Not too young, not too old Have a happy birthday today Comfortable in this solid, good age Time moves only one way While all around are obsessed With things that matter not How can these golden years Be the only gold we’ve got?
Similar to yesterday. Heavy eyes but body set to go. Waiting for my brain to catch up. Coffee and kids will do the trick.
The kids will be disappointed this morning as the playground is closed as another one of the sails covering the roof has ripped and fallen down in the storm yesterday afternoon. I wonder when they will decide to give up on this design and put in something more practical instead.
Today I’m grateful for:
Being able to watch Seven Kings Must Die via a dodgy Thai gambling website on our big TV tonight. It took me a while to get back into the story from the TV series (The Last Kingdom) but I enjoyed it a lot.
The best thing about today was:
Getting home, hungry as hell and Amy said ‘ok, I’ll cook now’ and the smells from the kitchen that I haven’t smelled for a long time. It’s the best! My microwave TV dinners are no comparison.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
It took me about half an hour to watch a five-minute video this afternoon because Amy kept talking to me, asking questions that required attention. When I felt confident that she’d finished I jokingly asked her if it was possible that I might be able to finish watching this five-minute video that I started watching thirty minutes ago? Thankfully she was in a good mood!
Something I learned today?
The phrase ‘taking the mick’ came from cockney rhyming slang. Mick is Mickey Bliss hence ‘taking the piss’. But now I’m wondering who was Mickey Bliss and where did ‘taking the piss’ even come from?
I was actually conscious of learning this while reading it hence writing it here. I love language play.
What is a cause or issue that is important to me?
Increasingly it is education as this is my field of employment.
Over the long term, it is animal welfare and food use. Slowly the world is changing and the abuse of animals for food consumption will hopefully keep decreasing and instead of wasting crops to feed animals, we can just remove that part of the chain and use those crops to feed other humans.
Increasing production and consumption will bring down prices of vegetarian products and drive up meat prices so they become less affordable and desirable. There are still lots of things holding back this change but it feels to me to be the most virtuous way.
Whilst this issue is important to me, I’m not evangelical about it. I do what I can by myself. Other people’s choices are out of my control.
I took this picture because this is how I found my students when I came to the classroom. I woke them up with my phone alarm and greeted them good morning. I’m curious what schools are like in other countries now. South America, the Middle East, and other parts of Asia.
Looking back over poems I wrote in the past, I realise what a catharsis they provided and thought it a good idea to try and get back into the swing of it. I needed to make a small statement (and a trial).
Start Again
How long, how many years? Pen on paper held no fears Laziness, time, other things The good and bad that it brings
So back to it, start again New book and brand new pen Conscious to make the time To find that special word to rhyme
Throw emotions out in words From realistic to absurd My own form of meditation To re-read all my own creation
I am so happy and grateful to discover the Oasis vegetarian restaurant in the city. Dylan took me there yesterday. They have a wide range of delicious fake meat and vegetable dishes. I’ll keep going back if Amy doesn’t cook me lunch.
This morning, I got up a little earlier so that I could do my 5 minutes of exercise and start getting back into some good habits again, and I think it really helped set me up for a positive and happy day.
I’ve started sketching again when I go for my coffee and also want to start writing more poems too. The one I wrote today may be the first one I’ve written in, I don’t know, two decades or more! I used to look out for interesting phrases I would come across and use them as a basis. I came across a cool phrase today in some article I was reading and jotted it down. I hope to keep inspiring myself in different ways whenever I can.
Things are good today. George even looked me in the eye when he was talking to me today. Even that small change made me feel good.
I went to visit Bruno and Nut after lunch, and we talked mostly about his garden exploits – he’s really into it, which is cool – it’s great to see his enthusiasm for it. It inspires me in that direction, too, but I am still a little lazy when I get home from work. Or, more accurately, I prioritise other things instead.
You’ve been one year living your beliefs But now you think that you didn’t achieve So now you are back to eating meat You know that’s easy, what a relief …..for you
So you stuff your face with broken flesh Now you’re a good boy, do as mummy says Ghosts of victims screaming, watching you eat “What about the starving? Don’t they eat meat?”
