Rod reflects on the interface between anxiety and a long-line of Jewish ancestors.
Category Archives: Judaism
Detour into etymology via hell and the NHS.
For all they care we could go to hell, so long as they can keep going.
It’s a bit shit.
#NHS #scapegoating #primarycare @BMA #justtryingtodoourjob
Israel / Sheffield / Palestine & Stone throwing
There are 8.8 million people living in Israel.
That is 0.11% of the world population.
Around 20 per cent of children in the UK’s 68 million are living in poverty.
Consider the involvement of Russia and China in perpetuating the Syrian crisis.
Mystical motor forest
I guess the trees were too closely packed, or, I never found the entrance.
Phone fraud and Mammeloshen*
I remember experiencing a sensation similar to that which a fly must feel as it slips down the throat of a pitcher plant. Suspicion mixed with curiosity.
His left testicle.
My teacher, R’s smile in particular, warm and proud of our academic accomplishments.
Yet, the testicle.
BAME, BME and me
The colour of our skin is various, the shape of our face, head and hair, yet, our eyes, seem a constant.
He has brown eyes doesn’t mean a thing.
Pishers, Michael Rosen, viral illness and the Passover story (timely I know, as it is Easter soon)
Well, talking with my family when I had the distinct need to panic buy and hoard face-masks and rubber gloves the other day, (I didn’t); not only is this deeply rooted in the brains of every one of us, it is (at least I believe) amplified in some groups.
Where you from?
I gave this guy, who to me appeared to be of Greek or Turkish origin himself (with the assumption that I would answer him, ‘From Ankara…’) the response I used last week
Spiral (4)
It became us versus them; a competition for resources, doctors, nurses, pathways and investment.
Evil thoughts
Inside out,
upside down,
toho and boho.
It is a spinach shakshuka
Here is the guide: Take spinach, perhaps fifty or a hundred leaves, Wilt in the microwave For a minute or so. Glass bowl, Pyrex. And with this, In a pot, Prepare the roux. Yes, flour and butter and pre-warmed milk, Nice and creamy; Perhaps, some crushed pepper and A spoonfulContinue reading “It is a spinach shakshuka”
Memory
I remember the first time I visited Jerusalem. We entered via the Jaffa gate, my brother and me. He had some business related to psychology, I was just tagging-along. Eged bus, then foot. The spices more a phenomenon than the last time I went. Zaatar. Which is hyssop sprinkled on just-cooked bread. At the timeContinue reading “Memory”
What makes us human?
And Lot’s wife, of course, was told not to look back where all those people and their homes had been. But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human.
Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut
Rag and bone
Alte-zachen They used to shout. It was father and son Who had come across from Qalquilia To facilitate early-days recycling. Ambushing Yiddish And Hebrew, Transmogrified Into Arabic. Their donkey was close to its end; staggering in the heat. Melting Tarmac And Heat haze Wavering. No one was quite sure how toContinue reading “Rag and bone”
Attack!
I guess we need those people who can take a beating and come back for more, who can’t ignore their beliefs or principles.
Jeremy
I have been battling with my brother for the past six months or so on the Corbyn situation. Essentially, he sees him as an outspoken critic of Israel, Anti-Semitic and representing all that is bad in relation to the left-wing of British politics. I always quite liked him (JC) – in his stance against ApartheidContinue reading “Jeremy”
Babies
Baby born, Entirety Of all knowledge Past, present and future Nestled in their consciousness; Overwhelmed With knowing With seeing & Understanding. Blown away By Possibility. Options, opportunities and ideas How Where Why What Let me see; It is all forgotten in a Kabbalistic moment. Alas, alack, Thank goodness!
Vos Machst du?
We had a patient in the ward recently. I won’t say exactly where she came from, but suffice it to say, she originated in one of the Baltic states – that is, a country neighbouring the Baltic Sea. I have always found the Baltic the funniest sea, mainly because of its use in Glasgow slang…Continue reading “Vos Machst du?”
Do I look Yemenite in this?
This evening I had one of those encounters; We were out for a meal at the local Indian restaurant. Head Waiter: You from Yemen? RK: Glasgow. HW: Glasgow? RK: Glasgow. WH: Oh. I get this in various iterations, usually when I meet someone from a different culture, often an immigrant to the UK – folkContinue reading “Do I look Yemenite in this?”
Death plans…
Do you have a death plan? What should happen if you die? I ask these questions as I facilitated a table at the Yorkshire and Humber Dementia Network event on Thursday about ‘Dying Well with Dementia’ The table could just have been ‘dying well’ as what kills you doesn’t really matter – when you’re deadContinue reading “Death plans…”
Shtetl (2)
Your dad offered me 10 Zlotys then he changed his mind and offered me eight. I took the eight.
Mind-wandering
My mind wanders Like Papa-fly Stuttering across a Window. Stop- Start. Unpredictable Meandering. Illogical Connections That tie one moment To the next. Psychic Tag. When I was a kid They used to play Jew-bug; This meant That you would infect person A with person B’s bug. Anti-Semitic Contagion. Continue reading “Mind-wandering”
Shtetl
I have just watched Marian Marzynski’s Shtetl on Vimeo; here is the link. He documents his journey to the village of Brańsk in Poland in 1996, with Nathan Kaplan – a 70-year-old American who is researching his family’s history – aided by an anomalous moustachioed Polish man called Zbigniew Romaniuk. I found it fascinating andContinue reading “Shtetl”
Eye contact
There was a strange moment; it must have lasted all of half a second; walking through Green Park in London, watching the cherry blossom fall, the pigeons peck. A man in his late thirties, trim, short, cropped hair, he shouts as his daughter, ‘Come here, this minute!’ only, he is talking in Hebrew. You see,Continue reading “Eye contact”
Lamassu
The Lamassu Winged god Protector of the city of Nineveh; Destroyed/looted/defaced In Iraq as consequence of the chaos following the fall of SH; I met him/her yesterday. (not SH, rather, the god) Installation On the 4th plinth at Trafalgar Square In all his/her/its glory made from Flattened cans of date syrup. Earlier, weContinue reading “Lamassu”
Dr Odd's Blog (almondemotion) 