Sunshine and Remembering the Shoah

How nice it is to wake to sunshine. OK, it's not anywhere near Summer weather but it is a huge difference compared to the arctic weather we have had over the last few weeks. It feels good sitting here in my office typing this as the sun shines through my glazed doors warming my back and neck.
As I take a cursory glance over this morning's news stories, I am reminded that it is Holocaust Memorial Day here in the UK. My thoughts turn to the horrors of the concentration camps and the fear and terror of those millions of persecuted human beings who were inflicted the most evil of crimes during the Second World War. The effects of the sunshine this morning soon pale into nothing as I try to imagine the overwhelming sense of fear and terror felt by so many of all ages herded into ghettos and sent on cattle trains to spend their final days in such places we today know as Treblinka, Buchenwald and Auschwitz.
A good few years ago, I decided to discover for myself all I could about the atrocities committed during the Second World War. I hadn't been taught very much at school about the period and the little I did know had come from films I had seen in the form of Schindler's List and the odd documentary. Although the Internet was evolving, I did manage to find out about the Shoah Foundation and the amazing work they were doing in recording and preserving the testimonies of those who had lived through the period and witnessed the horrors committed by the Nazi's against Jewish people and those of different faiths, backgrounds and ideologies.

It didn't take very long for me to be convinced that the things I had heard were true and watching the heart wrenching testimonials of those who had lost parents, brothers, sisters, wives and husbands, left me in no doubt that as many people should know as much about what had happened as possible.
As a father, I wonder whether it will be left to me to provide my son with the answers to what really went on during this dark period in our 'recent' history. I do hope it isn't simply glossed over by his schooling and that he understands that as well as all the great things we have achieved, humankind can be destructive and evil.
I suspect, and hope, that he will someday mention that he is studying this period at school and I know I will have the confidence to talk to him about the events in our history that so many would rather choose to forget.

Too Much to Expect I Suppose...

This Friday starts with a moan unfortunately. Is it really too much to expect the refuse collectors of South Holland District Council to remove this instead of simply driving round it to be left to become a hazard for other motorists?

Just a little more effort and dare I say pride in the work they do is all that's needed. Come Christmas, no doubt they will bemoan they haven't had a tip. Perhaps they should ask themselves why.

Thinking-Up Titles

I did think we would have to call off today's Group meeting as so few were able to attend. A combination of things were responsible for this morning's low turn-out and it was left to myself and two other group members to make the most of the time we had in the relative warmth and convenience of our venue.
Despite there being just the three of us, we did manage to while away the time talking about various issues that either troubled us, interested us or gave us cause for concern. In fact when we get going, we can often talk for hours.

I do seem to be in a better frame of mind today. The last couple of days have been quite stressful and I do feel as if things are settling down a little. There is still the complaint to deal with, currently residing with NPower but I'm hopeful we will be able to come to some kind of arrangement. Frankly, we'll have to.
I have been a little troubled by dreams. Mine are vivid and it's unusual if I don't dream each night. This is a side-effect of the Mirtazapine medication I am on and its sedative properties. The dreams are rarely joyful and positive experiences. Mostly they involve me being in some kind of office environment, often closed-in and suffocating. I am almost always in a position of varying responsibility but in almost all cases, I am responsible for something that goes wrong. This produces a strong feeling of guilt and failure that will often seep from my dream state into my conscious state and can stay with me for as much as a whole day afterwards.
I dare say those who as well as me believe in some symbolic connection between dreams and real life will agree that there is a link between the events in my sleep and failings in my past. This is pretty obvious. The clarity of the dreams and the real feelings they produce is something I find both interesting and troubling.

We are told we are heading out of the freezing weather period we have been experiencing here in the UK for the last couple of weeks. Here is the East, we are forecast to see a final parting gift tomorrow night of several inches of prolonged heavy snow which is anticipated to make Saturday morning 'challenging'. As with all forecasts, I tend now to take them with a large pinch of salt especially as we haven't seen anywhere near the amount of snow that has been forecast up to now. If it's as bad as the forecast predicts, I will post a photograph here on Saturday.

