jeffthelion: (Default)
It's a weird feeling, what is the point of a lockdown, if half the country is no longer participating..? I'm not on about the Black Lives Matter protests, which are of course, absolutely cracking and well overdue. If people spontaneously decide to push statues of slave traders into a harbour and it can reduce black people being murdered by the authorities charged with protecting them, I'm onboard supporting that.

I'm on about the fact that the 'United' Kingdow had decided to give up long before that, when gatherings of 5 suddenly became 20 in the car park behind our house, in a matter of days after the Dominic Cummings controversy. If the Government bosses were going to say: "'Do as I say' not 'Do as I Do', then fuck 'em!" seemed to be the attitude. Ignoring all the good thoughts about not overwhelming the NHS and not killing your friends' Grans seemed to be all forgotten in a haze of freedom, beer and sunny bank holiday weather.

Part of me thinks that you may as well open the pubs for a fortnight and when it becomes rampant again and the inevitable shutdown again happens, at least everyone can remember that joyous fortnight of socialising during 2020 they had. Get it out of their system and do better at Round 2 of the Lockdown Pandemic that would be in the offing.

Maybe it's because we've had another 2 gigs postponed today that I am feeling this way, who knows?

It's not as if we don't do any socialising as it is, we see both our respective families, are having a lunch a week with Stevo, Jen is round at least twice a week to use our washer and hang out (and this week get treated to the in-fighting of birds then the death of a Magpie!), there are plans for Zoom parties when the football and the Rugby League World Cup tickets dates are sorted, I've spoken to Ben and Danny on Houseparty and Toni has chatted with Dani - all in the last week! Plus WhatsApp and Facebook has been mental throughout and we both have regular meetings during work.

I think as Jen said when she was round, "It's just odd not being able to hug friends goodbye, isn't it?"

That loss of the physical wider World, it's a bigger bludgeon into my heart than I expected. I have so much more respect and empathy for those that live alone and are lonely, some of the worst case scenarios I imagine go weeks and months like this, barely seeing anyone - it must be horrible.

Hope you are all doing well, stay safe out there!
jeffthelion: (Simpsons Cat Lady)
What am I doing up at this hour? Well, Toni has an early Doctor's appointment (don't worry, nothing that isn't in hand) and my snoring was keeping her up.

I think I got up around 5AM but I can't be too sure. Toni won't be up till around 8.15, I finally caught up with LJ properly, I can sleep in the late morning or afternoon (or maybe when I'm dead!) so I can still go out tonight for New Year's Eve to the Star and Garter. As you may not have heard, it's a fine (albeit rundown) drinking establishment in Manchester that may be getting torn down:

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/star-and-garter-manchester-pictures-10595403

There has been a pub (in some form) on the same site for around 200 years. Interestingly, two mates who visited in 2015 after leaving Manchester (Jessica who now lives in Seattle, USA and Nikki who lives in Newcastle, Australia) both noticed that there are fewer and fewer pubs, there is an ongoing campaign to keep this one open, one that is definitely worth fighting for.

Christmas has been wonderful. Christmas Eve carried on in the fashion it has for over half my lifetime, having beers round my Mum and Dad's. This tradition has been going on for around half my life now, it only started when we were 16 and just bored of waiting to get served in the rammed White Horse on Christmas Eve, so we resorted to buying beer from the shop instead and drinking at my folks'.

Over the intervening sixteen years, a vast number of friends have attended (thankfully not at the same time, as there may not have been the space!) This was the first time it was in a room being redecorated, with Christmas music played from a laptop as the power sockets were not in action. Me, Toni, both sets of parents, my sister, Stevo, Ben and Vausey (after a couple of late drop outs), all in attendance. It's great as I get the chance to say Merry Christmas to my folks and some mates I otherwise wouldn't see on the day itself.

Christmas Day we thought would be spent largely just me and Toni, but our mate Nikki is visiting from Australia for a few weeks and as she is now big on 'Park Runs' she ran 5KM on Christmas morn'! Insanity! Happy to share our shower facilities with her and her fella Andrew though and get a chance to hang out for a bit.

This delayed present opening till late morning... Very happy with what I got though, some skull patterned trainers, beer, kooky shirts, the odd CD and Dairy Milk Strawberries and Cream, nom! Plus I won the twee off with Toni, woop!

