Thursday 27 June 2024
Two Small Cemeteries.
Saturday 4 November 2023
Remembrance
Monday 23 October 2023
Monday Moping
So it goes on. Artillery from the border, bombs from aircraft, rockets from far off. Around 5000 dead in Gaza, all terrorists I expect, and a couple of thousand dead in Israel itself. Over 300 soldiers apparently included.
Monday 9 October 2023
Monday Murmering
Tuesday 26 October 2021
The City of Abraham by Edward Platt
Monday 10 May 2021
Monday Mixture
Friday 3 July 2020
Worn Out Today
Rising late I expected a decent quiet day. This was ruined by the banging of the plumber and his mate downstairs and the information that I was leaking! It was flat Number two that reported a leak a week or two ago. John and his mate came round attempting to locate leak. We looked under sink, saw nothing, behind washing machine and saw nothing, concluded it was Number 5 at fault and they were out. I heard no more until the banging today.
In fact the plumber was at Number 1. they had a leak also, they thought it the boiler, the plumber thought the boiler was off anyway and replaced it. In doing so he realised I was leaking. On inspection, much better than before, a small but persistent leak was coming from around the U-bend bits.
Having banged and thumped at Number 1 satisfactorily he wished to check mine, then look into Number 5's bathroom. He looked at mine, decided a refit was required, John will say rude words, I canny imagine what the landlord will say, and that is now in the process. More next Tuesday.
Plumber goes to Number 5 who has gone out so he will be back next week also. More banging expected.
In the midst of all this I received a new scanner. A small device to transfer slides onto digital. A very good idea and something I have been wanting for a long time. The problem was they ranged between £50 to 80 and that was beyond me. The other day however, while scanning the Online Oxfam Shop I found one for £29. It arrived during the banging time and gave me something to annoy me all day.
Once I had worked out how to make it work, once I discovered the lead from the plug is two feet too short, and once I had dusted down the old box of slides I discovered the colours have faded. Whether this was because of where they have been kept or simply age, it is 30 years since I went to Jerusalem, I know not but it was time consuming beginning to put them through the scanner. Some have been done, some are not very good, and yet I may get a couple of decent hots if I turn them into B&W when the colours do not succeed.
Interestingly, among the debris in the box was an SD card. This contained photos from years ago which a previous owner had attempted to digitalise. Most of them are not very good, almost all upside down, reversed, but some are very good indeed and may be made use off.
No siesta today, no decent food either, hopefully I will get a decent sleep now...
Wednesday 25 March 2020
Past Trips...
One of the grubby papers was intent the other day to gather information regarding your past holidays. Where did you go? What was the best? Those deeply intellectual questions being asked. It surprised me as I could not think of having had a holiday for years. Last year, while others visited Costa Rica, Portugal, Holland and Spain I had a day out in Great Bardfield churchyard. I am not sure this counts as a holiday.
When did I last go on proper holidays? Rare to have had the cash let alone somewhere worth visiting. As children visits to aunts, as adolescents no money was available and few were rich enough for the early Spanish holidays. A day out to Whitley Bay was forced on me at 15 by my dad. Why there? No idea. I was intrigued I recall by policemen wearing those tall helmets, gone from Scotland in 1956. Then later a trip or two to London with my mates, nothing intellectual occurring on these trips though a few hostelries were found.
Once, only once, living in London, 1976 I reckon, I took a trip to Cardiff for reasons unremembered. An overnight stay, nothing to recall but a friendly B&B in a backwater, and wondering why the rail tunnel was so long before remembering we went under the River!
In November 1990, just before the first Gulf War, I went to Israel. This of course was a great trip, even if the intifada and stupidity stopped me seeing all I wished to see. A trip to Hebron? I enquired, NO! came the response, suicide! Indeed the worst of the two sides abide there and bus trips do not go there these days. I did see Jerusalem, mostly, finding much of what I wished to see, getting into the Holy Sepulchre with no difficulty, the American tourists stayed away from fear of Saddam, and sat in the most Holy place by myself, bar one nun.
