End of Week Notes.

It’s been noted on this blog that I’ve had a lot of firsts this year. Today it was seeing a male Great Spotted Woodpecker feeding his chick with bits of peanut from the peanut feeder. That might seem an experience of little consequence to most people, but not to me it isn’t. Thrills are so rare these days that small ones matter 

Our dear old National Health Service seems to be in a crisis of communication since the battering it took from Covid. I’ve had dealings with them twice this week and became very irritated by people either giving me inadequate information or not knowing what they should have known. The NHS is one of the biggest jewels in the crown of Britishness, but its admin sometimes doesn’t do it full justice.

I went to Uttoxeter today and didn’t see a single other person wearing a mask (I do because Covid is apparently on the rise again.) I went into one of the stores and found that people kept staring at me, and one woman was particularly prolific. Eventually she smiled… mysteriously. I didn’t reciprocate. My usual response to being stared at is to stare back if I’m in a combative mood, or ignore them if I’m not. However, there’s a video on YouTube which says that if a person stares at you, you should look at their feet. I've no idea why and I keep forgetting anyway.

I learned today that there are two different interpretations of the term ‘stream of consciousness’, depending on whether it’s used in a spiritual/psychological context or a literary one. If I could be bothered to explain I would, but I can’t.

And mention of the word ‘psychological’ reminds me that I’m still on the lookout for something academic and persuasive which explains my oddnesses. Last night I watched a YouTube documentary on the subject of Associative Personality Disorder. It was a bad match, so I’m still looking.