31 October
Why do so many folks seem to hate Monday? Or is it the British desire to
find something to moan about? Whatever the reason, For me it’s another to be productive
on my lappy or with pen and paper.
Our feathered lodger was playing silly games again yesterday, but this
time it was on my neck where she was pecking away happily there. No, I didn’t
chase her off, she wasn’t hurting anything, but she did make my hairs stand on
end at times. At least she is coming to me, Maxi never has, although he is
getting better since Arnie has been here. Mind you, she has got into the habit
of pooping every time she lands on the screen of Jan’s lappy - pets eh .. who’d
have ‘em.
Oh dear, crazy season is likely to continue on right up to and through
Christmas. Year after year the news on telly shows films of passengers who have
left it too late to travel home, arriving at London stations and Victoria coach
station after the last service has left. This year it’s likely to be even worse
because the railway system is closing down over the holiday for upgrades to be
made. The airports are likely to be facing strikes. These workers really do
know when to pick their times don’t they? For me it smacks of blackmail more
than strikes for worker’s rights.
It’s Halloween today, for those who get excited in the thing, we don’t,
but hey ho … However, clicking through the MSN home page and I found this story
… http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/witches-marks-public-asked-to-seek-ancient-scratchings-in-buildings/ar-AAjCNjB?li=AAdeCd7&ocid=spartandhp
There is no doubt that witchcraft has been a huge fear for people going back
through the ages. However, whether or not it actually exists I shall leave to
you to decide for yourselves. For me, it doesn’t and that’s probably why I like
the Harry Potter books/films, simply because I don’t take them at all seriously.
However, that is the role of fiction surely? No matter what genre you
read, you don’t need to take them seriously at all. I mean, how can you take
sci/fi seriously? Fiction for me is the chance though, is to get away from real
life for a few hours and to escape into a world of make-believe. Even crime
fiction can allow us to do that. I mean, how many of us personally know a
murderer? I certainly don’t. Crime writers can really allow their imaginations
to run away with their storylines. That is why I like writing them.
For instance, my first novel, The
Mission, is based here abouts but ranges throughout England and Wales. My
killer in this one travels around killing quite a number of people, and the chase
to catch him. The murders are all different, as are all the victims, which
means no clear MO can be found. He taunts the police as he goes on. My biggest
worry however, is that life will mirror the fiction, something I would hope all
writers feel.
Today’s photo …
Reflections of me.
Today’s funny …
What noise does a witch's
breakfast cereal make?
Snap, cackle, pop.
30 October
The crazy season has begun. Last night we sat watching a DVD we bought on
Thursday, Mankind’s Last Stand, not a
bad DVD but Jan wouldn’t want to watch it again, but a three quid we’re not
complaining. Anyway, while it was on we heard the fireworks going off outside
somewhere. It really is past time these things were banned for public sale.
There’s a greater amount of noise growing against the open sale these thinks.
One particular photo I was a dog who picked up a lighted firework and had it go
off in his mouth; not a pretty sight at all.
Another craze is that of Chinese lanterns. Yes, they look good as loads
of them float off into the night. Photos are taken, and later shared, but no
concern is given to where they end up. Not so long ago CCTV cameras caught one landing
in a waste processing plant. Within a few minutes a small blaze had begun among
the waste awaiting sorting. Pretty soon a major incident was declared as the
fire got out of control. It took many days for the fire to be properly extinguished.
Lucky no-one was injured that time. Not so the burns on the head of a horse
after one landed on it. Farmers are paying the price when these things come
down and cause their life stock to panic, run off in the dark blundering into
trees, ditches, rivers – the list is endless. Burning haystacks and hay barns
happen fairly often these days. At one time it was thought that the internal
heat causes some of them, but how many are now caused by one of these lanterns
coming down on or near such a store? We will never really know.
In the past our government has bent over backwards to protect the farming
industry. They are the real reason that we still play silly sods with the
clocks twice a year after all. So why haven’t they acted to protect them over
fireworks and Chinese Lanterns? Maybe a back hander somewhere along the line? Again,
we will never really know.
Back handers … hmmm … I wonder … The US is not far off election day. At
the end of it there will be a new President and a lot of new faces in congress
and the senate. But what doesn’t change? What always remain in place after the election?
