My Zippity and Bippity

have got their doo dah and boo back - although, I'm not sure they were ever really connected to begin with (for me, at least).

I woke up the other morning, thankfully; I wasn't entirely sure at one point I was ever going to wake up again, as I'd rolled over in bed during the early hours of the morning; by rolling I mean I flung myself from one-side-to-the-other (something I am sure everyone has done at some point) and I  smacked my head so hard on the wall the other side (the joy of a small room) that I actually saw stars (and not the ones outside, behind the window). It's not the first time I have done that either, having done it in January while laid up with chicken pox (I know, at my age). That night though I am sure I did knock myself out, for I'd not slept in 3 days, and after banging my head (which really bloody hurt) I found myself coming too 7 hours later. It may just have been that I was so tired I nodded off, however, part of the reason I flung myself was out of pure frustration where I was so tired and yet still felt so wide awake. It was that week (the chicken pox week - which was more like 10 days than 7) when I first laid there and thought to myself "I really no longer care, if I live, or die". Never before had I felt that way; no matter how tough things were, within me there was a fighter who refused to give up, who had (still have) so many things in life she wanted to do, that she kept on going, determined to do those things. Death (and the thought of it) also scared the shit out of me, so there was no way I ever wanted it to happen. That night though, I honestly didn't care. If I'd not woken up I wouldn't have sat on my cloud and thought "ahh fuck it, I had so much more I wanted to do", I would have sat there and said "well, there you go; the pain and hurt finally ended". I think that was the moment I realised just how deep into myself I had gone, just how black the darkness which had been gradually creeping up on me my who life, had finally got. 

Like most people, there are 2 of me. The one the outside world sees, the one who is real. I should have been an actress; I'm damn sure I would have won awards because I am so good at letting people think they know everything about me, whilst I know they literally haven't got a clue. I share only what needs to be shared. I'm sure some people who know me may come across this at some point, may read it, and may sit there and say "holy shit; I never knew she was feeling that bad". That's because they either A) have never bothered to take the time to get to find out how I am, or what I am feeling, or B) because I have hidden it and covered it so well. There are things I share, and things I don't, and I can paint on a smile far better than any clown when I have to. I've been out the back at work before, sobbing to the point where I cannot breathe, yet the second a customer comes into the shop, I walk myself back through, paint the smile on and they would not have a clue.

Anyone who knows me, knows how I was bullied as a child, and well into adulthood - in fact, even this year I have still allowed people to (pressure me maybe, not so much bully, although there is a very fine line between the 2) make me feel as though I am not worthy, that I am just a thorn-in-their-side they tolerate, yet don't really want to be around. I've sat back and said nothing about things when in fact I should have shouted about them, but I kept quiet "because it's easier" and because I didn't want to upset or offend someone else. How sad is that? It was/is ok for those people to make me feel worthless, to upset me, yet god forbid I actually speak my mind and upset them. Yes, that's the world I have been living in. That's the world I've been allowing myself to live in; that's how I allowed people to treat me. What a waste of 30 years (ok, ok, I know I'm older than that, but cut me some slack!!).

I've experienced some things in my life that I would not wish upon anyone - including those in the past who have made me believe myself to be worthless, and those who thought it ok to smash my head against a concrete pillar, and worse. I figured those things happened because I was worthless, a nothing, a nobody; I deserved no better. From there, things then just seemed to escalate and I got so caught up in my own world of doom-and-gloom, I then believed all the bad things which happened in my life were because of how worthless (and useless - oh yes, I've felt like a useless being) I was. There's no denying that my Dad dying as he did, that Lou dying as he did, that Donna dying as she did, that Myrtle going through what she did, was hard on me (and they are only things which have happened in the past 25 years - the things before were equally as hard, however, they were my things, things that happened just to me, things that weren't shared with anyone) but DLD and M weren't just about me. Other people also suffered as a result of their losses far more than I, it's just that they were just the ones which hit me the hardest. It wasn't my fault those bad things happened (yes, I really did, (often) think it was all happening as some kind of punishment to me - what I believed I was being punished for I have no clue). They happened, because sometimes, life is fucking shit. We have no control over those things, and I think that makes them even harder, because, at the end-of-the-day, no matter what anyone else says, we all have a little "control freak" living inside of us. 

I never felt as though I fitted in, anywhere. For as far back as I can remember I always felt I wasn't worthy (even as a child, although I am sure back then I thought of it in a different way) and that I was the odd-one-out (that feeling I don't think will ever leave me, but I can accept it now, own it for what it is). I always felt as though I should be doing all I could to please people, or to be a better version of the person I am (I know I should have accepted myself for me - I am who-I-am, the best version I can be at all times). I grew up in a family with 3 older cousins, and 1 the same age. The constant comparison to them all (not by my parents I would like to add - they never compared me to anyone, accepting that I was the daughter they'd been blessed (burdoned I am sure at times) with) was blatantly obvious for even a blind man to see. I was the chubby one; I would cry at my size growing up (because I'd been bullied about it) and Mum would tell me that it was "Puppy fat" and I'd "grow out of it". She lied :) Not the only lie she told me - the best one being " a spider will never crawl on you because they have cold blood and you have warm". The shit I got from my Dad when I absolutely freaked out at having a big, black hairy spider crawling up my face was second-to-none; I so blame my Mum for that! She did it all because she loves me though, and I can never hold that against her - I do enjoy mentioning it though, every now-and-then :)

The cousins were all way more intelligent than I could even pretend to be (and as we've ascertained, I am a good actress, I could have pretended to a point). Because of this I was made to feel stupid, useless and inadequate, hearing often that I was 'never going to amount to anything' or that I wouldn't 'go far'. So, there I am, a kid of 4 or 5, feeling fat and stupid, all thanks to my peers and some nasty little kids at school. What's a fat, worthless, stupid kid to do? That's right; attract the very creatures who feed off such negativity, and that's how I found myself plunging deeper-and-deeper into a world I wanted no part of, yet had no clue how to get out of it (it's taken me until now to finally rid myself of those creatures). There were some kind ones who made it through and that's only because, like me, they were also being bullied and feeling in a similar way to how I felt. Some of them are now raging alcoholics, some (like me) still gorge on food which really does make you feel better at the time, until you catch sight of yourself in a mirror, or have to buy clothes another size bigger; that, then, adds to the circle you are caught up in, so you eat because you're depressed, but it's the eating which aids the depression in the first place. I also ate (I use the word 'ate' as I am currently on a health kick, that I know, for the first time in my life, I will succeed at) to hide myself away. Nobody pays attention to the fat person, unless it's to be mean or take the piss out of and I was used to that; it's a different kind of attention - yes, that is a lie in-a-way too because sometimes people do take notice of the "fat" one and use-and-abuse them in a different way; that's not something to be talking about on here though. 

