Several Thoughts

Several things crossed my mind today.  One was the incredible level of stupidity that I can show.  On visiting Sainsburys expensive supermarket yesterday I noted one or two regular items much reduced. This I thought cannot be missed so today I returned for them the intention being to use the 'reward' savings to pay for them.  Rewards that used to be worth a penny and are now worth a halfpenny to aid the greedy supermarkets profits.  I decided to get one or two other things with milk being urgently required.   Not only did I forget the milk, one of the other things I noted on special but I also managed to pay for them before I realised I wished to make use of the rewards, which would have covered most of the cost!  
I went elsewhere for the milk later.

I noticed a story that irked me somewhat this morning.  A young lass was killed by a speeding driver high on drugs.  This happens often and the usual result is a dead person, male or female, young or old, and a devastated family and hurt friends.  The usual result is a six or seven year sentence, with early release usually half way through, and a return to the free world.  Commit a financial crime you will be giving a longer sentence! It irks me that the death of an individual means so little today.  One senior judge a while ago claimed murder should result in no more than a ten year sentence!  The NHS has killed seven million children in abortions, old folks are left to die in many hospitals, care homes with overworked badly paid staff failing to do the job, human life appears to be worthless today.  Will the new government of whatever sort make any difference?  No!

The election desperation from the Conservatives is revealed with a return to Thatcherism stupidity.  How do you help the housing shortage?  You allow people in Council   Housing Association homes!  What a stupid idea and this is supposedly aimed at getting working class votes.  Another of the 'toffs 'treating the lower orders as second class serfs!  Sell off the houses and there will be plenty for everyone - at least there will be after those buying them get chucked out for failing to find the cash to pay the mortgage.  
I canny bring myself to comment on the blatant racism that they offer in suggesting Scots MP's would be barred from voting on tax deals in England even if they affect Scotland.  More pandering to racists.

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Coo,Coo.

This here brute is sitting on the lamppost once again giving out his call sign to the girls.  he was there this morning as my bleary mind attempted to join the world.  Coo, Coo, again and again and again, ignoring the comments made by decent folks attempting to sleep or awaken.  He went on and on and on and on with no reply from the girl who was probably looking into something shiny somewhere worried that her feathers were not quite right.

He is back tonight as he is every night.  

This has gone on for years, ever since I moved here the brute, or his father or forefathers, have sat opposite me calling out at all hours, all inappropriate hours at any rate, seeking their beloved, or anyone's beloved if need be. 

Now I love bird life, especially chicken that I had with chips tonight, and I rejoice in the birdies pairing off and enjoying Spring but I wish they would do it either quieter or elsewhere, especially before six in the morning!

Look, a blue sky!  They say we will be hotter than Madrid tomorrow, even if they do not say it is snowing there.  Twenty degrees of heat they promise, once the clouds lift.  We will wait and see as at the moment the dying embers of the sun lightens the blue sky but does nothing to stop the cold wind freezing my sporran as it howls through the window.  Bah!

A MishMash

Today I decided that I required to take more care when blogging.  I should choose carefully the subject, consider all aspects then when ready write logically and thoughtfully of my topic.  This is of course wise and good healthy advice.

I forgot all about it.

Now here I am brain dead and with nothing to say, logically or in the more usual scrawled style.

As usual nothing happened today.  I never left the house as some malady kept me in this morning even though the weather turned out reasonable.  The football certainly filled the afternoon and some pleasure has been taken dealing with the riff-raff in the follow up.  Dearie me how Hibernian folks get excited when they win.  I suppose this is because it is such an oddity they are not sure what to do!  Two football matches in a row are quite wearying, the emotions aroused, the shouting at the ref, the stress caused and like most others I needed to lie on the floor for a bit to recover my equilibrium, which I am told lies just behind the kidneys.  

After this there was nothing to do but raid the Radio iPlayer for old programmes.  This I must say is how I tend to listen to the radio these days.  It is almost impossible to be there when the programme you wish to hear is available and I find some of the old comedies funnier than those now on offer. Whether this is age or the BBC's unwillingness to serve up anything controversial on these lines I know not, I do know they are quite touchy about bad reports after some folks upset too many.  We are left with puerile or unfunny stuff all too often instead.  Milton is not too bad mind.

Telegraph

As if things were not bad enough the US has started it now.  The Clinton missus has announced she will run for President.  This means we not only have our own election special boring the pants of us as they lie through he media to us all we also will be engulfed by news of Clinton and her fans, news of her opponents and the media baloney that follows them.  Oh joy!  I suspect when election day arrives we will just put a cross somewhere with our eyes closed to get it over with for all the difference it makes. 

