How Time Goes Faster As You Get Older.blog

Carly isn’t sure she has always been so obsessed with numbers. Like anyone, she has to use numbers in her day-to-day life. She needs them to get on the right bus and pay the right amount of money for any goods. Especially cappuccinos. That is a very important daily ritual for her. She doesn’t like to think about how much she has spent over the years, but one of her ways of keeping sane and meeting people, especially during times of war, is to go out at least once, and often twice for a coffee. In Jaffa, Israel, they range in price from about 14 to 16 ₪ for each cappuccino. In Europe, it is more variable and, of course, it really depends on where you are. Greece is cheap whilst Italy and France aren’t. Carly has set up her phone calculator, so it always converts a number into a currency. Usually, it is set up to switch between shekels and pounds. She has only lived in Israel for three years and still really thinks in pounds, but this is slowly shifting.

She has mostly been obsessed with prime numbers. And if she can, she loves to live in houses or apartments that are prime numbers or a simple multiplication of them. To be honest, if the number isn’t a prime, then it should be a product of primes at the very least! As a student, she lived at 31 Englefield Road. That was before this prime number mania had begun. She lived with a load of medical students, some of whom she is still in touch with, but not most. The walls were paper-thin and there was often a lot of groaning of new partnerships fulfilling their fantasies. This distracted Carly a great deal from her studies, so she would play Cilla Black loudly on her record player to drown it out. She knew this wasn’t necessarily a popular choice, but she made her statement about these antics loud and clear. Then she moved to 81 South Hill Park as a young married woman. Now this isn’t a prime number, but it is a cool number. 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 (3⁴). Something nice about this. She loved that flat and the garden. Then she moved to 5 Pond Square – phew, a prime and eventually to 3 Bloomfield Road – yes, you guessed it – another prime. She lived in that last house for just over 19 years. And 19 is her favourite prime number overall. She then moved when she got divorced, and didn’t need to be constantly reminded of her failed marriage. Time to move on and make new memories. And ta da! She moved for 3 years to 29 Horsell Road. That was a really pretty place. It was a new-build and had been thoughtfully planned and expertly executed. It had been built on the site of a house that had been bombed in WWII. And an unexploded bomb had been found in the garden when they laid the new foundations! She lived there with her three children and two cats during most of Covid. She made two friends whose named both began with a B (the 2^nd letter of the alphabet) but then she lost them. One because she was rejected by her and the other through drifting apart. Then Carly moved to 45 Grove Road. She consoled herself with the thought that it was still not a bad number as 45 = 3 x 3 x 5. This time she kept the friends she made while she lived there. After 13 months there she moved to Jaffa and lived in an apartment 2 at 23 Hanina. Great – both primes. She was almost in two minds to think about whether to buy the apartment above hers to turn it into a duplex as it was number 4. But that is 2². And by this time, she really had made loads of friends and has kept nearly all of them. But it is early days. “Give it time,” she remonstrates with herself.

She also thinks about her date of birth. The vernal equinox in 1965. The 21^st of March. 21 is 3 x 7 and 7 is her favourite lower prime number (19 is the higher one). March is also month 3 so that is fine, and 1965 can be split into 19 and 65. 19 is fine. Phew. And 65 is 13 x 5. So, all good, really. She lives another day comforted by the fact that her birthday numbers are ok. Not great but for sure, not terrible. “Ok,” will have to do, Carly supposes.

