Shops and Service

As the kettle was making far too much noise these days I decided it was heading for the door.  So, in spite my  body's great reluctance, I wandered slowly around the corner to Tesco once again.

As you know this means grabbing a basket, quicker than fighting people with trolleys, selecting goods, and heading for the checkout where we pay, exchange a few words, and move on.  Simple, usually satisfying, in spite of price rises, rude customers who are mostly older men, and children who are either to be enjoyed or eaten, depending on their behaviour.

The other day a facebook picture was presented of a shop during wartime.  A customer or two, with children, were being served by the women behind the counter.  In the background a man selected items from a shelf above.

"How wonderful!" a woman exclaimed. "Such service, you don't get that today."

This got me going on the absurdity of such women.  Clearly she has been brought up in a supermarket world.  This lass has never had to trudge from the butcher to the baker, the grocer, that shop down the lane, across the bridge to the clothes shop, and if she is lucky, spent much time trying on hats in a department store.  All the time lugging the bags with you, none of them plastic, and dragging bored and uninterested kids also.  All this is the heat of summer, the rain and cold of winter.  Add to the joy of such 'service' there is the long queue at each shop, in wartime the ration coupon also had to be administered, and then the chatting women gossiping all day long and saying nothing but holding everybody up while the man behind the counter flirted with them to increase his take home pay.  In short, the 'service,' some loved held everyone up, and when supermarkets arrived women rushed to them as all their needs were met in one fell swoop.  Who caused the end of such shops?  The women fed up of trudging between shops, hindered by queues, and wet through from rain, now made it home quicker and happier than before.

Shops still have service, the Tesco girls are very good, and the smaller shops which remain can offer service, or not depending on which miserable employee is on duty.   Those who long for days gone by probably never lived through them.  I remember as a kid being taken round the corner to what must have been one of Edinburgh's first supermarkets, a small one run by the St Cuthbert's Co-op.  We moved there inn 1953, and the first was a Sainsburys one in London in 1950 so this was a quick spread of the idea.  I also stood bored while mum was rabbiting with women about nothing in the street, my mum would talk to anyone, or in shops, whatever they were.  As for waiting while she tried on hats!  This was avoided by standing with dad on the pavements edge in Princes Street while she wasted time in C&A's or whoever.  A long line of men were to be seen at the pavements edge, smoking and waiting while the woman was indoors doing her thing.

When a man goes shopping, as you know, it is a quick business deal, soon accomplished and home again...

Edward William Cooke - Sunset on the Lagoon of Venice

Town Shopping

Searching for a decent birthday card that hadto be posted today for a birthday tomorrow.  Today shops opened and I headed for 'Clinton's' wide choice of mediocre cards.  Lucky for me the place was empty, plenty of cards available, but as expected not a really suitable one was seen.  However, one rude enough for a woman denying she is 80 was found and posted later (only 2nd class stamps available, tsk!).

The shops in town were not as busy as feared.  Queues of scraggy men waited outside barbers (sorry 'Men's Hairdressers') and queues were also seen at banks.  Otherwise the shops were not overflowing.  Several charity shops were open, and as a quick look was required I was inside quickly, more cards bought and now I have a reasonable amount for the next birthday, I suspect however, none will fit the person that day!  It is always the way.

 

 

Some time back the town and county councils dug up the High Street, relaid the road with lots of nice red bricks, stopped all traffic yet allowed single and double deck buses to pass along hourly.  It took only a few years for the wheels to dig in and ravines to form on either side of a mountain in the middle. Puddles during rain, people falling when crossing the road, cyclists illegally running the wrong direction until they fall off, and much outcry as to why this was happening.

Now a million or so has been spent to repair this road.  

Last year a group of workers happily blocked everybody, dug up the road, repaired pavements, installed new 'stumble proof' areas, and by Xmas had been dumped by the council.  Too slow, not good enough or inept, I am not sure.  We await a new contracter arriving to finish the job, he will be here soon...

In the meantime the half finished work is hidden behind bright orangy red barriers, people shuffle by, masked and disciplined sort off for the most part, and we await developments, eventually.

 

The other week I was busy doing Spring cleaning.  This led to much hassle last week when my knees reacted, tiredness swept over me and I could do nothing all week.  Tsk!  Innit marvellous?  

Today was the first time out this weekend, round the town, shopping in reopened shops and that was feeling like a new experience, and noting a barber with no queue, I will look in tomorrow!

People were sitting outside coffee shops, with the temperature not that high.  Were the pubs open?  I did not notice, it was lunchtime but I never gave them a thought.  I did read that those sitting outside pubs had to wear masks.  This begs the question how do they drink?  

 

 

Second Covid 19 Virus Wave approaching

I notice how the media today is filled with people desperate to get into the local pub.  Café's and restaurants seek urgently to open, at least in part, and it appears the threat of a deadly virus has faded somewhat.
It is understandable that a business wishes to reopen, much loss has occurred and many may never recover, this is extremely sad, especially for the small coffee shop close by that we had begun to frequent on occasion, I doubt he can have much cash put aside.  MP's and MSPs are pressurising the leaders to reopen everywhere, Cafes, restaurants, shops, Zoo's, almost anything and everything that has been closed down.  Of course in some areas the public reaction has been to make out Lock Down has ended anyway so lets just get on with it.
There is a problem with this, Covid 19 is still around.  What drugs that have been found to work are still only a partial help, and then only for some.  The deadly virus is still with us and while returning to normal is good it may also be deadly! 

