16 November
Already we see the danger that Farter Trump is to world peace, and he
hasn’t taken up office yet. Both Putin and Assad see him as someone who is
likely to be an ally, someone they can work. Can you image the chaos he will
bring once he sits behind that desk? The world should be shacking today folks.
Regular reader will know I don’t have much time or respect for politians, of
any party. In Farter you have the clear reason why. And yet folks, he has admitted
that he isn’t a politian, he’s only yet another bankrupt Yank. What on earth
was he thinking of when he decided to run of office; didn’t anyone warn him
against it? At least he toned down his rhetoric now, but can any of us really
trust him? I think not.
Our own loose cannon is Bonkers Boris in the Foreign Office. At least he
has gone relatively quiet, apart from his call for demos outside the Russian
Embassy in London. My biggest worry when he was given the FO was that he and
Farter would have us all throwing nukes at each other before too long. Now I’m
not so worried that Bonkers Boris will go down that route. In all probability
when and if they do ever meet up, then Bonkers of the FO will tie Farter of OO
in knots. Of the two men, BB is certainly the better politico, and I suspect
the more intelligent of the pair.
And there’s lies another problem my friends. What will Farter do if, no,
when he loses an argument with another politico? He’s such a loose cannon he’s
likely to blow his top and start re-targeting his nukes and pushing buttons.
Let’s hope those around him are not so hot headed and keep him chained up safe
and sound and out of harms way.
2020 is likely to be an interesting year isn’t it. We have elections on
both sides of the pond that year. We Brits are first in the May and the Yanks
in November. I wonder how much change there will be come 2021? Will Terrible Teresa
be sacked? And will the Yanks have learned their lesson and sack Farter?
Hopefully the Labour Party will have a leader who can health the divisions;
likewise, hopefully the two parties over the pond will have a stronger candidate
for the Oval Office.
Dorktown descended into chaos yesterday when a lorry over-turned on the
A5 spilling fuel across bot carriageways. It was closed in both directions for
some time. Soon after yet another truck got itself stuck under yet another low
railway bridge on another major route in and out of town. To add to the misery,
a car and coach crashed on a third major route in and through town. Oh dear …
but that railway bridge carries part of the West Coast Mainline, although not
the main branch. Even so, it takes rail traffic from Rugby through to Stafford,
and it is quite busy. Apparently, when a truck hits such a bridge then the
railway have to stop using it until engineers have surveyed it and declared it safe.
The truckers’ insurance must pick up the tab for that one.
I can’t understand how this happens so often though. There are enough
warning signs, and in the middle of the bridge there’s a clear sign giving the height
from bridge to road surface. It becomes the drivers responsibility to ensure he
knows the height of his truck and trailer so this doesn’t happen. However, it does
happen, and it might not be the drivers fault. Roads are sometimes re-surfaced
and if it happens and the height has been checked, then driver can, and does
point this out. It then becomes the responsibility of road contractors, not the
driver. Oh the fun of being a trucker eh … … …
The only safe way to travel? …
Today’s funny …
Doctor: I will examine you for
twenty dollars.
Patient: Go ahead Doctor. If you find it you can have it.
15 November
My appointment with the GP went off OK yesterday afternoon, and Jan went
in with me for this one. The lass I saw was pleasant and after reading the
various letters and so on, on my records she was happy for me to reapply for my
driving licence. Then she had a thought, ‘It is just to drive a car isn’t it?
Not bus of trucks?’ Since then I have printed the form off from DVLA website
and that will get filled in later today and in the post too. As for the MCI
thing, she wasn’t worried about that at all. As Jan said, the few problems I
had were all sorted by the B12 injections I’ve been having.
We shall soon have the RSPCA on our backs my friends; I forgot to feed
the fish yesterday. Mind you, a few of the books on fish keeping I’ve read,
have all agreed that you should starve them for a day every so often, it makes
them hunt for any food that might be on the bottom of the tank. Of course, I’m exaggerating
more than a bit there with the RSPCA being on our backs, I’m sure they have far
worse things to attend to.
Actually, the North Warwickshire area is probably one of the worst area
for wildlife crime in the Midlands. Or at least, that used to be the case a few
years ago. There seemed to be regular reports in the local press of how some
yob or other had shot a duck or a swam and so on. As a kid I remember someone
telling me that they had tied two cats into a sack and threw them in a river. I
wasn’t the brightest spark in the world at that time but I did know there was
no river anywhere near us, so that was written off as boast. But you know what,
it did actually happened a few years ago in Polesworth, just of the A5 north-west
of here.
