The north wind has been hammering my windows all day. Rain lashes against them every so often while elsewhere snow and ice, rain and hail aid people to enjoy their long weekend holiday. I am indoors. Now the sun shines brightly and after the wind has dies and the sun switched on the heat again we will be able to enjoy all the growth in the gardens round about. I say 'we' but the man cutting the grass again might have a different opinion.
It is fascinating how people interpret the times. The other day the vast majority of parties supporting Brexit were thrashed in the polls, the parties opposing Brexit obtained huge wins, today Theresa and Jeremy have decided that this means we need to 'get on with Brexit.' I have discovered many others also wish to accept that is what the 'message' was, clearly it was not. People will see what they wish to see and political leaders are no different. It is interesting how many 'friends' I have made on the 'Daily Mail' forums however... Interesting also that insults abound but no arguments are forthcoming. On one UKIP site I accidentally posted a picture of sheep and some folks were not happy abut this. Jenny made an interesting point in her comment on the last post re voting.
From what I've seen most people won't have a clue how to vote. What you
really need to know is that the parties list their MEP candidates in
order of preference. So you do a bit of research, google MEP candidates,
choose your area, check out the candidate at the top of the list in
EVERY party and choose which ever candidate's views you like the best.
Then you vote for then, regardless of party. The second candidate might
not get in if the party doesn't get many votes, so it has to be the top
one if you want to be sure of having your views represented. I think
that will be clear enough in the case of the Brexit party, but a pity
that there is not a Remain party on the other side.
Unfortunately I have been forced to watch football on and off all day. This is not my fault but being the end of season it means teams find out if they are 'going up' or 'going down' and in many cases this was unclear. Clarity being established for many only the 'play-offs' await and these too can be intriguing. However this meant I missed my life today. I now have a backlog of work to catch up on and it is after 10 pm, this is annoying and I am beginning to wish they would schedule football matches at a more appropriate time for me! I might then get my life back.
I saw a lot of this on Sunday. I chose to walk home from church, having rejected the offer of a lift as I needed the exercise. Naturally the rain started soon after and I was fair drookit by the time I got home. This mood was not eased when shortly after shovelling what passed for lunch down my throat the internet went! This of course is a disaster, for one I was watching German football and for another it keeps falling out. On the occasions it returns I find I have had a fault cleared but it keeps coming back, the phone line is also dead and they (that is BT) claim I have an 'Open Fault' while claiming service in my area is OK. I will therefore have to spend time going through the system to check my end to find it is their end, but will things work? I did try yesterday to check but this killed the internet for hours as I am wary of intervening until tomorrow or later when I can spend time shouting at it. It is probably this end but I fail to see how. The phone matters not as I only use it at weekends and rarely do I get calls but from scammers. So that can wait but the web must stay alive or I have to actually meet people! That will never do!
Tonight I must rest, tomorrow is museum day with the Easter holidays upon us. This means the attraction of parrots and other 'exotic' creatures will bring in hundreds of little ones and bring us to our knees by lunchtime. I may be back by Wednesday...
Two votes in the House and nothing has changed. May is still there fighting hard to keep the Tory Party together in site of the knifing in the back that continues daily. Once again she stands outside No 10 spouting the same meaningless speeches, once agan nothing changes and the time runs out. Where will it all end? I have avoided most of the talk that has been flung about, none of it makes any difference and little among it makes sense. The PM is intent on avoiding a party split, the nation has voted emotionally from a 'little englander' viewpoint and now regret this as all the factories, at least those that are left, make plans for moving to Slovakia. The lies have taken root and the ones fooled into voting for Brexit now are the ones who will pay the price. I note also how the 'Baby Boomer' generation are again being told they have lots of money and their pension may have to be taxed. This has been hanging around for a while and the media like the lapdogs they are were quick to promote the 'rich pensioner' idea as a 'theft from the young.' Once again Tory lies will make others pay while they dodge tax and do very well thanks.
I struggled awake this morning, heavy with sleep for some reason, while the girl mumbled on about the weather on the wireless. "It is going to be chilly," she said apparently unaware that it is the middle of January and therefore 'winter.' As she did so I noticed large flakes of snow landing on the window. This was chillier than I had hoped. Within an hour this had evaporated and the sun shone brightly all day fooling some into thinking it warmer than it was. I was not fooled and remained indoors bar taking the rubbish out and risking frostbite. Minus 1 tonight, a few weeks of this and the Gas and electric men can plan their bonus.'
