We love passing on the stories that we hear, particularly those – like all the best fairy tales we enjoyed as children (!) – which have a moral at the end. 

 

Are you sitting comfortably? Then here we go. 

 

A travel writer was on assignment in Hawaii and taken to meet a local dancer who does the traditional – and ancient – Hula dance. Not, as you’d expect, a young girl but an older lady. A much older lady. 

 

She begins with a demonstration. The music begins and she starts to move. Her hips swivel in a spiral. Her slender hands move in a wave. She beams with pleasure. And, as with all true experts, makes it look effortless. 

 

So the obvious question is asked. 

 

How long did it take for her to master the dance?  

 

A few weeks, perhaps. A month. A year. 

We’ve recently been away for a few days and were amazed to see a huge sign in a shop window. It proudly proclaimed “Smoking is dangerous. Vaping is the healthy and safe alternative.” We should quickly add that this wasn’t in the UK but, even so, we were still surprised to see vaping being marketed in such a blatant way. 

 

Interestingly, conversations with smokers have confirmed that this is their understanding of vaping and explains why so many are now making the switch. The question is whether it’s true? 

This week we’re going to take a brief trip back in time to the mid 1990’s. Whether it’s a walk down memory lane or a living history lesson (!) do join us for a quick visit. 

 

Back in those dim distant days, the internet was shiny and new. Not only was it dial up – which was incredibly slow on a good day – but far from user friendly. If you were fortunate enough to have access to it, you used it for a short period of time and then got on with the rest of your life. It was a novelty and, once you’d finished using it, you rarely thought about it. Surfing, other than that involving a trip to the sea and a board (!), had yet to become a mainstream leisure activity. 

With the Flu season now in full swing, accompanied by near hysterical reporting in the press about it being “the worst ever”, it really is time for reality check. Not to mention a dose of that seemingly rarest of all commodities, common sense. 

 

In recent years, the Flu season seems to have started earlier and earlier. Hardly has the summer begun here in the UK, when stories start appearing in the press about the forthcoming Flu season. How new strains are appearing in the Far East / Australia / fill in the blank. That they’re all heading for the UK. And it’s going to be the worst season ever. The picture painted is of Flu rampaging its way round the world, a sinister figure with evil intent bent on worldwide domination. A bogeyman for adults. 

 

It’s enough to make you want to retreat to the safety of your bed, pull the duvet over your head and stay there until it’s all over. 

 

But is this really the case?