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Now I'm Not One to Complain...

Daily Mail

A glance at the media reveals much about the election, the 'Daily Mail' has put meaningless things such as a tennis players wedding and a boat race for 'toffs' above the election because the Conservative Party is struggling.

Andy whatsisname clearly is an outstanding tennis player, even though tennis ranks as a 'sport' so boring that someone invented Basketball to make tennis look interesting, they failed by the way. Here he is in the middle of a media scrum with crowds of women peering at the dress as if it was important. The wee town of Dunblane would be an ideal place to avoid today if there was anything resembling a brain inside your head, if not join the throng and gape at nothing.  

As if that was not bad enough I was lucky enough to be sitting in a cemetery where more excitement could be found than on the banks of the River Thames where a boat race between university teams took place.  Normally this incident passes of without notice even though it fills precious TV airtime yet today it was called 'historic' by stupid people.  You see today they let the girls race on the same day and women everywhere proved their ineligibility for voting by making a fuss about this.  

Now normally when the Olympics occurs I manage to miss most of it, especially when English toffs treat Scotland with the usual disrespect, but rowing is one thing I like to watch.  It is a gentle sport, for the viewer, as teams of big hulks tear their limbs apart rowing for miles to win a medal.  I like watching this even if it is merely girlies pulling the oars.  However having listened to one of these harridans whining this morning about the horrid treatment they suffer, not being allowed to use the men's changing rooms, having to pay up to £2000 to row etc, I felt little sympathy for these rich little darlings.  They can afford the cash, daddy pays anyway, if they wish a changing hut why not build one or buy a suitable building? They will not do this as they want it for free, from the men!

I want equality!  I want every road gang to be half female and half male, I want the same for scaffolders, miners and 'white van men,' I want the number of murdered men to be the same as that of murdered women instead of 90% being male.  I wish men got the same 'consideration' in court females are allowed 'because of circumstances.'  I wish for all male selection quotas for election candidates, I wish men could win compensation for 'sexism' the way women do, poor dears.  I wish equality but it will not happen.

A 'historic event?' You rowed a boat in a race no-one cares about bar yourselves and the 'elite.'  You did nothing while men throughout the nation did a vast number of important things, but they will never be made known.

   Telegraph

Golf, the 'Masters' is being played but only shown on 'Sky.'  This means I have missed it.  Sadly I never realised I was missing it until tonight.  I can suffer on without it and I suspect the world will remain the same.  

After rising early and finding the weather being somewhat dreich putting off my plans I was forced by circumstances to return to bed this morning.  Of course this was much against my will but I struggled through, snoring appropriately, and made the best of it.  The plans for doing something having failed I decided to cycle downhill to the other cemetery and redo the photos from their.  This I did manfully fighting the wind that decided to blow from the north with a needless intensity.  The job done, the men still lying where they had been, I sat and watched the trees with my better camera awaiting the opportunity to picture the wildlife.  None appeared!  A squirrel in the distance alongside a Magpie were the sum of it all.  Birds chirped hidden from deep inside the trees but I could not see them.  

I gave up, returned the doings to their place, looked for the bike and lo , high overhead two Kestrel type birds appeared searching for lunch.  By the time I was ready for them they were miles away!  I suppose they were a mating pair as it is unusual to see two such birds together.  Why did they wait until I was homeward bound?  

However I returned in time for the Scottish football which does not really concern us until tomorrow when we play Hibernian.  I listened to the games online while my bones creaked and the muscles tightened slowly.  I stretched, I stretched again, I fell on the floor, I groaned, I stretched, I made no difference. All this cycling is harder than it was last year, I really feel it this time.  I might need to get one of those oarswomen to give me a massage, it makes a better use of them I say.

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It Never Ends

Inevitably after sunshine come mist!  It has taken all morning to disperse.  It was almost like being in Edinburgh once again!  This morning I had intended to return to the cemetery and grab some early morning pictures but the mist hindered this so I did nothing whatsoever, although I was supposed to do several things.  
The problem you see was the pictures on the WW2 memorial they were too big! The wee camera pictures come out at around a 1000k, the fancy new camera bought at a quarter of the original price come out at around 6-7000k each!  This means I ran out of space quickly.  Bah!  I discovered this when I had almost completed upgrading the original photos.  I could not work out why I had used 95% of the space when I had 27 pictures and around 90 men there and the WW1 memorial had 61 photos and over 200 men!  Technology is too much for my dim mind.  
So once again I had to slog it down the road, this time in bright and indeed hot sunshine, with weary knees and a lack of food inside me, I forgot to eat properly last night again.  When the mist cleared off I went seeking out the stones from last week.  They were still there I noted.  It would have annoyed me had they moved during the previous days.  
So now I have to once again go through the site removing and adding for the umpteenth time.  Oh joy! Sometimes I wish I had not started this.  Bah!

