Happy Friday! You may have noticed my absence in this space over the last couple of months. This is due to a combination of lockdown (I hardly do anything!), SAD (I suck in winter) and WordPress being a bastard (photos are an issue and how much am I prepared to pay to ramble on the internet when I have no intention of trying to make money out of said ramblings, I have huge admiration for the people that do but I’m not able to because it’s too much rejection).

Anyway it’s sorted for now, but I need to spend some time editing past posts, there’s nothing in there that I’m ashamed of but there is sharing that I’m less comfortable with now, mostly around small people!

Parks have been a lifeline during the pandemic. Let’s make Buckingham Palace a public space. My ideal would be get rid of the monarchy and make all royal palaces gardens public parks….failing that, this is also a good idea..

The UK government is claiming every success for itself, while blaming us for its failures

The Republican Party Is Now in Its End Stages. We can hope

What I wish I’d had in Texas

Johnson is subdued but his dog is causing havoc. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Plausible

Lent, explained. The only thing I disagree with is that last paragraph. I was always taught that Lent was supposed to improve us because it taught us we were dependant on God and thus brought us closer to God.

It’s heartless to blame job losses on unemployed people – but it’s how much of Britain thinks. I think one of the results of COVID is that more people will begin to understand how often there is nothing you can do about being unemployed. I’ve been unemployed long enough for it to count as long term unemployed, eight months the first time when the company I worked for went bust because one of the partners was gambling with the tax money and again when a contract ended after 12 months (six months). I didn’t do anything wrong, but there I was unemployed. Check out my posts from August 2009 to April 2010 and then April 201 to November 2011. I did not enjoy working for the nearly seven years after that but I was so relived to have a job even one I hated because unemployment was 100 times worse. That job made me unhappy and one of the things they didn’t do badly was unemployment, it was a generous offer and it (and temping) gave me some breathing space and I cannot tell you how much I love my job. I used to say that I would definitely 100% give up work if I won the lottery, now I’m about 30-70%

I quit food delivery apps – the absurd convenience was not worth the cost. At the risk of sounding smug, I haven’t had food delivered to my house for over 15 years. I’ve collected a takeaway from Monty’s twice since I’ve lived here and had fish and chips a couple of times. I have only ever been in an Uber once, when I was in DC, and I didn’t order it, and never in the UK. Back in the days when I went into the office I would sometimes buy breakfast at Pret and monthly sushi on payday was (and still is my thing) but most of what I eat, I cook. I saw a thread on Twitter last week which consisted of people moaning that they were sick of their own cooking (and the subsequent washing up) and bored of takeaway options and of all the things I’m finding hard about lockdown, that is not one of them. So what’s the thing that everyone else is finding difficult right now that you didn’t think about?

How we all fell for Simon Hopkinson’s lovely tale of roast chicken. Roast Chicken and Other Stories is a lovely book AND the source for my favourite way to cook Easter lamb.