Halloween

 

Halloween, the word, you will not be surprised to know, comes from the Scots.  'Hallow,' refers to 'Saints,' and 'All Hallows' Eve,' is the evening before 'All Saints Day.'  Hallow's eve, called 'e'en' in Scots gives us the name we now know.

In Roman Empire days many Christians were martyred for their faith.  Usually the church would offer a 'feast day,' for them, however, there were numerous martyrs at one time so it was decided to commemorate all faithful dead Christians, whether martyred or not, in one day, 'All Saints Day.'  

As is usual in Christina belief these things get watered down or amended to suit the outside influences of the day.  So 'All Souls Day,' arose to commemorate the dead and pray for them as they went through purgatory.  The Reformations soon put a stop to that!  However, for many centuries this was popular, as was the belief that such souls would wnder the earth seeking vengeance on their enemies before the sped of to heaven.  It was said these souls would disguise themselves as they moved about, hence the dressing up today.  

While the Reformation cleansed nothern Europe from such beliefs some remained.  One concerned leaving food forthe dead on their graves.  Bread marked with a cross was placed on each, today we have hot cross buns, at great price from supermarkets, and few leave these on graves of dead relatives. 

Samhain, was the Celtic festival celebrating the end of the harvest days and beginning of winter, it was celebrated on the 1st of November.   Many myths came into play here, fear of the supernatural, the dead arising again, and divination of the future.  Various methods were attempted but only one appears to have come down to us, 'Bobbing for apples.'  This has little spiritual insight, however, anyone attemting to bite an apple floating in a bucket of water will soon knowhow difficult this can be.  Especially when someone shoves your head right inside!  We also had treacle tarts hanging from the ceiling, the idea was to eat these, with hands behind your back, fun for kids mind.

'Guising,' continues in Scotland.  Kids dress up, knock on doors and offer an act of some kind in exchange for money of sweets.  This goes back to the 16th century when 'beings' were said to wander the earth.  A disguise could protect you from them, though how this protected people from kids knocking at the door is not stated.

The introduction of 'Trick or Treat,' from the USA into the illiterate English has become popular in the last 50 years.  This was actually begun by UNICEF to collect money for children in developing countries.  Boxes for cash were given to kids to go round the doors, millions of dollars were gathered this way.

The introduction of 'horror,' appears to have begun in an attempt to poke fun at Satan by showing his defeat by Jesus on the cross.  I'm not sure Chinese tat from Tesco is a proper Christian success in this endevour.  

The lantern comes from a tale, possibly Irish, in whick Jack catches the devil climbing up tree.  By making a sign of the cross on the tree he traps the devil and makes him promise never to allow him into Hell.  When he dies Jack is not allowed inti heaven, the devil keeps his promise and refuses him in hell also.  However, the devil throws a lump of coal to him which Jack places in his lantern which he carries as he wanders failing to find rest.

Dearie me...

So many events are followed around the world which began in the days of long ago.  When we examine them we realise what a lot or rubish we have been taught by our forefathers.  Much supertitious nonsense, much supernatural fear, and far to little biblical truth.   

   

Middle of Night Worrying

This happened to me last night.  

Awake at just before 2 am, and still awake at just after 4 am.  My mind filled with failures, mistakes, errors and the thought that worse is to come.  

I awoke again at ten minutes to six bleary, worn out, and unwilling to rise.  I managed to return to sleep for an hour or so and when I woke my mind was quite peaceful.  

How come this happens?

A quick google leaves me with no answers.  Tiredness is of course one reason, the brain expects you to  be asleep in the middle of the night and is weak in defending worries.  So, once awake that fear appears, the worry re tomorrow, the people you wish to avoid, the memory of failure from the past, all crowd in.  During the day these may appear but other activities drown them out, in the night, especially the long winter nights now approaching, these are free to wander around the brain.

I read of people with full time anxiety synedrome taking herbal measures to cure this, I'm not sure they work.  The only answer is to return to sleep, or if not able, to rise, drink tea and eat something, this settles the body somewhat, the mind follows.  

Of course some people like to hang on to there worries.  It allows them to dwell in self-pity, or resentment, or just escape their life.  None of this brings reprieve in my view, just harm, and self harm at that.  

