Full and Part time jobs

What jobs have you had?

But..

I’m not saying what! A few of the people here know what my jobs have been, but I am not willing to share with everyone, and  as these prompts are viewed by more than my  friends those other people do not need to know.

I’m not a secretive person but I think we all have a responsibility to ourselves to keep our information safe. There is an increase in the amount of phishing on the Internet.

I will say I have had full and part time jobs, I’ve worked with people and on my own, also with machinery. I’ve never been a manager, thankfully. I enjoyed working with most of the staff although I could tell some tales about the bad behaviour  of some and the wonderful things others have done beyond what was necessary.

Prompts are interesting, they make you think, but some are easier to answer than others. Work gets you money to pay bills and pay for housing, the ability to use sports facilities and other entertainment. I am glad I had responsible jobs but I’m glad too that they are behind me now.

Pets….

What animals make the best/worst pets?

First of all, best or worst is a hard question. Basically it will depend on the owner and their capabilities.

Live in a big house with a big garden? The best pet might be a dog or a cat, or even a horse if you have fields for it to roam in. Live in a small flat or a single room apartment? Then your best pet might be a fish or a small snake.

Then it depends on whether you can afford to pay for their food, vets bills or vet insurance. Can you get a pet sitter if you go away on holiday? Someone who is able to come in and check everything is OK? You might have to pay for kennels.

Then you need to think about the pets needs, can it cope with being isolated if its on its own? Does it bark or make loud noises, are you able to exercise it or clean up after it? Will it shed pet hairs, does it eat live food? Are you allergic to it? What is its lifespan? Some small mammals only live a few years, others, like parrots or tortoises might out live you!

The number of pluses and minuses you need to weigh up are important. Don’t get something you won’t want to care for if it gets too big, complicated, old or ill.

Think before you buy (or adopt) it’s your responsibility at the end of the day!

Apparently Goldfish CAN count.

Sorry not to have a photo of a goldfish! Having a chat with hubby this morning, and he’d read an article that goldfish can count. It makes me realise how much we don’t know about the animal kingdom. How intelligent animals are. I’ve been watching a TV programme by Chris Packham about animal genius. Birds such as the Corvid family using tools, also otters and primates. So many animals that we are not aware of. We must continue to pay attention to these things. Learning how intelligent life is not just the domain of humans. For too long we have regarded ourselves as top of a pyramid of animals, as superior. We need to be more caring and take on the responsibility to look after them, not persecute them. But not because goldfish can count, but because whether they can or not, we need to look after our home, our planet.

Poppy

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A poppy painting I did a while ago.

This recent warm sunshine is bringing all the poppies out into flower. We walked into town, and where the pathways have not been sprayed with weed killer, all sorts of plants, including oriental poppies, are springing up. Mother nature is taking over.

But… In places where people have been allowed to meet up, the beaches, and parks, the main growth is in litter. People do not take their rubbish home with them. Why are humans such a filthy, messy, species. I thought we were giving the earth breathing space. But people’s ethos seems to be having what they want, and ignoring the damage they create.

I don’t think humans deserve this wonderful world. Really.

Why are there foodbanks?

sketch-1577233161543.jpgThis might be someone’s meal today, tonight, next week. They may be on a low income, on benefits or state handouts. They might be in a refugee camp trying to flee from famine or oppression.

Coming closer to home, in a land that is the sixth richest in the World and where many more billionaires live than ever before, the number of Foodbanks here over the last few years have soared, from a handful ten years ago to more of them than McDonald’s outlets now! There are around two THOUSAND Foodbanks in this country now. Let that sink in. And people using them are only allowed two or three referrals in a six month period. That referral gives them emergency food for three or four days. They are used when someones benefit has been cancelled or delayed. I know about them because I used to refer people into them. I had to jump through hoops to get a referral for them. Often I came up against the arguments about whether they were deserving enough. I would be talking to a decision maker who would criticise the person’s ability to budget a paltry amount of money that the decision maker could not possibly have lived on themselves.

My question again is why are there Foodbanks? Why are the poorest in society forgotten? Why do the rich think it’s OK to look down on the poor? Remember that it is only by luck that we are born into the lives we have.

 

Marching winds

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It’s still blowing a gale out there as the partygoers shout and swear and slam their car doors shut and head off into the night.

There’s been flooding in the Conwy valley in Wales and in the north west of England. Scotland and Northern Ireland have also had their fair share. The situation is relatively normal for this time of year, but the number of floods we get most years seems to be increasing.

In the meantime on Friday young people from across the world went on strike again from school to protest about the state of the climate and how it is getting close to more than a 1.5 centigrade rise in average temperatures.  If this happens the world climate may not recover and it is the young who will have to live with the consequences. Scientists have said that if things don’t get better in the next 12 years the world will reach a tipping point into climatic chaos.

It is interesting to reflect the differences in attitude of the partygoers tonight and young people across the world. It seems a tenuous link, but I think it may be valid. The difference between bad behaviour, fighting, swearing and a peaceful protest.

I leave you to decide.