Saturday Blether...

I was attempting a quiz in a national rag, these once a week quiz's used to be easy, and this time I found how little I know about things these papers consider important.  The quiz is intended for the readers, not people like me passing by, and it indicates how 'culture' today dominates the thoughts of the masses.  How do I know who married who?  How do I know which song this line came from if it appeared after 1974?  I did at least know what we called water that had frozen!  

I do like quizzing, especially on subjects that I know a little about.  It is amazing how much I learn from them.  However, when I used to watch things like 'Eggheads' with the insufferable Jeremy Vine as quizmaster, I found all too often the questions were on science or the like, which you will be surprised to know, left me dead.  We all enjoy quizzing, that is why so many appear on the telly, and it is great to be on the team that wins a quiz.  This I have been I must make clear, though this was back in 1967!  I have lost many since.  It's just a shame general knowledge questions these days all ask things that are not general knowledge to me!

I have this on my laptop, I hardly use the phone and find it easier to read on here, yet looking around so many people appear to consider this 'app' an urgent requirement.  I know not why.  Certainly it can be used to get in touch with people on the move, send pictures of places visited, or foodstuffs being scoffed, and also museums, companies and the like use it to advertise themselves.  But is it worth it?

For me, a couple of people I know who rarely offer pictures, several interesting museums and little else is worth looking at.  Using the search facility we see what others are offering, usually somewhat overdeveloped women exhibiting themselves, football players, young drugged up youths and an occasional picture worth seeing.  It is all very tiresome to me.

Contacting people is important, but there is 'WhatsApp,' 'messenger' and Texts, and speaking on the phone ignorantly and loudly on buses, so why bother?  Personally I prefer email, short and too the point, and long and explanatory if required.  Pictures and videos can also be added to your own pleasure, but maybe not the recipients. 

Still, it gave me something to moan about...

I've just dumped a bunch of dead and dying daffodils in the bin, and now I feel somewhat saddened by this  These delightful bright flowers have lasted about 10 days, which is not much for £1, but they have gladdened the heart.  Now, with all the care of a Tory cabinet minister I throw them out, their work completed, and it all feels like a real death.  There are others on the desk, two varieties, both doing their job for a week or so, then they too will go the way of all 'Lillie's of the field.'  We are surrounded by such a variety of flowers, some considered 'weeds,' yet they are so well designed and look so good.  Gentle, yet strong, colourful and varied in shape and usefulness.  These all come with a warning, 'Do Not Eat!' upon them, leading me to ask questions.  We need to consider the 'Lillie's of the field' more carefully I say.

Two Women

There is either an election or a fight for the Tory leadership going on at the moment as Priti Patel is constantly in the local paper being photographed at various needless functions.  Whether they wish her to be there is not made clear.  She represents the neighbouring constituency and as it was enlarged she has fought off the other MP there.  She will run the whole show, and she hopes, the rump of the party.

She may be seen as the most responsible and sensible of the various contestants, which tells us something!  

The daffodil does not represent Priti Patel, but I had no 'Snapdragons' available.

 

 

After I scribbled that I searched for something interesting to grumble about.  There was nothing of note, just too much querying Kate and her dubious photo, lies from MPs, gunmen in Moscow and Tesco's new lunchtime menu, and a new 'England' shirt costing £125 that people object to, nothing important.  

When I had dumped it all until tomorrow we find Kate appearing to speak of her next PR stunt.  This one however, is serious.  Whatever the cancer is, and I have lost three family members to various types, we know she will get the best treatment, unlike those under the Tory thumb.  

We also know the press will fill their pages with sentimental slush, the opposite of the vile attacks they were making on her in recent days, as they realise that their making use of her as 'Diana 2' might be coming to an end.  Yet they also know the vast pull out sections now being prepared will make lots of cash.  They can keep her in the press for ten years or more, whatever happens.

Do any of them actually care?  No, of course not!

I have little time for the royal benefit scroungers, however, this is upsetting for those close to her, and will not do dim Willie much good.  A sad story, but one the press will run with for all they are worth.

 

Tech Difficulties Again

 

Another day of tech war!

There was a council bill that arrived last night.  I think this had been put into next door by the idiot postman, anyway he has shoved it through and it arrived with me late on.  I keep suggesting they send the idiot postmen elsewhere but he keeps coming back.  Anyway three white envelopes from different places all begging!

Today I logged into the council 'Portal.'  