I have allowed people into my life who should have been told to "go and do one" when I first realised how badly they were treating me, yet stupidly, I kept them around; I thought they were my friends. How crazy is that?

As a teenager I (mildly) self-harmed, not knowing at the time that's what I was doing. I'd take the ring-pull from a coke can (other fizzy drinks were available) and I'd snap it in half so that there were 2 jagged pieces and I'd use those to gouge the skin away from my fingernail beds, or carve into my arm, always making sure to cover it so that nobody could see; if anyone did notice I'd tell them I ripped the skin on a tree branch in the woods, or a thorn on a rose bush. Earlier this year, one of those gouges made an appearance on my wrist (I found that quite odd as I'd not seen any scarring for years). It reminded me of that girl though, and showed me how far I have come in life. The fact I am still here is testament to that; weird how it showed up this year. Even weirder is how it showed up just after I had reached the darkest time in my life. A time I never, ever thought I could reach. 

For a week earlier this year, I fell into a real "woe-is-me" point in life. I think a culmination of everything finally caught up with me. I got so angry with myself for feeling that way. At the end of the day what do I have to feel sorry for myself for? There are families whose kids are dying, slow, horrific deaths and there isn't a thing they can do about it. There are people sleeping under bridges and in doorways who have nothing, and no one in their lives. There are people being blown up in war torn countries; people like you and I, just trying to make it through each day. There are children being tortured and abused, teenagers being stabbed to death on a night out with their friends; people my age, fighting diseases which are ravaging their bodies and they know the outcome is not going to be good, yet still they fight. What the fuck did I have to feel sorry for myself about? What right did/do I have to feel sorry for myself, when compared to all of these people (and many millions more) I have lived an exceptionally charmed life?. I only need to look at my own number 1 to feel humbled, and ashamed of myself for allowing myself to wallow in self pity; what that girl has been through, is going through and will continue to go through I would not wish on my worst enemy, yet every day she gets up, she puts a smile on her face and she gets on with it. To me, she is inspirational; she has far more right when I could ever had to feel sorry for herself (and at times, she does; she is only human after all) but compared to her I have nothing to complain about at all. What kind of selfish, arrogant, narcissist was/am I still? With such an attitude as I had/have (I can't change who I am overnight) then I do deserve all I have dealt with. I have created the person I am today through my own self-loathing, and self-pity. It was during this week (the darkest one) I talked to my Mum about my funeral wishes, told her where my life insurance was kept, discussed what should happen with my bits-and-bobs should anything ever happen to me. I did it in a way that wouldn't have rung alarm bells (had they rung I would have known about it) and I sat back and worked out that it was time for me not to waste any more time feeling sorry for myself. I could not see any light through the trees, and so I told myself there was no point in me living on this planet any longer. It's shocking for me to admit to that; to know I had allowed myself to wallow in so much self pity I believed I should no longer be here. Thankfully, that part of me which has kept me on this planet all these years, that little fighter who lives somewhere deep within me, took me by the ears, shook me about (quite violently) slapped me around the head a few times and made me realise I don't want that. I don't want that at all. What I do want is to show everyone, prove to anyone who has ever doubted me, put me down, said I would never be able to do it, or achieve anything, that they are wrong. That I am good enough and that they are not, and were never, worthy of being welcomed into my life as they were.

In recent years I have rid myself of wastage; people who made me feel bad, people who were blatantly only being my friend for what they could get from me, people who make no effort whatsoever to see me, have been kicked-to-the-curb. It's meant I've found myself in a very lonely place, but I think that is a good thing, for that is what has helped me to finally wake-up. I've learned that for every person out there who doesn't want to spend time with me, there is another who does. I got/am so sick of always being the one to make the effort, getting nothing in response, that I have walked away from people I genuinely care about; I am worth more than that. I got to the point where I decided if someone wants into my life, then they are welcome (as long as they don't bully, try to manipulate or put me down). If they don't want in, that is fine. It is their choice and I wish them well in all they endeavour. We cannot force people into wanting to spend time with us, just as we must stop forcing ourselves to do what others want. I have a 3 strike rule because at the end of the day we are all human. I've had people send me a message, read it, gone to reply to it, got distracted and not given it another thought, until later when I get another message, and I'm like "ooh shit; my bad". I do then reply. I often contact people. who I can see have read the message, who don't reply. A while later (weeks/months) I may send another. The same thing can happen. The third time they don't bother, they go. It's pretty obvious they have no interest in me. I can take a hint!! Several people have been removed from my life over this Christmas period. People who've not bothered; if they can't be, then why should I be? I've spent my whole life giving; it's time for me to do some taking, and if that means other people's noses get put-out-of-joint in the process, then I'm afraid so-be-it. Maybe if they'd given a little more thought to my feelings in the past I'd not be cutting them out now. I'm done with putting others first (except My Mum for she will always come first, no matter what; I'd not be here if it wasn't for her) It's time to put me first, and other people are either in, or they are out. They no longer get to dictate my life. When I woke up smiling the other morning, I realised that my happiness is dependant on me, and only me. I hope some people want to stay in my life, but if they can't accept I may not always do things how they want it done, and that I will do what I want to do, then that is something they need to sort out. I will never set out to hurt anyone, or be mean to someone (that's just not in my nature and I know how it feels to be on the receiving end) but I will not let their misery, unwillingness and lack of thought for anyone but themselves ruin my day, my fun, or my time. If they don't want to join in, that is fine, just so long as they understand I'm doing it with, or without them. I've spent 48 years of my doing what others said I should do, behaving how others told me I should behave. I refuse to spend the next 48 being anyone's puppet. I am good enough, I always was. I only wish it hadn't taken me so long to realise it.

