Bike, Ambulance, Australia, Heart of Midlothian, Sunshine,

As I perambulated about this morning on my bike, that is if perambulate is the word, I passed this man.  Interestingly he is parked opposite the actual ambulance station where a young woman prepared her vehicle for the day.  I preferred this one.  It gives the impression of being a one time army vehicle, used in desert warfare, and has a sign for 'Camel Trophy' above the door. As that is a type of cigarette made from camels it appears a bit unhealthy to me.  I could of course be mistaken, it has happened before, at least once.  It is often parked there and as it has also the St Johns Ambulance badge on it (the St Johns Ambulance are volunteers who do first aid work at various events) I suspect it may be used at one of the vehicle get together's that abound around here during the summer.   This lot have a base next door to us, on occasion they like to use their proper ambulance and show off the siren.  One driver at least now understand Edinburgh words.  Treatment from St Johns is excellent I suspect.  They begin with young kids and many volunteers have been connected with them for years.  They used to attend football matches but I think changes to the law has required professional ambulance staff in attendance at such games.  However accidents at car rally's and carnival events will always have good quality treatment for first aid from these folk.

Look, almost home from my bike ride and the town is still akip!  Of course Australia is still at lunch and the USA is still dumbing down the brain watching TV.  Now Australia home of the sunshine, played Iraq in a World Cup qualifier today and through the medium of the laptop I was able to watch the players in windy, wet Sydney struggle through the game.  The Aussies won against a very young Iraq and while the ageing Australians will once again find themselves at the World Cup finals in Brazil the Iraq side have every reason to look to the future.  Their players were mostly under 21 and look to have good prospects.  The Diggers on the other hand at mostly around the 30 mark and will be facing their last major event.  The young talented Ryan McGowan  who was sitting on the bench today learned all he knows at Tynecastle Park, home of the Heart of Midlothian.  He is already more than a great prospect, as the aged players move on he will be one of those moving in!     

Sadly financial trouble at Tynecastle has left a deep black cloud over Edinburgh.  This time it does not emanate from all those second hand storms the Americans dump on us when they are finished with them, this one arises from bad counting of the cash and this is serious.  

When Vladimir Romanov took over the club the Hearts were £20 million or so in debt.  Since then, by hard work, investment in players and managers that has gone down to a mere £30 million or so, depending on who is cooking the books.  The financial situation has caught up with the club at last.  Yesterday it was announced the club will move into administration, begin next season minus 15 points, and possibly lose what decent prospects are left, the ground, and be in a right old pickle.

Naturally had I been a billionaire none of this would happen.  I would rescue the club and sit in the stand drinking brandy and smoking cigars like they used to do.  Well without the cigars actually.  And without the brandy as it is not allowed during the game.  However my £2:34 will not stretch that far and several hopefuls are lining up to control the club on the cheap.  I am not sure I fancy any of them.  The situation is in abeyance at the moment as administrators in Lithuania, from where Vlad ruled the club, and Scotland sit down to work something out.  It is important to remember your history here and the Hearts song with the line, 'Though we sometimes go down we can aye go back up.'  I am positive that will indeed be the case, whatever happens. 

I note however the media support for Rangers when they fiddled £100 million in taxes has not been on offer for the Heart of Midlothian.  I am surprised to find that that club gets support Edinburgh's top side does not receive, I wonder why?

And Vlad?  Since the Lithuanian authorities asked him to explain some 23 million Litas that were 'embezzled' he has moved to Moscow and apparently suffered a heart attack.  he has gone to ground, as has his bank, his cash and he is hiding behind his east European 'friends.'  Hmmmm.

.

Summer, a time to read books in the sun!

Still the sun shines, still the leaves are green, reflecting the sunlight, still the sky is blue.  Naturally the wind comes from the east, over the North Sea and dampens it down a bit, still if in a windbreak it is marvellous!  I know that may not be the best picture to reflect the light, however the near naked man spoilt the picture I would have taken earlier and nothing new made itself known.  Not even a cat asleep in the sun could be found, which shows how hot things were.  

Nothing else happened except the discovery that the USA is watching us through Google, Facebook, Yahoo, etc not that we ought to be surprised at this of course.  We all knew that for the sake of 'US security' none of us were safe!  The British government have shown their mettle here and said absolutely nothing, because they participate in this, no wonder Google don't pay any tax!

