Boris, Police, Sleep...

I spent much time considering what to do when I rose last night.  Every time I woke I found myself wondering what to wear, how to move, and whether to bother.  This occurred each time I woke, and I woke frequently for some reason,  checking the time, turning over, wishing I could get back to that good dream.

When I woke my plans fell apart.  

I had been thinking today would be Sunday and it remains Saturday even now!  The keeping track of days is getting harder!  I might have to get one of those digital clocks that detail the time, day and month, better add the year in also, just in case...

 

Boris had gone to Ukraine for a Photo Op! 

As the female leader of the EU Ursula von der Leyen, has moved around the streets in Ukraine showing solidarity with the plight of the people, as the EU and US have sent massive support regarding weapons and other items, Boris was left out.  So he had to make a special trip to show he was still PM and Sunak should back off supporting the fight against Russian aggression (though Russian money may have paid for the trip).  It appears he is not moving around their streets however, the coward.

The EU and US and many other nations have removed many Russian 'diplomats' from their embassies.  Scotland had cosed the Russian Consulate, but the UK has not returned any Russian 'diplomats' so far.

Maybe they know where the loot is?

Tee Hee, his followers will be fooled, they rest of us will not.

 

Sky News

 

Cressida Dick leaves her post as leader of the Metropolitan Police (Basically the London Police) and I find it interesting to compare the responses to this.  Some are glad, because she has not brought justice into No 10 Downing Street (and I am with them), some grumble about the bad reports of police crime (and I am with them) and some police officers are grumbling because they reckon that in spite of this she was doing a good job.  

Such police too grumble at double standards and criminal police officers, while being upset that the good work done daily all over the capital is ignored, especially the knives they face, the horrors at crime scenes, road accidents, fires, and the many difficult situations they confront hourly, all this on a poor wage and short satff, and they appreciate her support for them.  I am with the police here.  Who would confront a gunman, or a madman with a sword?   Who else would interfere with drug sellers or domestic cases?  Who is first port of call for the mentally ill?  This is now taking up much police time, but no-one report this.  Who do you call if there is trouble if not the police?

Better wages, more officers, removing the absurd university requirement (Thames Valley Police have done this now), and better journalism may help the police, especially when 'Stop and search' is in the news.

But that does not make for a story...  

My Day: So Far...

 

A Hard Days Work...

Another hard day at work over.  
I say 'hard' but much of that was due to being asleep when I arrived just before ten.  It was incredibly difficult to waken this morning and coffee did not help.  Only when the cleaner man was leaving and stopped to chat did the adrenalin kick in.  Had he not stopped I may well have drifted into stupor and fallen under the desk.
However as we spoke a lad did arrive asking for information re maps.  This was more interesting than the exhibition.  The trouble with maps I find is that once I begin looking at them I cannot stop.  For some reason pouring over an old map from fifty or so years ago is really interesting.  I just did it now to ensure Old Maps had the map I thought he was looking for and I almost forgot myself again.  So much has change since 1961, the basic layout is similar but so many changes within that have occurred.  Change is not always good but it is inevitable.  Last time I looked at my old part of Edinburgh on Google Maps I was shocked to see the changes, some things have been there for years and have disappeared!  Other things remain the same but that is not always a good thing.  

Then followed an hour, or so it seemed like, with a woman wishing to talk about her dead relative.  He was one who fell during the Great War and this lass was supposed to arrive several months ago but chose not to.  Today she turned up unannounced for a chat re the letters and material concerning her forebear.  As the curator was elsewhere I was with her for a while and made clear I wanted all she had, but of course the curator decides whether we can or cannot hold such as this.  Once the two chatted for ten minutes, well about thirty as she can talk this lass, she can talk, it was decided she ought to discuss with the Records office and the Regimental Museum what they thought about it all.  Naturally I told her lies re the record office mice, the museums lack of care and that WE ought to have this stuff, especially me.  However after discussion she has arranged meetings with the others and I strongly suspect the material, letters, stories, medals, etc, will be with us soon.  I hope so or the curator will hear about this.
By the time all this had finished it was time to go home.  Such a hard life...

 

Tuesday Twaddle

Another day of joy and fun has ended peacefully.
Nobody got injured, no fights broke out, no war ensued.
A quiet day at the museum.
Visitors there were, few today but asking awkward questions and not spending any money, that type we get irked by.  This does not include the small school of around a dozen lovely wee kids who arrived to study the Stone Age.  Some came dressed appropriately but the others thought the weather was too cold to dress up.  All enjoyed their day as you would expect, they enjoyed the shop better however!

 
It is funny the books that people buy.  This is the only copy left of 'Buses in Essex,' a slow seller but one that will go.  That said I have a book on Edinburgh buses that I found fascinating therefore I see this as an acceptable and understandable volume.  You can suggest the most unlikely subject but it is clear someone somewhere will have written a book about it and many will keep a volume on their shelves.  Why is it that such subjects fascinate us?  We seem for 'heritage' or 'nostalgic' reasons to like such books but there are always 'anoraks' who have a subject knowledge that would win the 'Mastermind' if questioned on their hobby.  What makes us so interested in obscure things?  An escape from the world, possibly, maybe just something out of the ordinary that tickles us by the obscurity?  At least it keeps us off the streets.

As noted elsewhere Spring is in the air!  This is great, the daffodils begin to sprout, the days last longer, the early mornings are filled with the sound of Robins and Blackbirds announce the dawn and on occasions the sun itself can be seen mounting slowly into the sky.

Naturally the rain has returned and they are threatening us with Siberian snow this weekend well into March.  Nothing unusual in this as it happens often as this is winter.  The kids will love the snow, the whole nation will come to a standstill, outrage will fill the media and nothing will change and within a day or two all will be forgotten.
Meanwhile 'Brexit' continues and as yet nobody actually knows what is going on!  Maybe the cold weather will freeze the whole operation?

Museum Tuesday

This somewhat distorted view from my seat this morning was the result of two things.  First I was getting bored as being half term people take off for a holiday, not by BA I hope, and the town is quieter than usual.  The other reason was playing with the wee camera and trying to get something out of it, this is not really working for me.  I suppose I am too used to the big one and this is a wee bit fiddly point and shoot affair.  
This is not to imply nothing was happening, sixteen children attended the workshop this morning and all were very happy as they left, two grannies being the happiest as they appeared to enjoy things more than the kids!  The parents who left their and went off to other duties were clearly happy to have two hours to themselves, one managing to get so much done she struggled to comprehend what was happening! When the kids are not around things are so quiet and housework gets done!  Lovely kids all of them today I must say, and the owners are good folks also.

The other pictures were not up to much also and when the museum is quiet like this it gets a bit wearying.  Occasionally there are things to do that fill time but there was little to accomplish today as most of it was up to date.  There was of course dust to remove from the shelves and window ledges but somehow I managed not to see that until I was going home... 

There is an election ongoing at the moment and the media, owned by right wing barons, appear to consider Theresa May the one who will win.  The fact that those who saw her performance on TV being questioned by a journalist and then members of the audience say she revealed her weakness and inability.  Poor girl I feel sorry for her  Another who was desperate to be PM and desperate to hold on to office but has not got the personal and political ability to sustain her desire.  She probably means well but has little comprehension of how the world sees her and the fawning Tories around her do not help here.  While the Conservatives may well win the election with a majority I suspect she will soon be stabbed in the back and exchanged for a better man...if there is one.  

