Physicality or Brutishness?

My knees informed me that we were not going far today, we were standing at the bus park at the time, so I checked the minutes before any bus arrived and calculated it would be better returning to bed.  I wandered around town first trying to get some sunshine onto me, collected my veg and went home to cogitate on words, especially 'physicality.'

You see this is another word that has suddenly become common usage in the football world.  For a while footballers became 'athletes' something they were never called in my young days, and now using their strength has become 'having good physicality.'  Instead of 'barging the enemy about' it's 'making use of his physicality.'  Why I ask must we use language in such a manner?  All organisations, all groups of people, all towns, cities and villages (all today always called 'communities' rather than what they are, towns, cities and villages) have words used in their line of business or area.  This is normal and we can all soon gather the appropriate terms if need be but why are the words in football these days so silly?

Could it be an attempt by those with too much money trying to improve their image?  Using a word like 'cogitate' rather than 'think' makes me look educated, something which is soon disproved.  Also if we have our own language we 'belong,' we belong to a specific group and are better than they out there, we can then look down on their stupidity and feel superior and bully them needlessly.  But the man using the word today is not looking down on folks, nor does he bully, this man was just speaking words from the up to date phraseology and probably didn't notice he was doing this.  It may well be the number of highly trained sports physio's, doctors and specialists originated such a phrase hopefully they will soon learn to speak in simple terms so the lads around them can understand what they are talking about.

p.s, The Heart of Midlothian are top of the league already.  Only run of the mill physicality was used. 

 

.

Sunday Sabbatical

Being trapped indoors by an attack of couldn'tbebotheredness I spent much time looking at this screen.  Having taken words of wisdom from those technically minded amongst us - and Soub - I went ahead with the Windows 10 upgrade.  This took a wee bit off time but appears to have gone through quite well.  Most things have been found and one or two items are a wee bit strange but we will get through.  It has been thought out better than 8.1 and is somewhat reminiscent of XP in my confused mind.  I am not sure why but I think it will work.  One or two quibbles but I will grumble about them later, not that I ever do of course...
Of course, I wait patiently for the updates to follow...

Win 10 worked well enough for me to watch the Championship flag being raised after our promotion last season and then enjoy a thrilling encounter as we trounced an excellent St Johnstone side 4-3.
How wonderful to know that now football is back and we look good enough to be at least mid table.
I compared this game to the Dundee United v Aberdeen game that followed and was surprised by the mediocre performances on view. Tsk!  We can take both if they keep playing like that!

This Lord Sewell fellow, the one from the House of Lords who was caught sniffing coke from a tarts breast, shoving vodka down and discussing the folks around him, then paying for it from his Lords allowances, have you wondered why he was caught?
I realise some tart could have thought there was money in this, but I don't see this as the reason.  The House of Lords, as indeed the House of Commons, is full of prostitute users. kiddie fiddlers, wife/husband beaters, tax dodgers, liars, drunks and the like, so why was this one targeted?
These guys all know who the dubious are, they know the perverts, they can hand them all in if they wish to so why does this one alone get caught?
What does he know, who has he upset that a man unknown to the world should be dumped on this way.  Or am I just a conspiracy theorist perhaps?

Anyway, I'm sick of laptops now but canny put this one down.  I had better take it to bed...



.

Champion!

Champion indeed!  The Heart of Midlothian have succeeded as we all expected but how they succeeded! After the years of Mad Vlad the club suffered a 15 point deduction at the beginning of the previous season as punishment for fiddling the cash.  Vlad moved back to Lithuania (he is a Lithuanian Russian) and soon was asked to pay the government there a million or so that he owed them.  He was found later somewhere in Moscow where he fits in well with the Putin mob.  
The loss of points made it obvious our mostly young squad would be relegated which in time occurred. We then looked to the new season in a division feared to be very difficult to escape from. With a new board of directors a clean sweep was made by the new management team.  Out went many steadfast players, to my and others annoyance, in came Craig Levein and Robbie Nielson with their newfangled ideas.  I was unsure about this, Leveins tactics had been a failure before and Robbie would be his lapdog.
How wrong we were!
Robbie is his own man and the two, along with the board, have worked well together to develop a new style both on the field and in the training regime.  A skilful, hard working approach has brought a result in which the Heart of Midlothian have won the championship before the end of March! Only one game has been lost and by the end of the season it is possible we may have scored 99 goals, at the moment we have a mere 84!   My early season doubts, shared by many, have long since faded away.  Now we simply await the make up of the new team for next year with a sense of excitement when we once again return to play among the big boys.  Whether we do well or ill means little at this point, the Heart of Midlothian people rejoice with hope in the football future.

The result that ensured the Heart of Midlothian return to the top division created such joy that the sun began to fight its way through the clouds!  The world rejoices, as it should!

.

An Empty Chair

Friends of mine are at an interesting but none to pleasant juncture in their lives. Well into their seventies they see their friends of long standing and those of their acquaintance passing away. Once you get into your fifties this does affect all of us.  Those who have filled our television sets, acted in films or been football heroes when young begin to die as age and illness take their toll.  It has to happen and cannot be avoided.  One by one friends leave us, pop/film/TV stars appear old, youngsters ask "Who were the Beatles?"and our Christmas card list shorten in length.  Such is life.  For us three score years and ten or thereabouts is indeed our lot.  Life is short and once you realise that you realise you are no longer young.  Your ageing is reflected in the appearance of friends, the gray hair, wide midriff, grumbles about grandchildren!     