Here in the UK we call it the civil service, the long standing and long
suffering blames carriers when it all goes pear shaped. These men and women are
the one who have the real power in government. They are the ones who shape policy
based on the promises made by politians. They are the reason that so many of
our laws are drafted in such a weak state that the old coach and six can be
driven through them.
It’s not that these are thick or stupid either. Oh no, they wouldn’t got
where they are if they were. No, it’s because they are the wheelers and dealers.
I firmly believe that if they personally might lose out somewhere along the
line, they work to ensure that things are drafted so they don’t. So much for
Queen and Country hey!
Enough of all that … Today’s photo …
Twycross chimps.
Today’s funny …
What are baby witches called?
Halloweenies.
29 October
After writing the blog yesterday I had a look at the DVLA website and
sent them an email asking how I would go about getting my licence back. I was
surprised that I got a reply within a couple of hours. First step is to see my
GP to ensure I fit the medical conditions required to hold a licence. After
that I need to fill in a form (so much for the paperless office then), and sit
back and wait. What I didn’t know was that if I carry proof that the application
has been sent off, then you are allowed to drive. Anyway, the ball is in play …
MSN is claiming that Typhoon jets were scrambled to escort a jet liner to
an airport after controllers lost radio contact with it. Ordered to go
supersonic, the fighters escorted the airplane to Prestwick airport. An
investigation has begun as to why the controllers lost contact, which was restored
just before the airplane landed. The cost of the operation must have been quite
high, but what price do you put on an aircraft full of passengers. 9/11 has
caused more hassle down the years. And yet, that’s the security problem we live
with these days, so sad really.
These days we all have to notice of the security around us. Almost
everything we do has a security angle to it. I’m sat here writing this on my
lappy, you are likely to reading it a computer of some sort too, and we all need
to ensure our computer protection is as secure as possible. Need any cash? Then
you need to be careful with your PIN at an ETM in the high street. Personally,
I try to get to the one inside the bank, not the street one. Our identity can
be stolen very easily for those who know how.
Yes, we all need to watch what we are doing, and what is going on around
us too. In these days there are far too many malcontents living here. In many
cases we have no idea who is a treat and who isn’t, therefore the need for
being security conscience full stop. Of course, not all of these are looking to
harm you physically though. Steeling your money is just as painful, hence the
need for care at the ATM.
Oh dear; another possible cause of T2 diabetes on telly just. This time
it was yesterday’s Countryfile Autumn Dairy
that we recorded to watch later. Well, this new cause (new to me at least), is
down to light pollution. I don’t like it anyway simply because of the loss of
the star field. However, included in this cause is the use of smartphones. Ah
well, I should be OK seeing as I hardly use mine anyway; and anyway, I already
am a T2 diabetic.
Today’s photo …
Another tile display from that pub on Thursday. Sadly I
couldn’t get in front of it properly.
Today’s funny …
What do witches eat at Halloween?
Spook-etti.
28 October
Yesterday turned out to be a decent day actually. Jan had an appointment
for a MRI scan at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Selly Oak, in Brum, and I
went with her. It’s been a long time since I was last down that way, and oh
boy, there’s been some huge changes on the A38 through Brum since then. The
scan went off fine and we were out of the hospital and on our way home just on
an hour after arriving.
I was surprised that it was Jan’s neck, rather that her lower back which
was hurting. We took a few minutes to fit her Tenns machine before we left.
Around 20 minutes later we were in a pub with our normal pint of diet coke. It
is an old pub and I was rather taken with the tiles in there and the ceiling
details. Although I got photos of some of them, I haven’t had chance to do
anything with them yet. From there we headed home after dropping into Asda for
some shopping and the Hinckley Knight for another drink. We finally got in at
just before 6pm, in time to for the news.
I didn’t even turn on my lappy at all yesterday and apart from reading
more of the sci-fi novel I have on my Kindle app, I didn’t even try to look at
any social media at all yesterday. So yes, I can live without then – for a
short while at least. There was no way I was having a second day without them
today. I have decided that I am going to try to get my driving licence back after
yesterday, so I need to get on-line to DVLA and find out what I need to do to
start it all off. Hopefully I can get it back before Jan goes in for operation
early next year. I have a feeling that it won’t be easy though.
Kile lives in a village called Hartshill, which is close to a local
beauty spot called Harthill Hayes Country Park. From one part of it you can see
Leicester over the easy of us, a really good viewing point. The downside is
that there are hills all around them, which can make walking anywhere more than
a tad difficult at times. No matter where you live in UK though, nothing is
safe and sound. Sam and Danny (Kile’s step-dad), have found out about that the
hard way this morning. Danny’s motorbike has been stolen from outside the
house. He needs that bike to get to work too. Nowhere and no-one is safe from
the bloody thieves!
