A Worthy Wrant?

So Halloween was apparently cancelled; not in my house, my cat* and I dressed up as usual, lit candles, filled a bowl with chocolaty-goodness (aka the contents of a bag of Celebrations… yes, they come in a bag now) and awaited the hoards of trick-or-treaters.

*or rather, I did all of the above while the cat just did his usual of prowling about as a black cat (because that’s what he is); he was actually out for the night (because that’s what he does), so I assume he was at least someone brave enough to do some trick-or-treating.

As usual the Trick-or-Treaters didn’t arrive (this is nothing new) so I myself dipped into the bowl and read a book.

I’d been “triggered” earlier in the day by someone online in a virtual environment talking the rhetoric of “yes, keeping the children safe at home”. “Triggered” seems to be an apt term although it’s weird for me to have such an emotional response as I’m generally calm and collected and not the sort to stick my oar in, but on this occasion I felt my blood boiling. Covid seems to have this effect on me. I bit my tongue though (not literally), just about managing to restrain my frustration; the argument in my head screaming something about (healthy) children being least likely to be affected when catching “the dreaded virus” but seemingly (I believe) put at most harm because of our responses to it.

Not being allowed to partake in the tradition of Trick-or-Treating being such a harm in my opinion. More accurately they were probably more at harm in all the previous years from going around in costume to the houses of strangers… costumes (and hair sprays) of a highly combustible nature coming to mind (this made the news headlines a few years back).

Next up “Bonfire Night” is banned I believe, or less accurately “Guy Fawkes Night” (a thing here in the UK). Perhaps a whole generation will miss out on the very school lesson I had received (probably around age 10/11) of how Guy Fawkes was caught in the act of trying to blow up the Houses of Parliament. I think some sort of deeper and more important lesson will have been missed and history forgotten – this whole event wiped from the history books, just like the First World War (not literally, but I’m thinking of the headlines about how the last survivor of those times was to slip from this reality; our last living connection to the past). The importance being that there were at least some people who didn’t agree with those in power/the general view of perhaps a brainwashed public and prepared to do something about it; we have to remember that not everyone agrees with the official narrative of things and that history, it is said, is generally written by the victors.

I have since learned (only this past week in fact) that Guy Fawkes was apparently just the fall-guy caught guarding the barrels of explosives planted in the vaults; the actual person being shot dead and thus not available to be made an example of; Guy Fawkes was caught live and well… that was until they tortured him, in typical 1500s fashion (I’ll spare you those details), in front of crowds. I always thought of him as some sort of Bin Laden-type; Bin Laden wasn’t one of the guys who flew a plane into the World Trade Center (or Pentagon) but just the guy who had been hunted down by those seeking their enemy and revenge, the scape goat, not that I actually doubt he was behind the incident, but few people seem to ask the question of why such a guy who could pull off such a thing got it in his head to do so. Isn’t it odd, therefore, that “Guy Fawkes” is the character we remember and name this day after. Had “9/11” been prevented, would we call the day instead “Bin Laden Day”?

As the rhyme goes:

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.

Back to the present day debacle I have my own rhyme:

Remember, remember two-thousand and twenty,
Lockdowns, Covid and masks.
The washing of hands,
At two metres you’ll stand,
Do as you’re told and don’t ask.

Next in line is Christmas with jokes about how law enforcement will have the powers to burst into people’s homes and break up groups greater in number than 6. Three wise men, Mary, Joseph and Jesus himself; phew we’re safe. What’s the risk of 7 or more, lest they be planning to blow up the Houses of Parliament of bring down sky scrapers with planes?

Today’s post was triggered by the following from my electricity supply company, inviting me (yet again) to change my electricity meter to one of a “smart” variety:

“To keep everyone safe, our engineers will use personal protective equipment (PPE) and practise social distancing.”

“Practising” being the key word. It implies (to my mind at least) that it’s some sort of play or an act, or after months of this people still don’t know how to do it right, so they are still “practising”!

PPE alone triggers me, I don’t know why.

Sometimes I am called to visit people and they don’t know how they are “supposed” to act; should they keep their distance from me, wear a mask in their own home, or they tell me they would like to offer me a drink but don’t know if they are allowed.

Here are a few books I share with you that (at the time of writing this at least) I have not acquired or read, but would like to: