Baby Brain - not just for those with babies

I've got some serious baby brain at the moment. This manifests itself in several ways. At the moment I'm a bit partial to tidying up and putting things away in really random places which ensures they can't be found when needed. Tea bags in the fridge for example - particularly crucial as baby brain cannot be cured without a cup of tea.

It's also appearing in my speech. I keep on mixing words up. The old shoulder/soldier muddle. Exhibition/Expedition. And Muslin/Muslim, always embarrassing in the 'there's a load of sick on the muslim' or 'what did I do with that sodding muslim' kind of way.

But this ongoing muddle has reminded me that it isn't just mothers who get the odd bit of baby brain. I knew someone in Bosnia who had just started work at OSCE (Organisation for Stability and Cooperation in Europe) which is one of the main players in the development and reconstruction of the post-conflict Bosnia. One night they were all staying late in some high pressure moment and decided to order in pizzas. The language being spoken was a mix of English and Bosnian, and my Bosnian Serb friend wanted to order some olives (maslinas in Bosnian). Sure enough he asked for chopped Muslims on his pizza.

Bless him, he was mortified. He was fairly new to the job and being a Serb he wasn't sure whether people would look askance at him from then on. He needn't have worried, it broke the ice and he got olives on his pizza.