Blood Out of A Stone #dreamdiary 197

I’ve had to calla special meeting for our beer club. It’s to discuss some legal formalities which has to be observed by members who are higher up the table and I’ve had very little time to give any notice for it. Surprisingly, it’s very well attended and I see a lot of faces that I haven’t seen before. We get through the business very quickly which is in the upstairs board room of a fancy hotel. We all sit in a wooden panelled room and I start to wonder if people are only here because it’s a new venue for us and they’ve never had the opportunity to visit before. Some of the senior members have begun to question the work and commitment that I do in my role, but since this isn’t an election meeting they don’t have the authority to remove me from office. What they did do was to comment that the processes would all be changing next week and I would find out what was happening on Monday. But no-one would grant me any hints, and they also denied me the opportunity to address new attendees and to discuss regular events.

Eye on a Pie

At first glance, it looks like a pie. It’s neat enough, with all those different fillings. But it’s actually a loaf. How do they get the bread to rise around the mountain of fillings? The only other thing that I can think of is that they carefully scoop the loaf out to make it hollow and use the fillings for something else. Now that I’ve read the description again, it’s exactly what they’ve done. Surely it would be better in pastry? And it looks like it’s being served in a boardroom rather than a kitchen, with chap office furniture that may even be a classroom. Maybe it’s the boss’s lunch. Why haven’t I followed these people before? They’re just down the road from me! It’s either the prices that put me off or I’ve been loafing around too much. I hope that they still sell it. It sounds like it takes a lot of effort to create.

Startled by Starling

I got recommended this bank by a friend when I was travelling abroad to India and needed to solve a currency problem. As India doesn’t allow its rupees to be exported, we needed to use a card that wouldn’t charge for overseas fees and ATMs. The application process seemed hi-tech, secure, and a little fun since I had to upload ID documents as well as a current photograph. I also requested a card that arrived quite quickly. While we were away, using the card was easy and I got an instant notification of what we spent and also the cost in sterling. This came in handy since the phone transaction lines were quite unstable which declined a lot of cards and caused confusion as to whether the transaction cleared. The monthly interest rate was an unexpected bonus. However, this was unfortunately remove two months ago, the only notification being a message in the app which took a while to find once I realised it hadn’t been paid. I would have preferred an e-mail which would have reminded me to act. Sending a message to the customer service department was easy in the app, and I got a reply the same day. Now I have a savings account, though I did lose a month’s interest in the process.

Bouncing Around #habberleytrail 18

The next obstacle on our course was a simple maze constructed from chicken wire and metal fencing. The aisles were a little narrow which made it difficult to navigate if we came to a dead end and someone was behind you. Also attached to this was a wooden box for a small football pitch complete with goals at each end. You could have a good kickaround here, but you’d need a few people in your group to have a match. There were plenty of footballs though. After that, we came to another ball game in the form of basketball. Rather than a court, a cage was constructed to create a giant connect 4 game. Here too, there were lots of basketballs. People enjoyed trying to make the shot more than playing a strategic game, though some groups were trying to compete against each other. You did have to keep an eye out for little ones to ensure that they didn’t get hit by stray balls.

 

Gringo Grief #dreamdiary 196

I’m being chased through a desert in a white tuxedo. I approach a pyramid building which has four sides. Inside, there’s sections of stairs that interlope between each floor. I run up to the fifth floor where a lot of people are hanging about the corridors. There’s a man who’s grinning outside the bar who takes his cigar out of his mouth and blows smoke in my face. He starts snarling at me. He’s wearing a green hat and a tattered green and orange poncho. I take the cigar out of his hand and shove it through his throat as if it had a knife inside. I carry on into the bar quickly as if nothing has happened before anyone cottons onto my vengeful action. I walk past the bar and through a dark hole in the brick wall where a stairway leads down into a connecting building. Here, I have an apartment to hide away in.

Trump's Tarrifs

It’s hard to say what Trump’s tariffs will affect on our isle almost three thousand miles away. Many of us are just sick of hearing about them. All we do know is that some prices will increase, though on what no-one seems to know. It may be on their goods, or it may be anything involved with a manufacturing process involving the US. It might seem a great opportunity to increase the country’s wealth and power at the cost of everyone else, but it might also backfire if people can choose not to purchase these goods. It might even inspire manufacturing elsewhere which is better for everyone both locally and environmentally. And then there’s the people that we currently buy from. They will struggle as they’re forced to seek out alternative markets to replace their income. Is this the right way to go about it? It’s subtle while affecting what people care about most of all; their cashflow.

Preparing for Take-Off #habberleytrail 17

This is a giant version of a see-saw, or what I would call a proper teeter-toter. You’ve got to tip the scale to make it work, either by running back and forth or by jumping up and down. There is a bit of confusion over what to do or how to make it work at first. It feels a bit like boarding a plane as there’s a gateway to board. There’s also a bit of a thud as each side lands and you really have to hold on or topple over yourself. It can be a bit boring if you’re just standing there and holding on. You have to be careful if there’s little ones about and go at a slower speed. Luckily, the bottom is fenced off so that curious minds can’t be crushed though there’s nothing to stop you from jumping over the platform if you really wanted to.