I used to keep copies of every message and email I received, partly because I would often forget what someone had told me and would need to go back, but mainly because there were certain people in my life who would say things, then twist what had either been replied, or said by me. I kept those to defend myself. What I realised when I 'awakened' was that it doesn't matter, they don't matter. If they have nothing better to do with their lives than stir up shit for others that is their problem; not mine. If the person they are spreading their shit to believes what they are being told, again, that is not my problem. I do not need to defend myself to anyone. As a result, all messages and emails have been deleted, except those which have info relating to travel or days out, which are needed for me to know what I'm doing and where I need to be at any one time. I know what I have/haven't said, or done, and to be honest what someone else thinks means absolutely nothing to me. If they want to believe bad of me, then they're not the kind of person I want in my life anyway. I even deleted the messages I'd kept that Donna and Louis had sent me; I figured it's time to let them go, let them rest. I have more than enough memories to remember them both by. My keeping hold of such things isn't going to change the outcome, it's not going to bring them back.

The past is what-it-is and while it has shaped me, I cannot allow it to define me. It's been, it's gone, it's over; I had no control over it, but what I do have the opportunity to shape my future. I cannot allow the past (or my inner kindness that always feels it should put other people first) to stop me from doing so. 

And so I find myself facing 2019 with an optimism, a gusto and an excitement I have never felt in my life. It's all kind of weird to me (and a little scary at times) but in such a great way.

I think I might even sit and make the time to write that book I've always promised myself I would write. Maybe, just maybe, I don't need to base it around my imagination; maybe I need to make it about life, real life, my life.

You want to be a florist, huh?

2 things, on an almost daily basis, I hear in my shop; one slightly more than the other. The first one being "it will be a nice one, won't it?" (an alternative version of "make it nice" is grouped into the same bracket). I often reply "no, sorry, I only do bad stuff" - if I think the person saying it won't be offended (these days you can never be too careful). It's actually quite an insulting thing to say if you really sit and think about it. Good job we're thick skinned (this will be repeated in a different scenario further into this blog entry too). 

The 2nd is "Oh, I'd love your job. It must be so wonderful to 'PLAY' with flowers all day". One woman even said to me once "I wish I could just fiddle around enjoying my hobby all day for money". I'll be honest; I wanted to punch her. 

Yes, I have a great job (the best job) one of the most rewarding, but I promise each and every single one of you, 'Playing' with anything, is not part of my job remit. 

Let me explain.

This morning I've taken some photographs of my hands and forearms. I'd been at work for just over an hour when I took them and the first customer of the day said those words to me (the "I wish I was a florist" words). When I showed her my forearms, the look of shock on her face was one I would love to have recorded. At this point I had made only 2 holly wreaths - since then I have made another 3 dozen; I cannot share photos of how my hands and arms now look, for it may be distressing to some people to view. Each and every single red dot you can see, is where the sharp end of a piece of holly has burst a hole into my skin. The scratches were also caused by the ever-so-popular dark green, lethal plant.

The red dots on my left arm shown in the picture, are not part of my tattoo. Remember, these photo's were taken after making just TWO holly wreaths; I've made 38 in total now.

 

It's not all about this time of year though, about the holly stabbings and scrapings we deal with an on hourly basis - which by the way all have to be treated with antiseptic, just-in-case. It would take too long to constantly open up a tube of savlon, or germolene, so instead I have Surgical Spirit in a spray bottle, and after making a wreath, give my arms a spray. Try it sometime. Prick your finger, just one little prick, and then dab on some sugical spirit; then imagine you have a hundred of those pricks running up and down the inside of your arms, where the skin isn't quite so tough as your fingers. Welcome to the world of being a florist!! But hey, I'm just playing, right?

Of course, it's not always about this month, this time of year. Yes, this is particularly hard on our inner arms, but what about the rest of the year. Check out my gorgeous hand. I'm not a smoker, they are not yellow because of nicotine; they are that colour thanks to lilies and flower stems. Yes, that is spray paint on my hand. I spent 20 minutes last night with a nail brush scrubbing at my hand to get it off. In the end I saw blood, so had to stop; I'll try again later tonight to remove the rest. As for the ground in pollen and flower stem stains; well, they have to wait until I have enough time to soak my hands in bleach for an hour, to try and remove them. Still, I get to 'play' with pretty things all day, right?

 

So, how about the other stuff. How about the times I get to 'play' when I have people in the shop?

Let's take the man who was drunk the other week; to the point where he could barely stand. He thought it would be ok to pee on the plants I have out the front of the shop. He then came into the shop to tell me he'd done it, before throwing up on the floor and walking away. It's not the first time I've had that happen either, and this time of year the amount of alcohol fueled people through the door trebles; none of whom are customers either.

Then, there were the 2 guys a while back. It was one afternoon when I found myself alone; outside had been wet and miserable all day, so it was dark by 4pm. All the neighbouring businesses were shut. It was just me and in they came. Tall, well built, they towered over me. They somehow managed to position themselves one either side of me, blocking my way out of the shop, and my way to the workroom or office where there is a phone. I don't think I have ever felt so vulnerable in my life as I did that evening, especially when the one furthest into the shop picked up the scissors I had been using and started opening and closing them, while they both questioned me about what kind of day I'd had, how busy I had been and whether takings were good. Now, I am really lucky in that 99% of my business is card based. If I take £50 a week in cash that's a lot, and I did point this out to them, but that didn't make me feel any safer. The obviously (thankfully) believed me though, for they said they'd get back to me on what flowers they might be wanting, and then left. Still, at least I get to 'play'. 

How about the days when I'm not quite feeling it? Let's take the day I got a call from my best friend to tell me the guy that I most likely would have ended up married too, had been found dead that morning - he was just 26 years old. My boss was away, there was just me and the office girl at work. I had to carry on through that day, a 10 hour shift, wanting to be anywhere but where I was. I remember one particular guy coming in that day being a right twat going on about buying some roses for his girlfriend. I wanted so bad to tell him to "fuck off" but I couldn't do that. That would not have been acceptable, so I stood there, for over half-an-hour with him, thinking himself funny, when a big part of me had just died inside, and my heart had been ripped from my chest. Fast forward a few years, and the daughter of my best friend (the one who had called me that morning with the news) was calling me to tell my that very same friend, the one I had spent over 20 years laughing with, crying with, was going to have zimmer frame races with when we were 90, had just died - she was 42. My only thought in that moment was getting down to her children (20, 12 and 9) and as I was just about to lock the shop door a family arrived, wanting to order flowers for their 98 year old Nan's funeral. I stood, I served them, they were in bits, and I wanted to scream at them about how their Nan had at least lived her life, yet I couldn't; when in a florist you have to behave in a certain way. Just last year - the 23rd December to be exact - I found myself in bits. My much beloved dog had been put-to-sleep the evening before after I finished work (I'd lost my cat just 5 months earlier; 2017 was not a good year). That day I dealt with drunks, people wanting Diamonds for the price of glass; my arms were ripped to shreads so bad I was covered in plasters, I was knee deep in leaves and stems where I'd not had chance to tidy (it was exceptionally busy); there were orders still to be made up for the drivers to take, people coming in wanting things "now" and getting shitty with me because I didn't have time to stop and make what they wanted immediately (I can perform miracles, still struggle with the impossible)  and some woman said to me "I'd love your job; such an easy thing to just play around with flowers all day". I wanted to beat her to within an inch of her life, and I am not a violent person.