Only a few days ago while I was out there were few people to be seen.  Tonight I visit Sainsburys and the car park is busy.  While we all avoid one another it is clear people have forgotten about the danger.  This is not completely forgotten just pushed to the side a wee bit.  I suspect large town centres where large shops are considering opening are less safe than Sainsburys.
The second wave is on the way...

Friday, Pay and Railways.

Friday night, rain or not, the citizens of this municipality are running around unconcerned by the Turkish invasion and possible genocide in Kurds land, the Irish discussions re Brexit that so dominate the media, nor indeed the 'TERROR' attack as the 'Daily Mail' put it in Manchester.  This is Friday so it is time to enjoy the end off the week they say.  Who can blame them, possibly those who have to work Saturdays I suppose.  It can be very annoying to see the majority enjoying the 'normal' time off when you are left working.  During pleasantries with the lass in B&M yesterday I mentioned how she would soon be free for home.  Her somewhat disgusted reply informed me she finished at 8 pm!  The poor lass, she still had so many hours of joy ahead of her.
B&M are one of the shops who have a large turnover of staff.  'Basic pay,' very possibly poor management, certainly not much fun with many of the customers, and little sense of 'fun' to be seen from the staff members.  Other shops local to this have similar turnover and I suppose they care not as there is always someone desperate to try a short while working here.  There is not a great deal of choice!
Sometimes I wonder at the poor work I have done, the inept management, sometimes corrupt and self seeking, at other times very efficient and capable but not with money to spare.  I wish I had trained in something when young but when young I cared not, to be honest I would have soon been dumped anyway as I lacked what was required until Jesus came along and gave me a kick.  Then I chose low paid work like Hospitals and charity work, unpaid!   I enjoyed that more than lining my pockets however.  Some things are worth more than cash even if I did little.  I am now a 'Jack-of-no-trade' and fail to fix everything I break.  This is a regret but too late now.  
I sympathise with those looking to another ten years or much more in such work.  I doubt Bojo's latest wheeze will do such people much good, in the EU or out of it.  The Hedge fund managers, not on low pay, will be encouraging him however by flashing cash in front of his face.   

I suddenly feel the need for a railway picture.  This one is of Edinburgh Waverley Station in 1914.  It is to be regretted that all the trains have left for their destination, on time I expect, and as the photographer, whoever he was, coaxed his glass plates into place several would be steaming through the tunnels beneath his feet in either in or out direction, on different tracks I hope.  

Seen from the other end, the southerly direction via Berwick and on to Newcastle and London, we have a picture from I think the 1870's.  It may be the 1890's however as some fool has forgotten to mark the date on this one.  My grandfather was driving engines at that time while living nearby, possibly one of these.  The 1881 and 1891 census has him listed as 'engine driver,' a highly skilled and dangerous operation.  At that time drivers might work 12 or more hours, in all weathers, on passenger and goods trains.  Both could be troublesome and both had timetables to obey.  Passenger safety was very important to the railway companies, they said, but as you see the carriages are short, made from wood, had no heating it appears from these pictures and I cannot tell if these had gas lighting or oil lamps installed.  They might just be 3rd Class of course. 
The drivers and firemen joined 'ASLEF' 'Associated Society of Locomotive Steam Enginemen and Firemen' rather than the 'NUR' the National Union of Railwaymen,  as they wished to be seen as slightly above the common railwayman.  Class is not something that comes from above but from within!  Together they changed the pay structure and hours of the men but the ability to get yourself fired, for almost anything, was great, and the dangerous working conditions for many improved only slowly.  There is no way conditions and working practices of the 19th century could be imagined these days in the UK, Brexit of course might bring them back.

Freezing Early Saturday

Long before i was awake this morning I trudged out towards Sainsburys.  Yesterday I went round the shops for the things I forgot, this morning I went back for the other things I forgot.  I really must get used to writing these things down.  Of course of I write them down I forget the list! 
The sun had yet to rise, that came at just on eight this morning, and the gray sky did not ease the cold wind blowing from the south east, neither did it offer much light.  The lack of light made the lit up shop windows appear cheery,the main one in sight cheers many people I think.  This shop has been here for some time now, not that I ever notice anyone going in or out, and on the occasions when the proprietor is noticed standing outside, cigarette in hand, I become aware that she has not had much use for what is on offer for a while, since round about 1958 I guess!  Online sales must be good!  Actually they are not, I have just found the website and it is 'under reconstruction' and nothing is available.  Hmmm... just who is sneaking in I wonder.  Maybe if I set up a camera opposite...

Coming out of Tesco with the remembered forgotten items I grabbed a shot of one of the two fruit stalls in the market.  It was the bright lights cheerfully failing to detract from the icy wind while the staff grabbed as much cash as possible from the customers.  I prefer the other stall myself. 
I have remained glued to the laptop since attempting to avoid the ironing that remains and keep warm.  I must give in and do something now. 

