A Walk in the Park...

 

 

 

Saturday morning I hobbled around the Public Gardens, donated by Sydney Courtauld in 1888.  The Braintree and Bocking Public Gardens website says this:-

From the time of his entry into the business, Sydney rose to be in charge of Engineering at the Bocking and Braintree factories. From 1886 – 98 the business suffered a serious downturn such that had never been experienced before, but this was the moment when Sydney decided to give his garden to the people of Braintree.  Living at Bocking Place, he conceived a great idea. Although he built a new house on the same site in 1887, the garden was the same.

Across the Causeway road was another part of the garden of Bocking Place and Sydney seeing the thundering horse drawn traffic up the Causeway, determined to make an area for people, particularly children, could walk more safely and “whither the tired mechanic could resort, with his wife and children and where the industrious tradesman could escape for a brief spell from his cares and worries of business”. What we see today is his legacy to the people of Braintree & Bocking.

 

The place is awash with trees of all sorts and a vast array of plants, now tended by who knows who?  The onsite gardener is no more and costs must be cut.  I know many volunteer to work there, I am not one of them!

 

When opened the people celebrated by a cheering crowd wandering around the town and at night lighting a great bonfire on the open spaces along the road.  Much fun was had, no TV in those days, and no little beer was drunk that night.

 

 The trick of course is to go in early, before mum and the wee ones beging running around screaming and yelling, the kids not the mums.  Mostly peaceful, birds singing, Bees buzzing, and far too many midge like creatures hovering unexpectedly where I walk.  Only one woman appeared, she exercising by walking around the perimeter and turneg back again, once she saw me.  

This may be the last weekend of proper sunshine for some time.  Autumn begins officially on Tuesday 22nd and the leaves are already turning brown and falling in piles from the trees.  Ideal for kids to run through but a horrid forewarning of winters approach.

 

Today we are confronted with a shameless Matt Hancock offering a future 'Lock Down' and indicating that if it happens it is all your fault.  No shame fro the failing 'Serco' Test & Trace system, a system which tells people to travel 500 miles for a test, no shame for giving a friend, who gave him £100,000 for his constituency, no shame for incompetence.  

Life is Good under the Tories.

 

 

Tusday Totter

As the day wore on I kept thinking it was Sunday.  The slow traffic, the empty park, nothing on TV, it was slow and quiet and with the neighbours being even quieter than usual it was all very strange.

I was very tired last night, put my head on the pillow and slept.  I woke up at 12:30 and was awake for ages!  I then awoke at 8:24!  By the time breakfast was over it was lunchtime, I was so far behind.
The relative warmth, 63% by lunchtime, was helpful.  The park was not busy but people exercising in family groups appeared often.  Remain indoors yes, but we need air and sunshine.  

 
I tried to capture the flowers, all small things and too far away from me for the mobiles camera to get properly, hence enlarged and fuzzy.  This time of year brings many colours to the gardens and are a delight to see, I love the blue ones.  

Tomorrow my exercise will be stretching my muscles.  I walk so slow I was overtaken by a snail at one point.  Our thoughts will be with Boris while he genuinely suffers the virus.  I doubted him at first but look forward to a new Boris coming out of this, a spiritual renewing as well as physical rebuilding.  This horrid episode might well see an improvement in the NHS after this.

Spring has Sprung!

The chill wind sneaking across Essex from the North Sea did not hide the fact that Spring has Sprung and brightness is upon us.  We can look forward to more light, longer days, blossoming flowers and concentrate on such things while ignoring Brexit.  The birds chirp in the trees while eating the new buds as they appear, the wood pigeons chase each other keenly and the Sparrows have worked out how to hang onto the feeders.  
I contemplated this a wee bit as I trudged down to church to be renewed in spirit and cheered by all the young women ("cough") asking after me.  I had to be there as I was reading.  I made use of my best North Edinburgh voice in between coughing fits bringing a 'thumbs up' from one, a 'cracking voice' from another and 'Scots git' from one of the Ukip persona.  Tee Hee, she does not like me interfering with the Ukip stuff he puts on facebook, she attempted to bite me twice!  I was glad she was in a good mood.  