This freezing Friday was cheered somewhat when the EU spokesman made use of the word 'Nebulous' to annoy Theresa. She appeared irked, and made a public show of this in a vain attempt to get some publicity, and attempted to handbag the poor man. Speaking the truth does not go down well with politicians. It is clear however that either deliberately or not Theresa faces a vote in the House that will end her Brexit policy, this could lead to changes, a No Deal or a Referendum, some say, and fun and games continuing into January and on. Like most I only read the headlines and the important bits of those now. Surely with Rees-Mogg and his minority right wing group silenced for now it is time to remove their left-overs and call a second referendum and end this farce once and for all. So cold today I went out to the shops late afternoon just to avoid putting the heating on. This also would avoid me wandering about tomorrow with the rain threatening. Naturally now I am home I find I forgot chips! No chips and I will die! Back to Sainsburys in the morning... I hope all is well with you in the real world.
Just an old picture to try and remember what life was like before the rain began to fall. Gray skies and wet roads all around. I also forgot to write something here as I was busy doing nothing all day. It has to be said I did it well and avoided the crowded shops and dreich weather. Of course I did nothing anywhere bar write a couple of emails, they have waited a while for a reply. Tonight I was going to post something wonderful but got into a twitter argument I was losing so I came away and found last night match was on the iplayer, that now fills my life, well for another 45 minutes at least. In spite of the BBC stupid idea of fiddling with the iplayer I can still find most things I want there, but they have not improved the thing in any way. Why change what works and at great expense (£10 million) wasting time and money when it is not required, that is Theresa May's job. I did spend time however watching this today, I find these fascinating.
On this day in 1893 some 90,000 New Zealand women for the first time. Women who owned property and paid rates (mainly widows and 'spinsters')
were allowed to vote in local government elections in Otago and Nelson
from 1867. This right was extended to the other provinces in 1876 so many knew how to do this but it was September 1893 when Lord Glasgow passed the bill that enfranchised women. Politics has been downhill ever since! Dianne Abbott, Harriet Harman, Theresa May and Margaret Thatcher are all reasons this ought never to have happened. With men like Boris and Gove, Corbyn and whoever is leading the Lib-dems we do not require women in politics, men can do things so well themselves... Maybe Nicola will stand for Westminster next time? It was a man, Arthur Griffiths, who on this day in 1905 formed Sinn Fein showing men can build politically very well. Wilhelm II showed his talent by resigning from the Kaisership on this day in 1918 and hopping over the border into the Netherlands where he was welcomed, but not that readily, by the Dutch. A year later to upset many in the House Lady Aster took up her seat in the House of Commons, that nice Mr Churchill nearly choked, and she was US born at that! On this day in 1948 'Hopalong Cassidy' arrived on TV, I wonder how many of you saw this? The historical inaccuracy of western shows have always been fundamental to forming the mental outlook of US citizens. In 1963 the Beatles 'She loves you' was at number one and changing the world in a dramatic fashion. Change was coming but this record really was the beginning of social change, not always for the better of course. 1990 saw relief across the globe when John Major took over from Margaret Thatcher, the 'stab in the back' she never forgave. If only John would take over once again!
As I prepared for a day of work I noted the mist surrounding the world outside. This cleared slowly during the day to be followed by rain, the view is similar now but wet and windy and forcing me, against my better judgement, to remain indoors lying in bed. Sad to say I am forced to do this but you realise I would rather be cleaning the oven, sadly that must wait, again. Instead of enjoying the day I have sat here seeking info of a man who died in 1961. He stepped in front of a steam engine and being deaf he did not hear the whistle blow. This was his normal way home across the railway and no train was due, only goods trains by this time, and by not looking to his right he lost out. All rather sad but filled an hour of so seeking info. Not one iota on the web and none of the local papers for the last fifty years are online anywhere yet. It kept me awake.