As I type this, shouts of excitement and schoolboy fun filter over my Herb Alpert and Friends LP. My son has his friend over to play and it sounds as though they are battling it out on the Wii ably refereed by my wife. I wrote of my 'wasted' trip to NHS Bracebridge Heath on Monday. It transpires that the meeting had been previously cancelled due to lack of interest but my original acknowledgement hadn't been passed-on to the organiser. The upshot is that I have received an apology and kind offer of reimbursement for my travel expense, which is nice. Despite the obvious clerical error, I do actually have tremendous respect for the people organising the meeting. The work they do and their motives for arranging the meeting in the first place are entirely Honourable. I have asked them to contact me when another meeting is arranged as they, like me, are keen that it should still go ahead. Any discussion regarding mental health services in Lincolnshire has to be a priority.

I'm quite looking forward to a few hours to myself tomorrow. I already plan to record an entry for my audio journal. I do though have a diabetic clinic appointment at 1.30 which I'm not looking forward to. My blood glucose levels are often a lot higher than they should be despite trying to maintain a low sugar diet. I think I may already know what the outcome will be.

It's strange. I find I can write about things very easily but the hardest part of maintaining a blog is thinking-up a title for each post. In fact, it often takes me longer to think up the title than it does to type the whole post entry!

My Moodscope score today is 51%

A Stressful Day, A Wasted Trip & Andrew Lyons

A stressful day. I attended a rather subdued Group meeting this morning which was thankfully made more cheerful by the arrival of Harry and Harriet, our local Pets As Therapy dogs and their handlers. There were once again relatively few attendees and I'm inclined to blame the weather for their non-appearance.
The journey to Spalding this morning was again made in freezing conditions, this time compounded by thick fog and ice. It looks as if we are in for a prolonged period of freezing temperatures though the snow does seem to have abated.

Speaking on non-appearance, I yesterday afternoon attended what I believed to be a meeting held at Lincolnshire NHS offices at Bracebridge Heath. The meeting had been scheduled for 4pm and its purpose was to informally discuss how we all felt about the future of mental health support in the wake of Andrew Harrison's tragic death. How surprised was I then to find on arrival that I was the only one attending and that the meeting had evidently been cancelled. I have sent an email to the organiser but I have yet to receive a reply.

Today had been allocated by my wife for us to contact the council regarding our council tax payments and our electricity provider Eon regarding the ridiculous amount they are changing for our lighting and heating.
I had been dreading the prospect of having to speak with them but thankfully my wife had dealt with the council before I arrived home from Group. I find more and more that my anxiety kicks in and frankly makes me feel quite ill. I much prefer to type letters. It is one of the few things I am still able to do with any level of confidence.
I finally mustered the courage and explained our situation to the chap in their call centre. To his credit, he was actually quite helpful and having explained that there was no way we could afford to pay £360 per month, he set about changing our payment arrangement. This still leaves the £800 odd debt we've somehow managed to accrue since joining them last year. This still needs to be resolved and a complaint has been raised with a dedicated team who should be contacting us in a couple of days time. Of particular concern is how our monthly energy consumption could have leaped from £126 to £196 and why they emptied our bank account at the beginning of January to pay off some of what we owed - without consulting us beforehand. This may sound minor and trivial to many but when you have very little or no income, it's pretty major.

