Walshing it all Down

Tall and thin, he’s the proper wimp with the cheeky grin and thin wire-framed glasses, blond hair and a large quiff. His expensive smartwatch looks a little bog on his wrist. He’s always to back you up in everything that you say or do, and he’s willing to learn from others as well. He just wants to be on everyone’s side without any conflict. He dresses in thin summer clothes and trainers, occasionally with a jacket if it’s cold. He’s happy to rope the family in to give him the perfect background so that you can get a ride home if you’ve given one previously. He’s never one to take advantage of people. And now he’s found a cute little love nest in the next village with the occasional adventure into the countryside when time lets him. Meanwhile his new employer is just a walk away across a field so long as the company keeps him on furlough.

Berking around Berkeley

The second time round was much more fun, though my friend was convinced that the curators were following him around to make sure that he was behaving. I don’t blame them with all that silverware out on show. We particularly admired the sideboard which had carved heads for doorknobs and was decorated with erotica. The Grand Hall was being used to showcase an exhibition of Strictly Come Dancing costumes; which I thought was a shame as we weren’t free to explore the hall in its original state. In the grounds, we posed on top of various cannons and wandered around the gardens admiring the lilies in the reflecting pool. After exploring the small butterfly house, we had a wander around the gardens identifying the home-grown herbs, plants and vegetables and took a delightful tea in the giant yurt. Then we popped into the village to browse the shops and pick something up for tea. After popping outside for a debate, we settled on a stew.

It takes two to Tangle #dreamdiary 104

There’s a teenage girl in the house. She’s small for her age and skinny and flat-chested, but she’s got lovely legs that go into a miniskirt. Her ambition seems to be a mother so that she can live off benefits and hang out with her friends all the time. I’m trying to get her into a career; but her party lifestyle doesn’t exactly make her employable. She tells me that she’s recently had a miscarriage. To cheer her up, I decide to take her for a drive and take her purse-type dog for a walk. I leave them in a park and pop into a shop for some water just as it’s closing. I’m unable to get served and I’m followed out by two annoying tots. I twist their wrist a little bit and they follow me out of the store. When I get back to the park a crowd gathers as a pair of lizards are mating in a field. We head back to the car but the lizards follow us. When I open the boot for the dog, the lizards are the first to jump in. We can’t get them out but it’s cold, so we climb in the car anyway and I start the engine to get us warm. The teenage girl starts to drive and takes the car into a cul-de-sac and hits an old Peugeot which slams into the wall of a house. The occupant comes out and I write down my name and address for him on a tax form.

Castle Capers

With a bit of intermittent weather abound, there was a bit of a debate as to where to visit the following day. Eventually we settled on Berkeley Castle as where better would there be to take shelter? It was a bit expensive but we made sure to get our money’s worth. On arrival we discovered that a free guided tour was to take place; so we spent some time wandering the grounds and taking some scenic shots before returning to the departure point. After watching a welcome video, we discovered that our tour group was to be a party of four led by a lovely lady who was dressed for the part of librarian. We particularly enjoyed the cellar where a local microbrewery leaves its casks to age, and the refurbishment of the kitchen when a film crew came to call. The castle’s well and dungeon was also very impressive. After the tour we decided to walk round at our own pace to revisit in more detail and to pose for photographs. 

Animal of the Day

Alexa informs me that today’s Animal is the magpie and that it’s a member of the corvid family (but hopefully more than one step away from the covid family). She also tells me that it’s an urban legend that they collect shiny things. So where foes this urban myth come from? Perhaps it’s an excuse for maids to blame who have lost their rings or want to break off their engagement but don’t want to admit it.  And more importantly, who gets to decide the animal of the day and which facts accompany it? I wonder if it’s random and if it’s different from other people’s devices? It’s probably taken from an encyclopaedia, and there may be editorship involved as well. That would be a fun job. Let’s make tomorrow’s animal a penguin and buy some shares in the zoo as it’ll be sending subliminal messages for people to visit over the weekend.

Foundation's Edge by Issac Asimov

Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the most enjoyable book of the series so far, probably because it’s more of a tale of people actually travelling out to visit planets that they’d never been to before rather than comments of an assumed knowledge that we lack; and Pelorat was just what we needed. It’s still all confusing because of all the parallels; but the characters are easier to follow as their backgrounds are described in more detail. From the beginning I was on my guard as I fully expected any character to announce that they were an agent of another at any time. It was also a shame that we weren’t actually told what Seldon said during his appearance in the chamber; although the free-thinking in this book suggests that people would prefer to follow their own fate rather than one set out for them. I thought that Asimov should have built some anticipation when he revealed the location of the Second Foundation rather than the anti-climatic method that he did employ. I felt that it was too early and it meant that the reader already knew that some of the characters were being sent on a wild goose chase. But there were still many comic moments. Trevize seemed insistent to illustrate his background by proudly wearing a sash wherever he went. I was excited to meet the saga’s first lowly mechanoid and stumble upon the reason as to why robots hadn’t arrived sooner. And I loved the attitude of Bliss. It really introduced some much-needed humour into the saga. It will be interesting to see if the Foundationers are still keen to follow their future as they discover more about their past.

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Stop Pregnant Women from being Infected with Covid 19

This was a petition that was sent to me on Twitter. It just doesn’t make sense. How can you stop pregnant women from getting Covid-19? Gathering a bunch of signatures isn’t going to make a law to discourage people from doing it. So what is good Ernest suggesting? Luckily, it’s nothing to do with the anti-vaxers. Instead, he’s campaigning for better protection for pregnant women. And fair play to him. But there’s a difference between what the individual want to do and what the law tells us to do. If the government could have it their way then everyone would be at home and we’d all just have to shelter. It would be like Christmas every day. The trouble is that the average home isn’t equipped to survive that long without supplies, and some people must be deployed to maintain our infrastructure too. It’s therefore up to the individual as to whether they should take the risk. Sorry Ernest, but we can’t molly-cuddle everyone and people do have the right to make decisions for themselves.