This was the view this afternoon. A fine view I say after several weeks of too hot sunshine. The truth is we were all rather glad the weather had cooled. 90% is fine for a day or two but after a few weeks it has a debilitating effect on those not used to it. Sleep is disturbed, irritation arises, mistakes become common and the difficulty of cooling down yet always being either too hot or two perspiring to be comfortable. Today we have normality and the rain has fallen all day. I avoided this by visiting Tesco before the crowds woke up and after I returned home the heavens released the rain. It has not stopped since just after eight this morning. This is the summer weather we are more used to and capable of dealing with. People in Aberdeen had to go to evening classes to learn how to operate sun tan lotion, never having had a need for this before. In nations in which high temperatures are constant folks deal with it better, rise early, midday you hide, sleep and if required work once again in the evening, Spanish football for instance often begins much later than ours because of this. 'Mad dogs and Englishmen' go out in the midday sun indeed, I noticed photos of such taken just before the Great War where men in three piece tweed suits walk around Greece visiting monuments, all the while smoking pipes and being English. No wonder they are all dead.
In desperation for something interesting on TV I came across reruns of this quiz. It was one of the better ones, I think revived with Jeremy Clarkson insulting people, and I always found the first five, easy, questions the hardest. This was because they always featured at least two or three on present day 'culture' of which I know nothing. Today there featured one chap who did not know what nation made use of TASS as a press agency. This was not a surprise as he was under 30 years of age and probably knew nothing of the Cold War. He eventually did not answer took his money and ran, however the answer he would have given was correct. It amazes me how little we know about things that happened before we were born. Actually I know a great deal but only because the major event was a world war and it was always in folks minds then but prosperity and peace do not encourage folks to look at much of what has gone before. Also we did not spend time living in fear during the Cold War and most time was spent in indulging ourselves if we could. Those under 30 have little requirement to look back over the previous 40 years as in their minds I suspect little happened and it would not be possible for them to understand the outlook of the times. I do Like 'Eggheads' when it is on, the questions are slow enough for me to consider an answer, while 'The Chase' has too many questions on 'TV culture' and is asked too quickly for my mind to answer these days. Today I need time to ponder a question these days before I get it wrong.
Weather normal today, rain most of the morning, no sun, and occasional dry spots, dank and dreich but warm, a normal Summer in Edinburgh that. I dealt with this in the manner I grew accustomed to while in Edinburgh - I remained indoors. Here indoors with the aid of a newly obtained cheap bookcase I cleared lots of videos from the floor, the floor they have been lying on for about 18 months since I painted the room. Of course my delight at my bargain (huh!?) was somewhat dimmed as the videos are about an eighth of an inch (ask your dad) too tall for the immovable shelves. However it cleared a space, bar the dust, and soon I will be sorting other items that have lain around for too long without being attended to. Well I may leave that until my exercise kicks in again. You see I keep starting this exercise business and find it does me good, however there is always a problem interfering and I end up missing out and have to start again. So tomorrow while the washing is churning around the machine, while I watch something interesting on TV or laptop, I will once again stretch, moan, lift and moan, stretch and follow the old order once again. If successful I may become strong enough to lift Calvin's commentary on Genesis and begin reading the thing.
While awaiting the football this afternoon, the Heart of Midlothian won by five goals to nil as you may expect, I indulged an old habit, no not that one, I went looking for portraits. I have not taken such photos for a long time, there are no girls around here, and I found myself in the mood to do just this while the rain fell outside. So I perused the web stealing poses in which to imagine I may one day find someone daft enough to let me practice this art. I have taken many attempted portraits over the past hundred years and three have been worth it, I think I need practice. At least it gave me many ideas, some above my station, and one day I will have a model and maybe actually get the camera set properly, we wait in hope.
At last a wee break in the weather. For what appears to be months the temperature has kept itself very high, the winds from the Sahara bringing their heat to us and that part of the world on the receiving end of higher than usual temperatures as far as I can see. Global warming, mostly man made, is hurting us. In Essex yesterday and possibly today 35% has been seen, my front room, which faces north, reached to just over 90%! It was unusual to move about and feel the air in the room warm as you walked through it. I suppose all these naked and near naked bodies sweating away have actually done themselves some good by allowing the skin to breathe, however for those looking in this could have been an unpleasant sight, shall I offer a photo of me perhaps..what?...oh!
Tuesday was a very busy day and finished a tiring week for me. Running around to seek items for the opening of the exhibition wore me out and on the day I failed to eat properly, as you do. For the next three days I have been almost dead, lie not helped by making a mess of the photos I took of the kids. At least one woman hates me, one more than usual I mean. It is a funny thing but if you eat and sleep properly your mind works better, if you are lax in such things life degenerates somewhat and problems occur. Maybe Donald Trump needs a new cook? My mind is almost normal now, what's that you said...?
