Performing animals for the EU?

31 March

Simon Whaley is a writer and writing tutor, and overall I like his work. It seems that Simon is a very busy chap with several articles and short stories on the go at the same time, and as a full time writer he needs to do that because it’s his only income. I mentioned one his e-books yesterday, a ‘how to’ book for Wunderlist, which he says he uses daily and makes his work a lot more productive on a daily basis. Then I read on FB a quote from some bloke who say that we should only work on one project at a time. That’s fine for a successful novelist, but not for writers like Simon and of course, mesen; hmm, Dorktown slang that could be useful in Arathusia. As it is, after reading 75% of the Simon’s book, I’m not sure it would work for me really. I can see me spending more time sorting and resorting things on there than getting any serious writing done … we’ll see later.

Call the Council is a BBC documentary that is based in Wigan and looks at some of the issues raised when residents call the council over so many incidents that gets raised with them. This might be set in Wigan, but it could be any town/city within the UK. Anyway, yesterday they feature a young bloke wanted to turn his hobby into a full time job, sounds good eh? Normally I would be saying, ‘Yeah, good on yer mate!’ but this one is slightly different. He is an owner of a number exotic pets and his business was to take those pets into schools to try to educate the kids. OK, fine … but does that mean that pets then become performing animals and how does that lie with the ban on performing animals in a circus? Some of these things can be dangerous after all.

The young guy informed the council of what he want to do, so he is being up-front with it all, but then he found out that he actually needed a special licence to take the animals to schools. He finally got the go ahead for and his first show was filmed, and the kids loved it. Another issue I thought about while watching it was the need for CRB check seeing as he would be working with children, even if there was a number of adults in there as well. Generally, I think it’s a worthwhile effort and I wish him well. I’m just hoping some local do-gooder jobsworth doesn’t jump up and find something to complain about it.

The ‘stay in’ lobby have come up with another problem with leaving the EU, that of negotiating the departure. Beg pardon? If we want out, we leave, end of! They have pointed out the case of Greenland wanting out of the EU and the negotiations went for three years. But why was Greenland in it anyway? It’s more America than Europe. However, there may well be some sort of rule that would mean there will be some delay, and any deal can be succoured by just one ‘No’ vote from the other 27 nations involved.

There’s company in Brum that makes meat products and one of its best ones is a range of Cornish Pasties. When they started out they were using some really nice colourful labels. Then the EU poked their nose in and the coloured label; was rejected and now the makers have to have plain black and white label that lists all the ingredients and the nutritional information. That has made their products look the same as any other product, although I suppose they could use different colours for the labels. And remembers my friends, these are non-elected jobsworths we are speaking of, not elected UK people.

In another Midlands company, transport this time, the EU said that all commercial drivers must undergo job training on a yearly basis. One of those drivers was a 60-year-old man who has driven for that company for most of his working life. He came back off his course an unhappy man saying he had wasted a day being taught what he already knew about and practiced every working day. He put his notice in that day and retired. Have a look at your local papers and see how many companies are looking for drivers; there’s a national shortage of drivers and these silly buggerences from the EU do not help, they hinder. And here in soft touch Britain we apply everything they come out with while other members ignore them and go as normal.

Oh yes, we are going out early tomorrow so there will be no blog until Saturday, and then I shall a load of new photos to post.

A photo then … I love lots of colours …

Brollies on a Dorktown Market stall.

Today’s funny …

My dad said to me, 'Son, today I fought off the powers of darkness.'
I said, 'How did you do that?'
He said, 'I paid the electricity bill.'       

On chemicals, writing and Brum

30 March

A large fire was burning savagely over in the West Midlands all day yesterday and at one point there were 100 fire-fighters there working to get it under control. The site of the fire is a scrap yard where there are a large number of wrecked cars. Some of them will still have fuel of some sort in them along with various oils and grease lubricants, and all of them will have trims and foams and so on, mainly man-made material that give off horrendous toxins when they burn. It all makes for a potent mix of contamination in the wind blown from the site over nearby property.

This scrapyard seemed to be in an industrial estate, but these days housing tends to sit fairly close to those estates. It makes me wonder why council give planning permission to operate on such sites. I have called in at a number of chemical companies sitting right against housing. The possible dangers to that housing and the people living in there should be obvious to everyone. At least one in Hinckley has since closed and there is at least one supermarket on the site now, but how many remain operating in small units close to housing estates.

Writers are advised to write about what we know, it makes to task easier. The advisers are right, it does. However, we need to be careful about writing what we know in case we include our own hates and strongly held beliefs and prejudices come through in our writing. It will do so to some extent anyway; we just can’t help it. John Norman is a writer who allows his fantasy free range in his Gor series of books. I gave up with then after #11.

The basic story is of a sister planet to Earth opposite us, that circles the sun on the same orbit as us. As per normal there are two races fighting for dominance of the planet, the priest kings and a race of huge and vicious cats. Normans fantasy come in where in where the story touches on women and their role in their society. So you get a few pages of basic story line, followed by a large number of pages stating the case for how good slavery is for a woman, and how they blossom while a slave. A good basic story ruined by his fantasy about women.

Regular readers will know that I sometimes have a number of books on then go at the same time, reading that is, not writing. So right now I have Kings’ Dark Tower #1 and a ‘how-to’ book by Simon Whaley about a software program called Wunderlist, bit of these are on my kindle. In paperback I have Throne 5, which is getting tedious for me, so I am letting rest while I read something else. That something else is Chris Mooneys’ World Without End. So far I have four instances where his characters had poor or cruel fathers who didn’t love them. One is OK I think, but four? No, not in one books. And that is what I mean about allowing our own lives colouring our writer too much.

My first novel was The Mission. My old mate Bill Howe did a proof read of it, for which I am grateful, he’s also read through all of my work. The first couple of pages came about because of a run in I had with Dorktown cops one day. I had point out someone to them who was a known criminal who was wanted several offences, yet they claimed he wasn’t doing anything right then and there, so they couldn’t touch him. That really bugged me, so when I got home I sat and began typing my feelings about the cops. A few hours later I had the first five or six thousand words of a novel written. Bill read it through as I said above and he said afterwards that he could see me and my anger in it all the way through it. See what I mean here. Those first few pages list a number of incidents where cops didn’t act when I thought they should have, and each one is a real incident, not made up.           

Market Place in Dorktown will host the BBC Midlands Today Bus. The idea is to take the bus out on the road so that we, the public can meet and chat to the various newscasters and team members. Jan and I are going out later today but we will not be going in to town even if it is a market day. Jan mention Brum last night, but I wasn’t keen just then but maybe I was perhaps a bit hasty. On window shopping/photo shoot days I prefer using my scooter and not my walker. Add in our need to go shopping as well, then I wouldn’t be able to walk very far in Brum and then do the shopping. But I am beginning to think that the fruit and veg market in Brum might be a worthwhile visit anyway. Whatever, it’s just shopping later today and Brum on Friday when the main market is on and we both can use our scooters.

And so for today’s photo …

Jan on her scooter enjoying an ice cream in the sun.

Today’s funny …

Did you hear about the boatload of red paint that crashed into a boat carrying blue paint?
13 passengers were marooned.       

Sat sitting a'finkin' ...

29 March

Another bad day yesterday – nuff said.

This morning we are up early cos me foot butcher is due to check up on a big toe that she had to put a dressing on last week when she was here. I knew it was in a bit of a state, but not as bad as it was. It hurt like hell doing it too. But it seems OK now though.