Suicide is in the news again. The BBC have an article on their news site which highlights the increase in the number of people taking their own lives. This is tragic and sad, but not unexpected. I've written at length about how stress, depression and their causes such as debt, redundancy and the squeeze on living standards caused by Government policy is making life unbearable for many. An increasing number are being pushed to the limit, and in some cases, beyond.
In my local newspaper, the Spalding Guardian, I see that there was another successful suicide attempt in Spalding. The body of Andrew Lyons, aged just 33 was discovered next to the railway line. What drove Andrew to this act is unknown but it is a sad fact that more and more people in their 30's are choosing the ultimate way out and freedom from the pain and misery of debt and redundancy. Why? is something many will be asking. Was help available to Andrew or had he sought help? IS there anything anyone could have done to make his situation easier or provide hope, enough for him to see that there is a reason for carrying on? Perhaps we'll never know, but Andrew is a reminder to us all of how suicide is difficult to predict and to prevent in someone determined enough.
I always feel anger when something like this happens. I feel angry that no one was able to help. I feel angry that Andrew felt so desperate and alone, that his problems couldn't be resolved or worked out. If help had been provided and there was hope, what would Andrew have become and achieved in his life? Whatever pushed Andrew to the limit and beyond could have been made easier with support and help from others, particularly those who have been where Andrew had been, people who understand how it is to feel there is no way out of a situation and to make the ultimate choice. People like this are in a unique position to empathise and provide the support needed to convince someone like Andrew that there is another way out. When someone is depressed and at their wits end, it is impossible to see, but it is there, of this I am convinced. If only...
My Moodscope score today is 47%

Snowy Sunday Thoughts

There's a a lot going on at the moment. The weather has brought snow to many parts of the country and as usual, it has caused travel disruption and what can only be described as farcical scenes at London's Heathrow Airport. Should we be surprised? No, it happens every time we have snow and the slightest amounts result in cancelled flights and misery for travellers. Why do we get it so wrong every time. It is true that we are the laughing stock of other countries used to snow. Maybe it is just a British thing. We like to suffer and make things as difficult as we can. Snow is inevitable, especially in a changeable climate such as ours yet I read that we choose not to invest in snow clearing equipment as it is rare and wouldn't justify the expense. Try telling that to the passengers, many of whom have spent at least one night on the cold floor of the departures terminal.

On my mind this week have been money matters, specifically being asked for money we don't have. I know this causes my wife stress and she often spends sleepless nights worrying about how she is going to make her meagre part time wage stretch to cover our outgoings. With me, the worry is always there but it manifests itself as anxiety which will often build until an event such as a final demand letter or a threat of legal action sends me over the edge into a pit of despair. We've managed to keep the wolves from the door until now but I do feel we are headed for just such an event. In an attempt to prevent a crisis developing, our defence has been to send letters pleading our case. For the most part, this has been successful though there are cases where I am left wondering whether the letter has actually been read - as is the case with South Holland District Council. They are insisting we pay hundreds of pounds in council tax despite being told we cannot and having been sent a copy of our financial statement. They were also told of my delicate mental state which they also seem to have ignored. They will certainly be getting a very strongly worded letter.
I do try to reassure myself by realising we are not alone and that there are many thousands of families up and down the land in a similar situation. It doesn't stop me fearing every letter that comes through the door.

Therapy for me is the things that I enjoy, such as writing, listening to the radio and music - specifically finding music in the form of vinyl records in second hand shops. Saturday morning saw me again rummaging through a box of LP's in my favourite second hand store in Long Sutton. There is normally something new each week and out of five or six records, at least one will turn out to be a real gem. My gem(s) this week were a record of Henry Mancini's music which included the 'Pink Panther' and 'A Shot In The Dark' themes, and another K-Tel LP containing various well known songs.

A piece in today's Sunday Express highlighted the link between the effects of the recession and the rising suicide rate. This is something many have been aware of for some time, especially those who work in the field of mental health. It's a startling reminder of how things like financial well being and job security can push many to the brink and beyond. Those seeking re-employment having been made redundant are likely to become depressed as being constantly turned down for jobs leads them to view each day as pointless, often remaining in bed. I recognise and understand this very well. The numbers seeking psychological therapies has rocketed from 92,000 in 2009/10 to 320,000 in 2012. The figures speak volumes.
Yet there is no easy solution to any of this. The economy won't miraculously improve creating thousands of new jobs so the numbers of those suffering mental illness is likely to increase further. What makes life worse for so many of those affected is the poor care and support given to the mentally ill. The assessment process for benefits is so demeaning and flawed that many are made worse or pushed over the edge. Others simply decide not to go through it and end up in relative poverty. The system has to change.

