Summer seems to have returned, as it often does in time for schools reopening. Blue sky and sunshine made for a very pleasant run round the village this morning.
Later in the morning I set off for Uppermill, looking for a toyshop. The two smallest grandchildren have birthdays within a week of each other very shortly and I needed to get organised. Unusually I have ended up with very gender-stereotyped presents. The almost 5 year old has had her eye on a particular doll for a while now and the almost 2 year old is at that stage when anything with wheels is going to be pleasing. I found a wooden tractor and trailer, pleasing to the adults as well as to the small boy. In fact most of the little girls in the family (some of whom are now quite grown up) have gone through the same phase when anything with wheels was very pleasing! So we are managing not to do too much gender stereotyping.
Having dealt with the toyshop, I hopped on a bus to go and say hello to granddaughter number 1, currently on her own (apart from her menagerie) as her housemate has gone on holiday with her parents for a couple of weeks. Said parents have left their guinea pigs with our granddaughter. This may not be a bad exchange as they are marginally less messy. Our granddaughter is stuck at home with her convalescent dog, counting the days until she can take her out for walks again and maybe even come and visit us.
Out on the wider world, in addition to everything else that is going on, Britain is apparently facing a bit of a pig crisis. This is largely another consequence of the shortage of lorry drivers but also because of a shortage of workers at abattoirs and meat-processing plants. As many as 70,000 pigs should already have been slaughtered but are stranded on UK farms, incurring feeding costs for the farmers who own them. Large pigs can grow by up to a kilo a day - a growing problem then. Pigs are intelligent animals; I wonder if they know they have been given a bit of a reprieve.
No doubt someone will find a solution soon.
There are still people suggesting we should encourage EU citizens to come and work here temporarily. Hmmm! I wonder where that idea came from!
I was reading about Fran Liebowitz, the 70 year old writer who has seemingly had writer’s block for decades, something she attributes partly to laziness. She is one of the few people I have heard who have nothing to do with modern technology - no computer, no wifi, no mobile phone, although I understand she does appear on chat shows. So she must accept television.she relies on friends if she absolutely has to make use of it. A rare and unusual lady who does things her own way.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone.
No comments:
Post a Comment