Monday Morn Sun

The day began brightly, the clouds were red tinged and the sky was blue.  This meant the temperature must be about freezing, and it was.  Having wiped the condensation from the windows, stuffed aged 'hot cross buns' down my throat for breakfast, I switched on the heater and wrapped up.

This was a day where the light tempted me out and the cold tempted me back in.

I remained in.

I worked through another chapter of the book of Amos and wondered how nicely this book fits in with the government of the day.  Both Westminster and Holyrood, and indeed Wales, have corruption at the centre these days.  Being in power is on one hand an opportunity to do good, it is also something people do not like to let go off.  The Westminster power does not appear to have the intellect or political savvy to hold their position, not heled by Boris and Liz obviously.  Nicola has some talent, she ought to be PM not FM, but her weird obsessions may bring her down.  Her gender failure may be too far from Indy for many.  

Next I spent a few minutes pretending to exercise, I will feel the aches in the morning.  And followed this up by dusting!  The stour flew all around, thick clouds filled the house, lost items were recovered, much more exercise was involved, and after this was over I considered hoovering to finish off.  However, instead I made lunch and spent the rest of the day seeking out live pictures from various parts of the world.  I had to, the effort had worn me out.  I realised the bug that hindered my earlier this year was still hanging around.  An underlying weight hindering life.  This has hit the UK hard this year, and while I am quite used to suffering this was for months on end it has come as a shock to all those who used to call me lazy.

I give them no sympathy.

So, I sit smugly here, happy with what has been done, planning tomorrows day, and seeking a decent football game to finish of the day.  As I wait I watch the Blue Tits flitting through the trees, I note the happy attitude that comes with the shorter nights and brighter mornings, and an expectation of Spring soon calling us from afar.  This keeps the news of the Chancellor, multi-millionaire he, who is going to increase our energy prices come April once again.  The Conservatives, the party that cares...

Red Skyish...

Thisis a poor effort, attempting to reflect the pervading red glow across the sky this evening.  If 'red sky at night' brings 'shepherds delight,' then tomorrow will be some day.  In fact, what the BBC tells us will happen are strong winds, around 50% F and gray clouds all day.  I am not sure what the red glow then is proving.

Boris is hiding in the Ukraine, pretending he is a Prime Minister.  Back home, the ERG are arguing as to who will replace him.  The public do not get a say sadly, though many have mentioned that Jimmy Saville donated to the Conservative Party, and recieved a Knighthood for his 'good works,' though few Tories have replied to that.

By the way, it is now February, already the year is heading to a close. 

 

Morning Blues Eased

Monday morning blues ought not to bother someone who is not going out.  However my bleary eyes did not relish the chill in the air nor the requirement to leave my bed at 7:15.  The sight of the pink clouds in the distant did help however.  Deep pink reflecting of the long streaks of cloud, or was it something left by aircraft heading into Stansted?  Either way when I got the camera to the window it had all gone and instead this long, very long cloud reflected a more usual morning sight.  The denser lower atmosphere, so my book tells me, tends to disrupt the 'Blue' wavelength of sunlight leaving lower clouds tinged with pink, higher clouds in less dense air show up white as the light is not broken up.  Whether this means 'Red sky in morning shepherds warning' still rings true we will no doubt discover soon. 

Apart from requiring heating on all night the weather in the morning is bright.  Saturday saw the sun creep just high enough to burn the rooftops of the houses, I hope they did not catch fire.  During 1962/63 we had a terrible deep winter, no 'global warming' then and I recall the pain in my eyes as I stepped out of doors while in school and wandered into the snow filled landscape.  The low sun bouncing of the snow hurt eyes badly.  I am quite glad that is not happening now.  It is bad enough trying to see when the sun is directly in your eyes as it is. 

BBC

One thing we know about Boris is the lies and grandiose statements that fly from his ever moving and never honest lips.  The latest is the Troll idea of moving the House of Lords 'up north' so it can 'Connect with people.'  This of course has filled acres of space in the press already, meaning no space is left for discussion of the 'Russian influence' dodgy dossier that Boris has withheld.  Possibly there is a connection?  Boris likes absurd ideas, a bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland for instance, and any other item that will appeal to the sheep while avoiding answering questions that matter, not that anyone in opposition is asking such questions.  We will find the media dominated by such absurd stories in the next few years as Boris and his friends are found out.  The Billions he has offered for Police, NHS, Education and everyone else, with tax reductions, does not make sense until you remember he is a liar who never keeps a promise, just ask any of his women.  I now await expectantly his government, and himself collapsing internally.  This may take time, the sheep will be slow to accept, but collapse it will and then hopefully justice.  It may be too late for the nation by then of course.

Morning, Noon and Night.