In other news the election continues....yaaaawn..... 

Cogitating

My exciting life has been heightened even further recently by the unexpected appearance of the sunshine.  Yes indeed the warmth has made an appearance! You can tell how warm it was by men immediately donning shorts and t-shirts with daft writing on them and parading around, some with dark glasses to prove they are with it.  I need not inform you that what was with them was a chill wind from the east but they being English did not realise this.  I noticed it this morning as I again took my weary knees up the old railway, the bike and I creaking loudly in the early morning mist.

  
By this time we are all desperate for sunshine and warmth that within minutes of the sun appearing clothes were being stripped off in the centre of town, not by me, and young men were once again noticing what girls here look like.  Sad to say far too many have spent the winter on the couch chomping on potatoes but that apart we all rejoiced to see what appears to be Spring.  

We saw an excellent example of electioneering this week.  The Conservatives, Labour and Lib-Dems all took an example of tax and showed how much you saved/lost/will save/will lose by quoting almost the same statistics but misreading them to suit themselves.  All lies and double dealing.  I keep thinking of Gordon Brown becoming chancellor and seeking the statistics then available.  he immediately threw them out as he knew they were wrong, sent his men to find the actual statistics and then lied to us all about what he found. All chancellors do this, all politicians do this, we still vote for 'our party' rather than thinking.  What fools the voters can be.   Of course now there is no real ideological gulf between the parties, both seek the middle ground with a slant this way or that and both really just want the top job, nothing else matters!  My dream is that the electorate will refuse to allow any of the leading men of these parties to stay in office, vote for the loony party and get a better member of parliament!

A big fuss in America as another black man is shot by a cop eight times as he ran away.  Actually he was only shot five times, he missed three times!  Some say this is racist, some say it is murder. There again one or two of these dead black men (there appears to be one each day) were not exactly nice men, others appear to be unfortunate but considering these cops shoot white men just as freely you must understand that in the US mentality there is a preference to shoot long before asking any questions.  US cops have always been keen to lash out with big sticks, just look at old films of strikes in the 1920''s and 30's.  The criminal justice system there appears more about vengeance than justice, we can talk can't we!  Justice is easier to find if you have a good lawyer, which means you must be rich, and clever folks can get away with anything if a 'Perry Mason' is working for you.  It is clear something is not right, possibly the idea of carrying too many guns has a part to play let alone blatant racism?

Such things don't happen in the UK where we all get along very well, never a bad word spoken and no racism of any kind, even the lawyers are cheap.  Well apart from the Romanians and the Africans seeking asylum, and the desire of some to push them back into the sea.  I note that the areas where there is little sight of such people there is a great fear of them everywhere, I wonder if the media have a hand in this?  Tsk, surely not, our media is so honest and cares for 'freedom of the press,' I note that on their online comment columns they do tend to remove things that do not suit the editor however, maybe we are not the press so we have no freedom to disagree?

Anyway, I'm off to massage my knees as none of the local beauties would care for my knees no matter how many reduced price Easter eggs I offered them...

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Early Morning

In times past the F5 Tank Engines would puff their way up the slope, clanking metal scaring the birds, rabbits and occasional cow as they huffed towards their next stop.  I can assure any ex-driver still with sufficient mental awareness that as I reached the top of the slope this morning I gave off more steam than any Great Eastern Engine ever did.  Muscles aching I slithered to a stop and failed to catch my breath that appeared to have been left behind far down the slope.  A blackbird sang happily in the branches above, laughing at me I expect.  

Being Easter Monday is a holiday, though few realise that the word arose  from the old 'Holy Days' that brought the day into being.  Easter eggs, shops sales and days off sitting in heavy traffic are considered better today.  However this meant many folks were away for a long weekend, or indeed week so few were out and about, just a couple of non conversational dog walkers.

How sweet the world is as the sun rises above the trees creating a slight mist by removing the frost from the grass.  Silence over the land bar the bright singing of the birds staking their place and calling for a mate.  Even the wind dies down while very high above noiseless aircraft leave white trails in the sky.  A passing Staffordshire Bull Terrier ignores me as the signs of previous pets are more interesting to him than mere strangers, the owner gives a hesitant wave, his mind still asleep as he wonders what sort of eejit stands taking pictures of nothing at this time of day.