I was a bit worried last night when I noticed the early Sunday papers were suggesting a coup would take place removing Mrs May and replacing her as 'temporary' Prime minister one Michael Gove!
Michael, the man who stabbed Boris in the back because his wife told him to, has become famous for his weasel ways and interesting ideas.  Some make sense, most do not appear thought through and those that are become presented simply to make him look good, they will never be put into action.
Even worse appeared this afternoon when Theresa called a meeting at Chequers her PMs country hideaway.  Several important personnel were invited to push through the next step of the plan she does not have.  Who attended?  These are who:-

Boris Johnson, the would be PM with the integrity of a louse.

Dominic Raab, the one who did not understand how important Dover was to the economy.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, the millionaire member forthe 1700's who has already mad several million from Brexit and advised his people to put their money in Dublin, where his now lies.
David Davis, the Brexit secretary who did not read his briefs, or any paperwork or indeed do anything but got well paid for it.
Iain Duncan Smith, dearie me where do we start....?
Damian Green, fired for watching porn on his Westminster laptop, many others 'history' was cleared soon after, and a May loyalist.  
David Lidington, in theory next in line to PM but does not wish to be PM.
Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay, who?
Chief Whip Julian Smith, didn't he whip the party and then voted against last week?
Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis, have you heard of him?
Steve Baker, ?
Alistair Burt, ?
Oh and it appears Rees-Mogg brought along one of his sons to take part or nick things is not clear.

The big cars sit in the drive, the millionaires with little comprehension or care re normal people cogitate and fight for position inside, the people await the result, knowing it will change as soon as the cabinet meets on Tuesday.  
I wonder if Kim Jong Un could drop one of his missiles on Chequers?

The Venomous Bead sums things up well.

On a brighter note Scotland beat San Marino by two goals to nil today.  This is the fourth time they have played them in San Marino always winning by two goals to nil.  Better teams than tonight's have obtained this result but people still complain the manager is bad the team is bad and they know what to do about things.  They don't actually.  This is the same nonsense we always have because Scotland considers itself a Big Team but it in these days merely middle ranking.  However we are supposed to stuff little teams by many goals, something we have rarely ever done.  Certainly there are glaring problems but removing the failing manager will not answer those.  Many changes required behind the scene, these will not be happening and we had better hope we produce a higher quality of man or just get used to things being as they always are.

Friday Faffing

I note Chris Evans, paid £1.6 million for blethering on Radio 2, has had a couple of babies, or at least this weeks wife has.  He has named them 'Ping and Pong.'  Now my love for Chris is such that I suspect I have not actually heard a word from him for at least ten years and would continue this quite happily for another ten, however I make so bold as to interfere in his life by suggesting that anyone who names their child in a stupid manner be hung from the nearest lamppost upside down.
At the very least the social services ought to be involved as there is no doubt names such as this, plus the constant publicity that follows them will do them much harm.  'Zowie Bowie' you will recall became 'Anthony, known as Tony, as soon as he was able to change his name.  He may remain working in music but now nobody notices, what could he have achieved with a proper name?

Theresa May, rejected by most of her party, rejected by 27 EU leaders and indeed laughed at, following, she says, 'the will of the people' in spite of the people wanting a second referendum that will end this madness.  She and her associates, if she has any left, are out of ideas and desperate to succeed in pushing Brexit in spite of knowing it will devastate the nation for fifty years. Don't you feel sympathy for her?
No.

Today is the 'International Day of Peace.'
Who decides this?  Who organises this?  Why did I only find out by chance?
Does it work in Syria I wonder?
Does it run into Friday evening when the pubs come out? 
Hmmm it appears this arose from the United Nations and has been running annually since 1981.
I had not noticed.
How many wars since then?  How many conflicts great and small?
Peace with God is available but only through Jesus Christ and his finished work on the cross.
Will folks allow you to say this?  
Possibly not as that would disturb their 'peace...'

