“Old men have grey beards; their faces are wrinkled; their eyes purging thick amber and plum tree gum; and that they have a plentiful lack of wit, together with most weak hams.”
So says Hamlet. How do I, given my advancing years, measure up to his criteria?
Grey beards: I don’t sport a beard at the moment but it is grey, indeed white, when I do. Check.
Wrinkled faces: Well not really. No check.
Eyes purging thick amber and plum tree. Not much purging at the moment but I am pretty blind due to severe Uveitis in both eyes. Sort of check.
Plentiful lack of wit: Well yes – I cannot remember anything. Check.
Most weak hams: You bet! Check.
So Hamlet got it pretty much right. Well done Bard!
Despite febrility and blindness, James and I launch out on an adventure.
Always start adventures on a full stomach.
We go over to Irvine to buy a new steamer from Chinese hardware store. The west end of Irvine is very Chinese.
James, of course, knows all the places where prickly pear or figues de barbarie, grow wild. The goal of the adventure is to plunder lots without pain.
Great adventure, somewhat hampered by poor eyesight
The Quiet Ripple Defines The Pond 
Shame about the eyes and the hams. Look like your appetite is not seriously affected.
Good for James plucking those prickly pears. Remember finding these for the first time back in the late 1960s on a trip to Italy with Judith. Both unused to the fruit and both managed to get some little hairy spines embedded in our mouths – we soon learnt how to do it! Wonder if I could eat them safely now?
That Chinese market place looks like fun – all that goat meat, a real rarity here.
All the best to the pair of you.
Yay Alan! Eyes somewhat better but not very good. The Chinese supermarkets on Irvine are astonishing. You wouldn’t know that you were not in China. Very few of the staff speak English.