Hogmany 2024

 

Post-Christmas Ramble...

BBC

An Azerbaijan aircraft flying over Southern Russia crashes while landing in Kazakhstan.  It appears to have been shot down by eager Russians fearing Ukrainian drones, possibly.  A South Korean airliner crashes while landing, the landing gear failing leaving at least 179 dead.  Add to this a Norwegian aircraft also had problems near Russian territory, and others in the Baltic region have found interference in communications also.  Those who suffer have all been NATO partners, now questions are arising re Moscow's involvement.

Could the man who sent his people to poison opponents in Salisbury, killing anyone who got in the way as you do, and who has found opponents and  critics falling out of high buildings across Europe be involved.

Nothing new in Russia killing people far from home, the Tsar did this in Germany to critics, Stalin removed Trotsky in Mexico via an ice pick, and Neo- Stalin Putin is eager to do similar.  Would he be involved in these plane interferences and crashes?  Of course he would!  

Enjoy your flight...

Christmas comes but once a year, and with it comes Amazon vouchers!  This is great!  However, as most of the vouchers will go towards second hand books obtained from er, Amazon, I am going to need more bookcases.  O woe is me!  Especially as I have no more room for a bookcase.  

On top of this I still have not finished the books in the waiting queue, yet here am I beginning to plan for more.  Some on view have to be read, some in the loo, some in the west wing, and some lying in front of me.  Just where am I going to get the time for this?  

I might end up with piles of books lying on the floor leaning half-heartedly against things.  This will make the monthly hoovering difficult, and I may spend much time falling over them.  All this because of Christmas generosity.

Tsk!  Life is so difficult these days.  

One Christmas benefit was the roast dinner offered to me yesterday.  How lovely to be in a clean house, well run, with a wonderful roast dinner given by good people.  The trouble was trying to remember how to eat properly, not dropping bits on the floor, or messing up the clean table cover.  Today of course I am unable to eat, nothing whatsoever in this house tastes so good after that!   

Pie and chips tomorrow...

Dreich!

Boxing Day 2024

Boxing Day, a day to recover from yesterday's excess, or indeed to contribute much more to that weight problem.  The day begins slowly, dreich weather greets the dog walkers, dull clouds span the horizon dampening enthusiasm for the Boxing Day walk.  However, already one or two well wrapped joggers pass by full of an enthusiasm I do not copy.  

They say Boxing Day was the day boxing fights occurred but while such events may have taken place, often illegal prize fights, it appears the idea may have developed over a great many centuries.  This being the Feast Day of St Stephen in some types of church, boxes were placed at the door where money collected was used for gifts to those in need.  Later, a gift box on that day was given to servants, tradesmen and employees, or others in need, and servants were given the day off, usually.   Today, for many it is merely a shopping trip, though with all the goods collected over the previous 24 hours you might wonder why?  Shops will be open, staff forced to work, money collected abundantly, yet folks will still grumble.  Those with no money will of course not participate in such dealings.

The day continues with Twitter revealing masses of pictures showing families dressing matching pyjamas.  Now where on earth did such a trend begin?  And indeed why?  A family with young kids may do such a thing, but placing photographs across social media does indicate an outlook I do not share.  Twitter also offers many people telling us cheerfully if their sick relatives, or indeed how grannie died during the night!  Now this is relevant to those who know you, it is not relevant to the entire world.  I suspect with many users who have fled Twitter and joined BlueSky the algorithm offers anything to fill the empty spaces.  This is why I receive info on Pakistan politics, Brazilian murders, and things in Chinese or Malayan that make no sense to me.  The tarts are much more obvious also.

Christmas tv, which I avoided, was full of Black and White films from before the war, action films from 30 years ago and kids stuff, which all the grannies watched.  

Today, in between the spam from online shops made use off in the last month, we see Twitter filled with pictures of royalty walking to church.  People, often in wheelchairs, line their path offering gifts to the multi millionaires who care not a jot about them, certainly not about the cost of heating and the lack of a winter fuel payment.  What is it about England that they need a monarch to bow down to? 

The Princess fills the pages of the media while propaganda informs us of their popularity, but in Scotland that has waned much in recent years and dim Willie will not become a welcome addition to Scotland.

All in I find Christmas is lost in sentimental slush, present buying, supermarket visiting and money laundering to pay for it all.  It's a relief to be in a church and find a stable environment (stable, geddit?). 

Christmas Day 2024

 

Christmas Eve 2024

It was Christmas Eve in Sainsburys, 

All was riot and struggle....

Bruisers fought their way through the mob,

Me, I was too puggle..d.

Last desperate shop to fill every cupboard and the freezer.  After all the shops are closed tomorrow and will not be open again until, er, Thursday...  We might starve in the meantime.  

