Wednesday 16 October 2024

people can be so nasty.........why?

 As some of you know, I have a web-site where I visit and explore villages and local areas, to try and get a 'sense' of the place, and more importantly, the people who used to live there, and to whom, often, the place owes a debt.

I always start at the parish church, because often there's clues there.  Anyway, I decided to join a Facebook Group that is all about history and churches, in the hope of getting an idea of what's where.  Also, amongst my 5,000 photos I've taken, there's a good few that I thought others might enjoy'.

However, despite the rules of the group asking people to do so, there are a lot of pictures posted with no clue as to location. So I made a small, polite post, reminding people of the group rules and asking them to at least tell us where the location is.

Didn't that open can of worms! I got accused of being 'officious' 'meddling' and told to either scroll past the pictures or find out for myself (how?). 

So I thought, this is not a good look for the group, and I certainly didn't intend any controversy or bad feeling. Thinking I was doing right, I deleted my post, and put a small note apologising for causing any controversy or ill-feeling. Though why I should apologise for saying 'please', and making a polite request, I don't know.

Oh dear, this action has resulted in people carrying on the same discussion on the new post. I asked them not to - again politely - as far as I was concerned, the matter is closed.

Alas! Apparently I'm now a MOFO (and an ex-member of what is a very good group)

Monday 22 April 2024

Trials and tribulations

 It all started with me going to Waitrose for some shopping, and coming out of the shop to find my bike lying on its' side in the car park.  Looks like someone  hit it from behind and knocked it off its stand. Lucky the damage isn't too bad, but rest of day spent on the phone, sourcing new parts

The next day, it was dry (surprise!), so we went for a ride. Came back to find a strange man in Water Company overalls wandering up and down our drive, looking confused.
'You've got a bad leak' said he
Really? I've not seen any water anywhere, although the pressure at the top of the house in down a bit. We have a water meter, and apparently that notified the Water Company that a 'Waste of Water' notification had been issued to us.
Umm................. nope?
However, the man started prodding and poking and using a long ear trumpet to try and find out what was happening. It turned out that water was leaking from the pipe running from the road to the house, and the meter was spinning out of control.

He went away, and two days later, 'men with shovels' arrived and promptly started to dig up our front garden. The first day they couldn't even find the pipe, let alone the leak, but they did confirm that water was leaking from that pipe somewhere, and flowing straight into the nearby drain.
The next day (late), they found the pipe - and found that it had, at some point in the last 60 years, been completely encased in concrete. They couldn't fix it without completely smashing the pipe. They went away to have a think.

The next day, 'men with shovels (Daniel and Andrew)' came back with plumber and a looooong pipe. Danny and Andy laid a complete new pipe and George the Plumber connected it both ends.
Hooray, bathroom now has lots of pressure!
Now we have to wait for Water Board Man to come out and certify that the repair/replacement is correct and to take a meter reading to establish how much water has been lost.
When this all started, they stopped charging us, and after they have re-read the meter, they will then calculate the bills based on our usage before the leak happened.

Meanwhile, Ren has been in Baku, Azerbaijan, and Brooke went home to California for her cousin's wedding. So we have had a noisy, funny infestation of fluffy dogs.

Next thing was, Virgin Media are upgrading internet around here to Fibre, and apparently our router was too old to take it, so they supplied us with a newer one. Fine. I had it up and running in 5 minutes, and my computer and Dick's iPad hooked up.
But - there's always a 'but'.............. Neither my printer or any of my cameras will connect to it, and I can't work out why. I've currently got the printer connected just to my PC via Direct WiFi (not ideal, but at least workable), and all 4 cameras will connect via USB (slower than 'Send To...., but again, workable)

Today, we went out for lunch, and got home to a letter from the Council to say that an appointment is to be made for all the houses in this area over a certain age, are to be fitted with some gadget or other that will help us to save water......................................I now know the meaning of the word 'ironic' in spades (probably those  hefted by Danny and Andy)

In the words of the late, great Freddie Mercury....................

I'm one card short of a full deck
I'm not quite the shilling
One wave short of a shipwreck
I'm not my usual top-billing

I'm coming down with a fever
I'm really out to sea
This kettle is boiling over
I think I'm a banana tree

Oh, dear

I'm going slightly mad

Sunday 31 December 2023

On the occasion of New Years' Eve

 Donna Ashworth gives good advice. I don't expect my friends to change. Indeed, I don't want them to. How they are is why I love them as they are. So, I want all my friends to make a New Year's resolution to just carry on being them, and living their best lives



Thursday 7 December 2023

A moment of sadness, and of joy

 Today British Culture lost the great writer and poet, Benjamin Zephaniah.