This is a new idea designed to make things easier!

It did not.

For a start, some fool forgot to write down his details, or if he did they were not written down where he put them.  So, having searched high and low and found only dust I attempted to guess the details.

Wrong!

So, this and that,and again this and that, an email or two later and I was no better off.

Eventually an answer, phone us they said!

Raging!

The whole idea was to make things easier online, so they suggest using the phone!!!

I do not wish to phone.  This costs money, my phone crackles too much (and is to be fixed soon) and I wish to do things online.  However, I struggled with the council website and found the old way of paying in (no, not by brown envelopes) and completed the job.  Thus satisfied I rested.  

Tech is brilliant when it works, but it does not always work, the details get lost, and, being an idiot, I get it wrong.  I canny imagine what will happen if I fly up to Edinburgh!    

Daffodils

Daffodil season is upon us once again.  In the gloom caused by ongoing rainstorms we see the council daffs beginning to emerge and brighten the greenery opposite.  Soon grasping young mums will be encouraging their kids to steal them to brighten their homes.  Most will claim they cannot afford the £1 required in Tesco's!   

I bought one bunch from Sainsburys, these however failed to produce properly.  On Tuesday I bought a large bunch of three tied together, some, as you can see, have begin to respond correctly, others are dubious, and the third lot remain staring mournfully at the window.  We will soon see what will happen.  

I like the bright yellow flowers on the desk, it is a cheery sight, especially on dreich days like this, and comparatively cheap, though clearly the shops will be making a packet from them.

New Statesman

Lindsey Hoyle, the Speaker of the House, has been apologising and offering talks and debates after last nights gamesmanship.  The SNP and some 49 MPs of various colours, have signed a 'Motion of No Confidence in the Speaker,' and will no doubt try and bring this to the House.

A shambolic night, and with a shambolic Tory government who ran away when Sunak, like Starmer, saw he would lose a vote!  There can be no doubt that the SNP were suffering a racist backlash from the English colonialists also.  

On the subject of Scotland as a colony, I had a Twitter fight with a man from Aberdeen who disagreed.  The fact he flew a Union flag, supported Rangers, and lived in Aberdeen, made me realise he had little History knowledge, in spite of the word 'History' being on his intro.  As it turned out his history knowledge was not very good, written by some English Historian, and wilted when I offered him the list of bribes paid to the Scottish Lords.  Sadly, many Rangers fans believe in 'Britain,' instead of Scotland simply because their football team tells them to.  Those indoctrinated by the armed forces have similar outlooks.  History knowledge is still poor, there is so much we do not know, and the subject is not taught well enough, though needless things are,  and leaves the way for decent History programmes on the BBC, but their unionist owners would not allow this. 

A Bee concerning Royal Mail

Royal Mail again!

The privatised mess that is Royal Mail continues to exasperate the public.  The need to feed the shareholders, paid £400 million of the £700 million profit past year, is destroying the service, or at least what remains.  The man at the top, paid £750,000 a year, has proved to be incompetent, sat in front of a Commons Committee and failed twice to appear in control of his company or his knowledge of said company.  The man on the street delivering mail has less control, less money, and all the grumbles this man at the top avoids.

Chris, our postman, works a three day week.  This is quite common, and gives employment to men over 50 keeping them busy and offering a decent public service.  The problem is while Christ covers Monday to Wednesday the rest of the week is covered by overtime.  Royal Mail no longer allow overtime, unless the entire 'walk' is finished!  So, nobody delivers here Thursday to Saturday.

My beautiful, wise and clever niece posted a packet containing family stuff to me.  It had not arrived.  This of course is the Easter Weekend so Friday and Monday are holidays.  WOB, the book shop, posted a packet of three cheap books to me and told me it had been collected.  Indeed, on Saturday night a Royal Mail man logged the packet into the system informing me it was with them.  This morning I checked the tracker and found the packet lodged in Chelmsford, awaiting forwarding to the sorting office.  Nothing today thought I.

At around 11:30 Chris rang the bell, offered me two packets, one from WOB and one from my niece. He also mentioned that the ban on overtime continues, his 'walk,' one I used to do, has increased in size by the addition of yet another street!  Madness!  He has not got enough time as it is to finish the 'walk.'

