Winter Solstice and Closed Ports

BBC

 

At last the 'shortest day!'

Naturally it is wet, chilly, dank, dreich and not improving the well-being of those venturing out to what few shops remain open in Tier 4 Land.  Cars splash along the street, people take great steps to avoid one another as well as the cars heading for large puddles, and blessings abound with the short-term employed in the checkouts. 

Such a happy day for from tomorrow the nights get shorter the days longer and Spring is just around the corner.  Sunshine, blue skies, bright days and lockdown for all!  

And Brexit poverty on top for us all!

I just canny wait for that...

 

 

It is interesting to see how many nations are no longer wishing to accept travellers from the 'English Free State.'  I read that 40 or so countries have banned contact, France has closed the Dover crossing, and the only ones to fly out are the Tory Brexiteer cheerleaders who have ceased claiming the virus is a hoax and the vaccine does not work for a week or two having escaped to their money in the Cayman Islands or somewhere.  I am sure they will not be missed but I feel for the servants they look down upon in foreign lands.

This is a taste of Brexit to come.  With inadequate customs staff, computer systems not ready, lack of knowledge of paperwork required, hundreds of miles of lorries carrying decaying foodstuffs one way or the other, and overworked and short staffed employees attempting to counter the virus while at work it looks like a jolly old Christmas at the ports.  

I empathise with companies that still do not understand what to do.  Information is lacking because nobody knows what to do anywhere.  Thousands of pieces of paper required to export, but what papers?  Will the customs know any better?  What will the French understand?  

My nephew is glad he no longer drives big lorries, though he never went abroad.  It is a hard life on the road, especially if you only speak Romanian!

 

At Last, the Shortest Day.

For the past six months we have been waiting for this dreich but gladsome day, the shortest day of the year!  At last we know that Spring is coming and Summer is ahead.  Of course the day being dreich, cloud covers the land, we cannot see the sun rise or fall, indeed some cannot see anything in the gloom, but inwardly we rejoice as the nights now get shorter and minute by minute the warmth of Spring lies ahead with nothing in between but two months or more of rain, snow, ice, storm, hail and other regular events but nothing too much to surprise us.
I suspect many Druids of various types, alongside youthful trendy middle class types, have gathered at Stonehenge and other such henge's to see the winter solstice come and go and pretend they are living out ancient pagan rites even though nobody has a clue as to what ancient rites were all about.  The lack of knowledge will not stop them reaching out to something they see as enlightening, though the main result might just be chilblains and flu caused by the dank atmosphere.

I spent the morning at coffee with one of my women and then returned home to eat, sleep and send e-cards to those I canny be bothered writing cards to.  You know the type, those acquaintances who offer cards but you reckon it's easier to send an e-card and know they will not mind.  It took longer than I thought and the gloom outside made the world dark by four!  

 

At Last

At last the shortest day of the year has arrived.  From today the nights get shorter and the days longer.  No more staring into the dark longing for sunshine, from today we stare into clouds full of rain awaiting sunshine.  This morning I caught the sun low down struggling to rise, at least he will not get any lower now. This was long after 8:30 and the chill in the air revealed December was still winter even if it has been mild by comparison.  
Spring is a coming.
 
Nothing else happened.
Again I ventured through the supermarkets for things forgotten, again I forgot things.
That sums up the day.
I looked for exciting happenings but none were seen.
Christmas shoppers with worried looks passed by, I smugly smiled and mentioned mine was all done and got a smack in the face or two from those who were not there yet.
The afternoon gale blew in, the rain swept down, I closed down and ironed some shirts.

I am not sure I can continue with this exciting life.
My nerves cannot stand much more of the thrill.
Roll on work....

The 'World's End is an Edinburgh pub!

The Shortest Day

At last!  The darkness has descended and the night has begun!  At last the days will begun to stay around that little bit longer.  At last the year is turning and Spring is on the way, after a couple of months of hail, snow, wind and freezing weather of course!  How lovely to think there will be more light, buds on trees, blossoms and gaiety all around once more.  The shortest day celebrated the fact by almost allowing the sun to shine.  The rain fell where it belonged, elsewhere, and when I sauntered around the town the clouds had a bright golden edge to them.  

I wanted to do a post full of insight and significance but the bug has worn me out again.  My little brain is dull tonight, and wasn't much better this morning.  As I did the women's work today, hoovering and such like, I left the front door ajar.  An ambulance paramedic approached enquiring for a shop selling hot food.  When I have a bug the mind often blocks things and as I attempted to send her to the bakers shops for overpriced pies and soup I could not remember the shops name, it has only come to mind now I write this, 'Greggs.'  It has taken all day to arrive, and possibly it has taken the ambulance crew all day to find the shop after my directions!  Why does this 'block' happen I wonder?  I am sure my mother had this, and I suspect it runs in the family, like debt.  

I am worried about my week away over Christmas.  I will not be able to take the laptop as they use Sky and not Talk Talk.  There is growing within me a sensation of desperation here.  A week without fingertapping on this wee keyboard.  A week without emails, a week without anon spamming me, a week without contact with the real world.  A week in which I will have to talk to people!  Oooooh.  I think I am off to bed, I feel giddy.....

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The Shortest Day

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.
And the evening and the morning were the first day. Gen 1:5

This is the best day of the year, why? Because it is the shortest! From today the days get longer and the nights get shorter. From today we look forward to the arrival of Spring, warm weather and, being the UK, lots of rain! Still never mind eh? We are headed in the right direction and this makes me happy! Some folks may live in places where the nights never vary, in those regions where there is an almost constant warmth and allowance of daylight. How I wished I lived there! Of course it could be worse. In places like Finland there are six months of total darkness, then followed by six months of constant daylight. Now the latter part of that suits me! I suppose six months of daylight must affect an individual in some way? The darkness certainly does! The areas affected do see lots of suicides and depression as the months tick by I understand, and I can believe it. We work better in natural daylight and flounder with the dark. No wonder so many there take to drink!

However, now we can rise in the darkness knowing that soon we will rise with the the dawn chorus greeting the rising sun. Blackbirds and Thrushes, Robins and Tits greeting one another in the early morning before any bar the milkman and postman have risen remains a favourite time for me. Their song fits the sky above - unless the weather interferes! Ah yes, the British weather! Caught between the Atlantic and the Continent which leaves us with warmish rainy weather and lots of reason to grumble! Where would we be without that? However even Brits find it hard to grumble when their eyes meet a sight like this as they rise.