The Body Shop.

 Monday 12 January 2026.

Today started with a trip to the small clinic in our area to have a blood sample taken. It’s a monthly thing I have to do due to a ‘problem’ I have, my blood is thick (like me) and clots easily. About twelve years ago, I had blood clots in my lungs (I wouldn’t recommend it), and since then, I have been taking a small dosage of blood thinners to lower the danger of clots.

The results vary, mainly season to season. I don’t know why, some say because of dietary changes like more green greens or less, all I need to know is if my dosage of blood thinners is sufficient to stop clots from forming.

So later today I’ll phone my doctor's surgery and get the result and advice on how many blood thinners I need to take this month.

Easy peasy.

I’m 72 now (73 in October), so I suppose from now on I’ll probably be being regularly ‘checked up’ on other things as well, blood pressure, prostate, and other dangers. Great health care here in Belgium, we are so regularly checked that it’s almost impossible for us to ‘die suddenly’, unless we get hit by a car on the way to our regular check-ups, or fall off our bicycle while not wearing a helmet, or any other accident (see trees and storms).

What a long way we have come as humans. There was a time when danger and possible death were taken for granted, part of life. Some Lord or Knight on a horse would ignore you and ride over you on the way to some burning and/or pillaging, and wouldn’t think twice about it. You would be severely wounded on some trail and would have to make your own way back to the village. People might walk past you, and after stealing your coins, they would, on occasion, drag you to the local Witch or Herbalist, who in turn might decide to help put you back together, or they would decide to just leave you out in the street. Life was precarious then, and not precious as it is now.

Back then, it was seen as a miracle if you reached a ripe old age (50 or older); now, if you are an average person and you get old (75 or older), you are seen as lucky or strong, or as a burden on society. Nowadays, we do our utmost best to keep everybody free from illness and hopefully death. It’s a losing battle, but a financially profitable operation for those selling.

We even fight natural signs of ageing, healthy older people being targeted to get some plastic put into their faces to hide the wrinkles, or lift the cheeks (face and arse), or a teenage-like full mouth of shiny dentures. Why grow old gracefully? When you can look like a ‘Barbie’ or ‘Ken’ forever.

Wrinkles are frowned upon by the Botox brigade, although it is almost impossible for them to frown.

Humans are the last ‘natural product’ to be commercialised; it’s a huge potential market for those looking for easy profits. Our bodies are no longer ‘temples’ but business opportunities to shape, shine, and redesign.

The bible says God made us in his image… although more and more of us look like we’ve been made in the image of some ‘toy maker’.