The curate and I got around to discussing Calvin's commentary on Genesis as you do and in the end we both bought a second hand copy to investigate. I had found a translation from 1847 by the Rev John King online and considered it somewhat difficult to read, the form of language being Victorian. Therefore I found the book on Amazon to aid the tax dodging billionaire's profits while paying just over £9 for the privilege. Today I sauntered early down to the sorting office for the book the postman did not wake me up to deliver yesterday. I sauntered back clutching my prize and cheerfully opened it up to discover this version was a 1975 print of the Rev John King's 1847 translation that was free online! Sometimes I wonder about my stupidity!
I awoke before six this morning. I usually do when totally knackered. It was not possible to sleep, I had little interest in the 15 minute 'Farming Today' sexist programme. Edited and presented by females each time yet all the farmers who do the work and male, typical BBC. This did not interest me, neither did 5Live's giggling girly presenter nor the male who found her hilarious. Radio 3 offered opera, TalkSport offered mindlessness constantly interrupted by lengthy adverts all in a fake Lahnden accent aimed at white van drivers in the south east. I rose, knees unhappy, and struggled through to the east wing. Stirring up the dust on the floor, I really must hoover soon, I found the kettle and attempted to make coffee but unthinkingly made tea anyway. Here I noticed the French Brandy bottle on the shelf, I was sure it was half full when I came in yesterday. The day has been spent unsuccessfully sending mums the pics I took of their darlings. Unsuccessful in that some have said 'This is not mine!' Others have not replied and one has sent her pics to my boss, my boss is now under the channel tunnel on her way to a month off! (She has become 40 and feels old, pah!). My brain is so tired I am leaving it to congeal until things sort themselves out. Maybe I ought to just finish the bottle. I dare not ask how the rest are doing.
Update, by six this evening I think I have sent the photos I took to the appropriate mums. I await complaints...
A man was arrested for preaching outside St Paul's. Cathedral staff apparently complained about him reading from the bible. He has a loud voice and upset the 'peace' of the cathedral. This is not the first time this has happened and a policeman did indicate it would be ''remiss' to move him on from a place of worship.' The cathedral now allows him to speak for 30 minutes at a time. How nice of the. Possibly they could read, preach and offer the bible themselves rather than be a tourist attraction. Personally a quick look at most cathedrals shows many to be very far from God and possibly allowing the National Trust to take over those that are failing would be one way of saving the CoE a vast fortune. Some of course are Christian based but not all and it is easy to tell the difference simply by looking at the bookshelves to see what they sell. A great many were begun during Norman times less for the glory of God and much more for the indication that the Normans were in charge! While these are tremendous buildings to visit proper churches are usually small with less than 200 members. There again how many actually attend Sunday services at such places apart from tourists trying to avoid the entrance fee?
A cheery face has just informed us that the heat will remain and Friday possibly will reach 36% in East Anglia, which is this region. I suspect I will not be going anywhere soon. It may also lead to thunderstorms, lightning and pouring rain, which will run off rather than soak into the ground. So while being burnt to a crisp we will be cooled down by monsoon like raindrops. I am looking forward to visiting Tesco.... However the sun has been too hot too long, global warming is a problem the rich money grabbers deny while slapping factor 50 sun cream over their inflated bodies while on their yachts. We will see much more of these weather changes over the next few years. While I like some warmth I think 70-75% is good enough and a room touching 88% is not a happy place to be. The daft folks sitting in the sun will be crowding the doctor and chemists for weeks to come. The little sun I have seen has left me scratching the itch and possessing a reddening nose. Not bad maybe but we need a cool breeze now. There again I did a washing the other day and all was dry by evening.
