Still

The stillness of the little pond in the woods stands in counterpoint to the turmoil of the day. The catkins of a couple of weeks ago have faded.

I spent the morning on the picket line again where we all discussed the "agreement" that had been reached between our employers and our union. There was a general feeling that the agreement was a bad agreement but more mixed views as to whether we'd get any better. Nationally there was a very clear grassroots rejection, as witnessed on social media and in the views expressed by local branches at a meeting called in London. The union have listened, and rejected the proposal. In the short run this means that the scheduled strike action continues for the rest of the week with a second wave of twenty days planned for after Easter. None of us have ever been engaged in such sustained action before, so we don't really know what to expect. It looks like I'll need to start trimming my household budget but that's just a short-term hit; this dispute is about promises and quality of life through all the years of our retirement.

Post-picket, I returned home and wandered down to the woods. It was good to be out but everywhere is a muddy trudge at the moment. A Red Kite offered the wildlife highlight.

After tea I popped over to Halifax to take in their match against Dagenham & Redbridge; my first visit to the Shay this season. The Daggers opened the scoring with a freak deflection, Halifax were much stronger in the second half and scored two to secure a valuable win. They're now looking more or less secure in the National League for another season, unlike Guiseley who are still resolutely holding up the rest of the table. 

Oh, and my main camera has broken so I may be stuck with phone photos for a while unless I can revive one of the old ones.