25 January 2024 (Thursday) - Before the Late Shift

I didn’t have the best of nights; I was up to the loo twice. I suppose I’m now of the age when that sort of thing happens. I’ll give it a couple of weeks and if things don’t improve I’ll see about talking to the doctor.
I’d rather not, but there it is.
I got up and sulked as I looked at the rain. I did have a plan for the morning.
 
Instead I got on with my usual morning round. I made toast and had a look at the Internet. Three Facebook friends had birthdays today. I sent birthday wishes to the one with whom I went to college for four years (1983 – 1987), and wondered who the other two are. One I think is a friend of a friend of someone I met through kite flying fifteen years ago, and the other might be a very distant in-law?
I found out that the petrol station I use near work is closing for five weeks. That’s a pain in the glass.
And I had some emails. The bank emailed to tell me that the bank statement I downloaded yesterday was ready to be downloaded. That was nice.
 
Seeing the rain had slackened off to mild drizzle I got the leads on to the dogs and we went for that planned walk. Not really having time to go up to Kings Wood I thought we might have a look at Orlesone Woods. That place was always a favourite back in the day, but I rather gave up with it last year. For all that it is much closer to home and a shorter walk (we can get there, walk, and be home in half the time we take at Kings Wood) it is *very* muddy, and Morgan and Bailey’s behaviour has always been noticeably much worse there than in Kings Wood.
I had this idea that now they have grown up a bit, they might behave better.
I was wrong.
For all that they did (mostly) come back when I whistled, the one time they chose not to was the one time that they were running on the road. We can’t have that.
And as we walked we met the Forestry England people who were either doing necessary forestry work or wantonly vandalising the woods, depending on your personal perspective. Bearing in mind the woods are a Site of Special Scientific Interest I wasn’t allowed to put geocaches there because of potential damage to the local environment. However the Forestry England people had driven all sorts of land-moving equipment, fuel tanks and toilets through the woods and were intently blocking off footpaths and destroying the forest.
 
We came home. The dogs needed a serious scrub. I thought they might get muddy; they certainly did. I made a cuppa for “er indoors TM and myself, and sent a long-overdue complaint to Kent Highways. Having been delayed on our way to the woods this morning by temporary traffic lights around a hole in the ground (in which no one was working) and also delayed on our way back by another hole in the ground (in which no one was working), my piss was boiling (it does that).
Whilst I understand that road works need to be done, is it really *that* unreasonable to suggest that the contractors might actually get on with the work rather than putting up the traffic lights and then pissing off and not actually getting on with the work (like they demonstrably do)?
Alternatively given that there are road works going on in an area, is it unreasonable to suggest that all available contractors get on with that job and no more work be started in the area until it is finished?
 
Having sent a complaint to the email address given on the Highways department’s website, they replied within minutes saying that I needed to complain to the Highways department, and not to Adult Social Services…
 
I complained again, then set off to work... via the co-op.  They'd emailed me a little while ago telling me that they were changing the way their loyalty card operated so I cashed in my balance. It was only a bit over three quid, but it bought me a chicken sandwich.
Driving up the motorway in daylight without huge lorries playing silly beggars certainly made for an easier ride than I've had recently.
I got to work and did my bit. At tea break I finished my Kindle e-book. For those who've seen the TV series "Orange is the New Black", don't bother with the book. It is rare to see a film or TV adaptation of a book that is actually better than the book, but here's one. I've now started another read of "Ender's Game" which I remember being rather good, but with a dreadful sequel.
As I read my Kindle at tea time I scoffed a caramel wafer. Apparently one of my colleagues claimed she owed me? I have no idea what she owed me for, but I will happily scoff a caramel wafer.

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