Some pets will stand a respectful distance away while you exercise. The yoga instructor I follow has a dog that sits perfectly still and just behaves. No interference.
Then there are other pets.
Pets that like to get involved.
Close to the action.
Take over….
A simple trip out to the local Post Office. Ok it’s a 6 mile round trip but it’s the only option unless you want to venture much further into town or city. I went with my work parcel, money and mask.
On Monday the Government lifted Covid Restrictions across England. Clearly infections aren’t rapidly rising and we don’t have the highest infection rate currently in the world.
I counted 7 other people in the shop/post office. I was the only one wearing a mask. The bloke next to me helpfully reminded me that masks weren’t required anymore because the Prime Minister had said so. I kindly reminded him that was not the message our A&E doctors and nurses are desperately trying to get across. That’s the thing. While our NHS teams are having leave cancelled to cover reopening COVID wards the Government and its MPs are just about to start their summer holidays. I also asked the chap to back away as he was now within 1 metre of my face. For some reason he seemed to take great offence at that.
Just like with most things the one thing our Government is great at is creating divisions in society. One group against the next. Well they have just done it again…..
You know that sleep is going well when you find yourself outside in the cool Yorkshire air. Outside at 4.33am. Ok I could be sleep walking with a touch of sleep photography, but unlikely. Not great when the alarm is set for 6.30am. But if I was in bed I wouldn’t be seeing this. You can still dream when your awake.
Tomorrow could be called Big Step Tuesday.
Hawklad hasn’t been to school since March 2020. Not been within one mile of the site. That’s a long time to be away. School at home has replaced it. But tomorrow maybe that starts to change.
We have tentatively setup a school visit. After school closes tomorrow, we will drive through the school gates and park up. Just doing that would be a huge step forward. Then just maybe Hawklad will venture into school. A school with no other pupils and have a walk round. A teacher will walk with him if it helps. Or his muppet dad can. Or he can walk around himself. Whatever he feels most comfortable with. He could stay for an hour or he could spend just a couple of minutes. It’s all about trying to rebuild bridges.
Yes it could be a big step towards a school return in September. Or it could confirmation that September is too soon. Or even it could be further evidence that full homeschooling is the way forward.
Yes Big Step Tuesday.
We received an email from school. When the school reopens in September all COVID restrictions will go, in line with Government instructions. No masks, no support bubbles, no social distancing. Not the best time for Hawklad to potentially return. Hawklad who because of his anxieties will be looking for the reassurance of masks, space and safety measures.
How much social pressure will Hawklad be under to ditch his mask. Too much. It’s like the idea that he would put up his hand in class and ask for help with reading words. As much as he needed the help, putting that hand up in front of 30 other pupils was never an option.
It’s such an unnecessary mess.
Don’t you just love Amazon. I bought a repair kit for our paddling pool and a replacement electric pump. It’s one of those pools that would take at least a decade to partially inflate if I tried old school. So with a mini heatwave hitting this weekend, I ordered in plenty of time. The items arriving from the same supplier on Wednesday. Wednesday arrived and the repair kit arrived but no pump. The order now showing delivery on Thursday. Thursday came and went…..
The order now showing that the pump was at an incorrect carrier facility. It had been at our local facility with the repair kit but had somehow found it’s way to one 150 miles away. On Friday the pump had moved, further away. Now 200 miles away but delivery was still expected on Thursday……. But hope was there. It was now in transit again…
So where are we now. Its Sunday and the pump is NOT HERE. It did make its way back to our local facility. Briefly. It is now not even in England…. It’s mystery bus ride has taken it to Scotland. But again there is hope 😂😂😂😂
It’s finally summer and it feels warm. It’s especially sobering when you see the horrible floods Western Europe have been suffering. So much loss of life. How many wake up calls does it take……
For what it’s worth I wish they had called man made climate change as Global Storming. Severe storms are becoming more prevalent. That’s summer and winter storms. I still here people talk about warming up the planet as being a good thing, making those beach trips even better. I heard that yesterday on the news. Staggering. But surely even those heat seekers don’t want to sign up to more severe storms.
Whether you believe in man made global warming or not, surely we can all agree that we should be doing all we can to stop polluting the world. It’s just the right thing to do. Preserving its beauty and protecting its natural habitats.
It’s still such beautiful planet which we have an obligation to protect for future generations.
Here in the UK we are apparently all in this together. We all need to make sacrifices. The Government fought tooth and nail against attempts to extend free school meal support to help the thousands of children living in poverty in my country. The Government cut £4B from the overseas aid budget, aid aimed at the poorest around the world. They have cut benefits to the poorest in our land. I could go on and on. We are in this together.
In separate and unrelated news the Government has topped up its very own wine collection. Over the last year the Governments wine cellar holding has been increased by £26000.
We are in this together. Some of us are more in than others.
There is a new rule in England. If there is an independent body then our Prime Minister will appoint his friends to make those bodies definitely not independent. It started with BBC News. Then the media watchdogs and it’s just getting silly now. There is an independent body that advises on ethics in public life. Guess what. He has appointed an old university friend, who with Johnson was part of a notorious drinking and partying private club. That’s modern England for you.
So clearly it’s ok to appoint whoever you like to anything these days. So why don’t we all do that. What fun we can have. How easy life will be.
So here are a few of my appointments.
I would like to appoint myself as James Bond.
I would also like to appoint myself as the new Thor.
I would also like to appoint myself as the next winner of the Great British Bake Off.
I would like to appoint our family dog, Captain Chaos as my Countries Prime Minister. Far more qualified than the current numpty and our dog doesn’t lie. The Cap is also not a racist, sexist or homophobic.
I would like to appoint our family cat and gerbils as his Government.
On discussion with my son I would like to appoint Hawklad as the new Darth Vader, Head of Disney and lead guitarist of Iron Maiden.
Further appointments to follow.
Somedays you end up looking back more than you look forward….
That brief rain shower had passed through a earlier. A heavy squall but soon no evidence on the ground that it happened. Just a receding cloud on the horizon.
Yes it’s been one of those days.
Reflecting on life rather than looking forward. I know it’s not good for me. Can so easily descend into a world of full on melancholy Pink Floyd and Leonard Cohen lyrics.
I did try to refocus. Do stuff but so much is really working today. I even got a pencil and blank piece of paper out to write out some short term goals. An hour later no writing just a brown circle matching perfectly the base of the coffee cup which had found its way onto the paper.
Signs of a half empty coffee cup on a so called sheet of Hope…….
Pants…. gone all Leonard Cohen and Roger Waters on you already.
Yep somedays are like that….
But then I remember what is important. Truly important to me. I smile. Even on days like, the sun can shine.
A Dad trying to cope with the loss of his Partner and becoming a single parent. 