Strike 2!

Today is the second time the teachers have said they want an extra day's holiday to complain about having to go to work. So I get a free day off to go and buy an advent calendar!
Last night we saw a news broadcast about how Plymouth city centre was deserted in the run-up to christmas, with shops very quiet. Went into town with Jof and it wasn't like that at all. Every mother and her 2 screaming kids was in town, it's as if they all had a day off. Every shop had a massive queue and although M+S had reopened their new cafe, we couldn't get in it because of the massive queue. There was also a procession of protesters which made the streets very full. Eventually we gave up and got on the homeward bus. But, even as we protested about the preceding protestation, the bus couldn't go anywhere because of another enormous procession of protesters. These people had taken a random "Strike" day off work to complain about having to go to work.

The van came to pick up the cacti and they were suddenly gone from our lives. In the afternoon, Bud and I went to the park and I got extra time in the swinging rope basket because there was hardly anyone else there. We also visited a dingy off-licence called Grandee Wines directly opposite Bransbury Park and purchased 2 cans of the promised Crunk Juice (spelt Juce). It's £6 a go so we didn't get all 3. It may be rare in England but it's certainly available in the less salubrious establishments (Caveat Emporia) here in the south. Apparently the police are calling for it to be banned for making people go mad.....  Jof says it's got more additives than a whole sweet shop.

At dusk we went to football/multisports and there weren't very many of us. We did the usual tour of activities: one involved a parachute, one was get all 8 vests on your partner in 45 seconds, one was a relay race but the best was the treasure hunt. We hunted treasure while avoiding the molten lava, the swamp and the yellow hurdles which were playing the part of the electrified fence. To prove our success, we got genuine certificates with genuine errors saying "Aye! You are a true Prirate. !Huuharrr". Every time we leave Wednesday (formerly Thursday) football, they turn off the giant floodlights when we're halfway across the asphalted tennis courts and still 100 yards from the next streetlight, plunging us into complete darkness. Although I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear nothing for I have flashing LEDs in my shoes.

When we got home we found some people had woken Jof up while trying to sell her a book called Avon. I had sat down on the wet grass a lot so had wet trousers and pants: I found myself some spare troos and that is why I went commando for supper, as you do.