The day is so quiet even the rabbits feel safe enough to have breakfast openly, although at a distance. The ears listening for any sign of danger and how powerful these ears must be, much better than ours. I think I am right in saying rabbits came to Britain with the Romans as they thought this a good source of food.  Whether they came deliberately or came as stowaways on ships I cannot say.  Round hear the farmers are none to keen on them and often you can hear a gunshot as Farmer Jones gets his lunch ready.  

When I first saw that church I really took it to be a manor house or left over castle of some sort.  The square tower gives a formidable 'feel' to the building. Adding the unfortunate flag at the top, a suitable flag in the eyes of these English obviously, and the castle like appearance is made.  One day I will get a look inside but this church is always locked, too many light fingered types pass close by sadly.  

The best bit off the day is the homeward journey downhill.  I should be good at 'downhill' as I have been going that way for many years now.  The knees were informing me that I had not done enough cycling to go far, and they speak loudly, so it was time to turn around and head east once again.

In the past I used a Minolta camera with additional lenses.  Now in these digital days I have gone and bought myself a new Lumix camera, secondhand obviously, and whereas before it took a while to fiddle with turning dials and choosing apertures now I must read what the computer says.  I have no idea what I am doing!  A quick read of the online manual and I am more confused! However this will be dealt with in time and the 'fancy dan' buttons and numbers will all become clear as mud at some unspecified time in the future.  At least the super 'Leica' lens brings things closer.

I can hear the voices of many who have walked for miles along the old railway line, fifteen miles to the far end you must know, I can hear them spying this seat in the distance and longing for it to come closer.  The land round about used to belong to the farm house situated on the hill, now surrounded by 1990's housing developments as the old farmer died and the most enriching crop today is houses.  The land to the side of the line the new owner wishes to sell to a developer.  He had planned 500 houses a couple of years ago and was cried down by the locals.  The latest wheeze is to build 1500!  The first response is not printable.  Of course the idea is you demand 1500, reduce it to 700 and probably get away with it, especially if you are a 'friend' of the council. Depending on the next government that 'friendship' might succeed.  However for the townsfolk this is a breath of greenery they cannot afford to lose.  While there are fields around the town here the walkers and cyclists, and at places horse riders, can journey through the land, and we are usually so far from the earth in our daily lives we need this breathing space more than we need to enrich a developer.  
The dog walkers probably would not admit it but they enjoy this space among the trees, fields, birds, rabbits and open views more than the dogs the disgusting stuff they rummage amongst.  This is something we all require, and after twenty one years in London I cannot tell you how much I enjoy this open air life.  Even though a few days ago I marked nineteen years in this abode I still enjoy standing staring into the country as if it was something new.  Lets keep the trees and green fields and put all the houses in London where they belong!

Easter Sunday

I Forgot...

I forgot to post again.  I was having such a good day (satire) and forgot!

Good Friday

A Mixed Bag

With the arrival of temporary sunshine I took the opportunity to visit the cemetery and upgrade the fotos on the war memorials.  The newly cut grass gave off a sweet fragrance as I walked across the wide expanse looking for my friends who have lain here so long.  I had permission to do this from the various bodies concerned.  I am happy that I managed to find most but not so happy that the one perfect picture of a colourful robin sitting atop a stone was missed! Typical!
My knees now ache as the exercise, which I need, is much harder than when I was a boy.  It appears almost impossible to get rid of the aches from the muscles after exercise, no wonder folks don't do it. Anyway I walked there and back and stuffed my face afterwards with fattening stuff.  This may have been the wrong option.
  
Nothing else happened.  The election fills the papers, interrupted only by gunmen in various places, and with no football till the weekend I have had to fill the spare time reading Tacitus.  His history may not be quite as we would write today but gives an interesting insight into Rome in the first century.  A while back I looked at the emperors for the first 300 years and only about seven or eight actually died normally in their beds, the rest died by poison, sword or pillows over the head.  The Emperor had amazing powers and few considered changing his role into a more democratic one, it appeared he could kill anyone just because he said so.  This certainly was Caligula and Nero's way and the rest made use of their position to remove troublemakers.  Hmmm maybe this is worth returning to, if I am emperor of course.   
Life in Roman times were very rough.  It is difficult to understand how such life could be endured yet we see similar around us much of the time.  ISIS appear keen on a similar style, without the pretend civilisation and empire, and occasionally it rears its head elsewhere, North Korea perhaps. A strong ruler could dictate a decent society, better than ours perhaps but in the end he dies and who knows what kind of man will take over.  In the end a free society means people have to be free to choose, that as the Ashers bakery in Northern Ireland and the Evangelical Preacher in the south coast have discovered does not exist.  They have both been browbeaten for party gain and by the courts at that!  
We need to use our freedom such as it is as it may not last much longer.  Who knows what mess lies ahead and the after effect of the next election will be structurally changing for this nation.  Other events will soon occur to make us worry.  Life is never what we wish it to be.  I would be perfectly happy with a small cottage with a sea view spending my days watching the sun go down as I feed the birdies and with constant sunshine on tap.  I am easily pleased.


