I didn't sleep very well last night; with an alarm set I
was waking every twenty minutes or so. I eventually gave up trying to sleep and
got up. I made toast and watched more of "Everyone Else Burns".
It's a very good show. Most people would see it as a rather funny comedy about
religious crackpots; I see the show as a documentary about my teenage years. In
the late 1970s some bunch of religious nuts decided that Hastings was a den of
iniquity and was ripe for missionaries. And like many of my mates at the time I
fell for their hype.
Looking back, the religious fervour I had at their rallies
was much the same feeling that you get at a pop concert or a football match,
but I was young and didn't know.
And again looking back, "Everyone Else Burns"
has got it spot on.
I got dressed in the dark taking care not to wake “er
indoors TM” or the dogs. A tricky thing to do; if I
turn the light on I wake everyone; if I leave the light off I might squish a
dog as I put my socks on. Bailey particularly would be very easily squished.
I set off to work, and realising I'd forgotten lunch I
popped in to the co-op. Isn't it daft that what with their meal deal, adding a
bottle of pop to my lunch took twenty pence off the total price, and
brandishing my co-op car gave me fifty pence off of a four-quid bill. But a
small cheapo flimsy biodegradable carrier bag set me back sixty pence?
I drove up the dark motorway through pouring rain as the
pundits on the radio wittered on about occasional passing showers. They also
wittered on about more pub closures. They were interviewing the head honcho of
the pub chain Greene King about the upcoming budget about which there are
rumours of increases to taxes and to the minimum wage. The chap being
interviewed made the observation that the cost to a pub of increases in staff
wages and taxes can only be paid for out of pub takings (which is true -
where else can they come from?). He went on to say that the profit margin
on some pubs is so low that the rumoured tax and wage increases will turn them
from making a profit into making a loss, and so they will close. There was a lot of bleeding heart whinging
from other people being interviewed, but the observation was made (correctly)
that pubs are businesses, not charities. Sad, but true. I like a pint from time
to time, but with a pint costing the thick end of a fiver the writing is on the
wall for most, if not all, pubs.
The motorway was rather busy this morning. Traffic was
moving very slowly for the two miles between junctions seven and six on the
motorway, and the Running Horse Roundabout was horrendous. Quite a few people
were bellowing road rage at the more timid drivers, and in all honesty I can't
say I wasn't tempted to join in.
Having left home in darkness I got to work in daylight. A
colleague was poorly and I'd been offered the early shift. I like early shifts.
Particularly at the moment. If you aren't past the Running Horse roundabout by
half past seven in the morning you are looking at sitting in a traffic jam for
over an hour. And then getting to work to find everyone else has beaten you
there and the car park is full to overflowing.
So on the days when I am working I get there silly early so as to avoid
that nonsense. Earlies suit me!!
And having done my bit at work there was more road nonsense
on my way home. There’s been notices up about Bond Road being closed overnight
for some time now. And today when the closures are planned to start, some idiot
has decided to close Christchurch Road. For those who don’t know the area this
is akin to planning to deliberately close both the M2 and M20 at the same time.
Kent Highways have done some stupid things recently…
Personally I don’t blame whoever made the decision to do this. I blame whoever
put that person into a position or authority where they could do this.
And as I was typing this drivel so I’m (quite possibly)
finding myself in need of a new hobby. Munzee HQ in America has announced that
they are ending their reseller program. Up until now if I wanted to buy any bar
codes to stick onto lamp posts I could buy them from a company in Lancashire
who would send them on to me at second class post rates. From now on I can
print my own (tried that – didn’t work) or have them posted from America
at silly prices.
So I can Munz until supplies run out… and then I shall need
another hobby.
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