Mud, butterflies and festive times

Well then, here I am back from a brilliant festival weekend!  Loads of great music to listen to including the Levellers, Public Image Limited, Hobo Jones and the Junkyard Dogs, Inspiral Carpets (should be renamed Totally Uninspiring Carpets)............and many others.  The group of friends (old and new) that we were camping with formed a circular commune with our tents which added to the social atmosphere of our four days under canvas.  Once again there were many totally off the wall costumes to be seen around the site, hair colours that I am not sure would have washed out in time for folk to return to work this week and people wearing clothes that would be frowned upon if spotted in their local shopping centre.  I found a great pair of festival trousers in bright stripes with frilled trim around the knees..............think of an old fashioned bathing suit and you have the idea.

Despite forecasts earlier last week that predicted rain all weekend, fortunately we only had to endure this at the start, but oh Lordy, Lordy what a wet time that was.  From around 8pm the rain started and carried on until mid-morning the following day.  This was joined overnight by winds gusting so strong that I was expecting to be propelled, tent and all, into a whirlwind just like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz (regular readers will know that I actually want to be Dorothy and get to make the bad witch melt).  As a result, the site was very muddy for 36 hours, rather like wading through treacle, but it eventually solidified a bit and was easier underfoot.  Despite the weekend being great it was wonderful to arrive home and step under a hot shower and wash off the ingrained dirt that had accumulated about my person.  I emerged some time later smelling of lemons and fruity shampoo.  However the aroma of chemical toilets and cow pats will remain in my nose for some time before my brain switches them off!

I have tried hard this year to grow my usual crop of fruit and veg in the garden but it has mostly been washed out or shrivelled up.  However I was doing okay with the sprouts until the white butterflies came to town.................my three plants are now a mass of stalks without leaves.  All efforts to prevent this have failed – I have cut the buddleia flowers off, swatted the little winged critters and even tried to encourage the cat to come out of retirement and chase them but still they manage to sneak in and feast.  Looks like I will be buying my veg from the supermarket this winter.........I wonder if these butterflies are being sponsored by Waitrose?  Just a thought.

Here we are in the middle of August, the schools have another two weeks before they go back and already I have found a local shop selling tubes of sweets labelled as Christmas Treats.  In the name of all things holy (which of course Christmas is) why on earth do we need to have to be subjected to December products this early in the year?  Christmas cards and calendars for 2013 are already on sale in the nearest large town and as for the capital city...............I was informed by a friend a few weeks ago that there is already a winter scene complete with snowmen on display in one of the prime London tourist areas.  Who will join me in voting for a ban on Christmas products until mid-November?  The Americans get their Christmas merchandise out once Thanksgiving has been and gone – a far better way of doing things.

Earlier this year there was a very bad car accident in town involving several teenagers, some of whom sustained very serious injuries.  The cause has been established as the fault of the driver due to his misguided thinking that it was cool to show off his poor driving skills to his passengers and he has duly been given a custodial sentence and a lengthy driving ban.  There have been some vicious comments made around town and on social networking sites about the driver and whilst I can understand that people wish to express their anger and frustration, they have not spared a thought for the family involved.  The driver’s parents do not deserve to be blamed, they were not behind the wheel that night and they have had to endure months of gossip and finger pointing.  The driver was to blame, he has to live with the knowledge that it was only due to the skills of medics that he did not face manslaughter charges.  Had any of the passengers had their seatbelts on then undoubtedly their injuries would have been less extensive.  Hopefully this will serve as a timely warning to all drivers, young and old, of the necessity to (a) use seatbelts and (b) remember that just because you have passed a driving test does not give you the right to endanger your life or that of others.  I hope this will be the case but sadly I do not think it will.