For the first time this week I rose without the heavy sleep hanging over me, a touch off that bug that has been going around here.  So just after seven a.m. I  trudged in the freezing weather up to Sainsburys.  It was colder than I anticipated, some frost lay in places in the park, and I was unable to open my eyes properly but that means nothing at that time in the morning.
High above the warning red sky offered a day of terrible weather even if the BBC site claims it will be chilly but none too bad around here.  Rarely does the red sky warning fail, somewhere today someone will feel the weather hurt them badly and I therefore must lay plans to stay in all day, once I have popped into the museum to pass on some info for one of the volunteers there.  I expect grumbling re the cold to be heard all around, but not from me as I never complain....

Wandering round to the museum just after ten with the weather colder than it was at seven I went to drop off the material for Keith.  He was busily involved in researching Braintree history back into the distant past.  What will come from this I know not but it looks good.  Judging by the size of he work he has done I am glad he is doing this and not me.
I am much happier than he, he is meeting with others to discuss that work, while I am watching the Scottish Cup on the BBC.  Much better than making my head spin with staring at long lines of aged information written in small and often undiscernible letters. 

My busy day is over, two football matches and reading my book has worn me out.  I had little time to spend arguing with Brexit lovers today, they must miss me?  Mind you Brexit has been pushed back by Prince Philip proving his manhood by crashing cars and then returning to the wheel without using a seat belt.  Vast acres after the accident spoke of his 'bravery' but almost none mentioned the people he crashed into.  They were of no importance I suppose.  I wonder who pays for the cars he crashes...?

Joyful Return to Work

The day of depression descended on the town gently this morning.  The deep red sky, much brighter than I have seen for a while rose with the sun and disappeared by the time I grudgingly left the house.  Those forced back into reality after the Christmas period slogged along to work, shops, museums or wherever their steps were leading them, few with a cheery smile on their face.  It was easy to understand their reasoning.  The early brightness reflected against their blue thoughts as the populace reset their minds for the real world.
I have already been informed by one rough Leith type that Scotland is still on holiday and many football matches are shortly under way.  I am about to watch one on BBC Alba and regret that down here in the wilderness of England we have to return while sensible people are still on New Years holiday.  I am not one to complain you understand...

In spite of the threat of rain, high winds and another named 'storm' I proceeded eagerly to the museum where in spite of my aching knees removing Christmas was made compulsory.  This meant clambering on unstable stool to reach high up, without once complaining, and dismembering the plastic Christmas tree, an ungodly Easter European pagan symbol.  
Nothing else, outwith abuse from certain staff members, occurred until many minutes past noon when someone came in!  She had a query, soon dumped upon the boss, and then proceeded t spend money, I smiled keenly at this.  Two other figures appeared in the doorway, glanced at the many leaflets and went away.  All this to the joyful sound of non Christmassy music which has filled our ears for several weeks.  I choose music fitting the exhibition, an album re 1970 music and the Beatles White Album.  
The world returns to normal once again.  Next week all the schools will be back, most will have forgotten Christmas, the weather will be dreich, and life with broken new year resolutions will return to the same state it was in a few days ago.
Oh yes and tomorrow Scotland suffers depression and blues as they return to work.  Hee hee!

Animals in Town.

The Alpacas were back in town today staring at the people desperate to fondle them and reacting in similar fashion to starlets surprised at the interview process in Hollywood studios, however the alpacas were less worldly in their approach.  The animals were happy with the folks who brought them, they have been brought up by them sometimes fed as kids.

  
The lass with the pygmy goats told me how she expected soon to be hand rearing kids as some of the goats were producing at an inconsiderate period of the year.  Some like the idea of working among animals and indeed it is enjoyable as we all know however she was well used to a 24 hour work timetable.  These pygmy goats were happy to meet folks but happily they were not the type to jump out of the barricade which they hid behind, the one goat that could was not brought with them, though the children around would I suspect have been happy if a goat had wandered amongst them.
At the end of the month reindeer appear once again in the town centre, no sleighs following.

     
Grumblings on facebook forced me to rise early to find pictures of the sunrise.  With red eyes almost
closed I struggled into the chilly air to seek pink skies outside the kitchen window.  One appeared but the resulting snap, not to say anything about goosebumps caused by cold air, was not good enough though it was good enough in my view for the grumbler who chose to ignore it!  
Later, once coffee had whitened much of the eyes I snapped the rising sun behind the catholic church, quite what it was doing there I know not.  The looks from the few around me as I apparently attempted to picture Sainsburys car park I ignored and cut out said car park from the shot for decencies sake.  Mornings and evenings, if up to see them, produce interesting skies.