I've just finished a re-read of A.J.P. Taylor's History of the Great War.   I consider this an excellent, somewhat irreverent, approach to the war and well worth a read, a good starting place for anyone with no knowledge of the conflict.  Obviously it has to condense four years into a small book but Taylor was very adept at making words fit into space.  He made many TV programmes in the late 50's/60's in which he just stood there talking to the camera on his subject for 28 minutes and always finished dead on time.  A superb talker he made the subject real, he also knew his subject and was not unhappy, some would say 'keen,' to indicate places where he disagreed with everyone else.  This book contains a few examples that would upset some when it first appeared on the bookshelves, although not noticeable today.  Plenty of pictures, with sometimes irreverent comments, opinions in passing on the various leaders, none of whom come up to the mark, but a good commentary on the four years and their aftermath.
A bit dated now, he died in 1990, but well worth a read. 

.

Look! Almost Summer!

Bright coloured flowers!

Blue skies and sunshine!

And my chariot awaits!


.

Day Off

The local world took a day off today for the May Bank Holiday.  If shops opened they opened for short hours only, buses ran a Sunday service, which round here means they don't run at all, and the weather took a day off and sent the sun all day.  That is a change I must say.  Of course the folks returning to work tomorrow will find the rain arriving as they leave the house, excuse me while I snigger a wee bit.    

Much of yesterday was spent sniggering at Hibernian's second cup final defeat in a row, you will recall how the Heart of Midlothian cuffed the 5-1 last time out.  This time it was a much better performance, a mere 3-0 defeat after an abysmal performance.  One interesting fact was a banner made by the Celtic fans watching their team walk all over Hibs.  These lads come from a small island on the west coast of Ireland and produced an Irish Tricolour with "Achill Island CSC"  written on this.  However this caused consternation with some who watching on TV thought it read "Islam CFC."  Naturally the extreme anti-Muslim lot got onto Twitter and Facebook and began crying out against these nasty Irish Celtic folks.  Consider also the IRA troubles of the past forty years and Celtic fans blatant contempt for 'British' soldiers, it was easy for the less intellectual to jump to such conclusions.  As you can see from the picture they were wrong, but you can understand the mistake.

    Scotsman 

The sun has shone through the cold wind, however that did not stop the English male wearing tight T-Shirts, shorts and sunglasses and carry an useless plastic bottle of water.  What a difference the blue sky makes, how bright the world appears, how eagerly do we race to sit in the sun.  Ah well, back to normal tomorrow....

.

Unbelievable!

Unbelievable!  The sun shone hot all day, and the wind was merely a cooling aid for us all instead of the usual tempest.  How jolly it all was as I traipsed into the big city once again.  All around lassies were disrobing, sadly so were the men all to often.  Swifts soared through the skies, seagulls languidly floated around, cats sought cool shade and dogs looked distinctly ruffled.  The heat was such that I scurried back to the station rather than chase pictures, hold on, read that again?  "The heat was such.....,"  that is not something you will read here throughout the year.  This is the first real summer of the year and guess what?  I return home to find the Gas Bill awaits me.  What is more the price is increasing come September - just in time for winter!  "Grumble, crooks, robbery, nationalise, etc...."   


I should add that Edinburgh is still suffering rain, and will again tomorrow.  Under no circumstances have I passed that sky picture on to the family.  I sent a different one He He He!


.

Nothing Happened Again

Nothing happened again today.  After breakfast, during which I read good blogs and enlightened my mind, I trundled the bike around the streets at about 6:30.  The sun shone, the early morning rush, seven cars, three vans and four bikes, rushed hither and thither beginning the day without a smile.  I was ignored.  It is amazing just how many people are on the streets at that time. Later the excitement intensified as I bought bread and milk but suddenly the day has passed by and nothing has happened, again.  Where did the day go?  The list of things to do is still there, undone, yet I cannot see what happened today.  It was there stretching out in front of me and suddenly it has passed me by.  What happened out there?  I ate, I read blogs, I .....I must get out more.....

An update on Jerry discovers that he has failed to die is in fact better than thought.  His wife claims to be a nurse and has decided he has not had a stroke but has had a reaction caused by Diabetes.  Of course she also controls the insurance forms so believe that if you like!  He visits a doctor tomorrow, so will be asking for money the day after!  Hopefully Obama will give the Yanks a proper NHS before he leaves to stop the poorest paying through the nose for medicine.