This shoddy picture shows Mount Tabor rising in the middle of a historical landscape. I stand in Megiddo, corrupted into 'Armageddon' and before us lie the vast plain in which all the armies of the world will meet on the last days. A huge plain lies before us. To our right out of the picture is Mount Gilboa where Saul and Jonathan died, In the foothills near Tabor Barak defeated Sisera, and many a battle occurred where we stand. In 1918 General Allenby's Cavalry swept across the plain of Megiddo more or less bring the end of the fighting in Palestine during the Great War.
Sadly I saw no battles, though I can understand why people battle Israeli Border Police, they are a tough force. Most Israelis were friendly enough, though many wished to sell something to tourists, and all Arab guides should be locked up!
Not much of a travelogue to be sure, nowadays I wish to see the Battlefields in France and little else. The desire to tramp around in hot sun or freezing cold does not call me out. There again both Brexit and the Virus has killed of foreign and indeed inland trips for us all.
I can see that the use of digital cameras has improved photography greatly. Most Israel pictures are on slides, so hidden away for now, the film ones are all pretty poor. From now on all the pictures will concern Sainsburys and Tesco as far as I can see...
Tuesday 4 February 2020
Lords!
Already in control of much of the middle east desperate to control the Suez Canal and once the Royal Navy began to use oil to fuel its many ships the desert lands had become an important part of British planning. From before the Great War and up to 1945 the British were everywhere and everywhere they were found they were in control. In just over 20 years they had only Oman! Arab nationalism, Israel and more importantly as this book reveals the United States came to realise oil was important and they wanted it all.
The book takes us through the allies working together while trying to usurp the other. We travel through the loss of Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the last port, Aden. The internal politics were used for and against Britain, Prime Ministers leant on the USA while desperate to borrow money, gave the cash to Arabs who would aid British interests and borrowed more! Various US presidents supported the UK while also sending operators to work for the best interest of the USA alone.
Nothing changes!
Governments were created, removed, supported and opposed at will, sometimes by both the US and UK and at other times in opposition to one another. Murder of leaders was often contemplated, lies abounded and 'Nation shall speak peace unto one another' was not found anywhere.
The book gives a detailed insight into the political fighting that occurred over many years. By 1967, when the book ends, Britain was out from everywhere, the financial losses, economic failure and the end of Empire left Britain with only Oman as a friend in the middle east. Recently the Sultan died, we have yet to find out what will happen there now.
Thursday 13 June 2019
Boris and Iran
2) Johnson has claimed he was arrested and spent a night in the cells after members of Oxford University society the Bullingdon Club threw a flowerpot through a restaurant window in 1987. In 2010 the Financial Times revealed both he and David Cameron had escaped before the police arrived. One former 'Buller' member said: "I never knew Boris could run so fast."
7) Boris on the people of the Commonwealth, 2002: "It is said that the Queen has come to love the Commonwealth, partly because it supplies her with regular cheering crowds of flag-waving piccaninnies."
8) According to a 2003 Observer profile of Johnson: "Rod Liddle recalls that when he and Johnson went to Uganda, Johnson cheerily remarked to the Swedish Unicef workers and their black driver: 'Right, let's go and look at some more piccaninnies.'"
22) Johnson initially denied he'd had an affair with Wyatt, calling it "balderdash... an inverted pyramid of piffle". He was sacked as shadow arts minister in 2004 when it was discovered that he had been lying.
23) Brought back as a junior shadow education minister in 2005, Boris went on to have a fling with Times Educational Supplement journalist Anna Fazackerley. Married Johnson fathered a love child, Stephanie, with art consultant Helen McIntyre in 2009.
24) Johnson's former Telegraph editor, Max Hastings, wrote: "I would not trust him with my wife nor - from painful experience - my wallet. It is hard to believe that an man so conspicuously incapable of controlling his own libido is fit to be trusted with controlling the country."
38) Running for mayor in 2007, Johnson pledged to get rid of London's bendy buses as "they wipe out cyclists, there are many cyclists killed every year by them". In fact, no London cyclists were killed by bendy buses from their introduction in 2001 until their removal in 2011.
39) As mayor, Johnson claimed that he would introduce 'Boris bikes' to London "at no cost to the taxpayer". In 2013 it was revealed that each bike was actually costing Londoners £1,400 and that the annual £11million subsidy could have bought each of the 38,000 annual users their own bicycle.