Thankfully, the day my Dad died I wasn't at work; however, I'd been there to take the call 18 months before telling me he'd just had a heart attack in a city 2 hours away. I had a boss back then though, and was lucky enough to have been able to leave and go up to him. 

How about these (see the photo below). These are pretty, aren't they? Surely, I got to 'play' thanks to those? That depends on your definition of the word 'play' because before I could make any of these, I had to deal with the grieving relations of the 2 year old little girl whose funeral they were organising the flowers for. Now, while some of you may then see me 'playing' whilst making the tributes up, to me all I could think about was how a family were in the deepest depths of grief and that I should never be having to make any tribute for such a little person. If that is me 'playing' to you then you seriously need to think about what kind of person you are. Roughly 50% of my daily life is dealing with families at the most vulnerable and emotional time of their lives. I've had people in the shop so consumed by their grief they have been literally breaking down and falling apart in front of me, yet there I am 'playing' away. 

I'd love to come into work, pick up a few flowers and play; how great would that be? In order for me to do that though, somebody else would have had to scrub all of the vases, top them up with water, empty them every-other-day and repeat the scrubbing/watering process. Someone else would have had to take each wrap of flowers, strip off every single leaf which will be below the water line, then cut them, place them in a vase, and rearrange them on the flower stand, each-and-every day. In order for me to 'play' someone else would have to answer the phone (one lady this morning talked for 7 minutes before I even got a chance to speak) sweep the floor (many, many, many times) and serve the customers who walk through the door. They'd also have to write the cards, keep social media up-to-date, and keep an eye the bag of stems and leaves which are slowly beginning to rot in the bin bag (composting spores can be quite hazardous) . Someone else will have had to counsel the grieving families who have been in to organise funeral flowers for their loved one and someone else will definitely have had to try and steer the local lady who has mental health issues and no understanding of acceptable boundaries, from getting up into the face of that grieving family before she can ask them "has someone died?" and "are you sad they are dead" usually followed by "how did they die?"

Will you be happy to spend 9/10/11/12-16 hours each day, 6/7 days per week, on your feet (which will be pretty much constantly soaking wet from all the water you are working with - you may, on occasion also need to wear support tights; not comfortable attire). Will you be happy to have hands so cold during the winter (there's no such thing as a heater in a florists) that you cut straight through your fingers and stab yours palms without realising you have done so until you start to notice there is blood dripping everywhere?. Will you be able to smile your way through serving a bigoted, racist homophobe, so he goes away thinking you genuinely like him (a florist has to deal with such things and smile sweetly; it takes 100 customers saying good things to earn you a new customer, but just 1 saying bad things to lose you 100 - believe me, 'sucking-it-up' is one of the hardest parts). Will you be able to put up with a Valentines Day (every person regardless of their job should have to do at least one Valentines Day in a florist - the respect we would suddenly earn would be priceless). Will you be able to stay professional at all times, whilst counseling a family through their grief?. Can you switch off your own emotions/feelings the second you walk through the shop door?. Can you cope with people constantly telling you how easy you have it? Will you be happy with people constantly telling you that you are "ripping them off" - a plumber or electrician charges you £80 just to come out to your house, before they've even done anything, whilst you, a florist (who has also trained for as long) is expected to work for nothing?. Will you be happy explaining (many, many times each day) the difference between supermarket flowers, and those from a florist (by-the-way - if the grower wants 20p per flower and the supermarket wants to pay 10p per flower, then the florist is charged 30p for the SAME flower, to make up the difference the grower has lost; that is why we have to be more expensive - we've paid three times as much). Will you be willing to tell a customer that the particular flower they ordered just the night before (which you never guaranteed in the first place) hasn't been available for the wholesaler to purchase which will then leave you subjected to all manner of abuse?. Will you be able to keep your calm, on one of the most stressful days of your personal life, while a bride emails you 32 times, asking you the exact same question just in different guises, when you have already explained to her (before she even began the emails) that the flower she wants, does not exist, at all, in the real world?.  If you are happy with all-of-the-above and willing to never drink a hot drink again, and don't mind leaves, spiders, worms and bits of stem in those cold drinks, then maybe, just maybe, you too could begin a life 'playing' with flowers.

Oh, and I do all of this (and so much more) for just 2.36 per hour. But hey, I get to play all day with flowers, right, and am out there making a fortune from my hobby?

Little Scrotes

A while back I made a decision to try and not let things anger me any more - at the end of the day all getting angry ends up doing is making me feel worse, and that's never a good thing. It also means the subject of your anger is beating you, and I prefer to not let people get away with beating me these days; the kinds of people who would anger me are also not worthy of my time and effort. However, I am still human, and there are times when things piss-me-off and last night was one of 'those' times. 

Like a lot of people in the world, I work bloody hard. I was taught "you don't get anything by doing nothing" - alas, that's not the case in this country and it seems those who choose to work hard get shit on from great heights, while the low lifes of the world who choose to scam the system and not work for their living end up getting everything - yes, there are some who can do both; I know of 2 people in the area I work in who claim to be single mothers (yet, in fact they have - and always have had - men living with them) who have thousands thrown at them each week in benefits, and they are also both running extremely successful businesses - 1 of them from home, the other from shop premises. Neither of these businesses are declared so they really do have the best-of-both-worlds (and to think my parents couldn't even get £20 a week to help with their mortgage as my Dad (who worked every day of his life from the age of 14 (as did my Mum too) lay dying). There are also those who are unable to work due to illness or disability; again, they get shit on. Honesty really does not pay in this country, but all that is by-the-by and a rant for another day. Today is about 2 little scrotes who believe it's ok to take what they want.

