Peter Rhodes on a great reporter, an ancient bank account and a meeting with the Mole Lady
George Alagiah, the BBC newsreader, has died at 67, nine years after being diagnosed with cancer. He came across as a true professional and a brave and thoroughly decent man. I was impressed with his declaration that enduring cancer treatment had made him “a richer person.”
No-one denies that today's wildfires in Greece are caused by unusually hot and dry weather, possibly resulting from climate change. But Greece has always had unpredictable weather, especially in the spring. I first visited in May of 1980 after an unusually wet winter. The Peloponnese, usually bone-dry at that time of year, was as lush and green as England. It was like Warwickshire, with added Zorba.
Fire is not, of course, the only summertime risk. I'm just back from seeing the Mole Lady, the doctor who runs the skin clinic at our surgery. The waiting room fills with grim-faced elderly people, fresh back from hot, sunny places and fearful that That Mole was not there last month. One by one the Mole Lady summons them into her room from which, five minutes later, they emerge, smiling and almost skipping, having been reassured that That Mole is quite harmless.
I have no idea how many harmless moles or other little lumps are examined by doctors before a single malignant melanoma is detected, but it must run into thousands. The UK has about 55,000 GPs and around 16,700 new melanomas are detected every year. Do the maths.
In my case, the Mole Lady gave me a quick, painless squirt of liquid nitrogen on a moley sort of thing behind my right ear, with the promise that it (the thing, not the ear) will fall off in a few weeks. With good luck this will happen in the privacy of one's home; with bad luck, Tesco.
Statistically, you are more likely to change your partner than your bank account. As the Nigel Farage row reminds us, banking services are not an optional extra to your lifestyle but an essential, lifelong commodity like water, gas and electricity. My latest bank statement arrived a few days ago. I'm not sure how long we've had this joint account but the statement was Sheet 250. I'm pretty sure Sheet One was on papyrus.
