Nine Feet Underground

A busy working day ahead from the usual 9 am project huddle, to the late morning design authority, by way of the Connected Manager training course. Tempus fugit. The working day is over: Q returned from work before I'd finished working, and soon it will be time for The Idler Drinks. Tonight's guest is Kojo Koram  (Senior Lecturer in Law, Birkbeck College) talking about what happened when the British Empire collapsed.  His focus was on the economic exploitation of former colonies after they gained independence. The consequences of this exploitation are being felt in the UK today as the companies in question do the same to UK citizens as they did to those of the former colonies. I need to learn and understand in more detail. Unusually, I didn't stay for the after-drinks chat, mainly because dinner was ready and I'm in a different social environment. After dinner, we watched an episode of a series called 'Bad Girls', written by and starring Sharon Horgan.  It'...

I'm off home today, so after breakfast and saying goodbye to Q, who's off to work, I start to pack. I have a chat with Q's mum and then return to packing. I'm planning to leave at around 10 and travel home via a nearby petrol station. Got back around 2 pm after a pit stop at Warwick.  Didn't manage to find the petrol station, but did travel home  different way which didn't involve the M62. Instead I travelled across the Mersey river crossing, which provides a completely different view of Liverpool, a much more industrial view. Late afternoon I discovered that Nik Turner has died today. Sad news. The Spirit of Hawkwind, indeed. I think 'Brainstorm' is in order, at high volume. We had a quiet evening, I ate my dinner whilst watching the excellent documentary 'Kids' TV: The Surprising Story' which is on BBC iPlayer (or see here ) which was by turns fascinating, enlightening and moving. It is a social history of the UK through the lens of Childre...

Another early start for my 8 a.m. training course and also because I want to be ready before the cleaner gets here, so I can get her to do my office first. Well, that plan didn't quite work out - cleaner arrived at 10 to 7!!! Keen or what!! I'd almost finished getting ready, but not quite, so slight change of plan. Back on track again: I'm ready, breakfast is eaten and I'm logged in to the online course, ready to start. I think I'm going to be pretty much head down on this course again today, so I doubt I'll have much to say here. Course over for another day! This is such an intensive course - I'm sure it needs four days rather than three! One thing I have to get done are the cards for my father-in-law's 90th birthday - one from my wife (written by me) and one from me (also written by me!) I need to post them tomorrow to ensure they get to him on time. It's son #1's  girlfriend's last evening with us this week, so they've popped to the pu...

[Sunday 25th November to Monday 26th November 2018] Sister. Family. Uncle. Birthday. 89. Cousins. Past. Present. Future? Up. Down. Possibilities. Ignored. Upbeat. Downbeat. Roller coaster. Truth. Lie. Hope. No hope. Pointlessness of hope. Only now. Done. Cannot change. Doesn't exist. Wishful thinking. Stop. Let me off. [Quote is the opening of the poem 'Hush' from 'Elegies' by Douglas Dunn]