Ok, Ok

Back to the scheduled show. Which probably means pictures. You want pictures? I got pictures. Here's a few from our trip up to Suffolk last weekend.

Off on a walk, in borrowed boots. I did think long and hard about posting this because one of those children is not mine - but due to the angle I decided to put it up. And yes, they love each other. Very much. One of the quotes was "I'm falling in love with E!" which was very humorous and cute.

Tractor. Left lots and lots of muddy ruts in the road. Our walk took us past farmland and lots of pigs, some with piglets.


And muddy puddles.

By this point, Callie was zonked out in the sling and remained so for over an hour. The kids were picking and eating blackberries from the hedges and loving it. I really appreciate being able to stay in the country with these friends and let E run wild with kids his age in the country air. I think he gets a lot out of it. So do I, actually.


Swinging in the back yard. We also went for a boat trip, complete with mooring up at a little island with a Wendy house and exploring the "magical forest" (E's term) before getting back in our boat and rowing to the shore for ice cream.

Today we had a little informal (and belated) 3rd birthday party for him, just a little picnic with some of his friends near the park. It went really well.

In other news, B starts his job in Brighton on Monday so I am bracing for earlier starts and later finishes. The recent riots didn't have much of an effect on us however a bunch of people trashed Clapham, burning stuff and looting and smashing up the train station B passes through. Our local Dominoes chain had its windows shattered as well.

I am behind on 2850825 emails, as usual. Trying to do some writing, mostly failing, but the occasional 500 word spree gives me hope. Counting down the days until E starts preschool. He'll be going 5 mornings a week for 3 hour sessions. It's a proper little school with uniforms and everything. Years ago when we moved to this area we unwittingly landed right next to one of the top schools around - there's a massive waiting list and people speak highly of it. Fortunately they give priority to people who live within the catchment area and... well, that's us.

Well, I'm off to crank out 200 words and then visit the Land of Nod.

Warning: Political Stuff

Look away now if you mind swearing and don't want to get all het up.

If you're still reading - I'll keep it short. I don't think I've ever been so close to such craziness! Local businesses being looted and burned, riot police and vans and dogs just up the hill, our local shops shutting down at 4pm and putting metal grilles over the doors, B's office in Central London being evacuated, train stations being smashed up and closed. This is all a bit nuts.

That being said, I'm pissed off at both sides. The rioters, for opportunistic looting and senseless burning, costing businesses millions of pounds. The government, for not seeing this coming. Colossally so, in fact. I mean, the Home Secretary herself said, back in September 2010: ""The British public don't simply resort to violent unrest in the face of challenging economic circumstances. ... It is ridiculous to suggest that there are not savings that can be made in policing." (source)

You dumb bitch, there weren't enough police on the ground last night to prevent looters from totally destroying multiple parts of the city - including pillaging the hell out of some of our local shops! They were in there for hours, walking out with all sorts of stuff, all because our local cops had to go reinforce other parts of the city due to YOUR budget cuts!

And meanwhile we've got our Prime Minister, who only bothered to return from vacation earlier today, yammering on about how we're all "in this together." Apparently that also means cutting taxes for corporate buddies while putting more pressure on the working and middle classes by screwing with child benefit and shafting low-income working families by cutting child tax credits, which many people depend on to help them get childcare. I'd look for a relevant statement by George Osbourne here, but apparently he's only just curtailing his holiday in California to come back to the UK to deal with the rioting, so he's probably only getting on the plane right about now.

So while Parliament discusses stuff like reintroducing baton rounds, rubber bullets, water hoses, etc, I'm going to sit here and wonder why the fuck democracy is so skewed toward a system that favors slapping temporary bandaids onto a situation over addressing root causes. Because from where I sit, I'm disgusted at both sides. Opportunistic looters - that sums up my feelings. And I don't feel I need to differentiate between either side when I say it.

I'm becoming more libertarian by the day.

(Very) Belated Update....

So we've been back from CA for a few weeks now, and are settled in. I didn't get to catch up with everyone I wanted to! Nor did there seem to be enough time to visit. The weeks we were there flew by. I plan on doing a write-up at some point, mostly for my own benefit so that I can remember and savor what we did there in the years to come.

We're off to Suffolk this weekend, staying with friends. Today is E's 3rd birthday. He was very excited to go outside and find this:

Please excuse his green underoos.

Although it's been a bit tough adjusting to life back here in the UK (rain in July and August is bleh, sinus headaches are bleh too, nonsleeping babies are VERY bleh), we are pretty much back on track now. E is starting preschool in September and will be one of the youngest kids in his age group. I know enough people in the area to arrange playdates once a week or so, which is very nice. B is starting a job in Brighton which is a 90 minute commute, but should be a good change for him.

And in and among all that we are finding time to eat blackberries from our garden in the sun.

Will try and update again sometime soon....!