It would help if penalties were harsher, a lot harsher, but of course,
the cops need to catch the thieving toerags. That is getting a lot harder with
the lower number of cops we have these days. Then once they are caught The
Criminal Protection Service, or CPS, has to decide to charge them or not. Let’s
say that they do charge them, the magistrates are so hog-tied they are really
limited in what penalties they can apply. No wonder crime is so rife!
Today’s photo …
I’ve sorted out yesterday’s photos now, and this is the
one that first caught my eye.
Today’s funny …
Did you hear about the man who
went to a fancy dress party with a woman draped over his shoulder and told
everyone he had come as a tortoise?
When asked who was the woman on his back, he replied, "that's
Michelle."
26 October
Jan has come out with I was expecting at all. Last October I gave up my
driving licence because we though I had Parkinsons coming on. Well, I hadn’t so
now Jan has been having a think and has suggested that I apply for it to be
reissued. In a way I’ve been expecting it really. On the odd occasion we have
had a full day out I’ve noticed she looked very tired. Our trip to Southampton was too much for her
in one day, and I think that has been playing on her mind a wee bit. Just
lately we have also been talking about taking up birding again next year, and
perhaps that has been worrying her a bit. I have been thinking about it now
since Jan mentioned it, but I haven’t actually done anything about it yet, but
I suppose I should do now she has mentioned it; we’ll see later.
Kile had a GP appointment yesterday afternoon and Jan took him to that,
and ended up waiting for over an hour. Jan finally asked what was going on. The
problem was the way his name’s spelling, Kile, not Kyle. If they knew that when
the they first booked him, then why didn’t say at the time, or earlier. The
practice is in Atherstone, I’m pleased we didn’t use that one. Whatever, we got
to keep him an extra night anyway, he’s due to be taken home around 3pm. Peace
will return for a week or two. Actually, he’s not a bad lad, well, at least
when he’s here he is.
The market is calling out to me right now, but right now there’s a strong
wind blowing out there and really don’t fancy trying ride in on my scooter. It
gets far too cold for it in a strong wind. Mind you, the Saturday market is
much better.
Anyway, I’m waffling again, so I’m off …
Today’s photo …
Part of Coventry city centre.
Today’s funny …
How do you terrify vampires?
You ask them if they would like some garlic with their steak?
25 October
Another rough day yesterday, that’s why no blog.
Did you happen to see the item on the 6 o’clock news last night? It
carried a major report on diabetes, followed up at 7.30 with Inside-out. It could really scare the
pants off some people you know, but in reality, there was nothing new in there
for me. The same warnings have been spoken about for some time now. For me
though, the picture of that man’s foot before he lost his toes was a shocker.
His left foot didn’t look all that good either.
But here’s the point, he didn’t accept his diagnoses when he was first
told. Now he is paying the price. For years, I had been warned about my weight
and I also took no notice. I was diagnosed around 15 years ago, but even so, at
that time it hit me hard, even though I was expecting it. After the first rush
to take a lot more care, I soon slipped though. Now I’m living pretty much a
normal life and thankfully my diabetes seems to be well controlled. I think stopping
the booze has helped a huge amount. And now I do have the occasional bar of chocolate,
but I don’t usually go mad at it.
I do have another problem with that TV show though. It seemed to me that the
full blame for the problems are down to the individual patient. Some allowances
were given to people from South India, but then pointed the finger back to the
individual or their family. The problem with all that, is that it may well be
down to them or in some cases their family, but how much damage will the
programme do in the minds of non-diabetics. Obesity is already the target for
abuse out in the street as it is, that show will only make things worse. Two of
my friends are Type2s too, and neither is obese in any way. One of them,
Martin, has been very careful with his diet for as long as I have known him, so
how does that work then?
As it is right now, the general public are not very knowledgeable about
the condition anyway. One of the Facebook groups I take part in posts regular
items that list misconceptions about diabetes as it is. Things like your
friends keep reminding what they think you can or can’t eat; comments like, ‘It’s
not a real illness is it?’ That is just two of them. Such comments don’t do us
any good at all and only shows how ignorant of the condition the general public
are.