Apple, that company famed for making money and watching your every move, have introduced a new 'iphone.'  This one retails at around £1400 and people in various parts of the world have queued up overnight just to be the first to buy this product.
Are they stupid?
Yes!

  
At the UKIP party conference, yes they still have one, there are a variety of items on sale, as you may expect.  Chequers Fudge and a UKIP branded thong are available but the best seller appears to be the condoms with Nigel Farage's face upon the packet, for when you have a 'Hard Brexit.'  
This is being advertised as the best way to avoid pregnancy!

Gardens in the Morning

Early this morning I took myself over to the gardens before the mums arrived with their kids.  It was quiet, the top gate was blocked off so almost no-one was there, jolly good I say.  

 
The idea was twofold, to loosen my aches from yesterday and to play with the manual settings on the camera. The bones creak still and the camera produced a great many failed shots!  At least one creature stirred in the gardens this white cat that yelled along after me, I am not sure whether it was lost or hungry, I suspect both.

The cat and I wandered slowly among the trees, he meowing not me, until we separated near the grass part.  Being not long after nine I expected more people but in times past I have arrived early and in the quiet found many birds and creatures going about their business, maybe the early morning heat was putting wildlife off.

   
The barking high above me announced this wee man who was upset about something.  I had noticed one other squirrel running about and maybe this is he possibly upset because all others have gone to ground.  His bark, there is no other word for the noise emanating from him, his bark could be heard everywhere, very loud for such a wee creature.  I did speak to him but he just turned his back on me.

   
Then the disappointed seagulls hovered around.  Disappointed because there was little in the way of foodstuffs to fight over, normally early on there is something left lying about.  How do birds cope with the heat, let alone other weather situations?  It seems to me they appear at the hanging feeders less in high temperatures possibly because other food is more readily available, possibly it is just too hot?  I know not why?  Gulls fly in to feed on farmland and return in the evening to the estuary to sleep on the sea, rather them than me.  There were only a handful of them around today also.

I almost got this purple thing right.  Few flowers around except those planted by the garden staff, mostly green stuff at the moment, except for the grass which is like hay.

This wreath lay at the memorial today but I am unsure who it represents.  At first I thought it was referring to the Korean War, also called the Forgotten War as few wanted to know about it at the time and few know about it know.  Between 1950 and 1953 the Korean peninsula was the scene of the first UN operation, many nations participated but the UK sent a relatively small number of troops (led by Australians) so soon after the second world war, several thousand died mind.  On the other hand it reads '16 Med' which could refer to the RAMC in which '16 Med' serve today with the 16th Airborne Division.  I do with people would make things clear for my little mind.

 
What is this all about?  This took several attempts with manual setting before I got one that I could actually see that is what this is about!  What is it?  I have no idea...

Grass...

I find early man fascinating.  These people wandering about the earth had to feed themselves by the 'sweat of their brow' and those with gardens know how hard that work can be.  Yet ancient man fed himself, sheltered and clothed himself, and eventually built cities and expanded across the globe.
I find using the hoover hard enough...
However some thing's puzzle me, who was first to drink cows milk?  Who discovered flax could be turned into cloth?  Who stood looking at grass and worked out which grasses could be made into bread?  Let alone who ploughed into the water and discovered rice!  We take such things for granted but for many years early man had to work them out for himself.  Looking at the grass the gardener has allowed to grow in the gardens I began to puzzle over such important questions, this of course not being connected to Francis Pryor's book 'Home' which I just happen to have begun reading.  

