Another Sleepless Night

St Mary's as I hope not to see it this winter.

The temperatures are dropping, the wind is from the East Brrrr.

Tomorrow, or rather today, is not one of my St M's days and I am more than glad of it.

Going out in cold weather is not one of my hobbies so unless absolutely necessary I will stay warm and snug in my burrow.

It is building up towards the most hectic season in the church, and lovely though that is it is also a time when health and fitness need to be at their best.

We have already had our first carol performance at a local brewery which wanted us to sing two half-hour sessions on their Christmas Shop opening day.  It was a really warm and welcoming event and we felt appreciated both by the management and staff and the customers.  Quite unusual but rather nice.

It felt a bit odd to be commemorating the Armistice the following day, as though we had got our dates reversed, but the Civic Service was a good one and well attended.

Soon we shall have the Buck's Fire and Rescue Carol Service then all the usual Advent Services, so a lot of singing and more than ever a need to be feeling well.

For me, this time of year almost always produces some kind of virus to try to put a spanner in the works so sleepless nights are not a lot of help.

I was in bed four and a half hours ago, had a brief 15 minute nap and woke from a nasty nightmare, since then I have been reading for hours and am now (obviously) on the computer.

As it is now 4.20 am I probably won't sleep any more till tomorrow night, but at least I don't have to leave the house till Wednesday morning.

Insomnia is a recurring theme in my life but these days it is not combined with the need to get up and go to work next day.

There is brilliant moonlight outside and a ferocious East wind blowing the trees about and I'm gloing back to bed to read some more.

Good night/morning/day.

There's No Accounting for Taste

The older I get the more fascinating I find the huge differences in the likes and dislikes of the people I encounter.

The cat enjoying a gherkin on the left is a classic  illustration of this phenomena.

Worldwide the chosen leaders of countries large and small. centre-stage or backstage in world politics, have such differing and varying ideas of how the world should be, that I am amazed any kind of agreement can be reached on anything at all.

Today's exhausting and confusing Brexit 'plans', have left me wondering if this is some kind of parallel universe.

Is this really what our ancestors worked so hard for, the right to vote, to have our say, to work to make this a better country, part of a better world?

I have always valued this precious right and exercised it whenever the opportunity arose but, now faced with uncertain goals, weak and indecisive leaders, political in-fighting at every level and conflicting information at every turn I am beginning to want to turn back the clock.

Not the sharpest knife in the box and with no great claim to intellectual clarity of vision I nevertheless always felt I had at least a loose 'handle' on any national political situation.

This is no longer the case.

I voted to remain in the EU and still feel it was the right way to vote, but that is no longer an option and the alternatives appear less attractive with every day that passes.

Listening to the amount of venom between the opposing factions I can't help but wonder just how well having got their way they will be able to manage an alternative system.

No-one stands out as a natural leader, though that doesn't stop the contenders bidding for the top job on a daily basis.

Are we to be treated to another dose of Barmey Boris, versus Jacob Reece Smug, exchanging verbal fisticuffs for a further 12 months or so while the Government limps on its directionless journey to economic failure?

Meanwhile over the pond the head honcho effectively proves that one man can single-handedly reverse centuries of evolution and civilisation and somehow remain in power.

At the same time the whole world is hurtling toward extinction burning up the environment and wasting all of its resources.

I can't help hoping to wake up and find this is a Terry Pratchett universe, or just a bad dream.

Now, if ever, is the time for a World leader to appear.

Any offers?