My laptop took an age to start up this morning. Overnight
it had done its weekly software update and again finished the process in a
slightly worse place than where it started. I’m reliably informed that this is
a “feature”.
Once it finally got working I used it to have a look at the
Internet. A row was kicking off on one of the fishing pages on Facebook. That
page is constantly filled with photos of people brandishing a large fish that
they have recently caught and asking for opinions on the thing’s weight. It had
been suggested that anglers purchase a small set of scales with which they
might actually weight the fish themselves. I thought it a sensible idea, but
there were others who had taken offence.
Still, what is social media for, if not to give and take
offence?
Amazon had emailed me. Again they were suggesting I buy
that which I had already bought. For some odd reason about half the emails they
send me get marked as “spam” by my
spam filter. I wonder why. Some emails are accepted by the software, some are
not. All are (effectively) the same.
I took the dogs for a
walk. We left the house with a flurry of barking as Fudge announced to the
world that he was on his way. As we walked into Bowen Field we were approached
by a rather odd-looking man who seemed to be wearing his wife’s spectacles (each to their own). He seemed to be
fascinated by the dogs having walked up the road and then both having decided
to have a pee on the same piece of grass. I smiled sweetly and got away as
quickly as I could.
Once we were in the
park Treacle chased a squirrel for about ten yards, and we saw the heron that
sometimes lurks round the river. I wish I could get a photo of that heron – for
all that they devastate the fish stocks, they are quite spectacular.
As we came home through
the co-op field we met a new looney. This one was playing “fetch” with a golf ball and golf club. He was clouting the golf
ball some fifty yards, shouting “fetch”
to his dog, and then would go and fetch the golf ball himself whilst the dog
watched. However he didn’t seem to realise the dog wasn’t interested in
fetching the ball, and he tried again and again.
I’ve played a variation
of that game myself…
With the dogs settled I
drove out to the Godinton estate. As I drove “Women’s Hour” was discussing the lack of pastoral care in today’s
universities. For all that the students have a designated tutor who they can
turn to in times of need, in reality they never even know who this so-called designated
tutor is; let alone ever meet them. With a quarter of all students now claiming
to have had mental health issues at one time or another and student unions
calling for more pastoral support surely this is something that needs to be
sorted?
“Women’s Hour” then had a feature on what I can only describe as “women’s things” and I turned the radio
off.
I got to the back of beyond
and parked my car. As I got out a police community support officer came past on
her bicycle. What on Earth was a CHIMPS (Can’t
Help In Most Police Situations) doing on a pedal bike on an obscure country
lane literally miles from anywhere? The CHIMP asked me if I was all right. I
said that I was. She asked if I needed any assistance. I said I didn’t. She
seemed rather crestfallen at that and cycled off in something of a sulk.
A proper policeman
wouldn’t have farted around and would have demanded to know what I was up to.
Truth be told, I too
was having a bit of a sulk. A geocache of mine in the back of beyond had gone
missing and it was up to me to replace it. Whenever I go out looking for film pots
under rocks I check the on-line logs before I leave home and if any seem to be
missing I arrange to replace the if necessary. It never fails to amaze me how
it is fine for me to replace other people’s errant Tupperware, but there are
very few who are prepared to sort mine.
I drove in to work.
Rather than pizza I had a curry. The canteen is on Day Three of a curry week today;
the curry was rather good and it set me up for a rather busy shift. So busy
that I was rather late getting out. It was a shame that today would be the day
that the motorway was closed when I came to try to get home…
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