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Writer's pictureBen Pechey

Why do we sneeze, House Music and Dick Van Dyke


1,2,3,4 Let me hear you scream if you want some more…

Hello and welcome back to another in my mind piece, this month is just like all previous- read a post with no semblance or obvious journalistic structure. However, they are one of the most fun things I ever really get to write, and the board of benpechey.com*** have voted, and these posts will continue.

Last month I talked about Flog it, now sadly axed (no one is sad). However, it did get me thinking about daytime telly which was great but sadly no longer with us. Do you remember Diagnosis Murder? Well let me tell you why I am sad it is no longer on telly.

Quick sum up of the premise of Diagnosis Murder from the sweet mouth of my sister; Essentially there is a Doctor Mark Sloan (Dick Van Dyke) whose Son is a Police Detective (actual son of Dicky VD, BARRY VAN DYKE) Steve Sloan. Mark and Steve solve murders/kidnaps/serious crime/odd plot lines which all revolve (weirdly) around the Community General hospital with Mark’s Colleagues; Amanda the Pathologist (with an amazing power bob) and Jack or Jesse (they are interchangeable). That is the general gist of it, and I am sad that it is no longer on telly.

Now as often in these pieces, I end up talking about music, I may have explained previously that I have quite the eclectic taste. Of late I have been listening to house music of the mid-noughties. Most specifically Let me think about it by Ida Corr vs Fedde Le Grand, Michael Grey’s The Weekendand a personal fave Mason vs Princess Superstar 'Perfect Exceeder'. I have listened to them for the sound, as they offer upbeat campy sounds perfect for the freelance writer who is unable to work without music.

However, there is a trend with all of these songs, they all have incredibly predictable music videos. All inhabited by the thinnest white women imaginable. Usually in revealing clothes perhaps a sexy office worker, maybe a sexy gymnast, sexy builder, by now I’m sure you get the picture. Not only are these women super white and super thin, but they are also MADE UP FOR THE BACK ROW. There is less makeup in all of London’s Boots than on these women’s faces. Upon reflection, I’m very pleased that this era of music has well and truly passed.

This month has been sponsored by illnesses. With a nice heavy cold, followed up by a bout of tonsillitis. This got me thinking, what makes us sneeze. Have you ever stopped to think about why we sneeze? Well as a pillar of the investigative journalistic community, eat your heart out Stacey Dooley, I made it my mission to find out for you.

So eager readers, let me tell you what 5 minutes and an internet connection have afforded me. A sneeze, or sternutation as clever people say, is an explosion of mucous containing irritants to the nasal cavity. A sneeze is a semi-autonomous, convulsive expulsion, meaning we can't really control it. Some people suggest that your heart stops when you sneeze, this is, in fact, incorrect when we sneeze our heart adjusts the pressure of blood in the body to deal with the increase of pressure in our lungs. So our hearts don’t stop, they just adjust.

It is customary in the UK to say Bless You after someone sneezes, this has many historic reasons, something to do with the plague and religion. I thought it would be fun to compile my top 5 what other languages say after we sneeze;

‘Gesundheit’- German, ‘Health’

‘Egészségedre!’- Hungarian, ‘To your health!’

‘Наздраве’- Bulgarian, ‘To your health’

‘morgen mooi weer’ (this is if the person sneezes three times), Dutch, ‘the weather will be nice tomorrow’

‘Na zdravie’- Slovakian, ‘To your health’

So now you know why we sneeze, and what to say in 5 other countries, you are all welcome.

Back to programmes that aren’t on in the day time which makes me sad; Murder she wrote. Now whilst Jessica Fletcher may be on ITV 3, she is not on in the afternoons on BBC1 which is realistically what I want. I am sure that more you are aware fo the plot of MSW, however, Rachel has obliged to give us the blurb of Jessica’s escapades in Cabot Cove, America in General and sometimes ‘England’.

Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) is a murder mystery writer of great success with some moderate fame. She lives in the fictional New England Community of Cabot Cove (which is very real in my hear dear reader) essentially wherever she goes, or is, there is a murder. Which she then solves single handedly, much to the chagrin of the local police/sheriff/medical examiner. Amusingly she is related to a lot to people that look like her, with appalling regional accents, she also has more friends than I have had hot dinners. She also had an unending list of nieces and nephews.

Sartorially Murder She Wrote was exceptional, and was generally very visually appealing. This leads me very nicely rot one of the things I love the most, and that is this Instagram account, which compiles interiors from the show, very very pleasing.

***The board of benpechey.com is made up of an Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary, all roles which are filled by me.

Shot by Rachel Pechey

Shop My Lewk: Coat: M&S Autograph, Similar

Jumper: ASOS, Similar

Culottes: River Island, Similar

Boots: New Look, Similar

Earrings: Zara

Sunglasses: Hot Futures


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