Finally, I am utterly disgusted at hearing the new that Camelot are increasing the cost of lottery tickets. Surely this decision is simply based on greed. After all, they have failed to provide any satisfactory reason for doing this. I am sure I won't be alone in voicing my disdain at Camelot's decision and I for one will be boycotting the National Lottery in favour of the ethical alternative The Health Lottery who have also made public their views. So there.

I failed to record an audio journal this week, so I'll make sure I do an extra long one next week.
My Moodscope rating today is 61%.

A Red Warning & When Asking Advice Isn't Always the Best Thing...

There's no denying it, it's cold... very cold. Group today was not very well attended though I suspect the weather is just one of the reasons for staying away.
The drive to Spalding was without event, apart from having to stop once or twice for the screen wash nipplets to thaw out. Luckily I'd had the sense a couple of days ago to fill it with concentrate.

View looking towards Gedney Church from A17

Tomorrow looks set to be dicey. There are warnings of heavy snow for most of the UK and the highest level red warning has been issued by the Met Office. Thankfully I don't need to venture out tomorrow and I made sure I collected a couple bags of firewood on the way home today, so I should be OK.

A friend is looking for a new car and we were asked our views and advice at Group on a particular model she had seen. Having the laptop with me, I looked it up on the What Car? website. The ratings were not very good. It scored just one star for reliability and quality and the same for its interior and features. This didn't go down very well and I did wonder whether it is practicable to ask someone their views and advice when buying something as big as a car. I know from experience that ratings and reviews are normally the last thing one consults when buying a vehicle. Often, we are sold on looks and appearance failing to take into account miles per gallon and ride comfort. As well as the crass reviews, the garage she was intending to buy it from was also lampooned.
The whole thing left me wondering if I would seek advice when deciding to buy a new car. I soon came to the conclusion that I would not, preferring to trust my own instinct and experience. After all I've never had a bad experience buying a car and they've always lasted a few years without major incident.
Sometimes it can be highly beneficial to invite the views of others. But there are occasions when some things should be handled alone.

An Unremarkable Tuesday

An event-free day. The weather behaved itself despite it being bitterly cold. We didn't have any more snow today though there is more forecast for the coming days. I did pass one casualty of the weather as I neared Whaplode on the way to Spalding earlier today. Thankfully the driver escaped without injury.

We welcomed a new member to our Group this morning, the partner of one of our existing members. I'm hopeful they will want to keep coming and that they will find the talking therapy we provide to be helpful.

I'm in a pensive sort of mood today. There's much I want to do but I tend to spend much of my time thinking about it. The fact that much of it involves money keeps it from becoming a reality, but I will continue to hope and wish as many others do.

The First Snow

Today we had the first snow of the year. The newspapers with their doom laden predictions have been threatening it for days. This morning, here in South Holland, we woke to a light dusting and as the day progressed, the snowfall became heavier. I had dropped our car of for its MOT in the morning, something we had been dreading as we ended up leaving our last car with them. Thankfully, they found nothing too wrong with it and we were charged just £90, a lot less than we were expecting to pay.

The drive back wasn't what I would call fun. Our little Saxo has very little grip at the best of times and is devoid of any modern safety features, so I took it very gingerly remaining in a high gear and trying not to brake too much. It certainly paid off and I arrived home safely to a warming log fire.
I'll see what happens overnight before making any decisions about tomorrow and whether I attend the Group. It's likely that freezing temperatures will make ice the major problem.

