Update on Chewing Gum: songs, even!

Suddenly within the last couple of weeks, new posters have appeared on the underground tube stations ('subways' to all you out there). They show a woman holding a gymnastic flying pose, and if you bother to read the small print, there is an admonishment not to throw your chewing gum on the street but to "bin it", i.e. throw it in the dustbin. Given the woman's pose, this doesn't have anything to do with the upcoming Olympics, does it??

As I've written before, London pavements ('sidewalks' to you) are spotted, dotted, spectacularly decorated with coin-like splotches of discarded gum. If you've ever noticed at cinemas or when travelling, kiosks in those facilities don't sell gum – presumably because it ends up stuck under seats and elsewhere. (This is the sort of vandalism that caused Singapore to ban chewing gum.)

There is a great song out there called "Chewing Gum", recorded by the Carter family around 1930 as well as the New Lost City Ramblers ca. 1960. The song is about falling in love and getting married; only one verse, in addition to the chorus, mentions gum, though:

Chewing Gum
(Carter Family)

Mama sent me to the spring, she told me not to stay
I fell in love with a pretty little girl, and could not get away

    Chawin' chewing gum, chewing chawin' gum
    Chawin' chewing gum, chewing chawin' gum

First she give me peaches, next she give me pears
Next she give me fifty cents, kissed me on the stairs

Mommy don't 'low me to whistle, poppy don't 'low me to sing
They don't 'low me to marry, I'll marry just the same

I wouldn't have a lawyer, I'll tell you the reason why
Every time he opens his mouth he tells a great big lie

I wouldn't have a doctor, I'll tell you the reason why
He rides all over the country and makes the people die

I wouldn't have a farmer, I'll tell you the reason why
Because he has so plenty to eat, 'specially pumpkin pie

I took my girl to church last night.  How do you reckon she done?
She walked right up in the preacher's face and chewed her chewing gum 

Lyrics courtesy of GED on TraditionalMusic; other listings can be found on LyricsVault or OldieLyrics, and a classic performance by Johnny Cash (and Other) on YouTube.
Uncle Bailey George gives a different rendition on ReverbNation, "Chewing Gum" by Annie on YouTube, "Chewing Chewing Gum" sung by the Super Furry Animals with some pretty vapid lyrics, and of course the old favorite, "Does your chewing gum lose its flavor on the bedpost overnight" (three renditions on YouTube).

Who woulda thunk it, songs about gum...

Chewing Gum

A previous post on NHS dentists mentioned one of the hazards of the American practice of chewing gum: crushed molars! Funny, gum is sold here in Britain, but you never see anyone chewing it. Those with wads in their mouths (see how my perspective has changed?) are invariably Americans. But with the visible absence of chewing, the spots on the pavement (sidewalk, remember) caused by gum disposal become a mystery. I have never seen anyone spitting out gum. How do the spots get there? Secret nighttime squads of gum chewers? In any case, they do result in massive squads of pavement cleaners out there with their special spray guns cleaning up Oxford Street (the main shopping venue). Here are some facts as reported by the BBC:

The disgusting pavements of London – unless
you think the street is strewn with silver dollars!

"London's Gum Facts:
• The cost of cleaning up London's streets from chewing gum is estimated as being as much as £10 million every year
• Chewing gum takes up to five years to degrade
• The cost of removing each bit of chewing gum is between 50p and £2
• Deep cleaning the entire length of Oxford Street to remove chewing gum takes three months and over 300,000 individual pieces are removed"

If you want to read more about pavement cleaning before the Olympics – click on the BBC permalink. We rather prefer the solution offered in Coyoacan, Mexico City (below) but doubt the tree can accommodate all that's necessary! A gum-tree!!

NHS dentists

Yesterday I had to go to Cambridge to see my dentist. Even though I've moved away from there, I still travel back twice a year to keep my NHS (National Health Service) dentist. Once you find a good one, don't let them go! In parts of the country, NHS dentists have no more space on their rosters to accept new patients; I guess those rejected have to go private or do without (more likely). I had a terrible experience with a British-trained dentist early in my stay in Britain. It was after I had crushed two lower molars with too much or too energetic gum-chewing (another topic). He made a mess of capping them. So on the recommendation of the American Embassy, I next went to an American-trained private dentist in London (located in Cavendish Square behind the John Lewis department store – high rent area) but had to pay £300 for a filling, more than 6 times the NHS price (now £47 for a filling; check-up and cleaning only costs £17). Not again, thanks. He was kind enough to recommend a friend of his, also British but American-trained, who practiced in Cambridge, so I signed on with that one with the NHS to have my caps replaced. Then he retired but was succeeded by an Australian-trained dentist, and after that, I now have a South African-trained dentist. They all have done fabulous work. Don't give them up if they're good!

PS Have you ever noticed how many people in Britain are missing one or more pre-molar? A gap that is revealed when smiling? I asked my dentist why, and funnily enough, she hadn't noticed or thought about it. She decided, though, that the tooth is vulnerable because it gets heavy chewing but is not as strong as a molar; and it is not replaced because you have to pay extra for something like that – not covered by the NHS. And her final comment was that Brits don't seem to care about their teeth  – something that is rather widely noted and discussed in the vanity press!