Alf here.” The person hangs up. “That’s irritation,” says Dad.

He picks up the phone again, dials the same number and asks for Alf a second time. “No- there’s no one here named Alf. You have the wrong number. If you call again I shall telephone the police.” End of conversation. “That’s aggravation.”

“Then what’s frustration? ” asks his son. The father picks up the phone and dials a third time: “Hello, this is Alf. Have I received any phone calls?”

Have a terrific week.