Nothing Happened Today

Nothing happened today so I just sat here and 

watched the leaves fall off the trees.

 

Chilling in the Chill

You can tell it is almost Spring as the rain falls full of snow, slushy snow.  Today however it relented and saturated the world during the night leaving us a clear sunny day.  It didn't bother to turn up the sun however, 5C at most, and with a northern wind to cut through those daft enough to leave the fireplace.  
As I am daft and was becoming desperate to get out and about in the real world for a change I did this and wandered through the Gardens after they opened this morning to find a pair of Mallards who visited the pool.  The wife was dozing and the man looked half awake, very much the Sunday Morning expression from both of them.  Probably they flew by late yesterday and found the pool and thought it might feed them, a bit doubtful about this but the rivers are close by so they will by now have fed well.  Once they placed fish in this pond and wondered why they had vanished.  I never told anyone that I saw a Heron sitting on the edge of the pond one morning, I think that told the story.  They no longer stock the pond.

   

There has been a lot of work going on in the gardens and chopping down aged, sick or damaged trees is one of the things that has been done.  Here we see two that have been put to some use as seats.  A good idea as they don't like wasting things and the trees have done their bit for over a hundred years.  The kids will certainly like these.

From the delights of green grass, blue flowers, singing birdies and wide open spaces I returned to traffic hold ups right outside my door.  Not for the first time, but thankfully not on the busiest day, they are digging in the road and stopping vehicles outside my door, how nice of them.  During the week when they last did this I enjoyed a variety of appalling music played at enormous decibel levels sufficient to enlighten the men travelling to Mars what music the driver appreciated!  Today was less so but the base is something that requires sorting in some vehicles.  Where is my spade...?

 
For the past few weeks I have been constantly sipping those energy drinks from cheap plastic bottles, mostly Lucozade types, in an effort to keep myself alive.  Yesterday I bought this type for the simple reason it was cheaper, much cheaper. Late last night I saw why, I couldn't open it!  With previous bottles I just ignored the ludicrous 'teat' on the top (I prefer real ones) and twist the thing open.  This I could not do!  I struggled and swore and sweated and gripped harder and said rude words but it would not turn.  I was therefore forced to drink through the 'teat!'  However this meant removing the wee plastic guard on top and this I could not do!  I pressed it, I twisted it I pulled and even used my teeth on it but it would not come off.  Much later, desperately hauling away I got the blasted wee plastic bit to remove itself.  Then came the fight with the 'teat' itself.  That soon opened, and the stuff shot out everywhere, but I got my reward though my day was now over.
Today I picked up a second bottle and it twisted off straight away!
I hate them!

                         

A Walk in the Gardens, Eventually.

Naturally I have been experimenting when not lazing about the floor.  I remained closeted indoors today gain filling my empty head with images from the TV of the Tour de France or Motor bike racing.  One tired me out, men cycling up hills at twenty miles an hour does this, and the other made me laugh as riders kept crashing off spectacularly and all but one walked away.  He was OK I think.
In between I played with the fancy bits on the camera and try as I might could not get this coin to reflect the actual colour.  I have never seen this one before, VC on the back of a fifty pence pence but it is dated 2006!  I must be slipping, I must read my money better.

This mug was given to me by my niece, the brightest and best looking one.  She sent me this to match the teapot sent earlier!  One day she sent me a book, 'Grumpy Old Men,' an excellent read I must say but the title is incorrect.  She also sent on 'The Oldie' annual, and later 'The Real Dad's Army.'  Her husband must take better control of her I say.

Again no matter what I tried I could not catch the actual shade in which sat this bench.  Even after fiddling with it there is still no likeness to the original colour.  Maybe the camera is faulty...?  You do get funny looks when taking pictures of empty benches in the park.

I only sauntered out for ten minutes, walking slowly through the gardens being overtaken by old wives on Zimmer frames and older ones pushing older ones in wheelchairs.  Bah!  Almost as bad when in the eighties working in London the driver and I were upset to be given an old van to use.  We were more upset when overtaken by a walking funeral!   