OK, hours later and I failed to do anything but eat and no watch football while also 'discussing' Brexit with brexiteers.  When I said they had no argument to put forward one immediately replied 'We don't need to as we voted for it.'  Hmmm...

XL or XXL?

Size is important!  What is more important is getting it right.  
Yesterday I bought a cheap (in M&S mark you) pullover.  The size claimed to be XL which would suit my feeble frame.  Once home I tried on this made in Bangladesh bargain t be reminded that what is 'XL' in Bangladesh is either 'L' or 'M' here!  I hobbled back today and exchanged for an 'XXL' size which in fact just does the job, however a 'XXXL' which was there yesterday might have been a better option.
Why don't things fit?  I am convinced that in the past things fitted better.  Of course cynics might say that is because my mum was buying for me however for fifty years I have bought for myself and things these days do not fit like they used to.  For a start there are different measurements to watch out for, M&S leg lengths come in 29, 31, & 33, while other folks are 30, 32, 34, which appears to me to make more sense, maybe there is a reason for this?
That aside the decision to outsource all clothing to the far east has seen a decrease in standards and all the main shops do this and then charge very high prices for their goods.  The sweatshop workers I am sure are happy to earn a few coins making clothes that are too big for them while the bosses line their pockets but not as well as the directors of our main street stores are doing I suspect.  'Primark' appears to be the only shop that sells similar goods at cheap prices and they still make a vast profit, where are the others going wrong?  Don't mention quality that varies little in my view.  
Sad to say that when 'XL' shirts are tight this means these things are shrinking after each wash or while hanging up in the cupboard they shrink even more, I wonder why...

Lucky for me all this is enabled by the Free Bus!  The council installed one of those shopping centres that specialise in 'Outlets' for big companies, outlet being another word for 'stuff that didn't sell.'  This would be useful if such folks reduced the prices to a sensible level however this does not happen.  'Levis' (or Wrangler) were things we used to wear constantly, either jeans or cords.  I wore such for thirty years yet today I cannot afford them and go for Tesco (far east) cheap ones, if they have any that fit!  The Levi shop here offers bargains such as 'Two Pair for £99!'  They appear to think this a bargain!  What gets me is that this shop has been doing this for several years and is still going strong, who is buying such bargains?  OK many of these shops are 'loss leaders' but even so someone is buying and considers themselves lucky to obtain bargains!  
Me, I'm going to look again at Tesco clothing....

Snow Still

The fearsome snow that caused panic in all media and led to vocal attacks on gritter lorry men might be coming to an end.  As always the terror lasted a day or two and by tomorrow most snow will have evaporated, all will be forgotten by Friday.
Certainly it snowed again today, again this caused closed schools and shopping centres.  I informed the facebook lot that the local Freeport was open and when I got there desperate to see one specific shop found that today's snowfall, which had ceased by the time I arrived, had led to the closure of Freeport!  I was miffed!  This meant a trudge around the shops I trudged around on Saturday and there was nothing I wished for there.  This town has all the basics but nothing fancy apart from what the museum sells, and as I was buying for someone at the museum I could not use that.  Knackered and disappointed am I.
Tomorrow we will freeze, it will be minus 2 tonight, much colder up north, and I must trudge through sludge again tomorrow for the museum.  If the boiler fails we will be in big trouble.

It is becomng common these days for people, mostly women, to fill the media with pictures of themselves, 'selfies,' showing off their scars and boasting how this will not affect their 'confidence.' (Why are women and footballers the only ones with problems of 'confidence?')  Why are these women shoving their sickness down our throats?  Why are these self publicists allowed house room? Local and national papers appear full of people suffering a sickness, leg break, scar or whatever and demanding we pay them attention, why?
I sent many years in the NHS and have been treated several times as a patient and found no-one then interested in running to the media nor did I wish to do so myself.  Why then are these folks so often filling the pages?  Are their medical problems news?  Give it  a rest folks.

   

Wednesday Frost

Thick fog, ice covered fields, roads and me!
Shops busier, happy checkout girls with time to chat, crowds of kids following fussed parents.
Sun arriving but slowly.
Market empty as stallholders still sleeping it off.
More kids taking parents round shops.
More gifts, even more money.
Grandparents the happiest of all.
After all they can give the kids back!
Later park full of kids showing off new things to satisfied families.
All wrapped up, many in new outfits.
Home.
Laptop.
Dead soldiers.
Boring TV.
Poor radio.
Chilly as forgot to shut window.
Yet more parsnips for tea....

Bomb Shops

The idiot PM Cameron is trying his best to get parliament to support his rash intention of bombing Syria.  This means he now wishes to bomb the people fighting Assad the man he wanted to bomb last year but parliament opposed.  Now the people fighting Assad have been overrun by ISIS or some other Islamist group also fighting Assad but we will bomb them to help the fight against Assad.  The fact that Russia now has many, many more aircraft already bombing those fighting Assad including ISIS we must be on the side of the man we oppose in the Baltic region and Ukraine.  
Does Cameron understand this? 
So we fight alongside Russia against ISIS, against Russia in Ukraine & the Baltic's while supporting non ISIS fighting Assad supported by Russia?  No wonder he fails to understand how his government is reducing local services in his own county!
The bombing of Libya left a broken nation where armed gangs roam the streets.  Supporting those fighting Assad has left Syria broken yet the money for these wars flows through London so they say!
You thought Blair and Bush were bad?