Imagine yourself growing up in a family somewhere on earth, you needed a family to give you birth, and with the whole world before you the search for existence begins.  Already the family have discovered much, a nomad existence following the herds, killing one every so often as required, seeking water, carrying all the treasures of the house, if you had one.  Are there pet animals?  Donkeys were not domesticated until around 5000 BC or was it later?  If you possess anything it must be carried as you move.  How often do you move?  I suspect that each day means an effort to seek an improvement in the tools and materials you use and eat.  Fruits come in season, who plants them?  Experimenting all the time with new foods and materials how quickly does your technology advance?  
Then there is pain and sickness.  Early man has been shown to have attempted brain surgery in many parts of the world.  Sickness would kill children early as it does still in too many places, and what pain relief do you have?   A nomadic existence has its drawbacks but this does not mean you do not think, indeed the opposite as considering the options is often urgently required.  There must also be many philosophic questionings when looking at the world around you or the heavens late at night.  
And what about those living by the sea, the view from there must change the mind set and be very different from those living high in the hills or in a desert.   
Francis Pryor and his type find a great deal of information regarding such as those living in the Fens in days gone by but what about those so much further back, so little is known about them.  Leaving no writing is a bind really as the diaries would be very interesting and travelling about hinders research into them.  Times and dates are often spurious, these change from one 'dig' to another I notice and opinions vary according to taste often enough. 
I think I must have been on the grass this afternoon...!

A trip round all the charity shops today did not aid me in my quest for an outfit for next weeks opening.  The suggestion of Mr Grumpy could not be achieved neither could the Child snatcher from some film I have not seen however that appears a good suggestion.  Some sort of nasty children's story character sounds good if I could think of one.  However the walk through the parched gardens was uplifting, big fish as well as Goldfish in the pond, some flowers bright and cheerful and this rose on the way down there hanging over a wall.  It makes you wonder when you consider the variety of 'grass' that fills the earth.

Lazy Day

A quiet day at work, nobody came in!
The staff didn't even give me anything to do but the delightful boss made me coffee to keep me awake.  I spent time talking to the plumbers still installing the central heating and took a couple of quick pictures of our organic garden in front of the building.  One of the volunteers is into this type of gardening.

However this hard work still wore me out and I fell asleep in the middle of the football!  I think it was visiting Tesco and then carrying the heavy bag home in the heat that was responsible for this.  I had to buy a lot as the fridge was empty!  I forgot the beer which shows how tired I must have been...

Tuesday Twaddle

With the museum closed for a week, the heating system is being ripped out and a new one installed, there was little to do today.  Only an occasional individual entered the shop and was quickly dealt with, a happy greeting, a smile, a joke and no money taken!  Grrrr!  I'll keep my smiles until they spend next week.  On top of this the hammering, drilling and constant passing of plumbers wandering to and fro kept me awake and interrupted my reading of the newer books.  Have these folks no consideration?  

With nothing much to do it was therefore impossible to make mistakes, not counting the one phone call that came in which I lost because I pushed the wrong button when transferring it.  She never attempted to call back...
Nothing else went wrong as the boss tied my hands behind my back and chained me to my chair.  She appeared quite happy with this arrangement.  

 
I now find an amazing amount of free time in my life, this is because there is no football on tv.  The books are getting read, some jobs are getting done, well one or two, and the rest of the time I sit staring at the screen wondering what is missing.  How did I live before tv football?  I either read a lot, watched poor tv or just sat staring at the wall.  I must have done more, possibly in days of yore I had a life?  Hmmm I'm not so sure about that...

Sunday Blether

Being stuck indoors while avoiding food adverts on TV I realise once again just how poor TV is at the weekend.  It is bad enough during the week but at weekends it actually gets worse!  To fill the schedule many channels are filled with just one programme with 20 or so episodes churned out all day then repeated.  What fun to watch a whole day of 'Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away,' or 'The Big Bang Theory,' or 'Monkey Life.'  The last I suggest the inside story of TV producers working on ideas to fill their screens.  There is the occasional sporting event to be found, a documentary that has only been seen seven times before might brighten the day and watching the news channels struggling to make headlines out of nothing more than local news is a bit of a giggle.  
However even if we have the iPlayer and other channels repeat opportunities it is a poor show that weekend TV is just awful.  I realise there are videos, DVDs and such that entertain many but surely there is better available at the weekend than this pap?