   

Nothing else to say, nothing goes through my mind bar the hope that England get stuffed enjoy their game tonight.  I suspect the England flags seen adorning passing vehicles, not as many as usual I note, will soon be in the rubbish bins as per normal after these games.  The English really do build themselves up for a fall at such times.  They genuinely believe they belong among the best in spite of all the evidence to the contrary.  They laugh at the theft of '66 yet whine still about a non goal from two years ago.  Tsk!  Tonight another anti-climax approaches and I will watch intently, unless I fall asleep.  I might have some fun this time tomorrow however, asking folks where their flags have gone.  Once I am out of hospital I will post again. 

Nope, as you can see nothing of moment to say, nothing has happened, nothing worth blogging, nowt, nil, zilch!  So I leave you with a picture of an ex-army lorry for your entertainment.

9:40  Bah!  Linesman again accepts English gold!  Bah!

Another Sign of Spring

Just as mist heralds the dawn, daffodils and bluebells brighten the world, umbrellas in many hands, and men in shorts appear so cricket reappears in our midst heralding Spring!  The first chance to dress in whites bring the English male out in huge numbers, age and lumbago not wearying such men.  The sun is shining, the windchill bad, yet there they are, sweating off the pounds gained watching cricket from overseas on the couch throughout the winter.  What do they see in this slow, ponderous, yet still more intellectually satisfying than baseball, game?  One overweight man throws a ball towards another, armed only with a flat stick. He swipes at the ball hoping to hit the thing far away, if he misses the balls flight may take it onto other sticks embedded behind him, if they hit he loses his place.  When the ball goes any distance those surrounding shout and run to collect and return it, while the batsmen run back and forward the 22 yards between sticks.  With no less than six or seven hours a huge score of 200 or more 'runs' can be gathered this way.  How enthralling.  Everybody claps at such a score. From eleven in the morning until six or even later in the evening the chaps stand around, clapping occasionally, taking turns to swipe at thin air, and then replace the poundage lost by sitting  in the nearest pub until 'last orders' is shouted.  Using the ground this way is better than building yet more desperately needed homes I suppose, especially as no-one can afford them these days but just what is the attraction that grabs Englishmen so?  In Scotland working men rarely play or even consider cricket, in England this disease affects all classes.  Vast volumes are scribbled on the rules, personnel, history, events, places connected with the game.  If rain hinders play two men, any two, will find an eager audience willing to listen while they drone on endlessly about any of said subjects.  Have these men no lives?  They certainly could not have wives!  Think also of this, today is semi-final day in the English cup and these men ignore it to play cricket instead of watching the football, are they victims of  'mad cow disease' perhaps?

.

17 Mile (ish) Trip

Huge covering of mist greeted us today, however by half seven the sun broke through as I pedalled slowly past the early morning dog walkers and huffed and puffed my way to the back roads.  Here I delighted in avoiding dead rabbits and various birds left by speeding careless, or uncaring drivers and as yet undiscovered by the crows.  And were there crows?  I'll say!  Of course they could be Rooks but as no-one can tell the difference it makes no difference.  Each time a skwack was heard each nearby tree had a dozen nests.  Soon they will be full of raucous young, deafening anyone within earshot.  I would have pictures but they are remarkably shy and the mist hid the brutes anyway!

The idea when I began was to trundle around the back roads in the sun looking for interesting things.  The mist did hamper this somewhat, as did interesting things that were too far away or too near the windows of the expensive houses that I passed.  I know these houses are expensive as there were Mercedes and the like parked there in abundance.  Now I am not one to look through folks windows but I did notice few people were up and around.  Few closed their curtains either!  While I enjoyed the trip I did make the slight mistake of going down a new road and enjoying the slope downwards.  Great relief from the pedalling but the road sign at the far end pointed me towards Dunmow and unwilling to go back up the slope I foolishly went on, this was far too far from home for my knees.  There was nothing for it but to continue until and hope for a way back to appear.  Luckily I stumbled on a road back and ended up in Felsted instead.

Felsted has yet another 12th century church and I suspect a Saxon one stood there for a while before this time.  Again possibly this spot was used as a pagan site even before the Romans began their tour of Brittanica.  A lovely church, closed today sadly while they spend money renovating the place.  Nice door at the base of the tower, with a Norman arch (please confirm).

