Father's Day

It’s funny how sometimes you don’t miss something until it’s gone. Father’s Day used to be a list-minute chore of seeking out a card and an ill-gotten last-minute gift; often bought on the day while I’m at work or staggered out after a heavy Saturday evening out. We never really did anything or went anywhere for it; probably because my old man never did. Now it’s just another day. It’s hard to think it should be a day to commemorate and remember because we have too many other days for that and we need to get on with our own lives. Now there’s just an unwritten card in a drawer which will probably stay there until the end of time, unless someone’s desperate for it. But there is a way forward, and that’s for me to become a father and make it my day. It’s time to create new memories.

Unlike the Licensee

I’ve decided to boycott future visits to a certain pub. I’ve seen the licensee both in and out of his pub; and I’ve also seen his dark side and how mad he can get. The staff that he organises at his festivals always seem to be people that he’s roped in at the last minute and they’re not generally employees. His beer lacks a certain condition too -it’s as if it’s still settling. I’m amazed that he’s kept his award-winning title this year. Still, it must have a good loyal, local following. I only tend to visit when there’s a festival on and it’s very rare that I pop in as I’m passing. I’m also not impressed with the bottles that I’ve bought from his beer shop. I spent over £50 on bottles that were over a fiver each and when I got home I noticed that some of the foreign ones were past their sell-by date. He used to visit out events and crawls but he doesn’t any more. So I’m going to return the favour.

A Bodged Box

Photobooks are the new thing. Why pay for your photos to be printed and buy an album to put them in when you can just get them printed directly into a book? After all, there’s no lucky dip on the reel any more; you can simply choose which ones you want. We found a website that did just that which just happened to have a half price offer on as well. Once we’d chosen the photos, the next step was to upload them. This took absolutely ages; and their online software didn’t seem to want to recognise some of the photos either. When we’d finished, we had difficulty in getting the software to display them in the order that we wanted; even when we’d re-numbered each file. The only way around it was to upload each file individually. Once we’d paid, we were told that there would be a week’s wait which turned out to be twelve days. At one point I began to question the value of a £4.99 delivery charge. But on the last day that we would tolerate a late delivery, it finally came. It’s not something that I’d like to go through again.  

Beer & Bookies

It’s not always a good idea to combine beer with the bookies, but people seem to make a great trade out of it. It certainly took us in. after a few beers we decided to pop into a local betting shop and have a flutter on the Grand National, since they would be showing it in the pub anyway. It was quite a clean and well-kept place, and we soon worked out the slip system. I’d decided to put a fiver on one horse with high odds to win. It was something that I could afford and it would let me join in the fun with a slight chance of a cash bonus at the end. One of my mates loved the idea of putting a bet each way, and chose four horses which cost him a total of £30 to place. We went back to the pub to watch the race. My horse didn’t win, and it took a while to figure out the results to work out whether my friend had won anything as we waded through his many betting slips.

A Walk on the Dark Side

“Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.”- George Addair.

It’s scary to think what the future will bring. Sure, there’s good stuff and things to look forward to. But there’s also the ‘what if things go wrong’ path. But sometimes that’s the risk that we’ve got to take. If you want it, then you’ve got to see it through and go and get it. You’ve got to convince yourself that it’s the right way despite the consequences, even if it means doing things that you’re not comfortable doing or would cause distress to others. It might be a big decision but sometimes you’ve got to venture into that unknown fork and do whatever it takes with the hope that things will turn out right for you. And of course, if you’ve planned to take that path or you can control its direction, then it will be a very smooth journey for you. And once you’ve conquered that path, the next one will be a lot easier.

Family Portrait

What’s going on here? I’m perfectly happy lying on the floor playing with all the things lying around. Suddenly, I’m being picked up and put on someone’s knee. Now I have to look across the room at someone. I hate that they talk to me in that high-pitched voice. How can I expect to understand them? They certainly won’t understand me. At least I’m a little higher so I can see the room better, an I’m on the same level as everyone else. Well. I’d better let them have their fun I suppose. I might even get something out of it. But look how small I am. I don’t like this. If I shut my eyes it’ll go away, but there’s still lots of strange noises around. There’s only one thing that I can do. make that noise. I don’t like it and I know they don’t either, but at least they’ll pay attention to me.

House of the Flies

I’m being haunted by flies. On Sunday evening I took a whack at a fly that was buzzing around the window. It was a hit in mid-air but he did lie still on the windowsill afterwards. I used a newspaper to scoop him up and I put his body in the wastepaper basket. Then on Monday I saw another fly sitting on the windowsill. So I scooped him up with the newspaper and put him in the wastepaper basket then I wondered if it was the same fly. He might have regained consciousness and decided for a second attempt at freedom. But a quick wiggle of the wastepaper basket clearly showed me two flies. Today there was another fly on the windowsill. I didn’t check the wastepaper basket this time but clearly something is going on. Have I killed the Queen of the fly hive and all her minions have come back to either mourn her or haunt me?