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Sick of it Already

I had a close shave today.  Passing though town happily clutching the two books I purchased for ten pence each from a charity shop I was approached by a man in a suit.  This is always worrying.  He handed me the leaflet above and proudly boasted this man was in attendance in town today!  
I think I was supposed to be impressed.
You see the UK is having an election.  One of those events that stirs up so much apathy amongst those who have seen it all before or have felt themselves left out no matter which bunch of lying expense fiddlers takes office.  There is indeed a feeling that this government, opposition and other hangers on are indeed far from the people, an emotion I have sympathy with.  
The reason is simple, we are wealthy! 
Now I realise we have millions on low pay, a million unemployed (and I know how much suffering that causes) many on 'zero hours contracts,' and an abundance of 'food banks' offering emergency handouts to those in desperate need.  I am aware of the difficulties of many in this world, the gaps in the 'welfare state' and the abuse many make of this.  I realise that there are a great many on limited incomes working as carers for family members (£66 a week I think they get) and this removed if they make money elsewhere.  I am aware of all these things just as I am aware our present Prime Minister informed us "This is a rich country" when  explaining he could do something about the floods in Oxfordshire, near his constituency!  The failure to do anything for those suffering greater floods in the south west was not mentioned at the time.
We are indeed wealthy but the government, an unelected coalition thrown together to enable the Conservative Party to run the roost five years ago, the government has decided on years of 'austerity' instead of following the US manner of escaping the great worldwide recession, 'spend the way out.'  The Yanks avoided 'austerity' and kept going well enough, we saw millions dumped on the street, indeed many lost homes, a bedroom tax on some of the weakest and a dreadful mismanagement of the welfare system in which those most in need were losing out.
All the while the banks continued to pay excessive bonuses, Vodafone, Starbucks & Google made millions by avoiding paying any tax, and MP's voted themselves an eleven per cent pay increase. And men such as this from all parties rented out the flats in London paid for by the nation near the House of Commons to others while claiming expenses of thousands of pounds for hotel accommodation.  In short the rich have got richer while the rest suffer.  Today the Conservative papers tell us business leaders are afraid of the Labour Parties ideas, no wonder, they have had huge increases while the workers have not!

On top of the usual rhetoric (that is a Greek word which today means 'Lies') we now have a different situation at this election.  It is possible you may have noticed the referendum last year in which Scotland was asked to vote on Independence from the imperialist English.  This would mean Scotland becoming totally independent and leaving the UK to sink into it's own morass.  However the Westminster government, the opposition and all in London got together to lie through the media to the Scots people and forced a rejection of this fine idea on Scotland.  Promises and vows were made, the day afterwards they were instantly broken!
Now however the reaction to the treatment of Scotland from these broken vows has led to an upsurge in support for the Scottish national Party (SNP).  It is now expected that instead of a handful of seats in the Westminster House of Commons the SNP may have up to FIFTY members there!  
Add to this the closeness of the debate in England with the Conservatives under David Cameron the unwanted leader struggling to gain support and with a dying Liberal Democrat Party (the other member of the coalition) the fear is that the SNP and Labour might win a majority in the House.  If so it is likely they will work together to improve the UK by changing the world by seeking an equilibrium of wealth. The rich paying more tax hurts the Conservative media, caring for the poor and ensuring a fairer welfare state upsets those who wish to keep what they have no matter how others suffer.  
Worse still is the racist attitudes that abound in the 'Daily Mail' and 'Daily Telegraph.'  Both these papers are screaming that it is wrong for a democratically elected party like the SNP to govern England!  These being the very people happy for unelected Conservatives to govern Scotland! 
Even US politics is not so absurd as this!
One Scottish MP who helped construct the Scottish parliament announced that 'We structured it in a way that would stop the SNP gaining control."  However the people gave the SNP control of the Scottish parliament with a massive majority, now these same people are afraid it will happen in London.
Shame!
I look forward to the seats filled with cheering SNP men demanding Independence in the face of the imperialists who stopped it by lies once before!

