I’ve just looked at my last blog and it was six months ago!

The trouble is other things get in the way, and to be honest I have let writing slide a bit in the last year. For some reason, I haven’t got the incentive and my thought processes have suffered. I recently joined a creative writing group that meets once a month in the local library, so I’m hoping that will rekindle my interest.

So, what’s been happening? Of course, what is on everyone’s lips and plastered across all forms of media is the dreaded Brexit. I’m not here going to extol the virtues or otherwise of whether we should be divorced from Europe or not: that has been covered ad infinitum elsewhere and I don’t think my small voice will make any difference whatsoever. What I will say is though, a referendum was held and more people voted to leave than voted to remain. Democracy should work and respect the result, whatever personal views there are and whichever way people voted.  Personally, I think it will all work out in the end.

We had the usual quiet Christmas and New Year, I think these two events are massively over-rated, they are certainly not celebrated by most for their religious content, and a New Year? So what, they are all pretty much like the previous one with few exceptions, and the fact that people waste brain cells and body parts in trying to get as drunk as possible over the festive period does nothing for me these days. Oh yes, in my youth I liked a drink as much as anyone, but as you get older you find that it a) doesn’t taste as good (losing taste buds?), and b) the effect of drinking is quicker to tell on your body and mind; well it does in my case. I like a glass of wine with dinner or a craft beer, at any other time. My hobby is finding really good tasting craft beers that have been produced by microbreweries and tasting their wares. I always buy by the crate online so I don’t have to go out for it. And to those who might say, hypocrite, you’re still drinking, as an example: my last box of 20 cans/bottles has lasted for 6 weeks and there is still half of them left. Hardly a boozy session drinker! Moderation in all things I say, it makes them taste, feel and be better if you are not at it all the time.

We bought a new car, our second new car since 2015 and only our third since we’ve been married. The last new car we bought was in Germany, and that was in 1978! We ummed and ahhed about what new car to get; there were several factors at play. We decided that the new car was going to be ‘for life’, in other words, we were not going to be looking to get another new car, either ever, or at least until we move into an old folks home (joking!). The new car market is full of choices, more so than ever before: diesel, petrol, electric, hybrid, a myriad of different styles and power plant.  We carefully considered electric, but reasoned that the electricity has to come from somewhere and that still burns fossil fuels to produce the power. Diesel and petrol come from fossil fuels as well, so what is the balance between the two? On reflection, we went for a petrol car because hybrid and pure electric are so expensive, the batteries have to be replaced, they cost a huge amount and are an environmental nightmare to dispose of them. Anyway, we chose a Suzuki again, same make as the last new car but up a grade to a mini SUV, from a small four-door saloon. The difference is that the engine is so small; compared to the old model which was a 1.6 ltr, our new car is a 1.0 ltr, to be precise it’s 998cc! And only three cylinders to boot. I thought, how could such a small engine be powerful enough? Sorry if I’m getting technical but it produces 105 bhp and does 0-60 in 11.5 seconds. Which is not too shabby, but coupled with average fuel consumption of 48.5mpg, it ticks all the boxes, and it’s an automatic 6 speed. And being tall and larger than the average, we find it much easier to get into and out of. Add the colour, turquoise, and altogether it’s a great package. It should last us 10 years, God willing that he keeps us the right side of the grass. so far it’s been a delight to drive. For those who want to look it up, it’s a Suzuki Vitara    SZ-T Automatic.

Well, slightly nicer weather has sprung onto us, springs not too far away, hopefully. Winters not over yet, we had snow in March last year so we can expect anything yet, but it’s nice to get a bit of sunshine. That’s the thing you could say about the British, we can always discuss the weather; mainly because we have so much of it. Personally, I like the fact that we have definitive seasons, although they are sometimes blurred, 17° C in February, yet some days in June can be as low 13° C. We can always rely on the rain, but again some years that is in short supply. So, does global warming make a difference to our weather? The juries still out I reckon, and I’m not one of those doom-mongers who think the world will in end in 50 years because all the insects will have gone, global warming will make the planet intolerable, the polar ice caps melting will cause flooding and tsunamis, and wars and over-population will leave us all struggling for food. The one thing you can say about the human race is that they are nothing if not resilient. We’ve had ice ages, wars, floods and heatwaves through the centuries, not all caused by global warming, yet the human race seems to bounce back after catastrophes. I take the point that the world’s population is rapidly crowding 7 billion, but we can still manage to feed the majority of its people, there are some who unfortunately can’t due to location, poverty and climate, but given the ingenuity of man I’m sure these problems could be overcome.  I’m not trying to be simplistically naive about the future of the planet, I just know that lots of factors will determine the future of this crowded little rock in the solar system, and I don’t think there’s a great deal most of us can do anything about it. There are scientists, current and future, who will come up with a brilliant way to extend the life of Earth and we will all be grateful; if I’m around to see it.

The rambling must come to a stop sometime, and I suppose now is as good a time as any. We’ve been to see the newest addition to the family, a great-niece, who is absolutely adorable and although only three weeks old, managed to capture our hearts even if she was asleep most of the hours we were there. She charmed us without having to do anything and in the great scheme of things, it’s a life-affirming exposure to a new life that makes you glad to be alive and give you hope for the future. You go girl, we’ll be following your progress all the way. Till next time, bye bye.

©Clive Handy 2019