On-line petitions have become a real pain in the rear end these days and
I ignore them all, well most all of them anyway. The ones I do take notice of
are the ones that are listed on the gov.uk site. The latest one I’ve have
signed is the one demanding an end to the UK ivory trade, which seems to be fuelling
the illegal trade in poached ivory. The other major issue is that of rhino
horn. It won’t be long before the only elephants and rhinos we can see will be
in zoos, there won’t be any wild ones left. What will the poachers go after
that? Cats and dogs for their coats? Who knows, I don’t.
You have no doubt heard the saying, ‘dead as a dodo.’ Well, it was men
that killed them all. Why did it happen? The bird couldn’t really fly, it just
stood there as it was killed. To start with the killers saw them as a meat source,
but in reality they were tuff and tasted pretty bad. And yet they still went on
and killed them all, but why? They were no harm to anyone, they were just there
and were easy game to kill. That’s why! Plain and simple, mankind has a built
in blood thirst, and dodos met the men’s need at that time.
We do tend to watch a lot of the animal rescue shows on telly, and it
amazes me that a country founded on the backs of horses allows people to keep
them without any sort of registration. Some of these horses are in a shocking
state when they are found. I remember one with a fist size hole in its neck;
another one had broken a leg and was left to suffer in pain for some time
before the owner got a vet out put the animal down.
Animal cruelty is rife in our world. All we can do is the report any instances
of it we see. That is not ‘grassing,’ it’s our duty in this cruel world we live
in. We have supposed to have advanced a long way now, but at times I wonder
just how far we have done so when I see the pictures of suffering animals. The
bright spots are when someone see what’s happening and steps in to help. That
is what we all should be doing.
Today’s photo …
My dinner last night.
Today’s funny …
What do you get when you play a
country song backwards?
You get your house back, your car back, your woman back, and you get your whole
life back.
14 November
Now that’s a shocker! I’ve just had the results letter after the psychological
assessment I had done a few months ago. It seems I have ‘vascular MCI’, which
in easy terms means my memory isn’t as good as it once was. I already knew
that! The shocker came when I looked up MCI on the NHS website and found it
listed as part of the dementia listings. As it happens, I’m due to see my GP at
3.30 this afternoon so I can find out more about it then. Jan however, isn’t
concerned at all. She says that all my memory problems cleared up after the B12
injections started, we shall see this afternoon.
In 1998/9 I had an accident while I was in a B&B in Southend. I
managed to slip while having a shower. The landlady wasn’t happy cos I managed
to pull down part of the shower curtain and broke a few plastic rings at the
same time. She thought I was drunk so she challenged me over it. Not liking her
attitude, I told her to make sure her insurance was up to date. The next day I
drove up to Ipswich and met up with Jan and then we went camping for the
weekend with her sister. By the time we had packed the tent away on the Sunday,
I knew I had a real problem. Luckily Jan had her provisional licence by then
and the L pates were on the car, so she drove home all the way from Aldeburgh.
I had managed to crush the bottom disc in my back and had to have an
operation to sort it out. I did actually sue the hotel and when my damages and
the first thing I did was to when the cheque arrived was to head off to Mallorca
for a week, again by myself. I came back from there with a burst blood vessel in
my left eye. From that I learned I had diabetes, and that was where things
really did fall apart me with my health. Now this latest one, is yet another to
add to list. Our excitement about a possible move abroad, only a dream I know,
is now totally shattered. We couldn’t afford the health care over there. Oh,
the plans of mice and men …
As it is, we are quite happy living here anyway, and we had decided that
we would not move away from here anyway. But we all have our dreams don’t we
and living in Mallorca was ours. I could see the warmth out there helping both
of us with our aches and pains, which would be nice, it really would. But the
more I think about it, the less I fancy the stress that would have to deal
with. No folks, I think we doomed to remain here in Dorktown. And speaking of
warmth …
Last night while we were lying reading, we were getting warmer as time went
on. The temp was 24.6 when we went through, but pretty soon it had risen to
28.8. Jan had set the thermostat for the 20 we normally leave it at. The radiators
were blazing away again this morning too, even though the stat was turned well
down. A quick call top the council will sort it out for us. Our flat is on a
district heating system and pay a flat rate of £7 a week for it, no matter how
much we use it. That means we will never be cold while we are living here.
