Things That Make You Go … Meh! Part One
Preamble :
So, having not been making much money from photography lately, I’ve taken the decision to start being more vocal about the way I think about things.
Anybody who knows me in real life, will attest I have no problem (or hesitancy) in putting forward my views on pretty much anything.
Being a little older, I was around before the internet, and being on it (even at the outset) meant it was fairly obvious that what have become known as “Keyboard Warriors” would always be a problem (one way or another).
I know for a fact that quite a few of my Social Media followers have different political viewpoints than I do, or religious leanings, spiritual beliefs …. I tend to try and be a good human being and I respect others whenever I can.
I don’t mean to upset people, and to be honest, this is the reason I tend to avoid conflict online.
It’s pointless.
However, a lack of income and a growing realisation that this country (amongst others) is run by idiots and those people who seem to believe that if they shout the loudest also tend to mirror this idiocy.
I’m beginning to think that the group of people I fall within, those who tend to observe from the fringes, say and do nothing (for fear of being lambasted by fools who wouldn’t dare argue with you in person) should maybe make it clear that it’s not alright to spread lies or abuse people who at the least, try to harbour mostly good in their hearts (on either side of an argument).
I’m not saying that I’m right, nor that I have any answers.
These are merely observations and my reactions …
Things That Make You Go … Meh! Part One
So, it has become more and more apparent that our wonderful country is run by rich, entitled, selfish morons and people who should never (for any reason) be granted power.
Whatever your politics, you are never truly represented, you are merely offered a choice of which dog shit you would like to stand in.
As a person who has always wanted to be left alone to get on with their life, who doesn’t exactly rock the boat, on the dubious promise of being rewarded for working hard, I can state emphatically that unless you are happy to ignore large quantities of facts, that trying to make a business of anything that has anything artistic at it’s crux, is pointless.
Frosty Sunrise in Northlew, Devon
In order to liven up my inane scribblings, I shall insert interesting images - willy nilly 😂
So, I shall (because I can) now document some of the reasons why we need to change things or we’ll forever live under the hindrance of restrictive mediocrity.
Quite a while ago (pre-pandemic) I was looking into going part time where I was working and hopefully spending more time on my photography.
I shan’t spend a great deal of time here explaining why I wanted to leave, suffice to say there wasn’t enough money for a pay rise, yet there was enough to buy the director a rather splendid motor vehicle.
I did a great deal of research into how I might leave and a small part of that research involved contacting local markets where I might set up a stall and see if I could extend my reach (even if it didn’t lead to direct sales).
I emailed a very popular local market and got a rather convivial sounding email back from the chap saying I could meet up with him as soon as he returned from a jolly at the Glastonbury Festival.
Overjoyed to receive any kind of reply (yes, this is a novelty) I left the day and time to him and an appointment was made, a reminder was entered into my calendar.
On the day in question I joyfully drove the half an hour or so, excited to see what the future might have lined up for me, arriving in plenty of time to set about finding the gentleman's office.
Having located his workspace (luckily well signposted), I observed two chaps within.
One sat at a desk and one was leaning against the wall. They were in conversation, however the door was open.
I approached and said who I was looking for.
Both looked at me as if I was disturbing something.
The one sitting at the desk said “Yes?”
I said who I was and that I had an appointment to see (insert name here).
He looked nonplussed as I indicated the camera I was holding and said “The photographer?”
Their facial expressions made it immediately apparent that I was the only one expecting an appointment at that time.
Black-a-Tor Copse - Smattering of Snow
Such prettiness! Who could imagine Paul, the nice quiet person who you take for granted might actually have an opinion 😂
The seated fellow (who it was by now obvious the person I was supposed to meet) made not a single attempt to apologise for forgetting our appointment, nor did he stand up or offer me his hand (remember this was before the plague).
Suffice to say, I had already made the decision I wanted no further part in an arrangement with incompetence and flippancy.
This was the guy in charge of organising the market.
So, the person I was supposed to go to if there were any difficulties.
Respect level of zero; reciprocated.
He remained seated throughout our discussion and his “colleague” made no attempt to leave when it became obvious I was there on what amounted to official business.