However, the number of fathers trailing around the supermarket with one child, the dad just as lost as the kid, was entertaining.  Not unusual to see dad's leading the child but less so in such shops.  Mum will have forced them out to get things done at home, this giving her free time and less hindrance for advice from both!

 Talking of starving at Christmas, judging by the number of people now wearing items 'Size Fat,' I am not convinced many will suffer malnutrition here.  Those that might have been to the Food Banks, ours works on Wednesdays so they either went elsewhere or got double rations, I wonder which?  I suspect the Salvation Army or someone else will be offering food tomorrow, I think they did last year.  I must ask about that, usually something is mentioned.

 

A quick glance at the tv schedules for the tv that I never watch shows that apart from a religious service most BBC one and two offer kids type movies, game shows with added celebrities I have never heard off, the News and weather, and little else.  I would watch some of this to see what I am missing but expect within a short time I would be moving away from that.  Possibly the wireless will offer better, I will look that up later tonight while supping from the Bottle of Jura that was accidentally opened before Christmas, I know not how.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas, 

and an understanding of what Jesus coming means for us all.

Carol Service

The service of nine lessons and carols was if I remember correctly begun in 1919 just after the Great War, this to bring some joy to a hurting nation.  Quite how the nation responded I am not sure, however, the idea became popular and persists till this day.  

Tonight, our Canon, John, designed a variation of this theme, with carols, readings, some varied from the usual, and a few words after each to enlightened the congregation.  I thought he designed it very well indeed.

Quite a few strangers attended, apparently the vicar had been pushing leaflets through doors and speaking to people all around.  I suggest putting out 1000 leaflets may bring in one solitary person, but that would be a good result, I think he brought in quite a few more tonight.

The Mulled Wine afterwards disappeared quickly, not by me I must say, I had to wait for the later outpouring as this lot grabbed the first quickly!  Tsk!  However, the evening went well, Jesu entry into the world was celebrated, and the story told once again.

I went into a cogitation during this, just wondering why Jesu really had to come to earth in this way.  However, there was no other way to redeem sin filled people but a Holy sacrifice.  Sacrifice to take away sin is in many societies, here it was a sacrifice of the Holy God for sinful people.  Instead of us making the sacrifice God himself does it!  What a thought!

  

Solstice

@EnglishHeritage

I considered jumping upon my new helicopter and hovering about Wiltshire for a while, to see in the Winter Solstice this morning.  There were of course problems with this, for a start I was not awake early enough, the weather was dreich, and I do not possess a new, or indeed an old, helicopter.  All those are owned by one Rishi Sunak whoever he was.  

Another objection to travelling all that way was the people that I would meet there.  Those who pretend they are druids, though nobody has any idea what druids really were like.  It was Julius Caesar and Tacitus who have left us the best descriptions, and there are problems with both.  The Romans thus tended to see them as human sacrificing weirdo's while the Greeks limited information preferred to see the druids as some sort of wise man.  Today many think of the druid in Asterix the Gaul as a real individual, or someone out of a Harry Potter story.  This morning will have seen many dressed in white pretending they are druids, some belonging to druid societies, and others jumping on the bandwagon.

@EnglishHeritage

Thousands turned up for the chilly start to the day, wrapped up warm and far from the car park.  English Heritage car parks will have enjoyed today I think.  The sight of half naked men doing yoga on the grass in the middle of the stones may appeal to some of course, while many enjoy the fact that from now on the nights get shorter and the days longer, others are actually worshipping the sun.  Most are not doing this, just being face painted in modern woad, enjoying the gathering and the freaks, and the event.  Some clearly have found a new faith, though what is it and will it take them through the day?  Well no, only Jesus can do this, but the majority of the tinkering classes there will return to a nice warm house and not a wooden round house that used to be home to real druids, the cold removed by warm cooked breakfast and gin and tonic.  Possibly the best part of the morning.

The Landlord, a decent sort, sent a Christmas greeting, "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,"  By the way the latest rental act means contracts require amending and rents may go up.  Or you are out on your ear in March.

Nice greetings I thought.

I will look into it later but the fact is I willingly pay higher rent to stay here, I like it.  Also, my rent has not gone up for years, so I am not in a position to grumble, they have always been good to me.

Parcels...

I was quite confused this morning.  A parcel ought to have been delivered last night, this I was informed off at 10 mins to 5 pm!  So, I sat up here watching the Heart of Midlothian commit suicide and got a notice at 15 mins to 9 pm that Royal Mail would not be delivering after all.

This morning, just about 7:30, I got a message saying my parcels had been delivered.  The attached picture showed two such at someone else's door, an unrecognised door.  I went down to look, nothing to see, though two letters had been delivered, possibly late last night.  This troubled me, missing parcels, which door, and still not had my coffee.  