My friends problem however is that they love too much and in this latest situation the dying man was his 'Best Man' well over forty years ago and has always been part of their life.  To see his life ebb away through a horrid illness was not easy for them.  

When my mother died at 94 years of age she was the last of her lot as it were. All her family had gone before her, husband, father, brothers, sisters, even many nephews and one of her own daughters.  Her friends, some going back to the 1930's, had left before her.  As she looked around she could say she was the last remaining member of her family and her 'crowd,' and how lonely must that have been for her? Actually in a sense it was not too bad as she was the type to talk to anyone and would always find a woman with nothing to say to talk about the nothing for hours with!  However if you are used to people being there and suddenly there is an empty chair it is a strange experience and difficult for some to deal with.

   

Amongst those leaving us is one Dave MacKay!  This man supported the Heart of Midlothian as a boy and became a player at the age of 16.  By the time he was 24 he was captaining the side to the greatest ever League Championship in Scottish or British football.  The team that was the 1957/58 competition scored 132 league goals, losing only 29, losing also only one game and finished the season 13 points ahead of their nearest challengers.  Well over two hundred goals were scored in all games that season.

MacKay's determination to win as well as his ability to play football made him a legend in the game. Against his will, he remained a Hearts man all his life, he was transferred to Tottenham Hotspur at the end of the great season for a mere £32,000.   A bargains for Spurs and rather typical of the Heart of Midlothian board.  At Spurs he participated in winning the League and Cup double, winning the Cup Winners Cup and continued as a stalwart of the great Scotland side of the sixties. 

When his time at Spurs had come to an end he intended to return to Hearts and become player manager but Brian Clough locked him in a room and would not allow him out until he joined him at Derby County. A shrewd move as this began Clough's managerial career and extended MacKays.  A few years later he managed Derby himself and won the League Championship.  

He continued in football at lesser clubs for some time before retiring and left behind a legacy few can equal.  His hard tackling, his fair play, his gentleman like behaviour was not forgotten.  A tough man capable of hard work and tough on those around him to get the best out of them.  George Best, a real world class player, one of the greatest, considered MacKay his hardest opponent. Jimmy Greaves the great English forward who played alongside him at Spurs and spent much time with him on the field and in the bar knew that many of his goals came from the talent shown by Dave MacKay.  This man was unusual in that he is considered a football leged by three clubs, the Heart of Midlothian, Tottenham Hotspur and Derby County.  I doubt any man has equalled that record!

However Dave MacKays real heart was seen when watching a Spurs side play Derby County.  A TV commentator asked him what team he would support, came the reply "I'm a Hearts fan son!"   

.

Mixed Feelings

Mixed feelings today.  The good side is the deserved victory the Heart of Midlothian obtained by defeating their opponents today by ten goals to nil!  Such an event I have never witnessed in the flesh, a mere five or six goals at one time is as far as I can recall being scored.  History tells us in the days of yore such scores were not uncommon but today they are indeed rare.  The Heart of Midlothian in their present mood were not slow to take advantage of their despairing visitors.  This victory sounds cruel but in the world of football such events must happen, the team at the top must show the killer instinct to defeat this opponent and ensure fear is offered to the next.
I regret not being there in person, but living four hundred miles away, and in abject poverty at that (oh yes I am!), being there is not possible.  Such a victory, even over a part time side with limited resources, is to be relished!  Sadly such sides know before the season starts such an event may occur, yet as always they go out full of hope anyway.  I suspect they will not be too happy tonight however while our young men will be boasting (quietly) of their prowess!  It must be stated their women will I suspect be more interested in 'The Voice' or 'Ant and Dec' and other drivel!

The other side of the situation is that the team we defeated is Cowdenbeath.  I have a soft spot, not the one in my head, for this town.  My mother came from Cowdenbeath and we often visited there, indeed the house was on the hill overlooking Central Park and in days of your the boys would climb up onto the roof to watch the game and save sixpence!   When the ground was open the town was awash with money.  24,000 persons lived there, the vast majority employed in the coal mines that once dominated the area.  My uncles were all miners, and what a tough life they had!  The people running the football team appear to have thought the good times would continue for ever, Cowdenbeath was called the 'Chicago of Fife' and the ground at opening day could they say hold 70,000 people!  Changes to the ground, deterioration, Health and Safety and common sense now limit the crowd to a couple of thousand.  The population might reach 15,000 today and the mines have long since disappeared.

So I am grateful for the victory but I wish it could have been against a more worthy opponent, Hibernian perhaps?  
       

.

Miserable City

Aberdeen, you may not have noticed, has been awarded the 'Plook on the Plinth Carbuncle' award for the first time.  And not before time some would say.  The 'Urban Realm' magazine, no I've never heard of it either, chose Aberdeen ahead of Cumbernauld, and that says something and also East Kilbride in the west and Leven on the Fife coast.  