Now here is a novelty. A Conservative Party cabinet minister has been caught out lying and has resigned, that is something that does not happen every day. If it was there are several others, Gove, Johnson, Fox etc who ought also to walk. Oh hold on, this is not a surprise, this is the FOURTH cabinet minister to depart Theresa May's government! It appears she has been taking lessons from that nice Donald Trump after all. In 1982 the Argentinians stupidly invaded the Falkland Islands in an attempt to turn their peoples attention away from their economic problems and ended up in a war. Lord Carrington, then Foreign Minister, immediately resigned on the grounds that his attention had been elsewhere and he had failed. Margaret Thatcher attempted to persuade him to stay on, as he could have done, but he felt he ought to go and he did. This was the last time a Conservative Minister resigned with dignity, since then all others have had to be pushed and some of them were far from dignified in their going. Of course some of the opposition members have also fallen foul but mostly it now appears the Conservative policy to never resign whatever the fault, lying, deceiving, cheating in government or at home all should be shrugged off and keep the party together no matter what. The keeping the party together is of course the real problem. In the 19th century Sir Robert Peel took a brave stand for the sake of the nations economy and ended the Corn Law that protected some and increased bread prices for the majority, this broke his party in two and they were out of office for thirty years after that. In 1867 Disraeli brought in a Reform Act that gave a million men the right to vote, not that he wanted to but he worked with Conservative MPs that did not wish an election in case they lost their seat and radicals who he despised just for spite against William Gladstone and pushed through a radical reform act he did not really want. Theresa and her colleagues are involved in similar games now, either break the nation or break the party, she has chosen the party as have they and soon they will all lead us to destruction, and then they too will be destroyed. Amber (Who calls their daughter 'Amber?') has lost out to save Theresa, but she will be back. What a mess.
The latests April shower has blown a gale since last night and limited my opportunities for travel. So I did the laundry instead... Sitting here watching the rain lash against the window I am cogitating on those who cannot get out at any time. Folks in hospital for months, those trapped in old folks homes, the sick and the old. What must it be like to be trapped all day indoors let out only when a friend or family member arrives to aid you, and what if there are no such people? How lucky I am that I can get out and about, how grateful I am not in a wheelchair or sick and in pain. How grateful for the good life God has given such a man as I.
I have spent some time attempting to sort my files. This means switching from one to another via the laptop, dumping some (usually deliberately) and trying to work out what others actually are. Scandisk could make it better by the brutes not switching themselves off constantly. This of course could be the fault of this laptop, the cursor slides too easily, even after amending the thing, and slips past where it ought to go and sits where it ought not. I wish I had just stuck to the laundry...
As it is wet, drizzly and not so hot the market has a special day. Once again the wide variety of grossly overpriced foodstuffs bring out the crowds (Where do they get the money?) and as a special treat this month there are a few stalls selling the kind of overpriced hand made items women buy, whatever they are.
I am always tempted to the bread but the price £3 or so a loaf puts me off. It looks good and probably is good stuff but expensive being twice and more the price in Tesco's. I suspect the variety of cakes available are also good but to fattening for my calorie controlled diet (with chips).
Once again the car folks brought out their pride and joy into the drizzle. A different crowd from last time and I suspect that when the sun shines regularly there will be more of these on show. I am not clear as to why that guy has his bonnet up, possibly he broke down, possibly he is showing off his clean well tended engine.
Somehow I managed to spend nothing but a few quid on mealworm pellets for the Starlings that are breeding just now. The brutes have emptied the feeders already this morning and trying to empty them again this afternoon. A single Blue Tit has been spotted there but few other wee birds. Guarding my money carefully I came limping slowly home and have spent the day watching football! What more can a man want? Oh yes, a woman to iron a shirt for tomorrow...
As I wandered in the gardens gathering Vitamin 'K' (or is it 'D'?) from the sunshine I cogitated on Theresa May's handling of these Caribbean types who have lived here fifty or so years and are being chucked out by the dozen. It seemed to my little mind that a woman who while spending six years as Home Secretary has forgotten that during her time she ordered advertising vans to drive around 'ethnic' areas plastered with information regarding how these folks should go back home. Nothing racist in this, just obeying the 'Daily Express' and the like. Somewhere along the line the records of such immigrants from the West Indies have been deleted by the home Office, Labour say she did this, now today she claims this was done under the Labour government, I wonder who to believe? The speed in which the Tories have apologised for such blatant racism reveals how much this situation has hurt them. Even Brexit has been put aside, or is being hidden, by the fuss. The poor Junior Minister who first had to admit the policy of dumping folks back home was wrong was bad enough, especially as she appeared not to care one whit, but the Home Secretary Amber Rudd, she who cavorted with an 'activist' at the Party Conference, she also has admitted the wrong although again without any heart showing through. This is driven by the desperate PM, desperate to inspire her troops, desperate to keep her job, desperate to hide the Brexit failure. All this and the Labour opposition under Corbyn can make no headway. It makes you laugh!
