No prize for guessing the book that has this opening line, of which I am reminded every time I come into town and see the town clock which is permanently set at twelve o'clock. Still, as they say, even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Lots of people have reported the broken clock to Council, but it's been stuck at twelve o'clock for years. My guess is that they're sending out someone at the start of his lunchbreak who takes one look at it and says, "So, what's wrong with it?" Anyway, I'm quite used to the fact that it's always twelve o'clock in the Bay, just as it is always five o'clock at "Riverbend", and I'm no longer moved by the unmoving hands of time.
What did move me was the sign across the street. No, not THAT one; the one about "GLUTEN FREE". If you're old school and use hyphens, you may be misled to think that they're offering gluten free of charge, but I'm way ahead of you and realise they're offering gluten-hyphen-free food.
How is it that after 5000 years of humanity eating bread, we suddenly have so many people allergic to gluten? You could say it's just like with homosexual people: they've been around for thousands of year, except that they're now more visible, but it's really a bit more complicated and rather more interesting than all that. I took the trouble of "googling" the facts which I won't repeat here, other than to give you the links to the articles "The Grim Origins of 'Gluten-Free'" and "Growing intolerance".
Me? I'm a glutton for gluten. The only thing I'm allergic to is hard work.
Oh, and today is Bastille Day. It always takes me back to Casablanca!
P.S. How I wished we had a national anthem as patriotic and stirring as all that! But who could ever get teary-eyed about being 'girt by sea'?
