Friday, March 1, 2013

slow day

Harry sent me a link to this article: We Found Our Son on the Subway. Lovely. You couldn't get away with writing this sort of thing in fiction; everyone would call it unrealistic. I kept expecting something awful to happen as I was reading through it and was very pleasantly surprised. I am so happy for them. And glad to live in a world where things like this are, occasionally, possible.

Lestrade's still ill. Sherlock, thankfully, is not, though he tried coughing and looking pathetic this morning in case I'd let him stay home from school. He couldn't maintain it though. He has too much energy to pretend effectively; it breaks out and suddenly he's jumping up and down on the sofa and singing about orange juice.

Lestrade is looking wan and pale without any effort at all, but I think feeling slightly better today, judging by his slightly renewed interest in coffee. He's mostly been on the sofa with a duvet and an endless supply of case files and autopsy reports. There are so many that I literally don't know how he got them home with them. I think the interior of his bag may be a Tardis. The coughing at night is the worst part, but at least he's had some rest today.

I've been making him tea and reading my new book, Clinical Forensic Medicine: A Physician's Guide. Not an exciting day, but there you are. How are you all doing? 

124 comments:

Greg Lestrade said...

Forensic medicine and autopsy reports - you're telling me there's more fun to be had than that??

REReader said...

A not-exciting day now and then is a Good Thing, I think. (Although one with less coughing is less painful--feel better soon, L!)

If you're wanting something to break up Clinical Forensic Medicine, you could always pick up a copy of One Fish, Two Fish! (No, I've not gone mad, tomorrow is Dr. Seuss's birthday. :) )

REReader said...

(And this Seussism makes me think of Sherlock, in all the best ways. :))

Piplover said...

I fear that whatever Lestrade has is not stopped by an ocean. My office currently has the plague and I caught it, so I'm staying home today and doing pretty much nothing. Luckily, though, I don't have the worst symptoms, just the general blech feeling and coughing.

I need more tea.

Anonymous said...

That was a wonderful story, John. Thanks for the link! You've made me feel all warm and fuzzy now.

Did Sherlock think of any rhymes for orange juice, or was it not that kind of song? I'm glad he seems impervious to the germs. Bouncing is better.

rsf

Small Hobbit said...

I think any rhymes for orange juice could be a bit obtuse.

Hope you feel better soon Piplover.

pandabob said...

That is an amazingly lovely story John thank you for sharing it :-)

I'm glad your day's been ok even with Greg's sickness and I hope your evening is relaxing and contains less coughing.

REReader said...

"Orange," we know, isn't easy to rhyme,
But a song about juice shouldn't take too much time.
One could, in a pinch, give a glass to a goose
Or use some to flavor a new type of mousse!

(Feel better, Pip!)

Greg Lestrade said...

Pip - yeah, loads of people here seem to be down with various bugs. Hope you feel better soon.

Anonymous said...

John - that was an absolutely beautiful story. Thank you!

Greg, I'm sorry you're still feeling under the weather (on another topic, I'd love to know the origin of that saying1) and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you're feeling better soon. I caught whatever this "thing" is at the beginning of the week and took Monday off from work. All I can say is sleep and tea are wonder drugs ;)

However, as with Pip's office, it's spread and we all sound extremely healthy here, what with the coughing, sneezing, extensive use of tissues. TGIF!

Here's hoping John that neither you nor Sherlock come down with whatever Greg's got.

All the best to the sickies and here's hoping everyone can enjoy a nice, relaxing weekend.

LyricalSinger

REReader said...

Here you go, Lyrical. :) I hope you're feeling more the thing now!

Nicky said...

Get well soon, Orio.

John, I do hope you and Sherlock don't catch whatever Orio has! In this case, not sharing is caring! I'm very impressed that you've got him to stay off work for two days. Unheard of!

Mycroft, I hope you're settling back into school again. You sound like you're doing wonderfully with your exams.

It would be lovely to see you all again soon.

John H. D. Watson said...

