Time for the weekend

July 18, 2026 ~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

And with that, another week is done.

A busy week.

An annoying week.

The hiring at work just keeps going, and it has been the polar opposite from what I have experienced in previous of working for “The Company’. The business operates on 4-day weeks, which is something that is very easy to get used to. The focus has always been on staffing Monday to Friday and making sure that there was cover, sometimes only minimal, for the weekend. I, for example, work Wednesday to Saturday, and have done for many a year. There is a shift that does the opposite, Sunday to Wednesday. And there has always been a shift that bridged the gap, working Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. It’s always worked. But the powers that be, the kind who have never set foot on the shop floor, have decided to focus on weekend workers. So, the two shift patterns that have been getting hired for, are Thursday to Sunday, and Saturday to Tuesday. Meaning, that Wednesday, that used to be the busiest day of the week, is now the quietest.

It has been crazy busy as a result. And with the summer bringing increased temperature (and broken air conditioning), everybody has been getting very irritable. Then, as if by magic, the IT systems start causing us problems, and tests people when they are already struggling. The good thing, is that nothing is so important it gets brought home at the end of a shift. I can come home, and whilst I am complaining here, I don’t lose any sleep over anything happening at work. It’s done, I will deal with everything on Wednesday. Till then I have relaxing, Formula 1 and the World Cup final tomorrow, Burntisland Highland Games on Monday, then a chill day on Tuesday.

Next weekend is my last full week before I am off work for my holiday. I am going to Blackpool for a punk music festival called Rebellion. It is a festival I have attended lots of times before, but haven’t been much in the last few years. It is held in the Winter Gardens venue, which is indoors, and I have my hotel booked. I am pretty excited. There is a mixture of older bands, and newer bands. 3 bands I know from Fife are playing, so I’ll get to see my pals. And then another friend’s band is playing in one of the pubs in Blackpool outside of the actual venue. The festival is sold out, so it is good that other gigs and events are organised.

That’s enough rambing, England are playing Argentina in the rugby, so I am away to watch that.

An Animal Affair

July 15, 2026 ~ Sue ~ 1 Comment

If you had to be an animal for a week, which one would you be and why?

I think I would like to be a cat.

Lazing around the house, like nothing else matters. Finding that perfect sun spot, and stretching out across the entire area. At the same time, feeling like I was King of the house. Everyone is there to serve me, and can only play when it suits me. No worries, just a chilled life.

I had a cat, he was called Billy. He would spend a lot of his time outside, but would come in to sleep on my bed. He loved to play fight. Where he would jump at you, and go to bite, though he never did. He was a wee terror. Liked to attack when I was sleeping, he liked going for bare feet.

We had a dog, Bonnie, and Billy would try to bully her. He’d sleep in her bed, and she’d just lie on the floor. I remember one Christmas, the family were having dinner. What was left of the turkey was sitting on the side, cooling, waiting to be broken up for curry and the like. In the middle of dinner there was a bang, and we came into the kitchen to find the turkey on the floor, with Bonnie and Billy helping themselves. It was so funny, but showed that they could really get on if given the chance.

Billy has been gone for a long time, and I do miss seeing his wee face. He’d follow me to the bus stop, or to the shops, just running through gardens, to try and keep up. He was not very good with cars, and would always run away from them. He was a really good pet.

Chaos?

July 6, 2026 ~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Is a little chaos actually good for us?

They say chaos, going into unchartered waters, is good for you. That a challenge pushes a person out of their comfort zone, and they can ‘do better’. And it’s one of those things that I can read, I can hear, I can understand, but never applies to my life.

I am a worrier. I have the ability to panic at the most stupid things. Things that have no real importance. It’s not new, I’ve had anxiety since my teenage years, and it likes to mix with my depression to create the most unsavoury cocktail.

When things are chaotic, they often go wrong, and I spiral. I get myself in a state, as if the problems are my fault. They aren’t. But in my quest to be more responsible on what happens in my life, I find that I blame myself for when things go a bit sideways. It is something I am working on, but it takes time.

So if chaos unfolds, I am away to hide. Maybe in my bed. Doomscrolling TikTok.

Vroom vroom

July 3, 2026 ~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

On Tuesday I went to Edinburgh as Williams F1 team brought their formula 1 car to the city. It’s British Grand Prix week, so it was a bit of a celebration. It’s good that formula 1 teams are making efforts to reach fans who can’t attend races on purpose.

The staging for the Williams f1 car, where Carlos and Alex watched the Edinburgh traffic .