There are those who suffer various kinds of insomnia that requires medical help, but I do not refer to that.  I think this middle night anxiety is something common to all, the infrequent late night anxiety that disappears with dawn.  Maybe the body gives more cortisone as we rise, maybe sleep has done its work, maybe we just did not eat properly in the evening, maybe, just maybe, we will never know.

Jesus of course is the answer.  Failure to trust his response causes many fears, and failure to respond to him at 3 am engourages fears, do we not trust him?  Sometimes we just wallow instead of being faithful.

 

Scotland's Royal Saint

                     

Old Maps

I love old maps.  

Especially those covering places I have lived in.  This map appears to date to 1896, though this cannot be guaranteed.  The railways were added in 1902.  I love it because at the top is the area in which I spent my first two years of life, and returned to for school and church.  As my late brother said, 'This is our home.'  He said that even though he had not lived there since 1953, but home area it was and remains.      

Granton Road was our area.  This is because dad moved there in 1911 and was based in the middle of the wee dot we see to the right of the road, just north of Granton Road Station.  That was our tenament, and it remains in use today, but without us.   That makes me wonder about the people who have lived there both before and after us.  What happened to them?  Do the present occupiers see the area as we saw it?  

Certainly things have changed a lot.  One half of the harbour has been filled in and new blocks of flats tower over the other half.  The railways we all knew have gone, including the high embankment that once took goods into town.  That embankment blocked the view of the local houses for well over a hundred years, so much light can now fill those dwellings.   

While we occupied the tenaments to the right we see dotted around the big houses, now either divided into flats, or selling for over a million at a time.  Our small two room tenament sold recently for just over £100,000.  Before I was born my dad laughed at a neighbour who paid £100 for his!  

The area marked as 'Trinity,' became a large playing field.  Our school was created in 1932 to replace the one dad went to down near the harbour.  That building still stands with the doors marked 'Boys,' and 'Girls.'  What it is used for now is unknown.  

The playing field was filled with Royal Navy equipment, in a variety of quickly erected huts, during the war.  With the housing shortage afterwards these were commandered by many seeking a new home.  Today it is a sports field of various sorts.  

The chip shop is now a Chinese, or is it Indian, the phone box has gone, the Co-op shop might be still there but is modernised, and the police box (think 'Tardis') remains but for what use?  The shops have been amalgamated into one large succesful shop.  

Time passes, memories remain.  An old map can waste hours of work time if you manage it properly. 

I'm glad I found this one.  

 

Tiger

                                                                      Big Cats India

The other day there was one of those stories about daft people.  This one may of course have been mentally ill, and it sounds likely, as he climbed over two fences, and entered the cage in a zoo where a pair of tigers lived.  

Now we all make mistakes, we all go into places by error rather than design, but deliberately entering the cage of a man eating beast is not a mistake we make easily.  So this chap enetered the cage and soon afterwards was dying, no doubt with quite a bit of pain on offer.  The zoo staff stepped in but could not save him and not surpisingly he died there.  

The tiger of course was merely protecting himself and his mate, he saw a danger approaching and defended himself, who can refuse him that right?

Now I used to like going round zoos, the animals are great, many would be dead in the wild today, and almost all appear happy.  Those who say they ought to be released usuqally can afford to trek across the world to spot such animals in the wild, I cannot.  Zoos do a lot of great work protecting and helping animals and we must support them.  These tigers may well have been seen as pests in India and shot when near villages or townships.  It is safer in the UK for them.  

How though do we stop people getting into cages?  The truth is we cannot.  Fances and gates do not stop the determined or the mentally ill, they will get through to their cost.  Nothing can stop them.

Some wanted the animal killed for this attack.  Why remove an animal for being itself?  No reason for that.  The tiger is not a wild dog which attacks people while owned by a non caring owner, the dog, and preferably the owner, ought to be put down.  It has become wild, so has the owner.  The tiger must however, remain.

 

Harvest

It was Harvest Festival service on Sunday, though to be honest I cared little for it.  The common cold that has held me prisoner for three weeks did not ease up much for the day.  While most symptoms had gone the cough and tiredness remained.  I attempted five minutes snooze before the service but was woken by people pretending to be friends.  This did not ease my mood.