Nicky - we'd love to see you again too. I'll get Lestrade to call you when he sounds less like a seal and we can work something out.

I'm not sure this counts as 'off work' considering how much work he's doing, but at least I can keep an eye on him, which makes me happy. He's been a very patient patient.

Anonymous said...

Thanks REReader. As for feeling better - I'm definitely on the "getting over it" side of things, but I feel as if I've singlehandedly kept both the Kleenex and Benylin companies in business over the past week!

LyricalSinger

Greg Lestrade said...

I sound like a seal, and the way John wraps me up, I look like this (but with slightly shorter whiskers)

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lklx6gPc7X1qdwo7go1_1280.jpg

(yes, with eyes like that, when I want him to fetch me something)

And it's you who's patient. Just...took me a long time to get used to the thought of taking time off and it being sort of....nice.

John H. D. Watson said...

rsf - He didn't attempt to rhyme orange juice, except with orange juice. It was more a shouty than a rhymey sort of song.

L - I'm glad it's easier now. And your eyes do look remarkably like that sometimes...

Greg Lestrade said...

I practise. It'll be my super-power. Irresistible eyes.

And as far as that amazing story about the couple and the baby goes...don't think ours is any more believable, really... :)

John H. D. Watson said...

I think it already is.

Oh, I agree. Much less believable really. It wasn't too bad up until the helicopters... No, that's a lie. It was dubious the moment Mrs H made all the cameras look away from me.

Piplover said...

Thanks for the well wishes! I'm thankfully not feeling too horrible, but since I'm a receptionist at a surgery, I thought it safer for everyone to stay home rather than spread my germs. I blame the two who came to work with fevers and spread their ickiness around!

Greg, glad you're feeling slightly better.

John, that story was amazing. Thank you for sharing.

Anonymous said...

John, shouty sorts of songs can be fun too. We do a lot of them here.

My germs like me too much to leave.

I hope the rest of you all feel better soon!

rsf

Greg Lestrade said...

Am I a really old fashioned person who thinks of libraries as quiet places?

Danger - dubious the moment it involved Mrs H...

John H. D. Watson said...

True, but I didn't know that when I met her. Although the cameras and the car were very large clues.

Greg Lestrade said...

I'm still never quite sure if/how/why she picked you and me...I mean...you know.

John H. D. Watson said...

I really don't know. I'm very grateful though.

Greg Lestrade said...

SLightly scared and very grateful ;)

I'm off work 'til Monday. Sal says they can hold the fort.

I'm incredibly bored and tired of coughing.

John H. D. Watson said...

I think that's probably the standard reaction to Mrs H.

I know, love. It's no fun. At least it's better than it would be if you were still smoking. I could get your guitar if you like? Might help the boredom if not the coughing.

John H. D. Watson said...

(And thank you, Sally. I know you'd say thanks aren't necessary, but even so.)

Greg Lestrade said...

a million times better than when I smoked. For which I owe you and the boys a great thanks.

want me to rasp a song at you?...although I can get up myself ;)

John H. D. Watson said...

What, no seal eyes?

That'd be nice if it won't make you cough more...

Greg Lestrade said...

Sometimes it makes my breathing a lot better, because you have to think about it. Friend of mine used to help me out working out how it used to work - he'd had proper training, singing and stuff.

That was a terrible sentence I just typed. Apologies.

John H. D. Watson said...

Ha. It was clear enough. Although Mycroft probably just winced without knowing why.

Greg Lestrade said...

Sorry Mycroft...no excuse, except I just couldn't quite work out how to fix it. So I didn't. Just lazily apologised.

Anyway, I can sing you some Johnny Cash. And apologise for coughing fits.

John H. D. Watson said...

Perfect. :)

Greg Lestrade said...

or...my sister has just texted to tell me that we can livestream the end of a 25hr comedy marathon, for Red Nose Day....where Rufus Hound is going to break 25 eggs with a mallet taped on his...penis. I almost wish I'd seen the 24 hours that has led up to this now...

