Hello blog, my old friend - I've come to talk to you again ...
Well, it's been a while - I signed up for this thing ages ago and never got started on it properly, but reading a couple of regular blogs has inspired me to start it up again. Writing is one of the things that I would like to do more of (along with exercise) and writing a few words every day seems like a good place to start. I have been meaning to write some game reviews for ugvm magazine, but haven't found the necessary circular tuit to actually do them yet. Perhaps if I have to give an account of my progress here I will be shamed into getting them done? On the other hand, it could be like my timesheets for work which are largely, errm, fictional - a frightening portion of my working day is spent staring into space before I actually knuckle down and do what I am supposed to at the last possible minute.
Anyhoo, there are two things to recount today.
This morning, I fell off the wagon of vegetarianism after nearly twenty years and succumbed to a bacon sarnie. Jan cooks bacon on a Sunday morning for the kids and after resisting for several years I gave in and ate one. It was flipping gorgeous. I felt slightly guilty afterwoods, and wondered why. I'm not really an ethical vegetarian or a particularly health conscious one - it's more of a habit, and a matter of taste I suppose. I'll have to find a source of free range happy bacon and eat that.
At teatime we all went for a walk in the woods with Barney the dog. It's fabulous in Foxfield Spring woods at the moment - the bluebells form a shimmering purple carpet with lime green tree shoots poking through. The bird song is a surround sound treat, particularly first thing in the morning. There is a woodpecker in residence at the top end of the woods and it's knocking sounds exactly like the noise that the Predator makes in the eponymous films and video games.
Anyhoo, Barney is a nervous dog, and not particularly well trained. He stays on the lead when we are out and I reel him in to keep him under control when other dogs are around. He came from the RSPCA and we don't really know what sort of experiences he has had. Just as we were at the entrance to the woods a medium sized brown whippet ran up and started nipping at Barney. It didn't have a collar on and there was no sign of the owner, until a fifty something woman came round the corner shortly after.
"Is this your dog?" I asked "Only, it should have a collar on and be under control"
"It's a whippet - it has a harness, not a collar and anyway it's your dog that's not under control"
She then proceeded to have a go at me for being a newcomer to the area "I've lived here 38 years and I've never seen you before" (when I've walked twice a day in those woods for the last three and a half years), and how ridiculous it was that I should have my dog on a lead and that it was somehow my fault for her dog being out of control.
The icing on the cake, as it were, was the shit on the path.
The dog settled down for a nice leisurely dump in the middle of the path, as it's rude and obnoxious owner walked away.
I couldn't help myself - "Excuse me, your dog has just defecated on the path!" I shouted in my best, plummy, outraged middle class voice. Cue much hilarity from my family, as Jan escorted me away and got me to calm down a little.