I went shopping today.  I actually had shopped for what I wanted but had to return to the shop to put right the financial difficulty that had arisen.  With the family being 400 miles to the north it is easier to send a gift card rather than a present they don't want.  So I wandered down the other week and bought eight such cards from the woman's shop that they are happy with (I wanted to get a gift card from 'Poundland' but others persuaded me 'no') and had them ready to go and all appeared well.  The thing was that as each card had an accompanying £5 off voucher these all had to go through the till separately which took time but the young lass handled it very well.  However on checking, and rechecking, the bank statement (the one that just says "GIVE US YOUR CASH!" all pretence to service long gone from them) I noted that instead of eight amounts there was only one which meant I was seven times the amount better off than I thought.  Hmmm thought i this cannot be so I let it go for a week or so awaiting movement but they moved less than my knees and that is why I ventured to hobble down the road this gray dreich freezing cold afternoon.  
I had actually been there in the morning where the girl informed me I required to carry the cars with me so they could be checked on the system, I trudged back, via the supermarket, and lunched on something tasteless.  I wonder what it was?  
This afternoon I spoke to the (twenty something male) manager. (hmmm) and he almost said 'Just keep quiet and it will go away' but not quite, however the lass I had bought the cards from appeared and took a more mature approach.  She remembered me, I find attractive women do, checked the cards, the receipts and claimed all was OK.  The manager appeared unwilling or incapable f doing anything so the lass phoned the people 'upstairs' wherever that may be located.  She explained the situation and after a while was told to hold, cue bad music, after which another voice listened as she explained once again the predicament.  The voice muttered and murmured and then decided that there was nothing that could be done!  So that was that, I took the cards, proffered thanks to the one store member worth her wage and left.
I had bought eight at £25 and they were losing £175 yet this did not appear to bother anyone.  I can understand a business with many shops and connected to larger concerns like that can lose such amounts and not notice but the lack of concern from here and there amazed me.  They appeared surprised at my honesty!  Yet many folks I meet are honest in such situations, maybe it is the clientele or maybe honesty is less obvious than it once was.  The bad running of a business in itself does not shock, many companies I worked for while temping surprised me with their lack of concern, often the main staff cared only for their bonus, sometimes they were corrupt or lazy but on other jobs efficiency and integrity shone through.  It all depended on the leadership.  
I will be checking my accounts next week but I suspect nothing will happen.  If I am that much better off I will donate it somewhere as it will burn a hole in my pocket.  A few pounds or pence is one thing but this is too much.

  

Summer Drizzle

Stupidity some say is inbuilt.  I disagree.  Stupidity of a sort is inbuilt, with slow thinking, inability to consider all options, a lack of concentration or care but this is not enough!  Oh no I can assure you this is not enough!  I inherited the family trait of stupidity but this was not early enough to enable me to fail so spectacularly as I have down through the years, oh no, I had to work at it and work hard.  Anyone can make it through life by being stupid, only those who practice can manage to grasp the wrong end off an electric cable, spray an aerosol on a fire or look down the barrel of a gun to work out why it was jammed -then pull the trigger.  These things take practice.

Anyway I have not down these things, recently anyway, but I did run about the town looking for tools for the bike and fail to find them.  This morning, as the Bank Holiday rain teemed down, I got myself ready to travel on the free bus to Halfords to spend money.  As I did so it crossed my mind there was a yellow tub with bike things somewhere under everything else, so I took a look.  Inside I found the yellow box filled with bike bits.  There was no tool to turn the nut however, that remained missing.  However removing from the box I discovered a mass of small items that once had a purpose and many that had been used once and forgotten, among which was a double headed spanner for turning wheelnuts on bikes!  This had disappeared an eon ago and now I knew why.  That said I still journeyed down to Halfords on the bus in spite of the now drizzle like weather.  A cloud lay over us, hovering just above the tops of lamposts drizzling on those who dared to walk out.

A wander through Halfords, being ignored by the surly chap playing with a very expensive bike, this revealed the tools I might need in any off a hundred situations if I was cycling far, not that I will be these days.  I bought nothing as I could not remember the size of inner tubes I need or much else about the bike.  Technical things were designed only to expose my stupidity.  At least I now know where to find things, the local shops being useless.

I wandered through the shopping centre, famous for the 'outlet shops' those who sell the stuff proper shops failed to sell, and was struck by the prices on offer.  Barbour for instance sell jackets worth £250 for £179, shoes retail at prices well upwards of £80 and more, other shops know suckers when they see them and even that early in the morning, drizzle or not, the place was full of families seeking goodies!

Yet did I see a happy face?  No I did not!