“Well, it’s a boring diet, just potato and pizza” While a grain of rice is all some get to eat “Bollocks to belief, that won’t help me live I can’t help that much, I’ve got nothing to give”
One by one, the pressure can increase If we stick together and live our beliefs “Well, of course, it’s horrible but I really need meat” But how can you forget those unable to eat
Why should I care? Why should I cry? I don’t want to see a starving child die …..for you
You call me veggie cos I don’t eat meat So I can call you animal cos you think it’s a treat Blood is pouring off your sterilised plate But you can never sterilise my hate You animal Meat means murder So what if you’ve heard it before You never thought twice Cos you don’t listen anymore
29th June 2023 – I was a staunch inarticulate vegetarian at this time. In small-town England alternative views were a battleground and expressing anything like this could see you vilified or beaten. I’m not militant about eating a vegetarian diet these days and slowly more people are conscious of the suffering their own lifestyles bring to other beings. Do what you can.
Save the whale in the sea of blood Save the whale in the sea of blood A new handbag, a new rubber Stop the murderers good and proper Save the whale in the sea of blood Save the whale in the sea of blood
2nd June 2023 – By 1984 I had already been vegetarian for two years and inspired by lyrics and information from Crass, Flux of Pink Indians, Subhumans etc I dove into animal rights. One of the first places I would go to in Poole on Saturdays was a stall just outside the mall that always had stacks of provocative information. The things I saw there made me mad. I don’t know how much of an impact the pro-animal rights movement has had in current times but I am still anti-testing on animals for anything cosmetic. Surely by now, we don’t need to test further for things like shampoo. When it comes to cures for life-threatening diseases and viruses though I am in reluctant support. I started eating fish and some seafood again in 1998 though not all that often back then and I have been a pescatarian since – 41 years in total so far. In the 80s it was still seen as radical to be vegetarian and I could list off plenty of reasons to become one, especially as I was asked why anytime it came up. It made me mad that I would have to justify it. These days not many people are surprised at anyone being vegetarian and if anyone does ask me why I just say ‘all the reasons.’ The phrase Save The Whale was a popular slogan inspired by the Japanese slaughter of whales for ‘science’ as they liked people to believe but when I hear the term now all I can think about is the titular Cheech and Chong song, “Save the whale, yeah save the whale, ooooo save the whale, but kill the seals!” Damn, I haven’t seen a Cheech and Chong movie in a long time!
6th February 1984 Knackered. Physics was alright. Maths was totally shit. Lunchtime was boring. I was depressed by now. Social Studies made it worse. As did H.E. Bus home was alright. Hill Street Blues was good – cheer me up. Chucked Andy out of the group.
7th February 1984 R.E. – no teacher. P.S.C.E. – Jim’s shit. Maths – shit. B. Studies – shit. English – good, right piss around. P.E. – basketball – quite a laugh. Told Simon about Andy – no practice Sunday. Grange Hill was good. Went out on bike, down the road and round about. Looks like a good film on later ‘Visions of Death’. Football on instead.
8th February 1984 H.E. – made some bread. Physics – did a mock practical – quite good. Spent 80p on sweets. R.E. was ok. English was ok. B. Studies was boring. Maths was shit. Went out on my ped again. Didn’t do much else really at all at all at all at all at all….
9th February 1984 Art – Ok. P.E. – slaughtered Chesh at badminton. Social Studies – not bad. Business Studies – cut my thumb on a typewriter. English – ok. Fuck all to do at home at the moment. Reading Paul’s fanzine at the mo’. Ped just ran out of petrol or something.
10th February 1984 Did my English exam today – don’t think I did too well. English was a laugh. About 30 of us got caught smoking today. Burdet was lippy to Brooke and has got to see Crud. H.E. – boring. Maths – shit. Played football at lunch – good laugh. Art was ok. Business Studies was ok. Physics was alright. Jim’s decided to go vegetarian. Quite an eventful day so far. Watching telly now – well, there’s not much else to do.
11th February 1984 Got up at 8.15. Went to Poole. Saw Burd. Saw Lisa, Justin etc. Got some vivisection posters. Bought DOA LP. Met Paul around 3.20 and didn’t do much. Went to Arts Centre with Fish, Gilly and Paul. Quite a laugh. Came back home – played records, watched telly. Watched the horror movie – was fuckin’ shit. Talked til about 2.30.
12th February 1984 Woke up 10.30. Played records. Played darts and cards with Paul. Didn’t do a lot. Took dog for a walk. Took Paul back to Wareham. Not a lot on telly tonight. Read book most of the night. Couldn’t stay up for Sgt Bilko.
1994ever 