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A visit to the dental hygienist today and I discussed with my wife beforehand whether I should clean my teeth or make them as dirty as possible. After all I wanted to get my money’s worth. As someone pointed out on Twitter if you’re taking your car to be washed, you don’t clean it first - if anything you drive through a few puddles for the fun of it. So why not give the dentist a challenge and clog up my teeth with bacon and fruit and human and animal faeces? Why not?
I brushed my teeth anyway, but I didn’t see why I should. And even though I did that the dentist (and it was the dentist who did it himself) obviously thought I didn’t do a good enough job as he twanged all my mouth nerves with his little plaque drill. If you ever need a reminder to brush and floss regularly, don’t brush or floss regularly for a bit and then go to get everything blasted off. It’s horrific.
I interviewed Cariad Lloyd tonight for the RHLSTP Book Club (out a week on Friday), unusually for the Book Club it was an evening record, but we’d got the kids to bed. But five minutes in, just as Cariad started talking about the devastation of her father’s death on her teenage self, Phoebe came up the stairs to remind me, I thought, to buy meringues for her birthday party. Actually she wanted me to make sure I’d bought enough Moam chews for her class and everyone who was coming to the party. Which I’d already done. Luckily Cariad was very understanding - a parent herself of course, so aware of what that brings. I guess in that moment it was very important that Phoebe didn’t go to sleep without reminding me of the need for more Moams.
It was an open and interesting chat about death, which Cariad has thought a lot about due to her loss and her podcast and her great new book. I found myself wanting to tell her about my own (very limited) grief, but that’s the beauty of what she does. She makes us want to have a conversation about something that we’re usually reluctant or embarrassed to talk about. Also, I guess, one of the jobs of the comedian in general.,
They said he’d never return, but he did return and arguably got his revenge. RHLSTP series 26 starts with a very funny chat with Stephen Merchant.
Listen here
