Garry’s thoughts 19 March

A few people have asked when the Tuesday Club is going to recommence this year. We apologise for the delay which has been for a genuine reason.

As a 73-year-old male I have experienced a common challenge for aging men. A swollen prostate. My GP kindly prescribed a pill which shrinks the prostate. He did warn me that the pill may cause “slight lightheaded-ness” at times. I was extremely cautious for 2 mornings as I emerged from my side of the bed. Then I forgot. Completely.

One day I entered our house and fainted and hit the wall heavily and knocked myself out. Our stretched medical system then had a new patient for 4 days. Contrary to the unkind comments by many of my friends, the Doctors and staff did find a brain. I’d just given it a decent knock.

So, the medics gave me new pills for the prostate and a lecture on slowing down and having plenty of sleep. As it was Christmas I largely ignored the sleep bit and a dear friend’s son’s wedding in Marlborough didn’t give me time to think much about what “slowing down” really involved.

I’d be less than honest if I said that slowing down was easy. My brain requires, no demands, constant stimulation {“Garry does not concentrate” was on every school report}. Many people find slowing down simple. I’m not one of them. It’s taken months of mid-day snoozes and constant lectures for me to even contemplate what the state of resting means.

However, I’m getting there. And I am enjoying it. Instead of reading every article online that I can set my eyes on, I’m getting selective. I’m tidying up my garage and working there again. Pam’s even had me into the garden…..

Being in a “resting” state has not stopped me watching our politicians, local and central, and measuring their effectiveness. Then time spent on this often causes despair.

It amazes me how dogma blinds politicians from working to find a compromise, which challenges them to build bridges between their ideas and that od others who might have some other way of addressing and solving the same matter. By talking to people that a politician would consider opposite to them may surprise them to find just how much they have in common. How together they could work for future generations and not just focus on the next week, or month, or year, or election.

The new government supplies us with much to think about and about the danger of not listening. One thing I learnt in public office is that it’s important to retain connections on the ground. It’s very hard to achieve this. It’s also very hard to reflect on what you promised during an election campaign and what you face when you are in office. The promised tax cuts to the rich and greedy must be looking a bit difficult right now.