Awwww, pretty!

These flower boxes have appeared on the lamppost outside our office. Nowhere else on the street. just this one single post. With a sign on the other side so the delightful greenery can't be seen in full... Someone in our office asked the council chaps why they were putting them up, and the response was simply that they would 'look nice'.

On one lamppost.

In the whole street.

Makes a difference I think you'll agree. Anyway, it gave me something to snap on my mobile phone on the way back into the office, having taken the netbook instead of the camera with me this morning so I could do some writing at lunchtime. That worked a treat, another 1,000 words in the bag (after being inspired by the drama about Enid Blyton on the telly last night and the fact she average about 6,000 words a day and 16 books a year. Remarkable stuff).

Not so inspiring this morning was BBC Breakfast (is anyone surprised?) covering fox hunting in their usual cack-handed manner. Now this isn't really a complaint about fox hunting (I agree they need to be controlled in rural areas, but would rather this was done with them being shot and 75% of the time that being quick and humane, than torn apart by dogs with the riders looking on in bloodlust, though what I'll actually be accused of will be jealousy of the upper classes). Anyway, my irritation was more at the programme being handed over to moronic text comments again.

One such comment was that people who worry about the foxes should worry more about the rights of children and campaign for them to be looked after. What gets me is the fact that this person seems to think there's mutual exclusivity and each individual brain can only cope with caring about one thing at a time, and that the BBC gives this sort of drivel air time. People see the world in such black and white that it's a wonder their heads don't explode whenever forced to see a possible third choice.

Hmmm. Tea or coffee tonight? Ooh, how about hot chocolate? Arrrrgh! *boom* *splat*

Yes, I can see the point though. That person on the telly who was saying that foxes should have some dignity in death, yep, she looks like the sort of person who really couldn't care less at the abuses faced by children. She likes animals ergo thinks all children should be rounded up and forced to sit on spikes. She just mentioned that animals shouldn't suffer which, if you read between the lines, is an admission that she kicks toddlers when she sees them in the streets. The thoughtless evil cow!

I donate money to the WWF, and to the Greyhound Trust. But I actually had to cancel both temporarily so that I could go out and buy a poppy last week in time for the 11th. After all, if I'm caring about the plight of animals I couldn't possibly be thinking about the indignities, injuries and deaths suffered by our troops both past and present. After buying the poppy I then forgot entirely about our military fallen and re-started my old direct debits.

It poses problems when people in the street shake cans at you for various causes though. And I saw someone the other day, in a Free Tibet t-shirt, paying for something with an SSPCA credit card, in a moment of forgetfulness put some money into a Save the Children box on the shop counter.

*boom*

*splat*

p.s. the good mood and proactivity in all things continues (even after the arrival of Football Manager 2010 into the house), I'm really just being grumpy for effect at the moment...