Category: Kids
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These trees outside our home provide beautiful cover for the ugly industrial warehouse they built shortly after we bought our flat. They make up for the loss of horizon view (in reality a derelict wasteland) making our close cozy and private. They provide shelter from the afternoon sun in summer allowing the kids to play outside freely.
Big kid decided each tree symbolises one of us, according to size. That’s me on the right. My neighbour wants to have me chopped down because I leave a mess on her car when she parks underneath.
Occasionally I like to lie on a blanket in our communal garden and just watch the trees swaying in the wind. During lockdown it was incredibly peaceful and calming watching the trees and the birds - crows, parakeets, pigeons, starlings, magpies, and red kites, geese and egrets flying by overhead.
📷
Bertie’s ice cream van shut up shop at six on the dot leaving my little lad, who was next in line, without an ice cream.
My kids (and I) want to know why there’s a potato waffle in the beach information section of this noticeboard.
Earlier this week, I updated my crime report online to say that my son’s scooter had been returned.
This morning, I received a wake up call to ask if I was still expecting a police visit.
“Yes, sort of, because that’s what we arranged, but I did update my report to say my son’s scooter had been returned. I don’t want to waste police time.”
Oh, we’ll check the report then and see what it says.
A fittingly very disappointing end to a very disappointing season. Congratulations to Spurs and Ed Morgan.
I thought United started well enough, but in the end the decision to start both Mount and Fernandes cost us. Bruno is surely more effective in Mount’s role tonight, and it was Bruno’s mistake that led to Spurs’ goal on the break. An extra defensive midfielder might have stopped the break, and it seems a strange decision to leave Casemiro as a lone DM after everything this season - his form and pace against PL opposition, and Amorim’s cast iron belief in his system. Now we’re chasing the game in the second half when it would have been advantageous to bring on a fresh Mason Mount. Only consolation is that Spurs have generally been even worse than United throughout the season, so there’s still hope.
My morning walks back from dropping my kids off at school are usually relaxing. Not this morning. I was on edge with the nearby presence of our local elected racist doing his rounds.
The new HT reviewed the security camera video and found the scooter! Hoorah! John Reese has been dispatched to apprehend the suspect and serve him some summary justice!
Person of Interest 101: davidmarsden.info
Person of Interest 101
The voicemail asked me to call 101 and quote my call reference number.
It took three attempts to get through to a human being. I guess they really are all busy dealing with emergencies.
“‘Ello, ’ello, ’ello. What is the nature of your call today?” (Why do police officers always talk like this?)
“I reported a crime online yesterday. I got a text and voicemail asking me to quote my call reference number…”
“Is that Mr Marsden?”
“Why, yes it is!” (Impressive detective work!)
“I’m afraid the online reporting form isn’t very helpful. It sends the information to us in a way that makes it difficult to understand what actually happened. Just give me a minute while I go through it.”
[A full five minutes on hold later…]
“Hello sir. You want to report the theft of your son’s scooter?”
“Yes, that’s correct.” (By now I wanted to report the theft of what little hope I’d had left when I started dialling the call.)
“Does the school have any cctv footage?”
“Yes, they do, but they haven’t reviewed it yet, as far as I know.”
[Another five-minute intermission.]
“We’ll need to take a statement from you and your son. The earliest I can visit you is next Friday between 8 and 9 a.m., or 12 and 1 p.m.?”
“My son will be either going to school or already at school during those times.”
“What about next Saturday?”
“Yes, that would be better. My only concern is that, by then, we will have lost not only his scooter, but what little chance there was of ever getting it back or finding out what happened to it. When I was growing up, the police would have just visited the school…”
“Yes, same here. Unfortunately, we can’t just go into schools these days. But don’t worry - this case won’t just be sitting on my desk.”
Somewhere out there, Finch and Reese are watching every camera feed in New York, saving lives in real time with the help of an all-seeing AI.
Meanwhile, in my corner of the UK, a ten-year-old’s scooter vanishes in broad daylight, and the only Machine involved is caller id at the local police station.
“OK. Thank you, officer.”