Posted on by bereavedandbeingasingleparent · 30 Comments

White Rose

For those that don’t know Yorkshire is called the White Rose County.

School is a bit of a strange bizzaro world. A world in which most things are back to front and I’m not just talking about my pants 😂😂😂. An education world where Art invades all the subjects except Art. Where Maths becomes Computing. Computing becomes Comic Strip Studies. Where Citizenship becomes Comic Strip Studies. Where Geography becomes Science. Where Science becomes a million ways to learn about ways to get ill and where History becomes Victorian Criminology. You get the picture….

But what is even more unsettling is where the subjects he has elected to go with next year increasingly forget about Hawklad and where the subjects he is dropping within 4 weeks are given him increasing amounts of attention. Where his marks have gone through the roof in soon to be dumped subjects – 89% in one soon to be ex-subject. And in the subjects he is continuing with he is struggling to get hold of the exam paper to even attempt to try them…

And it all starts again tomorrow.

Posted on by bereavedandbeingasingleparent · 22 Comments

Roses and broken rules

At least the roses are true and can be relied upon…..

One rule for us and one rule for them.

The rules only apply to the people not to those in charge. Everyday this becomes more and more evident. They are found guilty in court and nothing happens. The tax payers pay the fines and they carry on. We don’t count.

During the pandemic we have been told to follow the rules. No questions you must obey the rules and obey the politicians. You will be punished if you don’t.

We were told to stay at home. Think of the greater good. Then a member of the Government drives 300 miles to be with family. Goes on drives to tourist destinations to check his eyesight…. Breaks every rule we are supposed to be following and yet our Leader defends his friend. He was only acting as ‘any parent would act’. According to Johnson the CASE WAS CLOSED. Yet other parents were fined for count far less. Our Leader didn’t rush to defend them….

Now the Government man in charge of health services has been at it. Let’s put aside the incompetence and malpractice which follows this Secretary of State everywhere. This is the man who said social distancing rules had to be obeyed. In his words they were ‘not a request they are an INSTRUCTION’. This is the man who when one of his chief scientific advisers broke the rules he took great delight in forcing him to resign – to do the right thing.

Well guess what. The Secretary of State was breaking the rules at the same time. He has been forced to admit that he was in the wrong when photographic evidence was published. He was breaking the same rules that his scientific advisor was forced to resign for. He was openly ignoring his own instructions. They didn’t apply to him. Yet he won’t resign. Our leader says the CASE IS CLOSED and he has his full support.

One set of rules only for us while our so called leaders make hay. They treat us with contempt. This has to change.

Posted on by bereavedandbeingasingleparent · 49 Comments

Talk

There’s a chap in the village who is an artist. A really really good artist. Has exhibitions. He has a talent for creating beauty. Even in his garden. He lets his garden go native. Will occasionally tidy it up but mainly just let’s nature sort the rest out.

Well this is what happens he does this…

This artist lost his partner a three years back. It really hit him hard. His world fell apart. Yet over time he has got going again. He has returned to making new art. He’s carrying on. He would give me a progress report every time I walked past his garden with Captain Chaos. Whisper it – the Cap likes contributing to this nature show in his own very unique way…. We talked about sitting down and having a longer chat.

Hopefully over the next couple of months I can pop over and he can show me his studio. We can have that coffee that has been on hold since the pandemic swept the world. We talked about doing this 15 months ago.

It’s good to talk.

Posted on by bereavedandbeingasingleparent · 44 Comments

Masks

I’ve kinda got used to a mask. It’s part of the pre leaving the house checklist.

Find wallet, find keys, find mask. Leave house. Get in car. Get out of car to check front door is locked. Get in car. Get out of car. Check back door is locked. Get in car. Get out of car. Go in house to find mobile and realise my wallet and mask are still on the table next to the front door.

That kinda thing. But the mask is now in there.

It feels sort of normal now to shop in a mask, work in a mask, even get deliveries from someone wearing a mask. But somethings just don’t work. Definitely some things 😂😂😂

Optician appointments. Come on what did you think I would mention. I can testify that eye tests and masks are a big fat ZERO. On every single test my glasses, or the test lenses or the optics just misted up immediately. On every test I ended up having to pull the mask down, demist and restart the test. But at least I remembered to put it back on again.

