Grist to the Mill

30 June, 2004

REALITIES

A blind woman spoke on a radio programme this afternoon. The programme (unlike the woman's point that caught my attention) was concerned with making preparations for death. But it wasn't a morbid programme. The woman's voice was full of pleasure when she said, "I don't dream often, but when I do I can see what I'm looking at. It's lovely!!"

A blind person's dream life is something to think about. Interesting that she has technicolour dreams. (In this woman's case, the blindness was a progressive condition).

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An EFL teacher told me about a fish stall in Africa and how it stank, even from a distance. He said that he ended up loving the vibrant smells and buzz of activity surrounding the markets.

Now, a couple of years on and in London, he still finds it strange wandering through immense supermarkets stocked with every conceivable 'grocery', but unable to smell any of it. It's unnatural - seeing food piled high to the rafters, but packaged, refridgerated and shrink-wrapped until its aromas are impossible to detect.

Supermarkets are probably more sanitised than the average hospital, and food is supposed to taste and smell.

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