Getting Shirty

I noticed a man crossing the park this morning with his dearly beloved, he was wearing a Manchester United football shirt, this just before 9 am.  Here we are, 350 miles from Manchester, and a typical Man U fan is seen!  I'll bet this creature has never lowered himself to enter the local teams stadium to watch them in action.  A connection to the local side appears less welcome than following a side whose ground you have never visited!  

This irks me.

Some years ago, delivering post up the Ridgeway, I noticed a 10 year old wearing a similar shirt.  His dad told me he supported Ipswich, which makes sense as it is quite local and once was a top side, and he may well have originated from that area.  But the kid was influenced by tv as so many are.

My football influence came from my dad, reading about the Hearts and wanting to play football constantly, even if rubbish at it.  A dozen years of wandering about Scotland in all weathers, mostly wet, following a side with less hope of success than an ice cube in the Sahara.  But this is what the fan does, and they still do.  Those days have gone and the chances of ever seeing Edinburgh again diminish daily, but the club is still in my life.  Not so important as it once was, real life now dominates, but if they win or lose I feel it.  The long distance fan who has rarely seen his team in action cannot comprehend the life of a true fan, it is not possible.  Anyway, next year his shirt will change colour and he will follow another.

Which brings me to thankfulness for Scotland qualifying in marvellous fashion for the Euros in Germany next year.  Win, lose or draw matters not.  We are again amongst the elite, this is where we ought to be as only by playing amongst the best can we improve.  Steve Clark, much unsung by the Glasgow mafia, has led his side to success and looks good for more.  Congratulations and applause for him.

Hopefully he will take on the Heart of Midlothian job afterwards...

Saturday Morn

I sit here sipping my 'Buttermint Green Tea,' cogitating on the condensation on the windows this morning.  I also cogitate on the type of person who produces 'Buttermint Tea!'  The windows indicate the end of the warm spell, it was down to 7c last night, that's 44f to you, and a normal October has arrived.  Limping up the road to Tesco I passed a typical English man dressed in shorts and summer shirt but wearing a big coat over it all.  Some folks are reluctant to end summer, even in Autumn.  

The windows are wiped down, just as well I cleaned them properly a few weeks ago, and the open windows soon dry them, even though I am now freezing!  At least the feeble sun is shining, hanging low behind the town hall as I passed, bringing some warmth to the earth, brightening the leaves rusting in the trees, warming the birds when the stop from feeding their faces long enough to enjoy what warmth is on offer.

The 'Buttermint tea' is quite refreshing as I sit languidly gasping for breath at the desk.  Tesco's was quite quiet this morning, for a Saturday, the lass at the checkout friendly, the price increases enormous!  What a rip-off Tesco has become.  Starmer will not have the guts to demand a windfall tax on their profits!  I notice how much things have increased, how do some people survive?  I remembered, for no reason at all, this morning David Cameron's response to a question regarding an old women unable to afford to turn the heat up.  'Just put on a pullover,' he replied!  A true Tory!

Thursday Thoughts

 

Interesting to read how Bernie Ecclestone, the 93 year old one time owner of Formula 1, has been given a suspended sentence for dodging £400 million tax.  A Trust he did not comprehend, I think is the excuse.  He has agreed to pay £650 million to the tax man to avoid jail.

In itself there is not much here in this story, except that a rich man has been forced to pay money to the taxman.  Bernie himself has always been his own man, that's how he became rich, and after paying this cash he will still have millions, if not billions, put aside 'for the family.'  I am left considering why a 93 year old needs so much cash?

He is described as 'frail' in court, but such 'frail' men are often seen on their yachts with young ladies later looking quite frisky.  Remember that Guinness man who developed dementia while on trial and then forgot about it after release?   What does a 93 year old require billions for?  He must have family, he must have friends, but once again I think, had it been me, I would be making positive use of this money.  Maybe of course it is having the riches is where his life is based.  The wealth, the boasting, the power, is what matters, the actual cash means little.  

I wonder when the HMRC will decide to take such action amongst the present cabinet...?

I wonder if Benjamin made a mistake?  We hear from many sides that an attack by Hamas was expected.  Lat night I heard two BBC correspondents mentioning this, and the BBC foreign correspondents are quite good, unlike those in London.   The problems on the border, the jailing of Palestinians, the difficulties in Gaza, the deaths of young Palestinians, all have created tension.  Hamas have been looking for an excuse to launch an attack, did Israel misunderstand this?  

The more I read the more I wonder if Benjamin considered a small outrage by Hamas worth suffering as then he could go in heavy and deal with it, and strengthen his leadership.  He is not one to avoid an excuse to build himself up.  However, the Hamas attack was very creative, totally beyond what was expected, hundreds killed, many wounded, and total shock in an Israel slowly building itself into a 'European/World State.'  The immediate response was expected, but who suffered Hamas or others?

Now there has been created a 'national government' of sorts.  Maybe this will save Netanyahu, maybe not.  Many on Twitter blame him, indeed a poll today almost 60% blame the man himself.  The problem with playing with war is that you can get hurt.  If he overdoes the response now it could go very wrong, much more dangerous for the world that Ukraine, which we now all ignore.     

