Signs of the times…

A homeless person's makeshift bed and shelter outside a trading estate premises with apposite signs above the closed doors: Harveys "Come on in..."; Bensons "for beds"; and Dreams "The Bed Specialist".

I learnt a new word today.

Big kid complained that little kid “yeeted” his Lego Pikachu.

I had to look it up.

Yeet: to throw especially with force and without regard for the thing being thrown.

Personalised alarm call at 6:30 this morning as my little kid puked on my back.

Morning walk, ostensibly to source the kids' favourite ice lollies. Mission unaccomplished.

Photo of trees lining a local street in Southall Green, on a very warm Sunday morning <img src=“https://eu.uploads.micro.blog/2588/2023/ff4e900193.jpg" alt=“Photo of a car parked outside a garage displaying a handwritten “No Parking” sign in Southall Green. The front of the car is missing.">Photo of trees lining a local street in Southall Green, on a very warm Sunday morning

Enjoyed plenty of sun and relatively fresh air in our communal garden today. Kids enjoyed the beach tent, but the paddling pool kept deflating (not that we had access to any water to fill it). Cleaned out our tiny “shed”, and put up wooden blinds in the bedroom as well!

View of our communal garden in early evening sunshine with beach tent set up at the far end.

Three year old playing Scrabble for the first time. First word he tries to spell is his brother Zion’s name.

Three year old hands placing Scrabble pieces spelling "oizn"

Little kid turned on his Amazon Fire “Kids” tablet.

A game asks him to enter his date of birth to play.

He types in “1234”, et voilà!

Big kid: “Dad! Dad! I killed the Ender Dragon, and I wasn’t even looking!”

Me: “What are you doing?”

Big kid: “Twerking backwards.”

First salad of the Sum…, er, Spring.

Reading for pleasure

Two years ago my then six year old took what turned out to be a permanent break from the daily fifteen minute Easyread lessons he’d been doing for six months to catch up on his reading. When he started, he couldn’t and wouldn’t read.

At the weekend he asked to go to the library where he chose a book by his favourite author. The following two mornings he read a chapter to himself before breakfast instead of watching TV.

Tonight he read a few pages out loud to me at bedtime, just to show off.

In the words of Bill Hicks:

I’ve noticed a certain anti-intellectualism going around this country, man …

I was in Nashville, Tennessee last week and after the show I went to a Waffle House, right, and I’m sitting there and I’m eating and I’m reading a book. I don’t know anyone, I’m alone.

I’m eating, and I’m reading a book. And this waitress walks over to me: “(tut tut tut) What you readin’ for?”

Wow, I’ve never been asked that! Not what am I reading, but what am I reading FOR?

Well, goddamnit, ya stumped me!

Why do I read?

I guess I read for a lot of reasons and the main one is so I don’t end up being a fucking waffle waitress …

Then this trucker in the next booth gets up, stands over me and goes, “Well, looks like we’ve got ourselves a reader…