However, Carly is not only preoccupied with prime numbers. She likes it when dates, which are usually written as numbers, have some numerical relationship to each other. When Haz and G-girl consulted her about which day in March 2023 they should have their wedding, giving her a choice of dates, Carly opted for the 26^th of March. Haz is also keen on numbers and knew she would pick this one. Because 26 (the date) minus (-) 3 (the month) equals (=) 23 (the year): 26-3=23. “Perfect,” thought Carly. And it was. Carly wore the burgundy dress, with its bolero jacket, that her friend Betsy had lent her. Betsy had worn it at her own second wedding. This meant for the marriage ceremony she could hide her extensive black henna tattoos and then with great aplomb, when she removed the bolero, everyone could see the sumptuous decorations. Quite a few people thought they were permanent. But Carly really hates tattoos. They don’t weather well and always end up a faded turquoise blue on saggy and wrinkly skin. NO THANK YOU. One of her colleagues brought along Carly’s dog, Talulah, for the photos, and that was great fun. She made a speech that wasn’t vetted by the her family but was funny and actually didn’t embarrass anyone. Like with her inaugural lecture on becoming a professor, Becky kindly oversaw what she should include, and more importantly what must be left out. It wasn’t Carly’s day after all, but Haz and G-girl’s.

Before their wedding, Carly suggested to Haz that they celebrate a special date and time by going out on the canal in Camden in a rubber ring as his apartment had direct access to the water. She wanted to do it on the 22^nd February 22 at 10.22 pm. So, it was all a load of twos. 22.2.22@22.22. The date was an ambigram – you could flip it over and it still showed the same string of numbers. It was also a palindrome (same backwards and forwards). As it was a Tuesday, it became commonly known as Twosday!

Haz said the canal was far too filthy to go into a rubber ring in the winter, so Carly brought a blow-up rubber dinghy, Haz sourced an electric pump and having clambered over the garden barrier, in they jumped at 10pm. Twenty-two minutes later whilst rowing up and down, Carly did scream a bit. But it was late, so she kept the volume down. A few months later, Haz used the boat to whizz up and down the canal and propose to G-girl.

Seven years earlier than all of this, Carly, with her colleagues Hannah and Will, had chosen the day they would launch the UK’s first single undergraduate paediatric curriculum. It was the 4^{th of} November 2015 (4.11.15, since 4+11=15). Having a date meant it could be a planned day of celebration, and all the work would need to be completed by then. They had several really important stakeholders on board, including the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), the Academy of Medical Educators, the General Medical Council and the Medical Schools Council Assessment Alliance. There were a load of talks and interactive workshops as this was above all about education but the highlight for Carly was the launch. This was officiated by the then-president of the RCPCH, Professor Neena Modi, who cut a very long piece of knitting in two. Of course, Carly had knitted this ‘yarn ribbon’ as two scarves that could be separated for Will and Hannah as thank you presents. It was great fun to have yarn take the place of the traditional cutting of the ribbon.

Two more dates were important. Carly gave her inaugural lecture with lots of razzmatazz on her son Toby’s 20^th birthday. This meant she could bring along the caterpillar cake from M&S and get hundreds of people to join in the singing. Later, there was ample food and lots of gin and tonics. Anyway. That’s what everyone remembers. Carly planned to have a breast reduction. She had been contemplating it for years. Now was the time. She had finished breastfeeding almost two decades earlier. So she went for it. This did mean she would need some time off work. A fortnight at most. But she had an exemplary sickness record with no sick days she could remember. She found a lovely plastic surgeon who had done thousands of these operations. He gave Carly the usual warnings and she chose the date: 21^st February 2019, because, of course, if you subtract two from 21 you get 19 (21-2=19). Her brother worked at this hospital and brought in a huge basket of fruit. Carly was delighted at this thoughtful and kind gesture although she did muse that the basket was very old fashioned in design. But the fruit was delicious. She should learn to be less critical when it came to receiving gifts. She feels so much better and of course lighter. He took off 750 g from each side. She only wishes that she had videoed her party trick of getting her nipples to kiss together. Hey-ho. The value of hindsight. It’s a great thing. “Like numbers,” contemplated Carly.

