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.

Another Sunday Night

The beginning of another week.
Last week left me having a near death experience on Wednesday.  Having walked my knees into the ground, and the rest of me also, I spent the day eating and sleeping, I was so tired!  That over I avoided doing anything after that only leaving to visit Sainburys of Friday morning.  The weather was not conducive to wandering the streets either much of the time and I have been frustrated by my inability to go anywhere interesting.
Today I toddled of to St Paul's finding nothing but sky to photograph.  How the clouds change as minutes pass by.  However the number of telephone wires crossing the streets round here make it difficult to picture even good skies as they occur when the view is blocked.  Have these people no thought?
I am sitting here resting my knees, already telling me not to move, as tomorrow I am back at St P's and then work on Tuesday.  I am already looking forward to sleeping all day Wednesday.  I will however be thinking of friends at a family funeral that day, one led by a humanist.  Hmmm...

I have spent much of the day removing photos from this laptop onto an off laptop storage.  Already one GB has been saved and I am only half way down!  So many old pictures which get copied into several places for some reason, I wonder who does that?  I reckon there is more that a GB still to be filed away somewhere.  This old machine is slowing down so I will clean it up but maybe it needs replaced?  Could someone send £500 for a new one?  What...Oh!

Twilight

Having cycled speedily to church this morning I sat there for the next hour nursing my knees, lovingly no-one offered to nurse them for me.  This exercise idea is all right I suppose but there are problems.  However we had an excellent morning and I only kind of fell out with one person today so things are improving...  I cycled back the long way round enjoying the sun while it lasts and then I spent the rest of the day watching football and nursing my knees. 
Tonight however as twilight fell I got the rusty bike out and pedalled slowly, oh so slowly, half way up the old railway to seek a photo.  They are not quite how the sky actually was at the time but give the general idea.  The top one is my favourite, that s close to reality.
 

The sky is always worth looking at whatever time of day or whatever season we are in.  Looking one way gives a different sky from looking in the opposite direction, the colours vary with the slight movement of the sun.  Of course at dusk things do get darker which explains why the supper chasing blackbirds almost had my front wheel upon them.  

In the cool of the day everything is changed.  Being Sunday few are about, kids at home doing the forgotten homework, people preparing for work, rubbish TV being endured.  This means the streets are very quiet, so quiet in the distance the rumble of the bypass can be clearly heard as movement continues elsewhere out of town.  In town few move, some laughter from the pubs open doors is heard, an occasional clink of glass, a barking dog in the distance enjoying freedom in the park, a huddle of youth carrying their secrets guiltily pass by scowling at one and all, lights can be seen in the local church for evening service, a bus containing one passenger slowly fulfills its duty passing in the opposite direction from a lone cyclist worrying about how his knees will feel in the morning.
The quiet cool of the day, possibly equal to the early Spring morning in beauty. 

The Sea! The Sea! It's Wet...

Having arrived for a rest from my labours I was taken on a walk through a park, up the high Street crowded with heavy traffic and thousand's of people and then forced along the beach.  We started high up along the chine where seaside flats with large windows and enclosed balconies start at around £400,00 and with houses on the shore with views over Poole Harbour fetching between £3 and 10 million.  I will not be buying one.   

 
I was not only frogmarched along the shore but then forced to climb back up the chine the hard way - going upwards!  We took a shortcut (he said) to make it easier but I lost two stone in weight by the time we reached the top.  

The sand along here is well maintained. Earlier this year in was renewed as storms had taken much away and we watched a tractor pulling deep sand back from the stairs down to the beach, the tide has raised this several feet and his job was to pull it all back.  He soon gave up we noticed.  During the summer there are many guards on duty, strict control over the promenade, two cyclists who went through at the wrong times were fine £50 plus much more in costs for cycling at the wrong times, and huts are placed at various intervals for the many problems families bring with them, or children as they are known.  