He wrote so much, both serious and fun, and I don't believe he'd want the seriousness or sadness, especially this close to Christmas.  So here is one of his poems to bring a little lightness into a dark day...........

Copied as he wrote it, from his own web-site, hence the colour change. Can't be a*sed to edit the html at the moment.

Talking Turkeys

Be nice to yu turkeys dis christmas
Cos’ turkeys just wanna hav fun
Turkeys are cool, turkeys are wicked
An every turkey has a Mum.
Be nice to yu turkeys dis christmas,
Don’t eat it, keep it alive,
It could be yu mate, an not on your plate
Say, Yo! Turkey I’m on your side.
I got lots of friends who are turkeys
An all of dem fear christmas time,
Dey wanna enjoy it, dey say humans destroyed it
An humans are out of dere mind,
Yeah, I got lots of friends who are turkeys
Dey all hav a right to a life,
Not to be caged up an genetically made up
By any farmer an his wife.

Turkeys just wanna play reggae
Turkeys just wanna hip-hop
Can yu imagine a nice young turkey saying,
‘I cannot wait for de chop’,
Turkeys like getting presents, dey wanna watch christmas TV,
Turkeys hav brains an turkeys feel pain
In many ways like yu an me.

I once knew a turkey called…Turkey
He said “Benji explain to me please,
Who put de turkey in christmas
An what happens to christmas trees?”,
I said “I am not too sure turkey
But it's nothing to do wid Christ Mass
Humans get greedy an waste more dan need be
An business men mek loadsa cash’.

Be nice to yu turkey dis christmas
Invite dem indoors fe sum greens
Let dem eat cake an let dem partake
In a plate of organic grown beans,
Be nice to yu turkey dis christmas
An spare dem de cut of de knife,
Join Turkeys United an dey’ll be delighted
An yu will mek new friends ‘FOR LIFE’.

Sunday 27 August 2023

Will It Be So Again?

 Seem to be on a bit of a poetry kick at the moment. Yesterday, wandering around a local town, I spotted the name of the local pharmacy - Day Lewis, and it reminded me that I haven't featured any of his works here. This is one of his most meaningful for me, and with it being only a couple of months until Remembrance Day looms large, and the probability of a general election next year, now may be the time to beg people to really think hard before casting their votes.

So anyway, here it is: Will It Be So Again? , written by Sir Cecil Day Lewis 

Will it be so again

that the brave, the gifted are lost from view,

and empty, scheming men

are left in peace their lunatic age to renew?

Will it be so again?

 

Must it be always so

that the best are chosen to fall and sleep

like seeds, and we too slow

in claiming the earth they quicken, and the old usurpers reap

what they could not sow?

 

Will it be so again -

the jungle code and the hypocrite gesture?

A poppy wreath for the slain

and a cut-throat world for the living? That stale imposture

played on us once again

 

Will it be as before -

peace, with no heart or mind to ensue it,

guttering down to war

like a libertine to his grave? We should not be surprised: we knew it

happen before.

 

Shall it be so again?

Call not upon the glorious dead

to be your witness then.

The living alone can nail their promise to the ones who said

it shall not be so again.

Saturday 29 July 2023

I am lost - a poem

 


Verbal abuse is bullying.

No matter who does it or to who.

It's getting worse, it's worrying.

I can’t prevent it, can you?


Verbal abuse is a real thing,

Just as hurtful as blows can be.

Your head aches, your tears sting

Your eyes, till you can’t see.

 

No, I know you don’t believe it.

He’d never let you see

That when he’s angry or upset,

He takes it out on me.

 

I know I’m not the only one,

There’s plenty more like me

Who feel their life is done

And they just don’t want to be………………….

Wednesday 14 December 2022

Watling Street by John Higgs

 Been quite a while since I last wrote a book review, but that doesn't mean I haven't been reading. Quite the opposite, in fact. It's just that I have continued to read a lot of Hilary Mantel's output, and so far, every one has been worthy of 5 stars. Other books have been less worthy of any sort of recommendation.

However, I took a chance on a book that I'd never heard of, from a firm that handles end of runs and limited appeal books. This is Postscript and the description in their catalogue intrigued me,

Watling Street is known historically as the road from Dover to Chester, built during Roman times. However, Mr. Higgs sets out to prove that the road actually pre-dates that, and may indeed have continued on to Anglesey in Wales.