I coughed and spluttered, along with one other sufferer who also had to be there, trying not to fall asleep of spread germs everywhere.  In this I failed.  The thing is I was doing the prayers so could not avoid being there.  Normally I would have missed out but I had prepared and having missed several meetings already it was wise to attend.  I was wrong.

So, eventually I got the chance to pray.  I croaked my way through it, noticing the expressions on the faces as I did so, and walked limpingly back to my seat watched by dead eyes.  I did not stay for the anniversary dinner that followed, I went home to bed for the rest of the day.

Here we are three weeks since this bug began and I am still coughing loud enough to wake the folks downstairs.  Getting to sleep leads to racking coughs, they hear each one.  Hopefully it will subside now, there is not much strength left inside me after this.  

Of course nothing has been done, lots to do and with the weather getting chilly I looked at the bpiler and found a wee leak at the pressure gauge knob.  Oh goody!  Of course the knob will not turn, even after a can of UB40 has been blown onto it.  I may require a man in to fix it before I use it again.  Exploding boilers worry me.

Then there is all the other work that has been left lying, someone has to do it, and I suppose it is good for me to exercise by working.  It never done me much good when working mind.  

Meanwhile, all around the world is in a mess, tyrants and their lackeys destroy and steal.  Never mind, remember psalm 37, 'Fret not because of the wicked.'  You see, Jesus remains Lord of all.

 

Spem in Alium, Culture.

 

Poverty And the Rich

 

Man Cold

 

Andy & Nigel

Andy Burnham spoke at the Labour conference today, a well scripted show with no option to disagree, unlike in times past.  I did not listen, I long ago realised what a farce these confernces are, but the reaction on Twitter tells us much.

For one it shows he still does not understand Scotland, he refers to the water company problems in England as 'Britain.'  Scots water is already nationalised and does not have the problems England is drowning under.  He appears to have had a swipe at the First Minister of Scotland, refusing to accept that he (Andy) will be the last Prime Minister of the UK.  This may be true, Andy may not last past Christmas right enough.  

The rest appears to be the usual promises of reform, advancement and change, all put off until 2030.  In other words nothing has come out of this speech, nothing of importance has been said.  Gaza was ignored, the Blackshirts ignored, and waffle folled the air once again.

That is why I find better things to do.

 

 

The other night we were informed of a possible terrorist attack near RAF Fairford.  Far right agitators, yes Nigel Farage I mean you, were quick to rise up and inform us of the Iranian terrorists attacking the base, as he says,  'I have warned before.'  Speculation mounted, while the police said 'Don't speculate.'  And soon the announcment was being attacked in the US media by senators and members of the public.  CNN and ABC Twitter feeds were full of all knowing Yanks decrying the UKs inability to avoid such attacks.  

Soon, we knew better.

Terrorist do not drive three transit vans back and forth around an airforce base.  Terrorists work in the dark, quietly, avoiding attention, and do the job and disappear quickly.  Clearly this was not terrorism. 

The most likely cause was five young men chancing their luck by visiting a farming factory.  Here they store large machinery that require much diesel fuel.  The robbers would seek out the massive diesel containers and withdraw quietly thousands of gallons into the three drums stored in their vans.  

Returning to London they would then sell this to haulage men and others on the make, each of the five men making about £1000 a go from their adventure.  This is not terrorism, though the farming factory may differ here, but straight forward theft.  

Thus, the police took all the details they required and released the men on bail.  Bail under the Law of England and Wales does not mean you are guilty, and does not mean you are innocent, but awaiting possible charges.

The US outrage at 'Bail for terrorists,' was funny.  Funnier was the egg on Nigels face after his 'Iranian terrorist' Twitter feed.  Not that he will care, stirrring trouble and causing division is his job, the one he gets paid for, and paid well.

So the whole escapade exposes Nigel's ignorance, Twitters folly, and the poor defences at RAF Fairford. 

However, nothing will change.

 

But, I'm the Son of God

Wiki-Phones Scam via Blogger

I had another irritating scam call today.  

As always I try to look up the number to find if it is a genuine number, or a false one.  

Of course it was false.  They always are.

Recently there have been a number of such calls, all from different numbers, all which lead to the same result.