Greg Lestrade said...

(that was a real sentence I meant to type, by the way.)

Greg Lestrade said...

I don't expect it's medically advisable...

http://www.rednoseday.com/whats-going-on/mark-watsons-25-hour-comedy-marathon

John H. D. Watson said...

I'd like to know how long he was awake before he thought that was a good idea.

Greg Lestrade said...

I have...no idea. Maybe there was alcohol involved? I've done some fairly stupid things when tired and drunk...

Anon Without A Name said...

That looked rather more painful than his reaction would have implied.

Greg Lestrade said...

that was....truly bizarre.

I can't comment regarding breaking things with my body parts.

John H. D. Watson said...

That was...a once in a lifetime event. I'm pretty sure.

Oh really?

Greg Lestrade said...

Nameless - yeah.

I refuse to expand, so to speak. But it didn't involve arrests. Or not mine, anyway ;)

John H. D. Watson said...

Mmhmm. I'm going to have to develop seal eyes or something...

Greg Lestrade said...

That would ruin your carefully crafted glare repertoire though.

John H. D. Watson said...

Point.

Greg Lestrade said...

And it wasn't all breaking stuff. Mainly just...doing stupid things.

You know how it is, when you're young. You confuse doing very stupid things and being slightly outrageous with being confident, when in fact it shows you're anything but.

John H. D. Watson said...

I definitely know, yeah. Still want to hear all your stories. Or at least all you want to share.

Greg Lestrade said...

...well...

I can't believe I'm the only person who's tried to mix cocktails without using my hands.

Definitely not the only one who's squeezed a lime between their buttocks... ;)

John H. D. Watson said...

Ha! Less painful than breaking eggs...

Greg Lestrade said...

Mmm, definitely. Stings a bit though!

how did it get so late again? Bed?

John H. D. Watson said...

I'm sure...

Bed, yes.

Greg Lestrade said...

promise not to break anything ;)

John H. D. Watson said...

I'm not sure lime squeezing counts as breakage...

Greg Lestrade said...

Don't think it does, no. But there's nothing I want to get broken! Usually ends up with someone having to either worry for a while, or take an embarrassing trip to A&E. Neither of which I want to happen to either of us :)

John H. D. Watson said...

No, definitely not. Let's avoid breaking anything. Except possibly eggs.

Not So Silent Lurker said...

Dear god, I think I may have broken my computer, considering I've just sprayed by water all over it.

Greg Lestrade said...

Sorry, Not So Silent!

John just called me an idiot.

He might have had a point...I was coughing a lung up while cleaning the filters on the vacuum cleaner... Still, not good bedside manner, surely?? ;)

pandabob said...

I think the only response to someone in your condidtion doing that is to call them an idiot, not the best bedside manner for a doctor maybe but the perfect manner of someone who loves you ;-)

I hope you're all having a fun and relaxing day :-)

Greg Lestrade said...

Well, I suppose if a second opinion backs him up, I can't really argue with his diagnosis ;)

We're trying to clean the flat! More difficult than it should be, given it's a small flat....it has a LOT of stuff in it. 90% of it dog hair, I think?

pandabob said...

Cleaning is evil, as soon as you start the fairies start making more mess. That my excuse anyway ;-)

Not So Silent Lurker said...

Advantage of being a minor: My parents do all the cleaning for me!
Well, except for my room. That looks like a hurricane hit.

L-I remember when we had our first dog, she shed EVERYWHERE. It took hours just to clean one room.

John- Lestrade is acting like ;my mom does when she's sick. Refuses to believe it, and refused to rest.

Lestrade, please listen to John and rest. Or sleep. Or just surf the interwebs and find whatever random stuff my generations put there.

Sherlock said...

That's not fair I do LOADS of cleaning and I bet I'm younger than you!

Not So Silent Lurker said...

