Steam Saturday

 

Continuing my adventurous life, I have been sitting here watching the 'West Somerset Railway in action.  This is partly because I had so many emails to deal with, both of them now attended to, and the lack of energy to take me further than the shops.

This lack of energy has nothing whatsoever to do with the football that fills the screen each night. At five in the evening sometimes, then at seven or seven forty five, but always something of great importance dances upon the screen.  Now I accept that watching highly paid individuals miss open goals, deny blatant fouls, and scream abuse at officials is a terribly sad thing, however, it has been worth it so far.  Tonight there may indeed be blessings galore shown to us.  

At Five in the evening the Republic of Ireland entertain Scotland, if Scotland win this will be highly advantageous for us.  Then at 7:45 England play Italy in Wolverhampton, for reasons unclear,  and when Italy obtain a glorious high scoring victory I can tell you both Ireland and Scotland, plus Wales, will rejoice with exceeding joy.

Not that we have a grudge against the imperialist despots you understand.

However, all this takes away time for other things, such as eating and washing, so during the day, when I ought to be eating and washing, I have to attend to my emails, read the papers, fall asleep, and send time wondering what day it is.  Normal day as it were.

I did receive a nice letter from the Chief Constable.  He replied much as I expected, stating his position and soon I will reply nicely also.  Quite why the two constables were required to deliver this letter, and in doing so beat the living daily lights out of me as part of the reply I fail to understand.  

They were big girls too!

However, this has gone as far as it can so I will move on, once the bruises heal.

Today my interesting life took me to supermarkets, wearing a jacket while the temperature soared high before 9 am, and then to a Norwegian Chilli Salmon for dinner.  I did not realise Norwegians used Chilli!  It may be a Viking leftover.  Now football has begin, I must watch in case I miss something, and then look up the maps to find out where half these teams originate.  Ukraine we now all know only too well, but so many have never heard of Armenia, yet it goes back way into history.  I suspect few have heard of the Armenian holocaust of 1915 the government does not wish to speak off, nor the connections between the Armenians and the Romans in far off days.  And we will not begin on Nagorno-Karabakh! 

Three Things

 

 

First Thing

 

The Conservative Party held a confidence vote in their Prime Minister last night, this he won by 211 viotes to 148.  However, this is a hollow victory, no PM with a third of his party against him can stand. Normal behaviour of decent PMs is for them to resign after such a loss, Boris of course will not do this.  Instead he is appearing as bumptious as always, vowing to continue to 'work for Britain,' or at least for the 23 major donors who have given him and his Party billions over the past few years.  What, we ask, have they got from this?

Boris now remains as a limping PM.  He cannot trust his party ro support him, he cannot call a snap election as he fears the result, he can only contnue hoping something will turn up in his favour.  There is however, little chance of this anytime soon.  

 

 

Second Thing

 

A new laptop arrived yesterday.  A cheap affair but required as a 'spare' as my actual spare is now nine years old and too slow for doing important things such as watching the football without cuttting out every now and again.  

So yesterday, for quite some time, I sat in front of the new one, using Window 11 which I have not used, downloading, inserting passwards, finding them refused, inserting them again and again until I found the correct passwords, and so on all afternoon.  Just after five in the early evening I gave up.  Much is still missing, lots require attention, but the new one works well, so much better than the second hand spare which really looks dated now.  This one also gives a good clear picture without breaking down of the football.  What more can I ask?   Win 11 will take some time to get used to mind.

 

Third Thing 

 

Essex Police yesterday posted this picture on Twitter with a message concerning flying the flag for 'Pride.'  

The strapline:  *We're monitoring our posts. All hate crime will be reported & investigated* was I considered quite threatening.  

So much so I queried this at the time.  Later, it emerged they had 'hidden' my posts and many, many people were asking why?  Indeed, all day, and into today, many people, from many backgrounds, have posted straight forward questions regarding flying this flag and the threatening strapline.  I found myself with many questions here, were Essex Police becoming 'Thought Police?'  Are they going to ban or hide all posts objecting to this?  Will they knock my door down in the morning?  Are they paid for flying flags?  