Yesterday, when I got to work someone pointed out to me that the business on the end of our small block had had the bottom window in their door smashed. Now, I'm going to be honest with you, I could have called the police (I actually dialled the number to call them) then I remembered they would be arriving at work in just over an hour, and that the other week they refused to take in a parcel for me, telling the postman "we have nothing to do with that devil whore" so I didn't go through with the call, instead thinking to myself "well, there you go, Karma has paid you a visit". Not very neighbourly, not very charitible, and not really the kind of person I am (or at least, the one I used to be). I did try to check our security cameras to see if they had picked up who might have done it, and to check whether they had made any attempt on my shop but at the time I was unable to connect to the camera server, so got hold of the IT guy who said he would check it for me; everything is accessed remotely and not stored anywhere in my building. 

Not having the footage stored on the premises turned out to be a good thing, for it means that if anything was to happen to the shop, the cameras would keep on rolling; which is exactly what they did. That is how at 8.30 last night I found myself staring at moving images of 2 little scrotes trying to break into my shop via the back door. The anger those images brought forth in me, took me by surprise. I was far beyond livid. Thankfully, they were unable to gain entry, but that hasn't stopped me from wanting to track them down and peel the skin from their bodies, layer-by-layer. How very dare they.

I've been running my own business for 12 years now. For the first 7 years I took off only 2 days each year (Christmas Day and Boxing day and even then I came in one Christmas day). In the past 5 years I do now take off at least one week each year, and try to take 2, but as a small business it's not easy to be able to close for a week to have a break. The shop is open for 47 hours each week, PLUS, I am there at least an hour earlier every single day to get that days orders made up before I open; I also work later a couple of evenings each week to keep the paperwork up together, and more-often-than-not am in on a Sunday prepping for funerals I may have the following week. On average I work a 65 hour week - this doesn't include the time I spend in the evenings replying to emails, messages and queries from customers, or the time I spend with brides. Now, do not ever get me wrong. I love my job, I love what I do, I am extremely lucky to be able to do what I do, but when I look at my bank account and see how much I am earning (less now than I was 30 years ago) to see some little scrotes try to break into my shop with the intention of stealing from me, when they are probably earning more in a day from sitting on their arses being little scrotes, makes my blood boil. How fucking dare they? 

I was lucky enough to be brought up in a really good area; sadly, in the past year (since our police station closed down) things have gone rapidly downhill. Every single day a different area of town seems to be hit. Houses are being burgled, businesses are being burgled, cars and bikes are being stolen, elderly people are being mugged, and so what does our government do about it? Cut down on the amount of police we have. This week they've been sitting in a large building, paid for by the tax payer; their food and drink is paid for by the tax payer; their wages per year (far more than I could earn in 2 decades) is paid for by the tax payer; their security staff, is paid for by the tax payer; the policemen and women who guard them are paid for by the tax payer (the same tax payer who no longer has a local police force to check they, and their property is ok) yet what does that tax payer get in return? A crime number when they've been attacked, broken into, or had something stolen. A crime number!! "Here you go, Miss Bradbury, have a crime number to take to your insurance company".  "I'm sorry you were mugged, Mrs Jones; grab a taxi to take you to hospital, and use this crime number to see if you can get back what was stolen from you". I see lots of things on the web about "Broken Britain" and now I understand exactly what they mean. 

While they (the government - themselves a huge drain on society, the biggest benefit scroungers of them all) debate a Brexit plan (do not even get me started on the total-and-uttter shambles they are making of that - what happened to this once 'Great' country I was born into? We are now a minnow in the pond of useless and a laughing stock to the rest of the world) in one area of London, on the very streets they may drive through later (when I say they, I mean the people who are paid (by the tax payer) to chauffeur them about) a young person may well have just been stabbed to death. Every single day there seems to be another story about a young person, a person with their whole life ahead of them, being needlessly stabbed on the streets in our capital. More scrotes with nothing better to do, who have been born into a society that allows you to just take what you want without having to do anything for it. I hear people say we should bring back National Service, but to be honest, I'd not want these little scrotes to be out there, looking out for me. We live in a society of self-entitled scrotes who wouldn't put themselves on the line for anyone but themselves. We (as a society) have allowed this to happen, and we are the only ones who can do anything about it, yet our government, who should be helping us to tackle the issues, are sitting in their warm building, eating their expensive food, washing it down with expensive champagne, while the rest of us struggle to make the ends meet, and watch having those ends stretched even further by little scrotes, because we have no police force left to tackle them, stop them, and deal with them. 

I don't blame the force at all (except the wanker who left me stranded on the motorway after I was hit by a 40 tonne lorry and had no way of getting home, instead having to sit on the hard shoulder for an hour in zero degree temperatures, with no coat - it had been in my car which got towed away where it was a total write off) they are under immense pressure and up against it on a daily basis. I can't even imagine the job they have to do and how frustrating it must be for them to try and do their job the way it should be done. I know a copper who retired early because he said when they were catching people 'red handed' the courts were throwing the cases out because there was either not enough evidence (apparently video footage of them committing a crime is not enough) or the pathetic sentences they could dish out weren't worth the effort and paperwork. How is that ever a good thing? How has it come to pass that a huge majority of the time, the criminal is treated bettter than the victim, because they have "human rights". I'm sorry, the split second you commit a crime against another person you should have no claim to any type of rights. I'm not saying we need to be draconian and start locking people up for jay walking, or some of the ridiculous things they were locked up for in yesteryear, but we damn well need to make sure anyone who commits a crime is punished, made to pay for it, and recieves no privileges whatsoever. Yes, I do believe in a 6x4 cell, with 3/4 to a cell, and the merest of rations. Jeez, some of the prisons we have over here are better than 5* hotels, and that is never right. I'm all for rehabilitation of some (it can work really successfully) but I also believe punishments and prisons, should act as a deterant. It's not going to stop all the crimes, but it would damn well make a lot of them think before they acted. What justice is there when a 96 year old man can be beat to death in his own home for the sake of £20. What will happen to the piece of scum - COWARD - who did such a thing if he's caught? He'll get some do gooder on his side bleeting on about how hard his life has been and get a slap on the wrist and told not to do it again. My life has been hard, bloody hard, but I don't go around beating elderly people to death. My number 1 has had a horrendous life, yet does she go around stealing from people, beating up people? No, she gets off her arse every day (regardless of how sick she is herself dealing with her own incurable illness) and goes to work in her job as a nurse, helping other people. 