I had another real dream again last night/this morning time. Tom and I
were stuck in Bed’th waiting for Jan to go and fetch the car for us. I found a
John Collier shop and was trying to find material for a new suite, but the shop
had pools of water all over it. I forgot that and put down my camera and forgot
where I put it. Tom found it and gave it back to me but the lens kept falling
off, and not just the lens to the whole front end, but there was nothing behind
the lens. We set off looking for Jan and couldn’t find her. She turned up when
our door bell sounded … at which point I was awake too of course. Dreams eh … …
…
Today’s photo …
A ‘Boring’ airplane.
Today’s funny …
What do you get if you cross a large jet airliner
with an accountant?
A Boring 747.
13 November
And so we come to the day when we come together to remember our war dead
in remembrance based on the Cenotaph in London. I can’t be there, just as I can’t
be at our local event either, so I shall be sitting here watching the whole
thing in London. And so at 11.20, The National Anthem plays and the royals walk
off the parade and the marchpast begins, all meticulously timed.
Our passports need renewing but it came to me last night whether a new
passport would be valid when we do finally withdraw from the EU. At around £80
a knock, having to renew them again in two or three years is going to work out
expensive. And yet needs must I suppose. If we want to go off for a weeks’
holiday, and Jan has her heart set on doing so next year anyway, then we will
need to get them renewed. But where will we go; Janis looking at the Costas,
but I’m looking more to Cyprus, but we’ll see next year.
It seems an earthquake has hit New Zealand yet again. So far there are no
reports of casualties, which will a relief to the Kiwis. Measuring 7.4 in scale
it’s certainly lager than any quake we have here in the UK, which is a relief
to us of course. But did you know that there was a quake here on the 11th?
No, I didn’t either until I looked at … http://www.earthquakes.bgs.ac.uk/earthquakes/recent_uk_events.html
This one Struck at 1.20pm at Invermoriston in Scotland. They had another
one there on the on 3rd too. Even so, none of them were much over a
scale of 1.0 here inland. A few were stronger out beneath the sea. Thinking
back though, the only I can say for sure that I was aware of was while we lived
in Bed’th, even so, I didn’t feel it but heard the shaking of Jan’s wardrobe
doors shaking. Thankfully, we don’t get any of the massive quakes here that
kill and cause so much damage and destruction.
Well, I think it’s time to wrap this one off here I think, so now for a
photo …
Kile again, and he didn’t look all that comfortable really. But he says
he’s afraid of heights. So why did he climb up there was my question – and I’m
still waiting for a reply.
Today’s funny then …
Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Carmen.
Carmen who?
Carmen get it.
12 November
At long last I got my US tax thingy sorted, all do to an article in this
month’s issue of Writing Magazine.
Now my books are list again and for that I was rather a happy-chappie when I
went through to bed. However, as everything within Janronland, I managed to cock
it up by getting around 11.30 and getting myself four chocolate digestive
biscuits. They gave me heart burn for most of the night. Ah well … … …
Kile turned from school again yesterday afternoon and lucky for him we
had just arrived home from shopping. We normally go for a drink afterwards but
decided not to yesterday as when he walked in through the door I was out in the
kitchen making a drink and Jan was just off to get changed again. He had a big
smile on his face when he walked in too. It seems Billy and Vicky, his step
sister and brother are at their grans’ place just around the corner from us, so
there was no way he was going home to be on his own all weekend, and I can’t
say I blame him for that.
I’ve said I have a distant cousin living in Colorado and yesterday she
made a comment on Facebook which I entirely agree with. The news last night
show pictures of the rioting going on over the US election result. Janice made
the comment along the lines of, ‘although we have the right of free speech and
to protest, there is no excuse for flag burning and rioting over the result.
That is not legitimate protest, it’s just crying because you didn’t get your
own way!’ And that is something I can agree with 100%. However, and this is
where I can understand why it’s happening, it seems that Clinton got more votes
overall than Farter. She lost because of the electoral college voting system
they have over there and Farter got more of those votes than she did. So he
becomes #45.
We shouldn’t be too smug over that should we? Why? Simply because we vote
for our own Muppet Person in constituencies across the UK don’t we. As in the
States, it’s the party with higher number of seats that wins, not the party who
get the most votes. That is why I would prefer an PR system, but when we were
asked we as a country prefer the current system, so I have to live by that. Interesting
eh?
