Thursday 27 February 2014

A writer of books, royalies and feeling wasted



27 February

What a morning!!! I got up feeling very weak and unstable. Sitting making tea first thing was hard work believe it or not. I could hardly lift my head to watch what my hands were doing. Jan took over and finished them. Thankfully by around 12.30ish I was OK. This game happens from time to time but not all that often, again thankfully.

Dorktown must be having a slow news day seeing as the News front page was taken up with the story about a local writer who has released his second book, Mobile Library after his first one Bed, was such a success. Is that right I wonder? well, I've looked for it in both Smudges and Waterstones and not found it. The guys name by the way is David Whitehouse. Perhaps I might have a look on Amazon for him.

These free books on Kindle are good fun for us buyers, but not I suggest for the writers. The one I have on the go now is called Ghost in the Machine by Ed James. So I had a look and found four more of his going for nowt and got them all. I know it doesn't give him any dosh, but let's be honest, how many of us can really afford to turn down a book for three.

I've looked at that scheme for leaving books around where someone else can read them after you. It seems a good idea that but the price of the labels for sticking in the books was just too much for me to afford at the time. Maybe it's time to re-look at it.  

A short one for today, so today's photo is ... 

The flower on one of Jan's cactus plants.

And today's funny ...

 I lost my job as a builder & it's been dreadful being out of work.
I just seem to hang around all day, drinking cups of tea, smoking and talking on my mobile.   

Wednesday 26 February 2014

Dandelion and burdock, ice cream and dog-ends



26 February

We've had a really nice bright day today, so much so that some of our neighbours have been sat out the back lawn. We would love to do that but the guy who lives above is always has his windows open. That in itself is no problem but his visitors who through lit dog-ends out them is a problem. The cushions on the seats we bought last years and the UPVC window frame where the back door is have already been burned. Neither of us fancy having one land on our head.

We have spoken with him a few times over it but if it goes on we will get on the council over it. He's already been warned over other issues before we moved in here and has been spoken to again when one his guests stood outside our bedroom window at 2am one time screaming and shouting abuse and throwing things at the windows. If he keeps on he'll be out on his ears.

The other major issue we are concerned with though is now an anti-social item at all. His current girl friend has two kids and two dogs. He regularly has a couple of guys staying overnight too. And here's the issue ... it's a one bedroom flat, just like ours; so where are those two kids sleeping? Living like that can't be good for them. Add in the high smoking level as well as cannabis use and it's adding up to a real concern.   

Is it really our concern though? Well, the smoking issue and lit dog-ends through the window certainly are. As for those kids, well, yes, I think it is! Actually, I call one of them Thumper because she runs up and down the living room; that I don't mind, kids have to be allowed to be kids and play. But the way they are currently living up there should be of concern to everyone involved, including us living under them. Far too often we hear about kids coming to harm and no-one doing anything to report or to stop it. On this issue alone Jan has been in touch with the Area Housing Manager. She has my full support too!

We went out shopping after the 6 o'clock news last night and it went off a lot better than normal during the day. Anyway ... the day before we had been search in the freezer for something and I lifted out the ice cream we have in there and I said to Jan, 'We used to have dandelion and burdock pop with ice cream when I was kid.' The look on her face showed that she to used have it. So yesterday we looked in Asda and found some, we had thought they had stopped doing it. And right now I'm sat here drinking a glass full for the first time since the mid 1980s ... and very nice it is too ;-)))


And so for today's photo ... 

A tray of bedding plants on a market stall last Saturday.

Funny time ...

A Roman walks into a bar, holds up two fingers, and says: ‘Five beers, please’        

Tuesday 25 February 2014

Driving, accidents and a cash cow



25 February

Our parcels arrived just after 8 o'clock this morning; clever these couriers aren't they? Actually though, I should have sympathy with them seeing as I worked for the local Interlink deport for about five years. At least now I know who others felt when I knocked on their doors so early.

There's a cross roads in the Walsgrave area of Coventry that is a regular accident spot. One road is the A4600 that runs from Junction 2 of the M6 into the city centre. One road off is to a housing estate and the one opposite that is a road that allows you to get from one side of the city to t'ther by-passing the centre. At the cross roads there's a set of traffic lights supposedly controlling the traffic at that junction. Well, it isn't working cos yesterday there was yet another smash there, this time a 16 year old girl was killed there yesterday. Why did she have to die?

Top and bottom of it is poor, dangerous driving. Stand at any traffic lights you like and watch what happens. It won't be long before you see drivers racing to cross the lights before the opposing traffic starts moving. It's not just young male drivers either. They are young and old, male and female, no group can be singled out. If one of them was to get a speeding ticket they will moan and complain about councils using motorists as a cash cow. But if they really wanted to make a lot of money out of motorists, they would install cameras at traffic lights. There they really would clean up.

