Having had no alarms set and having slept well for two
nights I had an alarm set last night. I had two hours sleep then lay awake. I
gave up trying to sleep at four o’clock, made toast and watched more episodes
of “Missions”. Despite having been left for dead five years previously
our heroine turned up in a hippy commune somewhere in medieval France, then
sent psychic messages to all her old crewmates that she was still alive on
Mars.
I sparked up the Internet and had a look at the morning’s
arguments on Facebook. On the official Sparks Facebook page people were being
accused of “gatekeeping”; an insult used by people who have recently
discovered something when they are referring to anyone who has been aware of
that something for longer than they have. The assumption is made (usually
wrongly) that whoever has been aware of that something the longest is
somehow claiming it for their own. I've found it's a good idea not to mention
that you've been a Sparks fan since 1974. Just saying that makes you a "gatekeeper"
in some people's eyes. And it’s not just Sparks fandom but on all sorts of
Facebook pages. Dogs, garden ponds, kite flying, Star Trek...there is a small
but very vocal minority who resent that anyone has found their favourite thing
before they have.
There was also a squabble about the Eurostar not stopping
in Ashford any more. A chap I know who lives in Littlehampton (!) was
trying to get people to sign a petition to get the thing to call at the Ashford
railway station like it used to. I must admit I’d like the option to walk up
the road and hop on a train to Europe. But in all the years the service was
there, I only did it once. And that was when work was paying.
I sent out birthday wishes, and got ready for work.
As I drove I turned on the radio. It wouldn't turn on;
instead it wanted to play my MP3 collection. It does that from time to time.
When I found somewhere to stop I stopped, turned everything off, got out,
locked the door and waited for a minute before setting off again. That usually
fixes whatever is wrong with the radio. I logged the issue with the warranty
people over a year ago, but they never got back to me about it.
As I drove the pundits on the radio were talking politics.
Sir Kier Starmer had made some speech yesterday promising shit was sugar. This
morning the Chancellor of the Exchequer was making some speech promising
that shit would only be sugar if the Labour party put taxes up enough.
These politicians are all as bad as each other…
I got to work rather early, and went into the canteen and
had the breakfast. It looked a lot better than it actually was. Periodically I
have the breakfast, and usually end up wishing I hadn't.
I had a guts ache which lasted all morning.
I'd been asked to go in this morning to do some extra hours
as work was a tad short-handed today. I don't mind doing a little extra; it's
always good to be up on hours. I’d been asked to do one specific job. I’d done
that in just over an hour. I did something else for a bit, and with that done I
was at a bit of a loose end so I came home a tad earlier than planned. With
some time spare I had a sudden idea that I might come home via Hastings and see
my mum… and then I remembered.
I took the usual route home down the motorway and was home
before half past eleven.
I collected the dogs and we went to the woods for a walk.
When I was just over half-way there I realized I’d left my phone at home. Back
in the day I never had a mobile phone. I made do without one for years. I
didn’t need it, and there’s hardly any signal in the woods anyway. I considered
going back for it but decided to carry on. And spent the rest of the drive, the
walk and the drive home imagining all sorts of emergencies and scenarios which
would have been utterly disastrous without a mobile phone.
Needless to say none of them happened.
We came home. I picked up my mobile and popped it in my
pocket. And then cracked on in the garden for a bit. The lawn needed mowing,
and the sweet pea seedlings needed to go into the planter. As I planted I saw a
little slow worm… well, a relatively big one under one of the garden sleepers.
He’s lost his tail, so I covered him over to give him some shelter. I wonder
how he lost his tail; I hope the dogs haven’t been bothering him.
I then had a little pootle round the garden, and as I did I
formulated a plan. Photos taken this time last year showed the pond was on the
green side. That was before the plants went in. The plants are clearly
combatting the algae, so if I was to expand the bog filter I could have the
pond clearer for longer. What I need is another filter behind the existing one.
If I could get hold of an old bath tub, that might do the trick. If any of my
loyal reader have an old bath tub they don’t want…
I made a cuppa and sat by the pond. And despite the BBC’s
weather forecast only giving a ten per cent chance of rain it started hossing
down. So I came inside, settled on the sofa and woke over an hour later.
“er indoors TM” boiled up fish and
chips which we scoffed whilst watching an episode of “Taskmaster”. Having
got up so early, been to work, done four miles round the woods and then a
couple of hours gardening I’m worn out.
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