Going Gently

Something We Should All Do

Don't anyone dare to say what a nice guy I am......Please don't that is not why I post the following

I was a few minutes early for work so called into sainsbury's for some dog food on the way.
Of course I treated myself to a sneaky chocolate eclair ( I know, I know) but night shift brings the devil out in a person.
The self service tills were busy and as I and a few others waited in line we watched as a tall, slightly unkempt guy tried to use his debt card to pay for a two litre bottle of coke.
The supervisor was polite and went over to speed the proceedings up, but was forced to explain that his card was some sort of social services payment card which was not valid in the store machines.
The customer began to get slightly irate and it was evident that he perhaps suffered from some mental health issues.
" I need my coke" he stated somewhat forcefully and as the supervisor gently suggested he use some cash I could see that the store security guard was moving in to help.
I went to the next free self service till and by the time I was finished the supervisor was trying to exlain to the customer that he couldn't use a euro to pay for his drink.
The manager was called and more explainations ensued and I left slightly ashamed that I had witnessed a guy on his uppers.
The queue, like most British queues had remained unseeing.
As I drove out of the car park, I noticed the man sitting with his face in his hands in the store foyer. He had no coat and it had started to hail stone,so on impluse I stoped the car in a disabled bay, hurried into the store and took the bottle of coke which had been taken from the guy and left on the supervisor's table. I paid for it at the self sevice till and smiled at the supervisor with a it's not your fault look before giving it to the man on the bench.
" Enjoy it mate" I told the customer who took the bottle gratefully.

And on the way to work, that eclair never tasted so sweet!

Better Late Than Never!

The postman woke me up around 1pm
No, he didn't creep up the stairs to whisper sweet nothings into my slumbering ear!
He just knocked on the door, setting off a chain reaction of hysteria amongst the animals.
" A gift from one of your blog readers!" He told me authoritatively
He seems to know me so well.

He was right! It was a late Christmas gift from Jan in Australia.
I've only had a few hours sleep.
I am back at work later.
Snow is on the way
But it made me smile!
Thank you

Bed Soon!

Short staffed again at work so, last night I did an extra shift and will do the same tonight.
Even after a walk all the dogs have decided to play fight, so as I am typing this ( in the bath) I wish I could give the lot of them a dose of ketamine so I can sleep.
Oh for a silent home.....with just the sound of the gale force wind whistling around my gable end
I'm too old for this lark!

Bad Neighbours

The weather has taken a bit of a turn.
The houses, cottages and bungalows of the village seem to cling the side of Gop Hill as driving rain and gales rush in from the North West and the dogs' midday walk was cut short as all they walked to do was to turn their backs to the wind.
I only saw one person when we were out and she waved briefly as she ran for her car. I wondered if things had settled down for her, for the last time we spoke she told me of a rather unfortunate altercation she had with her neighbour soon after the new year.
The fall out was " something and nothing" over a shared right of way, but the whole thing had been exacerbated by alcohol , as the neighbour had been drinking heavily during the day.
Apparently the police were eventually called to pour oil on the waters.

I understood the difficulty felt, as once, when I was selling raffle tickets on afternoon, I had to deal with a rather unpleasant moment with the neighbour who, obviously relaxed after a couple of wines, felt that she could refuse my polite request with a brusqueness which bordered on rudeness.
Some people a mean drunks, plain and simple.

We once lived for a short time in a cottage which backed onto some social housing. Our then neighbour lived a somewhat chaotic lifestyle, in which alcohol, drugs loud partying and even louder arguments were the norm and I remember very well, that awful pit in the stomach feeling when doors were banged and shouting in the night woke you up.

Our neighbours now couldn't be better. Mandy & Sailor John have often cared for the field when we are away. Trendy Carol's dogs play wonderfully with ours and Old Trevor demands nothing more than the occasional request for me to to some heavy lifting for him ( he is 94! ) so I can understand The Prof's worry of who will eventually reside on the plot of land which has been just put up for sale, right in the centre of our corner of the village.
" Let's hope they are not riff raff!" The Prof commentated the other day

Multi Tasking and Winnie Goes AWOL

Something always gives when you are multi tasking.
Feeding dogs, putting up a curtain pole, browning chicken skins to garnish dogs' dinners, preparing chicken casserole, picking logs up, flirting with Mandy next door ( she's just had a new " big hair" change) Mary's ear drops, shit......no onions for casserole, so hurried trip to shop, remove old shelving from airing cupboard, tidy away excess laundry into space saving " suction bags" ( great fun) hoover mummified mouse from under the bed......
I was hoovering the office carpet when there was a loud knock on the front door.
When I came downstairs a young farmer type was standing in front of the window
" Have you lost something? " he mouthed and I gestured for the man to come round to the back door where I met him at the garden wall.
He pointed to his tall pick up parked by the side of the cottage.
Sitting happily in the passenger seat with her big paws up on the dashboard was Winnie.
" I saw her down by the water treatment" he told me " she got in straight away when I stopped"

I was baffled.
Apparently after I had given her her dinner, Winnie had taken herself off for an uncharacteristic wander. She had slipped through the open gate (!) and had marched off for a mile down the lane. The farmer had picked her up when she had decided to rest , like an ugly and exhausted hooker on a small grass verge and had driven the length of the lane ( some three miles) in the search for her home. Finally he stopped a woman outside her house. who recognized Winnie and she told the farmer where she lived so kindly he brought her home as she happily enjoyed her impromptu country drive.
" She's a friendly big thing" the young man said opening the truck door
" Did she try to kiss you?" I asked him as Winnie reluctantly scrabbled down.
" No......but she HAS eaten half of me crisps!" He replied.

Slapped Hard With A Velvet Glove

Hollywood Royalty Meryl Streep flexed the most dignified part of her speech giving skills last night with the most effective of put downs against Donald Trump.
Stating that his mocking of a disabled journalist was something that " broke her heart" Streep, in the hushed motherly tones added

"It was that moment when the person asking to sit in the most respected seat in our country imitated a disabled reporter, someone he outranked in privilege and power and the capacity to fight back. It, it kind of broke my heart when I saw it and I still can’t get it out my head because it wasn’t in a movie. It was real life. And this instinct to humiliate when it’s modeled by someone in the public platform, by someone powerful, it filters down into everybody’s life because it kind of gives permission for other people to do the same thing.

Disrespect invites disrespect. Violence incites violence. When the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose"

The only reply Trump could think to give was to call Streep " overrated"
That comment alone proves to the world that he is an arsehole!

Reality Not Frivolity

The Prof has been put on the train to London. I am sure he will enjoy his pristine boutique hotel more than usual, for I have just been merrily cleaning up , deep dark blobs to bile from the carpets.....old George occasionally suffers from bilious attacks, especially if he is late for a meal, it doesn't happen often as I am fastidious about him getting his meals on time.
I was somewhat fed up this afternoon but cheered myself up by buying cushions and egg cups from a garden centre in Chester ( I'm easily pleased)
Tonight I am going to start to read my Christmas gift from my father-in-law