Aberdeen is famous for being the hub of the Scottish oil business.  The fourth of the main Scottish cities it is one of the coldest in the UK let alone Scotland.  I can assure you the cold grey mist rolling in of the sea that Sunday morning in 1968 still remains in my memory when a few young lads looked desperately for some entertainment before returning to civilisation in Edinburgh.  Aberdeen is also famous for the civic pride of Victorian days that caused them to tear down buildings, realign the main road 'Union Street' and rebuild it with Granite!  Sadly the costs were so high Aberdeen went bust!  It became the thing to joke about miserly Aberdonians, probably dating from this time.  Harry Lauder the Edinburgh singer invented a Scottish stereotype character who wore a 'tammy' on his head, carried a crooked walking stick and was incredibly miserly.  This must have been based on Aberdeen people.  

Now it is some time since I visited the place, we won by two goals to one last time I well remember, but council men are no different there than elsewhere and money talks and developers spoils even the heart of Edinburgh Scotland's magnificent capital city with modern day architecture and backhanders aplenty (allegedly!).  Aberdeen is no different.  

At least Aberdeen does produce a speciality, the 'Rowrie' a type of 'Aberdeen Roll' that is well worth buying, not that they would pay of course. 

The fans of the football club it must be said 'stand free' from the sectarian bile often found in Glasgow and follow their club with a good away support.  They remain however the most miserable outside of Glasgow however.  Never happy, always innocent, always finding fault elsewhere.  Fans of Edinburgh's glorious Heart of Midlothian would never act in such a manner, it would be unthinkable. 

Cities and towns ought to have something individualist about them but the larger shops always wish to have their own shop fronts.  When I cycled form Edinburgh to London in 1974, I was younger then, I could not help being aware that every town had the same High Street.  Often there was once some individuality but now the ground floors all looked like every other town.  Looking up we can see many differences in the buildings but on the ground cheap plastic fronts make every town a place of takeaways, opticians and newsagents, all alike, all cheapening the town.  

Side streets often reveal something original, houses from before the war show fine details, but since the financial side and the invention of plastic all has deteriorated badly.  

This town also has too many charity shops filling the High Street.  People ask what can be done but no councillor suggests lowering the rates.  I wonder why? Maybe specialist shops and the town might thrive?

.

Dawn

Stupidly I awoke long before I was awake this morning.  Why on earth do I do this I ask?  It was dark and as I struggled bleary eyed to find something for breakfast I could hear the birds in the trees beginning to waken also.  Maybe I disturbed them?  I took this pic at 7:20 a.m. long before the rest of world was awake and the birds and I ate our breakfast while we read the papers online.    
Another week has ended and I still have not got through Tuesday yet!  Time flies when you are having fun or if you look away for a moment.  Time flies though my mind confusingly today as I spent part of the morning researching a man from the Great War and in the afternoon I was after a sailor in world war two!  At times my little brain confused the lists I was searching and managed to be twenty years out several times.  I need to eat more fish!  

The day ended in the failure of the referee to abandon the game at Ibrox before the kick off like he ought.  Instead we struggled to watch the Heart of Midlothian kick a yellow ball in a snow covered pitch.  Imagine, Ibrox yet not one orange ball to be found!  After twenty minutes it alls topped, and probably for the best. However as we were well on top it is difficult to avoid thinking this was because Rangers did not wish to lose, as if!  Worryingly the weather man says some snow might land here tomorrow , how disgusting!
Kids like snow because they are stupid!  Snow freezes the streets, makes walking difficult, causes accidents and stops football getting underway.  Snow should either be banned altogether or sent to Norway where it belongs!  How can anyone like snow?  What is the point of it?  I agree it makes nice photographs, though the photographer gets frostbite taking pictures in it. Certainly it provides hours of amusement for kids, dogs and daft folks, but really can they not all jump on a plane and fly to Norway? Maybe I need to move to Australia?  Anyone willing to send the cash?  There you go, stupid question number one!
I now sit here, wrapped in old blankets, trying to keep warm while sleep that has never left me all day takes me into dreamland.  Unless of course I fail to dream.  Funny how some nights I have clear colourful dreams and on other occasions I am not away of any dream whatsoever.  The last one involved the building in London, clear as day from the outside but a bit jumbled indoors.  Not the first time I have dreampt of this place.  How strange the way memories come into dreams, a wee bit distorted but clear enough.  Tonight I expect to dream of sitting in front of a laptop, freezing, while searching for a man or his family and getting confused the further I seek.
Or did I dream that today and I am now asleep and will wake up any minute?
Oh I am confused now......  
    

.

Saturday Cogitating

I thought I was in Edinburgh when I awoke this morning, the rain was hammering down.  This continued until nearly four in the afternoon trapping decent people indoors, me too.  There was no choice but to do all those things left undone all Christmas/New Year week(s) but sadly I failed to do them.  I tried Oh I tried but by the time a small breakfast had finished it was time to prepare the early lunch before the Edinburgh Derby at 12:45.  So there was little space left to touch the things that have been untouched for too long. Anyway it is Saturday and such things should be done midweek when the building is quiet and I disturb none.  So I left them untouched.