In my own constituency we have a new man whatever happens the previous MP standing down after being caught waggling his willie over the internet to pretty girls.  This above is the man most likely to win this seat, the previous man had an 18,000 majority, and I suspect he will have a good win also. However the feeble Labour support will come out I suppose, the Lib-Dem will probably lose his deposit, as will the Independent and the Green candidate will get a handful of votes. However the biggest danger to this man is the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) The 'Tea Party of England!    
This is a collection of individuals, mostly xenophobic Englishmen, who consider the nation to be overrun with foreigners, that England, sorry Britain, should leave the European Union and stand alone and be great again as in times past. Fair to say most of their support comes from the districts with less immigrants than anywhere else and that these people are always happy to have a curry at the weekend.
Many of these candidates and their supporters are one time members of the Conservative Party who disagreed with Cameron's approach, especially lumping same-sex marriage unwelcome on the nation. Some it is clear are so far to the right and make Margaret Thatcher appear Communist but most are decent enough folk who long for a past that never existed.  It is true to say the world they grew up in has long gone, although it would have changed anyway with or without immigrants, and the PC approach calling them 'racist' because they questioned immigration treated them with a great deal of disrespect and has led to many far right groups, mostly thugs, walking the streets.  A fair and balanced approach never occurred and the 'Daily Mail' and others have encouraged anger by lurid headlines, sometimes based on facts and always slanted to what the reader wished to see.
A balanced approach has not been heard in public at any time.

At the last election I was embarrassed to vote for any of them, but we MUST vote, and looking at this motley lot lined up so far I am going to be embarrassed again.  If only the 'Official Monster Raving Loony Party, ' or maybe the 'Church of the Militant Elvis party' were standing, I would certainly vote for one of these! 

I avoided speaking to this erstwhile candidate today, asking him how much he hoped to make on expenses might have sounded rude.  Asking why he keeps his present councillor job (at a good rate) for a year would be a question he already has a lie lined up for and may end up with the conversation descending into farce as his heavies shoved me away.
I just came home and looked at my books, twentypence for two slightly damaged books is good.   

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The Man's Story

I decided to take a look at the story of the young man lying in the grave at the wee church I visited the other day.  Like many of such tales it is sad indeed.

Gunner Frank Raven, artillery men are always called 'gunner' not private, was born in Great Tey in 1896 to a ploughman working on the farms round about. By 1901 there were nine in the family and he was the fourth brother out of six. His sister I suspect would still be the house bully, they usually are!  Each one was born in Great or Little Tey indicating how dad moved from farm to farm according to the possibility of work.  Ploughmen however were highly skilled and better paid.  The eldest brother, at twenty years of age, was a pork butcher and by 1911 all the working boys were farm hands.  By then the sister and elder brother had gone, not unlikely married, possibly however sickness was rife before the NHS.
I have no idea what sort of dwelling they rented but I suggest an outside loo, a pump or well for water and crowded rooms, par for the course at the time of course.  Some villages retain their pump making it a visitor attraction. Occasionally I notice them removed into peoples gardens as ornaments.  Life on the land would be run according to the light, and summer would mean long days of hard back breaking work, especially later when harvest had arrived.  No transport bar a horse if you were lucky, or possibly a chance ride on the cart on the way home.  

The census of 1911 shows the family at Broad Green, Great Tey, not far down the road where he worked on the farms.  Five sons lived here with their parents those not at school were on the farm. Not much else available I suspect or was there no desire to move away I wonder? 
War left its mark on every part of the kingdom.  Agricultural workers often saw this as a chance of escape from a hard, dull life, especially if foreign travel was involved.  On November 1915 Frank signed the attestation form pledging to serve for the duration of the war.  He travelled to Colchester, a few miles down the road, possibly walking all the way, and enlisted in the Royal Garrison Artillery Regiment. Did his brothers go with him or had they already enlisted?  I do not have time to look.  He was by then 20 years of age, five foot six in height and I suspect very fit.
Within six days hew as posted to Great Yarmouth for basic training and by the 13th of December with what appears to be the 13th Company.  He remained there, based I guess at Yarmouth defending the coast against enemy shipping and Zeppelins passing over.  That are was on their main route into the hinterland.