So that’s my excuse. My excuse for maybe needing stronger reading glasses 😂😂😂😂

Posted on by bereavedandbeingasingleparent · 39 Comments

Arty fields

Just an average Yorkshire view. With your average Yorkshire fields. But look just a bit more closely.

Has the nice farmer gone creative.

Did he want to bring out his inner artist.

Can you spot the giant bunny rabbit.

Other areas go for these field drawings as well. But Yorkshire does like them. Here’s a better known permanent one which is 20 minutes drive away

These must take so much effort but they certainly bring smiles. So worth it. Certainly made Hawklad and his Dad smile. Maybe I should do one in our garden. A self portrait. The Giant Yorkshire Muppet.

Posted on by bereavedandbeingasingleparent · 40 Comments

Conned

Yorkshire. Not Death Valley. Yes Yorkshire.

There was a time when Yorkshire wasn’t so dry 😂😂😂😂😂

There was also a time when shopping was easy. No social distancing, no masks and no empty shelves…..

A number of people at work have been talking about the supermarkets here having far too many empty shelves. Many out of stock items.

For a few weeks after the pandemic first started our shops did suffer from panic buying. Shelves stripped in the madness. Remember the toilet paper mayhem. But then it calmed down. Until now.

This time can I mention that dreaded word here – Brexit. Mountains of crazy new regulations, logistic lines intentionally broken and shortages of key workers now not welcome here by our Government. A number of supermarkets are struggling to get supplies in. Suppliers are struggling so they are having to focus just on a few item lines and drop others. Hence empty shop shelves.

So how did my shopping order go today.

No fresh veg apart from potatoes – out of stock

Apart from apples no fresh fruit – out of stock

No ready meals – out of stock

No soft drinks – out of stock

No fresh fish – out of stock

No fresh pasta – out of stock

No gluten free items – out of stock

Even the tinned and frozen items were frequently substituted with ‘similar’ items. Don’t get me wrong we won’t struggle to eat. Just need to go more processed. I will have to have a very unvaried gluten free diet for the week. Hawklad will live off sausages – no hardship there 😂.

But really is this what the 26.5% of the population who voted to leave the EU really hoped for. If it wasn’t then I’m afraid you we’re conned.

Posted on by bereavedandbeingasingleparent · 44 Comments

Logistics

One of those massive Yorkshire rivers. The bridge has collapsed so there are signs up saying the path is closed. Does that mean I’m not allowed to step over the river……

One of the downsides to lockdown is things like opticians and hairdressers have gone out the window. At some stage they do need to start again. Well apart from hairdressers – not much point now 😂😂

Well as the UKs COVID case numbers are rising at an alarming rate again and with those patients requiring ventilation treatment up by 41% in a week, things are opening up again. Time to try and catch up. Made more difficult with Hawklad’s anxieties and with no one to cover for me.

Tomorrow morning I have a pass out granted by Hawklad. Only granted following my second vaccination. So I booked the first dentist appointment of the day. But with cases going up is this maybe my only shot at catching up for quite a while. Can I squeeze in an opticians trip as well….

Here’s tomorrow’s logistical nightmare.

Set Hawklad off with homeschooling. 30 minute drive to the dentists (as homeschooling only goes live at 830am, I will have less than 30 minutes to make the 30 minute drive) arriving for my dental checkup at 9. Then 9.30 it’s the dental hygienist. After the 30 minute appointment I have 15 minutes to make a 5 miles drive (on a busy road) to the car park and then run for 5 minutes to arrive just in time for my Opticians appointment. Hopefully without overheating so I fail the entry temperature test. I then have 30 minutes to fail my eye test and pick out some new glasses. I then have to drive back home, stopping off to fill up for petrol and arrive back at 11.15 to help Hawklad with his Science class which he us struggling with.

What could possibly go wrong 😂😂😂😂

Posted on by bereavedandbeingasingleparent · 57 Comments

Beyond me

There are some problems that are beyond the human mind and there are many questions beyond the muppet dad mind. I’m not talking the deep metaphysical stuff. Not talking cosmology. I’m talking about those run of the mill problems.

