Here is the News

And what a jolly day it is.
First up in today's selection, happy news for people who took out mortgages based on overstretched imaginations, and flimsy jobs. It seems the government, er that would be me then, is going to pay their mortgages for them, if the going gets tough. Not by way of a loan, which would be reasonable, but by way of a gift - so that when, inevitably house prices once again start to climb, they will be able to sell their houses at an enormous profit.
Well that's nice then. And those people who decided against borrowing beyond their means, and are now forced to pay extortionate rent? (In fairness, I do not have to pay extortionate rent, having a very reasonable and lovely landlord.) They can just go right on paying rent, I suppose. Granted, if they lose their jobs, they will get a little help with the rent. But they won't get a handout to help keep them in a lucrative property market. And if they don't lose their jobs, or they get on their bikes and get other jobs, well they can just chip in to prime the next bunch of property millionaires, while never having any hope of owning a house themselves. Worth being sensible then. The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.

Secondly, apparently, youth is depressed. Especially (and apparently shockingly) 'NEET's (those not in employment, education or training).
Well there's a discovery. Sitting on your backside doing nothing makes you feel miserable. How much did it cost to work that out, I wonder. An early 'Facist Thought for the Week', for me, then. How about some of the poor dears clean up all the litter, clean the hospital wards, talk to the lonely elderly, you get the picture. Maybe that would cheer them up.

Mind you, if they are in education, look what they have to look forward to - if you needed any more persuading that the state is taking control of our children, try this for size.

Well, OK, I turned into Victor Meldrew over night, and I am not normally this Browned off (did you see what I just did there?) on a Monday morning, but honestly. I think I shall give up listening to the News.

Here is our News - there is snow (not as you know it, though, Jane! about a teaspoonful!) - and it is cold and clear and beautiful. As part of our new rhythm, I was up at 5.30, half an hour after Neil, and have made bread for the next day or two, soup for lunch, and beef casserole is in the slow cooker for supper. The children are back at their school work, by a roaring woodburner in the sitting room.
Sadly at the weekend, their pet chicken died.
However, on the upside, God is very good to us - we were given a couple of dozen laying birds and they are already laying about a dozen eggs a day, so our sign can go back up outside!
I have all but one little thing ready for Guides tonight, and so do not need to panic, unusually.

And now, this all being the case, I can walk away from this computer, lunch is ready, supper is ready, Guides is ready, and I can go and learn with my children. Who are not listless, or depressed, but in fact very busy, and will not be exposed to any interfering governmental influences on their intimate lives either now or later. And though rented, our little patch is quiet, and warm, and blessed with great abundance, beyond our dreams.

Good News, eh?