Wandering home via the green slab of the park I noticed how the sky had changed and once again cutting cut the rough stuff found an interesting shot of the sky above us.  The sight of the sky takes from  my mind the thought of yet another Win 10 update that arrived last night at the wrong time.  Once that had been dealt with the anti virus, 'AVAST,' followed suit and  went through three restarts before I could continue.  No problems have gone, the speedy machine is slower and I find it amazing that God can give us such skies after six days of work while Microsoft after twenty years of fiddling still cannot give us a safe, quick update!  
Someone high up in government security mentioned helpfully today that he considered all our computers had been hacked by the Russians.  This may well be true as they have been hacking for years and so many spam emails mean we all fall for some of them at one time or another, and one day they may well switch them all off or start being 'Big Brother' and talking to us from Moscow like it or not.
Interesting that nobody mentions that we too are hacking into Russian webspace and I suspect everybody else's webspace, possibly not President Trumps as we all know what he has on his laptop, but world leaders everywhere must giggle at any pictures Putin has on his!  Rumour has it that the British Army has a 77 Brigade, though this could be nonsense, who's main job is to investigate the web and offer propaganda to the masses and oppose other nations hacking of the UKs webspace.
There must be such people for defence and if there isn't we have to ask why not?  I wonder if one day Mrs May will knock on the door asking about my lack of support for her dictatorship, I expect her soon.
 

Christmas Eve Again

The panic is over, the shops closing as early as they can, people wondering if the goods bought will do, some already half way through the generous wine and spirit bottles proffered to them, others indulging in friendships across the bar of many a public house.  Too late to worry now if the gifts will be accepted, just hope it is the thought that counts, not the Christmas jumper, the coloured socks or the cheap after shave uncles are used to getting at this time of year, for them giving is better than receiving, especially if it is another Christmas jumper!

The desire for bread got me out before the hordes descended on Sainsbury's for their last minute buys.  To get there I went the wrong way round to get a glimpse of grass and the pink sunrise.  Pink at one side yellow at the other.   The sky is always a wonder, except when it is gray of course! 

Now I always thought seagulls were bright birds able to spot lunch a mile away.  However this lot were swirling around like they were going down the plughole and avoiding the contents of last nights KFC box that was strewn across the grass not 50 yards away.  After a night sitting freezing on the estuary they pass over heading into the farmland seeking fields to devour yet they missed the deployment of cold chips that they usually manage to find in the bottom of bins.  Maybe they were expecting Christmas Pudding?  

Darkness has fallen, night closes its tired eyes, well maybe in an hour or so, kids everywhere are overexcited and unable to sleep, adults scramble to wrap presents in paper that will be a crumbled mess in 12 hours time, and publicans begin to recognise which of their clients will be helped home earlier than they expected shortly.  
Me I sit at the laptop working away on things of great importance, listening to radio, browsing Amazon to make use of the book token received, sipping tea, and wondering why I put so much on my plate!  This few days will not help the diet....

Early Morn

I shocked myself this morning by rising not long after five and being on the bike by quarter to six.  The shock being that I have not been on the bike for weeks and the sun shining compelled me to get out there before the postmen get up.  Naturally by the time I had propelled myself fifty yards the gray clouds began to gather.  However the foliage along the old railway was abundant this morning.  The picture does not give a decent shot of the colours to be found in these wild plants that lined the pathway.  The warmer weather does make life so much better!   However once I had spent half an hour on the bike, wandered around town to stop my knees stiffening I then had the joy of going back to bed!  

Nothing much else happened.

How I endure such an active life I know not.  

I did once again attempt to finish my speil on the local regiment during the Great War, once more I found myself rewriting it from the beginning.  Scrawling things on here is one thing, writing something for folks to read is hard, especially when facts honestly given turn out to be wrong!  Bah!  It's hard being illiterate, whatever that means.

From here I can glimpse the red sky in the distance, too difficult to photograph from here, and find this sky curiously satisfying.  What is it that makes the world around us so attractive and refreshing for the mind?  The greens of the vegetation, the colours of the sky, the fragrance of flowers all make the day worth having, no mater what else is occurring.  Lovely, whatever it is.

Hmmm, I seem to be in a good mood, I must read the 'Daily Mail' that will soon fix that!

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The Day Dawned Brightly...

How soon before it all goes wrong?


Not long!
Rotten day, foul mood, tired, aching, and the oven does not work.
Luckily I am using the microwave and electric rings mostly at the moment.
Worse, the Broadband keeps cutting out!  Horror of horrors!  How can I live with no Broadband?
However after fiddling with the plugs the Broadband works, slowly.  Too slowly at times, and it was not fast to begin with.
But the phone is dead!
I never call unless I must, and I must log in the replacement credit card by phone, and it is dead.


How do you call when you have no phone to call with?
I e-mailed the only address I know and immediately received a reply stating I must go elsewhere!
I did, and filled in the form, hopefully the right one, and by the time I finished both engineers will have gone home. (I say both because there can only be two, and one is off sick, as they are slow!)
'Pipex' have sold out to 'Talk Talk,'  who have a bad reputation, so I am wondering if anyone will be there to read this ( and I am typing slowly so the Broadband does not get flustered.).


Now I am tired, flustered, anxious, and staring into the abyss - again!


It's being so cheerful wot keeps me going!



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Dusk

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Red sky at night flashes across the world for a brief moment and disappears within minutes. 

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