Signs of Life!

The wind was blowing gently from the west, the blackbirds and thrushes nipped in and out having breakfast, the sun shone brightly as I awoke, I thought how lovely, then thrust aside the old newspapers and rose from the park bench and went looking for coffee.

How nice to almost feel human this morning.  How nice to see the sun, how nice also to find nothing worth reading in the papers.  Many headlines, cries of 'Outrage,' and 'Fury,' but no real substance behind them.  The best is the Canada story of some Muslims who are working with Al Queda and Iran to blow up trains in Canada.  Now Al Queda, bin Ladens lot, are of course Sunni Muslims, Iran is Shia.  These folks are at present happily blowing one another apart in Syria (to bring democracy?) so the chances of two groups violently opposed working in Canada is a bot of a laugh.  This sounds like 'Chemical weapons' in Syria or 'WMD'  in Iraq to me.  Coupled with the FBI failure to stop the Boston bombings we require a more cynical approach to our security services and their masters. 

A failed attempt to capture the sun against the weeping whatsit here.  The colours much brighter before I played with the image, bah!  Almost like summer, but not quite.  However it cheers the soul.  One noticeable absence was the lack of English flags to be seen today.  What with their new found nationalism, or is it patriotism, I thought being 'St George's Day (their patron saint) would bring out the flags.  Possibly they forgot again.  Never mind, George, if he existed, was born in Cappadocia, which as you all know is part of northern Turkey today, and reared, so they say, in or near Jerusalem.  Quite how the English got a hold of him I know not, but the fact remains the best Englishmen are usually born outside of England!  

There is a row of these ancient park benches resting at the side of the tennis courts in the gardens.  I suspect they have sat there since the 1880's when the gardens were donated to the town.  Rich Victorians often donated green spaces to allow the citizens, at least the well behaved ones, to breathe fresh air in congenial circumstances.  Such air was required by the workers after a ten hour, six days a week shift I suspect, although the sabbatarians may have insisted it closed on Sunday of course!  They did in Scotland.  I rested not there as I was in a rush to burn my dinner, and at that I succeeded!  

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The Gas Bill

Today the Gas bill arrived.  Naturally we arose to frozen landscapes, home and feet!  This in the week the Gas company ended the connection with their chairman, offering him a mere £13 million payoff.  The tax payer however will be happy, the taxpayer is not paying for a nationalised gas company.  Those who 'Told Sid' under the Thatcher tyranny and rushed to buy shares in these companies can possibly gather enough from their dividend to pay the colossal bills 'Sid' and his greedy friends are charging for the gas.  I wandered round to the library to keep warm reading books but found the place full of poor people reading books to keep warm there.  

The Electric company have generously warned us the bills will all rise because of this governments absurd energy policies so I am looking forward to that increase.  I have modified the payments to suit myself, and now will be running on the spot and stretching a lot to avoid hypothermia.  

Good job I am not one to complain.....

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Autumn Leaves

The sight of a park bench covered and surrounded by a mass of bright fallen leaves brings to mind the days past when such a sight annoyed me.  That was at the Maida Vale Hospital where several trees lay at the front of the building, and a couple more in the rear.  This meant muggins and mates would have to sweep the blessed things up day after day.  However as I passed this lot I could not resist a picture, which is not as bright as in real life, and chortled at the man who has to sweep this up.  I'd love to help but.....

