I know that none of you have slept a wink wanting to know to know the outcome of the Saga saga. So, let me put you out of your misery. They didn’t call, So, it starts all over again today. And I am incandescent once again. Which is annoying in itself. But, I am always one to look in the bright side. The bright side is that my Saga story seems to have touched a nerve with my readers ( that’s not me going back to my dentist story, by the way ) and I have never had such a response. In fact I feel as if I am running a mini Watchdog here as so many of you wanted to get a Saga complaint off your chests. And I am happy I have been able to facilitate that. Once I resolve my issue with them ( hopefully today ) then I am available for hire to any other Saga sufferers,
So, on that happy theme it seems that the Seven Dwarves heard the news that there could be gatherings of six people with mixed emotions, One of them wasn’t Happy,
As for me, I am felling generally Grumpy ( while you are reading this can you name the seven dwarves…. There’s always one that’s elusive ) . It’s not just Saga that’s put me in a mood. It’s people and people who ignore Social Distancing in particular that are getting to me.
We did go out for the first time yesterday and tried to walk around our local park, Grovelands. Wanted to catch up with the swans who, I am reliably informed, have half a dozen cygnets. Normally I follow the fortunes of the cygnets avidly. How many will survive? How many will be lost to predators? A couple of years ago a dog ( not on a leash ) dashed into the lake and savaged the swans so badly that one had to be put down. I got the Council to post a notice that dogs have to be kept on leads around the lake but nobody pays it the slightest attention. And with nobody paying much attention to Social Distancing either we were forced out of the park and into a parallel road before I even got to see the swans and the cygnets ( thank you Naomi for sending me a video )
The fact is that the park was mobbed. Even at 8.00am. Runners, dog walkers, parents with kids, people coming to see the swans and the cygnets. It was like an ordinary Summer day morning magnified 100%. And the problem with the runners is that they only seem able to run in a straight line and mow down anybody and anything in their path, whilst at the same time spraying saliva and sweat as they pound past. I’ve had this problem with people looking at their phones as they walk for years and in fact, I tried an experiment when walking from Piccadilly Circus to Tibits Restaurant in Heddon Street. As far as I can recall (it’s been a while since I did this walk ) it’s a dead straight stroll of about five hundred yards.
So, I decided to walk dead straight. In that short distance four people looking at their phones walked straight into me, another four swerved at the last minute with a muffled apology and the ninth dropped their phone and said it was my fault! There’s city in Japan called Yamato. They are planning to make it illegal to use a mobile phone whilst walking ( I suppose it has to be a mobile phone or else you would pull the plug out of the wall ) An official there has said “ The number of people using smart phones has rapidly increased and so have accidents. We want to prevent that. “ And so do I, particularly if I am the victim of the accident. It seems that a pedestrian’s average field of vision whilst walking and looking at the phone is 5% of normal. I would suggest that the use of their brain is about the same percentage.
I mean what can be that important that whatever or whoever is on the phone can’t wait five or ten minutes until you get to your destination. What are these people reading or hearing? That their other half has left them ? Ok, I get that although not a lot they can do about it whilst walking ? That Saga has just told them that their car insurance premium has risen by 550% ? Yes, I get that but they are walking and not driving and by the chaos they cause they might be better served by taking out some pedestrian insurance.
If Yamato does bring in that law then it will be Sayonara from me as I catch the first flight to Japan. Only problem is that I hate sushi.
I always think that I there can be nothing more to say about Trump. And then he exceeds every expectation. Biden has a 10 point lead. Come on Yanks, you can do better than that. If Micky Mouse was standing against him he should have an 80 point lead. Anyway, he has truly succeeded in making America Grate Again. It grates with me and it grates with everybody. His latest escapade was to make the White House dark the other night. Not sure if he was saving money on electricity or showing empathy with the poor guy killed by the police. Mind you, I don’t think Trump knows what empathy is or even how to spell it. He probably thinks it’s a game show on some TV channel he doesn’t control.
People called him out on that and said he was retreating to his bunker ( that didn’t end well for the last dictator who did it, so we can only hope ) But the Donald took exception and decided ( or was advised by his PR person… who probably resigns daily ) that he should take to the streets and strike a dramatic pose, Cue Trump standing in front of a church, bible in hand making what he doubtless thought was a stirring speech ( one with more than three words strung together ) The only thing was that in order to create the space for him to stand in splendid isolation, he first had to send in troops with tear gas and rubber bullets to clear the space. Oh well, at least he is socially distancing although who would want to get within six feet of him even with a barge pole?
Crazy world. I mean are all these people massing in the parks, on beaches in Brighton and Bournemouth and I understand in Tel Aviv and Knokke in Belgium, just conducting one huge medical experiment to prove that you don’t really need to distance socially ( couldn’t bring myself to do a split infinitive and say to socially distance ) to bring the Big V to an end. And if none of them get sick then they’ve proved they are right and all the scientists and medical advisers are wrong. Even the demonstrators in American cities are joining in the experiment. I don’t hear any of them saying that they can’t throw a rock at a policeman unless they are six feet away or that they need to keep their distance before they toss a Molotov Cocktail at a police car. Oh well, maybe they all know best. Even the gang of 80 youths brawling on Hampstead Heath last night. I took fifty policeman to break that up. A clear case of anti-social non distancing.
Me, I was back on my treadmill this morning. It looks like rain anyway so I need to get on and tend my tomato plants that arrived this morning. Very excited by that. I grow tomato plants every year. Usually three of them. They always are given the same names. Tommy, Timmy and Theresa. That’s because I find they do better when I talk to them twice a day when I water them. This year I have four so have had to think up another name. Settled on Tabitha. That’s the name of Paul and Rachel’s cat. So they should be pleased. So should Sam and Cara who adore Tabitha ( who doesn’t seem to get enough mentions as I got Wanda fixated )
Sam did get back to school and is loving it. Lessons are in the main hall and they play a Corona type of football in the playground with no contact. Bit like the teams I support. He wasn’t happy about getting a tuna sandwich for lunch as seems they need 20 pupils before they can supply a hot meal. Don’t get that any more than I get I can go to my house in the Cotswolds, but can’t sleep over there. Who thought that one up? Still, it’s easier for us to get there and back in a day than it is for our friends who have second homes in Israel or France or Florida. That might be a bit of a challenge as they would have to find a flight to take them there first anyway.
OK. ‘Nuff said. Off to call Saga and try Barclays again ( called at 8am and was told wait time was one hour)
See you all tomorrow if we are spared. Stay safe.
PS The dwarf you couldn’t name was Doc