There’s a growing need for more teachers due to two main causes from what was on the news last night; one is the growing number of children attending school, the second is that so many trained teachers are leaving school these days because of the amount of work they are required to do for the smaller than average salary they get, again according to the news. In other reports I’ve seen there is a rising number of them being assaulted by pupils too. A few local teachers I’ve overheard at times having a moan about their jobs (and have you ever noticed that get two teachers together all they talk about is their work?), another issue they face is bullying from head teachers and managers.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of all these bits of info, it’s a job I wouldn’t do. Why? Simply cos I don’t put with kids very well as it is, let alone having a class full of them. I might have considered teaching adults who volunteered to be there though. Of course, it’s all by the by now seeing as I have retired. Overall teacher is a pretty thankless task and I’m not surprised they leave as they are doing right now.

Successive governments haven’t help by closing or merging schools because the pupil numbers were supposed to be too low. Now those numbers are rising again and thoughts are slowly turning back to the mistakes of the past. However, in some cases it’s far too late now, the school sites have been bull-dozed and in some cases now have new housing on them. Here in Dorktown there’s a middle school close to where we used to live. It’s an old building dating from late Victorian times and it was claimed that falling numbers and that near-by school can take they few extra pupils when they closed it.

At the back of our bungalow was the playing field for the school and I remember one name more than any other seeing as every time the kids were out there this one boy was always in trouble. That boy was called Ryan. I wonder what happened to him? Whatever; a good sized chunk of that field now has a care home on it. The school buildings are still there after the locals who were fighting hard to prevent it being demolished a couple of years ago. But what can it be used for now that it’s been closed for last 16 or 17 years? The repair list was so long they couldn’t afford to do the repairs needed while it was open, how much more will need to be spent to bring it up to a useable standard now? I’m surprised that squatters haven’t moved in and really wrecked the place; which brings me too …

Nightmare Tenants and Slum Landlords, another documentary that we both enjoy. Last night we watched the latest edition and one the of stories covered was that of a closed pub that was due to be demolished and new housing built on the same site. Those plans came to halt when squatters moved in, and once they were evicted by county court bailiffs the owner got in to look around. True to form the squatters had wrecked the placed as well as using utilities that the owner will have to pay for. No matter how good the property is when they move in, it is always to same when they are finally removed; offensive writing and pictures over all the walls, loads of soiled, damp mattresses, rubbish left everywhere and anywhere, and of course the usual damage they do to doors and other filling within the property. In this case they had an educated idiot putting their case to the court. Top of their reasons for squatting is that it’s the government not providing enough housing, but nothing about them living for nothing of course. They lost!

Now for a photo …

A penguin.

Today’s funny …

My brother went to the doctor. He said, 'I feel like a bar of soap.
The doctor said, 'That's life, boy.'                  

Bad backs, books, and bloody dangerous!

27 March

I haven’t really felt up to writing the blog over the last few days. Just standing making a cuppa has brought on back pain and the tiredness that comes with it. That same pain can come on even while I’m sat watching telly or reading. I’ve even had come on while lying in bed. And I can only take so many pain killers, so it really is drain.

Both Jan and me enjoy 24 Hours in A&E the Channel 4 hospital series. Actually, we like all the medical documentaries really, but can’t stand the medical dramas. Anyway … we watched on the other afternoon and saw an incident of something that really bugs me, and I can’t puzzle out why the H&E cops haven’t stopped it. That one is those damned silly wheel chairs they use in hospitals where you have to pull them instead of pushing them, and they not the easiest thing to move anyway. H&E cops are quick to jump on things like this normally, so why aren’t they sorting this one out? Is this another one where someone is going to be seriously hurt by one before they act? I hope not!  

When it comes down to it, we all have our own favourite writers, one for each genre too in some cases. Isaac Asimov for sci-fi for me, or perhaps … see what I mean? How can we pick just one writer when we like so many? On the horror front, I’ve always liked James Herbert, but there will be no more from him sadly. Stephen King is another one I like and I have no idea how many of his I have read. What I can say is that I have never tried any of Dark Tower series, until last night that is after I down loaded the first one on to me kindle, not impressed so far though.

