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Omar's Diary to 28 July, 2019

Hot weather, new reading material, Coriolanus and a very early morning

By Alan RussellPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
Omar feeling totally enervated

Today, Sunday 28 July, 2019, marked the end of the so called heatwave that has been enervating my Servants, Mitzi and myself.

Oh what a relief.

Lady Servant returned from her travels last week with some fresh reading material for Man Servant and me. A publication Man Servant nor I have ever read before is the New Internationalist.

This is a bi-monthly publication whose editorial objective is to "cover stories the mainstream media sidestep and provide alternative perspectives on today’s global critical issues." Very fine words indeed, which judging by this edition alone are fulfilled with a mixture of short and long form journalism.

The main theme of this edition is about cities. How members of the servant species are migrating from rural and urban environs to burgeoning cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong and Dhaka. And how cities are developing concentrations not only of populations but also of wealth whose uneven distribution is emphasized even more in cities than in the countryside.

In the three articles Man Servant and I read, there was no mention of felines and the conditions which they must live under in cities. The nearest I have ever been to city living was when I was homeless in Bournemouth where I was found in a rather sorry state. It was jolly frightening with all the traffic, servants (none of whom were mine) and the noise. There was just no place to escape to where there was a fresh lawn, comfortable shade and most importantly of all; peace.

How residents, both servants and the felines they work for, cope in these intense concentrations of population I shall never understand. Is the coping mechanism driven by an acceptance of not knowing any different living conditions or necessity?

The buildings I saw in Bournemouth pale into the insignificance when compared to the towering blocks of Hong Kong and the favelas of Rio de Janeiro illustrated in this magazine.

Despising for you, the city, thus I turn my back:

There is a world elsewhere. (Coriolanus)

I have found that world elsewhere and that world is where I live.

Whenever I see pictures of and read articles about servants’ being housed in such condensed conditions, I refresh my gratitude for my fortunate circumstances here at Omar Towers. We have gardens front and rear. Space to park the "red thing." Very little traffic. And direct access to open fields and the New Forest. What more could any feline ask for?

In one of the teaser articles the New Internationalist reported that the new President of Ukraine was previously a comedian starring in a comedy programme about the President of Ukraine. Oh well, at least Ukraine were able to elect a servant with some previous experience unlike the servants in the UK who couldn’t vote and seem to have been landed with someone with no experience to be Larry’s new servant. As for the new servant being a comedian, I will reserve judgement.

This morning, Sunday, my Servants were awake at the time I am normally returning home from Tiny’s, the local nightclub, over the weekend. As I came through my private entrance, they were just going out at five in the morning. Yes, five in the morning. I heard Man Servant urging Lady Servant to get up and get going so they could witness the sunrise at a place called "Mudeford." They were home by seven and immediately flopped into bed for a couple of hours only to be woken by Mitzi and I calling for our breakfast. Neither of us were hungry. We just felt that they should both be up and enjoying the day

I must admit that they did rather suffer from this early morning excursion for the rest of the day and life was somewhat subdued here at Omar Towers. Neither of them are as young as they used to be.

Our booking for the Hotel Catifornia has now been confirmed so Mitzi and I are rather looking forward to our break. Even more so when we heard our Servants confirming with one of the "trade" that they would be starting work on the 12th of August. We do not want to be around when trade is here, and so we have both started to pack our valises.

Your link to the New Internationalist

https://newint.org/

Sunrise at Mudeford

satire

About the Creator

Alan Russell

When you read my words they may not be perfect but I hope they:

1. Engage you

2. Entertain you

3. At least make you smile (Omar's Diaries) or

4. Think about this crazy world we live in and

5. Never accept anything at face value

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