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| The boys await the arrival of visitors |
It has been a year since I retired and set up home in rural New Zealand. To be honest, I’ve taken it fairly easy and have kept myself busy with household projects, hobbies and general writing and the prospect of paid work have not been high on my mind or agenda. However, over the weekend my old boss came to visit and offered me the opportunity to work one day per week. After thoughtful rumination, I decided to take up the offer. At least it will give me a little pocket money to pay for my expensive hobbies of archery and astronomy. Quality bows and decent arrows are not cheap and I’ve recently reawakened my old interest in astronomy and purchased a 10” Dobsonian reflector telescope. Where I live there is no light pollution and I obtain stunningly clear views of the night sky. Luckily telescopes with good quality optics are reasonably priced in comparison to similar instruments purchased in the past. As a snot-nosed kid, I bought a 60mm refractor telescope for the princely sum of £27 back in 1969. It took the best part of a year to save up the money from my paper round to buy this optically modest scope.
I’ll have to catch the train to work which will take about 2 hours to reach sunny Wellington. I’ll stay overnight with my son who lives in the centre of the city. I suspect my duties will not be too onerous or demanding. My old duties of training, lecturing and providing wisdom and guidance to students has been passed on to younger and more nimble minds. Nonetheless, I’m sure I’ll be gainfully employed and it will be pleasant to reconnect with old friends and colleagues. The funding available will provide a work opportunity for eight months with the possibility of renewal thereafter.
To date, we have been subsisting without income and have been relying on our savings and investments and I’ve been seriously thinking of obtaining some form of additional revenue. To this end, we have recently joined Air BnB. For those unfamiliar with the scheme: Basically, we provide a ‘bed and breakfast’ service which is administered by an independent company. The company handles the bookings from vetted guests and provides insurance just in case things go awry. It won't be huge amounts of money but it will provide a steady, modest income. We signed up less than a week ago and already have verified bookings. I’ll endeavour not to get too drunk and shoot the guests, lonely backpackers excepted. Accidents do happen of course and at least I’ve plenty of land to dispose of the bodies. I hear tell that pigs are very good at corpse recycling- mayhap I should invest in a flock of swine. Before I sign off I would like to leave my readers with a philosophical conundrum. If I subsequently eat a pig which has previously dined on human flesh, would the act of ingestion of the trotters constitute a form of cannibalism on my part? Time for my meds.
Q. - "If I subsequently eat a pig which has previously dined on human flesh, would the act of ingestion of the trotters constitute a form of cannibalism on my part?"
ReplyDeleteA. - NO.
Oh I love these easy ones - it is Grand Unified Theory etc etc that bewilders and bollocks me. So, anyway, where and how do I claim my prize ?
Grizwald, the answer to my dilemma is not so easily dismissed. A well reasoned argument would impress the golden haired one (more silver than gold these days). I await your reasoned analysis.
DeleteQ. - "If I subsequently eat a pig which has previously dined on human flesh, would the act of ingestion of the trotters constitute a form of cannibalism on my part?"
ReplyDeleteQ2. - If I only eat beef, mutton or lamb which has only eaten grass, does that make me a semi-vegetarian?
No Ted, it doesn't.
DeleteSaxon, the answer to the dilemma is not so easily dismissed. A well reasoned argument would impress the silver haired one on Merseyside. I await your reasoned analysis.
DeletePS
ReplyDeleteNice photo of early Status Quo...
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DeleteYea, Rick, Francis and er,Ted.....
DeleteWell, my hair was once similar in style to Nuzzyland Ted's, but these days it's only the colour that matches. Although I am still follically blessed and will therefore never make a penny as a Yul Brynner impersonator, these days 'tis easier to keep it trimmed fairly short.
DeleteYou are a harsh man. Age should mellow one. I should f***ing know.
ReplyDeleteHaving consulted various dictionaries, the definition of cannibalism appears to be "eating the flesh of one's own species". Eating a man-eating lion (yes, I refer to a lion that has previously ate a human NOT a [never mind]) is therefor NOT cannibalism and neither would be consuming flesh from a pig that has enjoyed a similarly good supper.
If "indirectly" eating human flesh is tantamount to cannibalism then surely it should not stop at just the most recent generation. If the pig's great-grandfather had an opportune nibble at a toe or finger of a dead farm-worker then the animal's subsequent generation should be blighted. If he or she descends from a 15th century wild boar ? From where did pigs evolve ? You get my drift.
There may be moral, religious, ethical or other grounds for not partaking in eating human flesh "indirectly" and each to his/her own. But to imply that eating human flesh indirectly is cannibalism is fraught with problems. Vegans and vegetarians got to great lengths to ensure the provenance of the origin of their food. If the plants they eat derive any of their succulents, nutrition, proteins whatever from a dead animal then indirectly vegans and vegetarians are all meat eaters or possibly cannibals. Heaven forbid any edible plant was ever grown over an unknown battlefield or cemetery.
Someone more erudite and specialised than me could argument about how the digestive system converts food into energy and what is stored in the body - but I'll leave that to my betters. Slow cooked pigs trotters are a real treat (add star anise).
Prize ?
I am impressed. Your prize: you raised a smile from this jaded old soul.
DeleteTomatoes benefit from animal protein, so Veggies beware!
ReplyDeleteInsects get trapped in the sticky stem hairs, die & fall to the ground, where eventually dem roots absorb their animal nutrients.