Forgive me for being a miserable git but...
.. this whole clapping for the NHS thing feels like it's turning into a bit of a selective cult amongst (mainly) middle-class estate-dwellers.
I love the NHS as much as the next person and I think our doctors an nurses are amazing but I also think that standing outside and clapping is rather pointless and I will not be part of it...
As it happens nobody in my street seems to be doing it - possibly because I live amongst a densely populated mixture of flats and houses occupied by a truly metropolitan range of people from all 'corners' of this earth.
Meanwhile the friends and family I hear taking about 'the clap' all seem to live in cul-de-sacs or nicer estates, and their main focus seems to be predominantly a game of one-upmanship: Starting with who can clap/bang the loudest and progressing to other stunts by individuals clearly hoping to show that their devotion to the NHS is that much greater than anyone elses.
I think the best one yet was a story from a friend where some doofus in his street decided to light a big vertical flame thrower like you might see at a sports event, but had it too close to the house and set fire to the roof. Oh what larks!
I'm just about tolerating a neighbour occasionally playing load music in their garden - anyway wannabe driveway DJs or Karaoke stars near me would be likely to cause me to have a sense of humour failure... The only remaining question is whether my local council's environmental/noise team is actually working right now?
Biting the hand that feeds IT