Some Words on Literacy

Literacy is a subject that comes up every now and again, especially when educational standards are in the news or if a school is poorly graded. It is clear that levels of literacy vary enormously from one area to another and there are many factors that decide a person's ability to write, spell and express themselves effectively in words.
There is no doubt that instant messaging has encouraged its own diction to develop. There is a new language amongst those who text and use instant messaging frequently. Words are shortened and numbers are used in place of letters. This truncated form of writing has for the most part passed me by. I could never get on with text messaging. On the few occasions I felt it necessary to text, I would write in the same way I would compose an email message. To do otherwise just felt wrong.
I do know people for whom writing is a challenge. They tend not to use long words and punctuation is rarely if ever used. Sentences can be excessively long with no break making the making the process of reading very difficult and uncomfortable.
I do wonder if it is the fault of the individual or the education system. There is certainly evidence to suggest there is less emphasis today on good grammar and diction. Perhaps as teachers become younger and their own skills and knowledge begin to vary, then maybe their own grasp of spelling, punctuation and diction falls below what many would consider an acceptable standard.
I don't consider myself as gifted. I had no special education and paid less and less attention to my studies the nearer I got to being able to leave. I didn't want to further myself, I'd had enough and soon found work at a local supermarket. When I did leave school, I had the skills which enabled me to read and write. I knew the meaning of words and I could write a letter if I needed to. In fact I possessed many of these skills before I entered secondary education. When I try to think why this was the case, I can only really put it down to memories of lessons where we were taught to write. Of all the lessons I can remember, these are the most prominent. In these lessons, I was also taught to punctuate though this was certainly bolstered by certain schools and colleges TV programmes such as 'Look and Read', 'Words and Pictures' and 'Middle English'.
All this combined to give me the skills to write confidently and though I wasn't the world's best at spelling, I would always look up a word if I was unsure.
I those halcyon days, my mother was employed as a secretary at a local electrical contractor and I would like to think she corrected me whenever I went wrong.
I'm inclined to think we live in a world where there is less need for good literacy skills. We write less, emails are sent in preference to a written or typed letter. Messages can be sent instantly and a new type of shorthand has developed as a result. We do indeed live in the age of the instant message and never before has it been easier to communicate and express ourselves. This is of course progress but are we in danger of losing altogether the ability to use fully our wonderful language?

Final Thoughts on Savile & More Volunteering

The extent of the alleged abuse perpetrated by Jimmy Savile has been made public in a report published today. Though we've known for some months of the crimes claimed to have been committed by the late presenter and personality, one cannot fail to be shocked by the details that have emerged. Jimmy Savile is dead and cannot answer for his crimes and it should be remembered that these are allegations and though there is no reason to doubt any of the testimonies, they cannot be proved.
Good has to come out of something like this. There have clearly been major failings that allowed the alleged abuse to carry on unchecked and unchallenged. The warnings voiced by certain individuals were ignored. The question being asked by so many people is 'why?'. It is difficult to understand how nothing was done, with the most recent opportunity lost in 2009 when the Crown Prosecution Service dropped a case against him, clearly failing in their duty.
Hopefully there will be a greater emphasis from now on to investigate rumours and allegations and to take children seriously.

This afternoon I responded to a plea sent out from SHINE Lincolnshire for volunteer PEAT (Patient Environment Action Team) inspectors. Apparently they are very short of volunteers, who's role it is to go visit inpatient hospital departments and inspect levels of cleanliness and hygiene among other things. As with most things nowadays, there is no reward apart from having expenses paid, but there's always the possibility of it leading to something more concrete.

I had my pre-diabetic clinic blood test this morning. I always have to take a wee sample with me which they check there and then. Unsurprisingly they found sugar in it so it's been sent off to be analysed at King's Lynn QEII Hospital. They very kindly booked me a diabetic clinic appointment for the 25th, a Friday. I expect I will be advised to move onto an injectable form of medication rather than the (many) tablets I currently take each day.

Common Sense

I do seem to find myself becoming increasingly frustrated and angered whenever I drive anywhere in South Holland. The habits of drivers in this area are no longer limited to speeding and poor indicator use. A large number it seems do not know when it is appropriate to use their lights.
Take today for instance, most of the area around Spalding is blanketed by a thick layer of dense fog. Visibility is very poor as a consequence and on the faster roads, it is impossible to spot vehicles until they are just a hundred feet away or less. Why therefore are there so many drivers who choose to make themselves impossible to see by not using their headlights? I have this afternoon driven back from Spalding and I have honestly lost count of the number of cars without lights, front or rear. It's not just the older cars at fault, most of the offenders are the new larger cars such as Land Rovers and Mercedes. For some reason best known to them, they don't seem to need lights. Perhaps it is just too much effort for them. What would their excuse be I wonder when explaining to a police officer why they hit a car pulling out from a junction on a 60 mph road? It is just this type of driver and their plain ignorance and lack of basic common sense that puts other road users in danger and causes accidents. Headlight use should be mandatory and the penalty for failing to use them should be severe. There can be no excuse.

