2012 — 25 October: Thursday

I was in a good mood this morning.1 I'd downloaded and inspected my latest bank statement, confirming that I still had enough pennies left for a few chews before the next sliver of pension arrives next month. I'd sorted out an outline schedule of things to do today, including the next batch of crockpottery ingredient shopping. Put off our planned walk until tomorrow in hopes of it being brighter (albeit colder) than the forecast for today. Made a fresh cuppa.

Then I made the mistake of reading Ophelia Benson's latest batch of global insanity in her "Butterflies & Wheels" email newsletter, and following one of her links to a BBC item. In the Kingdom of the Blind, and all that:

Kingdom of the Blind

Is religious freedom such a Good Thing? I'm a simple chap. I like to kid myself I know the difference between right and wrong. My "Prime Directive" (inherited from my father) is basically "try to behave towards others as you'd like them to behave towards you". I don't take my moral guidelines from any one 'scripture'. Nor from any one 'preacher'. Nor do I want everybody else to be like me... but I would be in a better mood if they could all at least think for themselves. Occasionally.

As lunchtime...

... approaches, I can look back on a well-stuffed crockpot, and a successfully-thwarted lady in an expensive Mercedes sports car. I took mild pleasure in stopping my car in front of her, to make it perfectly clear that her intention of turning into my exit from Waitrose (in her case, that is, through a No Entry sign and against the one-way arrows) so that she could then slot her girl racer vehicle neatly into a "convenient" (for her) space wasn't going to happen. I was amused to see it took her nearly ten seconds (I counted) to conclude (correctly) that her ferocious glare would have no effect before she then shot off back round the circuit. The correct way. Tee hee.

I note we're officially "out of our double dip recession". That must be why Ford is closing its local Transit plant in Swaythling. I drove past that (enduring its horrible rush hour traffic) at least once per day while Christa was in the hospice in November 2007, but haven't been back since her death. I further note that the saintly Jimmy Savile's "score" of alleged sexual abuse victims is rapidly heading towards 300. And child benefits are exercising one of our compassionate Tories, as he considers legislation to limit them to a maximum of two children per family. To encourage the feckless poor to take more responsibility, no doubt.

Today's crockpottery...

... experiment is just about ready to be cracked open and consumed a little over six hours since 'blast-off'. I'm just back from a natter over a cuppa with Roger & Eileen — marking my first venture back into society since this particular rhinovirus kicked off. It's very autumnal out there, quite windy, leaves everywhere, and darkish (though not as dark as it will be next Monday after the clocks have moved off 'summer' time). Unfrabjous days ahead, I guess. Perhaps I should start wearing a niqab?

  

Footnote

1  I could breathe. My throat hardly twinged. I'd clocked up a goodly few hours of unconsciousness.