The very subtle changes to the livery for the British Gramnd Prix.

It was like do you can get an angle where Edinburgh would be framed in the ‘W’. I don’t have the ability to do so.

Pride

June 22, 2026 ~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

This weekend was Edinburgh Pride. I went along with colleagues from my work. We meet, do the parade, give away goodies, and then celebrate at the end of the march. Lots of dancing was done, and drink was drunk. However, I have never ever been good at mixing my drinks, and felt ill as soon as I stopped drinking. Rookie error, tbh.

Edinburgh Pride march heading up the Royal Mile.

As time goes on, the need for Pride seems to be more important than ever. In the UK, we have an increase in politicians ripping down pride flags, and cancelling events. Trying to silence a community that is already under pressure. Talking about not just restricting trans folk, and their rights, but making gay marriage illegal, gay adoption? It’s horrific, and there is no need for that. It’s 2026, and it feels like civil rights are going backward.

I have always been brought up with the radical idea that you treat those around you with kindness. Yes, we all have different ideas and beliefs, but as long no-one is harming any other person or creature, they should be able to live peacefully. We all have to muddle through this life in one piece, so if being guided by a religion, or dressing a certain way, can help a person navigate the shit show, then it should be fine. They shouldn’t be targeted purely because they are ‘different’ or ‘not normal’.

When I was at school in the 90s, I remember discovering that I didn’t like boys. I didn’t know who to turn to. I didn’t know anyone who was gay. Any other gay girls. So, I went to a teacher, someone at school to talk about it. To ask for advice. Only to be told, that when I met a boy that really likes me, these feelings would go away. I felt broken, that something was wrong. Section 28 banned schools talking about LGBTQ+ themes and issues to pupils. Put in place by the conservative government in 1988. It was put in place to protect the idea of the ‘nuclear family’, and stop children from being ‘indoctrinated’ into the homosexual lifestyle. It was repealed in Scotland in 2000, with England and Wales following in 2003. But for so many queer people, it was too late. Sexual assault, abuse, suicide, queer people suffered.

We are at a point, in 2026, where it honestly feels like Section 28 could come back. LGBTQ+ people in the UK are genuinely scared. There is an effort by the political right wing, where they want to split the LGB from the TQ+. And it is not because they ‘love the gays’, it’s a method of divide and conquer. We need to stand together as a community, because once the ball starts rolling back on human rights, it doesn’t just take out the rights for people you dislike. It comes for all the rights of every marginalised community. It doesn’t stop till we, as a general population, are set back decades.

We’ll Be Coming

June 1, 2026 ~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

This past weekend has been another football based weekend. On Saturday I attended Hampden Park for the third time in about 6 weeks. Which is an oddity in itself. Just how everything has panned out.

Saturday was Scotland’s final game before they jetted off to the USA for the World Cup. The first Word Cup Scotland has attended since 1998. I remember the excitement at High School, as I was ending second year when the tournament was on. It was probably the last time that I tried to collect football stickers. Something I tried numerous times, but never ever filled an album. In fact, I think I shared some with my brother, and I remember getting angry at stickers going on squint, and not as neat as I would like.

Anywho, we were driving to Hampden, and the roads were a nightmare. We did eventually get parked up, and went into the stadium no bother. Nothing beats hearing the Hampden roar during a Scotland game.

The game had already started when we reached the stadium to find our seats. Ooops

We found our seats, and it felt like we were right in front of all the action. I had no idea we were sitting, just got told I had a ticket, and paid for it. It was from a friend, by the way. It wasn’t me buying random resale tickets. Luckily the seats were under the shelter, so that we never got hit by the what seems to be constant rain. But it was a pretty great view.

The players all warming up right in front of us.

The opposition was Curaçao, who have been the smallest island nation to qualify for the World Cup, as they are also off to the USA for the 2026 World Cup. They brought a few hundred fans with them, and they were so noisy. It was great to see. And the Curaçao team were pretty scrappy, and they scored first. Which, to the dismay of the Scotland fans, was well deserved. Curaçao player Jürgen Locadia, received a yellow card for a bad tackle. This was then updated to a red card after the referee checked the VAR. Unfortunately, Billy Gilmour went off with a bad injury. Luckily, things picked up and Findlay Curtis scored an equaliser just before half time

The second half was much more controlled by Scotland. With two Lawrence Shankland goals, and a handful of attempts on goal by Ryan Christie, Lyndon Dykes, and Nathan Patterson. Scotland felt in control. Findlay Curtis was brought down in the penalty box, and Ryan Christie scored from the spot. The players on both sides gave it a good go but the game ended 4-1 Scotland.