Toni opted into eating the duck, after being pescatarian for most of the year but the sheer amount of vegetables meant that I reheated the pigs in blankets for breakfast on Boxing Day! She then passed out during Home Alone 2, so I text a few mates Merry Christmas while watching two burglars receive more pain than seems allowable in a 'family film'..!

In the evening, we ventured across the block to Toni's parents, had a few more beers, Chas 'n' Dave on the TV in the background as we played 'Cards Against Humanity', if you haven't played it yet, I advise you do, if you have a dark sense of humour. Or you want your partner to say a variety of words she would rather not say in front of Mum and Dad (e.g. clitoris!)

Since then, we've largely got absorbed in the Darts and 'Aquarius'. Plus I went out on the beer with Nikki 2, Danneh and Nikki 1 in Manchester on the 27th and I gave blood yesterday too! For the first time ever, it was used in eyedrops, I had no idea that they could do that!

I can't believe it's only 51 weeks till Christmas... (kidding!)
jeffthelion: (Simpsons Cat Lady)
So, what feels like an eternity ago (but was actually just over a fortnight!), I saw The Bling Ring on a Friday evening (by myself, to see what it's like), it was a social experiment of sorts but I went to the pretentious Manchester Cornerhouse, so most people there were scratching beards by themselves so I fitted right in!

The film was very good (particularly if you want to see Emma Watson do pretty much everything she didn't do in a Harry Potter film..) Better than Dinosaur Pile-Up, who I went onwards to see with Vausey, Pollitt, Mackle, Russell, Rachal, Andy S and Justin.

The weekend carried on with Andy S' housewarming on Saturday, with Toni electing for 'an early night' in Retro Bar, which with Pollitt and Mackle, which meant coming home later than I did (when I visited the club Satan's Hollow) and collectively drinking champagne till 4.30AM!

Oh and then some jokers went and burned down a well loved Manchester gig venue:

http://mancunianmatters.co.uk/content/130711552-more-60-fire-fighters-battle-huge-oldham-street-blaze-heart-manchesters-northern-q

The weekend after that was Neil's Stag, which is detailed in that drunken blog just before this one but which was superb, sandwiched in the middle was Claire and Fran's Housewarming, where I was sober in order to pick up Toni from Katie's Hen Do and ended up with Katie nearly falling out of the car window, for reasons best known to herself... And it turns out that Emma is now bisexual and in a relationship with a girl, good for her!

And then this weekend, Angel has been pissing everywhere as she is ill again (her vets bills are likely to total £2000), thank God for insurance! Plus a trip to Edinburgh for Paul C's stag, despite one weird decision about one place to go, most of Edinburgh was tremendous and haggis is lovely.

Prior to this weekend, I had never visited Scotland nor tasted Haggis. Both of them I can see myself acquiring a taste for..!

Oh and Edinburgh Dungeon is bloody immense, you get 'pissed' on, prodded in the back by fingers and their 'hanging' ride despite its' lack of height is surprisingly shocking!

It's been great fun, I've even had time to write my Best Man's speech, speaking of which..!
jeffthelion: (Simpsons Cat Lady)
Shattered, as the bleeding cats kept me up all night jumping on things from ridiculous heights and I couldn't chuck the buggers out as Toni was already asleep!

Tonight was a night watching 'soft' documentaries on Channel 4, like 'Secret Eaters' as a result. There's a show called 'The Intern' and the presenter Hilary Devey, (just google image 'The Intern') to see what I'm talking about, she has a wig that is Captain Hook crossed with some kind of drag artist club singer, I keep expecting her to burst into 'New York! New York!" In short, I can't take anything with her in seriously.

Last night was the awesome Frank Turner with Jim, Blondie, Wong, Tam and Russell (a late sub for Toni as she was ill, booo!), tomorrow it's Turbowolf with Vausey and Dann-eh, here's my favourite song by them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUBWpFTAK2U

Nighty night!

Profile

jeffthelion: (Default)
jeffthelion

June 2021

S M T W T F S
  12345
6789101112
13141516171819
2021222324 2526
27282930   

Syndicate

RSS Atom

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Sep. 5th, 2025 02:38 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios