What?

For all the splendid times had by all and all the new adventures and happy holiday memories, returning back home after travelling far, far away is a journey of dark foreboding. The ride from the airport is by far the worst. Did I lock the back door? Was the grill turned off after that last hurried breakfast? Who checked the upstairs 13A sockets? What monstrously large and unexpected bill lays waiting in the mountain of junk mail? Before considering what horrors await in emails or on answer phone, the irrational fear of burglary has to be conquered and the nagging lack of confidence in well-meaning yet eccentric neighbourly cat feeders had to be overcome.

 

The usual dread of return proved as usual to be groundless. The house still stood, cats still prowled and the pile of junk mail contained only junk. A madman still occupies the Whitehouse and the British government`s attempt to negotiate a way out of the European Union charmingly oscillates between farce and shambles with the word disaster written all over it. Jeremy Corbyn returns from holiday and is immediately blamed for the political and economic situation in Venezuela. It seems that Corbyn did actually sit on the floor of an overcrowded Virgin train which confirms Richard Branson as a low-life, lying bastard. With British bombs continuing to fragment children in Yemen, the timid embarrassment still occupying 10 Downing Street returns from holiday to complain about Big Ben downtime; plus ça change. All is well in the new normal.

 

But, hang on…what?

 

According to the YamYam, Mark Blackstock is dead.

 

What?

 

The wise and inestimable Brownhills Bob has done an excellent job in expressing the sense of loss to the local blogging community and there is very little else to add except to stress that the local blogging community only exists due to the vision and work of Mark Blackstock. This blog, like so many others, would never have been born and would have perished within days if not for his encouragement, advice and provocation. He was the most kind and most gentle of men always ready with a smile and unerringly good council and I am proud to have known him as a friend.

 

This doesn`t seem to make any sense. When something in the news was confusing, it was okay to send Mark an email, even in the middle of the night, and he would be able to explain with clarity and expert knowledge. Who will I email now that the new normal allows such a loss?

 

Sleep well Mark.

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