I bet this great man refers to Autumn with the rather direct term 'fall.'  No doubt with people like Max & Jerry in mind the American language long ago chose an unsophisticated route (pronounced 'root') rather than the more complicated English language.  By 'English'  I refer to what is called 'The Queens English,' that is the language as spoke proper like by Liz.  As you know I personally speak ''Lallans,' which while similar to 'English' English developed amongst the lowlands of Scotland many years ago, and is not English in any manner whatsoever, it also sounds better when spoke than that found over the border.  "Know whit ah mean pal?'  For some reason this crossed my mind while watching QPR play Everton on a dismal Sunday afternoon, although the cause of this now escapes me.  Language is merely communication, yet for some exactness is imperative, but who really knows what is right here?  Language is a flowing changing thing and what is correct today is not correct tomorrow.  At school we were told never begin a sentence with 'And.'  Today this is acceptable.  But is it right?  Football has its own language, terms used there may sneak into everyday use, and all society is similar.  Business, sport, politics, churches all have words that belong to them alone, and people use them, often like sheep.  This helps those involved understand what is meant but can be a barrier to those outside the 'in people.' The language I speak (the correct one, as Mike will agree) is very different spoken by Max and Jerry (Unintelligible I suspect in real life).  RDG & Soub must spend time translating one another before they begin to argue, and those with experience of Australia would understand that out there the only clear word is 'Beer!'  I think I might attempt to learn Latin (again).

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Complaints Answered and Others Not Answered!

One misery grumbled in a manner I never myself go in for, that there had been no pictures of park benches for a while.  Needless to say living in an area of desert where the temperature never falls below 'blistering' will fail to understand the difficulties of photography when the weather is dreich!
And may I say constantly dreich this year!  The American weather system that flows to the north over Norway has shifted south and given even Edinburgh more rain than she is used to at this time.  We all know that July, being the beginning of the holidays, means folks tear of the mittens worn all winter and replace them with those woolen gloves with the fingers cut out, as in the normal Scots manner.  However the rain has indeed been excessive and flooding common, so common the annual English hosepipe ban imposed to save the water companies actually fixing their leaky pipes had to be ended early as there was more than sufficient wet stuff for all.  Quite who uses a hosepipe when it's raining I am not sure.

Anyway, early this morning before you lot got up I wandered across the park to fulfill my duties as the sun had decided to return to us. Indeed some claim this will be the situation for a while now, so will buy new wellies tomorrow! As I passed I watched these two men with a variety of happy dogs, running around and barking excitedly. Even in the rain these boys enjoy their run about, happy with little things and not looking far into the future, well apart form their dinner obviously! Their fun did not distract me from picturing a dusky bench however, a bench strangely clear of the detritus usually left behind by the brats overnight. There were plenty shouting and yelling through the night that's for sure. It was late in the morning when I noticed the van arriving. At first I thought it was workmen arriving to fix the broken bits of the skatepark, but unusual for that to happen on Saturday I thought. I was right. It was unusual, in fact the van, and several others which slowly trundled in were setting up a 'fun day' for the brats! FUN!!?? Fun for brats? What about fun for us lot living here I ask?

Now as you know I am not one to grumble. I am always pleased to be of service to anyone, hence my desire to deal with the adobe dwellers complaint in quick fashion. Grumbling is something I cannot be doing with myself, yet here they were setting up a DISCO!!! Yes a 'disco, one of those places where distorted sounds pass off as music for adolescents who have yet to form a sensible thought. I was of course right! Around midday, with the sun high in the sky, behind a few clouds right enough, the beat started. Now 'beat' when accompanied by music is good. 'Deep Purple' used a lot of 'beat,' but they were accomplished musicians, they did not play a 'rap' (with a capital 'C') number, stick their fingers on it and pull it backwards and forwards like this meathead was doing. Nor did they stop this appalling sound and allow a young 'band' attempt a half hour show of their own! Simon Cowell where are you? This band was just what you wished for. No talent, an inability to understand the reason for strings on the guitar, and an organ sound that appeared desperate to become a police siren, although that of course may well have been the female singer! The beat was there, it did not appear to vary, believe me, and was indeed louder than the 'professional' disco operator. He appeared to be attempting to control his sound, the band could not. Difficult to control sound when you cannot control your fingers I say!

Now I break off to whine myself for once.  I try to upload a picture, you need to see this, and find Google claim my 'Picasa' 1GB is full, and no more allowed!  What?  What has Picasa got to do with anything?  Why are my pics up there?  Now I have to work this out as to post pics I must buy more space for my pics?  Get lost.

  

  

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