Excuse me-do what?? What is peace? And quiet? It's the week before Christmas, we had snow last weekend...that's what I said: snow. Lots of it. In London. Thanks, global warming. And with snow came the inevitable: ice. Lots of that, too.
I did manage to move just before the big snowstorm, so that was great. The side roads and pavements were sheets of ice-and even the main roads weren't cleared immediately. Side roads and pavements are still sheets of ice nearly a week later. The Brits aren't used to the winters we get in New York. Gritters and snow ploughs are mobilized at the first drops of snow.
Not here, though. And with the NHS on its knees and thousands of nurses on strike, this is not a good time to fall on the ice (or anywhere) and break something.
Nurses on strike. Postmen on perpetual strike (I haven't had a daily-or weekly-or monthly delivery of mail since the beginning of November). Trains and train drivers and employees are on strike. There are strikes at the airports. Did I leave anyone out? Isn't this a striking country!
I saw a group of postmen standing by one of the post offices-so I naturally had to go over to talk to them. Am I just nosy? Or is it natural curiosity and interest that motivates me to go and find out information-because the media is so full of misinformation that I usually ignore what I read and what I hear. So I walked over, having already stopped one of the local postmen I'd known for years and who was moved to another area.
I've now heard a lot of similar stories from the people who do all the heavy lifting: the front line postmen (and women) themselves. As much as I would like to start receiving mail-some of which is important- I had to say that I support them 100%. Everyone who is striking has a point: they're treated like crap, overworked and underpaid, and they do have a right to a pay rise that is in line with inflation. And inflation is astronomical-14% or more? I stopped listening at 14%. But government ministers are demanding pay raises-for doing nothing.
Go figure. You really couldn't make this up.
I tweeted about those odious people I told you about-at @limerabbit44 ... I must admit that I was expecting some kind of response from somewhere. Well-nothing. Very discouraging. And I was planning on moving anyway, so that was a plus. But now I think I need to do some research to find out how I can get the word out about them before they do more damage next week. I still keep in touch with some of the older people, so I get a clear view of what's going on. But it's frustrating when I know that there's nothing more I can do.
It should be getting warmer today: up to 0C (32F). An absolute heat wave. So it'll be unpacking, cleaning, staying out of trouble (seriously), and doing more tweeting when I can figure out my next move.
I'm pretty sure that I will be posting again before Christmas. But, in the unlikely event that we have another blizzard, it might be a bit later. In any case, happy holidays to everyone.
Eat lots, drink lots, stay out of trouble if you can (I know, this is me talking!), and remember that between now and New Year's calories don't count.
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