Carly always fasts on Yom Kippur. This is the day of atonement and boy does Carly have a truckload of sins; beyond anything she could conceive after the last fast when the slate was wiped clean. Carly is very naughty and can also be sinful. It does make Yom Kippur meaningful. And there is nothing like complete abstinence from food and fluid for 25 hours to focus the mind and apologise to God for all those sins she has committed wilfully against her fellow man and woman. But it is also a day of contemplating and trying to be spiritual. And 25 hours is really a heck of a long time for someone like Carly who likes to flit hither and thither spending very little time on any one thing. She has been able to complete projects and has had a successful career and feels she has parented adequately. Those were both really long projects to undertake. And she is still working so that needs completion and commitment. She has three adult children, but they often need advice on how to get out of scrapes or support with various initiatives involving breastfeeding or puppy raising. The parenting business never ceases but, to be honest, she does like to be called up for her expertise. She smiles wryly to herself. There is one prayer that you say several times on Yom Kippur. It is to say sorry to teachers. When she was an adolescent, Carly looked forward to the day, when after leaving school, she could omit this one. But that was naïve. Throughout life she has had teachers. Sometimes they have been mentors and coaches but sometimes regular teachers. She is always learning and curious. That is the very essence, she feels, of being human.

The rules are you become a Jewish woman at 12 and a Jewish man at 13. The male sex has always been immature, thinks Carly, and at least this is officially acknowledged by the Rabbis! And once you are a woman or a man you need to fast for 25 hours. An obsession amongst her friends and family when she was growing up, was the need to practise fasting. At aged nine, she missed breakfast, at ten she missed lunch as well and by 11 she did the whole thing in preparation for the following year when it was mandatory. Phew, she succeeded. Unsurprisingly, she was as determined then as she is now! Her most abiding memory of that time was meeting her cousin Estelle on the corner of her road, between their two houses, on the way to the children’s services at their local synagogue (shul). They would take gulps of air and pretend they were tasty and stave off their hunger pangs. They would also dart along the pavement popping the white balls of fallen fruit from some bush. If you were lucky, you could stamp them all out in quick succession and make a tune. And, of course, Estelle and Carly would have a competition to see how many they managed to splat. Of course, Carly won. Or rather Estelle knew “let her little cousin Carly win!” Some things are obvious to all and sundry irrespective of how young you are. And it is funny that Carly still calls Estelle “big cousin Estelle” and Estelle calls her “little cousin Carly”. And they are both now enjoying their 60s and neither is little anymore!

Carly really didn’t mind fasting. She was actually very good at it, so her mother gave her a task: to provide her younger brothers their lunch, who weren’t expected to fast yet. They also practised by missing breakfast but were happy to have lunch served. To make it more fun, Carly took on the role of a waitress and wore an apron to fully immerse herself in the role. But Carly always liked to take things to a new level. Not an extreme level. You can’t really do that as a waitress. She decided to be from another country. One year she was French, the next Italian, and finally Spanish. She supposes she could have taken it to an extreme level if she had waitressed in a fancy-dress costume or, heaven forbid, her birthday suit. Enough to put anyone off their food! And so she didn’t.

For many years, Carly would also fast on Tisha B’Av, which marks the destruction of the second temple. The same rules apply but, you can go about your normal day-to-day business. Not all this atoning and spending all day in the synagogue. This meant it was easier, and Carly told herself she did it for others. Yom Kippur was a personal fast, but Tisha B’Av was for everyone and everything else. But that fell by the wayside as Carly got older.

Since 2023, Carly has been in Israel for every Yom Kippur – well, apart from one year in Pushkar, where she broke her fast at a Hindu wedding with copious amounts of delicious and totally unhealthy food. The experience was super fun, and she was shown where the marriage had taken place earlier. It looked just like a chuppah – a Jewish marriage canopy – so it felt an appropriate place to break her fast!

