Declared old

The orders of bag and bottle, noticed at reference 1, were both, in some sense at least, elective. There was an element of choice about it. But there was nothing elective about our being declared old today, an election efficiently organised through the people at reference 2 by our general practitioner.

So we now have four gadgets to help us move around our house, one of which is snapped above. Installation was quick, clean and neat and I have only found one snag among the four gadgets, a snag which I can attend to myself in due course.

And while the declaration may not have been elective, at least we can both pretend - on the quiet that is - that these things are really there for the other!

And while, for the moment, I may make a parade of not using the stair rail, the installation engineer assured me that it no time at all I will be wondering how on earth I managed without it.

PS 1: the wall right above is brightened up by a reproduction of a landscape which has been there for many years, I thought this morning post-impressionist French, but failed to bring the name of the painter to mind and desultory search with Bing failed too. But then, rather unexpectedly, the name 'Derain' drifted quietly into mind. I was not very convinced about it at all, but it was worth a shot, and I fairly quickly turned up references 3 and 4. State of denial has been restored!

PS 2: the original lives in Switzerland, in the rather flashy looking gallery at reference 6. But not flashy in the way of, say, the National Gallery, in that you can't search their collection and download decent reproductions for free. Indeed, on this occasion, I failed to find it at all.

PS 3: and at the Financial Times, I thought that the piece at reference 7 has got it about right - even if it rather neglects all the good work done by the men in blue suits after the second world war. Even if it diagnoses rather than prescribes. To think that I was once a wannabee blue suit myself; to the extent of occasionally patronising the fine suit shop called Lester Bowden, now a branch of Gail's. A shop where the staff were not fresh out of school and could still tell your size by looking at you.

References 

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-keeper-of-bottle.html.

Reference 2: https://millbrookhealthcare.co.uk/.

Reference 3: https://psmv3.blogspot.com/2016/09/derain.html.

Reference 4: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2020/09/memory-block.html.

Reference 5: Vue de Martigues - Derain - 1908. Zurich Kunsthaus.

Reference 6: https://www.kunsthaus.ch/.

Reference 7: The impotence of Europe’s governing elite: From Brussels to Moldova, the men in blue suits know they’re in trouble. But what are they going to do about it - Simon Kuper, Financial Times - 2026.