The Worst Place To Live

It's official...we have moved to The Worst Place To Live In Britain...according to someone on the telly! I wonder how accurate these surveys actually are. It's true that there is a lot of crime in the centre of town, that there are people who are jobless, homeless, penniless, etc, etc, etc. There are also plenty of thugs about who have decided to spoil this area for the rest of us. Instead of labelling Middlesbrough as such a horrible place, though, why isn't something done about it?

I get really annoyed at some of the stories in the news. I was listening to the radio last week and heard that vicars have been advised not to wear their dog collars in public when not on official duty to prevent being attacked. Apparantly vicars are being attacked on trains, in supermarkets, on the street, etc. So, some bright spark has decided that the victim is at fault, and that he/she should stop aggravating the thugs by wearing the one thing that identifies them as a religious figure.

I watched a TV programme the other night in which a man had been "egged" in his car and stopped some passing policemen. Did the policemen immediately follow the accused? No, the victim was arrested for being too loud, angry and abusive! Of course the man was upset and a little hopping mad, but he certainly wasn't a threat.

A few days later, I was reading an item in the newspaper about a woman walking her dog in a park when some teenagers fired a pellet gun at her. She reported it to the police, who advised she walk her dog somewhere else to prevent being attacked in the future. Again, the victim is to blame!

Is it just me, or is this country going mad? Why aren't the attackers/thugs/morons/whatever you want to call them being moved on/warned/arrested/jailed. Who decided that the ordinary bloke-next-door-type of person was in the wrong? Who decided that the thugs should be given the right to rule the country? When is someone going to realise that, if something isn't done about these kind of matters, this country isn't going to be a safe place to live at all? If I want to sit on a train, I should be able to wear whatever I like, safe in the knowledge that, if someone did approach me, I could call the police and something would be done about it. I should be able to walk through a park, down the road, around town and know that the streets were being kept safe. What is happening?

The Long Journey Down

I don't know how many times we have driven from Aberdeen to Teesside and back again in the last 4 years, but it's definitely more than I can count on 1 hand.

Our journey on Friday, though, as we left our house for the last time, was definitely the worst.

WE eventually left at 11.15am. Ten minutes down the road, we had a phone call from the estate agents asking us to collect something, so we turned back. By then, it was Samuel's lunchtime, so we decided to feed him, and have a sandwich ourselves. We set off for a second time at 12.30pm. Driving through Aberdeen was horrendous! There was so much traffic. Then, before we had even reached Dundee, we were stuck in roadworks. We took a wrong turning in Edinburgh (how many times have we driven that way?), and all this before we had even left Scotland! There was more to come.

Needless to say, during the journey, I asked myself several times, were we doing the right thing?

God answered my question late on Saturday afternoon when I couldn't get Samuel to sleep, and had a million and one things to do before he went to bed. My mother- and father-in-law offered to take him out for a walk. I had 35 minutes to myself, to get on with other jobs!

This is why we have moved back to Teesside! Thank God for Grandparents!!!

All hail to the Cadburys Wispa!

Yippee!! It's back!!

It tastes the same, it looks the same, it is the same!

Cadburys Wispa is the best!!!

For your convenience...

What is it with these self check-outs at supermarkets?

Aren't they there for your convenience, so you can pay more quickly.

Not so!

I went to visit a friend this morning who hasn't been well for a few weeks, so hasn't been to the Army for a while, and I wanted to see her before we move.

I figured it would take about 45 minutes to get there, so I left at 9.15 to get there at 10. On the way, though, I decided I should get her some flowers, so I stopped off at a supermarket.

There were only 2 checkouts open, and both had long queues with full trolleys, so I thought I would try the self checkout. I scanned my flowers, and it says 'This item needs assistance. Please wait for a member of staff'. So I waited, and waited...there was no one around apart from the 2 girls on the checkout.

Nearly 10 minutes went by before someone came to help.

I think I'll just stand in the queue next time.

Lasting Impressions

People say that first impressions are really important, but I think last impressions mean just as much.

I have just attended my last Sunday meeting as a soldier of my Corps.

Following the meeting, so many people came to me, wishing us well, in their caring, friendly, Christian way.

Other people, entered the hall in their usual, stoney-faced, bless-me-if-you-dare kind-of attitude, and left the hall in the same way, without even a second glance towards me and my family.

It made me wonder what lasting impression I will leave on the Corps.

Hopefully it will be the former and not the latter.

But it makes you think, you never know who is watching you, taking in your actions and analysing your every move.

I hope that I portray the kind of person that God wants me to be, and not the mood that I wake up in on a Sunday morning!

An Ode To A Friend

There are people who you meet throughout your life who become your friends.

Some of those friendships are based on your circumstances…studying together at school, having a child the same age, working together, having a similar interest. When your circumstances change, often those friendships break down. It’s happened to me so many times before. I have lost friends through marriage, moving area, changing jobs.

I have no doubt that, when I move away from Aberdeen, a lot of the friendships I have made will fizzle out. It happened when I went to University. It happened when I left University. It happened when I moved to Aberdeen.

Other friendships, though, are for life.

There are only a small handful of people in my life I consider to be real, lifelong friends.

Someone who will laugh with me, and sometimes at me! But who will also be there when I fall, when I need a shoulder to cry on, when life isn’t going quite my way, when I’m angry, when I’m desperate!

Someone who will pop round for a cup of tea, even if that means travelling miles out of their way, just to spend an hour with me.

Someone who will go that extra step, just to see that I’m “ok”.

Someone I can be at ease with, no airs and graces…just takes me for who I am!

These kinds of friendships are hard to find and should never be taken for granted.

Moving away from Aberdeen means that I am leaving behind some very special, unique people with whom I have very special, unique friendships. And I am going to miss them so much!

This “ode” is particularly for Pam. A true friend, who takes me for who I am, who has been there and supported me through so much, who has let me have a moan, but also have a laugh, and who has supplied me with so many cups of tea and slices of cheesecake that I’ve lost count!

Thank you for being a real, lifelong friend.