3 May 2018 (Thursday) - Beer

Fudge decided to sleep at the bottom of the bed last night. He can be rather grumpy at night and was growling and grumbling every time anyone moved. Bearing in mind how restless the puppy can be, that made for a rather sleepless night. This was a shame; I had been hoping for a decent night’s sleep.

Over brekkie I watched another episode of “Monkey”, then spent a few minutes trying to find out where my blog photos go to. Every day I post one up. Somehow or other my ChromeCast seems to use them as a random slideshow; some of the photos are rather interesting (to me). I’ve been wondering for some time where the thing finds them; it turns out there is an archive.

I had my obligatory look at Facebook and sighed. Once there was all sorts of things going on; now people post less and less. Such a shame. Mind you I did find an advert for a local beer festival this weekend. There is a micro-pub not too far away that is having one. Being at something of a loose end on Saturday I wondered if I might have a day out there. Then I read about all the bands that are playing. Oh dear… They have chosen their target audience, and by having live bands they have specifically said that they don’t want me along. Some bands are half-way decent. Most are not. For myself I go to a pub to be sociable – how can how socialize when the din is so loud you have to communicate by text with the person who is only two feet away from you?

With no emails not destined for the bin I got myself organized and set off to work.

As I drove to work the pundits on the radio were talking about the ready availability of knives in the UK, and there was an interview with Sir David Attenborough, but I wasn’t really paying attention. Early in the drive had been the sports news. For all that they talk about all sorts of varied sporty things which are *really* interesting (if you like that sort of thing), I just hear “blah blah sport” and my mind wanders. After all, sport is to be done, not talked about on the radio.

I had a rather busy day at work, and once home I walked the dogs round the park. Yesterday I walked in front of Fudge and kept shouting for him to keep up. Today I walked behind him and chivvied and chased him and we got round in a fraction of the time.

Once home I had some diet dinner. These diet foods are only “diet” because you get hardly anything in the packet. I ironed shirts whilst watching more “Monkey”, then I then spent a little while on my latest on-line course. I’m spending a few weeks learning about the science of beer.

So far it is rather dull…

2 May 2018 (Wednesday) - More Weight Loss

Before brekkie I had my weekly weigh-in. I’ve shifted another pound in weight. I was rather pleased about that.

Fudge sat with me as I scoffed toast and watched last night’s episode of “Gotham”. It was rather good; Doctor Bashir (from Star Trek) makes a rather good villain.

I then had my morning look at the Internet and was a tad disappointed. There was very little happening on Facebook, and (apart from an email telling me of nine vacancies in Essex I might apply for) my in-box was equally uninspiring.

As I drove to work the pundits on the radio were discussing the allegations that have been made against the Speaker of the House of Commons John Berco. He's been accused of bullying his secretary. Some rather damning things have been said about him and his bullying behavior. At the same time he's got half a dozen other long-standing employees all of whom (apparently) are saying what a brilliant boss he is.

I found myself thinking about this perhaps more than I should have done. Workplace bullying is *such* a difficult subject. At different times I worked under people I considered to be really nasty bullies. I felt constantly victimised and threatened by their conduct and attitude. However at the same time there were other people in the workplace who felt I was over-reacting and that these people were absolutely their best mates. Were these actual bullies who were really abusing their position of authority, or was it just a clash of personalities with no one actually at fault? I suppose it is all in the perception. What one person sees as a joke, another sees as harassment? Or should I have lodged formal grievances?

There was also talk of unrest in our universities. Several companies have set up to do the students’ homework for them. For as little as twenty quid you can get an essay written for you. For about a thousand quid you can get a dissertation.  Plagiarism and cheating, or entrepreneurial spirit?

But recently this sad state of affairs has taken a rather nasty turn. Having paid someone to blag their homework for them, these students are now being blackmailed by the very people they paid to do their homework. Unless they pay the people who provided their essays, these people are threatening to expose them for the cheats they are.

What a sad world we live in.

I'd left home early this morning to do a little shopping. I went to Sainsburys where I bought shoe polish. I couldn't buy any brushes to use with the polish, but I got the polish. And I got coffee. I *could* have just got the refill packet rather than buying the stuff in the glass jar, but the coffee in the cardboard packet (that you use to refill the glass jar) costs more than a quid more than the stuff in the glass jar.

That makes sense !

With work done I walked the dogs. Bowens Field was flooded. As we walked from Bowen’s Field toward the park I found myself carrying a bag of dog poo (as I often do). Usually I drop it in the dog poo bin along that path. Not today though – the bin has gone. Completely gone. I wonder where?

Then the rain started.

It didn’t last long… my shoes are on the radiator. I hope they dry in time for work tomorrow…

1 May 2018 (Tuesday) - Floods

I had a cup of coffee whilst watching telly yesterday evening. More and more that is becoming a bad move. It's not the caffeine which keeps me awake; it's the needing a tiddle but not wanting to get out of my pit that is the problem. I lay in bed watching the clock for over an hour in the small hours. Had I got up and gone to the loo, that would have been an hour's extra sleep.

Over brekkie I watched the fourth episode of "Monkey - The Next Generation" as I've come to call it. It was rather good. As I watched I brushed up my walking boots. I'd left them covered in polish overnight. I saw that "er indoors ^TM" had done something with her boots as they weren't where I'd left them. I'd left them next to mine also smothered in polish. I wonder what she did with them, where they are, and what that polish is now smothered all over.

I set off for work and spent a few minutes trying to remember where I'd parked my car last night, and once I'd found it I spent a few minutes scraping the ice from it. Ice - in May? I can't remember the car being so frosty so late in the year.

I then went for petrol. As always I went to the filling station on the ring road as they do the cheapest petrol for miles around. When I came to pay I saw there was an epic queue at the till. I was ushered to the front of  the queue so I could pay and get out of their way. The supposedly amazingly attractive grannie was busy fixing the coffee machine, and the assembled throng were all waiting for her to finish what she was doing. I felt rather sorry for the woman who was actually on the till; those waiting to pay made no secret that they were all waiting for her pal.

As I drove to work the pundits on the radio were talking about how the House of Lords is voting against the Government's plans for Brexit. I *know* I keep saying it, but the entire concept of Brexit *really* needs to go back to the drawing board and to be re-thought out. OK - so the UK is leaving the EU. But how is it to be done? No one (least of all those whose idea it was) has the faintest idea. And time is fast running out Surely now is the time to put the whole thing on hold whilst some sensible propositions can be thought out.

There was also a lot of talk about "Monica" (not her real name). "Monica" was a member of one of those crackpot groups that infested the UK in the 1980s and 1990s. An undercover policeman was assigned to keep an eye on what her gang of crackpots was up to, they got too friendly, and "did the dirty deed".

Now "Monica" has found out this bloke was actually a copper she has got the hump because he was a copper and not a fellow crackpot. She's taking the line that she porked him under false pretenses.

Porking people is quite a minefield. "Monica" was quite happy to pork a crackpot, but not a policeman, and has legal precedent to back her position.

Perhaps if a few less people did porking and a few more took a moral stance, this world might just be a better place?

I did my bit at work, and once home I took the dogs round the park. Yesterday we had a short walk because of the rain; today we had our usual walk round the park. Mind you we did have to take a couple of diversions – the rain has caused one or two floods in the park.

"er indoors ^TM" boiled up a rather good bit of dinner, and seeing how it was Tuesday the clans gathered. The dogs mobbed everyone, and we watched another episode of the National Geographic’s docu-drama “Mars”. It has one or two plot holes, but that’s what makes for the drama…