It’s grim out there right now. Both in the real world where the onslaught of horror never seems to let up and in the virtual world of X (Twitter for you oldsters), where the news is faster, unfiltered and very raw sometimes.

I’m quite fortunate in that my psychological makeup is:

1. A thing of possible horror
2. Stable enough for me to actually manage my emotions about 97% of the time.

I don’t take offence, I don’t worry about things, I don’t brood, nothing keeps me awake.

There’s a ton of churn at work, but I could legitimately quit tomorrow and never work again, so that gives me a platform to be the person who tells the truth, who tries to do the right thing, to protect his team from the predations of the morally vacant and stupid.

But I recognise that some things are insidious, you have to make the effort to avoid them sometimes.

And this is one of those times.

Our country is in deep trouble, but the problems aren’t going anywhere just yet.

Our ‘leaders’ are feckless scum who are pointing at an imaginary far-right threat because they’re sitting on some truths that will make the past few weeks look like practice.

The press are weak, vapid, paid for shills.

At least half the population are acting like congenital idiots.

And so.

We have to pace ourselves. Anger and hatred are corrosive, violence is a tool that should only be used sparingly and dispassionately.

We have to be better.

These two idiots don’t care about any of the things we do, they want ( in a random order), treats, walks, snuggles, a routine that they understand, food, water, love and the feeling that they’re safe.

So I focus a bit of time to ensure that I give them what they need.

I resist the urge, I resist the urge EVERY FUCKING DAY, to look Milo’s original owner up and return the pain that he meted out, with interest. I know everything about him.

But it won’t help Milo.

So….

Where am I going with this?

We need to be clear headed and disciplined if any of our problems can be fixed.

And we need a balance.

Take a few moments every day to appreciate the beauty that we can find almost anywhere in this country of ours. From mountains to sea, from flatlands to sheep farms on almost vertical hills, country churches and ancient woods – this is a blessed land.

Or take some time to read, I’ve been doing a lot of that in the past few days. Nothing as good as this from Shakespeare and ‘The Tempest’

“We are such stuff As dreams are made on, and our little life Is rounded with a sleep.”

And that’s where I’ll leave it.

Our little lives should have some time for waking dreams before the long sleep.

Call a friend. Tell an old lover that you’re sorry, go out and meet new people, read books, watch whatever films make you happy, take a long walk or go and swim in the seas and rivers.

Pause for Breath.

Let’s begin with a small confession.

I wanted to be a policeman as a kid, our local beat bobby was held in high regard even though it was a fairly tough area – he was respected. He walked everywhere, knew everybody’s name and was good at calming situations down.

I drifted into another career though and it was probably for the best. I’d probably have been good at it though.

This story here sort of proves it

But I’ve been happy with what I do and I’ve travelled to some fantastic places and seen some incredible things.

I’ve had a number of friends over the years who’ve been serving or retired police and they’ve all carried themselves with honour and dignity.

The man in the front seat here is my recently deceased friend.

Oh yeah. He nicked Barrymore.

He was apolitical and fair in all things.

Why am I typing this?

Because most of the policemen that I’ve met in my life have been fair-minded, brave and there to help the public.

I’ll gloss over the little uniformed sergeant in Southend who told me that I’d get a kicking in the cells but will always remember the giggles of the two monsters with him when I called his bluff and said that as long as he came into the cell first, I’d take the kicking after I finished with him.

Spoiler alert. I was sent home without charge or any sign of him again.

But why am I typing this?

Because something is rotten with our country.

We see evidence of terrorism support, antisemitism, rising numbers of rapes and assaults and a steady flow of stabbings, murder and mayhem.

And that’s without the actual terrorists.

And then we have the ‘communities’ – well actually the same one in different towns, the police admitting that they agree policing tactics with ‘leaders’.

And now, as a backlash against the drama following a mass-murder of little girls for unknown reasons, we’re seeing people arrested for words on a screen.

This can’t end well.

And I can’t imagine that the police staff who aren’t thugs or sociopaths can be enjoying this drip-feed of horror.

Anybody who thinks that the actual elected government is doing this isn’t paying attention.

They’re keeping the lid on the pressure cooker.

It isn’t sustainable

And it’s going to explode at some point.

I’ve never been gladder to live rurally and in a traditional area.

Be careful out there.

Protect your loved ones.

Trust nobody outside your actual friends.

The storm is nearly here.