Out of all of the things to get out of bed for, a dull, wet and cold morning sits alone at the bottom of the pile. A quick glance out of the window on mornings like these can often drain you of the motivation to do anything productive. Had it been any other day and I may well have just pulled the quilt back over my head and analysed the backs of my eyelids for another couple of hours, but not this day. It was November 11th, Armistice Day. I stood in the town centre to observe my two minutes silence. A few yards away from me stood an elderly man, at a rough guess I would say he was in his eighties. As the bell chimed to signal the eleventh hour he removed his hat and stared at the floor. His eyes were glazed with tears that he appeared to be fighting back. Maybe he was just a boy when it was all going on, maybe he’d seen things that wouldn’t be wished on anyone, maybe he’d lost someone.
Unfortunately, the Armistice Day ceremony was, as many of you know, interrupted and disrespected by a number of people who felt it necessary to burn poppies and chant evil and dishonourable things. As expected, these protests have led to angry reactions, with many calling for deportation. It is very important to remember that just because someone is a ‘Muslim’ does not necessarily make them a foreigner. It is a shame that a small minority can give a whole religion a bad name; when in reality, these people are simply extremists, acting in a manner far away from their religious values. Armistice Day is one of the few days in which our country comes together to demonstrate a national pride which often goes missing, especially in England. Please read my piece on Armistice Day from last year, it’s one of my favourite pieces and in my opinion the best piece of writing I have done. Just scroll down on my blog home page.
Its week 8 at University and things are going ok. It’s evident that many people, including me are beginning to realise just how much work there is to do and that things won’t always be as fine and dandy as the early weeks may have suggested. In fact, team morale is at an all time low. I’m not saying that everyone is depressed, just that the current mood is as miserable as the weather outside. We do have Christmas to look forward to which is always an exciting time for all, however old you get it always makes people a bit more cheery. Whether you believe in Santa or not.
I have work being thrown at me thick and fast, but I am managing to stay afloat. On most subjects I’m doing considerably more than staying afloat, in fact I am swimming along quite comfortably. Note that ‘most’ was the key word in that sentence. ‘Most,’ meaning not all, in fact, all but one. Shorthand.
Slipping back into the ‘swimming’ metaphor, Shorthand is a very heavy topic and makes even treading water a struggle. It’s like learning a brand new language, however its closer to hieroglyphics than anything from the modern world. I’m not struggling with it; it’s just eating up a hell of lot of my time. I have been promised that it will, eventually, be very worthwhile but the learning process is not at all aided by the dictation CD we have been given to listen to. The voice on the CD beats anyone to the title of ‘Worlds most annoying voice.’ Imagine Anne Robinson, slowed down and with random variations in tone, as if someone is remixing her voice box! It’s terrible.
The work side of things shows no signs of easing off, not until Christmas anyway and from then on there is exams to deal with. Ahhhh...travelling seems a great idea now.
However, for all the woes and stresses of the last week, there has been a few very entertaining moments. Carnage was a brilliant laugh which gave a quick glimpse of University life to my little big brother. That night saw the first appearance in history, of the Fire breathing Dragon. A momentous occasion soon to be backed up by video evidence. (This is an inside joke so don’t worry if you have no clue what I’m talking about.)I hope to write again before Christmas, but by now, I’m sure you won’t be holding your breath.
Ciao for now. x
