How to improve life!

It’s that time of year when people make plans for improving their lives, laughingly called “resolutions”. I’ve always found them more annoying than useful but here’s a link to some advice on improving your life. 

Number 8  advises: Send a voice note instead of a text; they sound like personal mini podcasts.

I would like my friends to ignore that one as I usually get so annoyed trying to access voicemail that I give up on it.  

And number 12 oddly advises: Sharpen your knives.

I can only hope that is for use in the kitchen and not out and about on the streets. 

Number 66 says: Don’t save things for “best”. Wear them – enjoy them.

I had just decided that there was no point having clothes in the wardrobe “to go out in”; you might as well wear them to stay at home in if you’re hard.y going anywhere. Cheer your life up!

Then there’s matter of the exercise. According to a chap called Max Sharp who runs a gym

“Just before the first lockdown gym membership across the country was at about 15%. That’s the highest it’s ever been. Then Lockdown One happened and there was a wave of enthusiasm with everyone running around, doing exercise videos at home, and getting outside for that one precious walk a day we were allowed. In Lockdown Two that exercise effect was less pronounced, but it was still there. Then Lockdown Three happened and everyone seemed to just give up. Sitting at home eating crisps and drinking beer was our top choice.”

We’re starting to ignore instructions on a very unBritish way. I’ve just been on a bus. There weren’t many people but even so, I was the only one wearing a mask.  

Here’s Michael Rosen, of course, on that very topic:

“Dear Mogg, you're super good at holding the line on behaviour. I've got a New Year worry that the GB public are a tad less respectful these days and the Maxwell case hasn't bloody helped. Can you work up a bit of oratory on respect for Britain's leaders? 

Taurus excrementus

Boris”

I was on the bus because my daughter I had had a plan to meet at my granddaughter’s house, make her go for a walk with her dog and then all come back to my house for tea. All good in theory! It was a beautiful late morning weatherwise. In practice, the bus from here to my granddaughter’s failed to show and I set off walking, planning to catch a later bus from Uppermill. Just as I arrived in Uppermill the heavens opened … with a vengeance. Suddenly Uppermill was full of people scurrying for shelter! I consulted my daughter and decided to catch next bus home. She will collect the aforementioned granddaughter and everyone will come to my house for tea. 

My daughter comes across some quite deprived children in her school. Here’s an article about children in Leeds living in poverty. I don’t think she’s come across anything quite like some of these cases.

The teacher in that article found she had sleepy children in her class because they hadn’t been able to sleep properly as they had no bed in their house. So she set about improving the situation and now runs a charity dealing with he situation. One family she visited loved in an unfurnished house. All they had was plastic chairs. Their clothes were in bin bags. The single mother was happy to be in the house because they had previously been crammed into one room at a shelter! As her situation improved further , she gave the teacher money to help other families. 

That shouldn’t be happening in 2022!

But …

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!