16 November 2014 (Sunday) - A Little Rant

What with poorly offspring and one thing and another I had a surprisingly late night last night, and so wasn't out of my pit until after 9am this morning. I had a particularly vicious five minutes on "Trap One"; clearly something I'd eaten yesterday hadn't sat right.
Over brekkie my piss boiled. One of the local geocachers had posted on the "Geocaching in Kent" about a proposal from Kent County Council in which the Kent cachng community might work hand in hand with the county council to produce two "Geotours"; two guided tours round East and West Kent taking in sites of local historical interest using existing geocaches as a starting point. It sounds a very worthwhile and laudible idea. I'm completely against it.

I've seen this sort of initiative in other walks of life with other councils. A council (be it parish, town or county) will have an idea for some initiative that will make it look good in the eyes of the electorate, but has no idea how to bring its idea to fruition. So they approach enthusiasts.
Over the years I've seen this happen with kite flying, scouting, the now defunct snake club, beer festivals, and I've heard simular tales from archers, bird fanciers and model railway enthusiasts. Volunteer enthusiasts are promised the Moon on a stick by parish, town and county councils. Because the volunteers have been promised all sorts of benefits for their hobbies and passions these people then end up bending over backwards putting in considerable amounts of their own time and money to provide a service for a council which then never actually delivers quite as much (if anything) of what they once offered to these people.
These sort of ventures sound (at first) as though they are a good idea in theory; in practice the efforts of unpaid volunteers are exploited and the councils take all the credit for what other people have done for them.
(takes a deep breath...)

I took "Furry Face TM" round the block. He's a lot better than he was; as we walked he tried to pick fights with passing taxis and buses and several larger dogs. I wish he wouldn't do that. He did say hello (nicely) to one of the ponies in the field by the Riverside Inn; he seems to have struck up a friendship with that little horse.
Once home my little dog settled down quietly; these short walks still tire him. We then drove round to Bybrook Barn where "er indoors TM" got my my Christmas pressie. After yesterday's soaking I realised I could do with a decent waterproof coat for our weekend walks.

From the garden centre we went for a spot of McLunch. As we were coming out I saw someone who looked familiar. Cheryl had been sent into McDs to get scoff for "My Boy TM". Together we then went to the pet shop, and to a new shop in Folkestone; The Lodge. The Lodge seems to be an up-market version of Canterbury's Cheapo-Bargains shop. I suppose a combination of the place only just having opened and Christmas coming up meant the place was heaving. I shall go back when it's not so busy.

We found a quick geocache, and then went round to see "Daddies Little Angel TM" and the baby. I say " went round to see "Daddies Little Angel TM" and the baby"; within minutes of arriving I was fast asleep. After a couple of hours spent snoring we came home.
Again I should really have been out with the astro club, but a combination of rain (not telescoping weather) and not wanting to get a running nose meant I had an evening in. "er indoors TM" set off bowling and I curled up on the sofa with my dog and watched "Jeeves and Wooster." After all it's what I usually do on Sunday evenings...

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