From what I’ve read in various places, this is a series that readers either love or hate, there seems to be no middle ground with them. I’ve also found that with other books. I found a book called The Wasp Factory.  So I bought it and enjoyed it. I later found out that that it was Ian M. Banks first novel. At the same time, I also read about how bad a mauling it got from various critics. Again, it seems that it’s one of those books that you either love or hate. I loved it, and so did me old mate Bill Howe, so I’m in good company then.

Another friend of mine said she likes the Dean Koontz books. So I tried one and I really couldn’t get on with it. About two years ago I came across another of his and decided to try him again, mainly cos it was £1 methinks. It’s been sat there in my TBR pile since then and I had completely forgotten about it until I began typing this blog. So I’ve now dug out from the pile and it will be the next one read after I’ve finished Throne 5; unless of course, I forget about it again.

And so to today’s photo …

Oh how I wish … … …

Today’s funny …

Did you hear about the cannibal who joined the police force?
He wanted to grill his suspects.        

Edit your chocky likes ...

24 March

At long last I have made an effort to get my book Finding Our Way self-published on Lulu. It was available on Amazon as a Kindle file but none of my books are now available simply because of the need to register for tax in the States. I can’t be bothered seeing as I only had 6 cents in royalties anyway. So they removed my books from sale, even though they are listed. The problem for me was that having used Amazon’s CreateSpace to publish them, they were printed and shipped from the States, which could take ages to arrive and added a good bit to the cost. At least with Lulu I can get them printed here in the UK, much better all round. They will be available for Kindle too.

I have tried to download one of Lulu’s templates to format the book, but it needs to be unzipped before I can use it. And that is where I came unstuck yet again. Me old mate the Rochdale Sage sent me a program to do the same thing as WinZip, but I forgot about that and clicked on the option to only use WinZip. Now I have to pay up for it. What a silly so-n-so I am. Ha well … Once that is done the rest should be fairly straight forward and I shall be looking at doing the other four I have ready.

One person read The Mission for me and said I needed a good editor. Another person read it and pointed out that I had mixed up two characters but other than that it was fine. And here’s part of the problem, my friends; how can any writer be sure just which editor is best for them when writing is so subjective? Local we have the Hussy who was born close to Dorktown. There’s a sizable group of folks who love her work, I can’t stand the stuff. See what I mean? Each story is at the mercy of each reader.

Cost is another issue. I tried one of the free edits for a certain word count for Shipshape, and was told that the cost of the full edit for the whole of 53,000 words would be £200. But when the time came, they added another £75 to the price. I wasn’t happy about that, so the file sits here waiting for who knows what. A friend of friend has read through it and made a number of comments that have led to changes being made. But it is still here doing nowt. I’ve wondered just lately how unknown writers manage to fund such edits, cos right now I can’t afford it. It’s a good job I like writing then eh.

Jan has just informed of something on face book; it seems that Cadbury’s is banning the word Easter from there Easter eggs, in case it offends other religions. My first thought was that we should stop buying their goods until they see sense and put the word back. Of course, that has probably come from its yanky owners, a bigger pack of liars and twisters ever to disgrace our shores. I once tried some Hershey chocolate, uck! Horrible stuff. The stuff sold abroad isn’t all that nice either. So here in the UK, if you want nice tasting chocky bar, you’re stuck with Cadbury’s … or are you?

I like Turkish Delight and the Fry’s chocolate creams, but that is now under the Cadbury’s banner.  I’ve just looked at the Kraft website and there is no mention of them owning Cadbury’s, so I wonder why? Cormack is one I don’t like, but what about Galaxy? That one is nice and it’s owned by Mars (https://www.galaxychocolate.co.uk). I think I shall be moving over to Galaxy instead.

Photo time …

Yes, this one, a big X for Cadbury’s big fail! It’s actually in Coventry outside the transport museum and has something to do with Sir Frink Whittle.

Today’s funny …

What do you call a Scotsman with a castle on his head?
Fort William.

Politics, no wonder I don'tlike it.

