In reference to my blocked auditory canal (see previous post) my friend Benicek (an experienced medic who works in an emergency ward) sent me the following message; “... get your doctor to clean your ears with a clean, warm water jet, which is the standard procedure for ear wax. It'll be somewhat less likely to injure or infect your ear than your swimming pool idea”. Kind and informed words, but then I'm sure that Alexander Fleming's scientific colleagues were similarly well-intentioned when they suggested he clean his mouldy Petri dish (coincidently, I too have an aversion to washing-up).
As the discoverer of penicillin knew, answering the call of history is never easy. Especially when it's muffled.