Things need to change in the UK, and they need to change fast, or we're just going to plunge deeper and deeper into a lawless filled society; we're supposed to have moved on from the "olden days" we're supposed to more "civilised" yet here I am, right here, right now, talking about how worse this country is than when I was a child, and how the scum and scrotes of the world seem to be living the life of reilly. It's not just this government to blame, but they are the ones currently in power, and they are the ones who need to implement the changes; the chances of that happening though are zero. They can't even agree on how to walk away from Europe, for fear of upsetting them all. We're being screwed from all angles and there is nobody willing, or brave enough, to take it on and make the changes that need to be made. I fear for this country; I used to be proud to be English, now I'm just ashamed for the people who make the decisions. The UK (I have to include all 4 countries because that's the "correct" way) is being dragged further-and-further into the abyss and if we're not careful, pretty soon there will be no coming back. 

"An english mans home is his castle" except when some little scrote decides he wants to enter it, walking away with whatever he wants. God forbid that castle owner tries to take justice into his own hands. How very dare he try to protect all he has worked for, saved for, and given up for, against some piece of pond scum who believes he's "entitled" to help himself to whatever he wants, for the full force of the law will come down upon that castle owner far quicker than it ever would on the scrote. I'm not afraid to put it out there; if someone entered my home without my permission I would do whatever it took to stop them taking whatever they wanted; if that meant they never walked, talked, or breathed again, then so-be-it; they won't have given thought to me, my feelings, or my life if they entered unlawfully, I'm damn sure I'm not going to worry about what happens to them. It's not often I agree with the USA and it's Second Amendment, but there are times I can't help wonder if I was able to purchase a gun, whether I would, or not? A few years ago I'd have said "not". Now though? It's definitely something I would consider, and I never thought I would hear myself say such a thing. I work hard, really hard, and I will not allow someone to take something I've worked my arse off for, so some lowlife scrote can come and take it for himself. I don't own a lot, but everything I do own, I've worked for. My business has taken over my life for the past 12 years; to see 2 scroty lowlifes trying to illegally enter it, to do god-knows-what and take whatever they could get their hands on (not there is much they could take) pisses me off. 

Damn right, I'm angry.

Book Review

I wrote a book review earlier; actually I wrote a couple, for I have (in the past 3 weeks) read 3 books. Not a big thing to many of you, but to me, that's something I am more than chuffed about. I used to read a couple of books each week, then life, work, and all manner of other things seemed to get in my way, and for over a year I didn't read anything. That didn't mean I wasn't still buying them though; in fact I ended up spending money on a kindle (something I said I would never do as I love the smell of bookshops, and the feel of the pages beneath my fingers) becuase I just don't have enough room to store any more (physical) books. 

Whilst away last month I made a point of taking a book with me and I intended to read it; all of it, and I did just that. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy sitting down with a book. The escapism they offer (if reading a work of fiction), the chance to get to know someone, or something, better, if reading a biography/autobiography (not always a good thing; ended up not liking Patrick Swayze at all after reading his). I'd forgotten what it was like to just sit; to immerse myself in a world away from my 'norm'. 

I'll read allsorts; fiction, historical, and (as said above) bio/autobiographical. Technical books not-so-much, because, let's be honest, they do not make an ounce of sense to me (it goes in, rattles around the emptiness, goes back out again). My favourite author is Stephen King, my all-time number one book is IT, by the said, Mr King. That does not mean I like everything he writes; whilst I will read all of them (occasionally not getting past the first 20 pages) he has written some real stinkers - The girl who loved Tom Gordon was shockingly bad. However, when he writes a good one, he writes it better than good. He's classed in the "horror" genre, yet I've never once read one of his books and felt as though I am reading 'horror' in the sense of the general word. I've heard people say IT terrified them. I found it fascinating. I guess some of that was down to being able to relate to the characters. I'd grown up in a similar area to the setting of the book, hung out with my friends in a similar fashion. I saw it more as a coming-of-age book, rather than horror. In fact, other than the murders (which were awful) I don't think there was anything remotely scary. If I was forced to read it every week for the rest of my life, I would do so quite happily. I have, in fact, read it 5 times in total, so far.

Another book I've read several times (3, to be exact) is Where White Men Fear to Tread. A friend bought it for me as she knows I love to read about, learn about, try to understand, Native Americans, their cultures and how they've been persecuted over the years (I am blessed to have several native friends in my life, one of whom is my go-to-guy for everything that is going on in my life; I'm not sure I would even be here without him). I'd heard "Russell Means" through a couple of my friends, so when she gave me his autobigraphy as a gift I couldn't wait to get it open and start reading. I found the man an absolute arrogant arse who (I believe) sold himself out to the very people he spent so long fighting against (some of my native friends have met him (he's passed away now, sadly) and said I was right to think that way - other's have told me he was like a messiah to them; each to their own) yet at the same time I loved reading the tale he had to tell. I loved his passion for what he was getting up to, he believed enough to go out in the world to try and make a difference. It was so contradictory, yet I couldn't put it down. Even if you don't know anything about Native history, go out and have a read. You will not be disappointed. It's eloquently written, and with a prose that is easy to follow. Half the time I felt as though I was there with him, standing by his side. He was an exceptional story teller. 

These were good books; these were books which got awarded 5 stars. On the whole, I find I award around the 3 star mark, however, there have been a couple of times when I've given only 1 star (The Woman in Black was a bitter disappointment) The comments below the review made for a far more interesting read than the book itself; as you can see, one woman was not happy with me; part of that though, was also down to another book I only gave 1 star - the book this blog entry is all about. If I could have given is MINUS 10, believe me, I would have done. The other woman having a dig I think just wanted to jump onto the bandwagon; I considered letting her comment slide, then decided to have a nose at her reviews. Once I'd seen what she had to say about writers, I then returned a comment. I, personally, think she was probably another of the trolls who crawled out of the woodwork when the review I left (the one I haven't got to yet, which this post is about) was placed on the site. Good lord, there was a lot of 'trip-trapping' going on over those bridges for a while, that's for sure.

So, there I was, back in 2012, looking for a new book to add to the collection. Liking a good 'creepy' tale I found myself in the ghosty/ghoulie section, and one called "A true haunting", by a guy in the USA, jumped out at me. I had a look through the reviews, saw they all said it was a good book, so invested my hard-earned money in a copy. There are several reasons why I now wish I hadn't bothered. 

1) The book was shit.

2) The abuse I recieved for weeks after leaving my view was unprecedented, and something I had never experienced before (and I spent my whole childhood, and half of my adult life being bullied, in one-way-or-another).