There is one organisation who have a lot of questions to answer, and that
is the food makers and sellers. The food industry really do need to do more to
make their products much more healthy all round. A larger percentage of their products
are aimed at children. These products are bright and colourful, and of course,
loaded with sugar, even if they don’t use that word. Even breakfast cereals are
full of sugar too. Once the products are made and sent out, the retailors start
their fun and games. Racks of nice, sweet packs of sweets and so on and on
display, all of them under some sort of offer. Parents then come under the
pester power of their kids – and then they wonder why obesity is such a problem.
And don’t me started on the alcohol side of things … … …
One of the major issues we might have if we did move to Spain, is the
health care provision. From experience that last time I was in Mallorca I found
it to be good, but that was in a private hospital, paid for by my travel
insurance. To get the same level of care we would need to get health insurance,
at least I think we will. Spain does have a NHS but I’m sure how good or
extensive. That will need to be considered quite a bit before we made sort of
decision.
Today’s photo …
A shop window display.
Today’s funny …
Why did the ghost work at
Scotland Yard?
He was the Chief In-Spectre.
23 October
Yesterday turned into a nice day all-round really. I had my trawl of the
charity shops, however, I didn’t find what I was looking for, but I didn’t come
back empty handed. I came back with six books, one of which is an Asimov that
haven’t read. Apart from the additions to the Foundation trilogy, I thought I’d
read all his sci-fi books, but Nemesis
is a new one on me. There’s a set of three Yas too and another one new that is
a follow up to The Incredible Pilgrimage
of Harold Fry. When that one came out it appeared as a recommendation in
one of the writing mags, so off I went to Waterstones to but it along with two
all others. What I didn’t know was that they were all hardbacks, ah well, they
were all good reads anyway.
Another set of YA novels. You know something, there’s a dangerous world
outside your front door folks. Maybe we should be grateful to YA writers for
their warning to youngsters about just how dangerous it can be. Oh come on, of
course I know they are all fiction! But where dies fiction start? It starts in
a writers’ mind. There are folks out who don’t write their dark dreams but carry
them out. They all come from someone’s mind, and if by any chance YA novels get
through to the youngsters and they become more aware of the dangers out there,
then that’s fine by me.
Actually, I’ve found some of these YA novels pretty good, The Hunger Games being one such example.
The genre is like any other genre though, some good, some bad and some indifferent.
I have one sitting around here somewhere about how a young girls life is
changed when the moon is knocked out of orbit and moves closer to Earth. The
novels tells the story of how lives are changed by it happening. That one is an
indifferent one that I can’t even remember the of, let alone the writer. There’s
another one I have, again I can’t remember the details but it’s about another
young girl who finds her way into a kingdom where the animals talk and can do
magic; of hear …
So then, how did I get on with The
Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon? Actually, I really enjoy it. In fact the only
King I haven’t got on with is Under The
Dome. Perhaps watching the TV series first spoiled it for me, I don’t know.
But there again, the way the last few in the TV shows seemed to go off line
quite a bit anyway. Sad really, it was fine up toll then. Anyway, back to the little
lost girl. Of course she gets found, but I’m saying how that happens. To be
able to carry a 290 page book with just one main character is a remarkable job
well done. The play on emotions with the constant danger along with the
constant wish to be saved leaves the reader wishing for more. Well done Mr King!
Last night I began another Kathy Reichs novel, Speaking in Bones. It’s amazing how a writer can take the bare
bones (in this case, a part set of bare human bones), and spina full length
story from them. But that my friends, is the sign of a bloody good writer. So
far this one too is shaping up to be another good one. Of course Reichs is a
forensic anthropologist by profession, so to some extent she is well verse in
taking so little and building up a full story behind the bare bones in front of
her. So, why not turn that to you advantage away for the day job? No problems
with that for me.
A word of warning folks, our UK clocks go back one hour from next Sunday
morning, gives us an extra hour in bed eh …
Today’s photo …
River Windrush, Bourton-on-the-Water.
Today’s funny …
An tourist went to Portsmouth to
see Nelson's flagship HMS Victory. On the tour of the ship, the guide pointed
out a raised brass plaque on the deck. "That's where Nelson fell,"
said the guide.
The tourist was unimpressed. "I'm not surprised, I nearly tripped over it
myself."
