The Daily Dormouse. (aka Bike) Part 2033 by Angharad Copyright © 2013 Angharad All Rights Reserved.

My worries about it being a long night were wrong, I slept like a baby and woke the next day feeling fine. In fact I woke about ten minutes before the alarm started and thus was awake enough to hear the news headlines before going to shower. So the Tories were going to self destruct over gay marriage. I didn’t understand the problem, and I suspect most of them don’t either.

Marriage is surely an institution entered into by two people who wish to spend their lives legally bound to each other, why should it be about procreation of children? I knew several married couples who didn’t want children or couldn’t have them: so are their marriages invalid? It’s all fundamentalist guff by small minded types who don’t have enough real problems to deal with. I can’t honestly think of any reason why any two people shouldn’t be married provided they are both entering into it freely and cognisant of what they were doing.

It seems that in Iraq, dozens of people have been killed or injured by sectarian violence. This is Moslem killing Moslem and as pathetic as Christians killing each other a thousand years ago–they need to grow up and examine what they’re doing to each other–that must be breaking some code of Islamic belief–such as, ‘One drop of blood of an innocent is worth more than whole armies of believers ,’ or words to that effect. Who do these people think they are killing but bystanders who are probably innocents.

The world has gone mad, people are dying for all sorts of stupid reasons beside natural or manmade disasters. A top woman politician has been murdered in Pakistan, Hezbollah are supposedly helping Assad in Syria and in France some bloke is accused of killing his own children by cutting their throats. I really don’t understand how someone can do that to anyone’s child let alone their own. Oh and in Wales, April’s disappearance is still being debated in a court as the man accused of abducting and murdering her says he didn’t abuse or touch her and he can’t remember what he did with the body–what a bastard, not even allowing her parents to bury the body–so they won’t be able to let go and get on with their lives.

I tried to calm down and got on with waking up the girls and other denizens of the little house on the prairie before making my way downstairs to start sorting breakfast. Bramble had obviously upset Kiki and was now in fear for her life as the spaniel chased her up and down the kitchen until my patience could stand it no longer and I shouted. They each ran off in different directions. I’ve noticed the children do the same when I get cross.

Julie came down and made some teas while I went back upstairs to see where the girls were–squabbling over some article of clothing. I shouted again and they squealed–they were so busy arguing they didn’t hear my approach. It seemed to resolve the problem and they ran downstairs ahead of me. Was I in a funny mood? I wasn’t sure. I thought I’d started the morning calmly enough but listening to the news had sort of set me off.

I tried to understand it. It was triggered by the stupidity of my fellow man and their inhumanity to each other. We have enough difficulty surviving in a hostile world full of things which want to harm us–so why do we have to up the ante by killing each other? Life is so short, how dare someone deign to shorten it for their own heinous reasons. I felt like cursing all the wicked people on this earth then let go the idea as being unrealistic. A curse would imply some power on my part and a belief in afterworlds–I didn’t believe in either, so kept my silly idea to myself–I don’t have a candle, a bell and a book either–which according to the Jackdaw of Rheims, I’d need. Are Anglican curses any different to Catholic ones? Are they a waste of time? Probably.

“Mummy, we’re going to be late,” Livvie poked and prodded me and I came out of my reverie and snatched up my coat, bag and keys then led the dash to the car. The sun was trying to shine but it was actually raining–the day wasn’t becoming any clearer. It felt as ambiguous as everything else. Life was acting rather strangely or my perception of it was.

I got the children to school and instead of going to work, I phoned in sick and went home–then back to bed. Catherine decided to join me and we had a lovely cuddle before we both fell asleep.

I woke an hour later, the baby had gone. Presumably she hadn’t fallen down the stairs or they’d have woken me. I pulled on some clothes again, brushed my hair which wanted to stand on end, and went downstairs.

“Are you okay?” asked Stella who’d been chatting to David and Ingrid.

“I really don’t know–it’s just everything has felt strange since I got up this morning.”

“You haven’t got up yet ya daft bugger.”

“What d’you mean?” I asked but was interrupted by the radio which announced it was seven o’clock and the news headlines were... Weird or what?

I staggered out of bed and into the shower hoping this was not a dream, or I’d be doing an update of Groundhog Day. The water cascaded over my body and I felt it beginning to wake me up. Had I dreamt all the rest? It certainly seemed like it. I roused the children and dried my hair. I wasn’t sure I felt rested exactly, but things weren’t going to get better so I had to get on with it.

I supervised the girls showering and left them to dress warning them not to be late–they weren’t, although I had to tidy up their hair when they came down for their breakfasts.

Danny seemed very grumpy this morning and I asked him what the problem was. He told it me it was nothing. I wasn’t convinced but left him to it. If he wanted to talk he knew I was prepared to listen–he didn’t so I couldn’t.

He went off to school just before we did, that is the girls and I. I’d not long got to work when Stella called on my mobile. “Where’s Danny?”

“In school.”

“Not according to his school, he hasn’t been going there for a week–and seeing as they hadn’t received a note of any sort, they were getting worried.”

“But he went off to school, did his homework last night–what’s going on?”

“I don’t know, he’s obviously going somewhere, but where is anyone’s guess.”

“He’s not at the library?”

“I don’t know and I can’t just drop everything to go and look, Cathy.”

“Okay, I’ll pop across and take a gander.”

I told Pippa what was going on and drove over to the central library. I checked everywhere he could be except the gents toilet. He wasn’t there. I called his mobile and it was switched off. Where the hell was he and what was he up to?