Lunedi Lunacy

Ever stopped to think why our grandparents and great-grand parents had such fond memories of their childhood? Why they thought of them as golden, dreamlike days of blissful happiness? Well frankly its a wonder they remember anything at all.

Here's some of the cool stuff they gave kids (and adults) back then.

A bottle of Bayer's Heroin. Between 1890 and 1910 heroin was sold as a "non-addictive" substitute for morphine - and highly recommended to cure a child's strong cough!

Coco wine was a great favourite with Metcalf's and Mariani being only two amongst a meriade of cocaine infused concoctions which if they would not exactly cure you were guaranteed to make you very happy.  Why Pope Leo XIII carried a bottle around with him - and even awarded Angelo Mariani with a Papal gold medal.

Maltine did Mariani nine better and got ten gold medals for its coca infused wine.  Suggested dosage for an adult was one glass before or after each meal to aid digestion.  For children?  Only half a glass - you don't want to over stimulate small appetites.

This paperweight was a friendly reminder that Boemringer und Soehne had the distinction of being the world's largest manufacturers of Quinine and cocaine products.  A dubious honour today.

And for the asthmatic what could be better than 40% alcohol mixed with 3 grams of opium - is it any wonder their breathing became relaxed?

And no actor, singer or preacher would be caught without their box of throat lozenges.  How could it no make them "speak the speech .... trippingly on the tongue". 

And for your little one's aching tooth these drops promised "instant relief" and pretty much guaranteed a happy child.  And you can forgiven if you read "druggies" rather than "druggists". 

And finally for the colicky or teething baby Stickney and Poor's gentle mixture of 46% alcohol and 1 3/16 grams of opium would guarantee they would sleep through the night. 

And you ask why they were called "the Good Old Days"?????

Many thanks to Elaine for these insights into the "happy" if slightly stoned days of yore.

04 aprile - Sant'Isidoro di Siviglia

The Reese Report - Video at 11

Saturday evening when we went to our friends Walter and Robert the first greeting was not "How are you?" but "How's Reese?" Then when Larry and Vin joined us again it was "How's Reese doing?" I guess we know who's the most important creature in our household.



I'm not sure what was in the homeopathic treatment Dr Benvenuti gave him but I'm happy to say that the Reeserman has returned to good if not perfect health. He's eating a variation of my minestrone, walking, demanding belly rubs and most important back to delivering kisses.

07 november - San Eroclano

The Reese Report - Today's Update

We've often said that Reese is more like a cat than a dog - his behavoir is quite often more feline than canine - and be damned if like a cat he seems to have a few lives at his disposal. Dr Benevenuti referred to him tonight as his little "Miracle" as we watched him hobble slowly across the waiting room - and frankly on Tuesday he wasn't able to stand so.... We had thought it was only three days treatment but the good doctor - and I must blog about him sometime - continued it tonight and once more tomorrow. Then we will assess on Monday. As long as he is improving and there is no suffering I think for the moment we are not going to have to make a "decision."

So I'm off to Parma tomorrow at 0730 - I finally went to the station to get a reservation. The TrenItalia website is very slick, very "bella figura" but a total disaster for the user. It rejected 3 credit cards and actually froze my Mastercard after the third attempt. A call to a very pleasant lady at their call centre brought the admission that "we have trouble with foreign credit cards on the website." And even she was not able to help as much as she tried.

Hopefully I'll be blogging from Parma including a possible observation - a hesitate to call it a review - on the Oberto, which I'm sure you'll all be waiting for with great expection? Wish the trip could have been as planned but again there is always the next time.

It is now 11:05 and I still have to iron a few shirts, pack my five pairs of underwear (hey I'm going for a day and a bit okay! and I don't want to be hit by a mad motorino driver and taken to the hospital with dirty underwear, okay!) and four pairs of socks (all blue.) And then to bedfordshire.

26 ottobre - San Evanisto

The Reese Report - A Further Update

Well tonight was trip two to the vets for a continuation of the homeopathic treatment. Dr Benvenuti had a full house tonight: a temperamental Irish Setter - we all had to make sure it couldn't see our various pets, we couldn't quite figure out what that was all about. A very effeminate man or a very masculine woman - couldn't tell which - with a four week old kitten and his/her mother/wife/friend with a large but very gentle dog of unknown pedigree. Two young men with a big old orange cat saddled with an Elizabethan collar and a very laid back reaction to it all. And several other people coming and going with much to do - I undertand now how opera was born in Italy. Through the mayhem our Reese just sat there and only reacted when he saw a Golden Retriever parade by the window - much barking at that point - guess he was far enough away not to accept the challenge.

He was given another series of shots tonight - and for the first time let out a yelp when he was injected. When we got home he ate some of my minestrone mixed with tuna and is now sleeping. I would like to say I've seen an improvement but that may just be wishful thinking. We shall see what happens in the next 48 hours.

Again thanks everyone for your thoughts, prayers and love. It has been incredible.

24 ottobre - San Antonio M. Claret

The Reese Report - An Update

We returned about an hour ago from seeing Dr. Benvenuti. He read the reports and examined Reese and then we talked. He told us that he looks at these things two ways - medically and as a person who loves animals. Medically Reese has many problems but at the moment there is no "dolore" or suffering. He is not in pain and he is well-looked after.

He asked if we would allow him to try a homeopathic treatment for the next three days and if at the end of that time things have not improved then we would make a decision. We agreed and I can only hope we didn't do so for selfish reasons or because we didn't want to face a more difficult decision. The next three days will tell.

23 ottobre - San Giovanni di Compastelo

When Reesie Comes Marching Home Again...

Well our poor Reese didn't exactly march home like Johnny in the song, much like the real Johnny he hobbled unsteadily home with various areas of his body shaved and bandaged. The results of a battery of tests reveal that he had, when admitted, a very high white blood cell count and extreme levels of toxin in his system. They were able to clean up the infection and did other tests that confirmed most of the health problems we knew he had - nodules on his liver, hyper-active thyroid, an irregular heart-beat and arthritis (all but the last he's had since he was a puppy.)

I'm afraid the change of Vet and style of treatment may have precipitated several of the past week's problems. Our current vet is very big on homeopathic treatment and previous Vets have been more likely to push the chemical solution. I may be wrong on this but perhaps it was too late in his life to make changes. If Reese were younger the natural route would be the way to go but at this stage of his life we should not be experimenting.

The treatment he received at the Clinic was exceptional and the staff incredibly good but he wasn't eating much there. When he got home last night I gave him some chopped up chicken breast and cooked carrots - they were wolfed down in true Daschie style. The same thing this morning after a short walk.

He is sleeping a great deal but then if I had been poked, prodded and punctured in a strange place filled with smells of sickness maybe I would want to sleep it off to. We'll see how the next few days go and take it from there. We want to make sure than any decisions are made for him not for us.

19 ottobre - Santa Laura