22 October
Saturday morning and all’s well. Even our feathered lodger was chirpy as
normal yesterday, for which were pleased about cos we didn’t have to take her
to the vet. Jan has an idea that she managed to pick up and eat something she
should have done while we she was out and about in the living earlier in the
day. Whatever, she’s fine now. Later today as long as the weather picks up, I’m
off into town to trawl the charity shops. What I’m really after is a copy of a
book I let go a few months ago, it’s on Photoshop Elements 12 and there’s a few
things I want to look up in there. Of course, if I find a few novels on the way
… well, of course they will join my wee library too.
Love it or hate it, BREXIT will happen. But now the EU officials are threatening
to use French only for the negotiations for how it’s supposed to happen. I’ve
been wanting out for years now, and that is the type of pettiness that has made
me want out in the first place. At the moment they claim they don’t want the UK
to leave, and yet they are going to make things as hard as possible for it
happen; can you think of a better way to keep us in the club? I can’t.
The sooner we are done with them the better for the UK. Do you want an
example? Canada has walked out on talk for a trade deal because one small area
in Belgium who is holding it up. Why? Because the political system in Belgium
needs the agreement of all its regional parliaments to agree to everything.
Wallonia has said ‘no’ and that’s it. Seven years of time, effort and money
down the drain for nothing. No wonder Canada walked out.
This one actually shows the major weakness in the EU. If a region of 3.5
million people can scupper such trade deals, then how can any system really be
united? They can’t! There are issues over the policing of each state, the different
justice systems, the standard of health care and education, and oh so many more
that divides the EU.
It might be pointed out the USA is a federated country and seems to work
well. Does it really? I wonder? Each state has its own government yes, and each
can make its own laws and courts system, organises its own education system, health
care and so on. However, they all come together for defence. A trade agreement would
be negotiated nationally and agreed nationally. So why does the USA work and
the EU doesn’t? Simple really, The USA was formed in 1776 with the Declaration
of Independence, followed by the War of Independence. At the time only 13
states were involved and the last to join the Union was Hawaii in 1959.
The ECC was founded just in 1957 and came into effect in in 1958,
becoming the EU in 1992. So in reality it’s still a baby that needs to be nurtured.
However, I don’t think that those who founded it foresaw that it would be run
by unelected bureaucrats, or that it would make trade agreements outside the
union so impossible to agree too. Nope; the sooner we are out the better!
Today’s photo is definitely Hedwig, no idea what happened to it yesterday
…
Today’s funny …
How many baritones does it take
to change a light bulb?
None. They can't get up that high.
20/1 October
I did begin to write yesterday’s blog – as you will now see …
Running late today, simply because when I first got up I was feeling very
sicky indeed and had to stop and move away for a while. Jan gave me one of her
anti-sickness pills and slowly its eased off, for now at least. Just which I
knew what caused it. Feeling tired with it too.
… And that is as far as I got. I’ve no idea what caused it but I’m
feeling a lot better today. Let’s see how far I can get today …
Obviously, no writing got done yesterday either. Not only that but no
reading got done either until I got to bed that is. My current bed rime read is
another Stephen King, The Girl Who Loved
Tom Gordon. This is a story of a nine year girl lost in the woods and being
haunted by who knows what, but she is slowly becoming immune to the fear of the
voices in here head. Apart from the odd occasion of when the odd adult is
brought into the story, but not for long, the whole narrative is about that one
girl. Yet another good one from Mr King.
I wasn’t the only one who was under the weather yesterday, our feathered
lodger was too. She was so bad we really did think that we would need to take
her to the vets today if she wasn’t any better. Well, she is better, very much
better in fact. She’s flying as normal and getting into everything she shouldn’t
be. Jan’s bonsai seedlings have been found and are now in danger of being eaten
to stubs.
First off then, we’re having fun here with a parcel addressed to Jan.
Inside it were two knitted mermaid-tailed things that have been returned to a
seller, but Jan didn’t sell them. It looks like the package was ripped open at
some time while Royal Fail had their mits on it. The person returning them (and
I’m surprised either, they really are terrible things), give their name and
address and reason for return. At no point does Jan get mentioned anywhere.
