When that bright disk in the sky shines bright after days of cloud covered gloom it is glorious. It awakens that spiritual receptor acknowledging its presence amongst the dieties found in the sky. That moment of light when you step out from the dark confines of a windowless space and you cower as the rays singe those softened layers of the skin. 

It’s been a gloomy weekend that carried on into the start of the week. There were certainly periods when the sun came out but there were also periods when the rain fell. I’d didn’t feel bad about staying in. When a new systems rolls in there is a definite change to how it feels to be outside. When the sun shone brightly over the dark cloud it felt that way. It felt like change was happening. 

In the morning as I approached the bus stop another sight greeted me. A rainbow off in the distance refracted through the moisture that hung in the air. It was a beautiful sight but fleeting due to the constant movement of all the various elements that combine to make this sight appear. I watched as it faded from view. 

It felt like it was going to be an easy day. Like something was going to happen. The rainbow served as an omen foreshadowing what was to come. At work it started off the same way as it always does. QA is the first thing that has to be done before the rest of the work is to commence. In between there was time to perform a few injections to help speed things along. It’s been the same all week and hustling along helps time move along. 

I caught the early bus hoping to catch the earlier train. As I ran from the bus to the train the doors were closing and the platform attendant said “sorry” as he stood there watching the platform. There is no point in trying to make a scene. His defensive posture and tone indicated that some have tried to get on at this point of the procedure before. The next train arrives in twenty-three minutes. It’s the one I usually get. I can wait for it. 

The wait for the train was spent messaging with Ba(r)be. She was on her way to work. Our conversation is like tunneling electrons in different quantum states. Conversing in real time between our locations in time and space is a winderful thing. These chats even though they’re brief allow us to keep that contact going. 

This day is not one where I have to stop at the shop. I could just walk straight home along the path that follows the River Sow. As I’ve walked this way many times now I’ve paid attention to the rising and falling river levels. It coincidentally follows the rainfall that percipitates onto this area. Currently it is in a slow decline following the last few weeks of turbulent weather. I like walking along this path. It allows me to just walk and not have to pay attention to the traffic that is always snarled along the road that runs parallel to this path. It is slightly longer but that’s ok. 

Back at the flat I began to prepare my lunch for the next day. I got all of the ingredients out from the fridge and the new flatmate was preparing his dinner. We got to chatting. He is from Pakistan and has been living in the UK for over ten years. He is living here in this flat temporarily as his family had to move out from the flat they were occupying. He is looking for another. His wife and kids are living kind of far away while he continues to work and look for a new place. Money is tight. 

He told me that he doesn’t cook that often as he was making his rice to go along with the frozen dish he was defrosting. His mother in law made it. We got to talking about life and it’s surprising how much in common we have. We both hate the separate hit and cold taps found throughout this country. I pointed out that it kind of serves as a strange metaphor for the country. 

He told me that he has to work hard in order to support his family. He has two jobs and it sounded like he was making some food before heading out to work his second job. His wife had to quit her job as the demands placed on her were too much to handle. This forced their hand and created the situation that they are in. I told him that he should be careful about working too much as it may lead to him not binding with his children. 

I wasn’t expecting to hear what he told me next. He agreed with my observation and told me about his relationship with his dad. He is the youngest and when he was growing up his dad left Pakistan to go and work in Saudi Arabia. He was gone for years and when he came back the flatmate left for the UK a year later. He said that there is no real relationship between them. When he calls home there is a “hi, how are you?” Between them and then the phone gets handed over to his mom which whom he has a much closer relationship. 

He was in a bit of a rush and went to his room to eat while I finished up with my preparations. After a minute he came out and asked if I wanted to try some of his meal. It was some kind of curry kofté. Essentially meatballs with sauce. “It’s a bit spicy” he said. “I can handle spicy” I replied. 

The dish was certainly spicy. Spicy in a full flavor kind of way with the heat kicking in afterwards. It tasted good and I thanked him for the dish. This brought up stories of eating spicy foods like mine where a a tree planter colleague challenged a chef to make him the spiciest wings that he could. I had one of those and it was one of the spiciest things I’ve ever eaten. My friend ate a dozen of them. They burned on their way down and they burned on their way out too. 

Said told me about his wife who likes spicy foods telling a chef to make it spicy as they are with thier mother in law and a young nephew. It was an Indian restaurant that he says is very good. Well they certainly made their food spicy. His wife asked for chilies on the side too when they ordered. They were some kind of super spicy chilies but they didn’t know that. Since the food was so hot they didn’t even use them. At some point she decided to try one and it was really hot bringing tears to her eyes. Their young nephew who was about fourteen decided to try one. They warned him about the spice and about how much water he had to wash it down with. At first he was alright but soon he was all over the shop flailing from the heat. The waiters were laughing as they played a joke on them by giving them such spicy food. 

The queen welcomed her thirteenth prime minister on the thirteenth of the month. Her reign so long that it accommodated that many individuals. So in sixty years that makes one new PM every five years or so. The new cabinet ministers were being introduced by their invitations to number 10 the PM’s residence in Westminister. Speculation and reaction was rampant. The whole situation is interesting. 

The choice for PM depending on your perspective is a decent one. There really isn’t an alternative. The opposition is in shambles. The conservatives chose their leader methodically and the cabinet was also deliciously picked. I got the sense that the new foreign secretary has a lot on his shoulders. His demeanor and body language spoke of both shock and the sense that the enormity of his task. Put your money where your mouth is. The same with the rest of the lot who got their positions. There will be much more to come the board is just getting set for the next game. 

So too goes the weather one system follows another. Each no better than the last just that it affects the activities that could be done. The types of clothes that you put on to protect or enhance and the feeling that a cloudy day or a sunny day brings. Sometimes those cloudy days can bring joy and the sunny ones misery. It just depends.