23 March

Oh dear; we are sat watching a show(?) on telly that was recorded last night. I am horrified by it so far. It is not surprising that Islam is so violent a religion when the richest and most influential Islamic countries Saudi, is treating its people the way it is. Films of public executions and punishments, of women being publicly abused and assaulted while out shopping. Why is all this happening? Simply put, if you express any member of the royal family, it’s taken as an insult to Islam. A 17-year old boy has been sentenced to public beheading for taking part in a riot, yet Saudi became the Chair if the UN Human Rights Commission.  

The role of women in the country is second class, of being lower than men. From an early on in their lives at school that this is so, the right and natural way of life. They are taught that Jews and Christians are and evil and polluter the world and should be exterminated where ever they are found. And on and on it goes.

The top and bottom of it is brand of Islam known as Maburi Islam, as followed by the royal family. There’s a claim there is little or no difference in the ideology between that brand of Islam and ISIS. There’s a claim that Saudi has direct links to al Qaeda through a domestic through a commission in Bosnia where funds were funnelled to the terrorist. The Chair if that commission is now the King of Saudi. The commission offices were raided and they found more links, including the 9/11 attacks in New York.

With all this, I do ask why we have such close links to the country. It’s all down to the money arms manufactures make from them, £5billions for us alone. Add in the US exports and you can see why Saudi is awash with money. All that money come from just one source, oil, and lots of it. Oil is vital to us all, so to keep it flowing our leaders overlook the human rights violations that go on there. And guess what? There’s another reason to overlook the abuse; Saudi provides vital intelligence to our security services.

As I said above, Saudi is awash with money, but where is it. From the show there is little evidence of it getting down to the general population. They live in real poverty and in what can only be described slums. Yet look at the palaces of the royals. That alone shows what they are all about, greed for money and power and as much as they can get! So what is the answer? Are we so desperate for arms sales and the intelligence they give? Certainly we need the jobs it provides and the intelligence. But are we really happy at the moral issues? I’m not, so what’s next? I am open to suggestions.               

We were due to have Kile from next Monday for a few days; that changed yesterday evening. He is now coming to us direct from school today and we take him back home on Saturday. He will come back to us on Tuesday for a few more days. At least that is the current plan, but they change quite quickly at times. Apparently though, all the schools are already on holiday for Easter, all that is except Etone, Kile’s school. Ah well …

Today’s photo …

The main lad.

Today’s funny …

Waiter, waiter. I don't like the flies in here.
Well come back tomorrow sir, we'll have some new ones by then.  

United to be terrorised?

22 March

And so it continues on. Terrorists have attacked two sites in Brussels with devastating effects on human life. This seems to have been expected by the local security services after the arrest of a key suspect in the Paris attacks. This can’t be anything to do with any religion, no matter which one they claim to support, and yet, if they are so sure of their faith, why do always seem to hit such soft targets? Over the years all religions have been just as bad as the current terrorists in the way they have behaved in the past. At least most of them have moved away from the barbaric practices of this current lot.

Whatever and whoever these barbarians are, there seems to be some serious questions aimed at the police and how much they knew and how good their procedures, even back to the incidents in Paris. From what I’ve seen on BBC News 24 each section don’t share information between their own departments, let alone to other European countries, information that might well have prevented the Paris killings. It is here that the falsehood of European security falls apart, and one of the reasons I want out of Europe.

Each nation has its own laws and investigation systems which makes a big difference when anyone is charged in the mainland countries. Want more proof/evidence? Have another look at the case of the missing girl Maddie. The Portuguese cops made a real pigs year of that one! Want more? How about the USA, where 50 separate states have tried to be united? They have a national police force, the FBI and a national currency, the dollar. Defence and external security are dealt with nationally, or federally if you wish. Yet I wouldn’t say that the whole 50 states are fully united, not matter what the president might say. Moving on … 

Our schools are in chaos and will continue to be as time goes on. The government wants all schools to become academies. I’m not sure whether that is a good idea or not, but in Birmingham one school executive has stepped down to concentrate on the education side and not the management side. As he said, ‘I am a head teacher, not a manger.’ This has come about because an inspection that found there were glaring gaps in the management of the schools. Now there is a search on for a new school manager – oh dear …

Can you see what will happen next? Have a look at the NHS where managers and doctors are regularly at odds of treatment and costs. The same will happen with our schools now with our children getting a poorer education in the same way that patients end up with a poorer treatment level. Where will it all end I wonder? What next will go downhill when the need for services that we all need from government, clashes with paying for them. These days it’s not just cutting back on taxpayer money, but also the level of investors premiums need to be made. And so on we go … … …

Today’s photo …

Hedwig.

