The Meat Of It

Hello, dear reader!

I don’t think it’s all that controversial to say these are difficult times we’re experiencing.

The winter months are firmly with us, bringing with them the cold, the damp, and the dark. Add in the fact that some of us are having to face harder and harder choices over things like heating, as the cost of living (And I marvel that life has a monetary value every time I write that horrible phrase) bites down harder and harder

Yes, these are indeed hard times. Something that makes the occasional treat all that much sweeter.

The Benefit Of The Doubt
In this case, the treat in question was a steak dinner at Miller & Carter, a well known chain of said chunks of beef.

Now it’s not much of a secret that your erstwhile blogger is not, currently, a man of much means. Since my diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis some five and a half years ago and the subsequent decision that working a full time job with a physical disability AND a life limiting illness was going to be beyond me in the long term, I have been existing, primarily, on benefits.

Yes, I’m one of those horrible, workshy, drains on the economy who are obviously far more culpable for the state of this once great country than, ooh, say, a small cabal of greedy billionaires with more money than they or several generations of their descendants will ever be able to spend, and a political system increasingly designed to protect and enable them while deflecting the blame elsewhere.

Yup, that’s me.

In Sickness And In Health
Of course, for most of those years my scrounging has been supported by Tina, my ever-extraordinary wife who worked for many years in the care industry (and, no, I’m not referring to looking after me. As she once famously said, she doesn’t care for me). Sadly, Tina’s mental health has taken something of a hit in recent years, something which she has taken to writing the occasional blog post about herself (for instance, here and here), and which has left her also reliant on the benefits system.

It’s meant a significant amount of belt tightening . Shopping has become something of a tactical exercise, with meal planning becoming more and more important as prices rise and our income stagnates. The good things in life, those off the cuff, last minute decisions to do something, or buy something as self reward, or just because, have become a rarity, something to save toward. Our holiday this year will probably comprise a couple of days in London to see my step-daughter, Sarah and make sure the life of a paramedic isn’t proving too, um, interesting at the moment.

So, yeah times are tough and, in the short term at least, they promise to get tougher. It made the Xmas gift from my sister of a voucher to spend at the aforementioned steakhouse much, much, more than welcome.

Out Out
It was a chance to get dressed up. A chance for Tina to look glamorous and for me to look…clean(ish). A chance to get out of the house for an hour or two, and relax with some good food, in a nice atmosphere, without having to worry about affordability.

Luckily, the franchise in question were running a special promotion that allowed us to have a two course meal from their lunch menu with drinks. We had to put a bit toward the bill ourselves, but two courses and a drink for two people for a tiny outlay isn’t bad.

Tina had the rump steak, onion loaf, lettuce wedge, and beef dripping gravy (which I wish they served in pint glasses). I had ‘The Dirty Burger’, a steakburger, with beef barbacoa, and fillet tails. All was really well cooked (you could see the difference between my rare fillet tails and Tina’s medium rare rump (oo-er missus!). The puds (yeah we went puds rather than starters) were small, but very decadent.

Payment In Kindness
Overall, it was a lovely lunch, and, when and if money allows, something I’d like to do again. It felt ‘normal’ or at least what ‘normal’ used to feel like, and there was no guilt to attribute to it afterwards.

I’m not blind to the fact that there are far more people in this country who are in similar, if not worse, situations than ourselves. Money is tight for so many people at the moment, and the necessity for more and more professions to strike in order not to have their labour taken for granted amid sinking income and increasing workloads and job insecurity only make that worse. We are not alone. I know that.

 

But, in times of stress, when life constricts and becomes more difficult, for whatever reason, there’s always kindness. It doesn’t need to be a gift, it doesn’t need to cost much or even anything, but each one of us has the power to brighten the life of someone else, and, perhaps, in return to have that brightness reflected back.

And, of course, steak tails help immensely.

Until next time.

***

Hey, folks! If you would care to take a look at some of my more creative writing, then the links below will transport you to the magical worlds of a few anthologies my short (and in two cases, very short) stories have been included in. Feel free to check ’em out!

New Tales Of Old: Volume 2

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09TMVTX9H/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Death Ship

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/9198684140/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_TWEMTA3KWK7T89QEZPF6?fbclid=IwAR322Fx5nfgVUQAA62ZZ6CUsNnBm8pbSxPanzz6Qkjg3vAv4ESipq7iKKhs

https://www.waterstones.com/book/death-ship/david-green/s-o-green/9789198684148?fbclid=IwAR2gP4CXHSG7wTccO39wOqXFtI81k0259Ep8DUM48Ki6kTUdlKoF3yafojA

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9198684140/ref=ewc_pr_img_1?smid=A2XZ7JICGUQ1CX&psc=1&fbclid=IwAR2Wa6sGxb82_VCsC7l1CGXwHjsSwTheqba6jDX_G8EDsywZoGpC93nXr2w

Reaperman

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reaperman-Drabbles-3-Legends-Night-ebook/dp/B099NNPTQ1A

Pestilence

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pestilence-Revelations-Black-Ink-Fiction/dp/B09MDLZGHY/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2VP38WZDWJVAF&keywords=black+ink+fiction&qid=1654090896&sprefix=black+ink+fiction%2Caps%2C218&sr=8-1

The Musketeers Vs Cthulhu

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Musketeers-Cthulhu-Court-King-Louis-ebook/dp/B09YQKQQB7/ref=sr_1_18?crid=2VP38WZDWJVAF&keywords=black+ink+fiction&qid=1654091002&sprefix=black+ink+fiction%2Caps%2C218&sr=8-18