I buy tempoary relief

I performed my surgery this morning. Just. As they involve placing the tongue on the teeth, saying any sibilant or "l" sound was acutely uncomfortable. I quickly discovered the value of listening, but try as I may, I had to say something, sometimes. I ended up deploying the glottal stop, as this was less painful. Other vocal and phonetic adjustments were also tried, which left me speaking, not so much like someone with a sore mouth than a middle class drunk with a penchant for gobstoppers.

I was able to secure my emergency dental appointment; however, where the razor edge of the tooth was duly filed down and a temporary cap fitted, providing almost instant relief, the tongue, having suffered repeated lacerations in the last 36 hours will take a little longer to settle down. Critically, I can now speak normally again. I have to go back in 3 days for them to determine the fate of the deeply diseased peg. I think we know the answer...

While waiting at the dentist's I opened a Daily Telegraph and found an item on Macao, off shore gambling den to the burgeoning ranks of Chinese nouveau riche. This tiny offshore island has been home to several casinos for over a century, but it has now reached the point where its annual turnover exceeds that of Las Vegas. Now that's serious money...