It’s Gotta Hurt

I was playing some Team Rumble mode Fortnite the other day trying to get headshots with an assault rifle for some stupid quest. Then I got Thundersticked.

I died shortly after that. But not from the stick through the chest!!

A Striking Day

I’ve been taking part in the teacher strikes recently. Interestingly the disruption would happen whether I went in to school or not. As the managers can’t tell who will be in school they can’t ensure the safety and supervision of the pupils, therefore they have to make decisions well in advance of the day about who is going to be in school attending lessons and who is being taught remotely by staff who aren’t striking. I could turn up to work on those strike days and get paid, but I’m known as one of the more “militant” members of staff and I don’t think politically it would be a good idea to threaten strike and then turn up. I put “militant” in quotes as I’m pretty sure that just means standing up for workers’ rights.

During the most recent strike day I took a trip to Dover Castle and then the Battle Of Britain Memorial, both of these are in a corner of Kent. Dover Castle is impressive and full of so much history from Roman lighthouses to Operation Dynamo planning rooms and beyond. The BoB memorial was poignant.

Junkers Stuka Sculpture
Junkers Stuka Sculpture – Battle Of Britain Memorial

End Of Summer – Kent Edition

My plans for the October half term were sent to the backburner when my car decided to stop working and it is currently in the car hospital. I did manage to see some lovely parts of this county.

I had a trip to Sissinghurst Castle and that was lovely as I bumped into an old work collegue.

Sissinghurst Castle Moods
Sissinghurst Castle Moods

I visited Chatham Dockside whatever the place is called and walked the dog for a little while.

Chatham Dockyard Mixing The Ages
Chatham Dockyard Mixing The Ages

I also played quite a bit of Fortnite, whether that is good or bad I don’t know, but I enjoy it. Even with the slaughter of innocents in the game I would suggest it’s a better environment than the real world at the moment. My struggles with politics and people continue from 2016. I think I’m just starting to get used to it.

West Kent Facing Sunset
West Kent Facing Sunset

Perhaps I need another rant on here but that should wait for another day when I have the time and mental capacity to explain my thoughts in my not-so-clear way.

NFL Wembley 2022

Sunday was a good day to head to Wembley and watch American Football. This year it was the turn of the Denver Broncos and the Jacksonville Jaguars to battle it out to win the international series game. I had planned really well to arrive in time for a 1430 start but unfortunately the match actually started at 1330 so we missed the first quarter. Not a problem as the rest of the match had good things in it [except for the 3rd quarter].

Close Up To The Action
Close Up To The Action

I met Jason and his daughter at the stadium and because we missed the national anthems I didn’t get my chance to silently protest the stupidity of having a grown up singing about wanting to save the system that literally makes us subjects of a person rather than citizens in our own right. Fuck the system.

Wembley Stadium - Broncos @ Jags
Wembley Stadium – Broncos @ Jags

The Broncos won the match and I guess that pleased Penguin as he’s a Broncos fan. I liked it too as I had chosen to support them throughout the game.

By the way. I’m back to supporting the New Orleans Saints as my premier football team. Not because the Packers are bad, but because they are not very romantic. So, Who Dat!

BBLCC

The other day the family went for a walk around the local reservoir. It’s not that far and quite a quiet and picturesque place to be. It was calming. While there I took part in a photograph competition between some of my close friends. We also built a tree swing and had some fun rushing in an arc.

Burham Brick Lime and Cement Company
Burham Brick Lime and Cement Company

The area we walked through used to be a brick factory. It’s next to the river and in the old days bricks were cooked (?) here after the materials were taken from the North Downs. Then, they were placed on boats and shipped to wherever needed them. I do believe some ended up in Buckingham Palace.

Anyway, you can always find interesting things just lying around. Sometimes these are burnt out vehicles but other times these are discarded bricks with interesting insignia. See the picture I took of a 1910 brick. Someone somewhere will find that brick very interesting.

Service Interrupted Slightly

It’s been two weeks since I last published a communication and I’m aware some people out there read this website so this is here to hold the fort. I’ve spent quite a while wondering about the correlation between my mental and emotional health and communications on this site. I use to wonder whether, when feeling rough, I didn’t have the energy and ability to communicate on this site. But in the past when I have looked at the months when I know I was mentally fucked and the communications on here I write more in those times then when I’m fine. It would appear this site is a distraction from the emotional reality of the world. I use writing here as a distraction or somewhere to let my mind go rather than what’s happening to me.

So, the lack of recent communications, which is far below stable-me output, is to do with the fact that I have very good things on my mind. Life has taken a turn and it’s for the good. I hope to resume a more normal service in the future as this place is a source of pride for me. I like writing here and attempting to communicate to the world. I like being a presence for anyone to see. When I get to the point of writing more I am sure that I will still be gloriously happy. Which I am currently.

The Legend Of Tarzan

I went to the Cineworld cinema at Rochester to see The Legend Of Tarzan. As usual I have rated this film on IMDB and if you aren’t sure of my rating system then you should see this communication.

I thought the film was enjoyable. A good romp with those pesky colonial Belgians in charge. I was largely impressed with the CGI animals, very impressive and realistic. The story was ok but nothing special. My one quibble would be with the physics of swinging on vines and catching a train doing so, simply unrealistic, but a minor infraction for this particular film. I guess I should read the book.

By the way, the first corner at Zandvoort race track is called Tarzan. It is named after the man whose garden was used to create that part of the track.