Just how many people have passed through this door over the years I wondered?  Today I suspect merely those intent of playing the bells that hang high above, certainly not to fix the clock on the side that appears to have been stuck at three minutes past twelve for ten years!  Right next to the church is an old school building dating to the 1500's.  I wondered why there were names cut into the wood.  Graffiti has always been with us.  We must let the world know we exist.

The flash was required as they lie in a darkened alleyway, but it is possible to make out some names, and the date 1806.  About that time the school moved to an impressive site just down the road and became a major public school.  The school was popular enough for special trains to run from Liverpool Street to carry the sons of the rich to their education at beginning of term.  

A gurgling river would have made a better picture had I not been looking into the now bright sunshine.  The scene would also have benefited from not having an empty water bottle lying there.  Plastic has brought much benefit to us, as well us filling us with toxic chemicals, but people's inability to dispose of it properly is a pain!  Wallace would agree!

   

.

The Early (ish) Bird....

Spotted this pigeon earlier today as the sun was attempting to push through the dank Spring cloud cover.  It shoved its way past the cumulus now and then to the delight of those walking the dogs. Actually this chap was walking the dog, the other two broke away full of high spirits from a chap who daily passes by with seven dogs.  Usually the tails are wagging and the smiles are evident as the beasts thoroughly enjoy their trail, noses twitching, through the park.  He was somewhat loud in his rebuke as these two unwillingly returned, tails between their legs, after him yelling at them to "Stay," "Come here," and "Come back here," each time louder and more gruff than before.  I have never seen them do that before, possibly just high spirits and a female dog in sight.   

Recent days have been a bovver.  The PC smoking has ruined my life.  This laptop is slow, so veeeeerrrrrry slow, and it keeps doing things it ought not do!  Using this daft 'Touch Pad' causes trouble. The curser takes on a mind of its own, it races up and down unbidden, the pages change of their own accord, pictures disappear and the browser separates into differing browsers by itself!  I slammed it shut the other night as it was taking hours to change and I was most indignant with it.  I yelled at the world, got no reply, but yelled anyway.  The yelling began all over again when I went downstairs yesterday morning and discovered ANOTHER puncture in the rear tyre.  It had appeared OK when I got home yet here it was flat as my singing voice. It's a disgrace the way I am treated by technology!  And 'tyre' is spelled 'tyre,' not 'tire.'  Will someone tell this dumb American spellchecker! Don't they have schools in the US?

Sporting Life

Life did improve during lunch time however.  The Heart of Midlothian, Edinburgh's finest and Scotia's Darling's, once more walked, at half pace, all over the wee team from Leith, Hibernian.  This time we merely scored two goals to their nil, but we don't need to do much to prove our superiority over them again do we?  I wish them well in their fight against relegation to the lower division.  Maybe Rangers liquidation will secure their place for another season?   The marvelous Craig Beattie (pictured) scored the first goal from 'Man of the Match' Ian Black's wonderful pass.  Suso Santana rubbed salt into Hibernian's wound (snigger) with an even better goal in the last minute.  What fun!


A few hours later and more good news as the other half of the evil empire called the Old Firm (That's Rangers and Celtic to you) were defeated by Kilmarnock in the League Cup Final by one goal to nil.  A deserved victory for a team supposed to crumble in such an atmosphere.  Sadly the joy felt by Killie was ruined when the father of Laim kelly, a Kilmarnock player, suffered a heart attack at the end of the game. This follows on from the incident at the Tottenham Hotspurs v Bolton Wanderers game yesterday when a Bolton player, Fabrice Muamba, suffered a Heart attack on the pitch during the game.  The shock of his collapse causing  the match to be abandoned.  Both men appear to be in a critical condition. 
 Football knows its place at such times.

The afternoon saw the clearing of the skies later in the day, an end to the rain that had washed the pigeon off the lamppost, and left behind the first decent sunset for some time.  How nice to watch the sun descend slowly and brightly, causing alarms to go off all over the antipodes shortly afterwards, and leave us one of those wonderful skies.  Good morning Australia!

I hope this week brings good things, and no cardiac arrests, to one and all.

.  

Misty View to World View

The sun rose as early as usual this morning but had to struggle past the mist that formed late last night and attempted to hinder the suns approach come the dawn.  Funny how enlarging the picture and looking directly at the sun made my eyes water as if I was looking at the real thing!  Anyway the mist cleared by lunchtime and when the sun reached its zenith I naturally fell asleep.  Something wrong somewhere I think.  