Read through these, and others elsewhere and ponder on the fact that this man can soon become Prime Minister! We thought Cameron was an out of touch Toff, we thought May was an out of position hypocrite, we know what Boris is and he is worse than any so far.
Now tell me we are not heading into the end times?
Once again we see the mighty at work. The immediate thought is that this is a CIA inspired attack, like the last one, to discredit Iran. However it might well be, as others say, the Saudi's attempting to initiate a war between the USA and Iran,my best thought is that this is the Israeli's. Our Benjamin is getting his men to attack our shipping and blame Iran, what could be easier?
The Saudi's and the Israeli's have given us a war in Syria in an attempt to reduce the threat from Iran. Saudi has of course happily murdered children in Yemen for their own defence using some of the £38 billion worth of munitions we send them. Good on us!
The stupidity of Trump, the threat of Boris and the mixture of the middle east will produce a situation difficult to end. Are we ready for this? Will our attention be elsewhere?
With a confused world more concerned about the false notion of 'equality for gays' and committed to murdering as many children as possible under a 'woman's right' is it to be expected that the God who created us and still watches over s will sit back and do nothing?
Since Adam left the garden the world has been broken, it is arguable that it is in a worse state now than it ever has been. Global warming, however caused, moral breakdown, unbelief, false religion, inept leadership in politics and over population with a dwindling food supply it does not look good for the future. Some will say 'Peace' but offer no solution, others will say 'war' which is no solution, Jesus says 'Come to me while you have the chance.' That is a solution...
Friday 25 May 2018
Tyrants...
Moving the embassy because of US political electorate and because he is being pulled by a string the Israeli President is holding is one thing, not a good thing, but ignoring the consequences of such action and indeed taking a one sided view as politicians always is is clearly a bad thing. While agreeing God has placed the Jews back in their homeland, thanks to the British, it is not always right to rush ahead thoughtlessly by following the will of an ungodly Israeli leader. All Israeli leaders since 1948 have been secular, not religious Jews.
Trump must be pleased with the report that Prince William (which one is he?) will visit Israel and go visit the West Bank also!
To add to this the ending of an agreement which the majority of EU nations thought wise, and indeed the best possible at the time, just to play the tough guy is reckless at best and plain stupid at worst. Iran is not just another Arab nation, Iran goes back, in their own mind, to Cyrus the Great some 2500 years ago and see themselves as a big nation in that part of the world. They do not take bullying from the west easily, especially after the treatment the UK and Russia have given them in the past.
Here the US follow Israel and Saudi in their fear of Iran. Because of that already the Saudi's have broken Syria with the west's backing, who knows what would happen had Russia not intervened, and a region already overflowing with refugees now has millions more, but we do nothing about this. Being Arabs and far away they really don't count do they?
Quite how Trump has gone from 'bigging up' his meeting with the North Korean leader to blowing it in such style I fail to understand. It could be China have intervened, the trade with the US is important here, and we never know what is going on behind the scenes,especially in North Korea.
Two nuclear nations, so called, yet Trump plays games and offers an impression of not really knowing what he is doing. The comments made in the media may of course have been deliberate, the whole thing is likely a game Kim is playing also, but we are left wishing a more sedate, indeed intelligent, President lived in the White House. Is there no chance we can have one soon?
Today Europeans face the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) coming into existence today. This is an EU rule that is intended to give individuals control over what facebook and Google and the like make of your data. So for a while lots of emails from many companies have arrived demanding we 'accept' or not, or in facebook and Google's case 'take it or leave it!
In short a great deal of fuss from folks who will not rob us, a great deal of words from the main ones who do! These will continue to use our data, the weird people in charge gathering the cash, the power and who knows for what reason while our precious data is transferred into adverts for those daft enough not to download 'adblockplus.'
I am not sure it is worth the fuss but someone somewhere will continue to make money and get around these laws. The intention is good but while these folks are now open to huge fines if found guilty of avoiding the law it will take years to sort that out and they will have the data until then. Most of us will not see much difference. If we don't like it we can always dump facebook and Google and that will hurt them.
