Hippy Shake

 

Hello All

I hope you are well. We are ok, thanks for asking. Our souvenir of our holidays is on the wall now. Please see above. We bought it in Amsterdam because we thought it was funny as neither of us is over-blessed these days with movements in our hips. HOH danced a bit in his younger years. Regular viewers will know that he is a full-blown graduate of the Northern Soul scene which was at its peak in Wigan Casino (not a casino) in the 70s. You may have come across the Northern Soul Prom on Saturday night. Most of the songs are obscure B sides or chart failures, to be frank, and I do wonder what people who weren't part of the original scene (or haven't lived with HOH for thirty years) made of two hours devoted to songs that most people have never heard before. By the way, if you did see the programme and watched a young woman teaching everyone how she does Northern Soul Dancing, you probably should know that Northern Soul Dancing is like Fight Club. You shouldn't really talk about Northern Soul Dancing. Also, apparently, not many people in the olden days kicked their legs up in the air like that unless they were a...buffoon. (I've used the word buffoon in case your maiden aunt is in the room).

Would you mind if I ranted a bit? I think the news this week has been dominated by the kiss/sexual assault suffered by the Spanish Footballer Jenni Hermoso from Luis Rubiales who is high up in Spanish Football. (I honestly cannot be bothered to look up his actual title). Apparently (and there are a lot of apparentlys) he was swept up in the moment. Well, get a grip. It's not something you would have seen the Queen doing with Bobby Moore, is it? Try some class. Apparently, he says that he asked her. What is doing "asking her"? The sense of entitlement is almost admirable. We spent two and a bit weeks talking about the progression in the Women's Game and enjoying how far we had all come. Well, it seems that it was nowhere near far enough because the only thing that Rubiales could think about was his trouser department. This is serious stuff. It seems that it didn't cross his mind that this kind of behaviour might be problematic. It is amazing and depressing.

This is also in the week that Manchester United toyed with the idea of taking Mason Greenwood back into the fold. For those not in the know, Mason is a talented footballer who has spent some time being investigated by Greater Manchester Police after photos and a tape emerged that suggested that he was coercing his girlfriend into sex. United suspended him (with full pay). The photos showed his girlfriend sporting plenty of angry bruises. In the end, the charges were dropped when all witnesses withdrew. (He was not found not guilty as he suggested this week. It never got that far). When news emerged that United - who are struggling to score goals this season - were thinking about taking their striker back - the backlash from fans, charities, women's groups and United staff took the club by surprise and they changed their minds. Again, the possibility that a woman and her treatment should result in there being some negative effect on the men involved did not seem to have been an issue. 

I have loved Manchester United since I was twelve years old. When home life was "interesting" I would go down to the training ground when I visited my Grandad and for a girl who had a lot going on at the time, this slice of glamour and excitement (and it was glamorous for me) was just a lovely thing. That time built up a bond with my Grandad and I grew to love football and everything about it. I have spent a week feeling quite sad as I seriously considered not watching football again. Look, I appreciate how pathetic that sounds - when people can't pay the gas bill and boats are sinking in the channel and we are all so worried about Nadine Dorries (that last one is a lie). As it is, I'm watching a bit but it's not really the same. 

So, ridiculously, I have been overly sad sometimes this week about things that I can do very little about and the saddest I have been is when those things might affect me. This morning the speaker was talking about Romans 12 and though he was very good perhaps what I took from it was a bit different from the things that he said

 Love from the centre of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

 Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

 Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody.

Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody. Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. “I’ll take care of it.”

It just seemed such sound advice. Just keep doing the decent thing. The right thing. Do what you are supposed to do and leave the rest to God. And - this is just for me - for goodness sake - cheer up!