Yom Kippur in Israel is a totally wild affair. Hardly any of her friends fast or go to synagogue services. But they do all wear white and cycle everywhere. They cycle along the motorways, and every single road has large groups of kids with their parents all on bikes. It is as if the cyclists have totally reclaimed the roads. No one drives except for police cars to make sure no one else is driving. All the shops and cafes are closed, and it feels a bit like the olden days. Tel Aviv is usually awash with electric bikes, but these too, are banned. Sometimes people sit and play cards or backgammon in the middle of the highways to make a point. Carly feels it is a uniquely Israeli experience. It has nothing to do with atoning for sins but has taken on national importance, and everyone who is not religious, joins in. This last Yom Kippur, Carly went to have the pre-meal fast with Haz, G-girl and LL the baby. The usual. Pasta and tomato sauce. Once the fast began, Haz and Carly hopped off to the local shul (Yakar) to hear Kol Nidrei. This is a must. It is one of Carly’s favourite tunes. The Max Bruch version for cello, best played by Jacqueline du Pré, is sumptuous and divine. But Haz and Carly don’t have too much patience for long services, so they hotfooted it back. G-girl headed off with Carly to watch the cycling on nearby Dizengoff, whilst Haz was on babysitting duty. They spent over an hour chatting about everything and putting the world to rights. They said goodnight but Carly found it tricky cycling back to Jaffa as they were so many unpredictable toddler cyclists buzzing about in the streets! In principle Carly is very much in favour of everyone cycling, but not when it hinders her ability to get from A to B in a timely fashion.

Carly spends most of the Yom Kippur day pottering at home and getting an ever more severe and annoying headache from caffeine withdrawal. But she likes to go to Neilah – the last Yom Kippur service, where she is hoping to be sealed into the ‘Book of Life’. It is pretty hard work since you have to stand up the whole time. But the fast is nearly finished and it is always so rewarding to be a completer/finisher. She has done it now for over 50 years. Gosh that is a long time, she muses. For the last two years she has gone to the International Shul on Frishman with AbeBaby. She isn’t sure why it is international! They do announce all the page numbers in Hebrew, English and French to help participants follow the service. And best of all, the chazan (cantor), who leads the service wears canonicals. This is an outfit with a long, flowing black robe and the most bizarre hat. It is hexagonal with a pompom on top. Carly didn’t think anyone wore them anymore, but yet again she was most definitely wrong. Carly had arranged with AbeBaby to meet outside, and he was keen to hear the shofar (the ram’s horn) mark the end of the fast. Bizarrely, the outside was totally mobbed by others who also wanted to hear the shofar. They were regular Israelis with their cycles, kids and dogs. None of them was waiting to hear the fast had ended so that they could eat. But they wanted to feel part of this important day, which is celebrated in a unique way. It sums up why Carly is so happy that she moved to Israel. It is never predicable, and it is never ever dull.

I just love popping into the gallery at the end of my street. Some of the art I like. And it is free!

I have asked CFC to make one for me. In fact we are making 2 and decorating them ourselves!

Cats and chickens – a likely combination!

Wild paintings

With found objects

Sumptous artwork

AI generated!

More lovely art

Such beautiful woodwork. Have asked Galina to make a piece for my new place post shiputz

Such fun statues

A beautiful triptych

I have been going now to Limoges for quite a while. Now we have the routine. I eat all my meals with Fran and Phil and then spend the day fiddling about in the workshop sewing and sticking and painting etc. This time it was using washi tape and stamps as well as quite a few challah covers. I found a Rose and Bella nude “Barbie” dolls in a charity shop in London and wanted to imagine them as Fran and Phil in their 20s. So I consulted on fabric choice and design. I will return them to Mallety next year!

I had the opportunity of spending the evening and staying overnight in Margate with Louise. We had a fab time. I saw this wonderful exhibition too.

Two views of a Hockney – from downstairs and upstairs

Having a good time

I have always loved this Dutch artist’s work. I first came across him in Jacky’s bedroom when I was a school girl on a sleepover. It was the picture of the hand drawing the hand. I went to this with Elle whom I met as a fabulous medical student and now she is a fabulous friend!

Another marvellous Hockney exhibition. He did this on his ipad in his penultimate year. Amazing. I went with my 2 old school friends. We have known each other for many decades. Nina from when I was 7 and Rebecca when I was 11.

Winter

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Such a treat. Now on to M C Esher

I realised that when I went to Japan, I forgot to take any art materials. I like to start off every day doing something creative how silly or simplistic it is. I like to make 3 or 5 or 7 similar but slightly different pieces.