Sherlock-I clean a lot.
You probably are younger then me. Also, a lot smarter. Which I think is AWESOME by the way. I do clean my room, and help with chores around the house. I have two younger siblings though, so the cleanings divided amongst the three of us.

Sherlock said...

I wish I wasn't the youngest Mycroft gets out of doing all the work

pandabob said...

the being away at school thing really works for him with that doesn't it Sherlock ;-)

Anon Without A Name said...

Well, it might be a bit difficult for him to clean the flat while he's at school, Sherlock...

Not So Silent Lurker said...

Sherlock-Being the eldest isn't all it's cracked up to be. I think both you and I see through the lenses of where we are in the order of children born, and if we really swapped places with our siblings, we'd probably want to go back to the original order.

Greg Lestrade said...

Oh, Sherlock - you're like Cinderella, aren't you? Chained to the vacuum cleaner, or scrubbing floors all night long...such a hard life!

Mycroft is very neat and tidy, and cleans up after himself. Plus he isn't even here to make mess most of the time! You, on the other hand, are like a small whirlwind of mess.

Small Hobbit said...

Of course in my day the bath had to be cleaned with a toothbrush ;)

And electricity hadn't been invented so everyone used a broom to move the dust around.

Not So Silent Lurker said...

L-Funny. In my family it's my youngest sister who's the neat one, and my little brother and I are the ones who speed through the house at highspeed arguing over really random stuff.

Greg Lestrade said...

Sh - Sherlock is a master of moving mess around. He will put things in vaguely neater piles, then just try to hide them...sometimes fine. Sometimes, when there's a banana involved in the pile, not so fine. We had a room full of fruit flies and a weird smell before we found that one! Now he's more...supervised.

Not So Silent Lurker said...

Reminds me of a funny story. For a while I had an obsession with apples (eating them, that is) , but for some reason was to lazy to actually throw them away. So my dad joked that he could always tell where I was, just follow the trail of apple cores.

Anon Without A Name said...

SH - A broom? Luxury! We had to use our hands... ;-p

Kestrel337 said...

Number one rule of cleaning house (or in my case, the minivan) when you have children: You probably don't want to know what that smell is.

Number two rule of cleaning when you have children: Don't ask how that got there.

Anonymous said...

The rule in my house was "if it feeds mice, it better not land anyplace they can find it." An unhappy mouse won't stay in the house, was the theory. I'm terrible at cleaning. I usually need the incentive of someone coming to visit to do a truly decent job of it. But I still don't leave anything around for the mice.

L -- libraries can be pretty quiet, but pre-school story times aren't, usually.

The penis with a mallet reminds me that there are at least a couple of versions of guys playing piano with their penises out there, if you care to search. (Ah, the internet...) I did not look for cocktail mixing or lime squeezing. The mental images were more than enough.

I hope the germs are losing at your house.

rsf

Greg Lestrade said...

Rules here are - you make a mess, you clean it up. You leave something horrible out, you better expect to be in trouble.

I'll, err...give the penis piano playing a miss, thanks.

I think the germs are losing. I'm just wheezing a bit, that's all. Bit of a headache. Well...quite a lot of a headache, but now I've taken some ibuprofen. :)

Sherlock said...

Can we go out and do something pleaseeeeee I'm so boredddddddd. If I play my violin in the park would people give me money?

Greg Lestrade said...

They might give you money to stop?

Or perhaps all the rats in London will follow you! People might pay you for that...

Or perhaps a nice friendly local copper will come and move you along or arrest you for busking without a permit :)

Sherlock said...

How do I get a permit?

IRefuseToNameMyself. said...

Sherlock, you probably will hate me for this, but that is adorable.

Greg Lestrade said...

Sherlock - it depends where you want to busk, actually. In Camden you can just do it. In some places you have to audition, and they only let you if you're good enough. And other places you just have to buy a licence from the local council.

Why do you want to busk?

Sherlock said...

I am definitely good enough! I want to because then I can get a better microscope and also a TRAPEZE that John said I don't need but I DO.