I was so annoyed I wrote today to the Chief Constable asking this and other questions.  'Stonewall' and like people, have infiltrated the heart of governments, police, industry and even the NHS and this is not a  society I am willing to live under.  So I wrote to one or two other important persons who might have something to say about this.  At least I hope so, if not I will write again and ensure light has been brought into a situation where a certain minority rule the majority.  This is not acceptable.

 

 

A Trip to the Barbers.

When people begin to offer me money "For a cup of tea," as I stand vacantly looking into shop windows, I realise it is time for a haircut.  Just as well the beard has not got far or I would be 'moved on' by the constabulary.  That is, if there were any passing by.  The days of the local Bobby have long gone, the police constantly tell us they can reach an incident quicker by car than by having a man walk the streets.  There is indeed truth in this.  However, shoppers in town centres feel more security when a man in uniform passes by occasionally.  This also gives more 'intelligence' regarding the people on the ground when a local copper is on the beat.  I note a nearby town has two 'Special Police officers' who operate on a beat regularly.  This is the type of thing that must be encouraged, as well as asking retired officers to work a couple of days occasionally also.  Many would as this would mean little overtime, much less stress, and quite often successful policing on the cheap.

Being the Wednesday Market the usual collection of stallholders were improving their tans while hoping to improve their wealth.  The sun shone, the clouds floated, and the English perambulated by in a Summer like manner, in spite of the chill in the wind.  Did that chubby lass with almost nothing on atop not notice the breeze?  Did her fat protect her as it does whales and Walrus's?  I am not sure where that comparison came from. 

I looked the other way as I passed the cake stall, wandered through the centre hoping for some action, which did not occur, and hobbled back down the newly laid pedestrianised High Street.  To imagine two way traffic going down here only 50 years ago blows the mind away, especially as buses went two ways also.  At least one photograph shows a 'coming together' at the corner of Sandpit Street, now 'Lane.'  Quite how they extracted the single decker from the corner shop I know not.     

I wandered along, tempted by the coffee shops but not by the bunting displayed everywhere for the monarchs Jubilee.  Small kids on bikes or scooters raced past, first one way then the other, mother seemingly unaware they were in the thoughts of several dodging their travels.  A black Labrador dog waited with the owner outside one shop, rising to greet someone who came out to speak to it, who then passed an item to the boss, and returned inside.  The dog was pleased with any acknowledgement, are they not all like that?  

I turned the corner and entered New Street.  Once this was notorious.  Four public houses stood here, three were renown for their 'entertainment.'  The Three Tuns, also known as 'Little Hell,'  The George Tavern,' also known as 'Great Hell,' and the 'Green Man, this was known to all as 'Perdition!'  It may surprise you to know that the 'Cage,' the town 'Lock up,' much in use until a Police Station was erected, was located at the bottom of this street.  Two 6 ft cells often entertained visitors as much as the pubs.  The 'Three Tuns,' has long been absorbed into other buildings.  'The George long since knocked down and rebuilt as shops and offices, and the 'Green Man' now a house, though I think in fact it is now offices. 

My barber, sorry, Hairdresser, was empty when I arrived.  Being market day he has less customers than usual.  He complained that on market day "...people just come to shop, no-one comes for a haircut!"  As the one man just about to leave was also a pensioner this meant little profit for the Bar.. hairdresser today.  There again, £9:50 is a lot for a haircut, especially when some of his customers have so little hair unlike I.  

but This man likes himself, he is not so keen on me.  Most of his customers are 'Brexiteer' English types, who share his views and predilections.  I must be careful when I speak as a man with a sharp pair of scissors is not a man to argue with when roused.  His desire to speak well of Boris Johnson was indeed a trying time.  However, we agreed that Boris had indeed, "Spat in the face of his voters," and almost agreed he ought to be hung up.  

One thing was clear, Boris spoke for such as he, and I suspect many here.  Boris has touched the English Imperialist heart, he has made them believe he will stop all those black men spoiling 'their' country, and they still believe in him.  This when they know him to be a liar, untrustworthy, unfit for the job, yet many will still support him come election time.

No wonder dictators have long time support.  How  can it be ended?

I stumbled home across the park, greeted by a dog with a ball in its mouth.  It did not want to throw it, the Beagle (?) just wanted to greet me (twice) and hide behind the seat with the ball.  He had no intention of letting me touch his ball!  He gave every evidence of being happy, though finding the heat a bit much.

