3 december 2018 (Monday) - No More Snow Dogs




Some nights are good; last night wasn’t one of them. I don’t like having the dogs on the bed, but I get no say in the matter. I am generally asleep before they come up; you would think they would arrange themselves around those already asleep… but no. I often find myself hanging off of the edge of the bed fighting for a scrap of duvet. Last night was one such night. Several times I got up and arranged the dogs only to have themselves get back to how they were in the split second it would have taken me to get back into my pit.
I was rather glad when the alarm went off.

"er indoors TM" has been shopping; I found some “Deluxe Granola Super Berry” in the cupboard and some full-fat milk in the fridge (blue-top… none of that green-top rubbish) and I scoffed it whilst watching “F is for Family” before opening my Lego advent calendar. Some December mornings I am struck with immediate inspiration with my Lego advent calendar. Today wasn’t one of them. I sparked up the lap-top which my mind churned over what to say about a Lego car. There was nothing of note either in my in-box or on Facebook (mind you I was up *early* this morning) so I got dressed and set off to find where I’d left my car when I came home on Saturday. In retrospect we should have bought a house with a drive; then I’d remember where I’d left it rather than wandering the streets trying to find it.
It eventually came to light up by Dan-Dan’s house (Dan-Dan being a sort-of step-daughter-in-law once removed. Our family is rather complicated).

As I drove toward Pembury (I'm on a week's secondment) the pundits on the radio were discussing Jordi Casamitjana. This chap claims he was sacked from his job by the League Against Cruel Sports after squealing to the world that it invested its pension funds in firms involved in animal testing. In seemingly a tit-for-tat move the League Against Cruel Sports claimed Mr. Casamitjana was ​guilty of gross misconduct. (Well they would, wouldn't they?)
This chap is going to the courts trying to claim that he has acted according to his vegan principles and wants the courts to declare that veganism is a "philosophical belief akin to religion" and so subject to the protection of the law like other religions.
Apparently there are legal distinctions between religions, beliefs and opinions. From what I could work out it is quite acceptable to laugh at people who claim to have invisible friends *if* that is their belief or opinion. But the moment it becomes a "religion" you dare not say a word against their invisible friend for fear of legal ramifications (to say nothing of plagues of frogs off of God).
There were those on the radio who felt that giving veganism this sort of legal protection would just open the flood-gates to all sorts of other pressure groups wanting such legal status which might cause no end of problems. It was suggested that we might find ourselves in the ridiculous situation where all sorts of activities and things would be both legal and illegal. Imagine the Hunt Saboteurs declaring fishing being against their principles whilst simultaneously the Piscatorial Alliance announcing that fishing is their inalienable right.  What happens then?
And then the so-called experts conjured up all sorts of ridiculous scenarios in which the "might-bes" played with the "ifs".

The Home Secretary was wheeled on and was interviewed for twenty minutes. It never fails to amaze me how senior politicians can be live on-air for so long and spout so much hot air whist actually saying very little.
He was of the 
opinion that the Prime Minister's Brexit plans *aren't* going straight down the toilet, and glossed over the suggestion that he was in an increasingly shrinking minority of people who shared that view.
As he spouted meaningless platitudes I was very nearly tail-ended up the A21 by a lorry of the Green Flag company. With miles of traffic going at single-figure miles-per-hour did he really need to be quite so close to me for such a long way? I wonder if trade was slack for the Green Flag company, and (specialising in road traffic accidents) the driver thought he might drum up some business?

I got to work. The drive to Pembury is only eight miles longer than the drive to Maidstone but takes half an hour longer. Work was good, but going home time was better.

I had thought about going to the Ashford International Hotel this evening. Tonight was the closing event for the Ashford Snow Dogs and they were all being auctioned. If I went I just knew I would bid money I couldn’t afford so rather than going I tuned in on Facebook Live and watched the charity auction from home for two and a half hours. The average Snow Dog went for between two and three thousand pounds. None went for less than a thousand pounds. The one I would have bid on (Park Life) went for three thousand six hundred pounds, and Doodle Dog went for fifteen thousand quid.
In all over one hundred and forty thousand pounds was raised for the local hospice.
The whole Snow Dog thing has been rather good fun… a shame it is now over.

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