Thursday 26 October 2017
Wanderlust
Young men like a bit of adventure. Some simply walk out the door and keep walking travelling far and wide over large acres of the world, often with little forethought. Others are forced by the call of King and Country to adventure in places they would rather avoid. In days of yore young lads often as young as twelve or thirteen years of age would wander through the docks finding work on ships travelling to foreign fields, the better educated grabbing what contacts they could might find a trail across Europe making the most of the smattering of French and German forced down their throats at school. The attraction was the same, to go out there, over the horizon to places untouched and unknown always hoping for adventure, well adventure that didn't hurt at any rate, and finding excitement that cannot be obtained by staying at home.
My limited adventurous streak showed during the close season, that once upon a time situation when the football season closed in May and did not reappear until August, then I would travel. Bored as I was I went to the Bus station on St Andrews Square and got the bus to North Berwick. This is not a long journey but I was only eleven or twelve at the time and my money was limited. After this I went further, Kirkaldy in Fife or Leven a wee bit further over, just to see what was there.
As I got older football's close season got shorter and by then we played football during the spare time rather than wander about. Of course when fifteen I also had a job that the grace of God and inept management meant I kept, I would have fired me, and with good reason, several times before I jumped ship. The travel bug was satisfied I realised by the bus trips to football matches in Dundee and Glasgow. While we went for the game I just enjoyed the trips outside of Edinburgh and being somewhere different, even if cold and wet as it often was.
I did of course take a very badly thought out journey in 1974 when working at the Royal Infirmary. This was the year I bought a bike for £18, the owner had 'Gone to Australia') and then a few weeks later set off on an epic journey to London. This is not something I would do today.
However when based in a Swiss Cottage slum during 1976, though I may have moved to exciting Willesden Lane by then, I took it into my head to go to Cardiff. Why? I have no idea but there again I had always wished to go abroad. So off I traps to Paddington Station, pay through the nose for a ticket and clamber aboard the 125, only used on that line then, and sat back.
One notable aspect of the trip was my questioning mind. We entered a tunnel and while this is to be expected after a while, a long while I thought, we were still in the tunnel. It took me a while to realise we were in Box Tunnel (either than the Severn I canny say which both looked dark to me) and I was surprised as I had forgotten the difficulties encountered when creating the railway back in the 1840's. Isambard Kingdom Brunel constructed this tunnel and it appears like me many think that on one day a year the light shines straight through the tunnel and that day happens to be Brunel's birthday. It appears we are wrong in this, it occurs a day or so earlier on his sisters birthday. That is what I call a present, what she called it is not known.
In spite of the overnight stay in Cardiff, where nothing happened, and my desire never to go abroad again I did in fact make an interesting trip to Jerusalem just before the 1st Gulf War, the one in which everybody was scared of Saddam, and with the weapons the USA had given him they ought to have been scared! That was interesting and provided plenty of photos even though most were taken on slide film, still sitting there waiting to be shown but no good on here! One day I will transfer them to digital and bore you as I bored others in 1990. The one inescapable incident of that trip was visiting Megiddo, the ancient city that goes back several thousand years. From the name we get the term 'Armageddon' and it was in 'Armageddon' that I got locked in as the lack of visitors (the Yanks were scared to visit in case of war) meant the caretaker locked up and went home. I eventually found an unlocked gate before I had to climb over the wall.
These days I find it difficult to go anywhere. This year has been a bummer physically and while I wish to wander about have been unable to, local transport has not helped either, road works, and rail works have closed things on weekends. Age also means I lack the adventure to see over the hill as I once wished to. Having been over the hill for some time I have a degree of cynicism that youth does not possess and this limits adventure to some extent. However a free gift of a car and the money to run it will I'm sure change my opinion. Hmmm looks like my opinion will not be changing any time soon.
