Friday 29 August 2014

A harmless drudge?


Inspired by the simple civility of the Hattatts - and the Doctor above - I am going to try and be a bit more polite on this blog than I have been over the last few years.

I'm not going to start gushing (not that I think they do, mind you), and I'm not going to start calling Heron 'Darling', but I may be a bit more generous in one way, and a little less mean in another.

I don't intend to water this blog down in any way, but it is easy to bully people without even knowing you are, and underestimating the effect you have on others is only a symptom of low self-esteem. I don't need to attend self-assertiveness classes.

In their last comment, they mentioned that the cyber world which we all inhabit is far too full of vitriol and mindless hostility, so by presenting themselves to others in the way that they do is only an attempt to redress the balance in what could be seen as a small way, but probably has more effect on the world than might be imagined. This sort of thing is easily misunderstood as escapism, but we all need to escape at some point, don't we?

In any event, you won't hear from me until Sunday at the earliest, as we are all off to celebrate H.I.'s 70th. Doesn't time fly when you are having fun? Last time we went to London, we visited Johnson's house, and I came home with a similar attitude.

I've got the whole weekend to think about it, and I am sober as I write this. I will probably fall straight off the wagon as soon as I get back, but if I do, I promise to try and not lose my sense of humour the next I rant.



20 comments:

  1. And let me guess, I hear a chorus of female voices singing "we love you just the way you are".

    Have a nice time in London.

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  2. Certainly going to be a bit quieter then. Have fun

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  3. I can see your followers leaving in droves. 'Tom's only a shadow of his former self'. Amusez-vous bien.

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  4. Happy birthday to H.I; have a lovely weekend.

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  5. Happy birthday H.I ….. have a brilliant time in Londinium, capital of England.
    I am very impressed with the new you that we will be seeing Tom but, I won't be holding my breath !!!! haha
    I've just commented on Rachels blog that we all have to have a thick skin when it comes to blogging. Comments can be misconstrued unlike a face to face diccussion and things can sometimes get nasty { especially if a few glasses have been consumed !! } but, we all have different opinions so must say our piece and move on. I try to take it all with a pinch of salt.I just like to have a bit of a laugh and that's probably why my blog is shallow, frivolous and pretty pointless but, there's room for all of us.
    Enjoy the birthday celebrations. Will you be seeing the poppy installation at The Tower of London …… go if you can …. it's amazing. XXXX

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  6. I don't believe all this tosh for a fucking minute
    X

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  7. So stick that tall poppy up yer arse

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  8. A very happy birthday to H.I......have fun!

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  9. Some comments really should have a like button

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  10. How weird this post is. I dreamt about you and H.I. last night. I surprised you (!) at your house in France. Then I showed you round ours which (in the dream) was even more of a ruin than it actually is. You told me that your real name was Tom Stephenson which puzzled me because I knew it wasn't.

    And co-incidentally, I'll be celebrating a similar birthday to H.I's in a couple of weeks. I guess that, like me, she married her toyboy.

    I enjoy your rants though I've given up on mine in my blog at least. Other people's comment sections are tempting though...

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  11. Happy Birthday H I - hope you both have a lovely and romantic weekend.

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  12. Happy Birthday to the birthday girl!

    This post has puzzled me a little bit. Being German I may not receive things the same way as a person for whom English is their first language. But I never thought that you came across as a bully or even as someone who is unkind in your posts or responses. We all have our different personas (mine being the one who stays quiet about political issues but always comments on posts about big bums). But I think that you can 'read' your followers well. If you have ever said "f… y…" to anyone then it was always to someone who knew how to take it and who wasn't offended (I think). I always think of a blog exchange of being 'in good fun' and not to be taken too seriously. You speak your mind. You know with whom to be gentle and with whom you can be blunt without upsetting the person. So, mmmhhhh, I like you the way you are, but if you want to try a bit of a change, I'll support you as well.

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  13. You know what, I don't want you to change.

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  14. Wonderful, Tom. Wonderful Tom.

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  15. You are as you are, Tom, but I have backed off from a 'friend' who seemed only to be able to make short, sharp, comments to my blogs, but also had other attitudes elsewhere as well. People have choices, so if they like what you write, then they will not be fussed about what you write. Be yourself!

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  16. I would like to reply to all of your comments individually, but I must get on with the other post this morning. Nice to see that Rachel did exactly what she said everyone else would do, though.

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