David Worboys – Some Totally Unrelated Thoughts

When you leap out of bed every morning at the crack of dawn, full of the joys of spring, do you stop and give thanks that you are not yet twenty-eight years old.

Well, make the most of it, because I can assure you that, at three times that age, it is but a distant dream. In the days of Bronco bog rolls with the texture of sand paper and merry-go-round lavatory flushing, it was a joy to be alive, even in cloudy England. It´s still not so bad at present, here in Andalucia, but I feel I am slowing down.

Isak Dinesen wrote “life is but a process for turning frisky young pups into mangy old dogs”. I believe there is more to it than that. However, a sign of aging is when you enjoy remembering things more than doing them. I hope I´m not moving in that direction.

At twenty-eight it was all about social life, money, the rat race and career advancement. At a more mature age, the personal priorities are good health, reasonable fitness and gratitude for those blessings denied to so many: comfort, freedom and security. Millions are cruelly deprived of all of these, along with hope and prosperity. Not least the Palestinians.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, expressing his relief at the release of two American hostages said “Yes, but there are still seven other Americans held by Hamas”. Just a minute! – there were also two hundred other nationalities, including Israelis. Ah, but these are not Americans – not quite the same.

In New South Wales I drove too close to a cyclist and he called me a goose. I thought this was an unusual insult until I heard an even odder one a few days later. A teenager jostled an older man who called after him: “You bloody sinner!”

Money is valueless until converted into a possession, an experience or a cause. Whether a pocketful of coins, a bank statement or an investment portfolio, it´s only purpose as such is the nebulous one of security for the future. Until that time its purpose only exists in the mind.

Pharmaceutical medicine and surgery have seen significant advances. They have their place and are essential in many circumstances. But the natural medicine of quality food, exercise and sleep from a young age prevents most ailments occurring in the first place.

The role of doctors is to treat sickness rather than prevent it. Economic interests drive corruption within the health industries. The survival of the huge pharmaceutical industry depends on our becoming ill and consequently dependent on their products. It is supported by the pharmacists who in turn are supported by the GPs´ endless prescriptions and referrals for the sick.

The government collects taxes on the salaries of 1.5 million health workers and the profits of the pharmaceutical companies (Glaxo alone: €17.5 billion) and will therefore not promote prevention.