Sitting under this tree I had my first take of warmth today. All around the kids were screaming, mums chasing them, people happy as Larry as the sun shone properly for the first time. The wind chill was a nuisance but I missed it sitting here. The warmth forced me to open my shirt and let the sun pretend we were in the Mediterranean and not Essex. It of course did not take long for the attractive young ladies to arrive. They gathered around offering compliments like "He will never get that belly back in that shirt!" And "Captain Ahab, the white whale is here!" I hope they all get mumps.
I suppose it is a terrible thing, facebook stealing all our info, but when they merely use it to pass on to advertisers of whatever persuasion I remain unmoved. For years I have used Ad Block Plus on Firefox and Chrome and rarely ever see and advert. One or two appear for seconds and then disappear but any advert of whatever nature is hard to see on facebook or indeed anything else. The sight of the creepy wee man Zuckerberg facing the US committee ensured any love for him was lost. His appearance reminded me of the weird types seen in some old US movies, the one who turns out to indeed be weird, or a gangster or a zombie perhaps. He did not appear as one you would trust in any capacity. He also gave the impression the US committee could do nothing about him or his actions, and he is right. With so many billionaires working alongside him no Congress committee will get far in putting him down. However it is worrying just how much info people can gather through 'social media.' Fine as long as you do not become opposed to the tyranny that rules and unfortunate of you do as they will know more about you than you do. At this point I'd like to say "Hi!" to MI6, MI5, the FBI, Scotland Yard, the CIA and Mr Putin. The Chinese we met when they had the Olympics and their lackeys watched for any disagreement worldwide and were always ready to spout the party line. It kept them out of jail I suppose. At least they will not see the adverts.
I am enjoying our latest attempt at being snowed in. This however is fine by me after the trip into the Midlands I am happy to watch small, slushy flakes of snow littering the world. Yet another brief interlude of snow for a day or two, not unusual for March. So I sit here writing emails regarding the events in the Midlands. Funerals are strange events, this one involved a burial, quite why my brother wished this I am not sure, maybe he just wishes us to take long trips out of our way to stand in the rain and wind remembering him, it would be his type of humour! As it was the day was bright, the sun shone and took the edge of the chill wind arriving from the east.
The travel included passing through St Pancras station. The last time I was there was about 30 years ago and how it has changed. Having struggled through the underground I now walked about a mile or more past these grossly overpriced shops in this brightly lit tourist filled mall. Not only was this not here 30 years ago I did not realise where the platforms were! "Upstairs!" he said knowing I didn't believe him. However after walking back the way I came clutching my ticket I found an escalator going upwards. The nearest one much to my by now tired bodies dismay came downwards. Only upstairs did I understand the layout of the station here under the huge cavernous space I realised the platforms had moved bar the ones on the far side now used by the Eurostar trains, the reuse of the undercroft, once used to hold major beer haulage as it was transported around the country, for the mall is a sensible way to gather money. St Pancras apparently was a 14 year old Christian who Diocletian had executed for his faith. No, I had not heard of him either. Pancras means 'The one that holds everything' whatever that means. During 1868 the first train, the overnight mail from Leeds, arrived at St Pancras Station stopping under the vast metal and glass roof designed by Barlow & Ordish that has the largest span in the world.
The 'Midland Railway' built the line and in 1923 joined with the 'London and North Western Railway' plus the 'Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway' to form the famous 'London, Midland & Scottish' Railway Company (LMS). These maroon coloured engines hauled their fare through the middle of the country. This came to an end with welcome nationalisation in 1948 when 'British Railways' came into being. Only nationalised railways can serve the nation as privatised ones merely take the money out of the governments generous purse and keep it to the few at the top.
To hide the train shed the Midland railway opened the fabulous station hotel built across the from of the entrance. This is a tourist site in itself! It has been said that Sir George Gilbert Scott originally had this design for the Foreign Office but the then Prime Minister Lord Palmerston would not accept any 'Gothic' design. In stead he insisted on a 'Greek' model and this indeed is what Scott built for him. However when asked to create a hotel for the Midland Railway he merely took his design, moved the centre tower to a position to the end of the building and created this masterpiece. Today just walking through the station now it has been renovated takes the breathe away. I have been inside the building many years ago when it was being used by BT among others. Even among the accumulated crud of years it was possible to see the fantastic quality of this building. The hotel failed in 1935 and became LMS railway offices remaining in lean condition until reopened recently as the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel. Of course I cannot afford to stay there!