I enter the number and discover a list of 'Blogger' sites appear.  These appear genuine, but when clicked on, and I possibly ought not to have done that, I a taken to a further link which I do not trust.

This calls itself 'Wiki-Phones.com.' This claims to be a site informing you how to search for information by phone number.   I have not clicked on this as I suspect a scam here.  

I did search for such a company and found nothing.  Which was of course no surprise to me.

However, the use of Blogger here has me wondering if they have obtained my number via Blogger, or got into my site via Blogger, or are just using Blogger because we have it?

I have no answer to this.

However, just be carefil with such calls, check the number but do not answer, or click on Wiki-Phones.com. 

The Coup Continues

I see pensions are under attack once again.

There has been a continuous attack in recent years on the state pension.  This has been accompanied by a similar constant attack on the disabled, and anyone claiming any sort of benefit.  Add to that the recent attempt to force legalised suicide through the House, this to remove the aged, the sick and the mentally unbalanced.

We must ask why this is, and who is behind this constant attack on the poorest?  

With comments from feature writers in the Guardian, more exaggerated nonsense from Farage at his conference regarding ending the 'Triple Lock,' and every paper that dodges tax by having its office in the Virgin Islands or Bermuda, supporting the idea, it is clear an attack has been organised.  

Now who would wish to cut benefits?  

Who would wish the disabled, the suffering, the unemployed, to suffer more? 

Those paying for the many MPs and now PMs who have been in No 10, that's who.  The wealthy billionaires have been onto this for many years, highlighting the cost of benefits while ignoring the benefits given to MPs and PMs, and the £120 Billion tax they avoid.  Add to this the worldwide push that gave us first Brexit and then Donald Trump.  These did not happen by accident, these were caused by the coup that has occurred before our very eyes, yet most have not seen it.  

All leading newspapers, the BBC, SKY, and ITV have been taken over by them.  The organisations that were intended to ensure fairness, OfCom, Ipso, and all those watching private water,  gas and electric companies, are run by people paid by the powers behind the throne, the enemy of the public.  The Metropolitan Police Chief himself is a friend of Israel, so he will not disobey their orders regarding Palestine.  Crime by those on the far right is ignored or played down by police, because that is their orders, that is why masked protests occur without arrests.  

We are already under a coup, a fascist government has taken control in all areas and we sit back and refuse to believe it.

Divide and rule is the name of the game.  Tell the masses those ones over there (the boats) are the problem and many will follow.  Offer dumbed down TV and media that refuses to question this, and people stop thinking or asking questions.  Today they can manipulate social media with bots, AI and lies, all to encourage confusion and division between people.  As they do this they steal from the people.  Human rights, work rights, wages, the abillity to disagree, are all removed.  Only those agreeing with the government, run by these wealthy people, are not attacked.  

What has been will be again, and is now among us.  

The USA has Trump putting his mentally ill men in charge, all of them useless as proper politicians, but all yes men, just like Goebles.  What a place the world is in now.

However, Jesus has seen it all before.  Jesus remains in charge.  From the beginning proud men have risen to take charge, all are dead now.  When Sennacharib sent messengers to Jerusalem the prophets answer was succinct.  'Do you not know, have you not heard, from the beginning I ordained it,' says the Lord.  A mere Assyrian king was under Gods control as are these men now.

 

Books!

 

In spite of my obvious poverty, I accidentally ordered more books from this company today.  I like them, they sell second hand books at reduced prices, usually in good condition, and so far the service has always been good.  I did need more books, I am reading the last ones in the pile just now, and you understand how quickly they are finished.     

It really is a terrible disease, one that causes me to avoid entering bookshops on the few days I get into town, I may actually spend money again.  I will peek at charity shops, though many of them now overcharge for books in my opinion.  Most now stock only a few books, the majority are sold to WOB as this gains them more cash and saves space.  Only, worthwhile and expensive books are often retained.  Very annoying this.

Anyway, in a world in which people under 40 tend to get all their information from 'TikToc' or 'YouTube,' I think it's important to stress that reading books is always the way to get accurate information.  That is, one book may be wrong but usually hundreds of others are available on the chosen subject so ascertaining facts is always possible.  The accuracy of internet pictures or information leaves much to be desired. 