How to set the timer on the microwave,

Why don’t I put a long sleeve shirt on when pulling up nettles,

Why did I pick Newcastle United to support,

Why do I keep putting clothes into the dishwasher,

Having bought at least 20 tablet pens, why can I never find just one when I need it,

Why do you only get holes in the socks that are still matching pairs,

Why does my mobile phone never hit the ground when it has its protective case on,

Where do all those batteries I buy end up hiding,

Why do I always miss my mouth while drinking hot chocolate and when I’ve got a white shirt on…..

But most perplexing of all to me is what is the best way to get into a beanbag. Remember I have a ‘not what it was’ type of body. Do I lower myself in using the adjacent furniture. Do I roll into it as if I’m a giant sausage roll. Or do I fall into it like a skydiver with a defective parachute. It’s all beyond me. Especially when I’m trying to get into the beanbag while carrying a cup of decaf coffee and an iPad. So far that has priced beyond me. I’ve even tried putting the coffee cup down next to the beanbag before trying to sit down. All that achieved was me kicking it all over the floor in the maelstrom that was my beanbag entry.

It’s all beyond me….

Posted on by bereavedandbeingasingleparent · 71 Comments

Safe list

The 6 week summer school break is only a month away now. Not long. 30 days. Lots to do in that time. Even more after today.

Hawklad has decided that he wants a stress free as possible summer. Summer is difficult as he can remember the summer of 2016. First day of the summer holidays his granny died and then as the school returned he lost his mum. So summer can be tough even without his current anxieties levels.

Stress free means reducing exposure to those triggers that can escalate his worries. And what is one of the most common triggers. Movies and TV shows. I’ve frequently talked about how often story lines involve death, illness, broken families……

So I have a task. Compile a list of movies and shows that Hawklad can watch which are SAFE. No sadness, no illness, no bereavements. 6 weeks is a long time, so it’s going to have to be some list.

Here’s my list so far

Pokemon

Scooby Doo

Smurfs

Alvin and the Chipmunks

Paddington

Yonderland

Madagascar

Ice Age

Banana Splits

Wallace & Gromit

Kicking and Screaming

Herbie

Willie Wonker

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Shrek

Space Jam

Frozen

The Incredibles

Home Alone

Night at the Museum

The Lego Movie

Fantastic Mr Fox

Big Mommas House

Cool Running

Red Dwarf

The Office (US) but avoiding a couple of episodes

Inspector Gadget

Pink Panther

Three Amigos

Any suggestions greatly appreciated. Remember no triggers. For example The Guardians of the Galaxy – top movie but just NO to the start…. For example Mary Poppins Returns – great movie but mum dies…. For example the Disney movie I’ve forgotten the name of at the weekend , really good apart from the one line about a serious illness.

Posted on by bereavedandbeingasingleparent · 61 Comments

No Go

You might not believe it but this is an official Yorkshire road.

Impressive…..

The Road to …….

I live in a small bungalow with our son. Small so there is not much room to spread out. Well there is but remember it’s a boy house. Dad, Son, Mad Boy Dog, Massive Tom Cat and two Gerbils. The Gerbils are the sensible ones, but it’s all relative, they are boys as well.

So sometimes space feels at a premium. Especially when there are NO GO AREAS. Areas where LOSS still rules.

Some draws.

One half of the bed.

A wardrobe

Boxes in the loft

A pile of cds – truly awful musical choices which have 0% chance of being played

A pile of videos – we haven’t had a video recorder in 4 years

A box case.

After the funeral in 2016 I had a crazed and largely mixed up clear out. Things like clothes and shoes went to a charity shop. But some things didn’t go. No idea why. They stayed in place and remain there today almost 5 years later. Yes they get dusted but I don’t even feel comfortable doing that. So I kinda just work round those areas.

The time is coming to finally complete the clear out process. Life moves on. It’s about living today not living in the past. Free up the some space for the boys. Don’t get me wrong, it won’t be easy. The temptation will be to move out some of my stuff instead. But it has to be done. One more step down the road.

A unique road in Yorkshire.