He travels the length of it, exploring notable places (like Milton Keynes!) within 5 miles either side of the road, and covers both well-known and lesser known historical details.

His writing style is warm and engaging, and I'm very inclined to purchase his other books on the strength of it.

This is a book that covers both historical facts, and the historical basis of the myths that these islands abound with.



Thursday 24 November 2022

A poem? well, not quite. More a monologue

 Is there anyone here in the UK, as old as me, who remembers Alice's Restaurant Massacree by Arlo Guthrie? It was a Big Thing with us, back in 1967. If you've never heard it, I suggest you try to find a copy. It sounds much better the way Arlo Guthrie tell it.

If you can't find it, here's the transcript..........

This song is called Alice's Restaurant, and it's about Alice, and theRestaurant, but Alice's Restaurant is not the name of the restaurant,That's just the name of the song, and that's why I called the song Alice'sRestaurant.
You can get anything you want at Alice's RestaurantYou can get anything you want at Alice's RestaurantWalk right in it's around the backJust a half a mile from the railroad trackYou can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant
Now it all started two Thanksgivings ago, was on - two years ago onThanksgiving, when my friend and I went up to visit Alice at theRestaurant, but Alice doesn't live in the restaurant, she lives in theChurch nearby the restaurant, in the bell-tower, with her husband Ray andFasha the dog. And livin' in the bell tower like that, they got a lot ofRoom downstairs where the pews used to be in. Havin' all that room,Seein' as how they took out all the pews, they decided that they didn'tHave to take out their garbage for a long time.
We got up there, we found all the garbage in there, and we decided it'd beA friendly gesture for us to take the garbage down to the city dump. SoWe took the half a ton of garbage, put it in the back of a red VWMicrobus, took shovels and rakes and implements of destruction and headedOn toward the city dump.
Well we got there and there was a big sign and a chain across across theDump saying, "Closed on Thanksgiving." And we had never heard of a dumpClosed on Thanksgiving before, and with tears in our eyes we drove offInto the sunset looking for another place to put the garbage.
We didn't find one. Until we came to a side road, and off the side of theSide road there was another fifteen foot cliff and at the bottom of theCliff there was another pile of garbage. And we decided that one big pileIs better than two little piles, and rather than bring that one up weDecided to throw our's down.
That's what we did, and drove back to the church, had a thanksgivingDinner that couldn't be beat, went to sleep and didn't get up until theNext morning, when we got a phone call from officer Obie. He said, "Kid,We found your name on an envelope at the bottom of a half a ton ofGarbage, and just wanted to know if you had any information about it." AndI said, "Yes, sir, Officer Obie, I cannot tell a lie, I put that envelopeUnder that garbage."
After speaking to Obie for about fourty-five minutes on the telephone weFinally arrived at the truth of the matter and said that we had to go downAnd pick up the garbage, and also had to go down and speak to him at thePolice officer's station. So we got in the red VW microbus with theShovels and rakes and implements of destruction and headed on toward thePolice officer's station.
Now friends, there was only one or two things that Obie coulda done atThe police station, and the first was he could have given us a medal forBeing so brave and honest on the telephone, which wasn't very likely, andWe didn't expect it, and the other thing was he could have bawled us outAnd told us never to be see driving garbage around the vicinity again,Which is what we expected, but when we got to the police officer's stationThere was a third possibility that we hadn't even counted upon, and we wasBoth immediately arrested. Handcuffed. And I said "Obie, I don't think ICan pick up the garbage with these handcuffs on." He said, "Shut up, kid.Get in the back of the patrol car."
And that's what we did, sat in the back of the patrol car and drove to theQuote Scene of the Crime unquote. I want tell you about the town ofStockbridge, Massachusets, where this happened here, they got three stopSigns, two police officers, and one police car, but when we got to theScene of the Crime there was five police officers and three police cars,Being the biggest crime of the last fifty years, and everybody wanted toGet in the newspaper story about it. And they was using up all kinds ofCop equipment that they had hanging around the police officer's station.They was taking plaster tire tracks, foot prints, dog smelling prints, andThey took twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy photographs with circlesAnd arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what eachOne was to be used as evidence against us. Took pictures of the approach,The getaway, the northwest corner the southwest corner and that's not toMention the aerial photography.
After the ordeal, we went back to the jail. Obie said he was going to putUs in the cell. Said, "Kid, I'm going to put you in the cell, I want yourWallet and your belt." And I said, "Obie, I can understand you wanting myWallet so I don't have any money to spend in the cell, but what do youWant my belt for?" And he said, "Kid, we don't want any hangings." ISaid, "Obie, did you think I was going to hang myself for littering?"Obie said he was making sure, and friends Obie was, cause he took out theToilet seat so I couldn't hit myself over the head and drown, and he tookOut the toilet paper so I couldn't bend the bars roll out the - roll theToilet paper out the window, slide down the roll and have an escape. ObieWas making sure, and it was about four or five hours later that Alice(Remember Alice? It's a song about Alice), Alice came by and with a fewNasty words to Obie on the side, bailed us out of jail, and we went backTo the church, had a another thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat,And didn't get up until the next morning, when we all had to go to court.
We walked in, sat down, Obie came in with the twenty seven eight-by-tenColour glossy pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the backOf each one, sat down. Man came in said, "All rise." We all stood up,And Obie stood up with the twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossyPictures, and the judge walked in sat down with a seeing eye dog, and heSat down, we sat down. Obie looked at the seeing eye dog, and then at theTwenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy pictures with circles and arrowsAnd a paragraph on the back of each one, and looked at the seeing eye dog.And then at twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy pictures with circlesAnd arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one and began to cry,'Cause Obie came to the realization that it was a typical case of AmericanBlind justice, and there wasn't nothing he could do about it, and theJudge wasn't going to look at the twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossyPictures with the circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of eachOne explaining what each one was to be used as evidence against us. AndWe was fined $50 and had to pick up the garbage in the snow, but thats notWhat I came to tell you about.
