Chairman’s Chit Chat August 2023
When I dress of a morning it is the left foot that receives the first sock. There is no thought process behind this; it is just the way it is. Once fully dressed, I put in my hearing aids (yes, it has come to that) and without thinking I instinctively reach for the right-hand appliance (for those who don’t wear hearing aids, there are bespoke left and right versions) and insert it snugly into my right ear. It never crosses my mind to put a sock on my right foot first or to put in the right-hand hearing aid second. These actions are executed on autopilot; they simply seem perfectly natural and right.
These are a couple of manifestations to illustrate that I am a creature of habit. I must stress these are habits NOT compulsions. Should I put a sock on my right foot first one morning, I do not fear some dreadful calamity will befall me. Habits are comforting and put some degree of structure into our lives.
In the summer months, when, for gardeners, there is a lot of watering to do, I follow a strict regime each day. Before – always before, not after – breakfast, the first job is to top up with rainwater the saucers of each of my little carnivorous plant collection.
Second job – water the plants in the greenhouse.
Third job – water the hanging baskets on the front of the house, working from left to right.
Last job – fill up the watering cans to save time in the morning.
This of course is utter nonsense. I am not saving time. It takes exactly the same amount of time to fill the watering cans whenever I do it. Filling them straight after I have finished watering is just another habit.
Now we come to the breakfast rituals. Breakfast in our house is not a major event but it does follow a regular pattern. On Monday we have porridge, a warming and wholesome start to the week. On Tuesday we enjoy something on toast, quick and easy – and so the week progresses with each day having its familiar, pre-ordained menu, with the highlight being eggy day on Thursday.
For me, two soft-boiled eggs and a round of my own sour dough toasted bread and one soft-boiled egg and a slice of supermarket wholemeal bread for Jessie. If, for some reason, a breakfast is taken other than on its allotted day, it throws the whole week out. We are all over the place. We don’t know what day of the week it is! Habits like this give the week anchor points and keep us grounded in time and space.
Old habits die hard, so I must go and put on some socks – starting with the left foot.
Tags: eggs, socks, watering