There are people in the UK who depend on foodbanks, there are many striving to survive on disability allowance or some other meagre benefit, always considered 'scroungers' by the 'Daily mail' and other Tory media.  Yet there is vast wealth in the UK and that could be seen by the cars queuing up to get in the car parks, the fat men bulging through their T-shirts (English men in shorts & T-shirts in spite of the damp!), and the miserable people buying things they do not need. 

Wealth makes us happy. That is, if we have enough we can be satisfied but always and ever there is something else we MUST HAVE even if it really is just a shiny thing that passes in a moment.  The eye sees more than the stomach requires, but we go for it anyway.  Our houses are full of things, things which have not been used for years perhaps, items that cost loads yet we never use, now we complain we have no money!  

Having endured a long period of pauperism, missing out on Christmas, travel, holidays, and new things I now find myself with a bit more in my new state of mere poverty.  The temptation to buy things because I can was real today, as was the sickening feeling when too many things are bought.  What I need, and there are many requirements that must be met, are not the same as what I find I must have.  Things for the bike were required, books I bought were more or less required, the jacket was required but did I need to consider that thing I pondered on this morning (a thing that I cannot now remember what it was!)?  The money was there so the object became important.  Maybe we have too much money floating around, maybe we would be happier if we wanted less and spent less?  People smile more in India and Africa so I am told, what does that tell us if true?

Meanwhile...

     

 Summer continues as it has always done...

Let Joy reign.....Pah!

I clambered aboard the somewhat rusting red doubledecker bus.  A handful of passengers, mostly aged women joined me.  We waited several minutes, time enough for two mothers with pushchairs to enter and jam up the passageway.  Soon we were off, blue smoke belching from the rear of the bus as the 'Free Bus' made the short journey to the shopping centre.  Here we dismounted our tired steed and dispersed towards the collection of 'outlets' where a variety of overpriced fashion chains attempt to fool people into thinking they are getting a bargain.  Many displayed large garish signs which promised, with all the authority of a politicians pre-election promises, 'Price Cuts' or 'SALE' and 'Many stocks half price,'  all lies.  
In days of yore when I was young we dressed in levi's and desert boots enabling us to look similar to Simon & Garfunkel on the 'Bridge over Troubled Waters' album, except on the occasion we wore cords.  Indeed I wore cords for about twenty five years, often 'Levi's' or 'Wranglers' or occasionally a cheaper option if possible.  Those days are gone as proper cords are hard to come by and those makers charge too much.  That said I wandered into a near empty Levi's shop to check the bargains.  They do not appear to go into garish window signs but inside I noticed that I could get two pairs of jeans for £99.  This was made to sound a bargain!  Fifty quid each!!!  I hitched up the grubby £5 Tesco jeans I wore and shuffled out the door glancing at the neatly piled offerings and their high prices.  They say Levi began making jeans during the gold rush, possibly true, certainly you need a gold rush to buy them today!
The building hid the biting cold wind and sunshine filled the space in the passageways.  A few people were rich enough to buy and others had the joy of trailing the kids with them.  One man brought his dog possibly as an excuse not to go into the shops and bore himself to death as she examined the goods.  A woman checking the stuff in a shop and pondering is not as efficient as a man I say.  No clocks can be found in these shops for obvious reasons.
I checked the jackets in the Barbour shop.  Again the store was neatly laid out and once again i had no idea what was men's wear and what were women's!  Most of it looked the same to me.  As a man was checking the far side I walked there and considered one or two items.  I love the way they display prices without any blushing.  £249 reduced to a mere £189, sounds like a bargain to me!  I continued to prowl through the price labels, difficult to read when in half light and wearing glasses meant for distance.  One jacket I did take a fancy to but decided opening a bank account just to get a loan was not quite what I wanted to do.  I could buy a house for less!  
The shopping centre I find somewhat depressing.  The prices are too high, it is of course aimed at women, the men's stuff if good is not what I am after and what I am after is too dear or not the right colour or size.  No wonder I check Tesco first!
My wallet opened only to buy a pair of cheap slippers which turned out to be half the price on the ticket which almost made me smile, I didn't as I wanted to look like many of the girls I saw working int he shops.  Three '3xl' T-shirts were obtained from a 'Sports Direct' shop where the two girls I spoke to were pleasant and efficient.  It was only while in there I remembered it was 'Sports Direct' a shop owned by the chap who runs Newcastle football club.  He is famous for making money and 'interesting' deals.  One or two deals have ensured he has a large hand in Rangers football club, owning the rights to run the shops, the rights to the logo's and is owed much millions for money he loaned them.  Quite was else he has his hand in is not clear.  An arrangement with previous board members meant he loaned five players to Rangers with accommodation and salaries to be paid by the Glasgow club.  Three of these men were injured at the time and have never reached Glasgow, one played, very well in fact, but damaged his hamstring and left at half time and returned to Newcastle.  Only one plays for Rangers.  Dubious deals in football are not new but the Newcastle owner is very good at them.  He has no fans either in Glasgow or Newcastle but as long as he makes money he appears to care not.
The T-shirts I bought I know shrink so I bough very large ones.  As I tried one on I realised it fits perfectly - which means once washed it will shrink like so many others!  Bah!
The single deck white once glorious but not so now 'Free Bus' arrived as I sat in the sunshine attempting to avoid the cold wind that kept crawling down my neck.  The handful of passengers clambered aboard clutching a few precious bargains.  We sped back slowly to the bus station where  we disgorged into the arms of other bargain hunters determined to lose their money on things they do not really require.  The sun warmed the day out of the breeze as I walked up the road admiring the blue sky, the glinting of rays of shiny things and listened to the chirping of birds high above.  
Naturally I was tired and after the repast that would be outlawed even by a hospital I wanted to sleep off my morning.  Naturally the men on the scaffolding were again working, one painting something above the windows and the other erecting even more planks and poles.  Crashing and banging, shouting, joking and far to much merriment in my view.  There is too much happiness around and I think we need more misery!  I must campaign for such and rid the world of joyful people, especially when I am tired!  This continued for a while and at the first opportunity I gathered my weary bones and wandered out into the busy roadway for some peace and quiet.  A walk round town, a visit to Tesco, kids and all, and back home helped me relax better than the workmen could. Now all is still, long tailed tits flit among the trees looking for supper, a few cars pass by, the sound deadened somewhat by the scaffolding, a dog chases an object thrown by the owner in the park and a form of peace has returned.  
Looks like that means it's time for football then, innit!