This results in certain streets being left until tomorrow, which is actually a crime, not that the man at the top cares.  He also made clear that he is no longer allowed to log packets in the morning before delivery.  If he does this allows the customer to know he is arriving, but if they are out it has to be returned to the office.  By not logging it in the customer does not know they have tried to deliver and remains ignorant of the fiddle until they happen to be in.  Customer service, not since privatisation at Royal Mail.

At least I have some books on the shelf, and a pile of old letters and photographs to work through.

The Conservative Party ideology is based on privatising everything to save state money.  In the long run it destroys all services, social, transport and practical, enables some to make money from shares, their friends, and donations aplenty to arrive from those running private companies.  Corruption is the word.

Prisons, probation, railways, buses, Royal mail, DVLA, Passport Office, you name it, anything privatised it does not work, too few staff too many board members lining their pockets.  Has anything privatised worked?

And another thing, stamp prices.  Now I think £1:05 for a first class stamp is a bargain, as it ought to be at the destination overnight.  Under this regime, a good word, it is failing and price increase appear unjust to many.

  

Quiet Saturday

How quiet the morning appears when a holiday is on.  The rat race in the evening was very slow last night, and not because of the crowds.  Just force of habit caused drivers to dawdle at the normal speed for the rush hour.  Today, Saturday appears the same.  How lovely to think those that would normally block our streets in the morning are all blocking the road into Dover as they await a ferry to France.

Tee Hee  You vote for Brexit and then wonder at the result?  The man in charge at Dover claims the French have put on more staff, many on overtime, yet still they wait.  This, he made clear, is a result of Brexit and nothing else!  It is hard to feel sympathy.  However, those going through Belgium have little hindrance, that however, does not make a story for the tabloids.

I toddled to Tesco for bread, I usually run out when shops close for one day, and chatted cheerfully with the man in the queue in front of me.  We both glared thoughtfully at the woman at the front on the only open checkout while she fussed over what we considered to be 'nothing.'  Holding the queue up is what women do we decided, men always just 'get on with it,' and fuss later.  Two women behind me, with a few items each, moved to the next checkout when it opened, looking questioningly in my direction.  I urged them to go as I knew the man in front with a trolley full would be quicker than they with half a dozen items each.  And he was.  We sniggered like schoolboys and moved on.

Later that day my laziness caught up with me.  So I addressed three cards, two for Easter eggs and one for a birthday, all running very late, and struggled back up the road and posted them in the best post box.  The cards ought to be no more than three days late!  My unhealthy body did not like this dawdle, especially as my head wished to be refreshed by crossing the park.  The sight of greenery, council Daffodils, and a dog or two under a blue sky is very helpful  Such small benefits are huge at times.  If I go out tomorrow I must struggle down the long road.  I am not looking forward to this and may reside here.  But it is Easter Sunday, one of the two days in the year when the scruffy church turns up better dressed.  This is a sight to see.  Normally, only visitors make sure they look good before entering.

I noticed the two Crows happily avoiding me as I passed.  Also, I noticed the two Magpies who have taken up resident in the trees opposite me are still there.  This surprised me as I expected the Crows to see them off their land by now.  I wonder if they have noticed, or if they are just waiting their time?

The soap opera's of the wildlife can be interesting.  Last night there was much loud barking, this from a young Roebuck deer in the park, hiding in the darkness.  I heard no reply but his folks must have been about.  These are timid creatures, soon off at a pace if they see you.

Nothing Much Today

Nothing has happened, so here is another Daffodil.

Gary Lineker has defeated the fascist BBC controllers, but we knew he would.

All remain in place.

So far.

Some badly dressed females, they may be women, fill the press.  Quite where the glamour of such events went to I have no idea.  'Slappers R Us,' would be a better name.  This the result of some award ceremony.  Much excitement about nothing.  

70 million or so in this island yet there is nothing else reported.

Must be a quiet day?

Not that I would notice.  

I think I will just go back to bed...

Rouen

Daffodils and Books

Another day of coughing and spluttering is upon me.  I am glad, because it was much worse yesterday!  This is a bind however, I do not get out enough and while I made it to Sainsburys I really wish to go further and enjoy the days blue skies.  This explains more Daffodils.

However, with the aid of a bag of casserole veg and some chicken I did made an excellent casserole.  Even I was amazed, and it actually had taste, lots of taste.  Lots of chicken stock and black pepper also I note, and believe me you note the pepper!  This is the first time I have made this, and I am amazed at my talent.  Tonight of course it is cheese on toast...