Top and bottom of it is a lack of patience and poor judgement. I don't the details of yesterday's smash of course but somewhere someone was in too much a hurry, a hurry that cost someone their life. Oh how I wish we would all slow down. Set off a bit earlier. Perhaps consider a different route that might be quicker at a different time. How many people have to die before things change?  Maybe it's time to consider a regular retesting of all drivers after a few years of driving. Suggest it elsewhere and listen to the howls of the speeders at having to retake the test.

And I don't mean just the practical part either, the theory side should be retested too. My brother Dave passed his driving test in 1968/69, not sure when. But I asked him when he had last read the highway code after a row about driving standards after he'd had yet another smash himself. His reply was, 'The night before my test and that's good enough for me.' I say no more there.

But another issue that should tested on a regular basis is health and eye sight. I've known many people, Dave included, who shouldn't have been driving because of the state of his eyes. I ask again, what has to happen before all this is finally brought in?

And so for a photo ... 

More shoppers at the market on Saturday.

And the Sage has spoken again ...

A young couple and arrived at the hotel where they were spending the first night of their honeymoon. They opened the champagne and began undressing. When the bridegroom
removed his socks, his new wife asked, "What's wrong with your feet? Your toes look all mangled and weird.
"I had tolio as a child," he answered.
"You mean polio?" she asked.
"No, tolio. The disease only affected my toes."
When the groom took off his trousers, his bride once again asked,
"What's wrong with your knees? They're all lumpy and deformed!"
"As a child, I also had kneasles," he explained.
"You mean measles?" she asked.
"No, kneasles. It was a strange illness that only affected my knees."
The new bride had to be satisfied with this answer.
As the undressing continued, her husband at last removed his underwear.
"Don't tell me," she said. "Let me guess...
SMALLCOX !"

Monday 24 February 2014

Ship Shape, Berlin Wall and no birding again today



24 February

We were planning on a birding trip to Slimbridge today until we remembered we had some parcels to wait in for. Well, here it is, 12:20 and they still haven't arrived. So yet again another wasted day. We didn't get up until 9:30 anyway. Ah well ... ... ...

Ship Shape, my now named NANO effort from last year has been left open for a follow up without my realising it at the time of writing. Saturday afternoon I was sat in the Anker when the reason for the open end came to my mind and I sat and wrote the first 100 words of it. It was only 80 words as I wrote it but changing it slightly as I typed it up added the extra 20 words. Now bad really considering that Ship Shape isn't even published yet. Can you guess what the new one will called I wonder?

The Berlin Wall fell in 1989 leading to the eventual falling of the Iron Curtain. Most of the world at that time celebrated the end of communism. There were exceptions of course, China and Cuba being just two or them. Democratic governments around the world began to draw down the defence budgets and to move the so-called 'peace dividend' elsewhere.  But now I fear that the Wall and Curtain are back in place, Putin has seen to that! Now we are all wondering just what is he playing at and fear he may send troops into Ukraine to bring it back under Russian control.

William Hague is supposed to be warning his counterpart in Russia not to send in troops. What has he got up his selves to back up the warning? Britain's armed forces are now only a shadow of their former selves from when I left in 1979. Now 40 years later we have been struggling to have enough troops to deploy enough troops to Afghanistan without over deploying what we do have. That is due to all governments over the last 49 years, not just the current one. What was once seen as the 'peace dividend' now looks more like a 'peace folly'!

And so I offer the following photo ... 

A family at the market.

Today's funny comes from the Sage again ...

A Mafia Godfather finds out that his bookkeeper has cheated him out of $10,000,000. His bookkeeper is deaf. This was the reason he got the job in the first place. It was assumed that Guido would hear nothing so he would never have to testify in court.

When the Godfather goes to confront Guido about his missing $10 million, he takes along his lawyer who knows sign language.
The Godfather tells the lawyer, "Ask him where's the money?
The lawyer, using sign language, asks Guido where's the money?
Guido signs back, "I don't know what you are talking about."
The lawyer tells the Godfather, "He says he doesn't know what you're talking about."
The Godfather pulls out a pistol, puts it to Guido's temple and says, "Ask him again!"
The lawyer signs to Guido, "He'll kill you if you don't tell him.."
Guido signs back, "OK.!!!! You win! The money is in a brown briefcase, buried behind the shed at my cousin Bruno's house."
The Godfather asks the lawyer, "What did he say?"
The lawyer replies, " He says you don't have the balls to pull the trigger."