Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh passed away last week and he will have a funeral fit for his status. It will cost a lot of money; status symbols cost money. The converted land rover for the funeral will be seen as a waste of money by some and that can be true of most status symbols. We all spend money on status symbols and vehicles are popular status symbols. Clothes are a status symbol and where we live, whether a palace or a council house with a blocked paved drive, are status symbols too. We can save money by being thrifty and frugal when we acquire status symbols and it helps to understand the importance of status symbols.

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The pandemic has changed us all but how has it changed us? I have noticed changes in attitudes. There have been mentions of “mental health problems in the media, but what mental health problems exactly? I think people are more insecure, we have after all spend a year facing an existential threat. Mental health services in the UK are dire and so most people are resigned to the way things are and will have to just get on with it. Children seem to be the least affected but some children who were not doing well at school before the pandemic will now end up virtually illiterate. Many will have parents who are barely literate so they had no homeschooling. We are all changing with the times. 

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I went out on Sunday to take some photos of a church. I used to be quite a prolific photographer but now I just want one good picture. I have begun to make prints of some of my pictures and so I aim for pictures worthy of making into prints. I still experiment a little. There was a big truck near the church and I couldn’t resist taking a shot of that too. I have also taken a few photos in the garden. I thought the wheelbarrow would make a good photo and so I took the shot!

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It’s Sunday morning and so once more I’ll share my thoughts with you. Last year, I started investing a few quid via the eToro platform. I’ve been doing quite well even though I only invested a meagre amount. I bought CFDs, of which stocks were the underlying asset. I ended up invested in about 12 companies and had $30 left in cash. Then I had my ripple of an idea.

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Last year, I started investing in CFDs (contracts for difference) on the eToro platform. I am aware that over 75% of investors investing in CFDs lose money. I’m not one of them. I have been very cautious and deposited money in 2 tranches and have diversified my investments. I have invested in stocks, both British and American and even in European and cryptocurrency. I invested just $50 in each stock and I had $30 leftover so I put that into Ripple (XRP) and that investment has done quite well. My $30 turned into over $100.

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When the art galleries open again we might get killed in the rush as the hoards head for a bit of culture. Oh no, that’s pubs isn’t it and the rush to enjoy a pint! I don’t see people rushing to art galleries but they will be trying to encourage us or at least the kids. After all, they have to justify themselves as they put in their next bid for Arts Council funding. This is my attempt at art which is unfunded by the Arts Council.

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I am still building the History of Wednesbury archive and I’m now adding some of my pictures that I hope future generations might enjoy. The old pictures that I find often need leveling and I find I can sharpen them a little to get rid of some of the blur. The weather was good on Sunday and so I was able to wander around taking a few pictures. I am curating two archives now and I have a lot of pictures on backup drives that I can look through and put on the THOW Facebook page from my own collection. There is some skill in curating an archive and it takes organising.

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Lockdown and the pandemic have meant many people spending less money and so they have savings to spend when things are more normal. Businesses are expecting that to be on the 12th of April. Some businesses who sell online have already begun having sales to get rid of old stock ready for the return of customers to their stores. I picked up some bargain-priced clothes in one sale.

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It’s April fools day, 2021. No, I’m not going to do one of my jokes like in the past. Although the Wednesbury hoard of gold hasn’t been found and the tunnel from Wednesbury to Dudley castle is still sealed up. Is the hoard in the tunnel? It could be. Black Country Radio, famous for Billy Spakemon’s Omma and Chain show, live from the coal ‘ole, has a story this morning. They report that the Birmingham New Road is to become a toll road and we Black Country lot will need passports to go into Brum. I hope the Brummies need a passport to come into the Black Country!

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We are now 10 days into spring and this morning is nice and sunny. Lockdown was lifted yesterday but we will still have restrictions for the foreseeable future. We can at least think about photography and plan some landscape photography. I hope to do a little street photography but I think we will have to wait until next year for events to resume as normal. Spring and summer should be more normal this year.

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