All too much perhaps?

14 December

I’m sat here quite cold right now and the heating has been turned up because of it. Years ago it was Jan who always felt the cold, now she seems to be always too warm. Right now she has had to go to the dentist but I’m not sure they can do much for her because she has picked up a head cold. Really, I should have driven her over there but of course, I no longer have a driving licence. I’m also sure there will be other occasions when we perhaps think that maybe we acted too quickly; too late now of course.

Last night we sat and watched the 1978 version of The Invasion of the Body Snatchers, that’s the one with Donald Sutherland and Brooke Adams. We enjoyed it too, but I got to thinking about a story line I came up with a few years ago that I know I typed up after handwriting it while we sat in the Anker one afternoon. My intention was to post the opening for it here, but do you think I can find it? No bloody way! I shall look again later cos it has to be here somewhere; but you know me when something goes missing around here … … …

I wonder … have you read Michael Connelly’s The Poet? It’s another serial murderer story that I like. In fact, I liked it so much that I have included it in one of stories, just the writer’s name, the title and one small extract, around five or six words. In my story, a disabled man goes into a pub for pee, heads to the disabled loo and finds a large obese man sitting there, dead as dead can be. The cops are called and the DI finds a paperback copy of the book on the floor, with a page turned down and the words I have included underlined. And that my friends is all I’m saying about it … for now at least.   

Years ago I watched a programme on telly about the way that babies born to some sections of society, seem to be thought of as a by-product or life, with little or no thought given to what it means. In it they pointed to a groups of mothers in New York who were so off hand about it that the only name they could think of for the child was the name of her current shampoo. Of course, this is a problem all over the world.

According to the 1 o’clock news today 13,000 babies have been taken into care either at or soon after birth. Most of these were woman who had given the label, ‘serial mums’.  Most of the mums have problems with drink, drugs and mental health, or maybe even a combination of them. I can certainly see why social workers are concerned and take action, but do they follow up and try to help the woman herself?

That seems to me to be key to preventing the birth of so many unwanted/unplanned babies. The amount of resources such births take up is quite large I should think; how much would it save to help them and save later misery. I can hear the screams of protest even as I type these words; the howls of the human right to do XXX or YYY and, ‘Who do you think you are to make such comments. It won’t be the first time this has happened over something I have said/written, nor will it be that last most likely. In the past though, I’ve found that those who shout the loudest are the ones who are unlikely to be in such a position to start with … opps, the screams are starting up again!!!

We are having Kile from after school on Thursday until he’s had enough, but he will need to go back home before Christmas Eve. I hope he’s not expecting anything special though. He does have his new game and a new set of Star Trek movies to watch. There’s 12 discs in the set, the last is about the making of the films.

I’m sure you are aware of the new Star Wars coming out soon, so in anticipation of that Channel 5 broadcast two one hour shows about that series of films. We recorded them and we watched one of them last night, How Star Wars Changed the World. Oh dear; to say it was OTT is being polite, I mean come on, dressing up as Storm Troopers, Chew Baka, even Darth himsen? Other’s hold light sabre fencing contests. Well, come one, really, I mean come on. I like Parry Hotter but I don’t carry a wand around with me or dress up as ‘No-nose’.

So today’s photo then … OK, OK, I’ve been to the Studio Tour …

Today’s funny …

Two factory workers are talking. The woman says, "I can make the boss give me the day off." The man replies, "And how would you do that?" The woman says, "Just wait and see." She then hangs upside down from the ceiling. The boss comes in and says, "What are you doing?" The woman replies, "I'm a light bulb." The boss then says, "You've been working so much that you've gone crazy. I think you need to take the day off." The man starts to follow her and the boss says, "Where are you going?" The man says, "I'm going home, too. I can't work in the dark."