Saturday 1 February 2014
Arab Uprisings
Bowen takes us through the last few years of 'revolution, from the beginning in Tunisia, through Libya, Egypt, Yemen, and of course a great deal of the book covers the Syrian situation. The whole area is split into many factions, religious and political. In some states such as Tunisia a 'secular' approach is found even though the majority call themselves Muslim. In Egypt the Muslim Brotherhood won the first election because they had a well ordered organisation that had been working since the time of Nasser, the middle class secular city dwellers did not possess such and lost out through squabbling amongst themselves. A violent uprising in Libya, supported by the western air forces, removed Qaddafi from power but has not led to a peaceful settlement. Militias, Islamist''s and criminals hold much power yet. Saudi has thrown £100 billion at avoiding rebellion in the state, more on offer in an attempt to keep the Kings position safe. Yemen alone has begun a six month 'conversation' to decide the future of that troubled state. Some secular people find themselves at odds with Al-Qaeda types from the mountains in the north. Iraqis seek to go their own way in spite of being allies but not lackeys of Iran, and Iran aids Syria and Hezbollah in Lebanon while saying little.
Iran finds itself Saudia Arabia's main enemy, and the Saudi's have attempted to invite a US invasion. This has not found much support in Washington where foreign adventures are harder militarily and public opinion opposes violently! Iran is of course Shia Muslim, Saudi Arabia Sunni. That sectarian divide runs through the region threatening to explode and involve many nations. Syria, led by 'Alawite' Assad who finds himself supported by rich Sunni businessmen and minority Christians now is being opposed by Sunni extremists who are proving stronger than the original rebels, who just wanted a more prosperous and safe life without the secret police beating them. This conflict falls over into Lebanon where the delicate balance is under threat. Here some 18 groupings share power. Already sections of some towns are unreachable because of the conflict there and almost anything could lead to this part of the world giving us a war of First World War proportions. That conflict was savage enough, this would be much, much worse!
Bowen provides no answers here. This book merely covers the ground, explaining the background, allowing us to see from both sides and here the words, often truthful in spite of the dangers, exposing the immense difficulty anyone has in producing peace quickly in this area today. The west has little understanding of what to do, William Hague the UK Foreign Secretary spouts comments often but Bowen leaves us in no doubt as to the limited information and government double speak on offer here. The west wish to support the good side and now, after Iraq, find they have an Iraq government that is friendly to Iran the west's enemy, support by the million given to rebels in Syria, the strongest of whom are Al-Qaeda types, the types that threaten our troops and encourage bombs and murder on UK streets! The confusion does not stop there just look at the Islamist's in Libya who we provided air cover for!
To understand the Middle East it is imperative to read a book like this. No doubt there are others around but I found this book full of clarity on the situation from a man who risks his life, carefully, to meet the people and report the situation. One of the BBC's better journalists his writing enlightens the minds of those who wish to see the Middle East as she is today.
.
Saturday 17 November 2012
Friday 7 March 2008
Israeli Shooting
The outrage is clear, the cry for revenge fills the air, mourners speak of 'animals,' and many ask the simple question 'Why? Little has been said so far of the Israelis killing over a hundred Palestinians last week!
There is far less 'outrage' over the Israelis killing of Arabs, 'Why?' For far too many people, Christians included, there is a foolhardy temptation to say one side is 'good' and the other 'bad!' In one of his excellent books Robert Fisk pointed out that in the Middle East there is NO good side, they are all bad, and he is right!
For Christians there is the temptation to support Israel because they believe God has brought his people back to the 'promised land.' Whether this is true or not, God does not give Israel the right to treat Arabs, many of whom are Christian, badly. At no point does any scripture instigate a policy of genocide in today's world! Outrages, such as this one, must be condemned, but so must the abuse, and there great abuse, of Palestinians. The leadership of Israel has always been non religious, and if Jews wish to follow God in returning to their land this must be done in a manner God can approve of, quoting Old Testament stories does not overrule the words of the Messiah!
Yes it is a hard situation, and no, you and I do not have a clue what to do about it, even though a great many, mostly American, like to pretend they do. God is in Christ working his providence out, and his plans will come to pass. But not by driving tanks through Gaza, and not by ignoring Hamas. Time for honesty from Israeli leaders, time for a laying down of guns and rockets by Arabs. Time for a change of ways from all concerned.
Thursday 25 October 2007
‘Bible and Sword’
by Barbara W. Tuchman.
Tuchman takes us from Joseph through the many pilgrims who travelled to the ‘