The Edinburgh Derby, the most important football match since time began (time began on Christmas Day 1875 when the Heart of Midlothian defeated Hibernians (as they were then known) by one goal to nil as you know) takes place four time a season at the moment and the Heart of Midlothian are of course totally dominant in this fixture.  Easily worried wimps however have begun to fear that the revival amongst Hibernian (as they are now known) may lead to a historic defeat for the Heart of Midlothian. Such types are usually found among the younger element.  I was not born the last time the Heart of Midlothian lost this game.  Indeed this time the forces of wickedness put their thuggery to good use to obtain a draw, one goal each.  Totally undeserved as but for the brutal tackling of their ape like defenders we would have won as easily as usual.  Once again the Hibs manager claimed "We were the better team, we should have had a penalty," just like he did last time and all Hibs managers have claimed since 1875, which was surprising as penalties did not exist then.  So I watched this and attempted to watch an English game but they have no meaning after such an important event.

The rain dispersed at four and I ventured out into the dismal streets.  The market was closed and the stalls all packed up.  Business must have been bad as even my 'desperate for every penny' veg stall had almost completely packed away his goods.  Nothing remained but damp streets and rare soggy shoppers squelching their way homewards.  

I  sought a picture but found few.  Taking one I discovered a woman getting out of her car just below the shot I was taking, she very suspicious that I was photographing her!  How self obsessed are these women?  At your age dearie? Pah!  However I moved elsewhere before she started screaming.  I have not forgotten the last time and honest I did not realise her window was open officer!  

My diet has meant desperation to lose weight, today I realised I was not eating enough and have stuffed myself with carbohydrates (I canny spell 'chips') and Sticky Toffee pudding to make myself feel better.

I now feel sick.

Also on the agenda is a review of the budget.  Having been extremely poor for a while, I have moved from pauperism into poverty now, it became noticeable that I was spending just too freely.  Where once I shopped careful of every penny now I was losing control and spending with too little care.  It is time for a rethink.  However it is noticeable that while the supermarkets claim people are spending less I find prices have risen considerably in the past two years alone. No wonder some find themselves using 'foodbanks.'  In spite of fiddling the books in good Conservative style the Tesco's of this world have been losing cash while overcharging the rest of us and claiming we are saving money!  My budget review is nearly done, a walk round the grasping supermarkets once more is required to reign in the spending totally.  (I wonder if I can save enough for a new camera....?)  Look, greed appears again!  Tsk!  

Around me are piled lots of books and papers, none of which are completed or ever likely to be completed.  My life is always unfinished, should I compose a symphony perhaps?  Now I have decided to review the budget maybe I should review these undone things that need done and complete the half read books. There are several language books, Russian, so old it is all Communist in style, Latin, two at least, and English which is too complicated for me learning it as a foreign language.  A pile to my right concern the local scene, all pinched acquired from the museum and unread as we worked through the Great War, that is also unfinished and the names list is not yet completed, I have only got to 'R' jings! On top of all this lies that layer of dust that has to be dealt with also.  I wonder where that comes from, I only removed it a month or so ago.  

Considering all that has made me weary, I reckon the best thing to do is to lie down for a while and see if it is all different tomorrow, I'm sure it will be....

.

Highs & Lows

This morning took me down to the lower end of town to the lovely, but not architecturally grand, St Paul's Church.  The Church of England has some strange people manifest within its borders but this church is not one of them. Here we find a warm atmosphere and people who know what they are talking about.  I looked forward to shuffling down the road as I enjoy this place.  I was as I expected not disappointed.  With talk of a light coming into the darkness, it was what Anglicans call 'the first Sunday of advent,' and with kids lighting a candle, appropriate songs, a laugh, cheery talk, and the presence of Jesus it was an enjoyable morning.  The friendly people are the reason to be here.  The church died for a while but under a female vicar (Tsk Heresy!) it has revived.

When I left the sun was shining the sky was blue, even the temperature was almost bearable, and my heart was light.  I even smiled at the passing kiddies rather than kick them into the bushes.  Home for dinner that today I did not grill.  Yes indeed yesterday I placed two items into the oven I had previously switched on and left it.  Some time later I began to notice a strange odour in the room.  "Dearie me," I thought, "The lass next door is burning something." It took me a few minutes longer to notice it was my smoke alarm that was beginning to yell out!   Bah!
Today the lunch was not burnt, just rubbish!

The joy of the morning received a shock just after three in the afternoon.  At that time I realised we were playing the best team in Scotland and Gollum was refereeing!  Now Gollum has refereed the last six Celtic games at Tynecastle I hear and managed to send off three Hearts players while doing so, he even gave them a very soft penalty while not giving a glaring one to us!  Thus I was in a great deal of fear and trepidation while I watched.
I need not worry, within ten minutes he had sent off our captain, just after half time he gave them a non penalty and cautioned anyone including the manager who dared to ask how he got his job when he DID NOT KNOW WHAT HE WAS DOING! 
My spiritual high sank.
Teeth gnashed together, and this is not wise at my age, passions arose and spilled out, loving my neighbour does include informing them of their faults, and I confess I did this in a full and hearty manner!  
What had looked like being a tight hard fought game died within ten minutes, the Hearts players gave up as they knew whatever happened the ref would work against them so what was the point?
If only the club had the guts to stand up to this.  

