Beginners ? That’s me. Like a much more famous collection of reflections, not planned for publication, this series of blog posts is written to myself . Everybody else is allowed to read it, and it isn’t even in Ancient Greek, Koine or any other Ancient Greek dialect. Why write a blog ? A year ago, after experiencing the horrors of ID fraud, and the abuse of a mentally ill relative, I was probably still in shock, shock that jolted me far away from any comfort zone. Exactly how far ? A long way, I hope, working to protect other vulnerable people, but that can wait for another day. ( An Inspector Calls,1stJul, Every record has been destroyed 7th Jul)
Now ? I’d like to sell books, of course, hope some people will enjoy them. If they don’t, at least I’ve enjoyed having written, and working on cover design too. Does anybody enjoy the actual writing part ? Honestly ? Every day, I have to stop my brutal internal critic deleting every word I write.. Sixteen, I’d been flayed alive for writing an exam essay… Set title ? I Believe. Instead of a fervent Credo, I wrote I Believe in Myself, and explained why. It wasn’t true, scared and bullied little rabbit, but I wrote it anyway. How dared I ? Public exam, my high school teachers weren’t supposed to read completed exam papers. They did, and tore me into little pieces, in class, in corridors, in the Assembly Hall, in front of the whole school.. Blasphemy was on the list, plenty more too. I’d written an exam paper, got the Spanish Inquisition, complete with surprise and ruthless efficiency.
Five synopses, requested by one of the Big Five didn’t lead to a book deal, sadly, my agent died, and I haven’t found another. I wanted to write those books, Cassandra’s Phoenix is the fourth, out soon, work work permitting. ( Thanks to Irina Slav, whose weekly De-zombify posts include this essential distinction) . Can I persuade someone to ban Cassandra’s Phoenix ? Please ? Out this month, I hope, date still to be confirmed, far to much work work on. WFH, firms expect absolute commitment, long hours, no water cooler, no lunch…
Blogs need a subject, everything’s taken, but here goes–Lifestyle , including cooking ? Ours is weird, weirder still since covid.. Nobody lives here. In a Tactical Training Area, the RAF might collide with our chimneys. Coeliac, one of us dairy allergic, the other lactose intolerant, soy allergy too. Picky eaters ? Not guilty, and that’s official. The NHS turned us inside out, did all the worst tests they could think of, then discovered it was food. Websites like Beth Ricci’s Red&Honey and From Jessica’s Kitchen keep us fed. Plus, easiest of all, JERF. DIY, Interiors ? Halfway through buying, our old but far from posh house got listed, which is a bit like testing positive. Instead of 14 days isolation, we’re not allowed to do almost anything, ever, without begging and pleading for permission, usually denied. Medina Grillo’s brilliant Home Sweet Rented Home was meant for renters, is perfect for the listed too.
Work/life balance ? Even before covid, WFH forced an IT version of transhumance. On a very good day recently, broadband at our ‘primary residence’ was 1.88 mbps. No phone signal. Naively, we assumed this would be sorted, asap, they just hadn’t got round to us yet. BT, the leading UK operation has just quoted around £250,000 to connect our few houses, which they’d left out. Finding somewhere to WFH is our IT version of taking animals to graze in summer pastures.
Lockdown is Authority’s word. Lock-up is more truthful Locked up, in April and May, in the primary residence, work was almost impossible. Travelling to the WFH office , now demonised as a ‘ second home’ was forbidden. Police road blocks were real, people visiting second homes , even to check for storm damage or burst pipes could be fined and removed, under police escort. Company support was essential. IT jobs need broadband, we’d sourced our office to WFH, not for holidays. Once at the office, 30 min drive away, returning to the primary residence was forbidden . Reprieve came on July 4th. IT transhumance is operating again, except when we need broadband Working in different time zones, sometimes through the night, IT workers need decent speeds, 24/7, Sell the primary residence’ ? It’s our home. Post covid, how many jobs are safe ?
Our lock-up problem was infuriating – paying for a place we weren’t allowed to use, but imagine the lock-up misery of eighteen year olds now. A few days ago, after a summer of educational chaos, they left home, usually for the first time – only around 1% of UK families send their children to boarding school, despite the Harry Potter spike. Think about those eighteen year olds.. Mum and Dad have driven away, back home, maybe to your siblings, dog, cat, friends, everything. Next ? instead of Freshers’ Week – fourteen days house arrest, No offence, you just might have been in contact with someone who’s tested positive. – the nightmare of Freshers’ Week, 2020.
Eighteen, skinny, small, ginger, overwhelmed by Freshers Week, terrified by the campus gods, every one of them running for the Presidency ( of the Students Union, it wasn’t pretty) I hid . The horrors of 2020 lock-ups for students in places like Manchester and Glasgow might have been less scary. My problem wasn’t house arrest, all human rights suspended by the UK government’s current covid laws. It was forcing myself out of that 10 ft by 12 ft cell. Before reaching the haven of Film Soc, my refuge was the campus bookshop, Maybe not very original, but two of the books bought by that scared kid of eighteen are still my favourites, Marcus Aurelius and Candide , Stoicism and satire so wicked ,in the fantasy reckoning, Voltaire should get a share of Bernstein’s royalties. Track and trace ? Long before covid, check Pangloss. Banned Books ? Candide used to be on the legendary Index of books forbidden by the Catholic church. When we used to have a town library, September’s highlight was Banned Books week, all forbidden texts wrapped in brown paper packages, tied up with string. Irresistible. Twelve miles from our transhumance office, the library’s open again, but only for a few morning hours, and never on Saturdays. Over 60% of people are back at work, no library for us. Which should be great for all book sales. Denied the reference library, my husband’s just ordered a weighty academic tome.
East of the Sun, West of the Moon, sat nav won't like that 