I remained indoors today pleading weakness from not eating yesterday.  Some would suggest the weakness was there already and I fail to find an argument fitting to that one.  The annoying thing is that I did have a decent exercise the other day and was looking to more of same to come.  Each time I start exercising something goes wrong.  I think I am meant to be a fat slob!  With the Rugby League Cup game on at the moment, something I rarely watch but the only thing worth having on, I look at the players and the men on the bench and note that while I am of similar weight to them they are bristling with muscle and none possess a beer belly.  From what I see of the fans few of them are so endowed.  Maybe I should take up the game?  
In the 1860's football fell into two parts, the game had been played for years, hundreds of years in one manner or another, but then there came the 'Toffs' who agreed an accepted form of rules the Laws of which form the basis still today.  Most were happy to play this form of 'Association Football' but some, Blackheath amongst them, felt that not being allowed to 'hack' failed in so far it stopped men learning to 'take it' and play on with a 'stiff upper lip.'  They chose to join the handling game which became 'Rugby Football.'  Until the later days of the century many did not get a Saturday afternoon off work, however some ceased work around lunchtime.  This meant that men playing either game lost money by taking time off, money they could not afford to lose.  Fine for the 'toffs' who had plenty but men required cash and payments soon began to be paid to players 'under the counter.'  This upset the middle classes who did not require payment and many who honestly thought of sport as an amateur enjoyment not a paid profession, trouble soon erupted.  By the end of the century football came to accept players being paid, many until then were signed by clubs and given jobs close by, whether they did much work other than play football is uncertain.  That system continued long after professionalism was legal but it was used to increase players wages.  In Rugby however a different attitude arose.  The class system caused the middle classes to become jealous that the common types were taking to football and so strenuous efforts were made to ensure Rugby did not tolerate players being paid.  Up north however rugby players required cash and soon Rugby Union for the middle classes became separate from Rugby League run by and for the Working Classes.  A sad day but one the middle classes held onto for many years.  Only in the last thirty years has rugby in the UK accepted payment much to the detriment of many local clubs.  In Scotland there exists only two senior rugby union cubs, Edinburgh and Glasgow, all the clubs that reared the famous faces in the past are regarded as small fry.  The same is true in England where many known names have been reduced to a whimper.
Football benefited from payments even though much mishandling by football authorities and boards was to be seen along the way.  Today some areas are awash with cash and while huge clubs get bigger the smaller, and in my view the 'real' clubs are suffering hanging on the coat tails.  Money is a good thing when used to benefit all, alas we are all sinners and far too much is abused by all.

  

Trump Cruising...

Apparently World War Three broke out last night.  A handful of spare cruise missiles fell on parts of Syria and Russia has now declared a 'Red alert.'  I suppose it would be a 'Red alert' wouldn't it?  
In fact, according to a BBC man whom I usually don't believe, this was stage managed for the people. The Syrians, well the Russians, would have been told where the missiles would land, no Russian, almost no Syrian would be hurt, little real damage would occur and, as the last time the west responded to chemical weapons being used, nothing changes.
However the media will shout and scream with almost as much ignorance as I, political lightweights will appear spouting the party line and most folks will go out and enjoy the sunshine, such as it is.
I was impressed by the appearance of our local MP spouting the Boris Johnson line, he is one of Boris's lackeys and now has a good job out of this, he was telling us we do not require a vote in the house by MPs who have no information on the circumstances of the situation. That means MPs are ignorant or info is withheld, I don't know which.  Either way the MP ought to spend more time answering constituents letters, which he does not, and less time brown nosing for promotion.