The 'Daily Mail,' that organ of truth and righteousness, apart from the half truths, lies and sheer blatant deception, does have a scientific journalist.  I use the term 'journalist' sparingly.  However the Science section knows how to bring science to the people, lot's of pictures and few words, and those repeated often to aid learning.  This is a good idea as we do learn by rote and understand later, in spite of what educationalists may say.  I think it fair to point out my spelling was incorrect there.....


Anyway Eddie Wrenn, if indeed he exists, has written an interesting piece with few words and lots of pictures.  This, like much found in the media today, he discovered while surfing the web for something interesting to earn his wage.  He found a site full of pictures and worth publishing and I must say I agree. The site is called  http://www.stratocom.com/s/1011  and, to the delight of the readership, is dead simple (insert own joke here).  The site contains picture taken from Google, showing interesting pictures from around our blue planet from high above.  There is a button at the bottom that enables the viewer to vote for or against each picture and so in this manner we can discover the most popular.  I recommend a look at this site, some of the pictures are excellent, and you are able, so they say, to move the map around and take your own favourite shot and upload this.  Worth a look.

Daily Mail

David Cameron's favourite Prime Minister, himself, is indulging in his favourite activity this week, Publicity Stunts!  He has outdone himself however by popping over to the United States (which include the Southern States) to visit a proper politician, President Obama.  The photographs showing him 'one of the boys' at a basketball game (whether he knew what  was going on is unclear), and with wife at a banquet, look good adorning his fawning press.  The 'special relationship,' between the 'English speaking peoples' still being strong, in some English papers at least, and mentioned dutifully even if he doesn't believe it either.  In between stuffing his face, posing for cameras, and wondering why they all speak so funny, it is to be hoped the two men can work out a strategy to leave the Afghanistan mess they inherited, sort out the extradition treaty that Blair slanted in the American favour, and do something, however slight, to ease the Syria situation.  There again while there Dave could possibly look into standing as a Republican candidate, he is empty of policy enough to satisfy quite a few I suspect.  


The 'Special relationship' was of course something Winston Churchill dreampt up during the war. His mother was from the US, and not a very good mother it seems to me, and Winston really did like the place.  However Winne suffered from a romantic view of history, his views on the great 'British Empire' were very romantic, and he did see a 'special relationship' between the 'English speakers.' (What about Australia or New zealand, or even Canada I hear you ask?)  The presidents of the US naturally never quite saw it his way however.  There is indeed rightly a good relationship between the nations.  A shared outlook on defence, and many, but far from all, foreign policies have similar outlook.  The UK is always ready to fight Americas wars for them, even though they are late in arriving for ours, and in recent years has foolishly followed George Bush's  military mistakes, at great cost.  There is no 'special relationship' if we are honest, just a similar outlook in many things, and the UK as always is the one that loses out all too often. The many successes British troops have accomplished can easily be lost by one American breaking down under the strain.


I note that the New York Times has a mention of Cameron's visit, hidden away under politics, and mentioning only the banquet, nothing else.  No success of the PR front there Dave.


.

The sun shone all day today, it is almost possible to believe Spring is Sprung, well almost.

.

Adrenalin

Rising just before six am I retrieved my aching hulk from the bundle of rags, filled the cavernous stomach with stale bread, checked the papers online, peered through the curtains to see if the sun was working and then headed into the fray. By eight I had done the weekly shop and was free to picture the early sun doddering into the sky in the far distance. (The sun has to be in the far distance otherwise things could be a bit awkward.) Then, having put the east wing of the salubrious residence back into some sort of order, cleaned it, opened the windows to let freshish air in, I then sat down for a tea break.

I died!

I recall working in the Hospital at Maida Vale when we ran about all day non stop. It was a constant movement with always something to do, oxygen cylinders, patients, cars, nurses throwing themselves at us, the usual.  However on a Sunday, especially when doing a twelve hour shift it was impossible to motivate the lithe body I then had to do the three trips upstairs with the dinner trolleys!  The demand for an oxygen cylinder caused much resentment and meant movement!     

Having done all the important physically demanding things the energy disappeared!