I now sit here in the dark, the candle has gone out, fuming gently, wishing the dinner had been better, struggling to find anything worth commenting on as there is no news.  I noticed the BBC World Service man Menendez was asking people to send tweets of any news out there, somewhat tongue in cheek. The news folks do not see news around them only wars, fights, bad news and terror, nothing else sells it appears.  The weekend, especially Sunday, is a poor day for news.  The media need a war to erupt, a disaster to occur before they think it worth reporting.  They will not find much to talk about on this site today will they....?

Football Commemorations

Football clubs throughout the country have been remembering the men who fell in days of yore.  The Heart of Midlothian today play Raith Rovers both of whom sent men to the 16th Royal Scots in late 1914.  At the beginning the piper played 'The Flowers of the Forest,' a minutes silence was observed by the large crowd, many Raith fans attending on this day also, both clubs wore strips representing the men of 1914.  Other clubs will have held similar events to commemorate their players as the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the war is noted.
Scott of Raith and Ellis of Hearts seen here in this picture both were killed in action.  Paddy Crossan died aged 40 some years after the war, his early death the result of his wounds, especially gas.  The others also suffered, some never playing football again.  Some commemorations of the war are good, this was one of them.

Time/Timely

The good news is the clocks going back one hour and offering an extra sleep in the morning.  It goes without saying that I awoke at five, that was six and struggled to sleep properly until ten minutes before I had to rise.  Tsk! Struggling into the cold east wing I began looking for all the timepieces that required changing.  As always during the day others appear out of nowhere and I sometimes wonder why I have so many clocks is useful positions that I never notice except when the stop or require moving forwards or back one hour.  

Having succeeded in registering time in the house I looked to having my weekly bath, what with this being Sunday and all.  The boiler would not work!  It has been giving problems off and on and now it was just off!  The starter has decided not to start and the little red light says call for the man!  So I sent an email to the woman who calls the man who calls me and turns up probably sometime during the week.  Just as the weather turns winterish all the boilers fail, this year it's my turn.  Ah well, I suppose I can have a bath next week, no need to fuss is there. 

The thing about the Edinburgh derby is that you must realise the Heart of Midlothian always win it!  OK on occasion the wee team sometimes scrape a victory but since 1875, when we beat them one nil on Christmas Day, the Heart of Midlothian have always been the superiour side.  This is one of the blessings I have received, to be born into a Hearts of Midlothian family, how lucky is that! Hibernian fans, those few, those noble few who follow the wee team do not like this situation.  Indeed since we defeated them in the cup final, again, in 2012 one or two of the most likeable Hibs lads have only referred to me in grunts, and that via the web!  

Today the Hibs had some idea that they were in a position to defeat this mighty team, jokers that we are we played along with this allowing them to convince their feeble minded followers that a victory was on the cards.  Indeed they even managed to get the ball into our goal and with this one goal lead the happy bunch were celebrating a win long before the end.  90 minutes had been played, 4 more added by an excellent referee to cover injury time and other happenings at the end when cheering Hibbys had reality restored.  That great man Alim Ozturk strode forward into enemy territory, unleashed a shot from close on 40 yards and watched as it sailed into the air, dipped, and off the bottom of the crossbar rocketed into the Hibs net!  Oh what a shot, what a goal, what a laugh (in love obviously) as the Green and white clad lower orders stared in disbelief.  Once more they had failed to win, once more the BIG TEAM took a point, we should have had three) once more i expect to hear grunts over social media soon, when they come out of the pub/sulk/coma. 

Some feardies thought Hearts were going to lose?  Some, like me, are not old enough to experience the shock of being defeated by Hibernian.  Tsk!  The Edinburgh derby, one of the most one sided in the world.  Still, it's a giggle innit?   

.

Summer Storms

A wee bit of rain fell today, the left overs of yet another US hurricane that they send to us.  Some areas are inundated, we just got wet if we stepped outside. The media, well the 'Daily Mail' has been threatening all sorts of things that will happen to us, once again they were wrong.  The dogs in the park I noticed were thoroughly enjoying themselves, not so the folks that will be cleaning them up when they get home.  It appears the hot summer is over, the dying embers will flair now and again but the nights are closing in again.

  
The football season proper got under way this weekend and as expected the Heart of Midlothian defeated one half of the evil twins easily.  Unusually the Govan Masons did not get the help they expected from the referee, there were no late minute penalties, no sending's off, although six yellow cards were handed out, and somewhat harshly I felt regarding some of these, the ref did stick to the laws of the game for the most part.  This may not happen all season of course.  So once again we begin the long haul, week by week, worry by worry, not for us the worry, that's for the rest to do. 

