Do you ever get the feeling that your sub-conscious is trying to tell you something? I've had 'Make dental appointment' on my todo list for a few weeks now. As far as I know, my teeth are fine, but I need a check-up before I go to Brazil again in the autumn. For one reason or another, I've been very busy, so I haven't got around to booking an appointment, and the item has languished on the list, overlooked.

Last night I had an extremely vivid and disturbing dream in which I felt my teeth loosening, and then falling out. The sound of the teeth clinking in my hands like small, white pebbles, the metallic taste of the blood in my mouth, and the creeping horror I felt while exploring the blank, soft pockets left by the teeth with my tongue were all horribly real. The first thing I did on waking from the dream was to check my mouth with my tongue and fingers, just to make sure that all my teeth were still there.

If it was a strategy by my sub-conscious to push that particular todo item up the list, it was pretty effective. It's a pity I can't get my brain to devise a disturbing dream to get me to finish my grant proposal.