I used up almost my last annual leave day today, as I had a dentist appointment. It was a one-hour appointment at 11am but I didn’t get out until 1pm. This always seems to happen, I have to wait around a bit so the actual work starts late, and then it always takes longer than expected.

I was a bit annoyed really: even though my teeth are in a mess I have had no pain at all in the last week – remarkable when you consider that two have been drilled down to stubs and covered with a temporary filling ready for the fitting of crowns. The temporary filling has been loose and actually came off the other day, but still no pain. Today I had some root treatment done on one of them and at the end I left with another temporary filling, despite the fact that the two crowns are there ready to go in – the dentist wants to wait and make sure the root work doesn’t inflame or anything before capping it. When the anaesthetic wore off in the afternoon I really was in pain. I know I should take the long view, but its difficult when you start off OK and the dentist creates pain. I have a suspicion that it wasn’t the work he did which was the problem, but the strain of keeping my mouth open for 90 minutes causing jaw ache.

Anyway, I’ve now got to wait another two weeks to get rid of this irritating temporary filling. The only good news on this front is that it should only take another two visits to finish this course of treatment. I can’t wait.

I’m now pain free, but that could be a result of the beer… this evening I actually went to the pub. I don’t drink very often and rarely go to pubs, but after a local labour party meeting I just felt like a beer or two so went to the Imperial with a colleague. Now the Imperial has a bit of a reputation, and many people will not go there, even though it is the only pub in Broadfield, and it has to be said that it does not have a very welcoming atmosphere. It is one of those soulless 70s pubs tacked onto a local shopping parade with a very poor design. There is a choice of loud music or loud football on a big screen, but you can’t hear either over the even louder clientele.

On the other hand, the people in there are not hostile at all – just not welcoming – and everyone there seems to know everyone else and are all having one giant conversation. Maybe thats a healthier community spirit than a pub full of couples at tables all ignoring each other. Its just not much fun for an outsider.

I think I will stick with my local, the Black Swan. The Black Swan is not actually in Broadfield, its not even in Crawley but in the village of Pease Pottage, but its physically the closest pub to my house. Not that I go there very often, but if I had to nominate a local, that would be it.