20 September 2018 (Thursday) - Signs of our Times...


I woke feeling full of beans and raring to go… until I looked at the clock and realized it was only seven minutes past two. I tried to get back to sleep, but only dozed a bit. I eventually got up after a few hours feeling like death warmed up.
Over brekkie I watched an episode of “The Job Lot” whilst scoffing my toast. Fudge lay with me as I watched telly. Sometimes (when no one is looking) he can be rather soppy.

With a few minutes spare I had a look at the Internet. This morning Facebook seemed to be full of wedding anniversaries. LinkedIn had sent me an email. Ryan Baker has got a new job. That’s nice for him (whoever he might be), and presumably bearing in mind I have no idea who Ryan Baker is, it was suggested I chum up with Steven Turner (?), Colin Edwards (?) and Colin Swaffer (?). I declined the offer.

As I drove to work the pundits on the radio were broadcasting from Saltzburg where the Prime Minister had gone for a bit of a jolly with the other leaders of the countries of the European Union. Personally I've never liked work jollies, and have turned them down whenever I could. I've always thought them to be rather sad affairs.
I suspect Mrs. May would have given this one a miss if she'd had any say in the matter.
Apparently the Czech and Maltese leaders are on the same works outing as she is, and they are calling for the British to hold a second Brexit referendum. Whilst I think it is rather nice that they don't want us to leave, and whilst I think it quite likely that there is now a majority opinion in favour of remaining, I can't help but think that a second referendum wouldn't be a good idea. The decision to go has been made. Britain would command no respect whatsoever in the European Union if after two years of farting around we suddenly announced "we ain't leaving after all".
Mind you having spent a lifetime finding (time and again) that my viewpoint is that of the minority, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the country does have a second referendum.

I got to work and I had a look at Facebook on my phone. Doesn't everyone? I saw a link to some rather clever caricatures of today's society clearly seeing the instant communications offered by our mobile devices as a bad thing. Are they bad? Through Facebook (and the like) I keep in touch with family and friends far more than I ever used to. I see their photos and their rants and their knob jokes on a daily basis. Do we really want to go back to the bad old days? I would walk a quarter of a mile (through the rain) to the phone box and queue up to take my turn, all the time desperately hoping that whoever I was phoning hadn't gone out. I love the instant communication that today's technology offers. Take being a Star Trek fan as just one example. Back in the day I used to subscribe to fan-made newsletters. I would post what I had to say (in an envelope with a stamp) to the editor. A month later they would print my drivel. Another month later in the next edition would be a message from someone who'd taken offence at what I'd said. And so. a squabble would drag on over years. Today I can piss people off instantaneously.

I did my bit at work; I saw a Dohle body (as one does!) and with my bit done I came home again. I managed to find Fudge’s light-up collar but not Treacle’s. We had a good walk round the park, and over a rather good bit of scoff we watched “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy”. I’ve never really watched that show before… I’m getting quite into it…

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