The other day, talking to a friend, she told me about a common friend of ours who had had an accident and had lost her memory, she couldn’t remember a single thing. What does it mean she can’t remember a single thing? Surely she remembers how to speak, doesn’t she, or otherwise how do people know she’s forgotten everything and that it is not another kind of problem? Tricky!!

However, learning abot this made me reflect on how fragile our lives are. What if, for example, I lost my memory? I would still hold a BA degree, but wouldn’t know anything about it (not that I know much now), I might, God forbid, forget all about English (which would mean, to my horror, I wouldn’t even be able to work).

Anyway, today one of my students was telling me about a certain man who spoke English with a horrible foreign accent. Apparently this man had an accident, and when he came round, he spoke with a perfect English accent, better than the queen (those are his words, not mine). Reticent as I am about losing my memories, which make me who I am, I would be willing to undertake this small transformation. Oh, yes, I would.