BUGBEARS
So far, June has been a month of anxiety and stress. I have tried to rise above it, but the war in Ukraine and the uselessness, corruption, and utter failure of our government, is constantly on my mind. In order to try and ignore the bigger picture, I am now concentrating on those daily frustrations that occur in my life, which I call ‘bugbears’. As I get older the list increases and I am highlighting just a few.
THE HEADLINES IN THE DAILY MAIL.
I really don’t mind opinions being expressed if they are honest, even if I disagree – but the sheer inaccuracy and dangerous right wing propaganda put out by the Daily Mail I find both infuriating and shocking. The Sun and the Express are not far behind in this. A constant irritation.
CYCLISTS.
Of course cycling is a good thing for the environment and I would be all for it – BUT – the London cyclist is a race apart. Most of them give the poor motorist a terrible time. They cut in, use up the road, (even when there is a cycle lane) and on the whole behave in an arrogant and downright dangerous manner. To this you can add the scooter riders as well. A terrible hazard for them, and for the poor motorist who would be liable if there was an accident.
MUSACK
I cannot understand why we have to live with a constant strain of pop music in our lives. This background music is worst in restaurants. It makes conversation difficult and is horribly intrusive – quite from the fact that I find most of the music loathsome. I wouldn’t even want Mozart or Beethoven as background music while I’m eating. I now only go to restaurants that do not have Musack.
TELEPHONE CALLS ON HOLD.
Not only do you have to suffer the infuriating messages of being told you are 18th in line, but then you have to listen to an ear-splitting soundtrack with some poor composer being massacred. This is constantly interrupted by a message to say you are still in the same place in line and then the soundtrack is back, often starting from the beginning. What is wrong with silence?
ADVERTS
Some adverts are quite amusing – some are not. The ones I really resent are the endless funeral and life insurance ads. The same awful little man seems to appear on all of them, telling us to apply immediately. The radio ads can be infuriating too. There is a terribly gushing female who urges us to buy things or to take a cruise. Her voice, which I think is meant to sound sexy, turns me off immediately and I vow never to get the product she is trying to sell.
NHS COMPLAINERS.
I really resent the endless grumbling and complaining of people in the surgeries and clinics waiting to be seen. Yes, we have to wait, blame the government not the NHS. Even worse are the people who have had surgery, who yell for attention all the time and then complain when they don’t get it immediately. We are so lucky to have the NHS. They should try living in the US!
JARS AND TINS THAT WON’T OPEN.
Sometimes getting into jars and tins is like trying to break into Ford Knox. Why does it have to be so difficult? And parcels and packages come into this category as well. Why is it necessary to break every nail before managing to open something?
I am sure there is a Tom Lehrer song that applies to all of the above. And there are many more things on my list – but I won’t bore you with those. Instead I can report that I had a late and joyous 80th birthday party, in the garden last week. The weather perfect and there was a wonderful mixture of family and friends, the first time we had been able to meet up since Covid. It made me forget about all of the above – for a while!
Next month I will try an make a list of all the things that bring me joy. I am happy to say this is a long list as well.