.

The Desire for Shiny Things

The US 'Black Friday,' an opportunity for greedy shopkeepers to line their pockets by selling treasure seekers imaginary bargains, has landed in the UK. This had led to police being called to many stores to separate fighting bargain hunters in many towns.  Remember this nation is wealthy, but we still have two million unemployed!  This nation is wealthy but we allow billions to be lost to tax dodging while the NHS is leaking billions through bad management daily. Millions are on the breadline yet crowds flock to the shops for these so called 'offers.'
Having moved from pauperism to poverty I know what it is like to be broke.  For far too long I suffered the indignity of having only sufficient to survive and no more.  This allowed the clothes I wore to wear out, not that I noticed, and many Christmases to be avoided as the money was not there. This was not the first time I have struggled, we all have at times and I can recall in 1982 deciding to buy a cheap tin of beans because I could not afford the one that was a halfpenny more expensive! This at a time when the Thatcher world was lining its pockets and quenching champagne at expensive lunches.
The problems mount when you have no money.  Others consider daily life a struggle yet manage to enjoy themselves aplenty.  Nights out, holidays, always able to obtain whatever they require, and fail to understand the poor man who has to make ends meet by careful budget and not going out.  Loss of friends you cannot afford to be with, or even worse those who insist on charitable aid embarrassing the poor and heaping coals on their heads leading to a desire to avoid them rather be fed by them. Family can be worse.  They understand both the position and the person however their care can be hurtful also.  One of my worst experiences was sending money to one of my great nieces, then about nine or ten years old, and having it returned "because you need it."  I should be providing for her yet she sent this to me!  That hurt so badly and still does.  I passed it on to her gran to ensure she got it somehow.
The best charity for the unemployed is a proper job of work, and one that pays sufficient to survive. For many men over fifty today this is unlikely and they too will endure what I endured to some extent.  A man's pride in bringing home a wage is dented badly when unemployed.  They may enjoy avoiding the daily grind but they do not enjoy the embarrassment, the inability to pay for others and the lack of cash to give to others.  Being unable to provide for his family is an awful emotion.
Having such a situation is made worse when half the world is found fighting over shiny things in shops.  'Black Friday' is encouraged by the media and the businesses that line their pockets this way and they care little about the hassle customers or staff endure while they struggle over items.  The sight of people fighting to obtain a TV that is £50 less than last week does not encourage me into stores, the opposite is true.  Quite what motivates the grab at such times  I know not.  is it just the desire to have the latest item?  Could it be the neighbours have one and we MUST have one also, even if it is only a super telly or computer or hoover or whatever?  What is this desire?  What part of our life is so empty that we need that shiny thing and are willing to fight to obtain one?  
We have all done it haven't we?  On at least one occasion we have gone out of our way for one such item, an item that now sits forlorn in a cupboard perhaps, an item that is not the reason for life after all.  There are things that we want around, for me a computer and a camera are the shiny things that matter, but would I trail to a superstore and fight over them?  I doubt it.  One will arrive eventually, probably cheaper, and I will keep all my teeth.  
The poor man must look on and wonder at the sights off Black Friday.  He struggles to buy bread, they struggle for a TV, he misses out luxuries such as a bottle of beer, they take home cases of whisky!  No wonder people are tempted into crime, no wonder resentment builds, and in such a society of hours the ones with shiny things ignore the poor man sitting there watching it pass by. No one will care.  Shiny things don't lead to happiness but they are good and enjoyable.  Better however is the contentment that comes from not seeking treasures but enjoying what we have.
Could anyone lend me a fiver.....?

.

Waiting, Waiting.....