Pont the cartoonist, understood the nation quite well.  On 'World Book Day' this appeared on Twitter, and I think it sums people up very well.  I tend not to give books away, I may wish to look into them again, and if lent they never return.  I know this as I look at my bookshelves while asking "Where did that come from?"  These days I do not meet the type who read books so much as I used to in the past, the Brexiteer is happy with the 'Daily Express' or the 'Sun' and the women tend to go for girlie books.  The local charity shops offer many books, all too often rubbish girlie novels, and the 'Sue Ryder' shop which used to have many good books available cheap has gone downhill sadly in the past few years, new management I suspect.  

I have two books I have finished sitting here, I may post them, but by that time I may have forgotten what they were about!  Some books take so long to read, one here has 700 pages of small print, indeed, all his books are like that, and he writes many books.  How do these people find the time?  

I have begun a couple of books and already have found a glaring fault in one. This makes me feel very 'Holy Wullie,' but as I read I expect I will be put in my place as I go along.

Radio 4 Extra has a series 'The Book' by Keith Houston, on how books came to be made and on and on about them.  15 minute programmes, worth a listen if you can.  It is amazing that from marks on clay tablets down in Sumer some umpteen thousand years ago, we have now so many books, also on phones and tablets, that I find it amazing that we are still so ignorant!  From the number of sheep bought or amount of beer produced we can read any book from anywhere, now and in the past, via the internet, and so much is available still.  The thoughts of great minds, the humour down through the years, the threats, and the routine daily operation of business, church and politics for centuries can be 

read by us today.  I think reading is great!  

Unless you are reduced to reading this....

Daffodils and Rome

Typical Saturday, nothing happening, too much football and not enough enjoyment.  Rushed dinners, bread like concrete (last sourdough I buy), and umpteen cups of tea sum up the day.  The sun shines, the sky is blue, the chill from the north wind has found me, and the electric people wish to install a 'smart meter' they have already been told will not work, but they have asked me for the meter reading also.  This apparently is to avoid me being overcharged!  Pah!

However, I did waste a good 30 minutes on this...

Thursday Twaddle

Dismal week so far.  Feeling a bit rough and today was the first time I could attempt some exercise properly.  The past few weeks have jaded me somewhat with the latest bug.  Things get done but slowly and sometimes twice because I forgot to actually do what I intended to do.

There was some time spent on Twitter defending Kate Forbes from the gay and trans lobby.  How dare she believe something and take it into politics just like they do?  How dare she threaten their privileged position within the SNP and stand up in public and state how she would vote against their behaviour?

Tsk!  Such beliefs ought to be kept to yourself, unlike the beliefs of the gay and trans mob who are free to say and do what they like!  

Such fun!

Especially as the Bishops in England are getting deeper into the mire, and that conflict is ongoing.  So, I had enough of this and have attempted to avoid Twitter for a day or two, I was to tired to continue, and have been dwelling in the realms of fantasy instead.  er, I mean searching YouTube for fantasy seascapes, or ships at sea, to give a background far from home.  There are masses of You tubes worth watching, and being on laptop there are no adverts thanks to AdBlock Plus.   The masses of irrelevant ads on the phone amaze me.  Lying in bed last night, searching YouTube for a video on the phone, reminded me of reading the 'Beano' under the covers by torchlight!  No mother came in to complain.

PlusNet did play up again.  The bill came in and I logged on, but it refused my login even though it has not been changed.  I fussed and raged but it made no difference.  I attempted a new password but still nothing gave in.  I left it until today and it logged on straight away!  Why?  I suppose we will never know.  Tech is such an improvement to our stress.

Sunday Daffs

A combination of things saw me remain indoors today.  However, just after 10, when the shop opened, I wandered across the park to buy bread.  The sun shone, the sky was blue, an aircraft flew 32,000 feet above us making his way toward the Americas, and all appeared well with the world.  

Of course, if we only look at what is in front of our nose we can ignore the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, the war in Syria or Ukraine, and conflicts in various parts of Africa.  We can also ignore the suffering closer to home as we either do not see or know about it, or it is kept secret from us, not everyone wishes to share their problems with the world.  