Today’s funny …

Where does a woodsman keep his pigs?
In a hog cabin.             

On the problems of aging and making money.

21 March

Normally I enjoy the BBC series Horizon, yet there was one last week that I really get my head round. The basis of it was the idea that at some point in the future we would be able to live forever, hmmm … I’m not keen on that idea at all. Even now at 67 I have far too many memories that I wish I didn’t have. To have to carry those in my head forever and a day, sounds like a nightmare to me. But this process has a not so wee twist.

This idea is looking at the possibility of down loading our personality as well as memories to a robot. At some point we would then get rid of our human bodies and live has robots. That idea frightens me even more, I should hate to see that, and for me it is an even worse nightmare. However, this is not the first time I have come across the idea. Writers have been dreaming this one up for years. Isaac Asimov wrote about it several times and the latest writer I’ve read with it as the central part of a novel was Peter James.

There is a bigger dream of course, that of hibernation, or suspended animation. There’s many sci-fi films that use it, films like Forbidden Planet and 2001: A Space Odyssey. I remember one sci-fi short story I remember was about a man who had developed an untreatable illness and being a wealthy man he has himself put in to suspended animation until a cure is found. While he sleeps on a committee, appointed by the sleeper, takes charge of running his little empire, and yes, a cure is found.

However, this wealthy man sleeps on in ignorance of what is happening around him. Every so often one of the committee steps down and new member is elected/appointed. First order of business is to explain the history of the company and the sleeping man. They are told that the sleeper has gained so much wealth that although there is now a cure for his illness, he is also the owner of the whole world. The question now is whether to wake him for his illness to be cured. However, is it right to wake him for his cure seeing as he would also have the power to run the whole world? The man is left to sleep in ignorance of what is happening around him and the role his company and wealth plays in it.

This thirst for knowledge is fine as far as it goes, but just how far should it go? Is the research I’ve written about here today, a valid and humanitarian thread of research? Another line of research that hits the headlines every now and then is that of stem cell use. There’s a lot of opposition to it for various reasons. As for me, any chance of finding a cure for so many illnesses, is worth the effort, however, where the source material comes from could be an issue. The thought that embryos are being used to harvest stem cells, a concern, and that is just where the objections come from. At times though, we may have to accept some things that might go against our beliefs and wishes.

Of course, there is another line here, that of money and what is done to gain more of it. At that point we all need to rethink our stance on so many issues. Companies like Monsanto love to wrap up things in humanitarian language like, ‘ending world hunger’ when it comes to things like GM crops. Sounds good eh? What Monsanto don’t mention is the amount of profit they will make if and when they get the go head to roll it out. This type of research is not just to learn, or advance scientific knowledge, no, it is aimed at making more money for Monsanto.

This raising issues with the big pharma companies doesn’t it? They spend billions of £ and $ to bring a new drug to the market, and yes, of course they have to cover their costs, but do they really have to recover it so quickly? How many people die because the new drugs are far too expensive I wonder.

The biggest problem us see, is us humans. By nature, we are a bunch of greedy thieves and fiddlers. Thankfully most of us are able to ignore that urge and live honest lives. When it comes to making money, the greedy people are the ones who are able to get to the top of the tree. From there they can direct the money grabs and do so by making the humanitarian claims. They get away with it simply by using higher share dividends to keep other greedy people on side.

Time for a photo then … 

A yellow primrose.