There was a second package re-wrapped in it with yet another similar thing in
it, and that one is addressed to Jan. What the heck is going on? I’ll let you
know …
Just lately I have taken to peeling my apples before I eat them. Around
9pm last night I’m pleased I have done so. On Tuesday, I made a bit of booboo
when we were shopping. There was a load of apples going for 50p a bag. I looked
at them and they looked fine, checked where they were from, Gala apples from
Kent, so I picked up three packs. It wasn’t until last night that I started
unpacking them that I noticed one was from Germany. Where ever I can I buy British
apples, not imported ones. But that wasn’t all; those German apples really do stink
badly of the chemicals sprayed on them. Once the skin was off though, the rest was
nice.
Today’s photo … Hedwig.
Today’s funny …
What do you get if you cross a
tomato with a potato?
A potato with bloodshot eyes.
19 October
That large parcel was collected about an hour after I posted the blog
yesterday, so we’re not stuck in again today after all. We did get out for a
few hours yesterday and called into the Hinckley Knight on the way home where
we had a nice meal. After that we got home just after eight pm to find that we
had very little space left for us to park. Jan did well in getting in the space
there was but now we have a boot full of shopping we can’t get to; that will be
fun in a short while, and all because some selfish toe-rag won’t park properly!
I’ve had an idea buzzing about in my head that I ought to try to see what
the battery life of this lappy is. So this morning I have set my stop watch off
as I pulled the plug and to get some idea as to how long it will last. The idea
is that if I know how long it lasts, I might be able to take it out with me and
get some writing done. I could of course take it to the library and plug it in
there, which is fine, but for some reason that idea doesn’t grab me as much.
Yesterday I sat reading an article in Writing
Magazine and across something that I felt really stupid in not thinking
about it myself. Criminals use the internet to commit or help commit crimes.
That was something that wasn’t thought about when the US Defence Sec; set up
his task force to bring all the various areas of the US armed forces together
to use just one system and not the three different ones they were using at the
time. That decision was ultimately lead to the setup of the internet and years
later to the world wide web.
Lesson learned; I won’t forget that one in a hurry. It might be a tad difficult
to work it into my current work though apart from the new Fred Copper which
needs a re-write anyway. Which reminds me of something that I have included in
there, the Soham murders and the aftermath of them. Copper is a senior
Cambridge cop but was on leave when that case came up and he was home too late
to get involved in it. Something else I need to consider is the new Police Commissioners
that has been created and how they will affect how the police do their jobs.
And don’t forget the savage cuts to police budgets over the last few years.
I read a funny on Facebook the other day about an elderly lady on a
cruise in a ship who remained on board going back and forth on the same route
time after time. It turns out that it was cheaper to do that than to pay for
living in a care home. But you know what? It wasn’t all that funny really was
it? Like all these types of story there’s an element of truth in them. Care
Home costs are really high these days, as we see on the news pretty often when
stories come out about care homes going bust, or handing back contracts to
councils because they are not paying enough to cover the full fees.
And on it goes my friends, money gets tight and the weakest among us
suffer from it. Out in the natural world it’s called ‘survival of the fittest’.
But surely we humans are better than that. Surely can come to some sort of system
where the weakest among us are looked after when the time comes that they need
the help the most. If we can’t, what sort of society are we?
Today’s photo …
Burger, egg, mushroom and cheese bake, my dinner one time
…
Today’s funny …
What did Baron Frankenstein do
when his monster's head fell off?
He made a bolt for it.
18 October
I had a great idea on Sunday that we could go out for most of today, see,
great eh? It sounded oh so easy, but I had forgotten that we have a large parcel
to be returned and it’s due collected this morning, or that is what we hoped
for. The timing for it though is between 7am and 9pm, so that means we can’t go
out at all today. Tomorrow is no good cos Jan has a house group to go to. Plans,
why do we bother.
Yes indeed, why do we make plans? We still have that parcel awaiting
collection. There was no sign of any courier yesterday at all. So another day
wasted for nowt – again! Well, Jan has cried off her group for tonight so we
can do what I had planned for yesterday. She will be on the phone to the
company in a short while but we are not waiting in all today, that is for
certain.
For some time now have dreamt about living in Mallorca. Jan has always
had this idea that the closer she get to the equator, the warmer she will be,
not a bad idea either. It’s also one that I like too. That is why we watch so
many of the Escape to the Sun type of
shows on telly. It’s become clear that house buyers abroad get a lot more their
£s than we do here in the UK. One we watched yesterday featured a couple with
£60,000 to spend in Florida and the properties they were show were really good,
we might well have gone for one of them.