Daily Mail

This week we must watch the Middle East mess continue with the Yazidis being exterminated by the ISIS group, under whatever name they possess today. Clearly the threat to the Kurds capital had to be stopped, clearly something has to be done, but will a few air strikes do the job?  This group is a well organised, well trained people.  Dedicated and committed to killing anything that does not agree with them, and killing in that region has always been commonplace.  The Yazidis plight is not new.  This threat is greater than any so far.  Nothing is simple or straight forward in the middle east and there is much more to come in this situation.  Christians are among those being removed, ethnically cleansed is the phrase no-one has used so far, but all others will die if they refuse to submit to ISIS.  The LORD knows those who are his however and he remains in charge in spite of what we see before us.
 
.

Beesy Saturday

The threatened thunder stayed away and instead we had 80 degrees of heat at lunchtime.  I was stuck in the museum doing nothing as the sun took people off to places outside.  So I wondered into the organic garden outside to get a few pics of the numerous beasties gathered there.  They all left as I arrived!  A startling small white butterfly alighted on a lunchbox and waited right up to the moment I raised the camera to flee!  The various bees disappeared also, all bar this man who was too busy enjoying himself to care.  However he enjoyed himself so much he would not stand still and this was the best picture out of many I took.  Bah!

The football season began today.  The wee cup first round in which the Heart of Midlothian triumphed. Having fallen asleep I almost missed it, how times change!  Once I would have yearned for the season to begin, now I am already a bit tired of it because the World Cup just took up so much time that required an absence from the beautiful game.  I wonder how many players will begin the season jaded? Too many I suspect.  There again, when the league actually begins and we play one of the ugly sisters I suspect then I will find enthusiasm once again. 

Until then I'm back off to bed.

.

What a Day!

The plan was simple, I rise early, around six, breakfast, then find something to take away the taste, do the jogging, push ups and physical exercises, then sit down and write up my dead soldiers.  Dead simple and only one or two small matters otherwise to deal with.  Then as I was fighting my way over Teke Tepe in Gallipoli the news came through of  the changes at the Heart of Midlothian. Now I am in agreement that changes were required, reality must come in but shocked as they say constantly in the media, shocked by the mess made today by the new man Craig Levein.  The more I investigate, the more I listen to those in the know, some even do know, the more worried I become.  It looks bad from here.  The new club required changes and a great push forward, this appears to be more of a cost cutting exercise than anything.  Some glaring spaces can be seen, who will be goalkeeper?  Where are the mature player desperately required? Why is Levein not making clear his part?  How much is he paid in the austerity regime?  Many questions and I do not think the much praised Ann Budge understands the job she is taking on. She certainly does not understand the fans. 

I between bursting into tears over the mess at Tynecastle I managed to finish my report on Serjeant Ambrose, make soup with which to poison myself, and eat badly.  However listening to the reports on the news, reading fawning fans forums, reading despairing fans forums, and wandering the streets attempting to photograph the wonderful display of mixed clouds that passed by today meant that I was unable to start on the next man.  Back to the museum tomorrow, so no writing there as I will be busy with visitors, hopefully!  Ho hum!

Sheila at 'A Postcard a Day' has been kind enough to fix my Google problem. Informing me it happens to be just another Google 'improvement.'  Bah!  Why must these computer geeks change things all the time, improving what need not be improved?  The BBC have done this, Facebook do it, Google also, and Twitter.  Just because it is free, apart from the FBI knowing where I shop and my shirt size, that does not mean it has to be changed unexpectedly and badly, as this has been!  Bah!  At least Sheila's site changes not and is well worth your perusal!  


.

Stiff Upper Lip?

At the beginning of the Edinburgh Derby this lunchtime there was a moment of remembrance for two who had passed away this week.  The crowd stood and applauded for one minute in an act of remembrance and then the game got under way.  This is not an unusual event, sadly such moments occur throughout the season, occasionally involving the entire league, often at a local level involving only one club.  This is of course perfectly acceptable behaviour and is to be itself applauded.
However I mused on the emotion involved in society these days.  Until recently such moments passed in complete silence as this was considered appropriate at someones passing.  The increase of televised football coverage allowed us the sight of Italians at such moments applauding for one minute and many considered this appropriate to introduce.  There are other reasons, some clubs fans are unwilling to allow such respect to pass without abuse of the dead or their supporters, on at least one occasion my own club has some fans who indulged in such ignorant abuse.  For this reason applause is sometimes suggested instead of silence.  However the individual who has died on occasion finds such respect from the fans they automatically respond in whatever is the better style.
This also reflects on the increase of emotion allowed, or all to often encouraged, today.  Where once we were told to 'don't show you are hurt,' or 'make the best of it,' 'get up and sort it,' today raucous whining appears to be the order of the day.  Self control is less important and respect offered for the dead often is not extended to the living!  People at heart remain the same as when we left the Garden of Eden, however you imagine that.  Culture however changes all the time.  I suspect the mess that was 18th century Britain (and I refer only to the UK here) with the five year old alcoholics, industrial revolution and the resultant problems and social breakdown all helped to develop an attitude of a more organised society in the 19th century.  The influence of preachers cannot be ignored as the men changed during the 1700s by the preaching of Wesley, Whitfield and the rest often produced families who worked their way up in society over the next fifty years bringing change wherever they went.  Add of course Queen Victoria once she had found Albert as consort there arose a fashion for respectability allied to Christian influence which reached everywhere.  The 'Public Schools,' never of course open to the 'public,' developed the 'Masculine Christianity,' line whereby you took the knocks and carried on.  Being able to take knocks without complaining sounds good but often it was abused by others who enjoyed inflicting knocks and grumbling if you did not like it,'Take the knocks and be a man,' they would say, while leathering you!  
This stiff upper lip society reached it's zenith during the Great War, and survived!  So many writings from the time show that knocks were expected and folks just 'got on and dealt with it.' This is certainly an attitude gone from us today.  'Daily Mail' readers blame the benefit society, while really just disliking any of their tax helping the poor, or indeed anyone else.  Religious blame religious faith wavering, political minds blame systems, clever people debate endlessly, oh how endlessly, on TV and radio to no end whatsoever.  Indeed wealth has made society lazy, the ability to always have what we want makes us greedy, deprivation is almost intolerable to us today while the house remains filled with expensive 'must have' things that are rarely used.   While emotion has always been part of football it is not what it was in my view.  Football was emotional in the 60's but better, today the intensity is greater, the game less enjoyable.  Money plays its part but football or TV or money or politics or any other thing takes a different place in our emotions today from what it did before.  Two world wars and a depression followed by a time of new hope, housing, NHS, and full employment are replaced by wealth undreampt off by our grandfathers, well mine at least, items filling the house our forefathers thought only the rich could dream about, holidays abroad (well Bournemouth) cars, planes and the internet all affect our outlook and lessen the 'still upper lip' as it appears not to matter today.  What matters is satisfying the self, nothing else.  'Me first' has always been part of society, today 'me' and my emotions appear to dominate.

