I am reading 'The Time Traveller's wife'. Karen noticed the book when she came out of the chippie and said that she had started to read it but given up. I understood that, I had felt the same, it begins as a disquieting story, no easy comfort zone. Sue had lent it to me however and we often enjoy the same books so I knew I should persevere, and was glad that I had. I became mesmerised by it. In some ways I feel a bit of a time traveller myself at the moment. As I go to all the familiar places it is as though I have never left and yet I can feel myself being pulled back, so I am here, it is all familiar, but my consciousness is not quite here, not fully, it is travelling a few days into the future.
When I went into school on Monday, I went up into the tower. This is not where princesses are held captive, this is where the smokers hang out.
When I first got to Portsmouth in 2001, shortly before the terrorist attacks of 11/09 (my birthday) I was suprised to find that smoking was allowed in the building. I had come from Surrey, and smoking was banned anywhere on Surrey County Council premises and this included the car park. Fighting among parents was still permitted in the car park, at least if the police car wasn't parked outside the school, but smoking was not.
The tower is a place where people support each other, help each other through crises, raise money for things they all agree on. They are the crowd that does things, organises stuff. Its days are numbered though, Portsmouth City Council has decreed, in line with government policy that work places should be smoke-free. I have a feeling that the tower will re-emerge somewhere like one of Terry Pratchett's magical shops.
Alex and I found another bizarre toilet sign today. We needed something from Asda, the supermarket for children of lesser gods, but it was on our way back to Sue and Austen's. Now there is a universal sign for disabled, but Asda has what I can only think is the South Park version, a stick person with extra sticks shoved up under its arms. It should be wearing Cartman's hat.
Nothing new under the sun
3 years ago
2 comments:
Fighting was still allowed among parents in the car park ?????? Like about what? Sounds like fun
Passed on your message about reading, so good.
we had a lot of settled travellers at that school, they and their parents used to come to blows a lot, it was how they sorted things out - think of Brad Pitt in 'Snatch'. It was ONE of the reasons we had a police car almost permanently parked in the school, not that that particularly stopped them.
Thanks for passing on my message :)
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