Appearances

 

Warning -  references to suicide

Hello everyone. I hope you are well. I hope everyone is poised for the end of September and, if you are in the UK, ready for the deluge of rain which will apparently come for us this week. 

We have had an uneventful week really. Just work and the usual things. We have been looking for a new employee, which has been a bit dispiriting. It is just a basic part-time admin role (or "roll" as a good proportion of our applicants would have it. That's probably for a completely different kind of job.) There are opportunities to expand the job description and plenty of interesting bits of fundraising etc. We had nearly one hundred applications - around three of which were possibles. If I had wanted a doorman, a bartender or someone who would just bring joy to the atmosphere then Bob would have been my uncle. Unfortunately, I was not in the market for any of those - respectable and valuable though these things are. It makes me worry for these youngsters as I have probably told you before. Although some of them are probably more resilient than I give them credit for. I always make a point of replying to applications with a "sorry and best of luck" vibe. One of the applicants replied with a "well, it's your loss" vibe (I am heavily paraphrasing here) which was a bit of a jolt. But, as I say, maybe we shouldn't worry too much about the young people. 

We also went to the pictures and, for the first time, we visited an Everyman cinema. I don't know if you have ever been to one but it is set up with sofas and little tables. You can have a glass of wine or even a pizza or a burger. My daughter who is a film buff says disparagingly that it is like watching a film on a cruise ship - as if that is a bad thing. I have to admit to being a bit snobby about it myself but we went to see Lee yesterday afternoon and I have informed my family that I will never be going to any other cinema ever again. I am at the time of life when comfy seats, the chance of good snacks and lovely toilets are game changers. Also, it is just down the road from our house. Obviously, we will have to save up for a couple of weeks before we go but I think it is worth it. Just to mention re "Lee". It has had some terrible reviews. It's not the best film I have ever seen but I enjoyed it a great deal. She was an amazing woman and it is a story worth telling. Just a warning - there are strong Holocaust images and if you have an issue with Kate Winslet getting her ning-nags out on a regular basis, you might find it a bit of a problem. 

The other exciting bit of my week has been beginning to swap over summer clothes for winter. Some people love this but for me, it mainly seems to make a lot of washing and ironing. Speaking of clothing, there has been a lot of carry-on about Keir Starmer and his donated wardrobe. To be frank I am finding it difficult to get worked up about. Just a few of my thoughts...

1. Do we really want our Prime Minister turning up at world events looking like he's been last into the jumble sale? I am old enough to remember when everyone lost their mind because Michael Foot wore a donkey jacket to the Cenotaph. (It wasn't a donkey jacket).
2. Mrs Starmer works in the NHS. I don't think she could afford the dress she looked smoking hot in on election day.
3. The editors of the newspapers who are making the biggest fuss are not doing it out of altruistic motives. They are not your friends. In the main, they are Monaco-based, tax avoiders who are only interested in politics that benefit them.
4. You notice that the Conservative Party are keeping very quiet about freebies.

If I am honest (and I sometimes am) I am more concerned about the lack of "Labour" in this Labour government. I don't think that the poor and the old are noticing much difference in anything that they are being promised. There is a lot of talk about growth and infrastructure and black holes. I'd like to hear about local agendas, small charities doing work on the ground supported without begging, free school meals, making the possibility of a doctor's appointment something to be almost taken for granted. We'll see eh?

Finally, just a little catch-up. A couple of weeks ago, I think I mentioned that someone we knew was finding the Grenfell report very difficult to come to terms with, living as we do, in an admittedly small block of apartments. He already had mental health problems but the constant talk of it all had become too much and he harmed himself and was hospitalised. Anyway, last week, I suppose it all got too much and he jumped from his apartment. When something like that happens, the aftermath is quite grim and we all witnessed the council coming to clean up. There is a mark on the pavement, where he fell. The other night, I was looking at the beautiful view from our balcony and wondered what he was going through not to be able to think "I'll stay" when he saw that. I'm a Christian who struggles to be a decent one most of the time yet I believe that the following is true and that God never undermines us and our sorrows. We are loved.

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
    he delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.