Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 25 October 2020

I will sign up to help support your campaign, Lindy!

Thank you DIANE -
I have been reading all your posts, it is the first thing that I do every morning, thank you all.
Just want to send AQ good thoughts. I remember that OG had a similar result a few years ago with a good outcome.
I'll be back at some point. Callum is not in a good place at the moment, not communicating very well with the family or his solicitor. Trying to do all we can...

My heart goes out to all of you who are facing difficult situations of one sort or another and the virus situation has made things even more difficult, unfortunately. Particularly thinking now of you, OG, pain is never easy to deal with especially when it damages sleep, and of you, Heather, and anyone else facing issues with family members, friends, or neighbours, and most definitely of you, AQ, with the new diagnosis. I imagine most or all of us know people who have faced cancer or have had it ourselves and since everyone reacts differently it is tough to know just what to say--sorry! The early detection is great and treatments improve regularly and I expect that everyone reading this will be thinking of you, AQ, and sending prayers, good vibes, and anything else you might like to have. I love your photo and description of the Kingbird, Diane; we have seen them on visits to the States, usually surveying their territory from a prominent electric or telephone wire. They definitely have attitude and are a great example to follow for anyone!

Heather : Good to have a post from you. Sorry to hear that Callum is struggling with his problems. You can only suggest actions, and sympathise with him, if he is willing to listen. My thoughts are with you, on the sidelines and worried.

Gardenbirder, I'm jealous of your visit to the States, and your lucky views of the wonderful Kingbird. You are quite right about the cancer thing, I'm sure we all have experiences with family and friends and all of them with different outcomes.

I lost my favourite cousin to cancer, and my OHs much beloved elder sister. Also, more recently, my very dear friend G. But my OH had it and overcame it, and so did another relative of mine. It is a ghastly and indiscriminate monster of a thing, but I truly believe they will beat it one day - I read only this week that they are researching a theory that the human body could be primed to fight it from within, which sounds very exciting and possible. As Annette says, I think that one advantage of being older could be that things grow more slowly and that if it's caught early it's much more likely to be treatable. I'm sure AQ knows that all of us on here are rooting for her, and ready to hold her hand during this hard time.

Lindybird said:

I know who I would incarcerate first!!!

That prison at the bottom of the Marianas Trench would fill up quite fast!

Lindybird said:

Laughter lessons would be compulsory in schools.
All children would be taught how to be polite, how to fill in a tax return, how to cook a healthy meal, and what politicians do all day.

Industries would have to contribute to a Clean Water Fund for everywhere in the world where they don't have it.

Completely agree!

Lindybird said:

All guns everywhere would be melted down and the metal used to build trams so that the air would be cleaner in cities.

Dare I admit to being a target shooter?  I can agree with most guns.

I keep thinking of things to add to my list of stuff I would take action on, when I become all powerful.

One is to ban all talk of the virus from many of the tv programmes on every night - we need a break from it. Also, some more joyful news should be reported on in every News bulletin.

It would be illegal to print instructions and dosages on medicines and foodstuffs in tiny print, which can't be read without a magnifying glass.

Those who break the rules on meeting in large groups, or having parties, during this pandemic, should be sprayed with blue dye so that for at least a month thereafter, everyone would know who they are.

Those who are found guilty of mistreatment of animals should be made to clean out the Zoo enclosures for 6 months - with a very small shovel and a tiny bucket.

Clare, I might let you keep your target shooting gun. I had a go at potting clay pigeons once, and it was great fun!

Morning all:  Well, I can see I voted too early - we're allowed to write-in a candidate of our choice if we don't like the nominated candidates and I didn't realize Lindybird was in the running.  I suspect she's far too nice to win though.   :-)   I love the blue-dye idea; our chief Covid denier is coated with orange while his supporters tend to be more on the red side.  

Diane: That's a gorgeous bird  I see it's Latin name is Tyrannus tyrannus, which doesn't seem to fit with its cute appearance.  

Clare: I love looking at candid photos of street life - wherever they're taken.  Do like the eye contact between the bird and the boy who's looking back over the seat.

Heather:  The difficulty with Callum brings to mind the AA serenity prayer., but such familiar bromides can seem a bit trite when things are so worrying.....   Keep the faith!  

Meanwhile, our electronic rat zapper sent one unhappy critter to rat heaven last night.  You're supposed to be able to take the entire device out to the bin and dump the carcass, but this victim was just outside the box.   :-((   I really really do hate killing things, but as Diane experienced not too long ago, rats will get into car engines and eat the wiring and I really don't want to deal with that, not to mention the gnawed storage boxes also in the garage. Sigh.

Take care all.

HEATHER So sorry to hear Callum is taking things hard. Remember to look after yourself as well.