3 December 2010 (Friday) - Cold

Today’s news makes interesting reading. As always, the trivial is the headline news. I see that England’s bid to host the World Cup (for football – there *are* other World Cups!) has failed. Good!

It’s not that I dislike football so much as I dislike the small-minded thuggery that football seems to encourage, despite the best efforts of the Football Association. There are those who feel that hosting the World (football) Cup would be a good thing for the country. I’ve met several people who feel this way. When I ask them why, I am told that I am being unpatriotic for not supporting the bid. However they are all unable to elaborate on this. It worries me that here in the UK, patriotism has become confused with being a football fan.

Apparently being a patriot isn’t about being British, or supporting the Monarchy, or buying British products. It’s about screaming “Eng-Ur-Lund” very loudly whilst waving a white flag with a red cross every time the word “football” is mentioned. You don’t need to know anything about this flag (and a lot of so-called “patriots” don’t), or even anything about the rules or history of football. You just have to wave the flag and shout whenever football is played.

And it helps if you terrorise anyone who looks less than 100% Caucasian every time the England football team lose. I point this out this because friends of mine whose skin is only slightly darker than mine tell me they dread walking the streets every time there is an England football match.

Interestingly the news of importance, the fact that a radical new form of biochemistry has been found that could have profound implications for the future of humanity, has been relegated to a footnote. Which is a shame, but probably a sign of our times.

Being on a late shift I had a lie in this morning, and when I finally hauled my carcass out of bed at 9am there was glorious sunshine. No snow had fallen overnight, but there was still snow everywhere. But bearing in mind the weather forecast says it didn’t get over minus three degrees today, the sunshine hasn’t melted the snow at all. The snow has just compacted into ice.

To work. Having out-patient services across Kent closed, and hardly anyone visiting their G.P. made for a very quiet day. Which was odd because the roads were far more passable than they were yesterday. I can only imagine that with today being a Friday, everyone had decided to start the weekend early. Mind you, for all that the roads were more passable, I’m sure today was a colder day.

When I left work this evening at 8pm the outside temperature was minus twelve degrees. This is the coldest that the thermometer in my car has ever registered. Tomorrow’s planned trip to Redhill is looking very unlikely now.

Meanwhile Frosty the Snowman looks on in amazement at the tricks the young chav is performing in the skateboard park. The young chav isn’t particularly talented, and Frosty suspects it will all end in tears. The tears being those of the young chav (with any luck)