With the Heart of Midlothian taking the weekend off as it is cup semi final weekend I have spent time listening to the end of season promotion and relegation battles featuring teams with delightful names from out of the way places. The image offered by football team names is intriguing, 'Queen of the South' is a famous name even amongst people who have no idea they come from Dumfries in the Scottish borders.  'Partick Thistle' are much better known even though they do not play in the 'Partick' area of Glasgow.  At the end of the 19th century they moved between two or three grounds, as most clubs did, until they received help from Rangers football club to move to the new district in the north of Glasgow called Maryhill.  This allowed Thistle a good crowd in the new area and Rangers then obtained all the fans in the shipbuilding parts of Govan.  This also gave them the 'Ulster loyalist' approach as pretend protestants which in itself meant little until Celtic arrived in Glasgows east end and made a play for the Catholics in that area.  Both clubs have used sectarian bull to gather crowds ever since.  But you ask why is the name pronounced 'Celtic' with a soft 'C' and not 'Keltic' with a hard 'C,' nobody appears to know but stupidity might play a part.
Based in Paisley 'St Mirren,' pronounced and spelt 'St Mirn' by many,  are named after a man called Mirin who founded a church where Paisley Abbey now stands, he became the Paisley patron saint.  On the other hand 'St Johnstone' did not get their name from a saint directly but from the church in Perth where they originated.  This was dedicated to St John the Baptist and Perth was often referred to as 'St John's Toun' and the name came from this.  
Raith Rovers come from Kirkcaldy on the Fife coast but there was no town called Raith in times past.  Instead there was an area stretching across a few miles across Fife reaching to the west of Kirkcaldy area.  A Battle of Raith took place here in the late 6th century and a Raith Tower and Raith House sit close by.  'Raith' itself comes from old Scots and means a 'fort.'  A common tongue in cheek comment is to refer to 'Dancing in the streets of Raith' as this was said to have been announced by a sports commentator years ago, he might have been using sarcasm.
'Brechin City' come from Brechin a small town in Angus with a population of under ten thousand.  However having a cathedral, once a Roman Catholic and now belonging to the 'Episcopal Church' allows the townsfolks to make use of the word 'City' although this has now no official use.     
The Heart of Midlothian I must point out were not named after a book by Walter Scott!

One day I will be fit!  Since the turn of the year every time I attempt some form of exercise something, the bug, funeral, sloth, gets in the way, however this time I will get on with it and improve life.  For a start I have actually cleaned the fridge, as I said, and the oven is next, maybe, and as the weather appears to be improving I must get out and about making use of the bus pass and rail card.  I need to see the sea again, I forget what it looks like.
Of course last week was a washout but as the kids were on holiday it was not a time for wandering abroad.  From Monday, or Tuesday most of them will be locked up inside where they ought to be  allowing decent people to prowl the land upsetting other decent people doing similar.  
One problem here is that all the best attractions to visit are not on the bus line or train line, this is great of you have a car but not if you are impoverished and inept like me.  I also don't as yet feel like walking miles to see things but we will get out soon and find some better pictures than what we find now.

 

Memory Loss

I wandered around the gardens this afternoon attempting to lose the stiffness caused by my intense exercise session this morning.  At least ten minutes is intense enough for me!  Having got there my memory failed me as I forgot the kids were out and about with mum making use of the gardens to fill in the time.  

With most of the flowers now fading away and a few new ones appearing it showed the garden staff were thinking about what was being planted and making a good effort to provide variety and colour all the time.  
As I wandered and took a picture here, a picture there, knowing when I got home I could either attempt to improve them or delete them as required I also considered appropriate words to go with them.  On realisation that the sun was beginning to hide itself once again I took a wander round the town, stopped off at Tesco and trudged my way home. 

It was while watching the first half of the Sunderland v Derby game that I realised that all the fine words I came up with earlier had been forgotten.  I had also forgotten to attempt to post them as stuffing my fat face took priority.  Now, with the score standing at 1-1, I am straining to finish this before the game restarts, and have failed.  Had I written this earlier it would have made some sense, or so I say anyway.