On Tuesday morning as I ventured out to my museum duties I found a card from 'Parcelforce' informing me he had attempted to deliver on Monday at '16:12' and had ticked the 'We will endevour to deliver tomorrow' box.  Why I missed him I know not, maybe I was engrossed in a book or listening to something cultural on the wireless?  As it was Tuesday and shortly before 10 am I was unable to wait his return and left hoping he may not arrive until I got home.  Today I was awake by 5:30, in the morning that is, and shortly afterwards rose and shone in my usual style, if that is what that is called.  I decided to wait around for the man delivering today, just in case he did, but after a while i got fed up and went to Tesco's instead.  If I knew what was being delivered I would be happier but this is a Christmas surprise, probably a bundle of legal documents from someone suing me for something said on here!  He never showed today, and I contacted them through the website and now expect to wait for hours tomorrow until he shoves a card through my door and vanishes.  I know these people work at Christmas, I've been there, but always nicely.....

Having used all the Tesco vouchers I came home clutching a bag of reduced items and stuffed a cupboard with them.  I now have more food than an entire Syrian refugee camp!  Isn't it difficult to eat another slice of cheap cake when the telly shows pictures of starving children wearing thin clothes while snow falls around them and dinner is unavailable.  I canny look!  There again I get annoyed that the UK sends aid but I find myself asking how much aid comes from the rich Arab nations, especially Saudi and Quatar who started this war? If it were possible to send £5 now to feed a family I could do it, but how much gets through, why do others not send more, and will the starving children be fed or some Islamic Extremist?  Now I distrust so many charities and I suspect many others do also which means these kids will see less aid not more.  For myself I think I will once again support Tear Fund, I used to do this for years, a fiver a week when poor and more if I had it, as they work on the ground and I believe most gets through.  I must look into it again as I stopped when unemployed.  

Putting 'Agitprop' aside I ventured out again to Tesco this time to browse the non food items upstairs.  I was not buying just checking the prices for when the sale items appear!  In fact some were reduced already.  Since Woolworths went bust Tesco have taken their place as the shop that has the odds and ends you need.  Of course one or two Asian types run similar, and in some ways better, such shops where almost everything required once in a lifetime can be found, a 'Poundland' impersonator also operates but is rubbish really.  Where would we be without a place that sells cocktail sticks and cheap pots?  I had forgotten this was market day.  Every Wednesday the stalls arrive, spend hours erecting themselves, proffer their goods, then spend hours dismantling the shop, a lot of needless work if you ask me!  Why not do what one man has done and use a van? He has a large van which he has turned into a mobile barbers shop.  Not really sure why he comes here as there as plenty of those already, 'Chris & Jim's' at the 'Manor Street Barbers' being the best.  A large van as used by the fishmonger is easier to lay out, shows the goods and saves effort.  Admittedly some goods would not fit but my laziness would make them!  

  
As always at this time of year several dafties spend thousands covering their houses with fairy lights.  Some huge displays brighten the streets to the delight of the kiddies and more so the energy companies.  Me, I think their daft!  That is not what Christmas is about.  However it gives them a laugh, a wee bit of public attention, and money goes to a charity somewhere.  I still don't think much of it, especially after the 25th!  They say that one street around here has every house lit up, mine would stand out if I moved in, just a black sign reading 'Bah! Humbug!' would show. This couple do it right.  One or two wee things to add a splash of cheer but not too much.  Now I am going to blow out the candle as it is too bright in here, almost Christmassy, and we don't want that do we?

.

Big Town and Wildebeests.

In my desperate search through all the charity shops in the big town, oops! Big City now of course, I hold certain truths to be self evident.  The first being that shops are filled with wildebeests, hundreds of whom appear desirous of deliberately getting in my way, that they block aisles, noisily fill the streets and on occasion serve behind the counters of shops.   On reflection I am now wondering whether that bus driver is related to one also.  Of course it could just be me couldn't it?.  
It is also in my opinion a self evident truth that charity shops stock jackets that are just what I am looking for but in the wrong size or dreadfully wrong colour.  I can understand why some of these have been donated, but whether the owner knows his wife has donated them is another thing.  Mentioning this to the staff of such shops does not bring much of a caring response I noted.  
Another self evident truth is that men are responsible for the layout of department stores.  This is proved by the clear and deliberate carefully thought out policy of placing all lingerie departments next to Menswear!  It took me half an hour, and with the aid of one quite unhelpful security officer, to find my way to the (reduced price) jackets in one shop.  I suppose privatised security services have their place but they ought to be more choosy regarding the women they employ, I will have a bruise there in the morning!  
To escape the stampeding throng I wandered along the canal pathway only to find it also bore the stampeding masses.  Families were being taught by attentive parents how to walk in front of people, talk loudly and generally get in the way of those attempting to make a photograph on a gray day.  How lucky Scots are today, their schools have gone back!

Some folks found that by hiding themselves in the abundant wilderness they remained generally undisturbed by those passing by.  Whether he caught much I doubt, a quick glance in the water showed only small fry lurking and not many of them.  Still it is a place to relax and allow the stresses of life to desist for a period and the mind can refresh itself with the flora and fauna around.  Strange they way we respond to people.  Had I sat there for an hour or so some folks would have thought I a bit crazy or a bit dangerous, single men being regarded this way because they are alone for some reason.  There again a single woman may not be regarded as 'dangerous' but how would people see her I wonder?  Anyway stick a fishing rod in the hands and the man becomes safe as he is just fishing and for the most part will be ignored.   Of course this man may just be hiding the fact he shoved his wife in earlier.....