Some seek historical accuracy in movies or TV drama's, this is unfortunate.  There is no history accuracy in much of them, and all put drama before fact.  You might as well trust the BBC news these days as much as TV dramas.      

Christmas is coming, fill the kids lives with books!  And the adults also, it will do them good!

 

The Club Night

Monday night saw a few from the Kirk meet for a man's meeting.  That is, a drink at the club.  A decent quiet place on a Monday usually, so we get together and repeat the same old stories from last month, and the months before...

I call it 'Last of the Summer Wine,' as it remnds me of the old men in the programme, they are just as daft here.  One or two consider themselves to be the wise one, they regard me as the scruff!  So does the barmaid.  Tsk!  This is a good place to meet friends, I sometimes find it repetitive and boring, but I of course I am the youngest.  It has to be said they contest this, though they have the lumbago, not I!   

We debated little that night, and there was no war as to who the peanut bags belonged to, nor did we get into a fight re migrants.  This is because it was me against the English Imperialists who still think, at the back of their minds, that Brexit was to bring back the empire.  It didn't, it killed the nation, and now they have no ideology to follow as they do not wish to be associated with the far right 'white' gangs, yet they have a leaning that way also, one they wish to keep quiet.  I of course oppose all this.  

That time I wore my 'Scottish not British,' T-shirt brought out the worst in some of them.  Had it not been for an opportune intervention by the barmaid slapping everybody down the place might have been raided by the police.  I think I upset them...

However, they are friends and I like them.    

Of course if there is football on I do not go to the club.

 

Emmy?

 Who cares...?

The World Turns, Bob Dylan

 

 

 

This verse came to mind when I read a qote from Bob Dylan writing in the New York Times.  He was talking sensibly about being 80, and how life is seen when you get old.  Now I realise none of my readers are old, most of them are just bots, only produced in the last five years, so they will not understand all this.  However, it is worth considering what he said as many of us can identify with this.

 

 

 

Now you will understood that I lifted this from Twitter, and cannot offer evidence that this is correct, but it appears to be genuine, and the understanding of life is clear enough.  

He is correct that while occasionally you wish to do something the body tells you not to.  A desire may arise but sometimes disappears because you forget what you were desiring.  The body makes doing things carefully more important than just doing things.

You remember when the old folks, aunts and uncles, told you how it is when old, and you did not comprehend what they were saying.  Now you know.  They too were wild, thoughtless and full of their own opinions, though depressions and two world wars did force a change of attitude on them, unlike on us.  We now know what they meant by 'enjoy yourself now, because suddenly it will be gone.' It has gone now!

I will not be 80 for some time, but I feel it now.  

Dylan talks sense about understanding the world while being too late to do anything about it. If only we had understood everything when we were 20, instead of over 70?  

We see youth doing what we did, we know it is wasteful and petty, worthless in the real world, but we know this because we have been there, chasing our dreams.  We know our dreams were just mirages now.

 

Ecclesiastes is seen as depressing by some, 'Fear God and obey his commands,' is not encouraging as it does not promise excitement or glory.  But in the end it is reality.  

While the 'God,' mentioned is not 'Yahweh,' the Lord of all, just 'God,' but 'Elohim.'  

This is not the personal God of Jesus but just a god.  An interesting aside.             

 

                                                   

Assisted Dying (Murder) Bill

     

                                                                              Sky News

By a majority of 18, the House of Commons killed the assisted dying Bill today.  This was the second attempt by the Labour government to impliment a system by which the sick and the old could be encouraged to kill themselves rather than live on until they die naturally.  In short, a system by which the government does not require to care for the old, the sick, the mentally retarded, or indeed anyone else.  Thatcher's comment that there is no such thing as society comes true.  She meant look after yourself and sod everybody else.  That is not how life ought to be.  She, and her descendents in the House today, put cash first, their cash especially, and people are of no consequence, an inhuman attitude that must be opposed.  

Less and less 'late life care' is being provided by government.  This attitude is simply to enrich the already weathy, and let the peasants pay the tax.  All in the House appear to support this.  Almost all will vote the way they are told, no thought allowed.  

There were some who considered the pain and suffering of the long term ill and sought a legal manner with which they could end their lives.  This was a caring attitude.  However, we all know that many would be 'encouraged,' to die, by family wanting the cash, others wishing to be rid of the effort of care, and hospitals that would encourage death to have an empty bed and forget their mission to care.