Continuing in a similar vein, the funeral is being held in Sutton Bridge this afternoon for the two young sisters tragically killed a couple of weeks ago on the A47 near Wisbech. Apparently the two young girls attended the Westmere School in Sutton Bridge - which is federated with my son's school. There is no indication of what caused the accident but it serves as a stark reminder of how dangerous our roads can be.

At the Mercy of NPower

I recorded my first audio journal of the year a little earlier. I was prompted to do so by something Richard Vobes spoke about on his Naked Englishman podcast. He remarked at how there is more detail carried in an audio journal than in a written diary or blog. He was referring I think to the tone of the voice and the emphasis given to words and phrases. In a way, I think he is probably right. I should record more audio journals, but I do find it a hell of a lot easier to type and I am constantly frustrated at not having enough quiet time for me to record them. I do find I have to be alone when I record them, but even then I seem to recall only the things that are in the forefront of my mind at the time. There are a great many spaces where I'm literally thinking of things that have happened recently or those things that are causing me stress or anxiety, as is often the case nowadays. I will certainly try to maintain regular recordings though I suspect that I will only be able to commit to them weekly.

I am often compelled to write when I become angered or frustrated by something. Normally it is a company or organisation, and more often than not, they have done me a dis-service or are demanding money. In this case, it is NPower and they have done both. We had an arrangement with them by which we would pay £167 a month for our electricity. We have only electricity here, no gas. Although a little higher than average, we were happily paying this. How shocked was I then to receive a bill from them asking for DOUBLE the £167 we had been paying and rather than asking if this is OK, they proceeded to take said sum of money from our bank account. This in effect emptied it and removed any possibility of me paying back the £255 I owe Lincolnshire NHS in respect of overpaid expenses. It is looking as if this will be the amount they will be asking for monthly, and there is simply no way we are able to afford it.
Rather than calling them today, my wife has taken the wise decision to put it off until tomorrow afternoon. I will be sending a strong letter of complaint and we have decided to cancel the direct debit arrangement we have seeing as they cannot be trusted to take only the agreed amount.
I suspect we are not the only ones struggling to pay their electric or gas bills. The media remind us of how more and more families up and down the country are slipping into 'fuel poverty'. I suspect we can now be counted among them.

As I write this, I see on my Twitter feed that Jessops has become the latest high street name to fall into administration. It is a shame of course but given the effect of digital technology over the last 10-15 years, it is no surprise that much of what they offered has become obsolete. In addition, the huge advances in technology have made photography something that anyone can do with ease. High quality cheap home printing has removed the need for large scale photo developing and forced die hard traditionalists into an expensive minority niche market. I am certainly one that laments the loss of traditional photography but I accept that technology is progressive and digital photography has brought with it huge benefits and advancements. The Internet has developed hand in hand with digital cameras providing a seamless connection between the medium and its audience. Indeed there are digital cameras which are now capable of wireless printing and of posting directly to Twitter and Facebook.
I suppose I am surprised Jessops have lasted this long, but I will always remember them for their friendly and knowledgeable staff, coupled with their ability to provide me with Ilford 400 ASA film, which I used during my brief venture into monochrome photography.

I mentioned previously that I would apply to be a writer for the Mass Observation project. Well this I did a couple of hours ago. I believe one of the topics currently is memories of photography, which is pretty apt given current events.
I did also apply to Silver Training to become a computer skills tutor. They emailed back an hour or two later stating that although I have the skills and knowledge to become a tutor, they do not currently operate in this area. They are keeping my details should this change. Worth a try I suppose.