Came to talk about the draft.
They got a building down New York City, it's called Whitehall Street,Where you walk in, you get injected, inspected, detected, infected,Neglected and selected. I went down to get my physical examination oneDay, and I walked in, I sat down, got good and drunk the night before, soI looked and felt my best when I went in that morning. 'Cause I wanted toLook like the all-American kid from New York City, man I wanted, I wantedTo feel like the all-, I wanted to be the all American kid from New York,And I walked in, sat down, I was hung down, brung down, hung up, and allKinds o' mean nasty ugly things. And I waked in and sat down and they gaveMe a piece of paper, said, "Kid, see the phsychiatrist, room 604."
And I went up there, I said, "Shrink, I want to kill. I mean, I wanna, IWanna kill. Kill. I wanna, I wanna see, I wanna see blood and gore andGuts and veins in my teeth. Eat dead burnt bodies. I mean kill, Kill,KILL, KILL." And I started jumpin up and down yelling, "KILL, KILL, " andHe started jumpin up and down with me and we was both jumping up and downYelling, "KILL, KILL." And the sargent came over, pinned a medal on me,Sent me down the hall, said, "You're our boy."
Didn't feel too good about it.
Proceeded on down the hall gettin more injections, inspections,Detections, neglections and all kinds of stuff that they was doin' to meAt the thing there, and I was there for two hours, three hours, fourHours, I was there for a long time going through all kinds of mean nastyUgly things and I was just having a tough time there, and they wasInspecting, injecting every single part of me, and they was leaving noPart untouched. Proceeded through, and when I finally came to the see theLast man, I walked in, walked in sat down after a whole big thing there,And I walked up and said, "What do you want?" He said, "Kid, we only gotOne question. Have you ever been arrested?"
And I proceeded to tell him the story of the Alice's Restaurant Massacre,With full orchestration and five part harmony and stuff like that and allThe phenome... - and he stopped me right there and said, "Kid, did you everGo to court?"
And I proceeded to tell him the story of the twenty seven eight-by-tenColour glossy pictures with the circles and arrows and the paragraph onThe back of each one, and he stopped me right there and said, "Kid, I wantYou to go and sit down on that bench that says Group W ... NOW kid!!"
And I, I walked over to the, to the bench there, and there is, Group W'sWhere they put you if you may not be moral enough to join the army afterCommitting your special crime, and there was all kinds of mean nasty uglyLooking people on the bench there. Mother rapers. Father stabbers. FatherRapers! Father rapers sitting right there on the bench next to me! AndThey was mean and nasty and ugly and horrible crime-type guys sitting on theBench next to me. And the meanest, ugliest, nastiest one, the meanestFather raper of them all, was coming over to me and he was mean 'n' ugly'N' nasty 'n' horrible and all kind of things and he sat down next to meAnd said, "Kid, whad'ya get?" I said, "I didn't get nothing, I had to pay$50 and pick up the garbage." He said, "What were you arrested for, kid?"And I said, "Littering." And they all moved away from me on the benchThere, and the hairy eyeball and all kinds of mean nasty things, till ISaid, "And creating a nuisance." And they all came back, shook my hand,And we had a great time on the bench, talkin about crime, mother stabbing,Father raping, all kinds of groovy things that we was talking about on theBench. And everything was fine, we was smoking cigarettes and all kinds ofThings, until the Sargeant came over, had some paper in his hand, held itUp and said.
"Kids, this-piece-of-paper's-got-47-words-37-sentences-58-words-we-wanna-Know-details-of-the-crime-time-of-the-crime-and-any-other-kind-of-thing-You-gotta-say-pertaining-to-and-about-the-crime-I-want-to-know-arresting-Officer's-name-and-any-other-kind-of-thing-you-gotta-say", and talked forForty-five minutes and nobody understood a word that he said, but we hadFun filling out the forms and playing with the pencils on the bench there,And I filled out the massacre with the four part harmony, and wrote itDown there, just like it was, and everything was fine and I put down thePencil, and I turned over the piece of paper, and there, there on theOther side, in the middle of the other side, away from everything else onThe other side, in parentheses, capital letters, quotated, read theFollowing words:
I went over to the sargent, said, "Sargeant, you got a lot a damn gall toAsk me if I've rehabilitated myself, I mean, I mean, I mean that just, I'mSittin' here on the bench, I mean I'm sittin here on the Group W bench'Cause you want to know if I'm moral enough join the army, burn women,Kids, houses and villages after bein' a litterbug." He looked at me andSaid, "Kid, we don't like your kind, and we're gonna send you fingerprintsOff to Washington."
And friends, somewhere in Washington enshrined in some little folder, is aStudy in black and white of my fingerprints. And the only reason I'mSinging you this song now is cause you may know somebody in a similarSituation, or you may be in a similar situation, and if your in aSituation like that there's only one thing you can do and that's walk intoThe shrink wherever you are, just walk in say "Shrink, You can getAnything you want, at Alice's restaurant.". And walk out. You know, ifOne person, just one person does it they may think he's really sick andThey won't take him. And if two people, two people do it, in harmony,They may think they're both faggots and they won't take either of them.And three people do it, three, can you imagine, three people walking inSingin a bar of Alice's Restaurant and walking out. They may think it's anOrganization. And can you, can you imagine fifty people a day, I saidFifty people a day walking in singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant andWalking out. And friends they may thinks it's a movement.
And that's what it is, the Alice's Restaurant Anti-Massacre Movement, andAll you got to do to join is sing it the next time it come's around on theGuitar.
With feeling. So we'll wait for it to come around on the guitar, here andSing it when it does. Here it comes.
You can get anything you want, at Alice's RestaurantYou can get anything you want, at Alice's RestaurantWalk right in it's around the backJust a half a mile from the railroad trackYou can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant
That was horrible. If you want to end war and stuff you got to sing loud.I've been singing this song now for twenty five minutes. I could sing itFor another twenty five minutes. I'm not proud... or tired.
So we'll wait till it comes around again, and this time with four partHarmony and feeling.
We're just waitin' for it to come around is what we're doing.
All right now.
You can get anything you want, at Alice's RestaurantExcepting AliceYou can get anything you want, at Alice's RestaurantWalk right in it's around the backJust a half a mile from the railroad trackYou can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant

