Probably not.

I’ll be honest: I’ve spent a lot of time wandering (wondering) aimlessly over the past few months.  More often than not in the car, driving or chauffering hither and thither.  It gives you a lot of time for mindless thought.  And it occurred to me that I might share some of this miscellanea with you – maybe you have some answers.  Here’s a sampling of the drivel that the space between my ears throws up for consideration (trust me, there are some weird ones):

Ticks. One of my closest friends has endured the ravages of Lymes Disease for many years.  It has, in many ways, ruined her life.  For most of the time that she’s been suffering from it, the fact of it was denied, and she was written off as a malingering attention-seeker.  Far from it.  She tried every naturo-, homeo- and other-pathic remedy that she could find.  At one point she was a skeletal vegan in the quest for a cure or, at the least, mitigation of the symptoms.  All to no avail.  Happily (?), the recent contraction of said affliction by some very wealthy/high profile/famous people (or their children) has thrown a spotlight on the issue, and now more of the medical fraternity is prepared to consider it as a diagnosis, particularly amongst people who spend a lot of time outdoors.  More recently, two other friends have also had bad reactions to tick bites, and GPs here have been quick to take preventative action, which is excellent.  But it begs the question: Have you ever wondered why there are systemic treatments for flea & tick bites for animals, but not for humans?

HGV Truck Cabs: I grant you that this is a particularly random thought that resulted from driving upstream against a long line of lorries, but…. Why do HGV Truck Cabs have 2 seats? I mean, besides large vehicle driving schools, how many times have you ever seen a heavy goods vehicle have a co-driver?  Hitch-hiker, yes.  Co-pilot, no.  So why go to the expense?

Perigordine Roofs: Here, the standard roof line is much steeper than most other places.  And I got to wondering “Which roof design has the most usable space.”  And (incidentally). “as we don’t really get a lot of snow here, why such a steep pitch?” Obviously, I could take the time to do the drawings and make the necessary calculations, but I haven’t.  And I’m not about to.  However, my guess is that the Perigordine attic yields more useful space than its modern counterpart.  Please feel free to enlighten me (evidence appreciated!!).

Plane Trees: Recently, we’ve had a huge variety in our weather, with temperatures approaching 40°C for days on end, and late-season vine-destroying frosts.  No rain followed by torrents of the stuff, and so on.  And just the other day I realised that all of the plane trees have shed their bark, which now lies shrapnel-like around their bases.  I can’t say that I’ve seen this before, so I’ve no idea if this is a normal occurrence or not, but what makes the plane trees lose their bark, as if they have exploded from a carapace?

Seed drills: With the changes of the seasons here, we’re well aware of the rotation of crops.  It is interesting to note how they change not only through the seasons, but also through the years.  A few years ago many of the fields were filled with tobacco plants.  No longer.  But I digress.. as I whistle along our lovely roads I often admire the freshly tilled fields, particularly when the new shoots of the latest crop pierce the earth.  And one day I asked myself, “How does a seed drill work?” I know that I can Google it, but I haven’t yet.

So there you go.  A scary glimpse into the workings of my brain.  Time I found myself something useful to do, I think.  Don’t you?