WTF

Quick round up from the Land of Crazy:

1. The NHS got privatised, apparently without anyone noticing and certainly without any of the major news organisations *cough BBC cough* bothering to report it. This is a huge, huge deal and it means that something has gone incredibly, unbelievably wrong right at the centre of government. I can’t even blame only the Tories, it’s a cross-party fail of such epic proportions that I literally don’t even know where to begin. How did this happen? How? It is such a sickening piece of work that I’d have to invent an entire new vocabulary before I could find sufficient terms of vilification for those responsible.

2. The budget dropped the 50p tax rate for the nauseatingly wealthy. The rich playing nice with the rich, no surprise there. On the same day as the budget was announced, and allegedly as a direct result, Smith Glaxo Kline announced new investment in the UK. Yeah, because international corporations make quick decisions like that without months of negotiation direct with government and generous back handers being paid. And if you believe that, I have this really big clock I can sell you.

3. The government warned of possible fuel shortages if there’s a hauliers’ strike. Which there isn’t, but there might be. This led directly to panic buying and so became a self-fulfilling prophecy. There is now a fuel shortage.

4. George Galloways romps home as in independent candidate in the Bradford West by-election, stealing a safe Labour seat by some 10,000 votes. You know why? Because Tory and Labour parties are both failing. Because the Lib Dems are a voiceless spent force. Because, despite the fact that the country cannot, simply cannot be left in the hands of the people currently in charge, there is no viable alternative. None.

5. And with all this going, major news outlets *cough BBC cough* are concentrating on reporting on the increased price of a pasty.

We get the government we deserve, we get the media we deserve, and if the two are hand in glove, it’s because no one is paying enough attention. Is anyone else feeling guilty round about now? Because I am. Guilty for not being interested; guilty for thinking that the grown ups would fix things. Guilty (and stupid) for thinking that elected MPs might know what the fuck they’re on about and make informed decisions.

In the areas of my life where I directly encounter layers of management inhabited by people who are supposed to know more than I do, I wait for them to walk the walk before giving them any respect. The result is that I don’t have a lot of respect for anyone in management. I should have extended that lesson years ago, but I wasn’t paying attention. I got the government I deserved.

Time out

You guys, I am giddy with joy because I have Two. Days. Off. Work. Two. Thursday, Friday. Count ’em. Two. And you know what that makes? A four-day weekend. Hell to the yes! And also, it’s Easter next weekend, and you know what that means? A four-day weekend. Hell to the yes with a cherry on top and side order of awesome!

So what will I do with all those glorious hours of freedom, you ask? ‘Cos you know, usually my idea of a good time is hanging out on the sofa with a river of tea, a mountain of books and an Everest of biscuits. But not this time, no indeedy. I have plans. Actual leaving-the-house plans. In fact, actual-leaving-the-city plans. I know! Get me, it’s as though I had a proper life or something.

Tomorrow being Thursday (and therefore Day 1 of my four-day weekend), I will be doing a bit of lounging around followed by going to my sister’s studio for a mother+daughter+daughter makeover and photo shoot. Ok, so that’s not exactly fun, it’s more of a dutiful (and very cheap) Mother’s Day present but the big win is It’s Not Work. Also, despite the fact that I have a hate-hate relationship with cameras, I’m kind of intrigued by the whole makeover idea and the prospect of looking like someone else entirely.

Anyway, once that is out of the way I will do some baking of the lemon-scented variety, because I’m making dessert to take to my friend S’s house for dinner. Socialising! Eating dinner that is not cheese, biscuits and apple, while simultaneously reading and fending off kittens! The excitement may be too much for me.

On Friday (which is Day Two of my four-day weekend), I have a haircut booked for some ungodly hour, but that’s ok because then I’m going down to London. And not just for the day, oh noes, I am staying away overnight in London! That’s where the out-of-Oxfordness comes in. My itinerary isn’t planned in detail because I want room to change at a whim, but I’m thinking latest Hockney exhibition at the RA on Friday afternoon; I have a ticket for Roseanne Cash on Friday night; and on Saturday (Day Three of my four-day weekend) a tour of bookshops: Persephone, Slightly Foxed and LRB are all on the cards. And then I will probably have to come home before the spending of money goes to my head and I carry on shopping and have to sell a kidney to pay for it.

But that’s ok, because then I get to be in the cottage with a fire and the kittens and a mountain of New Books and a bottle of wine and there will still be a whole day of weekend left. Heaven.

Blogspot blues

Dear anyone with a blog on Blogspot

Blogspot is having one of those tantrums where it doesn’t let me comment, cunningly refusing to accept that I’ve entered the Captcha words correctly, no matter how many times I try. I’ll be back round commenting when I can, but in the meantime:

ZM – Love that photo of baby Zoe with the electrocuted hair!

Tracie – Thanks for playing along with the meme, and good answers. Sorry for all the literary questions, it’s because I don’t know about anything other than books.

Emily – No, you see, Oedipus had to go to Thebes, it’s impossible to avoid one’s fate. There is no way that he couldn’t have gone. Antigone is my favourite of the Theban plays, though, such an interesting study in duty and power. Also, thanks for answering my questions, and I think I agree with you about clothing you have to tape yourself into.