And while you're searching the whole of the USA for an original copy, can you see if you can find the twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one. Because I'd just love to see them!


Saturday 8 October 2022

All that I am

 


Thank you Master Thich. Good wishes for your swift return
_/\_

Wednesday 21 September 2022

Strange how memories are triggered..............

 I’ve just been reminded of a very strange conversation that I had with a ‘well-known’ person, must be over 30 years ago now. It proved how easy it is to get away with being cheeky, and how easy it is to upset your Other Half.

We took our small son to Olympia in London to a computer show. Walking between the stands, coming the other way, was an extremely good-looking young man, dressed head to foot in shiny, expensive black leather, with a glass of whisky in one hand, and seemingly a few more inside him.

So – the conversation was very simple:

Me: Are you a real biker, or just a poseur?

Warren Cann: Would you like to see my bike?

Me: Is that a proposition, by the way, this is my husband

Warren: It’s parked out back. You’ll like it.

Out back………….

Me: Nah. It’s a Harley

Husband………………..bright red and embarrassed.

To be fair, it was a gorgeous pearl white Electra-Glide, and he went out back to call someone to pick him and the bike up after the show……………….

If you don’t know who Warren Cann is, you can Google it

Oddly, that memory came out of a discussion Dick and I were having about antiques experts. The only connection I can see, is that Harley…………………………..