We began our Matterhorn like ascent around here at the back of a somewhat grubby hotel.  Had we been able to continue we would have reached Sandbanks where the multi million pound houses are found but instead climbed to the mere million pound ones.  Flats here have wonderful views and are the last resting places of the wealthier type who retire here to waste the cash their children hoped they would inherit.  We were personally ignored by several of those. 

Poole Harbour, a lovely spot with water only a few feet deep for a long way out.  Usually you see people standing next to a boat far out but few were about this day.  In the middle of course the water is very deep and the Bologne Ferry passes by at regular intervals along side other large ships winding their way in.  The views here are magnificent, the weather always changeable but always offering a variety of sky to look at and wonder.  A very popular place to parade and only £2.5 million for a house, reasonable I say.  

This was to be the picture of us receiving oxygen from a passing paramedic crew but I considered it too unsavoury for tender hearts...

A Thought at Twilight.

I spent the day working on updating the war memorial site and listening to people sniggering worldwide at my Win 8 problems.  It may indeed be 8.1 but I have yet to work that out.  This is a Bank Holiday weekend, one of the biggest of the year.  Today many disappeared to get away from it all and spent the day with millions of others doing the same thing.  One day people will learn something about this.  I did many years ago when I arrived at Kings Cross station on my way to Edinburgh.  The queue was long and the trains were coming and going, station staff attempted to keep order in the queues but not always successfully.  This was a busy Friday and not the situation I adore. Eventually one of the staff shouted that an extra train had been put on over on platform whatever, and pointed in that direction.  Half the concourse ran over there and crushed themselves onto the train.  I waited thinking, stupidly, that this meant less people and more room on our train.  Wrong!  I got in and sat down.  In those days open coaches had four seats, two facing forward, two backwards, with a table between them.  Acceptable when quiet not so when trapped therein for four hundred miles through the night!  I do not know how I survived but I did.  I had to and folks were standing all along the train!  When we arrived at Newcastle the other train came in also at the other platform and I could see they too were standing crushed together all the way.  I never travelled at a holiday time again, bank or otherwise.  I chose off peak as it was quieter.

My holiday consisted of taking a walk after seven as the sun was going down in a vain hope of getting a good picture of the sky.  This was a mistake as the camera is full of dust and I have had to faff about with the one decent shot. The colour is now w bit iffy but reflects something of what was out there.  The cool off the day, especially after it has rained, gives off a distinctive aroma as the flora (or is it fauna I can never remember) absorb the water after the dry day and fill the air with sweetness, well in my mind anyway.  The streets are quieter, except in town centres, less traffic, no children, and walking where I have not wandered for a while refreshes this dulled mind greatly.  Simple pleasures for the simple minded.  Cheap too!

.

This Morning

This was this morning, now I am asleep on my feet and I forgot all about this, so goodnight.....

Gray Again

The sky outside showed itself rather gray once again as peering through the crack in the curtains I hesitated to rejoin the world.  In the far distance sunlight lit up the edges of openings in the grayness yet very quickly this flickered and died.  The usual Spring weather.  The recent warmth has faded and people are heard discussing the past few days as if Summer has been and gone already. This naturally brought Edinburgh to mind.  As I now live in the 'driest county in Englandshire' it has been no surprise to me that it has rained constantly since I got here.  More so after I became a postman!  Having been led by my creaking knees into unemployment and now the position of retired miserable old git I expected the rain to cease, I was wrong.