Maybe of course I just ramble.  However the result of the football was yet another victory for the Heart of Midlothian, thus giving me the giggles in a manner I am unused to.  I spent much of the game sniggering at the Hibbys and giggling like a lassie every time the camera focused on one with his head in his hands.  I did all this in love of course, but I had to laugh, and have been cackling ever since.   

 

Wot?

I passed the happy smile club there yesterday morning as I wandered round for my veg.  By veg I mean a trip to the market for fruit and veg, not a visit to the MP or local politician.  The sun was attempting to shine and I had just got off my bike after the first dawdle around for a while and was attempting to stop my knees from freezing up.  Today made it twice I have been out on the bike, already I am fitter, according to the aches from the muscles that I had forgotten about, and they threaten rain!  However I am in the museum for two days so I care not a jot.

BBC

As expected the last Edinburgh 'Derby' match resulted in another win for the Heart of Midlothian.  The Hibernian contingent, knuckles dragging on the ground as they arrived, were for reasons unclear convinced they would succeed where they have failed so often before.  They failed again!  To make matters worse for them the expectation was a victory would result in the Heart of Midlothian being relegated to the lower division.  Money fiddling has meant the team playing the entire season with the Under 20's forming the bulk of the team.  However the wee team from Leith have gone home unhappy as we once again defeated them.  Relegation may come but after today it is a thought that Hibs might find themselves joining us.  Tee Hee!
Read Mike Smiths thoughts, Edinburgh Reporter. 

I have been so slothful and lazy overworked that I have not been reading folks blogs.  When I have I have not commented, thinking I will do so later and later never arrives.  My mind is falling apart, nothing is going right and I am sure I have read posts then discover I have not.  I must get more sleep.....

Diet Friday

I call this 'Diet Friday,' but not in referring to myself.  My slim, malnourished, eight stone body needs no diet that I am aware of except a large turkey or side of beef.  That not appearing I will once again return to thieving from the neighbours mouse traps and find some nourishment that way.  The diet I refer to is the one now being experienced by millions who have stuffed themselves for two days and then stupidly stepped upon their weighing machine.  I can see many women looking in the mirror muttering, "I'm fat, I'm ugly, my hair is a mess," then turning to the man of the house and demanding "You need to give me a compliment!"  "OK," says he all too willingly, "Your eyesight is good."     

He too soon joins the diet.

I have yet to confirm this but I am led to believe that the 'Times' has decided that George Osborne, the mathematically challenged Chancellor of the Exchequer is their 'Man of the Year!' Yes George Osborne! The man who considers two and a half million unemployed acceptable, the man who sees no problem with ever growing Food Banks, the man who does nothing for million pound bonus's for bankers including those the nation still owns! 'Man of the Year?'  Goodness Gracious!  It appears Rupert Murdoch has decided the Tories will win the election and George will oust Dave from the leadership.  Dearie dearie me, if that does not add a million vote to the Scottish Nationalists I don't know what will!

  

Life does not get easier for the Heart of Midlothian.  Severely hampered because of previous money problems the side consists basically of the Under 20 side with one or two older players added.  Sadly injury and those yellow cards referees use against us in a biased manner are not helping the team. Mentally and physically tired the younger lads are giving their all as they know there is no alternative. The manager has no other option and several lads are playing at a level just a wee bit above them at present. The wolves are circling, the dreaded drop must be faced, and no rich man is available to hand in a couple of million to Scotland's biggest club.  The SFA have their hands tied, although they stretch for Rangers funnily enough, and the club must face the fact that the future may be a drop down.  Ah well, the commemoration of the 14 year old Tynecastle F.C. player who dropped dead on the field a few days before Christmas puts all this in context, especially as an 18 year old Hibernian player died in his sleep the same night!  If the Heart of Midlothian goes down then down we go.  The club must survive and return in due course, however long this takes.  At least we can be happy we did not deliberately avoid taxes like some I could mention.