Two bombs went off in Baghdad the other day, one at an ice cream cafe and a car bomb not far away.  Altogether twenty seven people so far are dead and many wounded.  More than died at Manchester, more that died in many outrages in Europe in recent days.
Where is the media coverage?
Certainly it has been mentioned, certainly people 'tut-tut' about Arabs and bombs, certainly it is condemned but where are the people 'Standing with Baghdad?'  Where are the 'I Love Baghdad' badges and social media support?  Do football teams hold a minutes silence?
When a bomb goes off here we over-react, vast column inches are given over to somewhat ignorant speculation re the cause and who was at fault and 'why was nothing done' type articles.  When it happens in the middle East we just shrug our shoulders and say 'typical Arabs.' 
It is right to support your own, it is not right to ignore the suffering of others even if they have been doing it for thousands of years.  The West cannot claim a high ground when much of recent trouble began with ignorant European and US involvement in the Middle East.  I offer no simplistic answers, there are none among a people who hate one another as Sunni and Shia Muslims do, we could however attempt to help rebuild broken nations and encourage peace rather than sell billions off dollars worth of weapons to them to continue their wars.  Or is there something in all this for us...?

    

A Day in the LIfe

07 01 Wake wearily to Gregorian chant from the CD in the too, too loud alarm clock radio.

07.02 Switch it off.

07.34 Get out of bed.

07.45 Drink large coffee in one big gulp.

07.59 Wake up.

08.00 Switch on TV for news.

08.01 Switch off rubbish news about bulimic girls and actors traumas.

08.02 Switch on PC.

08.05 PC finishes loading and check e-mails from my friends.

08.06 Begin checking Spam.

08.17 Clear Spam.

08.18 Begin reading the online papers.

08.24 Begin reading blogs

10.00 E-mail Blackberry Juniper. Remind her she is at work, I’m not.

10.01 Rude reply from Blackberry Juniper

10.02 Begin housework.

10.06 Finish housework

10.07 Coffee break. Read book on addiction. Like it. I may buy several more.

10.55 Job hunting begins.

11.28 Enter deep depression, gloom hangs high overhead, inadequacy knocks on the door, failure is written in large letters in my head, woe and thrice woe. The futures bright - but not here.....

11.29 Lie on floor staring at the ceiling, mind blank, and future blanker.

14.03 Inform Blackberry Juniper I am still free and she is at work.

14.04 Decide to finish my first novel.

14.23 Return said novel to charity shop where I bought it.

14.25 Walk through town hoping the pretty girls will throw themselves at me.

14.43 Decide 'Specsavers' has lots of potential female customers.

14.45 Wander into public gardens.

14.46 Find first crying child and Mum ignoring the beast at entrance.

14.47 Find first dosser at first bench.

14.48 Find first polystyrene milk shake/coffee cup spoiling plant life.

14.51 Find first student couple groping in the bushes. Must bring camera next time.

14.53 Find first squirrel to feed. No nuts, (not the squirrel, nor me), I forgot to bring them again!

14.54 Squirrels throw stones at me in disappointment. Tough lot round here!

15.07 Knees aching I wander towards home, I stand at roadside waiting for traffic to stop so I can cross.

15.21 I cross.

15.32 Home. Check e-mails. Blackberry Juniper still rude.

15.32 Check Spam

15.56 Clear Spam.

15.57 Coffee break.

16.45 End coffee break and resume work search.

16.46 Go back to lying on floor staring at ceiling.

17.12 Consider having a bath, wonder if the horse trough will be empty.

17.19 Read last Blackberry Juniper funny and entertaining e-mail and go back on the floor and continue ceiling watch.

18.15 Get off floor to eat what passes for nourishment around here.

18.32 Wish I’d stayed on floor.

19.40 Look for TV football. Find none, (verbal joke ‘What was she doing there?)

19.46 Switch on TV. Soap opera, turn channel, soap opera, turn channel, soap opera, turn

channel, cowboy film, turn channel, Dumbed down news broadcast, groan, search all available channels, go back to lying on floor.

20.22 Read blogs.Laugh, cry, get entertained, even educated, become jealous as they are all better written, wittier, and put together so well. Humph!

23.05 Go to bed.