'The Daily Telegraph,' Great Niece, MEMHAS and the Moon

I must say, beginning the day by reading the Letters in the 'Telegraph' are a good way to start.  The gift of a free digital edition from afar has been excellent.  OK, the news slant is just as daft as the 'Daily Mail,' however, the writing is writing and not exaggerated fear, or pages of celebrities and their divorces.  I even managed to spend 18 minutes failing to finish the wee crossword!  'The Telegraph' has always been the Conservative Party paper, since Boris rose to influence however, it has gone very much downmarket, losing masses of readers and failing to find new ones.  The paper does not satisfy old Conservatives, many of whom it must be said are dying off, and the new breed of Tory prefers the slanted half truths and downright lies of the 'Daily Mail' and the 'Sun,' which is all some can handle.   

The owners, the Barclay Brothers, have lost control, with Lloyds Bank taking over and seeking someone to buy the paper.  One Barclay brother has died, the other is in a many years long dispute with a former wife, the family all seeking the money taking sides, and he is one step from jail, though his age has so far kept him out.  One line of the family has made an offer to buy back the paper, another offer comes from a rich American, one who backed Boris and may wish him as editor!  Imagine!  A third offer from another unworthy neo-Nazi has also been made.  Good luck with your selection Lloyds Bank.  I wonder if they will delay this until after the election, the government always has an input here.

Another interesting sideline here is 'Private Eye.'  They usually have a story or two about the office infighting to record, something the paper itself appears not to print.  Always interesting how the media never publish their own faults, crimes and criminals.  I wonder why?

Anyway, after a couple of the usual anti-ULEZ scribbles, a man from Tunbridge Wells among those attacking the charge, two others mentioned the ease of getting on a train at Croydon and reaching central London, avoiding mileage, waiting, queues, and costs.  Maybe some in Tunbridge Wells did not realise trains run there?

Yesterdays post, one of my many great nieces spouting about 'Linear A,' and 'Linear B,' with all the knowledge of someone who cannot pronounce the big words, was meant to actually appear here, on this post.  My tech knowledge is great, I can make a mess of anything technical, from a pencil up!  While her video all appears Greek to me it does reflect her interest, qualifications, and desire to promote archaeology to the world.   I prefer when she offers local Scots stories mind, she is good at that.

Needing a passport picture for a new 'Railcard,' the other one died out with almost no use thanks to Covid, I sauntered around the town looking for a machine.  Naturally, these no longer take cash, naturally the seat is too high and will not adjust, naturally the instructions are shouted at 'Tannoy' decibel level, and naturally I got it wrong, twice.  Eventually, after much pushing of buttons, much scanning a poor screen to see if anything was working, and paying £9 by card, I got my pictures.  Two it gave are classed as 'Not Conform' to passport standards.  The four others are, but who is that in the picture?  The last time I saw that face it was on the Essex Police Twitter feed!  I bet he has 'Love' and 'Hate' tattooed across his knuckles.  He could at least have had a shave!  Scruff!

I returned via the various cafe's.  One was busy, another closed, Thursday is a quiet day here, and 'MemHas' the Turkish café was then my eating place today.  And jolly good it was too!

A wide menu, friendly, helpful staff, and very busy even for a Thursday.  The staff never stopped, many customers were obviously regulars and welcomed back, and the prices equal to similar places.  For me I had what they called an 'American.'  This featured two hash browns, two bacon, Two eggs, and three large slim pancakes with a couple of bits of fruit and maple syrup.  I did enjoy this!  In America the same thing would no doubt be several times larger, but this was enough for me and well worth the £9:45 it cost.  Again, if I cooked for myself the cost would turn out about the same, this way is better.

MEMHAS, a family run shop, originate in Istanbul according to the picture on the wall.  They have established themselves here over six years and I expect them to continue for a long time yet.  This is one place I would recommend, and excellent café.    

Another 'Blue Moon.'  This one, like the last 'Blue Moon,' was not Blue, just a kind of yellowish here, possibly caused by street lights flickering in that direction.  By that I do not mean there were street lights on the moon, what I meant was... anyway, it looked normal colour to me.  They say two full moons in a month means it becomes a 'Blue Moon,' but surely two full moons in a month means the moon is running around faster or the earth has stopped moving?  Could it be aliens responsible for this?  You may not think so, but somewhere in the USA somebody is claiming that to be the case, then shooting everyone in sight.  It's what they do...

Louise Raynor