Thrilled with my popularity, with dogs, I came home to find the Blackbird singing for me.  As I badly concocted a form of lunch he disappeared, his place later taken by the wood pigeon who normally takes that spot.  

After lunch I played with my mobile phone.  I deleted things that were no longer required, attempted to delete a call from the other day and ended up calling a man on holiday in Amsterdam!  I could not work out how to stop the call!  What sort of an idiot designed these things?  Why are they so complicated? The laptop is so much easier to operate, why not the phone?  Bah!  Now, two texts at Amsterdam prices, prices which increased after Brexit, I have no idea how much this has cost us and am afraid to look.  I will hear in a week or so mind...

Sunday Blether

I didn't bother to watch the historical sight of Boris attending a press conference, even one in which I am told all the questions were pre-prepared.  It was however no surprise to see on Twitter the news that Boris backed his man Dominic Cummings.  The anger that has resulted will be treated with contempt by Cummings and his paymasters behind the scenes.  We must ask who is paying who here.  The Koch Brothers?  US hedge funds?  Who pays Matthew Elliott and his crowd?  Who is buying all the data Dominic is selling to the USA?   Why do the media keep quiet?  
What more is to come out of this corrupt government?

Unusually quiet around here these days.  Most folks outside of government advisor's have been following the rules, only occasionally someone will be caught trading drugs in the park or like here be chatted up by a policewoman with paperwork.  No idea what was going on, he was sitting on our step when they arrived.  I was woken from my siesta by the van door slamming, this causes me to reach for the window in case it is a parcel for one of us.  There was even one delivered today!  However, this was just a drunk I think, someone must have called for the police, or possibly he has been annoying folks in town.  As always no more has been heard.  Possibly they drove him to the border and dumped him on Suffolk, always a good idea!

Looking through the old pics I came across this one.  I always liked this, but it may be a while before I take it again.  The strong winds the past few days have put cyclists off, not many pass by, and while the old railway line is quite sheltered the wind would be against you going up hill.  Not a pleasant time.  Great coming home however.

Trouble at Mi...er, Town...

When I came here in 1996 I read all the local papers to discover what the town was like I found it was full of crime!  Garages robbed, cars stolen and various other local problems like flashers and so on.  However a month alter the annual results were published and the stats were very revealing.  Back in London my area came under Paddington, car crime here, stolen radios etc, amounted to about 650 a year, Maida Vale was top with well over 700 such crimes.  This town had 24.  The screaming headlines in the press were a bit over the top I mused.  Today, with some 10,000 extra people arriving the somewhat laid back town is a wee bit different.  Add to this the shortage of police caused by government policies, police misuse of funds (funding 'gay rights' and 'trans' events for PC reasons rather than policing), and the increase of drugs availability often via outreach from London gangs, and the atmosphere is a wee bit less wholesome.  That said it remains a good place to live, especially for the folks with young kids and those er, past their best.  Excitement has however reached fever pitch with two incidents in recent days.

 
Not long after 5 pm on Saturday, as the market was closing and many were leaving Tesco with their shopping, a fight between what appears to be two large groups developed outside in the space between the store and the 'Bull' pub.   In the mellee which followed one man received a knife wound in the hand and a general 'fear' element affected the local facebook page, especially among those who were not there and unlikely to be there any time after five.  It appears among those arrested were people aged over 50!  This is understandable and many posted about their fear, the way the town has decayed in recent years and only a few, mostly men, indicated that such situations are rare and we are unlikely to meet one.  I have had only one real confrontation, with a few neds, in 22 years for instance.  However the fear is understandable.  Burglaries have increased as street lights are extinguished late on, criminals from outside pass through stealing what they can from town and village and move on, impossible to catch unless the police get lucky.  Situations like this lead to fear, women especially, and more so if on there own.   
The fact is this may be two groups known to one another, local lads maybe or folks from outside seeking trouble.  It could be drug related but we will not know for some time I suspect.  Several people have been arrested, know doubt soon to appear charged and remained in custody, and hopefully the police who reacted reasonably quickly can put folks minds to rest.     