The Hind Hotel in Wellingborough has recently been given a new owner, this is good as it is in much need of refurbishment. Meeting the rest of the family who managed to make it we found the staff very friendly, helpful and capable on the late shift. This was the hotels strongest point in my view. As a three star hotel it was acceptable, everything worked, effort had been made to keep it clean and usable and my knees were delighted to climb the ancient wooden stairs to the second floor. The lassie on the desk helpfully offered to carry my bag 'if I needed help!' Grump!
The 'Hind Hotel' was built by Lord Hatton a courtier of Queen Elizabeth who had a hind on his coat of arms. He became a loyal courtier of Elizabeth and was granted much by her and in time reached as high a position as Lord Chancellor. It did not stop him dying with great debts, these folks knew how to lose money. The Hind was built in 'Jacobean style' at a time when Lizzie was trying to ensure Catholics did not return to power yet Hatton remained one of her favourites. Originally the building offered hospitality possibly to those visiting the nearby abbey and they claim evidence Cromwell slept here before the Battle of Naseby. Cromwell, like Elizabeth, slept in many more places than he actually visited of course.
The wooden doors, stairs, bannisters alongside the remains of the coloured glass in the windows indicates something of the quality of the original building. Once the refurbishment is complete this will be an outstanding building.
This was one of the fireplaces this time referencing Victoria though it is not possible to say when it was installed. Now used as a breakfast room and as you can see polished often!
I thought the rooms decent enough though in one or two places the paper was beginning to come away. This made the place feel just like home! TV at the far end where my eyes could not reach was irrelevant as I never watch it anyway however I did consider installing a radio by the bed would have been a good idea as I listen to that.
The weather remained fine for the funeral, the wind eased by the sunshine and the short service led by a man who was not a 'Humanist' as one thought but a 'Spiritual Atheist.' A what? Yes I wondered also however he was raised in a proper evangelical background and now (I think having retired) he had begun to doubt his faith and the biblical view. Listening to him as we talked at the buffet (wake to you) in the 'Stags Head,' a lovely pub, I got the impression it was not a lack of belief but the fact he may have been gay and was attempting to fit that with reality, it will however not work. I could not help but like this man who took trouble to understand my brother and thoughtfully led the service.
A handful of people from my brothers past attended and it was good to hear stories untold by him. I was not aware that at his work on your birthday you brought n a bottle of whisky which was empty by closing time. Nor was I aware that he stood the bottle upside down just to ensure he got the dregs from the bottle and obtained his monies worth. This is not a family habit...
I journeyed back with two soprano's, friends of my talented niece who she often does concerts with, and once again visited St Pancras. This time I wandered around the station and at the base of the needless slushy statue of a couple kissing hello or goodbye found these carvings at the bottom. All round the base several carvings in what looks like brass appear telling stories of those who have passed through. The pictures a re lighter than reality.
Troop trains must have carried thousands of men from this station, not all going abroad of course, many training in various parts of the land. Others were returning from far off, some wounded, and on both occasions relatives may well have watched the comings and goings with worried thoughts.
This looks like a 'tramp,' or 'homeless' as we must call them today, it could indeed be a 'bag lady' but I do not know the story connected. This is a shame as the dog alongside has been well loved by kids and others passing by.
The photo does not do this justice but I plead tiredness and desperation to get to the Tube for my next train. Clearly this one is popular and the head well rubbed. I suppose it was a local who lived near, in or under the station at one time, possibly someone will know.
It is just not possible to picture this magnificent building from the ground. You must get high up and find a decent position. Standing on a Friday afternoon with around a million people roaming around is not the ideal way to take photographs.
It is even harder with a man asking for money for food and failing to get some as he was in my view influenced by drugs/drink and just not getting any from anyone. It is easy to feel guilty by not helping but easing your conscience will not help him and if you really wish to help I say give to one of the many organisations that work among sch folks, then those in need will get help.
Then it was home with one more change arriving in time for tea. However I could not get my knees interested in heading to the shops so made do with anything lying around. Luckily I had thought cleverly enough to get something in and leave it for my return, it did not feel anything like enough. I keep trying to get fit and keep failing, this journey revealed just how unfit I am and I must do something about this and will start this possibly on Wednesday, if I have the energy...