Then the doorbell rang.  A postman apologised for the early hour and offered me a box!  It was mine so I grabbed it in both hands.  I mentioned the missing parcels and he, as a good postman ought, ran away.  I returned to my coffee, once again checked the Royal Mail email and discovered the parcel just delivered had been delivered.  Good!  I looked again and noticed the other picture, with mysterious parcels, had disappeared.  So, the postie had hit the wrong button and left me worrying for nothing, I think...

Anyway, I hobbled around to Tesco for last orders, bumped into a couple of cold church people, stupidly came home the long way via the park, wandered slowly while chatting to a lonely old woman being walked by her dog.  This morning I had spoken to several people, possibly the Christmas spirit, possibly this is how this town works.  

I spent some times ending an email to several people, four of whom refused it via the Spam Folder, and one who had a mass of words to look at.  This sorted itself later.  Worn out I slid into a stupor where little happened.  Not much change from normal really.  

Later, as I ate my frugal tea, my sister called to inform me of my cousins death.  She was 90, had suffered dementia for some time and this was somewhat expected.  However, that is four deaths I have had in about three months.  None were young, and this is what life brings, but it is something I would like to avoid.  

Books...or Lack off

It's been a bad year for books in that I have hardly read any.   Too much time girning on Twitter about the state of the world does not help, and having two somewhat interesting but slow reads does not help.  These are the type of books that require reading but have too many words.  I gave up on at least one, for the second time, and have been slowly ploughing through the others so have discovered one that moves a wee bit faster.  That will be finished sometime after the New Year.  

I seem to read much less than before, I have stopped a couple of magazines as they were not being read,  and having taken to Podcasts I find I have a long list of these urgent pods that I have not got round to.  Is life getting faster or am I slowing down?

I am expecting a parcel to arrive tomorrow, unless it comes late tonight, from one of my favourite nieces.  This will be a hardback book, chosen by her son, and will be exactly what I am looking for, it always is!  They make a great combination when it comes to choosing books for me.

Maybe I ought to have sent them something back...?

See how busy I have been, I have nothing more to write...

Right Wing Fantasists?

 

I came across this programme today and watched for short while.  Folks my age will have known all about this since they were in primary school and I began to wonder why such videos are popular now. 

Men will always be interested in war films, some because they wish to go to war, some because it is interesting to see real footage of men in action and appreciate the suffering that occurs.  There again as Rabbie Burns said "All me wish they had been a sodger."  Actually he was wrong there, but I understand where he comes from.  It is always the minority who serve in wars who wish to continue in war, the majority just want to go back home.  

When I read the 'Daily Mail' online I found many who spoke highly of the German army in WW2.  It was clear there were, and remain, many who consider such a right-wing approach to life worth having.  It is possible they had grandfathers amongst Moseley's Blackshirts of course, and it could be these are the people who actually believe in Farage and his lies.  They see truth in the middle of his speeches but not the real reason behind them, and truth is not the real reason at any time with Nigel.

The German army marching away bearing a 'mark of the beast' did not return.  Many had marched through Paris after their quick victory in 1940 and considered this would occur again when confronting what they had been told were semi-human people.  The majority did not return to a glorious march past.  

So what daydreams call many to watch this film?  I turned it off as I have seen it all before and while interesting it is old news to people like me.  However, does a younger generation seek to understand this as we do the Great War?  Or do they have a fantasy of fascist superiority I wonder?

Dreich!

Dreich!  It's always dreich at Christmas.  The cards may show lots of snow scenes, snowmen, and winter joy, but in the real world December is a daft month to have a celebration.  

Now, we all know the reason we have Christmas in December, it was a monk's idea to limit the excesses of the long '12 Days of Christmas,' actually based on the winter solstice and the 'I think I'm smart' people keep telling us this as if we didn't know it, that led to debauchery and much drunkenness, possibly in his monastery.  All that resulted was a religious festival that resulted in 12 days of debauchery and drunkenness.  

Scotland of course banned Christmas,  Cromwell attempted this also but with less success, the English like to be drunk, and it left England with a Christmas binge and Scotland with a secular one at Hogmanay.  Clever people observe both.

Celebrating the turn of the season's is understandable.  Prehistoric man did this, he was no fool, and knew that from now on, well December 21st for us, the days get longer and there is hope for Spring to, er, Spring.  For most today the hope is for a successful family gathering, that Uncle Joe will not get arrested for fondling the neighbours dog, for presents that keep the kids happy, and money to be found to pay for this.  

The government, having today attacked the WASPI women, will continue to save money by ignoring the poorest, but at least, while Christmas is on they will not be making public mistakes, just hidden ones that will come to light some time later.   

Another week before the big anti-climax for many.  Can you stand the suspense...?

Cat

 

Christmas Market 2024