| Entry for December 19, 2007, 360 import, Friends at christmas, | for loretta's contacts |
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Hello everyone it’s so nice to be back even if it is for such a short while, and at this point there really is no guarantee this will even make it to my 360 page but I will do my best. I haven’t managed to replace or properly repair my decrepit old computer but, on a whim, I just decided to switch on and see what happens…… so far so good, the response remains sluggish to say the least but for the time being it appears to be humouring me. So……. Strike whilst the iron is hot as they say.
I just can’t believe its only 5 days to Christmas. My house is festooned in red and gold, the tree is small but brightly lit and my red Christmas candles emit this beautiful scent of oranges, cloves and cinnamon. I have presents all wrapped and ready to go, pink and sparkly for the granddaughters, Bob the Builder for the youngest grandson and a collection of transformers for the older grandson. There are the customary ‘smellies’ for the daughters and their partners and something a little special for my two best friends. Both of my friends are an inspiration to me.
They are both registered disabled. One, a lady just two
years older than me has so many health problems I have absolutely no idea how she finds the strength
to get out of bed in the morning never mind any thing else. She has not had a happy life; she had a miserable childhood followed by an abusive marriage followed by chronic ill health. She lives alone with scant support from her grown up family and I live in the next town so I just don’t get to see her as often as I would like. This year she has become increasingly frail, she has no hope of any improvement in her condition, just a steady decline into the inevitable. Yet this lady never fails to ask how I am, to take an interest in my general well being and to offer support and sympathy when I’ve had a bad day. Compared to her, I never have anything that remotely resembles a bad day but that doesn’t stop her being supportive and saying just the right thing. Many, many thanks and a multitude of Christmas wishes to you Agnes for being my very dear friend. My other friend is a chap who is 4 years older than me. He survives with about ½ of a working lung. He has suffered more bereavements in his life than most of us could imagine and now has virtually no relatives left. He cared for terminally ill relatives, he fought in the army, he saw his comrades blown up in front of him, he brought up his child on his own and now, when he should be free to enjoy what is left of his own life, he is incapacitated and severely limited in what he can do. Does he ever complain?? NO! Does he ever let things get him down? NO! He is funny and makes me laugh when I feel down (which is very often). He spends his life joking and laughing, I must admit his jokes are NOT very PC and if anyone else said the things he says I would be greatly offended. But in his case I make an exception, mostly because I know he doesn't really meant it and partly because he has a heart of gold. If ever there is anything he is able to do to help, he is there. What a great guy, and how lucky am I to have two such wonderful friends? So thank you and Merry Christmas to you too.
Now compare these two wonderful people with my not so wonderful work colleagues. My work colleagues bring whole new meanings to superficial, they plummet depths of superficial I could not, in my wildest dreams have imagined. If asked what constitutes an international disaster I’m pretty sure at least a couple of them would say a bad hair day. They see no irony or sadness in their utter devastation caused by red wine stains on a brand new cream carpet when millions will spend this Christmas without a roof over their heads never mind carpets under their feet! They covert designer labels without a thought to the sweat shop where they are made or the children who live in poverty making the damm stuff. They are not only ignorant of what goes on in the world they are adamantly determined to remain ignorant just in case a little knowledge upsets and intrudes into the orgy of consumerism that constitutes their Christmas. These women are shallow, ignorant, racist, homophobic, xenophobic and mean spirited. I walked in on a conversation that went along the lines of its ‘ok’ to call ‘them’ Pakies because they all come from Pakistan and its just an abbreviation so that’s not racist!! If I hadn’t actually heard this conversation I would not have believed people I work with could say such things. They text each other vile, offensive racist jokes on their mobiles and see nothing inappropriate or offensive in this. They seem to believe people are not really ‘British’ unless they and their parents are white and have lived here for generations. The concept of black British or Asian British or Muslim British just seems to remain outside the realms of their understanding. It seems dear old Enoch’s ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech may be 40 (ish) years old but its essence is alive and well and living on the east coast of Scotland. And what these women think of any gay couple who have the audacity to be seen together in public is not printable!! Oh shame on us!!! I suppose I should be grateful that, of all the men I work with only one springs to mind as an out right misogynist. That I believe, is called being grateful for small mercies!
I have amused and distracted myself from the horrors of my colleagues by getting involved in something called Eco-Schools. In brief; the aim of Eco-Schools is to bring the ideals of sustainability, environmentally sound actions, recycling, energy efficiency etc into schools, to involve pupils and staff alike in making the school more ‘eco-friendly’. Well our efforts seem to have paid off because the School now proudly displays the Eco-Schools Bronze award which will soon be joined by the Silver. The ultimate award, the much sought after Green Flag, may just take me a wee bit longer, but not that long!! I calculate about this time next year we should be flying the Green Flag which is something worth working toward despite what those miserable women think. They relate to Eco-Schools as something that may be useful to them in some way.
Oh how I have missed these pages as a much needed outlet for the frustrations of every day life. Not that I intended this to be some sort of tirade against the wicked, It was meant to be a ‘hello and happy Christmas’. And on that more cheerful note I think I should call it a night. My computer has been kind to me but now I am beginning to feel I shouldn’t push my luck. Time for me to quietly, leave and quit while I’m ahead.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Tags: 360 import, friends, health, mental health, christmas
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