There were things to be done on the PC but I had not got the impetus to do them.  Had I to lift and carry I could do it but with no such demand the adrenalin ran away and left me. Rather like most women I know (what did you say?).  The rest of the day has seen me limp around, doze, and generally waste away.  The PC stuff is still not done, as indeed are the dishes - again, and I am looking forward to my bed.

Oh how I live the high life...... 

.

Spring has Sprung!

.

Yesterday I shook of the Man Flu, laid aside the pile of sympathy cards (yes that was satire) and found the energy to wander outside in the sunshine. How lovely it is to walk around with a blue sky above, bright, sweet smelling newly cut grass underfoot, bright sunshine all around, blackbirds singing in the trees and daffodils swaying in the breeze. Marvellous, especially after rarely leaving the house for two weeks, to wander in warm air and espy pretty young girls exposing themselves to the world, or at least the young men who they were throwing themselves at. Nothing speaks of Spring more than women's desire to let the world see their attractive bits.  I do find however that in the late afternoon the girls look to me like, well girls!  Not 'women' as such, just kids dressed as women! How age kicks you in the teeth! The young males also disrobe in a vain attempt to persuade the lassies that they are strong. They pose on the skatepark opposite attempting to impress as they throw themselves around the obstacles with the girls watching on. The lucky ones end up in the bushes round about. It must be said here that this area has the highest teen pregnancy rate in England. The number of stupid 15 years old amazes me!  It also disappoints that they did not exist when I was at school! 
There is however a word of warning for all these sun worshippers, it's still chilly! The fact that the sun shines does not imply warmth and in the shade it can be bitter early on. Still that does not top folks calling this 'fresh' and wandering about in shorts and sunglasses as if they were already on holiday on the Spanish coast.  


Looking at old photographs gives us the comparison of fashion. In days of yore people dressed well when out and about. The men in three piece suits, watch chains showing, women with frilly hats and elegant outfits. Until the sixties folk used to be careful about how neatly they dressed in public. Sadly this is not the case in our liberal world today. It is right that people should dress as they please, it is sad that so many just look a mess, and often an expensive mess at that! The scruffy T-shirt with funny slogan and the torn jeans are displayed because they have a certain name on them and they cost a fortune! This in spite of the recession! Some, especially women and young folks, require to keep up with the fashion of the day. I am glad that I am just dressed as myself, even though people hold their nose as I pass. Mind you there are worse. Fat people wearing this clothes, sometimes trendy gear in an attempt to keep up with the rest, do not make for good viewing. Many wear to the shops outfits that are suitable for the house and garden but not for public viewing. How come we have lost that sense of discretion I wonder? Where did it go?


I enjoyed carrying my cough into the free world. I enjoyed the sights and sounds which have returned today to bless us all. I was so happy to be out yesterday that this morning I ventured early into two supermarkets to grumble about the rip off prices. Later, after catching up on all those jobs left lying, I will once again say hello to 'Brother sun,' and speak kindly to 'Sister sky.' I may end up in a 'special place I suppose, but at least I will be happy.

.

Bike

.