I am reminded of the mentally retarded children in 1930s Germany who suddenly began to die of Typhus.  Hitler regarded them as of no use to society so doctors killed them to save their jobs. Only intervention by the Bishop of Munich saved others. 

This bll was too dangerous to pass, it must never return. 

  

Airport Glitch

Just yesterday, the Foreign Secretary Edd Milliband informed the world that the UK would ban imports from the Gaza strip.  Things there were not acceptable and the UK was making a stand.  Some say this ought to have happened some time before.  There was a problem in that previously Keir Starmer as PM was controlled by Israel!  Yesterday we noted that Milliband was not controlled by them, and he is himself Jewish.  This was a considered act by Milliband and he was well aware of the reaction to be expected from Israel.

Yesterday, some time after the announcement, and clearly well prepared in advance, a 'technical glitch,' occurred on the computers controlling UK airspace.  This resulted in hundreds of flights being curtailed, others delayed for hours, and trouble continuing into today.

There can be no doubt Israel was involved.

You will remember when Spain objected to the genocide, the next day their power was curtailed.

Israel has agants everywhere ready to damage material and people when they do not like the reponse to their actions.  More like this will occur.

Bibi Netanyahu is struggling at the moment as an election is near and his enemies are making clear that he knew well in advance re the October 7th attacks.  This sort of thing may help him with some, it may weaken him with others.  

I suspect it will not change the present UK governments mind. 

 

Blackshirts

The Blackshirts have returned.

There is no surprise about this, it has been coming for ages.  The latest move in the onward fascist like progress of the movement among the billionaires of this world to take over the nations.  Of course Russia and Israel are involved, as are the many wealthy who wish to take all they can from this work.  The mad professor types, Peter Thiel I mean, he would like an apocalypse to end western liberalism,  are also there in the middle.  Much of the actual work has been done by another one seeking a conflageration, Steve Bannon.  

Behind the scenes these, and others, have forced Brexit on the UK, pulling it apart from the EU and weakening it brutally.  Their success led to the foisting of Donald Trump on to the USA.   Not only once but twice.  The people were fooled by it, and many still are.

The rise in supposed opposition to immigrantsbegun by Brexit did not occur froma  general uprising.  This was deliberate, well planned, and supported by the press barons and with a takeover of the BBC News.  Just like Adolf in the 30s.  

The deliberate stoking of tensions that never rose too high led to opposition from many of the general public to immigrants and foreigners in general.  People  fear an 'invasion,' that is not occurring, and actually believe that immigants assault women, while 85% of such crimes come from white Englishmen, and 90% of those from people the women know.

Now we see the arrival of uniformed Blackshirts across the nation.  

These appeared in the outrage in Glasgow recently and have reappeared, well rehearsed, in Dover.  We are watching then Nazis take over the nation and people do not understand this.  Indeed many sensible English people laugh at the suggestion that this is a plot, and that the media is biased and witholding information, they did this to begin with in Germany also.  

The Kent police deliberately lied when they called this well rehearsed and planned operation, 'spontaneous.'  You do not 'spontaneously,' gather hundreds of identically dressed men in one place, nor do they behave in such a disciplined manner without leadership.

'Danny Thomo,' is the man we hear that organised this.  However, this is one thug who does not have the intellect to organise such an organisation.  A few rough houses in pubs, an attack on boats in France is his level, he could not organise or pay for this.  He has claimed someone unknown from the US gave £30,000 to pay towards this outrage, but others have done the organisation, the training, and just use his name.  But who in the US has offered this money?  We can but guess, there are many names available.  

Where will this lead?  

Will the people realise that a coup is occurring around them?  Do they care?  Are they so busy admiring flags dangling half way on lampposts to notice?  (The man who began this ridiculous lamppost nonsense has just been charged with multiple charges of assault etc)  The Farage's of this world lead on emotion.  They profer a simplistic answer and emotions respond.  The young see it as a purpose to live for, the aged see a return to England's empire.  All are bewitched by lies.

This government and it's propaganda BBC have not answered.  They are all owned by Israel these days, will we hear an answer?

These are difficult days.