Toothpaste, Sudoku and Monty Python

Day 7: It’s fair to say I have an addictive personality. Backed up by the fact I’m typing this from my hospital room in a mental health hospital. So after enjoying my wordsearch in the Sunday Mail (don’t judge me on the choice of rag) and spending a quid submitting it for the £1000 prize I promised you all I’d try Sudoku for the first time. Well, that was a non-starter. Numbers have never been my fortay. I’m more of a wordsmith (or like to think I am). So naturally after looking at the ‘Quick Sudoku’ underneath my completed Irish music wordsearch for a mere minute – I threw the towel in. Not a complete tragedy to this story though. Overleaf there was a crossword (it was called an arrowhead) but same thing ain’t it?! A little help from google got me over the line and I spent my second quid texting the same Prize number. Is this my new addiction? Safer than the one that landed me in here I guess.

I did also read on my google travels that the Sudoku concept was in fact the brain child of 18th century Swiss mathematician Leonhard Eulu. I always though it was from Japan but maybe I’m thinking of Tetris? Both have got lots of squares in them. **googles Tetris and the Russian Alexey Pajitnov pops up as the inventor. Moving on…**

What else has happened I hear you cry? Surely you still had time in your diary for more excitement? Indeed. Indeed.

So I got a new phone two weeks ago. An iPhone 11 for those who care. I’d had my smashed, cracked, slow, dying iPhone 6 forever and too tight to accept it’s time was up. Even though there are newer models than the ‘eleven’ I thought of it as a bit like climbing the property ladder. Why jump from a bedsit to a mansion when I can go middle ground (but still make a massive leap and save £££)? So here I am in hospital with my Semi-detached suburban house of a phone…. which already has scratches on the screen. Faint ones but annoying nonetheless when I catch them in the light. Google suggested toothpaste and a cotton bud. “Gently rub into the scratches and they will disappear”.

Bullshit. My phone still has scratches but at least it smells minty now.

On a more serious note, being away from my family and spending this time in hospital in isolation has been tough and these little tasks are a big part of my day. When I arrived in hospital I was not in control. I can’t remember arriving to be honest, and spent the first two days in bed sweating and shaking. Also hospitals ain’t great for sleeping at night. Especially on a mental health ward. It gets a bit eventful to say the least. So I’ve been watching films on my iPad in the evening.

Last night I chose “Monty Python’s Life of Brian”. I’ve never seen any of their stuff but it popped up as a recommendation on Netflix. Sure, I know who Monty Python are and I know they are comic legends but I’m an 80s baby so my go to humour was American Pie films, Peep Show, Alan Partridge, The Simpsons. That said, those of a slightly older age than myself have often recommended it and said it’s fantastic. So…. I watched it. And… yeah, it was funny in parts but maybe I’m just not tuned into that slapstick 1979 classic as much as others. Is it an age demographic thing maybe? Probably not but I wasn’t belly laughing. I’d still give it a 7/10 for the final scene alone. It made me smile as I lay in my hospital bed, commotion in the neighbouring rooms, missing my daughters and they started to sing “Always look on the bright side of life” whilst hanging from crucifixion crosses. Very fitting for me right now.