A Foggy Hunstanton

Today we took a trip to Hunstanton so that Polly our dog could have a good run around. She loves it down there on the beach and I'm rather fond of the place also. My favourite poet John Betjeman had a fondness for it also. Such a shame that it was shrouded in thick fog. In fact, the journey there and back was in thick fog.

An incessant northerly wind soon made my face numb and as we reached the cliffs and rocks, we turned around so the wind was behind us. Thankfully I had thought to take my scarf and wear a fleece.
Despite the inclement weather, there were quite a few people on the beach, most of them walking their dogs. It's that time of year when dogs are allowed on the beach - out of season - so we tend to make the most of it while we can.
With the wind behind us, we continued to walk to where the lifeboat and beach huts are. In all the years I've lived here, and in my visits to Hunstanton, I had not actually been to this part of the beach and wouldn't have known it existed until my wife had pointed it out.

There's even a place to sit down and enjoy a cup of tea and a snack. I imagine it is bustling during the summer months, but the fog today did lend itself rather well to giving the place a closed in feeling.
As we walked back along the sand dunes towards the main car park, we passed the little village of beach huts and I felt quite envious of their owners, imagining how useful it would be to own one and use it as a shelter and a place to get changed on hot summer days.

A visit to Hunstanton isn't complete without fish and chips and this time, we tried out a new place my in-laws had spoken highly of. It's a little way up into the town and it was a job to find somewhere to park. We each had cod and chips and a drink and I was shocked to find it costing £19! Either I'm out of touch or prices have gotten ridiculous in the last few years. Despite the cost, they were delicious and being served in a strong box ensured I didn't end up with a lap full of chips, as is the norm on occasions such as these.

The drive back home via King's Lynn for fuel was taken a little more gingerly given the weather conditions and I found myself having to flash other motorists every few minutes for failing to use their lights. I don't know what it is with some people. Surely, the automatic instinct when seeing fog is to turn on your car lights. It seems common sense isn't that common after all.
My Moodscope rating today is 71%, pretty good.

Meeting Coco

A return to normal today with a Group meeting where we met 'Coco' for the first time. Coco is a Chiwawa puppy, just a few weeks old and belongs to my very dear friends and Godparents to my son.

She is simply adorable and the smallest dog I've seen. It was clear that the Group members were very taken with her and in no time she had become the focus of their attention. My son particularly enjoyed meeting her and thoroughly enjoyed his time with the Group today.

On my drive back home from the Group, I was struck by the number of potholes that have appeared between Long Sutton and Spalding. Some of them could do real damage if driven over and it is very clear to me that our roads locally are in need of urgent attention. So come on South Holland District Council... do something before these potholes cause an accident.

I bought a couple of rather nice books today. My library was having a book sale and many of the titles appeared to be new and unread. I managed to procure a book cataloguing every recorded UFO sighting and another on the subject of countryside railways, containing some wonderful photos of trains in various locations around the UK. Both books were just 60p each, which I thought to be a bargain.

2012 was officially the second wettest year on record. I can't say I'm surprised given the amount of rain we had since April when the hosepipe bans begun to be lifted. Today has been the first dry day we've had in weeks and we're not due any more significant rainfall for the foreseeable future. Despite this, it is very mild - unusually so for early January and I wonder if we will see any real Winter weather before Spring arrives. With our weather becoming more and more unpredictable, it's difficult to say what will happen but we are being told by those in the know to expect more severe weather and prepare for further flooding. Let's hope it is short lived.

Hello to 2013

A good start to the New Year. We had a Group meeting this morning and though only a handful turned-up, it was very pleasant and for the first time we provided bacon rolls. I'd be aching to use the cooking facilities at our community centre venue and relishes the opportunity to play chef for the morning.

I'm typing this having just had dinner and two thirds of a bottle of Chilean red wine. I'm not drunk, just pleasantly tipsy. I hope everyone had had a good start to the New Year. Judging by the roads today, many opted to stay at home and take advantage of a long lay-in. I can't say I blame them.

Whoever you are and wherever you live, I wish you a very happy, peaceful and prosperous New Year.