BONDING FOR HEALTH

 This is a section of brickwork from the village of Buckler's Hard. Soft red bricks laid in Flemish Bond result in a very warm and attractive wall surface.

As a former bricklayer (of sorts) my eye immediately scans a wall like this looking for anomalies. It's pretty much a subconscious process by now, with conscious reflection on whatever I find.

 

 

The blue cross marks a typical example. The bond has been lost resulting in a space too big for a header where the two bricklayers working from either end meet up. You could remove part of that course and redo it with slightly larger joints, but the solution used here is to substitute small three-quarter bricks for the expected header.

You could see this as a mistake or you could embrace it as part of the informal "hand-made" look of a rustic cottage. Take your pick. 🤔

 

Two brick pier in English Bond, that classic of strength and stability. It just happens to have a quiet beauty also in the rhythm of headers and queen closers alternating wlth the simplicity of two stretchers. And it's actually the same course rotated by 90 degrees every time.

Add to this the gorgeous curves of a well proportioned stone capping. There's just a hint of the baroque about this one, to my eye at least. And how about the gate? Cast finials, forged scrolls, nice and chunky.

I'm sure there is modern work that matches this in its blend of form, function and materials: but remember this is just a run-of-the-mill Board School in a back street of what was then a small market town. Judge an architectural style by it's humblest examples.

The many flavours of classicism score quite highly by that measure. That's my view.

 

 

Second session with my Slovenian physiotherapist today, training my sense of balance. It also involves strengthening my legs and core. Everything is connected right? Never really a single issue or cause with a silver bullet solution.

I have been aware of balance issues for two or three years now, especially since I started on the hormone therapy. Maybe it's one of the side effects of ultra-low testosterone. But if it sends the cancer to sleep that's OK with me.

Hopefully this is the last of the therapies I need to learn to keep my issues in check moving into retirement (fascitis, lower back pain, balance) Maybe not, but it's a good start. The Arabic coffee and dates are complimentary, served up by a guy in local dress at the entrance to outpatients.

The brown paper bag has two healthy salads from the coffee shop. Just another visit to American Hospital Dubai, my home from home.