It shouldn’t grate on me, I know, but it does.

So, I'm back in Falmouth after the Priddy Folk Festival with Ian, which was great. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but it was such a good weekend with some really good music and, of course, lovely company.

It was a bit scary though, because just before I left to go back to Clevedon, I heard from my parents. My Dad had to go into hospital with water on his lungs. They drained the water from him, and he's out now, but will have to go back in again sometime soon for electric therapy to get his heart back to the right rhythm. I went to see him in the hospital a couple of times when I was back and he looked well. You could actually see where the water had filled up in his body and, when I saw him, he looked a lot slimmer than he had at Easter, or whenever I last saw him. He was pretty perky, too, making jokes with the nurses and winding them up, so that was good. For him, at least, not so much for the nurses who probably thought he was a loon.

So, as I drove back yesterday, I heard on the radio about a new policy that the Tories might bring in: a tax break for married parents who will receive up to £20 a month, so long as one of them stays at home to bring up the children. Apparently, a lot of problems in society stem from the lack of family values. And in some ways, I can understand that. But who's to say what a family unit is made up of, or how well it functions? I remember when I was younger and we had a book in school that was all about how different people have different families: some children might only have a Mummy, some might only have a Daddy; some children might live with their grand parents or aunt or uncle, or foster parents or adoptive parents. Some might be brought up by Siamese cats. But, as it was keen to point out, each child had a family that loved them no differently.

I don't think this Tory policy is definite yet, but it jarred with me because, as I've ranted about before, I don't think that the best place for a child to grow up is always with both parents, and who's to say who's a good parent and who isn't? If the Tories are going to start rewarding people, they should do so on merit as opposed to what they see on paper.

Right, I'm heading home (IN THE SUN) to eat something before getting on with polishing up Chapter Three for Friday's meeting, and making a start with my Critical Essay. Whoop!

Oh, and just one more quick moan. I went to use the hoover the other day, but it was nowhere to be found. 'Strange,' I thought, 'why would someone want to take the hoover out of the house?' Anyway, it turned out my housemate (not Antje) had taken it to clean her car and left it at her friend's house (I've no idea why it was at her friend's house. It's not even that nice a hoover). 'I'll get it back today,' she said.

That was nearly two weeks ago and we have to be out of the house on Sunday. She's staying with her parents until Friday (and I won't be home), which means we'll have to do almost everything house-cleaning wise, on Saturday, when I'm meant to be moving in with Kath. It shouldn’t grate on me, I know, but it does. But I feel better for getting it off my chest.

And that is that.

xx