Today, with the town rested and at ease, children returned to school, all others returned to work while I remain at home enjoying my leisure, suddenly an ambulance helicopter lands in the park opposite.  This curtailed my screening of the 'EPL on Quest' while I attempted a photograph through dirty windows.  It was worrying at first as the four men unhurriedly walked down the street round the corner as I know people there and wondered what had occurred.  
Later, much later, an ambulance arrived and a man with serious injuries was transferred to the helicopter and taken away.  All this took time of course and soon the social media and press were filled with speculation and little information.  
The individual involved did not come from round the corner but further away in some flats where a confrontation had occurred.  Another gentleman (note the use of this word) was removed from the flats and arrested for 'affray.'  He also assaulted an 'emergency worker' and is now helping police with their enquiries.  This does not set hearts at peace though I suspect if drugs were not involved in the first incident bad words have been exchanged between groups of young and old 'gentlemen' and the second one may well be neighbours or 'friendly gentlemen' who have fallen out.  I suspect the populace are no way involved nor need to fear.  

Everyone wishes to see what is happening!  The press have of course listed all the stabbings, fights, crimes in one long list forgetting to state that almost all are yobs of suitable behaviour, domestic incidents and robbery, still it's the 'shock' element that sells innit?
The police policy has changed recently and they claim officers were nearby patrolling when the first incident occurred, this may be true.  Better organisation sees more police on the ground, even if just PCSO's, and the public prefer this.  History tells us the town has seen worse, crimes have always occurred and common sense and good policing, with public support, helps alleviate the damage caused.  

        

Disruptive Monday

My routine was severely disrupted this Monday as the new mattress arrived.  
Before seven thirty I had stripped the bed and manhandled the old mattress downstairs, though to be fair it fell down by itself mostly.  Then when dumped by the bins, breathing heavily and using the bins to stay upright, the shopkeeper next door came over with grumbles re folks using his bin (which costs him money) and parking their van thoughtlessly where others park.  It looks like the new folks (from Newcastle way) next door might be trouble.
Having spent money almost immediately afterwards in Sainsburys (I went there specifically to collect the 'Lego' cards some kids are collecting just to be told it ends today!) I then returned to make space for the new mattress coming up the stairs.
The call from Cornells came about ten thirty and the man and his female assistant, a friendly pair, brought the heavy mattress upstairs.  Being gentlemen and understanding the modern woman's views of equality we let her take the heavy end.  Apart from the awkward turnings, the table I thought would not be in the way being in the way and the heavy breathing and beating hearts from at least two of us it was quick and successful. One mistake possibly was my glib remark to her after the beast was settled in place regarding lying on it, I suddenly thought that could be out of place...
His advice to turn the mattress every so often was highly amusing I thought as three of us had struggled with it, anyway that will not be for a year or two said I...
Anyway they left happily enough and drove back to the store.  A good store with a good reputation, since 1981, beds and chairs and friendly service.  No obvious pressure and helpful also.  Bought Saturday delivered Monday as one was in stock, not bad.  I can tell you that it works well as I happened to try it out not long after preparing it, a test that I required also.

Sometimes I wonder how I cope with the banality of daily life!  Today I brought excitement into my life, but not to anyone else's by obtaining my first cheap Christmas present and three cards!  By the end of the month not only will I have finished my shop I will also be begging on the streets for a piece of bread.  Still it will do my figure good...
Christmas shopping in October, my sister, now long passed on, used to buy most of hers in the January sales.  Everything was ready by February in her house.  My list is made up, already someone forgotten, and I am looking at the shops, now swamped with Christmas goods even if the plastic snowmen, fairies and assorted unchristmaslike dross is not yet on show.  

  
While waiting for the van this morning a couple passed by, he pushing a pram she struggling behind, possibly recovering from the child or working on another one.  His face, as well as the disposition on show during our brief meeting, reminded me of those face seen regularly on the Essex Police Twitter feed.  'Have you seen?' accompanied by a photo of one who would not succeed at the eleven plus but has managed to pass off ten thousand pounds worth of white powder somewhere on behalf of another brighter individual.  The faces who appear always seem to me to be of those from a less well educated level of society.  A friend who once served as magistrate and has had many dealings with such confirms this, they also tend to come from families of similar types.  Crime begins in the home.  This left me pondering how long that couple would remain together, what about the child, and what could be done for them, if anything could be done or they would allow things to help them.  Not everyone wishes to be out of the lifestyle they know.