27 October 2024 (Sunday) - Late Shift

I had a rather good night’s sleep I suppose, but I did wake in a cold sweat in the small hours. My poor brain had concocted a nightmare in which Mark Lenard (the Star Trek actor) had sponsored one of my ex-cubs on a sponsored walk and hadn’t paid the two quid that was owed. For some reason it was up to me to reclaim the money, and the facts that he’d lived in America and had died nearly thirty years ago were utterly irrelevant. If I didn’t get the money I would go to prison.

 

I got up and zoomed round the house putting the clocks to the right time. Last night we had the stupidity of the clocks going back an hour. I’ve heard all sorts of reasons why this happens… It is claimed that it safer for schoolchildren to walk to school, and that it saves energy. Seriously? We have the same amount of daylight. Moving when we call midday changes nothing. Children walking to school in daylight walk home in the dark. Light bulbs not turned on in the mornings just get turned on in the evening.

Most of the world doesn’t bother with changing the clocks twice a year.

 

I made toast and had my usual rummage round the Internet. I sent out birthday wishes, reported spamming adverts and rolled my eyes at the inspirational memes. People who tell you that when life hands you lemons you should make lemonade boil my piss. They have clearly never been handed a lemon by life.

There was an interesting rant on The Original Hastings Nightlife Facebook group bemoaning the loss of all the night clubs in the area, and asking what young people do on Saturday nights. No end of people were chipping in about how there’s nowhere for the young to go out on the beer in Hastings; all of whom were ignoring the posts from doormen and taxi drivers who were saying that there are loads of places open until two or three o’clock in the morning and the town centre is as busy at night as it ever was. Some people just want to moan.

Bit like me, really.

There was a post on Facebook about people up our road moaning. It would seem that someone’s children are practicing musical instruments at all hours. Not-so-nice-next-door clangs her piano periodically, but it’s not really an issue. A noisy neighbour can be a two-edged sword in that having one means you can make as much noise as you like and they can’t complain.

The biggest issue we ever had with noise was the bloke next door over twenty years ago who regularly came home drunk and noisy at two o’clock in the morning. Eventually I banged on his door at five o’clock and told him that if he wakes me in the small hours I would wake him a couple of hours later. He swore and ranted, and when he was finished I told him that what he had to say was irrelevant – every time from then on if he came home making noise in the small hours he would be woken a couple of hours later.

We never heard anything more from him…

 

I did have a vague plan to take the dogs out this morning, but unless it’s a quick once round the park there’s never enough time before work. And being the weekend the normal people would have been out in force. And once dog brekkie was scoffed all three were soon snoring.

I had a little pootle in the garden. I gathered dog turds, voomed round with the Bionic Burner, and then got out the lawn feeding jollop. The yellow patches on the lawn where dog tiddle killed the grass seem to have cleared up.

 

I sulked as I set off to work. It's been rather wet recently. Yesterday was a bit dull and overcast, and I cut short farting about in the garden to avoid the rain.  This morning I drove off to work through glorious sunshine, and I spent much of the afternoon staring out the window at a rather good day. I've often said that I don't mind working at the weekend when it is dismal and raining. But I do mind working at the weekend when it is sunny and bright.

Work was work; I did my bit.  But as always when on a late shift the best part of the day is over and done with by mid-morning. And apart from capping six bouncers in one of my works tree houses (I have two!) today was on the dull side.

 

I again spent quite a while thinking about buying that house over the back of ours. It's a shame that “er indoors ^TM” isn't keen... I know it isn't really practical, but I might just have a look when it goes on the market. I knew having two puppies wasn't practical when I saw Morgan and Bailey's pictures on the Internet two and a half years ago, and I went to have a look at them...