.

Very Sad....

Having spent much of the day doing this little jobs that mean so much, putting the hanging edge of the curtains back on the hook, dusting "cough," cleaning the loo ugh, and making soup, reading Jeremy Bowen's 'Arab Uprising,' and 'With the 1/5th Essex in the East,' books,  however I did not do these all at the same time, I failed to get enough time to rant about something.  This is sad.

I could have got annoyed when I noted some were desiring the removal of Gary Locke from the role as manager of the Heart of Midlothian but I controlled myself.  With no cash, no players, indeed three senior players now injured, no possibility of replacements as there is no cash these numpties cry for the manager to be removed and a 'big name' to take over!  The stupidity of the Hearts fan knows no bounds!  It's like those folk that are told there are no cakes left and say "I'll have two!" What do they do for brains?

Instead of decapitating them I went back to my work, my books, but mostly my books!  

If you want me I am either in Egypt as the revolution is stalling or half way up the ridge next to Hill 60 in Suvla, keep your head down when you call!

Happy Sunday

Racing along against the wind at four miles an hour I passed through this village long before the world was awake.  The roads round here all possess the normal road signs but English towns and villages always have a signpost informing you of the village name and indicating what the place is all about. There is not a lot of anything but agriculture in this area and the sign indicates a tractor to reflect this.  In fact a dirty great combine machine was being led along the roads as I passed indicating harvest is here for someone.  The land in this area probably saw hunter gatherers and stone age farmers and has been farmed continually for around five thousand years.  The small church reflects the population has never been huge, the church itself replacing a Saxon one most likely built on a pagan spot, and the huge tithe barn (one of two) shown in the top left was erected during the 13th century by the Knights Templar.  A ten percent tithe had to be given to the church and was collected in such barns, the money raised supporting the Crusades. The church of those times being full of politically powerful men, and the occasional Christian.  A similar, slightly smaller barn sits in Coggeshall a few miles down the road near where a Priory once stood.  Some strange rules concerning ancient church law still exists in English Law and occasionally people complain that a tax must be paid towards upkeep of church buildings they do not use.  The wheat and barley that once filled the barns are still grown in abundance but rarely are animals seen near here, at least not since the Foot and Mouth outbreak of a few years ago.  I did however attempt to photograph a Hare that came close, but he left too quickly for me, and the crows hovering around and the Swifts on the wire were too far away for my wee camera.  Such fauna and flora seen today would have been, mostly, common in the days of the Templars (or Hospitallers who replaced them).  However the servants would not have had the time to observe them I suspect.  One morning I will sit and wait for the wildlife, unless I get lifted of course.   

There is a Victoria Cross in the middle of the sign and I am sure there is a man in the graveyard who obtained one during the 19th century.  So far I have failed to discover anything about him!  I canny even remember his name!

Cressing Temple  Cressing Temple Site

Not all signs are as well made as the town one but these road signs must go back many years.  I suspect these were erected in the twenties or thirties when car driving became more widespread, certainly among the middle classes. Morris, Austin and others produced cars aplenty and these were happily acquired by those able to move out of the centre of big cities into the three bedroomed detached or semi-detached homes that burgeoned during that time. The signs were removed during the war to confuse any enemy that invaded but probably confused the indigenous population more. The commuters between the wars would travel to work by train into the city centre and at weekends roam the country in the 'Baby Austin,' at least that was the idea.  Mind you there were more people killed on the roads in those days than there are now, which tells you something!

The cats expression tells you he is not sure about this photography business. He is not one to venture near people, this one keeps his own counsel, but insists on spending all day wandering about the area around his home, usually disdainfully keeping clear of all comers.  As I got home I found him soaking up the sun and he is none to pleased about this.  His owner, if you own cats that is, takes her two small dogs to the park early in the morning and this brute hates to be left behind.  He will trail slowly up the road behind them, occasionally crossing the road to the park itself.  This gives the poor woman the collywobbles naturally enough, and the only time the cat has let me touch it was when I attempted to stop her following them over the road.  The cat just wants to be with the dogs but one day that road might make an end of her/him/it.  

Having risen early to cycle around to enable the bulk to develop physique, health and energy I was fast asleep within an hour of returning.  However I woke in time to watch the youthful, inexperienced, enthusiastic, talented and good looking Heart of Midlothian defeat the experienced, dull, inept, ugly, aged Hibernian side.  For some reason this victory was unexpected by the media, who wanted to talk about the sinister Glasgow sides instead and yet each and every intelligent viewer of the game knew this would be a victory for the Hearts.  The Heart of Midlothian have so many victories over the 'wee team' that by winning all the next games it will take them thirty or more years to catch up, and that's not going to happen is it?  It's been a good day today.

.