Turns out the author didn't like my review; neither did his family, friends, their family, their friends, their workmates and their family and friends..... I could go on and on. There were so many of them, and not one of them had anything nice to say to me. In fact, they were all quite foul. It got so bad that in the end I deleted my review; it just wasn't worth the hassle and abuse I was recieving. Some of them even told me they were going to visiting the UK in the not-too-distant-future and would enjoy tracking me down; yes, it really was that bad. In the end I decided the abuse I was getting really wasn't worth a few words I'd written on Amazon, so I removed it. Cowardly, or just easier? Once it had gone, the abuse stopped. I then deleted my account and any information realting to it. I changed my email address and closed down every single profile I had on the internet; some I deleted, some I set to "friends only" - not that that works on Facebook (even though I have my friends setting to me only, and my friends have theirs set the same, we still get offered up as "people you may know" on their friends; seems pointless having a privacy setting when they pull you out anyway, but that's a blog post for another day).

It wasn't until a week after I'd removed it, that it finally struck me, I had just bowed down to bullies, albeit ones who had threatened to do more to me than the kids at school had done. It was at that moment I realised why the book only had 5 stars. They were either written by one of the family/friends who enjoyed havnig a go at me, or those same people had hounded and harrassed every other person who (like me) had not given it the star rating they believed it should have. It was in that moment I realised that review (as it was originally - I keep copies of everything) needed to go back onto the site, or I was letting them win. How could I look the kids in my in the eye when telling them "stand up for yourselves; don't let those big kids bully you" when I was allowing the "big kids" to bully me. For christs sake it was just my thoughts on a book; it's not as if I signed his Grandmothers death warrant. 

In a weird way though, they did me a favour, for not only did I not let them win, it also stirred something within me that had not been there before and I began to see things (and people) for who they really are. People I was allowing to bully me in my every day life. It took me a while to finally rid myself of those people, but I am sure it was finding the courage that day to repost my review, that helped me to finally stand up for myself, to the point I was able to say enough-is-enough when the time was right. I guess I owe each-and-everyone of those who sent me such venom via the interweb, a thank you. They helped to shape the person I am today. 

Want to know what I said about the book? Click Here and have a nosey.

Ghosts: DNA

Back a long time ago - well, a few years really - I believed in the world of the 'paranormal'. I'd often be asked things like....

Do you believe in ghosts?   Yes

Do you believe in reincarnation?   Yes

Do you believe in poltergeists?   Yes

Do you believe in tarot cards?   Yes

Do you believe in mediums?  Debatable, but I wanted to believe some could communicate.

Do you believe in alien life?  Yes

Have you experienced de ja vu?   Yes.

Whenever asked the question: Do you believe in god?  The answer was, and still is, NO.

My answer regarding alien life hasn't changed either; I do not believe we are alone in the universe. For the rest of the questions though, I now answer: no, not really, with the exception of de ja vu, although as you will see if you continue reading, I have a theory relating to this.

Part of this change was down to completing a paranormal investigation course. This taught me to ask questions, look for logical reasons; part of it was because I was sitting one day, thinking about my family tree, when an idea/theory struck me, and now it all makes perfect sense to me.

A ex-friend of mine had a theory that ghosts were part of a time slip, and this made sense to me to (at least, he tried to lead me to believe it was his; turns out it was Albert Einstein who came up with it - nothing like taking advantage of an unread person!! thank goodness he's no longer part of my life). We, the people, however, have created time, and it is relevant only to an individual at any one moment. To me, today, an hour is feeling like 10 minutes. To someone sitting in a hospital bed, that hour could feel like 3. To a child waiting to go on a holiday to Disney, it could feel like a day. Each year we are able to manipulate it - the clocks going back-and-forth; also, every now-and-then, GMT is held up for 1 second, so time, really is irrelevant, in the grand-scheme-of-things. It is a man-made creation. Something invented to make life easier to understand, to give us all some kind of structure, so having bends in those times is a perfectly acceptable, and sensible, idea. He believed that when a bend happens, we can appear in the past, and people from the past can appear in the future (appear to us). We believe we are seeing a ghost, as, I expect, do the people from the past. This could also be how some people claim to have been able to see into the future. Most of these sightings don't last for long, but they last long enough to convince the people witnessing them that they have been visited by someone 'other worldly'. I think this is also why children can have 'imaginary friends', who, for the record I don't believe are imaginary at all. However, because a child has no concept of time, it would be far easier for them to encounter (and deal with) a time slip (or bend) than for those of us who have been conditioned to dispel as we get older. I believe this is why so many children appear to have a 'psychic' sense too.

Then, there is the Stonewall Theory (now called the Stone Tape Theory - I'm sure one day we'll have to change it to Stone Streaming Theory!!). This one also makes good sense; let's face it, often people in old buildings will see things, the same things, repeated time-and-time again. Surely, if such a thing as a ghost existed, they would be able to move about freely? Yet, so many ghost sightings are different people, on different days, in different years, seeing the same thing that someone else has seen. This fits in with a bend in time, and the stonewall theory perfectly. All those people are seeing is a visual replay of something that has happened.

Don't get me wrong; I have seen things, many times, but I think now, either of the above theories are the reason why. I either entered a time slip for a second (or more) or was in an area where stonewalling is prevalent. Let's face it, anyone of us who has seen something, normally only see the most fleeting of glimpses. Whilst sometimes, it may appear as though you are interacting with them for ages, in reality, it's probably only really a matter of seconds.

Sometimes, dare I say it?, they are even down to our own imagination. We may catch sight of something (corner-of-the-eye) that we aren't sure of, so our brains translate it for us into the most logical of images that we can make some kind of sense of it.

Now, let's get onto the Ghost; DNA, which actually isn't ghostly at all - I just wasn't sure how else to title it!! I guess I should have called it De Ja Vu: DNA, but ghosts grab more attention, and as an attention seeker (why else would I sit here writing this if I wasn't?) I want the headline which is going to give me the most readers. This also relates to those people who have never been somewhere, yet know exactly where they are, or children who claim to have lived before (and adults I guess who believe they have been reincarnated). I don't (for one second) now believe that they have lived before; at all. What I do believe in though, is their DNA: their genetic makeup. Let me explain.

