Thorolf the Free-Thinker

I'm not really sure exactly what I'm going to write about today because I haven't got a particular subject in mind. I'll let an idea form as I go along and attempt to convert it into some sort of exhortation - not an easy thing for Thorolf to do in this mini heat-wave. At least when it's cold you can warm yourself up but when it's the other way round and you need to cool down, it becomes nigh on an impossibility for Thorolf to function comfortably.
Here's something which I find somewhat disquieting: the subject of missing people. Have you ever sat back and pondered over just how difficult it is for an adult in the UK to remain "missing"? There are literally thousands of people who are never seen again and who have simply disappeared from society's radar screens without so much as a blip. Where have they gone? And how do they manage it?
To survive, you need money. To acquire money, you need either a job or assistance from the Welfare State. To get a job, you need a National Insurance number and will attract the attentions of the tax office. Furthermore, as huge numbers of people are well aware, Social Security interrogations require all manner of details about you, almost down to your shoe size.
Last year, in the UK alone, 140,000 people went missing. Of these, about two thirds were kids between the ages of 13 and 17 and the rest were adults. The children's figures are startling enough but most of these were runaways and were generally found after a time. The remainder were adults. That's a lot of people.
With all the technology available to Governmental departments and all the databases which are now inter-linked, how do they escape notice? I mean, even booking a holiday abroad and the data is immediately passed to Scotland Yard or MI5 regarding your departure date and every other relevant detail. Nothing ever shows up for these people who remain on the missing register so they can't have left the country. Where do they go?
Live off the land? Doubtful. Unlike other countries, the UK doesn't have vast tracts of territory to hide in. Besides, there are plenty of eagle-eyed farmers or National Trust Rangers to spot that type of activity where it would be possible. However, those areas would be pretty crowded to hold thousands of people, don't you think, so where do they go?
And here's another anomaly. In a lot of cases, the vehicles which belong to these missing people are never found or traced either. Where do they go?
It's all a bit sinister and I have my own theories about the fate of these missing people. Perhaps in a later blog, I will expound on these ideas more loudly. For now, it's enough to wonder how so many people can remain invisible and at the same time survive the prying eyes of the UK state.