So I wandered across the path enjoying being outside in such weather, and also enjoying the sight of greenery in the sunshine.  Just walking through a small area of parkland can enliven the spirit, especially if much time has been spent indoors.  The green has an affect on our spirits, some like to call this 'spiritual,' it is not, but it does hearten the mind.  Others, with or without dogs, were also being heartened though this did not always show.  Quite quiet being early, the shop opened, a few were in desparately filling the trolley, I grabbed my few bits and hobbled gladly back home.   

 

So, having checked that the Daffodills outside the Council offices are well ahead of the other council ones, watched two miserable football matches, and listened to three tracks from AC/DC to bring some excitement into my day, I now end it with tired timewasting on the internet.  

More excitement tomorrow awaits...

 

Daffs are a Drug

You will realise that as the £1 bunch of Daffodils in this old pint mug have overnight responded to the failing light through the window, I will now fill the page with Daffs?  So far two have opened out, and the rest are beginning to follow.  Not bad for £1 from Sainsburys, and they brighten the place up no end.

In the park opposite the council daffs are standing green and ready to open.  This too brightens the area.  A swathe of bright yellow fills the sight, and brightens the heart.  That I suppose is why people steal them rather than paying £1 at Sainsburys.

Flowers are amazing things, so slight, so colourful and of huge variety.  They work also, making use of the bees to keep the world going.  Do they breathe pollution in and oxygen out like trees?  They certainly make the world a better place.

The park was full of youth this afternoon.  I have no idea what was occurring, I thought it was a drugs fest at first, or a gang fight as in days of yore, but instead it all appeared organised, well run and left me with absolutely no idea what was going on.  Most have since dispersed, youth feeding time calls, and those left gathered in small groups teenage style will no doubt disappear soon.  

The past year has seen few gather here to take drugs and hang out.  Each year the faces change, age catches up with them, and in recent years there has been little noise or problems.  Action has been taken to remove one drug hiding place, now someone wishes to build flats there!   Those that are doing deals must be doing them elsewhere these days.  

Good Tuesday

A day of joy and happiness once again.  Rising early to enjoy the sunshine, well after a healthy  breakfast of 'Tesco Malted Wheats,' I'm sure the nurse would approve, I planned my day. 

A wash, shave, a time tissue papering the many cuts, I must change that blade this week, then out for a haircut.  Another £9:50 well spent, and I am now aware of the barbers, or is she a hairdressers back problems.  Enjoyable time.  A nice morning to walk across the park, in spite of the wind and a gentleman who appears to indulge in what we call 'Learning Difficulties,' yelling at his partner/friend/ wife/ daughter/ unsure, as he came down the road and took her into the bushes at the park.  The yelling continued for some time.  These bushes, opposite the unwelcome skatepark, have been responsible for many a teenage pregnancy over the past few years.  

This did not disturb my happy day, indeed the bright yellow of the Daffodils cheers me when I passed as indeed it does for many others.  Several have been getting the camera/phone out to picture the daffs or placing the family among them.  Rude people though have been stealing them for home consumption.  

Anyway a lunch of Tesco 'Cranberry, Raisin and Cashew Bread,' with leftover ham, was good enough to allow me to waste time for a while.  It also, after coffee, encouraged me to develop the ache in my back by cleaning the fridge.  I am not sure when I last cleaned it, was it before Lockdown?  Anyway, it is done now and even if not exactly sparkling it is almost acceptable.  I cleaned the top shelf of the oven yesterday, which encouraged my back to join my knees in declaring enough was enough, but a second shelf may get done tomorrow, maybe.

This evening, joy and joy, Dunfermline are on TV playing Partick Thistle, a must watch. 

Indeed it was, a 4-1 win for the Pars takes them off the bottom of the table and makes them feel like a football team again.  They might even stay up now.

 

 

Twitter remained its depressing self today.This corrupt government continues to lie about Ukrainian refugees and everything else.  Today they passed a law which means any Ukrainian refugee without papers can be jailed for 4 years!  To call them heartless racists is quite mild.  

The Tory bots have been attacking the Ratcliffe woman, just released from Iran, for not being grateful for what Boris has done for her.  Boris caused her to be interred for 6 years and failed to get her out, why should she be thankful?  The Tory propaganda machine is hard at work, I have been attacked a couple of times on Twitter through this.  I notice tonight it is still continuing.  

The heartless money greedy Tory, determined to encourage xenophobia and racism, glad Brexit occurred whatever the cost, to others that is, is willing to make all peoples suffer for their ideology.

I remain convinced this is a judgement.