Foolishly I was enticed by the yellow sunshine brightening the green of the grass outside my window, the clear blue sky high above and climbed onto the trusty old bike this morning. Hastening out along the short pavement I turned into the side road and rode at speed straight into a police car leaving the station to begin the mid morning patrol! Well I avoided him of course but he seemed peeved for some reason leaving me similarly peeved that  he glared at me in that special manner a policeman always seem able to sum up. Therefore I hastened on my way before he could consider opening his mouth!
'Hastened' is the word! The bike and my knees worked well today. For some reason all was going well as I headed up the slopes of the old railway at high speed, except when avoiding dog walkers obviously! These had also been drawn out by the sun and there is nothing more delightful to a dog than the many varieties of experience available along this walk. Unfit and unspeakable as I am I had intended to struggle up to the village and make my weary way home. Surprisingly I kept going and cycled round the country lanes to the bigger village further on. Even more surprising was the lack of 'white van man' speeding along this route today. The sight of early crops coming through, crows sauntering about the fields confident in their strength, robins singing brightly for a mate, anybody's mate, in the branches, and the sun filled sky kept me going. The change of scenery, the bright sun and the assortments of colours as Spring begins to spring lightened the heart and made passers-by offer cheery 'hello's' to all who pass. Brightly painted ageing houses, some which have stood their ground for several hundred years, made for interesting viewing. The farms I passed can be found on old maps still with their present name. I wonder how long some of these farms have existed? Since the forests that one covered this area  were cleared this land has been farmland. People have come and gone, fortunes have ebbed and flowed, centuries have passed and the general nature has remained the same. Plague and witch hunts, civil war and changeable governments have risen and fallen and these trees, bushes and the wildlife have continued on their own way following the seasons. 
Since the middle of the 19th century we have mostly been town dwellers in the west. Contact with the land has been lost, unless we are granted a bit of garden to grow our own veg. Allotments, that British area of garden leased from the council, have become more and more desired as time passes. People wish them partly to enable a ready supply of vegetables but also to get in touch with the land, something supermarkets cannot give, and indeed who's prices are an encouragement to such 'self help.      
I suppose it's getting on for five miles or so outwards and when my knees realised how far they had gone they began to rebel! In their opinion my arms were not pulling enough and my arms were more than willing to contest this thought. Hurtling through Bannister Green at six miles an hour, good job that slope was there, I decided it was time to return home by the railway bed. Here I found that not only the chilled wind was against me but at this point the the line began to rise slightly. Typical! This slope was not noticed by those blackened steam engines pulling the local service slowly along but it was clear enough to both my arms and my knees. They commented on this in a manner a bit too full and frank for my liking to be honest.  
I do not worry about aching limbs in the morning however, these have arrived already! I sit aching and totally knackered, merely happy the heart attack did not arrive while on the road home! Too think that once I rode, over several days, from Edinburgh to London and now I struggle after a few miles! There is no doubt that I am unfit but if the weather keeps up I will be out a few more times in days to come. Now where is that ambulance.......

..

Shock!

I got a shock today! Putting aside the World Cup I wondered outside and discovered the sun was shining! Look! Blue sky with little puffy clouds in the distance! The only sun I have seen for the past week is casting shadows over the pitches during the games! They say the sun in South Africa is hot, I discovered today that it is quite warm here also! I might go outside again in a few days time if it keeps like this! Germany still the only side to show form so far, I wonder if they can keep it up when faced with stronger opposition?


.

Sunshine

I was going to fill up a few minutes of your empty lives with a few thousand words of bile. But then I realised how good God has been to me, how lovely the world around us actually is! The good Lord has created a wonderful place for us and I thought it better to muse on the good things around us in stead of the bad.

"Consider the lilies of the field" said Jesus, and I have no idea which 'lilies' he meant, "They neither sow nor spin yet even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like them." And this is true! Flowers come in all sizes, a wide variety of colours and shapes, give off a wonderful fragrance and yet while almost flimsy to the touch they endure all sorts of weather conditions. Plants of various kinds can be found hidden under desert sands, appearing as if by magic when rain falls, some live high in the snows of the mountains and others even survive in Scotland! On top of this they lay an important part in our ecology, if that is the right word, without those little flowers the planet would not survive, and they say we 'just evolved?'

I cogitated on the wildlife around us, partly because passing through the gardens I was disturbed from my daydream by a 'roebuck' which lives there and occasionally races past the unsuspecting. There is a huge assortment of animals around us, from the family cat to the rhino in the local zoo! Such beasts come in all shapes and sizes and have a great many uses for us, and if not we eat them! So at least they have some use. Those animals forbidden to Jews and Muslims appear to be the scavengers of this world, on land and sea. They were banned because what they ate cleaned up the environment around them but did little for your insides, so there was a purpose for them. Try eating a local pigeon today and find out how it would feel.

While it is clear the world can only get worse, overpopulation, shortage of water, routine political instability, famine and natural disasters will lead us in this nuclear age to melt down in a few years, this does not mean there is nothing to enjoy on a day by day basis. Sometimes enjoyment comes with guilt. I felt this today while watching a news broadcast that actually said something! A photographer back from Ethiopia brought pictures of folks starving to death, and in the UK we complained when Gordon Brown said we throw away too much food! We throw away a third of what we buy and millions starve, can this be right? Luckily I have been careful in this regard for some time now, wasting food is awful in such circumstances, but while they starve I am overweight! While we complain about our 'obesity' problem this photographer spoke of sitting before a woman his age dying of starvation, this is 2008 isn't it? 'Tear Fund,' some years ago had a slogan, 'Enough for everyman's need, not for everyman's greed!' I believe it was dropped, maybe someone thought it to 'communistic!'