I suspect Frank had never travelled far in his life.  Possibly into Colchester, maybe Braintree, however I doubt he would have been to Great Yarmouth before.  Certainly he would never had considered travelling to Cricklewood where he was posted to the 6th AA Company on the 1st of May 1916.  This anti-aircraft company were part of the answer to Zeppelins and Gotha Bombers that upset the people of London so. Faded writing makes things unclear but he appears to be there until September when he possibly developed a sickness. This was indeed serious.  So serious that he was discharged from the army on medical grounds on the 8th of February 1917.  This was a time when men were desperately required and only serious illness or wounds would enable such discharge.  The cause was a form of cancer and on the 28th March he died.  He was 21 years of age.

His address is given as Houchins Farm, next door to the 1911 address. farm workers, especially good ones, did not have to travel far for work even if the wages were poor.  It comes to mind that eight shillings a week might have been the wage while factories nearby paid twelve.  Franks character is described as 'good' by his officer so he no doubt was a reliable worker.  The army rewarded the deceased with a war gratuity (£4 in Franks case) and a medal to remember him by.  
I don't think we should forget him, do you? 

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I Took a Walk Today

I decided at the last minute I was going to take advantage of the bleary sun that appeared in between the clouds to go somewhere new today. Remembering the buses use a different timetable on Saturdays, and don't run at all on Sundays, I checked the supposed times online.  This gave me just enough time to grab my coat and run.  I then returned and put my shoes on.
I thought of a place to go and sitting upstairs at the front with the sun shining through the windows it was almost like Spring, if you ignored the clouds.  We proceeded apace and after about twenty minutes I judged we were nearing the stop for the place that was in my mind.  So I rang the bell and as they say, alighted.  Quite what that word means I am not sure.  Does it mean I got lighter by getting off, could they imply be leaving the bus that object of delights felt lighter?  I know not and worried little about it at the time.      
It appeared to me my goal lay just down the road and I proceeded in an easterly direction, as the constables would say, before deciding to first walk up the short street marked 'Dead end' as the sign pointed to the church of 'St James the Less.'  Less what we will ignore for now.  
On the way up the road I noticed the kind of thing often seen in the back roads of English villages, on this occasion it was the turret of an American tank sitting in the front garden as if this was a normal sight to see.  In this part of the world, in among the quiet bungalows where nothing but wife swapping and money laundering are the usual pastimes people often parade their hobbies for the few passers-by to enjoy.

  
Whether the old tractor in the rear actually works these days I doubt but the American truck looks like it may sometimes be used.  
I sauntered on passing the quiet houses, enjoying the near seclusion from the world hurtling by less than a mile down the road and arrived at the small church.  To the right, just behind the car park, lay a field, the recently ploughed earth a light brown colour as it waited for the offerings beneath to start sprouting. Two houses stood on the other side and nothing moved, not even a bird.  

The church was erected in 1130 but I failed to discover by whom and for whom. Such churches were often built by the local Lord for the villages in his area but I know not who he may have been.

Much altered since the 12th century, and renamed St James the Less in 1365 in stead of St Mary for some reason, the church conveys and impression of age. The mustiness in the air pervades the building heightening its attractiveness rather than lessening it.  Somewhat darker than the photos show light fills the place today through two large windows on either side, I think these may have been the ones inserted in the 14th century.  It is always something to admire when we talk of buildings renovated so long ago. This small church has been used by people for hundreds of years, mostly agricultural types, I suspect there was little else on offer then, working themselves to death every hour of the day on what must have been back breaking toil on the fields.  

     
One interesting recent discovery was the aged paintings that once ran round the walls.  Most of these were removed during the reformation but the majority of these appear to have survived reasonably well. Of course years of whitewash have hidden them so this may have preserved them to some extent but it also damaged them so these are difficult to interpret at first sight.  The explanation booklet I could not find but one day I will discover more.  

  
The old beams above the window may hold the roof up but originally this was probably a thatched roof, tiles would come later.  Many houses around here remain thatched and the Thatchers art was dying out by the 1960's but demand has once again trained men to the job.  needs must I suppose.

One small portion of coloured glass dating from the 1400's is found high above the window in the apse. Too insignificant for reformation zealots but maybe the windows in this church were not stained in any way, money would be scarce.

Sadly such buildings are usually locked as light fingered peoples appear looking for treasure, I however was fortunate enough to get into this one today.  There is no treasure here, the building itself, and the wall paintings, are the treasure and one worth visiting.  

I was much taken by the organ, which I suppose actually works, especially because of the size.  What a delight, however I am not keen on organ music as such and my delight might fade if I heard it in operation.

The round end and building material can be clearly seen here.  The rubble used is typical of local churches.  No stone in sufficient quantities here, occasionally Roman bricks can be seen where once proud villas have fallen apart and been reused by the Saxons and later Normans for their buildings.

