I had a very interesting discussion with one of my offspring when we were driving in the other day. It is worthy of note because most of the time all I get is one grunt for yes and two for no, so it is reassuring to find that they can manage more than a growl when the mood takes them. The subject under discussion was teenage angst, I have to be fair, none of my children have given me too much grief during their teens, it is just that teenagers are hard work. I joked that I had missed out because I was too well behaved in my teens, so I plan to enjoy a mid life crisis instead. There was a deep sigh from the back of the car, "Mother, you have already had it, it's called Robbie!"
When I clicked on the list of blog topic suggestions that I sometimes use, the subject that I was given to write about was was Guilty Pleasures. At first I thought no way, I can't write about that, but I don't give up easily and I decided to to take up the challenge. Robbie doesn't have any guilty pleasures, he has plenty of pleasures but he doesn't really do guilt. I will not list all his pleasures it would be a mix of X rated and terminally boring stuff, and I have I have written about most of them on the blog in the past. So it is confession time, I am the one with guilty pleasures.
Dave is my greatest pleasure, in some ways he is a lot like Robbie, he is warm and affectionate, and he is very determined. They both love their food and come to think of it they both have some pretty disgusting habits! They have a number of differences too, Dave doesn't abandon me in favour of a train, he always has time for me and he likes nothing better than to snuggle up next to me. He may be just a cat but he is very special to me.
I think most of my other guilty pleasures involve spending money that I can't really justify. I am not high maintenance when it comes to clothes or shoes (that's Robbie!) and I don't spend a lot on having my hair cut or styled. I can't waste my life messing about with my hair, I prefer a practical easy care style. Books are my weakness, I cold spend a fortune on books and I get very possessive about my books, I will not part with them.
I have a passion for paints too, not the sort that you paint walls with, I mean artists paints. I love to paint and always want the best quality paints, I could never have enough paints, brushes, paper or any kind of art/craft materials. Good quality paper is a must, it is an extortionate price, so yes buying art materials is a guilty pleasure.
I often write about Robbie's love of Polish Jaffa Cakes, dripping and various other types of food. I must admit that my likes and dislikes are a bit unusual too. I love liver and bacon with rich thick gravy so much that sometimes I have a craving for it. I am the only one in the family who likes liver, so having it seems rather self indulgent, but from time to time I give in to my cravings. It seems that Robbie has had a life long aversion to anything green or healthy, so he is completely mystified by my love of runner beans, spinach, swede, beetroot and tomatoes.
I do have a few other guilty pleasures, but you can't expect me to tell you everything. The only one that I am willing to admit to is John Major, I have a bit of a soft spot for him. It is true that he has a face best suited to radio, but I like the way he speaks, I think he is a powerful and sincere speaker. I have to confess to a sneaky admiration because he got his own back on his critics, misbehaving with Edwina Currie shows that he wasn't such a grey man after all!
Well, the long awaited announcement finally came yesterday and it's official - he's going. Surely this must have been the longest goodbye in history! I am talking about Tony Blair, just in case you were not keeping up. His election didn't fill me with unbounded joy and his departure hasn't provoked any great excitement from my point of view. I'm glad he's going, at least we won't have to deal with that insincere grin anymore, but I can't summon up much enthusiasm when all we can look forward to is more of the same or something equally bad.
It seems to me that anyone who willingly seeks public office is probably unsuitable, why would anyone want to? On the other hand if nobody did it we would be in a worse mess - or would we! I went to a County Council meeting once, it was nerve-racking as I had to speak to the meeting in connection with my responsibility as a school governor. I made sure I was dressed smartly for the meeting in order to create a good impression, but I was astounded when I met the counsellors. I had never seen so many weirdoes and misfits in one room before! Two or three had clearly escaped from a home for the bewildered, a number had obviously made contemplating their own navels a career choice, several appeared to be classic examples of Narcissistic Personality Disorder and almost all of them were casual to the point of being downright scruffy, in fact not to put to finer point on it a couple of them could have done with a bath! And we wonder why local government is in a mess!
Anyway back to Blair. His announcement seems to have sparked the media to embark on endless reviews of the last 10 years. Hours and hours of rambling on about what he will be remembered for. Personally I don't think history will be kind to him, I think that he will be remembered for Iraq and for spin. We mustn't forget 'Two Jags John' he is on his way out too. He has one distinct advantage over Blair, he's real! I can't quite bring myself to dislike him, at least what you see is what you get. So what will he be remembered for - services to the English language of course!
This insistence on reviewing the career of Blair and Prescott really has gone too far. Since yesterday Radio 4 has found it necessary to remind me of John Prescott's affair on 3 separate broadcasts - no wonder I am off my food! I guess it is a remarkable achievement in one sense, it is surprising that one woman should have found him attractive, but two is truly incredible! So far there has been no suggestion that Tony Blair has 'strayed' but I think most of us would find it understandable if he did!! Sometimes we don't find out about such things until years later and very occasionally it reveals an aspect of their character that we could not have imagined. John Major for example, his dalliance with Edwina must have required intestinal fortitude (to borrow a phrase from Fred Flintstone). If he could tackle that surely he could conquer the world!
Just one last word on the subject of spin. Robbie has a very annoying phrase, it drives me mad but I haven't managed to stop him saying it. When he tells me about his day (he always tells me in great detail!) he will say 'Fudge turned round and said ......' or ' I spoke to network rail and they turned round and said ......' I imagine the entire railway industry spinning like Whirling Dervishes. No wonder there is no joined up thinking, they must all be too dizzy to think straight!!
