Thoughts on Dracula and the corona virus

April 13, 2020
|
Posted By: Stephen Murray

This week I am reading Dracula by Bram Stoker.

I loved the movie by Francis Coppola (anything that involves Winona Ryder assuming the surname Murray gets my attention without delay) - and bought the book shortly afterwards, but never got around to reading it. Surprisingly (to me) for something written in 1897, it has very readable language and structure.

Obviously, it has to involve some of the most famous teeth in fiction but although I’m early into it, one line stuck in my mind – when the hero, Jonathan Harker sees Count Dracula stick his head out the wind he realises

“I was at first interested and somewhat amused, for it is wonderful how small a matter will interest and amuse a man when he is a prisoner.“

And it made me think of all the unproductive distraction I have indulged in since the Covid response has made me change my daily routines so much. I’m not particularly inclined to feel that I am a prisoner, but I think if I made a point of seeking more useful things to interest and amuse me and I’d be even less inclined.

 

 

 

(bat image from igam ogam on Unsplash)

Return to Blog Homepage
Related Blog Posts
August 1, 2026
Your call is important to us....

...please hold until it ceases to be important to you.

I had reason to call my new broadband provider yesterday. I was looking through my bank statement and there was a direct debit for far more than I expected.  I checked the previous month – same. Some mistake? Maybe I was mistaken so I got out the contract and looked for small print or hidden costs to my introductory offer. Nope, there was supposed to be 12 months of reduced fees and it was supposed to start 2 months ago.

There was nothing for it but to call them. That meant looking up online to find an ...

Read More
July 31, 2026
Scene and Heard Productions: Up The Déise

Nothing really to do with orthodontics for today’s post, just an out of the blue mention for an organisation that might be of interest to you.

It popped out of the blue when it came to my attention – as an orthodontic practice in Ireland, Swords Ortho has to comply with a wide variety of regulations (employment law, infection control, dental certification, fire safety compliance, general health and safety, waste management, X-ray equipment compliance, disability access, continuing professional development and so on).  

To help us stay on top of things, we have a small army of advisors and contractors who come and go behind the scenes ...

Read More
July 29, 2026
Another lost orthodontic brace

I replaced a removable brace for a guy yesterday, he’d lost his brace a couple of weeks ago.

Me: “What happened to the brace?”

He: “Well I went for a walk with my friend, and when I got home, the brace was missing.”

This was delivered with a completely straight face. So my advice is that there’s only two places in the universe that it should be:

  1. Your mouth
  2. Your brace box

Nowhere else.

The brace box should be marked with a name and phone number that can be used to get it back to you if it’s lost and recovered by someone else.

And a removable brace isn’t working when it’s removed.

Read More
Return to Blog Homepage