I am not sure which is worse, the loss or the gloating Scum fans

I am not sure which has been worse today.  I have seen loads of Scum fans (Spurs/Tottenham to those who did not know) who have had to mention the match yesterday.  And my manager who supports 'that team' has had a huge grin on his face all day as well. 

It could have been worse, but we play them again on Thursday.  I am fearful of the result. 

Diversions

Today was a lot busier than we had planned.  After getting out of bed late (my daughter had woken early), we had a few things to do.  My son's school shoes had come apart and needed to be replaced, which meant that we were going to see what shoes were on offer in Braintree as we also needed to get items for my son and his birthday cake, this meant a trip to Lakeland in Chelmsford.  So we went to have breakfast at The Bungalow Diner before heading to Freeport.  Once we got the shoes, there were clothes for the kids, and a check for winter shoes for the kids.  So we ended up spending a few hours there.  After this, it was to Chelmsford to prepare for cake and then, home.

Well, that was the aim, but my daughter let us know (today) that she needs photos of landscapes for later this week.  So we took a diversion, a big one to get some photos.  We went to Chappel to take a few, and then to Bures.  But the family decided to have tea, so it was a further trip, this time to Lavenham.  Sadly we arrived too late for afternoon tea but still relaxed there.  But one advantage was that I missed the thrashing of Arsenal in the cup final.

Anyway we are home and resting now.

Apparently I am crazy

Apparently I am crazy.  Well according to my daughter.

Last night, my wife had some friends round, and I was working late, very late,  So I was not too willing to get out of the warm bed this morning to cycle to a course to learn about hips, shoulders knees and toes.  But I did, and the cold wind that was blowing certainly woke me up on by bike ride.  The course was a good one and I hope put my new knowledge to use soon.  And the view was great with the sun being out.

On getting home, my wife was not feeling too well so while she rested in bed, the rest of us went out to get some shopping (and forget one item).  While in ASDA though, the kids convinced me to buy them some chocolate brownies.  When I asked about helping them eat them, I was told by my son that this was not an option for me as I have a weight problem!

Later (after the kids ate the food), while my daughter stayed at home, my son and I walked round to a friends house and then later, into town.  There was an event for Pokémon Go, but sadly, when we got into town, my son and I realised that we had missed this.  He made the most of this with a trip to the playground where he had fun, and my wife had got better with rest and drove into town to collect us, something we appreciated as it was freezing.

After a trip to the supermarket again, to buy the milk that the rest of us had forgotten, it was back home to eat and relax before watching The Voice.  And it was over this time that my daughter, after over ten years disclosed her view that I am crazy.  Not sure how she came to this conclusion though...

Requiem

We have been watching Requiem.  My wife, has not been scared by it. Though this may have something to do with her playing Panda Pop while it is on.  I on the other hand have found it scary.  When my wife realised this, she decided to scare me more.  I now have to ensure she sleeps otherwise I am sure she will wake me up by scaring me later! 

Gun Controls do not mean banning all guns

I am grateful that I live in a nation where I do not have to worry as much as parents in the USA that my children will be murdered at school.

Danger is everywhere in all nations and the mass murder of children can happen in any western nation.  It last happened in the UK in 1996, following which a ban on handguns was imposed.  Before this, following a mass shooting in 1987, semi-automatic weapons had been banned.  Since then, we have had incidents where the murder of more than one person has occurred, but these have been rare, one example being, how Derrick Bird killed many innocent people, followed by the murderous rampage of Raoul Moat.  But this was in 2010 and while mass murder has occurred since then on several occasions, firearms have not been used in this manner to kill so many.

The thing is that guns are still legal in the UK, though there are restrictions on what guns can be owned.  Gun crime exists here, but the rates are far lower than in nations like the USA, just like how the overall murder rate in the USA is higher than in other developed nations.

The call in the USA by many is for assault weapons to be banned.  Those who are against it cite the second amendment to the US constitution which allows the right to bear arms.  But this was made in a time when a well trained person would take almost a minute to shoot three times.

I have discussed this with my wife, and she is of the view that nothing will change in the USA.  And to be fair, she may be right.  After the murder of many young children in Sandy Hook, assault weapons are still legal, and this is probably due to the campaign contributions made by organisations like the NRA to protect the right of Americans to have assault rifles, though this has meant the continued murder of children in schools.  Something that does not happen anywhere near as often outside the USA.

Starting a battle with no ammunition

I apologise of this picture causes offence in light of the recent school massacre in the USA. 

This morning, I woke, went to work to catch up on some paperwork and had to return home to be a taxi.  My daughter went into town and I dropped her at the friend with whom she was to walk into town.  In addition to this, my wife managed to get a free pampering session in town and went with a friend.  After dropping them off, my son and I went out to catch Pokémon.  He was annoyed with me playing Pokémon GO in Southwold yesterday but was more than happy to play it today.  In fact, yesterday he accused me of loving the game more than him.  I told him, that while he was wrong, he was right to tell me how he felt.  And then I explained all the things that we had done which did not involve Pokémon GO yesterday.  I do think that it is important to let him know that he can tell me how he feels, but while he was wrong this time, there will be times that he will be right.  I forgot to tell him that and will need to tell him that again.

After picking up my daughter, I had to attend a call of nature when back home.  During this time, I heard the screaming and shouting.  My son, had got one of his NERF guns and took a shot at his sister.  She got her NERF crossbow and shot back.  Apparently, my son felt this was unfair as he had no bullets.  My son, who started the battle, felt it was unfair.  And in addition to this, he forgot a very important issue with NERF bullets,  That being when you shoot someone, they can pick up the bullets to shoot you back.  However by the time I was able to get out to discuss this (I was tempted to walk out of the door and leave them to it) he was in such a bad mood, that he would not listen to logic on this matter.  That and he refused to let me look in his room to see if he had bullets there (though he agreed to this later).

Anyway, the day later turned out for the better.  And I guess in the interests of fairness, I should point out that my daughter left a bottle of orange juice (mostly empty) with the lid undone on the back seat of my car...

Southwold in February half term

Thanks to the visit of my mother, my wife and I were able to go out for Valentines day.  Her knee has improved to the point where we were able to walk to have a great meal.  One where I tried squid again.  And whereas I hated it before, I have to say I sort of liked it.  I doubt that I would make a choice to eat it from a menu again, but it something I would eat, possibly, in the future.  But it was great to be able to eat out, and while we love our children, having quality time together is very important.

Thursday involved a late meeting at work which mean that I was not able to watch the Arsenal match.  I was nervous before it as our opponents had beaten quality opposition before, but needless to say, I had nothing to be concerned about.  Some have commented that Arsenal can win the competition, which is true, but our away form is something to be concerned about in general.

But today, was a trip for all of us.  My mother had been dropped in London yesterday and the kids got to have a trip to Southwold which they liked.  They love the pier there, and today we ate in the Crown.  We have eaten here in the past, and before children, even stayed here one night.  The food as always was amazing, the kids absolutely loved the prawn burger that my daughter ordered, something that my wife tried as well  We enjoyed the pier while my wife browsed the shops and later, after collecting her, had tea there before heading back home.

Anyway, it is almost time for bed again, and here are the pictures my daughter took today.