normal service is resumed

sorry people horsemouth hasn't been with you for a while because of broadband problems. hopefully this marks a return to service. he has been taking the opportunity to read bulgakov's the white guard. 

last night (well the night before last now) horsemouth was sandbagged. he'd just got ontop of the speechwriting thing when there was the phonecall. 

this is the blogpost horsemouth would have put up yesterday morning had not the broadband thing intervened. 

an old friend. about another old friend (who is not well). this friend is getting evicted (stressful - not what you want when you are ill). it is difficult and stressful to navigate getting yourself rehoused when you are well (never mind when you are sick).  er. and are being evicted by the communal endeavour (mind horsemouth's guilt).

special pleading (horsemouth's mitigation). 

after the second world war lots of council housing was built to house the working class. but in the 80ies the tories began to sell it off or get rid of it by bureaucratic means (sold to the council tenants themselves at knockdown prices or handed off to new management organisations). soon it  was all in profoundly short supply. furthermore rather than let out flats to tenants with rights (such as the right to be rehoused) the new bureaucratic management agencies would often prefer to lease then to tenants without rights - such rights as to be rehoused for example - through co-operatives and housing associations such as the communal endeavour. 

and so we end up in the situation of the communal endeavour evicting its tenants on behalf of a new bureaucratic management agency. 

why would the communal endeavour accept such an iniquitous deal? perhaps as the only way to get people housed (and that temporarily). 

it all has to go down to the wire. horsemouth feels so useless. 

understandably faced with this situation horsemouth has had a guilt seizure. there's this, and there's the presentation, and they are both on the same day.  and there's another friend in a hospice. 

this is where his blog post from yesterday morning would have ended.

yesterday horsemouth went to see his friend in the hospice. he felt paradoxically better for having done something (even if it is basically useless) because at least he had done something. he does miss travelling about the place (there was a fair amount of that with work).

whilst having a hunt around on his computer last night (as he was locked out of the internet) horsemouth found the first cut of the fall of the house of fitzgerald (featuring scenes that did not make it to the final cut). the final cut is indeed better. 

horsemouth's savings continue to appreciate (though not by much) because capitalism is in a cheerful-ish mood. horsemouth finds their (slight) increase reassuring because it counters (though only in part) the decrease caused by horsemouth being obliged to cover his living expenses without the assistance of work. that part is still nice to see (despite its implying that capitalism is feeling cheerful and optimistic).  

tonight maybe some babysitting (maybe not). and then it's the weekend. horsemouth is looking forward to christmas (not a sentence he would usually write).