It's Educational (being stuck in bed with a cold)

I've largely been holed up in my beddy-byes since Wednesday, sniffing, sneezing, coughing, and informing the cat on a regular basis that "Ah'm nae weel!" It's been great so it has, drifting in and out of consciousness and exhausting my supply of paper hankies. On the plus side, though, the radio (yep, here we go again...) has provided me with numerous snippets of information. So I now proudly present:

Things I Have Learned While Being A Fluey Mess

1. The presenters on Five Live's Drive show have a decidedly irreverent attitude to the news and the usual interview suspects. This is a Good Thing.



2. Patricia Hewitt seems to be morphing into Margaret Thatcher. She has the "patronisingly talk down to everyone" thing down to a tee, and the too-soft and too-low voice register is coming along nicely. And hearing her finish off an interview on NHS cutbacks - sorry, restructuring - by thanking all the hard-working underappreciated staff is more than a sickly soul can take.
   



3. I'm not usually the kind of grown-up who reads kids' books, but I might make an exception for this one - Endymion Spring by Matthew Skelton - having heard the author on Simon Mayo's show last Thursday (if you want to hear for yourself, you can always download it) my interest has now been piqued, largely due to the refreshing lack of cynicism on the author's part.



4. Apparently human saliva contains silicon, and thus "spit and polish" is a good idea for shoe cleaning. Well whaddaya know?



5. The G8 debt cancellation is having at least one positive effect, as Zambia is now diverting the saved cash towards providing free healthcare.



6. In addition to his eternal love for The Exorcist, god-bothering, fifties throwback film reviewer Mark Kermode is also now defending the Basic Instinct sequel. Jesus wept...



7. Listening to Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe stories on the radio is an absolute joy, leaving me longing to read them all and wallow in that glorious use of the English language. And a sly dig at Ernest Hemingway in the Farewell My Lovely adaptation only endeared him to me even more (I suffered through The Old Man and the Sea, and I've been holding a grudge ever since. He's also one of the few subjects where I part company with the normally spot-on Dorothy Parker; her adoration of the man is lost on me).

Maybe I should be ill more often, it's not so bad really...