It's raining

It rained in the night. Not a great deal, but it's the first rain for weeks. It's quite reassuringly traditional, to have rain on a Bank Holiday. The warm and sunny weather at Easter was quite disconcerting.

We ate with Al and the family last night. They cooked a roast and we had it early, so that Squiffany could join us. She sat in her high chair, wielding a knife and fork really quite dextrously, although quite a lot of the food was put in her mouth with her fingers. Pugsley had already had his tea, but was given half a slice of pineapple at the end, which he chewed merrily for some time. He still has no teeth at seven and a half months but, while he hasn't got the knack of chewing and swallowing lumpy foods, he quite likes something substantial to gnaw on.

Dilly's sister's children had chickenpox a while ago and, as there was a lot on, Dilly really didn't want S & P to catch it, so kept away, which took weeks as the younger one got it on about the last day possible after the elder. And then on Saturday, she heard that one of the little boys at the Toddler Group they go to has succumbed. Both S & P have colds and are slightly under the weather, which isn't a good sign.

I just (this VERY MOMENT) had an urge to visit Amazon - oh, it's just too easy, isn't it. Two more CDs on their way. I never used to be this profligate. Mind you, there used to be a local bookshop and I shopped there every week.

My conscience has been reawakened. One of the guiltier things charged up to my account pops up every so often. This time, I was reminded by the splendid Diamond Geezer (his site, by the way, was one I found, quite a long time ago*, by looking for it. I thought that DG was such a good name for a London blog that there must be one). He was writing about irony and saying that it is not always apparent in a written piece. He used, as one of the examples "Tony Blair has been an excellent Prime Minister".

And this stirred my conscience once more. About five years ago, I wrote, in a job reference, "xx has been a valued member of staff"**. Well, he had been, in his time. But by that time, we were desperate for him to leave, he was desperate to leave but needed a job to go to, and the company in question was very anxious to recruit someone. But I was deliberately misleading and quite cynically so, as I suspected he'd struggle in the new job.

Worse, in the same circumstances, I'd do it again.

The rain has started again. What ho!


*in terms of how long I've been reading blogs, so it isn't more than 18 months or so
**I wasn't being ironical, but jesuitical