NEVER one to do things at a steady pace I found myself attempting to stuff a wash load into the fridge the other day. I began to wonder if other people suffer from these blips, otherwise known as ‘senior moments,’ a very apt phrase coined by that master of the air waves Sir Terry Wogan. You know the kind of thing, you’re looking for your glasses when you’re actually wearing them.

Believe me it isn’t just the seniors who suffer from such lapses. My friend Shelia, a nurse for many years, told me of an over zealous student nurse who, while working nights on a geriatric ward, collected up various patients false teeth to clean them. How thoughtful, except that the nurse washed them all together in one bowl. So, it was soup for everyone until by trial and error the teeth found their owners. Another friend told me that she poured her coffee on to her cornflakes the other morning. Then there’s the exasperating, straining the sauce into the sink, trick. You know you’ve prepared a mouth-watering sauce but you want to make sure it’s purity is not marred by a lump or two so you careful strain it. Then you cry as you realise there’s nothing underneath the sieve to catch your sauce. You could of course scrape it out of the sink and hope your guests won’t notice like my eldest daughter did when it happened to her.

Another friend told me of two elderly ladies who relied on their housekeeper. The housekeeper went away for a few days and so the ladies decided to wash up. They loaded the crockery in what they thought was a dishwasher, then watched as their best china was smashed to fragments. Yes, you guest it, it was the washing machine. I can just imagine the laughter in insurance claims office. Oh, yes and don’t mention the car keys. I freely admit that I have spent a spit making half hour looking for those, only to find them in my pocket. However, I can’t beat our son-in-law who managed to permanently lose three sets in a week.

Now, what was it I was going to do ?