We are all created (not by god) but by our parents; the male sperm, the female egg. Even those of us who may have been created in a test tube will still have a female egg and male sperm (unless, of course, you are a clone!). As a result you have your own DNA, but you also inherit a little of your parents. As they have inherited their parents, it stands-to-reason, that we too, may also have a little of them in us, and so it can go on. Who's to say we don't have just one tiny molecule of DNA we have inherited from a 30 times great-grandparent? It only needs to be the tiniest of pieces, but if it's from them, and now in us, then surely there is a chance at some point we could be somewhere they visited in their lifetime, and that's how we know we've been there before. I'm not sure how it works exactly, even the best scientists in the world can't tell us how the human mind works, but something, somewhere, triggers that memory (or moment) in that tiniest piece of DNA you have, and to you it feels like your memory (because you/we know no different) and yet, it's not yours at all, but that of an ancestor of yours.

I've experienced it myself before. As a child (around the age of 6 or 7 - before my brother was born at my age of 8) I visited Banbury in Oxfordshire with my parents. I had never been there before, yet when we arrived at a certain point I felt I had been there; I recognised buildings. How could that be? It's not a place I had been taught about at school (I was still in Juniors/Middle School then - we didn't study geography at that point). My Dad said "right, let's see if we can find somewhere to get a cuppa and slice of cake". I then told him about a lovely little shop that sold the best homemade cakes, and explained exactly how we needed to get there. My parents were great, understood I was a little 'wacky' at times, and so followed my directions, which lead us straight to the shop I had told them about; the shop I had seen and visited before. The shop which had been trading for over 50 years and hadn't changed that much at all (bear in mind, I visited in the 1970's - things/buildings and the way things were made back then didn't really change much; it's only in the past 20 years with all our modern gadgets that we've changed how we make things, and modernised our buildings). For years this experience baffled me. How did I know it was there? How had I seen it before? Then, when my DNA theory popped into my head, it all made perfect sense. You see, my Maternal side of the family were born and raised in a place called Burford, in Oxfordshire, which is less than 25 miles from Banbury. Could it be that a relation of mine, someone who I share my DNA with, had visited Banbury, and the cake shop, and my being there triggered that small DNA molecule which meant I knew where I needed to be?

Another experience I had once (which wasn't de ja vu as I didn't feel I'd been there before) took place in Burford, roughly 12 years ago. Long after my Banbury experience (when, for the record, I knew nothing about my family growing up in Burford; I believed them all to be from Newbury in Berkshire). 15 years ago my brother started to research our family tree (most interesting it all is, too). That's when he found out about everyone in Burford, and for some reason a woman called Emily stirred something within me. One Sunday I took my Mum and we headed off to meet my brother in Burford (first time either of us had ever been). At the entrance to the church my brother said to me "ok weird one" tell me where Emily is buried then. I stood at the side entrance to the grounds, having never been there before, or having seen any kind of layout plan to the place, and directed him (in one go) straight to Emily's grave.  How was I able to do that if I'd never been there before? My great grandfather was her 1st cousin; she died when my Nan was in her early 20's. As the family all lived within walking distance of each other, and in those days families included immediate (as well as) distant cousins, it stands to reason that my Nan went to her funeral. My Mum was born 12 years after this, has my Nan's DNA in her, as do I. Emily's parents are in the same cemetery but they have no headstone and the parish records were all but destroyed so there is no record of where they were buried, but I found myself drawn to one particular spot (under a tree) and am convinced (even to this day) that they are buried there. Had I been there before? Or was I picking up on a residual memory from my grandmother and great grandfather, whose DNA flows through my veins?

I've lost so many people in my life I would dearly love to believe they have the ability to come back , visit us, let us know they are safe, but sadly, I am unable to. Nothing (as yet) has ever proved to me it's possible and the older I get, the more I realise there are many more plausible reasons why we see/here/know things.

Extra hour in bed?

Every year I hear people say "ooh, we get an extra hour in bed" when the clocks go back. Every year, I find myself having to despute this.

Come on, who realistically does actually get an extra hour in bed? I know I didn't; in fact I end up having an extra hour awake because of it, and I have no doubt many of you do too.

What was that? You don't understand the crazy English lady coming out with such nonsense? Then let me explain.

Most of us are 'creatures-of-habit' (even those who say they aren't probably find they really are). We get up at the same time each morning, we got to bed around the same time every night. We have a 'routine'. If you work you need this routine to ensure you get enough sleep to see you through the following day for your job. If you don't work, you probably find you still  stick to some kind of routine, or else you just end up 'drifting'. 

So, your routine, if like mine, probably involves you getting up 6 days-a-week to try and earn some money. You'd think that one day a week you don't have to get up, you'd spend a bit longer in bed, but the truth of the matter is, you most likely don't. The reason for this is that your body has become used to the getting up at the same time for the previous 6 days; it just does what you've been programming it to do all week. After a while, this routine becomes a 'habit'. You probably find even when you're on holiday, you still wake up the same time!! 

Then, someone says "hey, the clocks are going back; you can have an extra hour in bed". That someone needs silencing.

I go to bed between 11-12pm each night and my alarm is set for 7 the next morning - although I'm usually wide awake around the 6am point. That's what I am used to, so it stands-to-reason yesterday would be no different. I did send myself to bed later on Saturday, in the hope it might make a dent in the awakening routine (it never). I then found myself wide awake at 6.30am, or what would have been 6.30 had it been the day before. Yesterday, however, it was officially 5.30am. I then found myself with a dilemma. What time to go to bed last night. 

As I was up an hour earlier, should I go to bed an hour earlier? That would make sense, but then what happens if I follow my usual routine, have just over 6.5 sleep? I'd find myself awake at 4.30, and it really would be 4.30 because the clocks weren't going to suddenly jump forward again this morning. No, the only choice was to go at 11, and start conditioning my body and brain back into a routine that fits around the lifestyle I have. However, that then meant instead of having this elusive extra hour in bed, I ended up being out of my bed for an hour longer than I would have normally been. On a general (normal) day I spend around 17 hours awake. Yesterday, when I was meant to be able to spend 1 less awake, I, in fact, spent 18 hours awake. Ok, so I gained an hour, but not a sleeping one. 

Then, Monday (today) comes around, and my little brain is still totally confused from yesterday and finds itself wide awake at 3.30 this morning, wondering what the hell is going on.

No, I don't think we gain, or benefit, at all from the clocks going back. Time for them to just let things stay as they are, me thinks. 

Still, at least it's the right time of year to be walking around, looking like a sleep depraved zombie :)