nice things

Today at the end of the day we went to a beach.

A quiet local beach, now, we had no idea what was to follow.

Little angel was there to take up his excess energy of which of course he had loads.

I started to wonder when I saw how he treated the sea.

Had he really not been to a beach and run into the sea  before?
 
Imagine the magic of going into the sea for the first time, experiencing waves crashing in.

The little angel has been really hard work but watching him do that was pure pleasure.

Where he could be, not where he is. 

He might yet trash the place apart tonight.

But we have done good for him I hope.

He will be gone tomorrow, everyone is little angeled out.

R




 

Big Society

I think people should be careful what they wish for.

If you call for a "big society" when your core values are individualism and greed, you should not be surprised when you get one.

I am not condoning in any way what has gone on in London et al. But it must be said that these people who seem to be the non engaged in society are simply helping themselves to what they cannot afford in places that will not employ them.

Some German chap once said something about a class in itself becoming a class for itself.

We've been here before Brixam Toxteth  and other places, it wasn't neoliberalism that sorted that one and ultimately sending more and more of the Police we are making redundant or the army we no longer have to quell the disorder can not be shown to have worked when we look at history. A heavy hand only expands discord. We have to be clever in how this is managed - looking at our leaders - there is no hope....

R

It never rains but...

Oh the all action mornings...

With laddo in Daycastle for the weekend the dramas continued. The students mum has had a stroke and been rushed to hospital.

I don't have a good feeling about this. There were a series of parties planned for her hundredth too, all looks uncertain.

We were planning a trip out with the kids, a week or two in Brittany once laddo has been moved in the next week or so.  Everything goes on hold.

R

Even more blue things.

Today we went for even more blue.

We all got into the blue Plugeot and went off to the Bluestone place in the south of the county.

I am breaking a rule in naming somewhere but, having been the once and seen I think it's a model of sustainable tourism. I could see us taking the kids there when they were young and having a whale of a time.

Today was also whale, it was an evening in their water adventure centre which is a pool that has a huge current whirling people round and out through a channel and a big water slidey thing and a wave machine.

Now I might well have loved this had it just been me and the canoe. I reckon when the wave machine was on I could have surfed straight out of the pool and pogged a hole in the dressing room wall.

However it wasn't just me, the place was packed with people who were either clinically beyond obese or totally covered in tattoos which looked they had been done by someone who was very very drunk, except for those who were both


And that was just the children..


R

white van man - in blue.

I have always been a van person, from age about 20 when I bought an old ambulance to latterly with BOGOF the riot van. For me the bigger vehicle has been really useful in addition of course to cars and motorbikes and trucks and well lots of things.

Doing festivals and taking bands on tour have all been facilitated by me owning a van as well as a small removals service before such a thing became fashionable.

I've felt a bit naked with nothing non car sized on the fleet, the caravan is OK for festivals but dragging it round is a right old faff. Of course we don't have a caravan any more courtesy of the little angel.

The student floated the idea of a van small enough not to get penalised on the ferry for size, it would need fridge and cooker and bed. It would not need to be able to carry lots of people, the kids are moving on, a small drive away awning would cover all our additional needs.

We had sort of looked at camper vans a while back but gave up on the idea when we saw what sort of money they went for. Actually the student really wanted something nice for us for once rather than a riot van converted, she was fed up of make do and mend, she wanted something tidy and proper.

So when we saw the kind of money something decent went for she baulked at the price but I could feel she still wanted one.

This I took as a mission, so I sat and bided my time. Yesterday we drove half way across the country and picked up a VW T4 van, the student was initially angry, we had of course discussed this and decided not to buy.

How things can change, she has been seen and been driven in the new van. She absolutely loves it and she has been seen with road maps open looking at routes to Venice..

Peace and quiet

It's really odd. A couple of weeks of the young man and now the house is silent.

Everyone is so chilled and relaxed. Management is having an early night.

There is wine in the fridge, iplayer is on the laptop.

Sounds a good plan to me.

Now there's a funny thing.....

So the tender for his next move closed on Monday Naturally the SW was straight on the phone to keep us in the loop. Errrrr no.

The where and when of his move is still shrouded in mystery.

The man himself has come off his medication and there has been a significant improvement in his behaviour. The medically qualified nurse thinks this is a really good idea, our fostering social worker is horrified. There could be trouble ahead.

I wrote that yesterday, his behaviour from Sunday to today has been exemplary.

A real success story for him, shame he spent this evening in the company of the local constabulary.

His mum wants him home for the weekend, I dare say that might be extended a bit.

R