  
On the way to meet up again with the cheery bus driver and hopefully none of the men loudly telling one another of their hip replacements and other injuries I perused the main library and decided I need to spend time there soon as I noticed it has some interesting, relevant books I would like to investigate.  All those things I wish to do yet little gets done.  I have a list a mile long of things to do, things I wish to do, things I must do and things that probably will need doing, but I canny be bothered.  
Today for instance I get two calls asking me into the museum to replace sick folks and there l am acting as zoo keeper miles away.  I will be in there tomorrow afternoon although the walking today did my knees no good at all and I would rather just lie about for a while.  Hopefully I can just sit there dealing with the often unusual and interesting questions that people bring.  There was a time I would walk around for hours, now an hour or so and the postman's knees play up and that is a real sickner.
As I crossed the road from the library, having obtained my dinner from the cheap butcher next door to the barbers, one Mr Todd I think the name above read, my eye caught sight of this emblem on the wall.  Once the entry to who knows what, probably the old town hall and offices, now the back end of a car park, the wall carries the county emblem ending its days in some degree of obscurity.  All behind has been demolished and the car park might remain or become part of whatever development is being erected there.  Hopefully this wall will be retained as the emblem looks good and ought to be carefully refurbished.

 
.

Bright Lights

Howling wind, pouring rain, freeezing cold (this is the weather forecast) and in the shopping centre we have a man selling Candy Floss!  Now when young I LOVED candy floss, who didn't? However I just could not find enough pennies in my pockets (full of holes) when required so had to do without.  As it happens the man appears to have gone walkies so I am out of luck anyway.  I was hoping for pictures of people with brollies against the bright lights but it did not work out they way I wanted.  In fact it is very difficult to picture rain.  You can photograph umbrellas, rain drops, rain on windows, puddles etc, but rain itself, even when heavy, is hard to picture.  Another problem is that the photographer gets wet, and I can do without that thank you!

Roll on tomorrow, the Shortest Day!

.

The Day Out

The day out consisted of a couple of hours in Chelmsford.  Not renown as a city of fame, in fact it is quite boring really, but I fancied a change and off I jolly well went.  The Cathedral, begun 800 years ago, is quite impressive inside.  Sadly it is on the Anglo-Catholic side of things, but it is very well done up.  Nice stained glass windows, a few interesting murals high up, a fabulous ceiling, interesting memorials and friendly staff.  The heavy wax from the prayer candles choked a bit however.  Not really how I see church but this one stores the Essex Bishop, whoever he is.  I always find an attraction in the steeple pictured against the bright blue sky, which never quite works for me.  I thought the old style light fitted in well anyway.  I would have liked to take a picture or two inside but felt that interfered with those prayer/meditating folks there.   Oh yes, and they had a door, indeed a door adorned by two of those heads.

This is a door, and one adorned by two of those head things.  A side door it may be but it does have two somewhat bashed heads.  Soub will point out why, but a 15 year old apprentice fixing things might be responsible I reckon.

  

The wrong way round but you get the er, picture.  Somewhat weather beaten angels I think. However this impressive piece was on the far end.

 

It is a contemporary rendition of Peter, with fishing boots, net, fish & key!  It's certainly noticeable.  (He should of course be called 'Cephas, as that is the name Jesus gave him, but the Greek version was 'Petras' and that stuck.  But you all know this.)  

Most of Chelmsford is to me just a pedestrianised High Street full of the usual shops, a shopping centre full of the usual shops, and a retail market with a variety of the usual stalls, including a butchers where I obtained a three pack of chicken bits for £5:99, a small fortune to me.  Shops are of course full of women, blocking the aisles, pushing folks aside, slowly cogitating on every other item they see, crowding into places like Marks & Spencers where the only men you see are being told by their women what they are buying, all shops are crowded, all very overpriced to me.  Even the Gift Aid Bookshop which drew me like a magnet was expensive.  While I am all for making a profit I am not paying £3:99 for a book, worthy as it may be when we all know most charity shops would charge £1 - £2:50 at most.  There is a huge price increase in such establishments as they go a wee bit upmarket.  While some such still stink of stuffy second hand clothes others are becoming very flash and while this may bring in cash I think it misses the point somehow.  The town itself however appears to be on the up.  Fewer charity shops near the centre, shops full and no Christmas goods that I noticed.  Good for them.  

    

There may well be other things of note worth pointing the camera at but all this walking through the hordes of wildebeest bumping into me every other step was very tiring.  Just wait till Christmas comes, imagine the crowds, buy now right enough!  I headed back for the train.  Just up from the stations stands this solid memorial to the thousands who fell in the Great War, many Essex men fell wastefully at Gallipoli, poor souls. 

Did I say train?  Oh yes, long time since we have had a picture of the railway.  This one was not mine by the way.  Our train was an older one.  The better class trains go past my stop.   Still memories of the old days were to be found here if one looks close.

The old water tank for steam engines and a dilapidated signal box.  Not used today I suspect.  Isn't that fabulous?  What, oh!  I forgot some of you are female......

.