Washi tape with cats

I am not sure where I bought the washi tape. But I didn’t have any scissors so had to tear it and wrap it round to the back. It is pretty transparent so you can see the colours behind. 21 July 26.

Lines around a slate piece from the beach

I found some lovely pieces of flat slate on the beach. I drew around them and then around them with more lines using different colours or the same pen with water smudging. 22 July 26.

1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 cats with different borders

I bought the googly eyes (thanks Galina) and adhesive sticky lilac/purple lace in a craft shop in Skibbereen. Now I had scissors I had a whale of a time! 24 July 26.

Tea bags, googly eyes, cat washi tape and paints

If you really want you can open the bag and have a cup of tea. Just make sure you replace the packet. That is why they are all sewn in with wool using a tapestry needle. 25 July 26. Then I sewed them all together like a book.

Art exhibition Whittington

One of my colleagues was organising an art exhibition. So I thought. Why not enter some of these pieces and some new ones.

Being disgruntled about working in a woke organisation

Hello, My name is Carly, What can I do for you today?

These were made using my stamps with cat washi tape on top to blur and hide them.

Then using a black biro and obfuscating this text with purple paint I added.

Why do I always have to conform to my woke organisations edicts?

Then adding to making a book theme I used some gold thread I found on the street to make them into a book that is only partially openable.

Here is the prep work!

And now off to France!

On entering Mallety

Skies outside Mallety. Late August

I went for a glorious tea at Heron Gallery at Ahakista, West Cork. They sell these wooden kits designed by Anabel Langrish. Of course, I painted them purple.

This book was for 12 postcards. I used Phil’s washi tape and then wrote a heartfelt message for my wonderfully dear friends Fran and Phil for hosting me. It is such a nourishing time.

I made this piece with a rainbow coloured selection of wrapped sugar cubes and 7 black and 7 white babies. I asked my friends for witty title captions.

Michael. Found my sugar daddy, but he’s remarkably small and full of sucrose

Stephanie. Oops

Sandra. Who loves you baby? Who loves you? Daddy!

Tamar. Hmmmm it has the vibe of a gender reveal party without the gender! 

Natalie. Daddy obsession 

Bella. Baby daddies/Or babies daddy/Or babies daddies

Noa. Daddy, 2026. Mixed media, questionable genetics.

Tova. Racist Daddy: the story of why white babies are on top.

Rae. Gene pool

Christian. Bold choice to have the white babies on top. I’m trying to think of something… So far, I’ve come up with this: Colours. UnNatural Selections. Paternal Constraints. Colours – Make It Anywhere. UnNatural Selections – Make It Anywhere.

Irene looked it up on ChatGPT.

I had an A5 book with 15 pages. I thought they would all stick together but they didn’t so I had to tape them all! I made this for Catherine. It is clearly tongue in cheek.

Hey there. Which do you prefer? Cats or babies? Hmmmmmmmmmmm. Justify with facts not feelings.

I had another postcard book of 12 A6 size. I used small origami papers from the Tokyo Origami Museum. Let’s face it. I am not that good at origami.

I’d like to think I’m good at origami. I’m not. Oh dear. This was under different coloured crayons. I do so love cats. They are terrific and utterly unpredictable often. This was in pencil at the bottom and sometimes hiding. Then I sewed it all together with embroidery thread so you would need to concentrate with reading it all!

Tova liked my cat postcards so I made her one that says “Tova lives here” and the same in Hebrew. I found some blu tac and stuck it secretly on her front door. It didn’t take long for her to find them!

Maria and Christian gave me a beautiful octopus as a leaving present. It came with a card (see at the end). Octopus likes to go on journeys. A bit like all the Barbies – they (M and C) were both great fans and went back to Germany with one of my pieces – Trafficked Barbies. These photos are in no particular order but are taken from mid-July 2026 onwards.

And then I had to add more!

and more

Simon and I went on a 3 day trip to Cork before joining friends in Schull. We had a number along the beach. Here are some of my photographs. It was a wonderful time staying at the Inchydoney Island Hotel. Wonderful food and spectacular views.

Off for the weekend to Schull