The major turn off for me was the location, Hurricane Matthew being the
pointer of how things are out there. But that’s not all really. Florida tends
to have a lot of alligators cropping up in various waterways. Well, they should
be easy enough to clear of, but you know what, I’m not so sure about rattlers
and cotton mouths. I’m very nervous about snakes all round, and having animals
like that living so close by, I would be very terrified all the time.
But there is another reason why we would think hard and long about any
such move; Kile. He is terrified of heights and the idea of actually going on
an airplane really makes him shudder with fear. Of course, he’s 12 now and it
really won’t be long before he comes to the point where he will not want to
spend a full weekend with us. Of course, ultimately the move would be for us,
not for us and the rest of the family and that is where we would need to be
looking. Anyway, lack of dosh prevents that happening right now.
This coming weekend is our normal weekend for having Kile. He really is a
stubborn little sod at time you know. It’s clear to us that he is bored and yet
he insists he’s not. On Friday we left him stay up a bit a longer and again, it’s
clear he’s tired, but getting him to go to bed really is impossible. At least
he does get on and do his homework without any fighting.
Today’s photo …
This imposing building was built in 1893 and eventually became
the main entrance to the Manor Hospital, off Manor Court Road. A small fortune
was spent on doing up the A&E but after only 18 months they decided to move
all the services to the George Eliot Hospital, or the Hussy I call it. This place is now home of the local mental health unit. Now
there are fears that it too will become surplus and everything will be moved
over to the new site in Walsgrave, Coventry. A number of people were saying it
was just rumours, then I heard that even more money was being spent on the Hussy,
and that for me means the death of the Hussy.
Today’s funny …
A passenger sitting in the back
of a taxi taps the driver on the shoulder to ask him a question. Suddenly the
driver screams, loses control of the vehicle, nearly hits a bus, mounts the
pavement, and stops inches from a shop window. For a second, everything is
quiet in the cab, then the driver turns round to the passenger and says:
"Don't ever do that to me again. You scared the living daylights out of
me!" The passenger apologises and says he didn't realise that a little tap
could scare someone so much.
The driver replies: "Sorry, it's not really your fault. Today is my first
day as a taxi driver - for the last 25 years I've been driving a hearse."
16 October
We’re halfway through the month now and I’m sat wondering where the year
has gone. Thing is, it’s gone and it’s too late to do anything useful in that
lost time. Let’s hope things are better next year.
I did get down into town yesterday and wherever I went there were
displays of Halloween stuff, yet another yanky idea that has crossed the water,
or flown in on a jumbo jet – so much for broom sticks eh? It’s something we
have never got involved with apart from the time when our church ran an evening
of Christian fun as a counter to it. Another year we had a pile of tracts to
give out if the kids came calling; they didn’t but we were ready if they had.
There was no entertainment in town yesterday, which is a shame really.
The council has managed to get some pretty good bands to play the town over the
years. Perhaps they thought it was too cold? Well, I wasn’t at cold, even on my
scooter, and I saw quite few guys walking around in shirt selves, so no, it
wasn’t too cold. Something else that was marked by their absence, was the lack
of Poppy sellers. I’m sure in the past they have been on duty early October.
Maybe next weekend.
For Reading Addicts is a Facebook group I take a regular part in. One way
I take part is in writing book reviews. Just now I have posted the latest one
on Peter James book Billionaire, I
mentioned it a few days ago, and finished it last night. I’ve yet to read one
of his books that I haven’t enjoyed, so much so that while I was in WH Smiths
yesterday I saw another of his I hadn’t read, A Twist of the Knife, a collection of short stories. That should be
last of his books I needed to buy to keep up with him.
Seeing as I was in town on me scooter, I had a look in The Works. That
shop was the only one that hadn’t gone ghosty-mad. However, it has gone Christmas
mad, so much so that their normal 3 for a fiver offer was gone. Some of the
same books were there but now priced at £3 each, that works out at over a £1
increase. I left them alone. I left there and had a look in HMV but none of the
DVDs really caught my attention. In the end I got bored with riding about with
no purpose so after buying some fruit and a rather nice looking savoy cabbage,
I headed back home.
Today’s photo then …
The moon through the trees, taken just down the
street from us.
Today’s funny …
How
many doctors does it take to screw in a light bulb?
That depends on whether it has health insurance
15 October
Kile arrived here yesterday straight from school and it looks like we
will be having him every Friday, but just for the one night. He is here because
he has IT homework to do again. Normally he doesn’t have access to a computer
or printer at home, that’s why he’s here now. It does annoy me that this work
is being given out without any thought as to if the child has access at home.