It was a grand wee day out, and a good send off to the Scotland team. The USA is providing to be very expensive, and a lot of Scotland fans are unable to fly to the states. The best thing about Scotland games, as the club you support is irrelevant, as long as you support the Scotland team. Speaking of support, the official Scotland football team YouTube channel have released a documentary called ’28 Summers’. It is about the qualifying campaign for the World Cup, and speaks to the players about their experience in the Scotland camp. They seem a really great bunch of lads, and if anyone can get us out of the group stages, it’s this team.

Not Everything Can Be Won

May 26, 2026 ~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

On Saturday, it was the Scottish Cup final between Celtic and Dunfermline Athletic (my team). I was born in Dunfermline, I work in Dunfermline, I socialise in Dunfermline. It is home. Sport is known for having communities of fans. Something that has spread throughout culture, to theatre, music, tv shows, movies, even sweet companies have fan-based communities around them these days. When I have been at my lowest, it has been sport that has been the thing that distracted me. That took my mind off my own failures. Even when you attend sports events on your own, you become a part of the collective, something that makes you feel not so alone. You don’t get that community when you follow behind a TV screen. Nothing compares to being in the crowd, cheering on your team in person.

The last time Dunfermline reached the Scottish Cup final was 2007. Since then the club have had some severe downs. The club went into administration, but were saved from the brink. Things had to build up again. There is a thing in Scottish football, where most clubs have a singing section. Something there has been varying degrees of during the years at Dunfermline. But over the last several years Section North West, a singing section based in North West Stand at East End Park, have been bringing the songs and the vibes to matchday. They help create the atmosphere, and help get everyone behind the teams. There are teenagers, all the way up to older guys within the group, and they are a great asset to Dunfermline Athletic.

a picture of Dunfermline fans at East End park

Section North West also have a TIFO group, who put together fan displays for games. Often it is a few flags, but big games, they organise something bigger. At the cup final they lay out flags at every seat, to create a display of black and white stripes, Dunfermline’s colours, with the Scottish Cup in the middle.

Scottish Cup Final, Dunfermline TIFO display

Game day for me and my family, involved us getting a bus at 10 am. Me and my Dad arrived in Glasgow first, and ended up finding a beer garden for a couple of pints. Every pub was pre-booked, so we ended up going to try and find somewhere else as everything got busier. We ended up struggling to find anywhere, so we got a few drinks from Tesco, and going to sit on the grass outside Hampden Park. It was really sunny, so it was chill. Was also then able to see the Dunfermline team bus go by. There were guys singing songs, and it was such a great atmosphere. We went into the stadium, there was over 15,000 Dunfermline fans there, and it was great. Until a 6 foot tall guy stood in front of me. It was okay, I did manage to see the game. Though, Celtic scored 2 goals in the first half, so maybe I would have been better off hiding behind Hen Broon, in front of me.

The second have had a lot of substitutes, and a much better performance. In fact, there were times Dunfermline were the bigger team. And Josh Cooper scored, with his first touch of the game. The stands were euphoric. I think, we dreamed of a win, however unlikely would be. But, as long as we didn’t embarrass ourselves. The game ended 3-1 to Celtic, which is what we expected. At full-time, there was still a lot of singing, fans left happy after getting a trip to Hampden. Something that we did not think was going to happen at all. The team did well, against much stronger opposition. And it was a good turnout for squad that doesn’t look like will be together next season. With a lot of players having received offers from other clubs, after what has been a successful season for them. So there is a bit of sadness, but the players deserve every success. The way the season started, I never thought we’d not only get to the Scottish Cup Final, but the semis of the Play-offs for promotion to the Premier League.

The fans are what make events like this so special. The people cheering on their local club. The ones who attend weekday matches in the freezing cold of winter, the guys who attend every single match, the ones who buy merchandise, who play the 50/50 lottery, who pay into the centenary club, those who make it to an odd match when their schedule allows it… everyone. As the late great Jock Stein said, ‘without fans paying at the turnstiles, football is nothing’. And he is correct. It’s the fans who help football clubs to exist. And it is the same with every sport. If no eyes were on the matches and the races, there would be no sponsorship, no money, nothing. I do think some sports organisations *cough* FIFA *cough* FIA*cough* need realise who it is who keeps sports going. And it’s not the sponsors from the conglomerates, it’s the attention from fans. And some need to treat the fans better.