Naturally I found a dead soldier in the graveyard, there is usually one somewhere.  Even little villages like this, still only a handful of houses, only seven families in 1810 and only a couple of dozen hoses in the area now.  How many attend the church I wonder?
Anyway having enjoyed my fill of the delightful place I wandered on towards what I thought was my intended destination.  As I walked I realised I may have made a mistake somewhere as this appeared to be failing to make an appearance.  My knees ached, the weather became warm, so I jumped on a bus to discover I had indeed got off at the wrong stop by about three miles!  The bus pass came in useful!    
The destination was a church I often pass on the bus, it was locked!
Maybe the good Lord took me to a better place, certainly he knew more about where I was going than I did!
My knees now ache, I need to eat a large steak and sleep for a week! 


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Looking Down on You

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Clarkson and Psychology

Difficult to say what is the biggest news item today.  Is it the plane crash costing around 150 lives or the sacking of Jeremy Clarkson from 'Top Gear?  I notice another contender is causing tears, screams and outrage in that a member of a group called 'One Direction' has walked out and wee girls are throwing themselves out of windows everywhere because of this.  For myself I tire of the delays in dealing with Clarkson, who has gone too far once to often, and sacking was the only step possible.  The information regarding this plane crash in the Alps is as always limited and I am not willing to read acres of space telling me how relatives are in tears.  That is neither offering information nor necessary.  Let people grieve alone I say. 
Clarkson was good in that he often said what many think but are not in a position to say so.  The PC lobby shuts the mouth of freedom far too easily, Jeremy cut through this.  He did go too far and there are those who say that lamping a producer because his dinner was not ready is a step too far and sacking was the result.   The singer, if he is a 'singer' concerns me not.  Such groups are there to sell to wee girls, not to produce music.  I suspect like most of this kind their offerings would be covers of others songs. Real musicians, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Kinks, Jimi Hendrix, Van Morrison and Joe Cocker and many others wrote and sang their own works usually.  They had something to say unlike the 'Bubblegum Music' still on offer today.
What's that about ageing...?

Scots they say are the most friendly and open people, Londoners the most miserable.  At least according to a psychological survey just published. According to whoever runs this thing where you live affects your personality, gosh I never thought that!  
Of course where you live affects you, the history of the place, going back thousands of years, the environment in which you live, hill, seaside, plain etc, all have an effect on you and those brought up there.  How could it be otherwise?  I could have told them how grumpy Londoners can be after 20 years of it, and it has always been thus, and Scots are of course happy, jolly always keen to be friendly type of people, and don't you forget it pal!   
However I sometimes wonder about psychologists.  Once upon a time it was the popular thing to study, then it was media studies as the money was better, I suspect the chattering classes are into gender studies today.  Rarely do such folks study something useful, like History!  
Some degree of psychology is a requirement, to attempt to understand humans is a good thing, however all to often some crazy studies appear with little practical or positive effect and such as that are published in the press.  This long study has only told us what we already know, was it worth it?

Nothing Day

Such a nothing day today.  I spent so much time staring into the laptop I missed the sunshine.  By the time I went out for bread it was becoming cloudy as the rain returns once more.  The chap who runs this establishment has left his beast outside to impress folks.  I thought it a great little show and had to grab a picture or two.  When I was 16 these were very popular and I was torn between dreaming of having one of these or a proper motor bike like a BSA or Norton.  Naturally I got neither as there was no money of any sort.  It was ten years before I managed to get my hands on a short lived Suzuki, not nearly as splendid as this beast on show here.  My renown technical achievements soon rendered it useless!
All the bikes I admired, Triumph, James, BSA, Royal Enfield and the like died soon afterwards as the word 'innovation' was a stranger to the companies that made them in the English Midlands.  The Japanese however were very much into 'innovation' and their superiour Suzuki's, Honda's and Yamaha's soon became the thing to buy.  Simple things like a push button start as opposed to kicking the brute helped many enjoy the bike.  Oil not dripping everywhere was another advantage. In every way the Japanese were better and by the 70's there was no more UK bikes.  Occasionally one or other reappears for a while, always producing huge bikes that cost millions, and only Royal Enfield continue as before, this time based in India.  All official bikes in India at the time were Royal Enfield's and they had their own factory there.  They bought up all the machinery from England and shipped it out to their factories and continued to make the bikes, still do!  These are now imported into the UK, indicators and other things added to make them legal and appropriate, and the 350 and 500 are occasionally seen on the roads here.
Ah well, when the rain stops tomorrow afternoon I might blow up the tyres on my bike and pedal around, or not as the case may be...