I am sad to say I did not (as my inner self was screaming for me to do) tell him to fuck off, I merely listened to him explain how I should obviously fit my life around his schedule.
They had spaces on a certain day and I could surely sort out running around and conveniently bowing and scraping to his every whim.
I lied and said I would of course get back to him.
Higher Tor
Incompetence lives everywhere and I’m not in any way even near to perfect. However my actions, reactions and interaction rarely effect anybody 🤨
Part the second :
I did actually attend a market for quite some time.
Of course, as I was a newbie I could only expect a spot on a weekday and keep my fingers crossed to be offered a table at the much more financially rewarding weekend. (Sarcasm intended).
I played by all the rules.
I didn’t abuse the parking situation (as I was informed many others did).
I turned up on time, and I never left before I said I would.
My snivelling adherence to the rules was eventually rewarded when I was generously offered a spot at the prestigious Saturday market.
Thus far the market had failed to make me a rich person (indeed on every occasion I would have benefited more from a minimum wage job) , however, I had a cunning and eye-catching plan that I hoped would draw in more customers.
I asked the organiser if I could have the spot I usually did with a little extra space to accommodate my ‘marketing’ idea.
I indicated that it was fine if it wasn’t possible, but he agreed and I set about gathering my bits together for my premier at the ‘big’ market!
Yes, you guessed it, when I arrived, my spot had been given over to another market stall holder.
Teignhead Farm on Dartmoor
The ruins of many a plan have come about by the negligence of others.
Some fellow hawking ‘hand-made’ sea glass jewellery.
Now, I ‘am’ one to judge (yes you read that correctly), and it’s become clear to me over the years that I am in fact a very good at assessing character (this being the main reason I have very few friends**) this guy wore an enormous cross around his neck; not, you understand, a tasteful little silver thing; instead something you might expect to see on a medieval monk in a not very good movie.
There are two reasons this might be, the first that you might be a slightly overzealous Christian (which in itself raises several questions) and the second, that you are an enormous fraud.
“Look, buy my shoddy (honestly it’s handmade) jewellery, I’m obviously a trustworthy person because I totally believe in God and Jesus and all that stuff” - wanker!
(I won’t even visit the gullibility of people who fall for this - which reminds me, I really must get one of those fish emblems for my car)
Now, obviously my righteous anger was predominantly directed at the market organiser who had made that usual mistake of misinterpreting niceness as stupidity 🤣 usurping my spot and leaving me with not enough room to trial my idea.
Tavy Cleave
The mist that obfuscates many is that of self importance.
However, repeated insistence on bellowing at every person who wandered past, and his indulgence in budget busting quantity of food and hot beverages (I could barely afford the sandwiches and a packet of crisps I had brought) combined with the snippets of overhead boastful conversation and the clincher - “Oh, I was asked which spot I’d like, one at the top, or one here under the cover” … meant I was less becoming increasingly less enamoured of my competition.
I’m well aware I could be totally wrong about this guy and my dislike might have stemmed from my annoyance, however, in my defence, experience has taught me that the most honest, decent and beautiful religious people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting have no need to advertise their faith.
On arrival I had considered just not setting up. My girlfriend convinced me I should stay.
I’m fairly sure this trader never returned.
Later I messaged the market organiser and told him I wasn’t impressed that I had spent money preparing for the event and then not been given the spot I was promised.
I never returned.
Now, I’m not going to say I have a terribly bad life, I know people have way worse problems than I do. This, however, is the type of bullshit people have to put up with on a regular basis.
I’m not a shouty attention seeking person, so I rarely challenge the status quo, primarily because I realised at an early age that it has no effect.
People will always be given positions of power for all the wrong reasons.
Beech Boundary
Join me next time for more adventures with incompetents 😂
To my great amusement (yes I am petty) there is now only a single market day where the sea glass zealot was and I, to this day, receive regular emails from the market my languid friend runs telling me of spaces which are available 🤣
** I hasten to add that being fooled by so-called ‘friends’ is the reason I now trust my bullshit detector. I have very few friends because people successfully remove themselves from my life, not because I have prejudged them.
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