Then the Tartan Terror in Edinburgh open her mouth. ‘You might like the
result, but you should respect the vote of the people.’ But is she doing the
same I wonder? She is now looking for ways to hold another referendum on the Scottish
independence questions because of the UK-wide BREXIT vote. So why is she not
respecting that result? Simply because she’s a contrary madam and a politician
to boot. I have feeling she may come to regret that comment of hers.
Today’s Photo is of Kile …
Today’s funny …
At a party a woman was talking to
a doctor. "What kind of a doctor are you?" she asked.
"A Naval surgeon," he replied.
"My, how you doctors specialize," she said.
11 November
Remembrance Day today; the day we look back at the brave men and women
who died during wars in which our armed forces were sent to fight. There are
some who think that after all these years we should put it all behind us and
let them lie in peace. That ignores their sacrifice and courage, even more so
since 1964 when National Service ended and our forces became a volunteer force.
Even so, many of the brave men and women have died while serving their countries.
YES, we should remember, we MUST remember.
With that in mind, I shall end here for today, no photo, no funny, just
remembering the service of others.
10 November
Oh dear; since our feathered lodger arrived here, I have become a BLP, a
budgie landing place. Happily though, I don’t mind at all, simply because it
has encouraged Maxi to do the same, which is what we have wanted him to do
since we had him. He’s just flown onto Jan’s arm and Arnie isn’t near him.
We are always expecting parcels and they can arrive at anytime up to
around 9pm. What we were not expecting when the doorbell rang at 4.50 yesterday,
was Kile standing there waiting. He forgot to take something home with him and
he said he need it. Anyway, he stayed the night with us. Later he saw the empty
coffee jars on the side in the kitchen and asked for one for some technology
thing at school. He’d forgotten to take one and got a DT for it. Well, he’s at
school again now, and guess what? He’s forgotten the jar and the thing he came
here for; more DTs will follow methinks.
It was Jan’s turn to feel rough last night and at one point I though I
was going to have to get a taxi down to Asda and get her something to try to easy
whatever it was. That would have been fun seeing as Kile’s bed was already made
up for him just inside the front door. As it was, whatever was wrong last night
has passed off now so we will head off out before long and do what we were planning
to do earlier.
The tram crash yesterday is a shock for the industry I think, even if it
was driver error. I didn’t even know there was one down that way actually. But
is speeding a driver error I wonder. There’s a tram system in the West Midlands
too; it runs between Brum centre to Wolverhampton, with plans to expand it to the
Merry Hell centre and to the airport. There have been a few tickets issued when
a driver has gone through red lights. Both Manchester and Nottingham have tram
systems, Blackpool has one of the most famed system. Even so, there hasn’t been
a fatality around 50 years since there has been a fatality. Yesterday there was
eight in one go. Even so, it looks to me as if trams are a rather safe form of public
transport, unless that is, the driver is not as careful as they might have been.
Years ago I had family in South Wales and quite often I used to go down
there with my grandmother to visit. We travelled on the Black and White
services out of town. The result was that I became interested on coach travel,
and I still am. Even so, when the careers advisor at school that my sight was
too bad to become a RAF pilot, I thought, I
can still be a coach driver though, and that was what I was looking at. At
that time I had to wait until I was 21 before I could even apply for a PSV licence,
as it was called at that time. So why did I join the army when I was 18? However,
I am now rather happy about not becoming a coach. I’m not sure that I could
manage the stress of being up to 53 passengers in one coach. Perhaps there are
drivers out there who don’t care about the safety of their passengers – who knows?
Even so, I still like to travel on coaches, these days only on National
Express to London. Think about it folks, Dorktown to London for just £17.50.
There’s no parking charges, no congestion charges and no changes. I also like
train travel, but from here to London by rail, fares start at £18 one way. So,
I think it will be on the coach for me, unless I can talk Jan into going with
me on a Sunday, we can drive right into Trafalgar Square and park there. That
way we both get to go and that makes it worth running the car. However, Jan isn’t
keen on driving in central London.
Today’s photo …
Giant tortoise.
Today’s funny …
Why did the idiot get so excited
after he finished his jigsaw puzzle in only 6 months?
Because on the box it said 'From 2-4 years'.