Today’s funny …

The Sunday School Teacher asks, "Now, Johnny, tell me frankly do you say prayers before eating?"

"No sir," little Johnny replies, "I don't have to. My Mom is a good cook."

A road to safety?

20 March

Dorktown has been brought to a stop a number of times over the last week or two because of RTCs in various locations within and around the town. From our side of town there is just one way to get into the tow centre, without going several miles out of the way; that one route is also the junction of the A444 and the A47. It’s part of a one-way system as well, a dual carriage way that regularly sees chaos in both directions during the rush hour. So can you imagine the chaos when a biker collided with something on his way over the West Coast Main Line beside our railway station? In the almost four years since we have been here in Weddington, I’ve not seen it so bad.

It has again prompted calls for a proper bypass, but I doubt whether we shall ever see one. It takes a lot of dosh as well as years of planning and protests from various interested parties, a lot of the home owners who will certainly be affected by such a road. The other major requirement is the political will to get on and do the job. This job will need the co-operation of both our spineless Labour run town council and our doctrine lead Tory county council. There is rarely any co-operation between these two silly bunch of local muppets. The other major problem I see it, is that it’s not a big sexy idea like HS2, where reputations can be forged and fortunes can be made on the sly. Sad enit!

On Facebook yesterday I saw something IDS resigning as the guy in charge of our benefit system. I made a side comment that it was because the cuts announced in the budget, were not large enough or having been watered down. Later on there was posted about him losing a court case about trying to keep the shambles that is known as Universal Benefits. Perhaps it was the two coming together so closely that forced him to jump before being pushed. That man is meanest, nastiest man in current group of national muppets. Another idea put forward was that it was a cynical move ready for when Blonde Boris takes over in #10.

The mind boggles over both suggestions. Right now our country is under the control of weak group people who seem to have lost their way. The alternative of a Labour lead government currently looks just as weak and ineffective group. Add in the chaos that has descended on the US because of Farter Trump, and we have a really bad political vacuum building up. The state of our is at stake here, and I shudder to think of what will happen in years to come.

We will be wide open for the gunmen of ISIS that came over in the first wave of Syrian refugees that arrived in Europe. And yet we have seen in the past how vulnerable we all are to terror attacks. Hyde Park, the hotel in Brighton, the City of London bomb, the Trafford Centre, The Birmingham pub bombings, all old attacks. More recently the attacks on the Tube, and Gunner Rigby and of course the attempted bombing at Glasgow airport show we are not totally secure from such attacks from home grown fanatics.

And it’s not just terror attacks either. The shooting a an 18-year-man in Birmingham the other day show we still have a problem with thugs within our cities anyway. One man interviewed on telly about that shooting said that it’s not safe to out on the streets after 6pm these days. In general, he is correct. Jan and I are rarely out after 6pm, although that is mainly so I can watch the news at 6pm. And yet we have been out later than that quite often really. Our normal days out will mean we are home late returning.

Although there is some truth in what the guy on telly said, the areas where it might not be safe are few and far between. Locally we all know which areas to keep clear of, even in day-time, and that makes a lot of difference. What annoys me is that we have to take such matters so seriously. That is the real sadness of our age, The age of Fear!

And so to a photo … 

Litter, another sign of our age.

And today’s funny …

A Pastor went to his church office on Monday morning and discovered a dead mule in the church yard. He called the police. Since there did not appear to be any foul play, the police referred the pastor to the health department.

They said since there was no health threat that he should call the sanitation department. The manager said he could not pick up the mule without authorization from the mayor.

Now the pastor knew the mayor and was not to eager to call him. The mayor had a bad temper and was generally hard to deal with, but the pastor called him anyway.

The mayor did not disappoint him. He immediately began to rant and rave at the pastor and finally said, "Why did you call me any way? Isn't it your job to bury the dead?"

The pastor paused for a brief prayer and asked the Lord to direct his response. Then, he replied "Yes, Mayor, it is my job to bury the dead, but I always like to notify the next of kin first!"