More progress

May 18, 2026 ~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

I have been absent for a while. That’s not just a thing that’s happened on here, but everything that is online. It’s been a conscious effort to step back. To do more things outside the online world. Which is hard, and mostly ends up with me reading books. Not really a bad thing.

My last post was about my birthday, and using to review how much progress I’ve made in the start of the year. One of the things I wanted to achieve, other than work on my health, was to buy a car. This year marks 10 years since I passed my driving test, but I haven’t had a car for over 4 years.

I bought myself a car. It’s not very much, but it is an older car that will get me back on the road again. I didn’t want to get a new car, because I am expected to bump some kerbs and things, due to not driving for so long. It was under £1000 and is £20 road tax a year. I found it on Facebook, and have had the car for almost 2 weeks. I was nervous when I first sat in the driver’s seat, but I practiced, and all that stuff with the gears and things came right back to me.

It has an MOT till December, which is good enough for me getting used to the car. It is 19 years old, sounds a little rough, and has a bit of a messy interior, but it’s a perfect car for me. I am slowly getting more confident, and I’m liking having a car back. It’s so convenient for going to work, or going to get food shopping.

2026 has been a very productive year so far.

Another year older

April 7, 2026 ~ Sue ~ 1 Comment

It was my birthday on Friday, and have such struggled the last few days to do anything. I spent hours upon hours watching videos on TikTok, doing nothing of any value. During my appointment with my therapist last week, I am needing to learn that there is actual value in doing ‘nothing’. Which is something that is really hard for me to do. So… we are not making myself feel bad about it. Or trying not to.

My birthday falls at the start of the second quarter of the year. And, I normally use this to see how I am doing so far on my aims for the year. This is a process which usually has me in tears, as I do feel like I have got nowhere in life, and feel useless. This is something that I am trying to stop focusing my energy on, as it is never very productive. It tends to be more likely to knock me off my feet, and stop me from making any progress at all, which just causes me to spiral.

So there are a few things that I wanted to do in 2026. The biggest thing is improving my health. I have experienced issues with my mental, physical, and dental health. So what have I done, or reached out to the appropriate services to do? The tale end of last year had me going to the dentist to get treatment started on a long-term broken tooth, which has died and got infected. I had that removed, and the subsequent hole filled in. I still have treatment to go, but my mouth is feeling so much better. The best thing is that my dental practice has so many nice people working at it, and have made me feel at complete ease whilst attending. Treatment is partially paid for by my dental insurance I get through may work, which is a thing I am recommending to everyone, if they can.

Sticking to things I get through my work, I called the Employee Assistant Programme, and have been receiving mental health support. I was super struggling, and have been for months. I was feeling so low, and I really didn’t know how to fix things. So I called a number, which gave me an appointment to be ‘triaged’. I think it is a way to figure out where your problems lie, and they can then match you with a suitable therapist. Which they have done. I have currently had two appointments, via telephone, and the therapist has been a great help. We were discussing about how my self-esteem is one of my main issues, and is possibly why I have struggled to get to grips with problems in the past. It certainly was an angle that I have never looked at before. My GP surgery has been a nightmare, and I have struggled to get appointments and help, so I am grateful that I have services at work that pick up the slack.

And then my rheumatoid arthritis. I fell of the bandwagon of medication, due to my mental health. Because if I had any issues, it was never one phone call. it was over 5 phone calls, every single time. And, I was struggling to do basic activities, I just buried my head in the sand. The very few times I did feel like I could chase things up, I was met with silence. Which, didn’t exactly make me want to keep going. So, I have been in pain for months, and exhausted for the same time. Last week, I received a letter to go to the Rheumatology clinic for an appointment next week. I am assuming that this is unprompted, as my phonecalls and emails have all went unanswered. Umprompted or not, this hopefully means that I can speak to someone about getting my medication sorted again. I am pretty frustrated about the whole thing to be honest.

So health is doing better, there has been movement, some more prompted than others, to trying to help make things better. This is a huge success for the beginning of the year. Another thing that I wanted to do was to read more. I set myself a target of 50 books for the year, and I have read 15. in 3 months. Which I am rather happy with.

All progress is progress, and these are things that I am getting progress in. This is what I am trying to focus on. Not what has happened in the last 40-odd years, or what other people have done in that same time frame. What I have been doing recently. Small changes every day, may not fix everything, it will work toward making things a wee bit more liveable.