Greg Lestrade said...

err...right. You do get pocket money, you know?

And...where's this trapeze going to go, may I ask?

John H. D. Watson said...

That's what I wanted to know... He stomped his foot and said he'd find somewhere once he had it.

Greg Lestrade said...

Right...

Sherlock, you're not having my Mum's house for a trapeze-lair. Just in case you were wondering.

TurtleShell said...

Question: A friend of mine is IN ENGLAND RIGHT NOW. Any suggestions of interesting/funny touristy things they could do?

Greg Lestrade said...

Um...whereabouts in England? There's a small chance they could witness the grumpiest busker in England if they're very close by...

Otherwise, there are lots of things to do, in most parts of the country.

Sherlock said...

They should go to the Hunterian Museum, it has half of Charles Babbage's BRAIN and lots of other things in jars.

And I could put a trapeze in my room or Mycroft's room or have it at school or security has a whole room downstairs they hardly even USE except for drinking coffee in so I bet they would let me put it there.

TurtleShell said...

Sorry. London.

Greg Lestrade said...

Sherlock - you're not getting Mycroft's room. There is a huge bone in your room, so no room for a trapeze, and the security room is a. theirs and b. doesn't have a high enough ceiling.

TurtleShell - what d they like? There are loads of museums, parks, trips, tours...sights, all sorts!

Sherlock said...

What about your room?

Anon Without A Name said...

Yeah, Lestrade - wouldn't you and John like a trapeze in your room?

TS - for really touristy stuff (that's also good): The London Eye, a Duck tour, the Tower of London are all good, but cost money. The British Museum, Science Museum, the Natural History Museum, the V&A, the National gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, the Tate Britain and the Tate Modern are all free (although they all like donations). Also, it's always worth visiting Parliament Square, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Picadilly Circus, Covent Garden, as well the big parks. I hope your friend has a good time in London :-)

Anonymous said...

Sherlock, wouldn't it make sense to take trapeze lessons so you know how much space you actually need before you acquire a trapeze? And yes, there's a class that starts tomorrow.

rsf

Anonymous said...

But it's probably full by now. (Why did that sentence fall off?)

rsf

Sherlock said...

Yes trapeze lessons it will be like flying! John can I?

Greg Lestrade said...

If there is any swinging from the ceiling to be done in our room, John and I will be doing it :)

John H. D. Watson said...

I don't see why not. I can call and see if they have space left, at least. And if they don't, maybe for the next set of classes.

...And no, you cannot put a trapeze in our room.

Greg Lestrade said...

You should probably do a taster session first, anyway, Sherlock. Plus, if you sign up for it, then it means we can't go and see Nicky and people for 4 weeks - which is fine, but you need to know that.

Sherlock said...

Are we going to see them soon? Can we go all the way on the bikes? Do Carla and Paul know how to ride too?

And if I like it and do the class thennnnn can I put a trapeze in your room? You could swing on it too!

Greg Lestrade said...

Possibly. Only if your cast is off (also applies to trapeze, by the way - you cannot start trapeze tomorrow!). I don't think so.

No. And....no :)

Sherlock said...

I could, I could do it with one hand!

Greg Lestrade said...

No you couldn't, especially not for learning. Do you want to hurt yourself more and have to have your cast for aaaaageeeeees longer??

Wait until you're better, and the doctor has checked you over, and you've done a bit of physio to make sure your muscles are still strong, and then MAYBE you can do it.

Sherlock said...

UGH BODIES ARE SO BORING

Greg Lestrade said...

I can assure you they can be very exciting, sometimes.

But yeah, when they're not working so well, they are a bit boring. Believe me, I'm well aware.

Piplover said...

I agree, Sherlock, bodies can be very boring when they're not working right! But you have to give yourself time to heal, otherwise you'll have more trouble down the line, and it will take longer to be able to do things you want.

L, I'm glad you're feeling better, and I hope you're all having a good weekend. What did you end up doing with Sherlock's bone?

