Some thoughts on gambling, addiction and advertising. Nostalgia. Dangers. Owning the moon,

I’ve never placed a bet in my life, unless you count the sweepstakes organised by various places where I’ve worked, which don’t really count as all the staff took part and we were allocated names of horses or football teams or whatever completely at random. Mine never won! Maybe that’s why I was never tempted and why I never became addicted. And according to this article gambling is addictive and should be addressed by the government. 

I had a friend who used to disappear regularly as he walked down the street with us, only to catch up a little late. He’d ducked into a betting shop to place a bet. He never won a great deal either. Nowadays it’s no longer matter of ducking onto a betting shop; your mobile phone will suffice. Grandson Number One, suddenly flush with money from his first ever job dabbled in online gambling, encouraged by a couple of work colleagues. However, just as we were getting worried about him he lost a substantial amount of money, the amount not revealed to any of us but enough to scare him, and overnight went cold turkey. 

His workmates tease him and he is surrounded by advertising, but so far he’s not backsliding. Instead he seems to be spending money on expensive clothing, but that’s a different matter altogether. 

I find the advertising quite disturbing - physically because it’s always very loud and brash and mentally because its ubiquitous. As the article I linked to earlier suggests, the government needs to take a stand. After all, they banned tobacco advertising! Enough said!

Every so often social media throws up a photo of “Old Saddleworth”, like this one that features the pub next door to our house. 

Sometimes it’s not  a photo but a sort of news report. A recent one was about a place in nearby Greenfield (I think) where they made flags and bunting, a place that employed largely women. Making flags is women’s work. Apparently it was unusual for such a workshop to be located in an inland place. As a rule they were located in places by the sea; the men went out in the fishing boats and the women made flags and bunting - and presumably helped mend the nets as necessary. Division of labour!

Something we never have around here, being a good hour’s drive from the sea, are shark attacks. I read that a man surfing in Hawaii had his leg bitten off just the other day. The report said that shark attacks are relatively rare across the world but attract a disproportionate amount of news media attention. And then there are films like “Jaws” which just fuel the myth. In fact people are a much greater danger to sharks than sharks are to people. It’s a bit like plane crashes: rare but shocking and frightening when they happen. Your car is more dangerous than planes … and sharks for that matter! 

To finish off for today, here’s a little something borrowed from Michael Rosen: 

'Tutor,' said the King, 'do you think that one day, we'll go to the moon?'

'Yes,' said the tutor, 'after all, God created it for us.'

'Did he?' said the King.

'Yes,' said the tutor, 'He created the large light and the small light. It's in Genesis.'

'Ah yes, of course,' said the King, 'so when we go there, it'll be ours.'

'Exactly,' said the tutor.

'But isn't there a man in the moon?' said the King. 

'Well, people say there is,' said the tutor, 'but I don't think we need to bother about him.'

'But he is there,' said the King, 'so we'll have to negotiate with him, won't we?'

'Not really,' said the tutor, 'he's just a myth. Something that people say. He's just the 'Man in the Moon'. He could be anywhere and go anywhere: the Man on Mars. Or the Man on the Milky Way.' 

'So when we go to the moon, it really will be ours?'

'Yes, indeed, sir,' said the tutor, 'there's no need to keep worrying about it. It's in the books: God created it and gave it to us.'

'Well that's very reassuring,' said the King.

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!