 

 

Short Walk

Not getting out much recently has not done anything for my fitness, so now the back has improved I decided to tackle a half hours walk, which was a typical bus waiting time half hour in the end.  I wandered past the new multimillion pound creation incorporating a hotel, doctors surgery and whatever they can make use off in the new building.  

Next to this is a revamped, cramped, bus park, which I ventured down just to try and work out what bus waited where.  I'm none the wiser.  I have the plan somewhere on the laptop and need to investigate if I wish to travel one day.  

 

There is already a 'Travelodge' at the edge of town, alongside another hotel, why do we need this one? Only the councillors will know as the boss has been trying to waste £20 million on this space since I arrived 25 years ago.  Now he has succeeded but will the hotel?  Of course the suggestion that this money ought to have gone into social care or the like was not heard.  Tory council you see.

 

The council Daffodills were doing the council proud however.  These have withstood the storms, enjoyed the torrential rain, and now attempt to enjoy what passing sun there was.  Putin may be walking all over the west but flowers continue their work just the same.

Heading home to read about that nice Mr Putin black clouds appeared from the west, and tomorrow more will come and drench the Daffodills once again.  The tree reminded me of a poem re 'The Stickit Minister' and his problem with it, but I canny trace it anywhere.  I clearly have the wrong title.  However, this tree stands 'Stark and bare...' as the one in the short poem.  The tree will cope with the rains once again tomorrow, as it has these past hundred years or more.

 

 

Stormy Weather.

 

The winds, supposedly at 77 mph, are passing the window.  It does not appear to be that bad however, the trees are swaying a wee bit, things are being blown about, and at least one of our wheelie bins had to be retrieved after being emptied this morning.  Yet people are about, dogs are being walked happily, no serious damage in the near vicinity, though the main water pump has failed and the taps are offering only a trickle throughout the town.  This is surely not the result of the storm.  

The temprature is around 50%, the sun breaks through now and again, and in spite of the fear messages us indoors do not see this as worse than regular winter storms.  It may of course be dangerous elsewhere.  Looking out I noticed that the weather has little effect on the Council Daffodils.  The first one has bloomed, others are ready to come out once the storm has blown over, and soon the world will be springtime yellow once again.

 

 

As I said, the wind was not that powerful, so knowing that tomorrow all the old people who would not venture out in a storm would arrive at Sainsburys early in the morning I decided to shop now.

As I walked the wind gusted at varying speeds, with the temperature being mild I quite enjoyed the short walk.  I took the trouble to carry the empties back to the recycle part, therefore I was anchored quite well.  I thought the sound of the wind enjoyable, almost howling through the trees above me and around the park.  A very interesting sound, not like the sound of the trees swaying in the wind around the 'Big Hoose' behind us when I was a kid.  I recall how often we could hear the sound, storms are not unknown in Scotland, and the trees up the back swayed and creaked as you neared them.  At the other park down the road two trees have fallen over, these were more isolated and open to the wind than my neighbours, but it appears no-one has been hurt.  

A quick shuffle around a very quiet store, less than half the cars expected at this time on a Friday, and being happy with life, I decided to go back via the park anchored by the weight of my goodies.  You can tell my back, still with an ache, is far better than it was on Monday.  Someone had cordoned off some areas in town, but the cordon had been blown, or knocked down, so passage was easy.  Little damage had been done around the town, though our wheelie bins had been laid down, and other items similarly dealt with.  

As I rounded the corner the wind blew me roughly backwards then very roughly forwards again, I became glad of my anchor.  It appeared not to know which way it was meant to come.  Various items flew down the road with each gust, plastic lids, a few bags, lots of paper, carboard boxes and the like.  

As I crossed the near deserted park the trees appeared quite stout but lots of branches, usually small ones, lay around.  The wind made my journey back much quicker than usual.

 

 

 

M and H and a lot of Bull...

Lucky us!  A missing woman has been found dead, murdered allegedly, with the investigation centering on a police officer.  How lucky for us as this distracts the small minded press from the Meghan and Harry soap opera that has unfortunately filled the spaces everywhere.

As always we must ask when such stories fill the papers what is hiding behind them?  What is being pushed through by Boris and his gangsters while the plebs gape at these millionaires telling us of their suffering?

The nation is divided, half support poor, hard done by, racially insulted Meghan (a woman), while half support the poor, hard done by queen (a woman), who suffers through all this while half, like me would prefer them all to go away.

