Words and more words ...

17 August

Yesterday’s day off blog writing was solely so I could get some more work on Arathusia, and I too. By adding just over 3,000 words to it brings to total to around 11,000, but that is very much a guess seeing as I’m not typing it, I’m hand writing it. Yes, you read that correctly I’m hand writing it. The fountain pen I’m now using is a Shaffer, one of a set of three that Dave bought and never used. Now eight years after I found the set I am finally putting it to good use, or at least I’m hoping it is. Dave never bought rubbish in whatever he bought. If he was in town and realised he needed a ball point, he would go to Cawthornes stationers and buy yet another Parker roller ball. I can see three of them now while I’m sat here at my desk. There’s a couple more on the table beside my chair, another in me camera bag, and at least one in the bedroom. It’s not surprising he was so far in debt when he died. Anyway …

I hope I’m not being think here but I really don’t understand why there is so much fuss made over exam results. These results are important, of course they are, but do we really need to see screaming girl after screaming girl when they see their results? I’m sure all the media fuss has hyped it up far too much now and those kids are just trying to outdo the others. Not only that, every years we hear stories of how the exams are getting easier and that is why exam results are increasing year on year.

This year though, there seems to be evidence of cheating the exams, not by students but by teachers and school who doctor the results achieved in various ways. A few whistle blowers have come out and made allegations against schools and individuals involved. The usual comments are then made by heads that the whistle blowers are bad teachers or have a poor record in other ways and it’s all down to sour grapes on their part. I don’t know about you, but now I’ve heard that counter so often that I’ve stopped believing them. The allegations are far too many in far too many schools and areas for it not to be true.

Today’s 1 o’clock news ended with a report of a bomb going off in a shrine popular with tourists in Bangkok. Jan’s sister is living there now and our first thoughts were of Trish. We slowly came to realise that Trish lives on the out skirts of the city, not in the city centre or tourist areas, so we are hoping she is safe.

Today’s photo … 

Lynda and Jan.

Today’s funny …

Q: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
A: Yes.
Q: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
A: I forget.
Q: You forget. Can you give us an example of something that you've forgotten?