Greg Lestrade said...

It is now hanging from his ceiling. (After we cleared up his room, and he completely grassed me up to John because the dust of drilling the holes made me cough. Honestly...some people. You'd think he didn't want a huge sparkly bone hung from his ceiling...)

John H. D. Watson said...

I said I would do it if you wanted me to! You could've...supervised or something.

Greg Lestrade said...

it probably wasn't even the dust. My coughing fits are quite random, I'm sure.

Anyway, I'd've got just as dusty with you on my shoulders...I'm not sure you'd have reached from the chair ;)

Sherlock has been dissuaded from swinging from it...in the strongest possible terms.

John H. D. Watson said...

Mmhmm.

I suppose we'll find out how well he listened when we hear the crash in the middle of the night...

Greg Lestrade said...

they are! I'm just sitting, minding my own business, then suddenly coughing until I want to puke and feel like I'll never breathe again! (You docs should fix that :) )

It is definitely NOT rated for any swinging. He has been told.

Sherlock said...

and he goes all RED

Greg Lestrade said...

Start worrying when I turn blue :)

Sherlock said...

He said once he coughed and his eye filled up with blood and I want to see that

John H. D. Watson said...

...I don't.

Sherlock said...

He said it didn't even hurt.

John H. D. Watson said...

Even so, I don't think we need a demonstration, though I'm sure he'll let you know if it happens.

Greg Lestrade said...

It didn't hurt. I didn't even know it had happened until people started running away screaming when they looked at me (well, okay, that happens occasionally anyway...)

Still, it's not really a good professional look, that sort of red-eyed demonic-ness.

Sherlock said...

I wouldn't run away. But you could go blue instead, do people really go properly blue or just not their normal colour?

John H. D. Watson said...

Not really properly blue, no. If you're hoping for him to turn turquoise, it's just not going to happen.

Greg Lestrade said...

right now I feel like the left side of my head may explode, and my eyes go all sparkly when I cough. But I believe I'm definitely more red than blue.

Anonymous said...

Pale people sort of go blue-grey, and their lips turn purplish, and it's actually kind of scary to look at. (And even more scary when you're the only person in the room who's ever had a first aid class -- fortunately, putting someone on their back and opening up the airway works by itself sometimes and the ambulance came super fast when I told them the guy was cyanotic.)

The only time I've had a blood vessel break in my eye I wasn't coughing at all. I just had someone tell me my eye was red and when I looked in the mirror it was gross.

I forgot about your cast when I mentioned the trapeze lessons. Sorry about that Sherlock. But it looks like they do lessons pretty often, so when your arm is better you can have fun with it.

L, your coughs sound painful. I hope they ease off soon!

rsf

Greg Lestrade said...

Don't worry, RSF, living with a doctor and a copper trained in first aid, Sherlock had a fairly graphic explanation of it all, and basic first aid training, too. Never too young to learn.

And cheers. Me too.

Anonymous said...

Sherlock's a lucky kid. I wish more people would take the time to explain how and when to yell for help in emergencies with kids and what to do until the help gets there. Heck, I wish my bosses offered the same instruction to everyone who works in the library! But even if they did, it's still disconcerting to realize that you might actually have to do mouth to mouth on a real person and not a dummy. Not something that actually made the list in my job description!

rsf

Anonymous said...

Venturing to this blog to leave this video that I think you both might enjoy, from the hearings about marriage equality happening in Minnesota right now:

http:// youtu.be/ EE5xu2y7hDo

(delete the spaces). FF to about 15:10 to see two dads and their twin sons….one of whom is not at all interested in what his dad has to say, but who manages to create the perfect exemplar of patient loving parents whose gender is irrelevent.

(Sherlock & Mycroft, I am not meaning to make it sound like I consider John and Lestrade to be your parents; you have your own parents who love you and also model that love in the best way they know how. But there is a certain amount of…patience and small-boy wrangling in the clip that sort of matches how I imagine John and Lestrade in my head.)

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