Maths @tabloid press.

How easy to gain sympathy by slipping in the accusation, with 'no names,' about the child being black! What sales arise, what support from half of the United States Black population, who it must be said, have absolutely no idea what the royals are all about.  A throw away line that generates mass publicity.  I wonder who thought that one up?  Possibly the same person who decided her 'Mental Health' was suffering?

The 'Daily Mail' reader has of course stood up for 'Our poor, hard working, long suffering queen,' who, while counting the millions she has banked away in foreign banks, suffers daily the indignities of her role, or at least of the behaviour of her family.  

So, we have two millionaires, one living off the royals while claiming he has no money, claiming they have cut him off (including the child?), one a bint on the make marrying into royalty, like his mum, while crying loudly (overacting?) about how hard life is being a well paid royal with responsibilities she did not wish to bother about, and an interviewer, who failed in the UK, but has made millions by being black and female in the US.  I feel great empathy for these poor struggling people.  

Mind you I am not so sure those queueing up at the Food Banks that now proliferate throughout the queens Kingdom feel the same way.  

At least the press have tired of them and have a murdered woman to make the most off.  Twitter is awash with women telling of their struggles shaking off unwanted men (no tales of them chasing men who don't want them for some reason) and inspiring fear in all women by telling them how they will all be killed by a stranger/friend/policeman/sadist as they walk down the street.  They tend to forget Rose West and Myra Hyndley for some reason.   

Ah the media, this wide world, nearly nine billion souls and the press concentrate on soap operas and half truths that cause fear just to sell papers.  It appears journalism is dead, just as most of these papers are dead.  Maybe one day they will note a reason for the death of the press?

 

At £1 a go I decided rthe place required brightening up!  Brilliant idea!  Immediately the sun went in,  clouds covered the land, rain fell, pushed along at high speed by strong winds keeping sensible people indoors.  I might have to place a lamp next to the Daffs just to pretend it is Spring!

 

Spring is in the Air

 

Yes indeed!  It's that time of year again!  The time of year when Dafooldils fill the page as they are the only bright things within miles!  The ones opposite me have been pushing through since December, today these ones at the far side of the park are almost completely out and brightening the world around them.

Mind you as the world around is dominated by the rather boring Town Council offices it does not take much to brighten things up.  I had to get out, with Spring jacket on no less, and walk across the park to enjoy the day.  What always comes to mind on such days is a remembrance of one Spring day in Kensington Gardens years ago.  A great many people were out, many walking dogs, rich and poor, old and young, and the first real day of Spring caused even Londoners to smile at one another.  For thousands of years the Spring awakens us to life once again, we know snow wind and rain, mist and fog will come again before long but we also realise that the warmth is with us now and good days lie ahead, even if locked indoors.

 

However, I could not wait here, I had to approach the butcher for minted lamb chops and huge chicken bits.  These were available so I added a huge pack of bacon just in case Brexit stops it coming over from er, somewhere in England it turns out.  Anyway, once home I chopped all up, packed the freezer and realised there is no more room!  This means I canny order that nice man's pies this week!  Tsk!  It also indicates I have nothing for lunch, some fool forgot to buy what he needed again!

 

Last night we had a Zoom operation.  A church gathering comprising people with the technical ability of those over 50 years of age.  Only one entered in without trouble, she is in her early 20's.  It was noticeable that everyone had a clean house, at least in the bits showing, although until she disappeared one woman only had feet to show.  Knowing which way to point a laptop is difficult isn't it?

It was also noticeable just how many men got on reasonably quickly by ensuring the wife logged on for him.  Zoom, while not perfect, is at least a way to meet those who we have not seen for a while.  It does make proper discussion difficult, in my case partly because the neighbours were in downstairs and I was trying not to talk loudly.  They think I am mad as it is just because I talk back to the TV, football, politicians and most other things I log onto, tsk!  Only hearing one side of the debate mwy fox them somewhat.  If they want madness I can show them that also if required.  Tee Hee!

 

I for one canny wait for the charity shops to reopen.  I expect it will be a few weeks before they sort out the vast quantity of goods that will be dumped on their doorstep when they do open.  I, however, will be awaiting the chance to check out the many jackets dumped by those who have found them shrink hanging in the cupboard while on lockdown.  That said I have a bag that is already overflowing with rotten stuff goods I wish to donate. Some charity shops, like Oxfam, have been working online like everybody else.