Being brought up in Edinburgh, the capital of the free world, I have an inner tendency to expect the worst. Always awaiting the wind blowing in from the west no matter how strong the sun may shine. The trees planted in the gap between the two roads outside our door when we moved in there in 1953 have grown up with an obvious east leaning.  When the wind comes from the eastern direction however it begins in the Arctic just north of Siberia, crosses Poland, gathers speed and arrives via the North Sea and goes straight up ones kilt! This I can tell you, is not pleasant.
Edinburgh weather records go back well into the 1600's.  These were used recently by researchers studying the rainfall there.  It appears that whenever a volcano erupted in the northern parts of America Scotland suffered the effects. Edinburgh's rainfall increased and I strongly suspect nobody really noticed the difference.  Consider this, Edinburgh then comprised the city on a volcanic hill, a tall stone built city with tenements ten or twelve stories high.  This small area, houses, churches, official buildings, all surrounded by a wall, extended to the 'Flodden Wall,' contained almost 40,000 persons by 1650, 60,000 were living there by 1700!  Admittedly many lived outwith the walls if they had money enough, but the vast majority were contained in the tight space high up on the rock.
They would have experienced similar weather to today's population, the Haar that often hangs over the city would have given the many trainee doctors therein much practice.  Add the cold misty weather to the stink of overflowing drains and it is not a wonder that Edinburgh produced many great physicians. There were many on which to practice.

Weather affects our personality.  The weather where we live affects our character, our minds disposition and our outlook on life.  People living in deserts have a differing culture to those dwelling in vast crowded cities.  The open skies above lift the mind and the heart, glass and concrete blocking the view depress. Scandinavians suffer deep depressions during the six months darkness many endure, no wonder the Vikings moved south.  Did the darkness inculcate a violent streak into their hearts?  Could that have just hardened what already existed? Certainly the world is a better place as the sun rises.  

Today the skies attempted to clear, occasional dark brooding clouds covered the land and passed on, hastened by the wind, the direction of which was ably demonstrated by the plastic bags caught in the branches of the trees opposite. The sky eventually lightened sufficient to allow an interesting hue as the light of the day ended.  Darkness now encloses this part of the world, bright lights shine from windows, television light twinkles in occasional rooms, and pedestrians light their way by reading their telephones!  The darkness is never dark these days.     


.

One Dreich Morn

While Australians sit on the beach grumbling about the 40% of heat I wandered across the damp park looking for a chink in the gray clouds above.  They fight fires in Tasmania which destroy homes and lifestyles, around here we light fires in the streets just to keep warm!  It's no fair so it is!  I was inspired this morning to sit here after what passes for breakfast and watch the folks outside cough their way to market.  By lunchtime the dank atmosphere has lightened to allowed me out for the cheap veg.  "Happy New Year," greetings came from the veg stall, desperate to keep their loyal customers.  (The other stall has many more for no good reason)  It made no difference to me, I am still using up the left overs in the fridge!

Glory be!  The afternoon saw the sun appear and left us with this lovely dusk view, Once I chopped of the view of the back streets at the bottom of the picture.  It is always a good piece of advice to ;look up' rather than around you.  The place you stand may be a dump but the sky almost always looks good, unless the clouds are gray of course!  Tonight the sky was fab, and hopefully it will stay this way, well, not when dark I mean.

.

Red Sky at Night...

Sadly the picture cannot convey the sky form one end to the other covered in a deep pink hue.  Oh to live higher up and get a clear picture! What a wonderful sight this was, and well past ten O'clock at that! Wonderful evening, the rhodur... rhodand.... the big bush over the road filling the air with fragrance and setting the scene nicely.

Red sky at night, 

Shepherds delight!

Since the back of two this morning the rain has been coming down constantly!  The papers, radio  and TV are full of scare stories.  A months rain in 24 hours is expected today, floods, disasters, catastrophes and would you believe that when the storm eased this morning as I went to Tesco's   I saw a man in sailors uniform!  It was that bad they have called out the navy!  

The Daily Mail Scream Loud Story

If you see any shepherd's while out today, run them over!

.

The World Has Gone Mad!

