Grey days ahead.....

 

I should warn you in advance I'm about to rant!....

I've got through a lot of this year listening to the LBC radio station. Although at times listening to back to back COVID talk or people ranting has been to much and I've turned off (oh the irony). 

It has, however, given me the opportunity to hear human voices and it's always fascinating to hear the views of the presenters and the people that ring in. Often I disagree with the views wholeheartedly and I can often be found shouting at the radio in irritation. 

My husband literally hates LBC, if he comes into a room and I have it playing and then I leave the room for even 30 seconds it's been turned off by the time I come back in. 

One of the things that infuriates me the most is the whole 'southerner' thing. Yes I live in the South of England. However, much as those in the North of England get hugely irritated by people that think anything North of Watford is the North I am equally irritated by the fact that anybody North of London thinks that the South stops at London. At the most they seem to stretch to the concept that it extends to the Home Counties.

Well let me just explain - there are literally thousands and thousands of us that live in the South outside of that bubble. Huge swathes of people, huge amounts of poverty, lack of work opportunities and terrible rail services. Sound familiar?

In fact we have the added irritation in the area on the coast that I live in, where people come down for a weekend from London and think it's an exciting and interesting place - and ooh it's by the sea. They move down and then discover that they can't get a job, the rail services are terrible, when the suns not shining all you can see is graffiti, homeless people and it's not as joyous as it was on that Saturday when they sat in the sunshine drinking cocktails on the beach.

They discover it's not at all like London and then (and here's the annoying bit), they try to make things more like London. But here's the thing - if the people here wanted to live in London - we would. We love our shabby, slightly down at heel home - what's more I absolutely adore graffiti. We even have graffiti on canvasses so we can have it as artwork in the house (I'm not quite at the point I'd have it on the actual walls). 

Over the past few months my heart has literally gone out to those areas of the UK that have been struggling with COVID, where the rates are high and getting higher. But in the South - the proper South I mean - the bits that are actually South'er than London and the Home Counties - we've been really lucky and the rates have stayed low.

Yes they've been getting higher, but we're still in tier 1. 

Yesterday they announced there would be another National lockdown - at least 4 weeks from Thursday. I've literally had enough! As I've been on furlough since April I've barely been out, I've been really good and stuck to the rules. My parents are elderly and I don't want to miss the chance of seeing them - so I've stuck to the rules rigidly.

Now because things are getting bad in London the whole of the South of England are being lumped in with them. Even the Government forgets that the South extends beyond London. If you're in the Government can I just say a big HELLO from Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, Isle-of-White, Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. You may not remember us, but we're here - just take a look at a map, you're going to get a bit of a surprise about what's tucked down here in the South. (If I've missed somewhere off I am genuinely sorry - but I'm not in Government so I have a bit of an excuse).

Believe it or not we're here in the autumn, winter and spring, as well as the summer when you want to take your family away for their third holiday and think that the South Coast would be a treat. We're not like Brigadoon (actually laughing at this reference - we'll never be like Brigadoon - that is unless Brigadoon takes in homeless people and starts to daub graffiti - but I hope you'll get the gist and let me continue with my rant!).

If one more person comes onto LBC to rant about how things have changed now the South of England have gone into lockdown I'm going to explode. Let's get this straight - things have changed because LONDON have gone into lockdown. NOT THE SOUTH - GOT IT!

I'm feeling a bit desperate about lockdown as my father has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer - I worry that if we're not in regular contact with him he'll start to forget who we are. I'm also utterly convinced that he's got worse this year because he's missing the same mental stimulation that he'd normally get. He's basically been in his home environment for 8 months. They've also said he can't drive any more - this means he's just had his final bit of contact with the outside world cut off.

My mum is totally on the ball, she's become a Zoom and FaceTime fanatic and you have to make an appointment to speak with her. So hopefully having her around will help keep dad with the real world. It must be a massive worry for her though. But let's remember her heart attack a couple of months ago. I've never felt further away from my parents and they are only an hour and a quarters drive away.

So I have my fingers crossed about 2 things. One that they let us get out and about soon so I can go and see them - even if I'm standing in the middle of their front garden. Also that they keep the schools open. It was tough for son to home school last time - but this time it's a completely different thing. He's started a new school - he's only been there half a term. 

He's got a few amazing friends that he hangs around with, but last night I asked him if he'd had a chance to get to know the other kids in his class properly yet. He admitted that he really didn't know the other people. It's going to be so tough for those kids who have just started new schools - it's going to mean that they are the 'new kids' for a longer period of time and it's going to make it impossible for them to get to know their classmates. I wonder if in the future we'll see an increase in bullying because of this.

It's been so so tough on the kids this year - please keep the schools open!

Well there you go - I got all of that out of my system - I did warn you it was going to be a rant - and once again I haven't talked about anything I'd intended to - that's why the picture at the start has no relevance to the blog!

What I WAS going to say was..... nah, let's do that another time!