Kile is lucky, he can come here to do his, but what of the others? I can’t
believe he is the only one in the same position in the school.
They have now been allocated a council house. It’s in the same village
and guess what? It’s opposite the local comprehensive school. Even so, they still
can’t get Kile a place in there. That means he will still have to get the bus
into town to go to Etone, walking past the local one twice a day. How stupid
can a system get eh?
My plan for today was to get ready to go into town but right now I’m
feeling very tired again, not as bad as yesterday but still tired. Of course, I
would be sat down on my scooter but even so, when I’m this tired I start making
mistakes and out on my scooter could be a tad dangerous for others. That’s the
last thing I want, to be hurt someone just because I’m tired. I’ll see how I
feel later though. It’s market day see and I want to have a look around, but I
need to scooter for the bit of shopping we need.
That writing course I enrolled for is working out pretty good, and I’m
not the only writer who is doing it too. That’s good; we all have our own
viewpoints and experiences that can be shared. I’ve already pointed out one
area where I need to get sorted but there are others too. We are given passage
from top-pine writers to read and have to answer questions about them. One passage
is from Graham Greene’s Brighton Rock.
The context is in descriptions, yet I didn’t see it as such, I saw it as
narrative. However, I did come to see it as description t in that he is
describing how his character is feeling, thereby giving us a picture of the man’s
nature.
The reason I saw it as narrative was because of something I read some time
ago. The course is saying that description is the key to good writing. The
other item claimed that too much description slows down the flow of the story
line and might cause readers to get fed-up and move on to another book, and
probably to another writer too. No writer wants that!
Today’s photo is …
The ceiling light reflecting and refracting on the
screen off
my mobile. I’ve been trying to get this for some time and this one is
the best so far.
Today’s funny …
How many Technical Support staff does it take to
change a light bulb?
"Well, we have an exact copy of your light bulb here and it seems to be
working OK. Can you be more specific about the exact problem?..."
13 October
Facebook is a strange beastie at times. Jan brought my attention to one
she saw on there yesterday that claimed that the Queen would retiring but instead
of Charlie getting the top job, she was handing it over to William. Anyone with
common sense about them would know it was a wind-up straight off, and yet I
wonder how many did actually get taken in by it. Well, it didn’t catch me. And
I’m sure it didn’t catch Jan either. I’m not a royalist, but I’m not an idiot
either and know full well that after the chaos caused in 1938 when Eddie wotever,
gave up on the job, it caused such a huge problem for the new guy Georgie, that
it won’t be happening again in our life time.
The budgies are kicking up right now simply because I haven’t opened
their cages yet, which has upset them cos we normally have the free-flying
during the day. At some time test the pull-cord warden assist call system. That
is due to happen between 9.30 and 12.30. I’m not so sure they will get them all
done in that time though. There are far too many flats in scheme and even
though we have been warned, they can’t be sure that everyone will be in. I
mean, come on, most of us are elderly or infirm and they may well have
forgotten about it and gone out, it does happen folks, it really does.
My lappy threw a wobbled yesterday afternoon while I was editing a load
of photos form my Nikon P6000 compact camera. About half way through them the
screen just went blank and no matter what I did with it just wouldn’t do
anything else. Eventually I have the idea of removing the battery, waiting a
few minutes and then trying to start up again. Well, it worked, and thankfully
the images I had already worked on and been saved so it was on the last few
that needed to be edited. Computers are good tools but by heck, when they go
wrong, they really do go wrong; I’m relieved that yesterday was an easy fix.
The other night I began reading Billionaire,
an early work off Peter James. It is hopefully the last of his I have yet
released. I said the other day that it was a bad time for it to be released,
but what of right now? The story line has two money men who are attempting to cause
a war between the then USSR and the West by using a weak leader of an Arab state,
in an effort to make even more money. Does it sound familiar perhaps? Currently
we have Russia flexing its muscles over Syria and the West warning them to
behave. There is still a lot of resentment about the role of the bankers in the
2007/8 crash, and in that book its bankers and investors who are the real
baddies, yet again. Come on Peter, it’s the right time to push this one now.
So, today’s photo …
Our visitor trying to remove even more hair.
Today’s funny …
Knock, knock. Who's there?
Dublin.
Dublin who?
Dublin up with laughter.