Daily Mail

For one our PR PM has decided to have a Cabinet meeting in the middle of the new made 'Handball Court' at the Olympic Stadium!  Here the first Cabinet of the year ignored the dicey economy, the unemployed, the tax dodging by his friends and instead concentrated on advertising the white elephant that is the Olympics. You may have guessed that I am not too enamoured by the Olympics, I like some aspects, people throwing things, weightlifting and a few other events, but so much of it is boring and will take up more TV time than Wimbledon does.  I also think it would have been better to let the French have it, then they can pay at least £9 Billion for it!  Obviously the World Cup was more important but long ago, when Manchester attempted to get the Olympics, the powers that be decided they wanted it and it had to be in London, Manchester not being important enough to London based politicians and business types.  'Dave' has told his people to go out and advertise the Games, does he think we don't care?  The reason I suppose is that any benefits, if any, will go to London and the rest of the nation will be paying for this but getting nothing back.  Much effort has gone in to spread the events, less to bring benefits and more to ease the grumbling about paying for London's Games.  These Games will of course reverse the recession Dave' will they?  Clearly no real discussion of any relevance took place here, that will occur tomorrow when the real Cabinet meets, and far too many microphones desperate to listen in to the blubbering mistakes which sadly did not occur, but 'Dave' will be happy with the publicity stunt, he likes those.

What? Me cynical.....?

Daily Mirror

Another aspect of the world going mad is 'No Pants Day,' as you can imagine this is an American idea!  Who else would consider large numbers of people sitting on trains with no trousers on and revealing acres of peelly wally flesh as fun?  It certainly would not have begun life in Scotland! It ought of course to be 'No Trousers Day' but as you know our colonial brethren are illiterate and wrongly attribute names where they ought not.  Will they ever learn?  The 'Daily Mirror' site contains more pictures and a video, which I assure you I have decided to avoid, as I am not convinced that revelations of what is inside a trouser leg ought to be made this way, or indeed in any other. Such pranks, while containing an element of humour, can also reveal much, indeed a great deal, that ought to remain hidden!  More Man Flu (and women's minor chills) on the way I can tell.

My tired and weary body dragged itself into town again this morning, and I decided to go with it, grumbling that I wished to remain abed for another day.  However the trip was not too bad, in fact the numbers of passengers were low and entirely free from needless acres of flesh being pressed into my eyesight by 'No Pants Day' militants.  In fact traffic everywhere was quiet today, some folks still on holiday it appears.  All was refined on the train, in spite of yet another hike in the price of travel and apart from a 15 year old Chav who let us all hear his 'Rap' for two stops.  How I wish that nice man on the Falkirk train was aboard at that moment.  Funnily enough as the said 'ned'  left the train I began to feel sorry for him.  He left the train at a country station and gave an impression of a life of 'Bumpkin' ahead of him.  He looked 15, not very bright, and if he was older he does not have a future as a brain surgeon awaiting him. I wonder if he noticed the other passengers let alone the noise?  In fact I was kind of depressed at the future that lay before him.  I also thought he was a bit like me at 15, stupid!  Where would I be if Jesus had not interfered?  So I didn't shoot him after all.  No doubt a tractor or an angry pig will get him one day.  

My meeting begun early, lasted less than 15 minutes, gave me no sympathy (she was a young woman after all!) and I left for my return train wondering if this was really worth it?  These people are meant to help us unemployed find work, even though there are no jobs, and they do not have any more idea than I have.  Worse still the place was filling up as I left with men of my age beginning their time here, all long term unemployed, most capable, and only one or two shirkers.  What chance have we I ask if we congregate in such numbers?  The Tories wish to stop benefits for those who refuse job offers, what job offers?  They want unemployed to work for free, where?  In short, rather than create jobs they fill the 'Daily Mail' with pledges and attacks on benefit scroungers.  I can tell them some of us wish we were working and do not like our situation!  That of course will not please 'Middle England' and the Tory voters prejudice.  

However the good thing was the time waiting to enter and I espied a couple of pics which did not quite work but I quite like anyway.  The third one is on the Foto sight.  The struggling effort has been good for the virus as it appears to be weakened considerably today.  One day soon I will eat again properly.  

Is your name on here somewhere?

.

The Saturday Picture

This is because I have nothing to say.  This is my default position in reality, a quiet, retiring sort of chap who keeps out of the limelight and leaves others to take all the praise and glory.  Oh yes it is!



.