However, while we do what we ought to help those suffering we enable them to enjoy the world around us. I think it's great, especially in the sunshine. Kids playing happily in the park, fussy mum's scolding them for no good reason, blue skies, flowers and fauna, glares from half naked ladies who do not think old men are the ones who should be looking (close your curtains then hen!), swifts tearing through the sky, screaming as the pass by the window, and an altogether better atmosphere from all around.

Isn't life good?

Dry, Sunny Essex

When I came here eleven years ago, I was delighted to discover Essex was the driest county in England! Fantastic! I was also under the impression it was one of the flattest. Combining this 'little Holland' with Global Warming I thought I was on to a good thing here. How wrong I was!

Within two years I received anxious phone calls from relatives worried about the money I had borrowed, asking if I had drowned in the floods. Naturally they were delighted, at least the piggy banks were, that flooding only happened at the bottom of the hills, hills which I thought did not exist! Flooding did take place, and has done since several times. A combination of heavy rain and swollen rivers makes for uncomfortable living. This begs the question, why buy a house at the bottom of a hill next to a stream? And the houses bought are not the cheap ones either. What drives folk to seek houses there? Could it be that is where 'the right people' live? You know, the middle class folks, 'our kind' as it were. Certainly a more intelligent, less class conscious type might move to a better place, but I digress.

The hills. Yes, there are hills, and steep ones at that. I did not notice them at first, but once I got on the bike and found myself struggling up slopes I had not noticed before, then I noticed them. Once I began delivering mail by bike, I noticed them even more!
Struggling up a hill with a twenty five kilo bag of mail aint no fun son I can tell you! Naturally, in such a job as that, there is always one who has to claim he cycles up daily with no problem. We all tend to agree with folk like that. The cycling is no problem, it's the lies that irritate! Why is there always a man who has to boast of his prowess when all and sundry know he is lying? Not only that, he knows we know, but he goes on pretending he is fooling folks, and even impressing them. The word 'tosser' is appropriate here.

Essex, county of hills and rain after all. But on the other hand, there is indeed more dry days than wet, more chance of a hosepipe ban than a flood. More chance of my lottery win arriving than daft middle class types buying houses they actually want than just because they are with the 'right kind of people.' Could be worse mind, I could be in some city centre. At least I can always see the sky here, even if it is overcast and light gray at the moment.

Sunshine

The sun is shining and bathing the cold, damp land outside with that lovely yellow light. Overhead the last of the cloud is sweeping south, pushed hard by the cold north wind, leaving behind an ever deepening blue sky. Lovely! A simple thing sunshine, but even with such biting cold air it cheers the soul. For those who spend six months or more in the darkness of constant night, depression is commonplace. Many suffer here because their work keeps them indoors, far from daylight. Life can be improved for each worker simply by putting them near a large window, and letting the light shine in.

For me, if it were possible, I would be on one of those countries that endure sunshine all day long. I realise that this would be difficult to endure, bright sunshine, light, warmth, happiness, all things that need constant endurance I admit, but I am willing to give it a go! Of course, at this moment, I sit hear fully clothed, with a jacket round my shoulders, another over my knees, the heating is on, and the chill that goes through my bones is not lifted even by the sight of the sun on the park opposite.

Still, I'm happy eh?

Cooler Air

So, cooler air is heading this way, behind the rain!
Yes let it come! We need it. But I have enjoyed the sunshine. Ninety degrees some days, out in it all the time. Good stuff, but in truth a bit much really. Burning hot and leaves my arms brown. From my elbows up everything is the normal peelywally white however! Global warming has its advantages and this is one of them, sunshine!
I look forward to working in heavy constant rain again. You have no idea how much fun that is!
( that's sarcasm by the way) Weather around the 70-80 degrees is the best I reckon. Hot enough to make you smile, but allows you to breathe! More of that this summer and I will be grateful.

Summer Rain

The aroma that hangs in the air after a few minutes of summer rain is a delight. The trees, shrubs, and flowers that look so good now scent the air. The heat quickly dies the wet streets and the air clears and breathing is easier once again. It always seems to me that rain in the evening leaves a much deeper, longer lasting fragrance. The 'cool of the day' after the heat of the sun is relaxing, and all seems well with the world.
Spring and Summer,the best parts of the year. How can people live in the far north among rain, constant cloud cover, or floating ice packs? Warmth for me every time!