Prospect

I've just been listening to a podcast on 'Prospect' magazine, featuring a 'Haarez' journalist in Tel Aviv.  It was good to listen to a calm thoughtful 25 minutes, including a big 'bump' in the distance, as she spoke of the situation there.  Well worth a listen.

Monday Murmering

This is October and people are walking around in summer gear!

The weather is warm, it ought to be cold, while we have had heavy rain closing roads and rail way up north, some floods damaging housing etc, down here we are doing OK.  This has nothing to do with climate change says a politician holding a bundle of money donated by an oil company.  This is just coincidence.

Talking about backhanders, did you note how much leading Labour ministers have received from private health companies?  Hundreds of thousands, and the NHS is 'safe in their hands?'

Meanwhile Rishi is doing the unthinkable, he is having an 'event' while the Labour conference continues, something that has not been done before.  Do Tories only know how to misbehave?

Anyway, this shipwreck remained indoors yesterday knowing the walk would not be good for him, neither would having to think.  Braindead and weary all week.  Today, life returns somewhat and I look forward to proper health soon.  In the meantime I just rested in God choosing to love me, something I would not choose to do, and in some degree of wonderment muse upon this and what to do about it.  

Al-Jazeera

You may have noticed a war erupt in Israel.  I think this has been coming for some time.  Whether 'Hamas' visited Iran or Moscow makes no difference, clearly there has been 'outrages' in the region for a while, and bad feeling going back well over a century here.  We will not be surprised at this latest battle.

What does a Christian do here?

Do we, as many US do, back Israel unthinkingly?  Do we stand up for tortured Palestinians?  Do we make an effort to understand the region, or indeed what God is actually doing here?

What we must not do is look on in  human manner.  We must see this as part of Gods work.  However, we do not know what he is doing here, and constant warfare makes many take the easy option of joining one side or another.

The fact that God has returned the Hebrews to Israel is important.  Any who try to remove them become an enemy of Gods plan.  However, this is not a religious Hebrew nation, some are, many are not.  Quite a number see themselves as of the 'Jewish Race' rather than religious.  Politically, many are

opposed to the present leadership as they knew this is what would happen, especially while he leads with extreme right-wing types alongside him.  

Did they bring this about deliberately?  Or was it a reaction from a frustrated people?

You and I cannot tell, though many spout, like me, their opinions.  

All we know is we must seek Jesus and be found in him, rather than window gazing in Israel.  We seek to 'pray for the peace of Israel,' and seek 'peace in Jerusalem.' We remember that the Hebrews remain Gods chosen people, though Christians now take that place, and God will bring the Jew back when they repent and choose to follow Jesus the Messiah.

In the meantime pray for peace, and do not forget Syria, Ukraine, Sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere that war exists still.   

Worn Out

Having woken feeling almost normal I attempted to do normal jobs.  Now I am worn out.  Maybe I will leave the rest until next week...

Wednesday Rambling Nonsense

 

It is to be regretted the way the cloud cover keeps changing.  One minute bright sun glints of the leaves opposite, the next a dim darkness falls and the leaves lose the sparkle.  Once bright green many are now turning golden as they begin to fall across the road.  Already today the greenkeepers have driven around in their wee vehicles, grass cutting mostly, but also shredding many leaves, either deliberately or by chance.

While a blue sky appears above the treeline all appears well, but we know this means soon the branches will be bare, the leaves biodegrading across the park, and a council worker driving another wee vehicle around the streets early in the morning attempting to scrub the streets clean.  Some hope.

I note the railways are already sending out those trains who's single job is to smear the line so trains do not slide past their stops because of the fallen leaves.  Some suggest cutting down the trees, others raise alarm at the thought.  Nobody is ever happy.

I've enjoyed looking at the swaying trees all day.  There has been no energy for anything else.  The weariness has reached a new height today.  Aches everywhere and tired limbs.  This is not unexpected, but it is worse than feared.  It will disappear overnight while I enjoy a deep brandy cocoa encouraged sleep.  

It is to be hoped that it is less tired tomorrow, then I can start the things I promised to do on Monday.  The 'to do' list sits here crossed out, but nothing actually done.  This of course is not unusual in this house.  There is a list of must do jobs, such as 'Spring Clean,' that have not yet begun, and routine work is haphazard without a woman to bully me.  

I bumble about emptying the sink of its contents, tidying up so I can make a similar mess again tomorrow.  All this eating each day takes up so much time.  I recall the announcements in the press of years ago promising a 'Pill' that would nourish us as well as a three course meal.  Sadly such wonders do not appear to have arrived.  Possibly they are all on space craft wandering around the earth feeding spacemen?  

The books pile up unread beside me, the biblical ones to the right, the others spread about.  It is just too much effort to concentrate for long.  I return to staring at the leaves, watching US trains arriving and departing noisily from railway stations in various parts of the US.  Most US trains are of course found in the US.  

This appears boring to some, and at times it certainly is.  However, for those scribbling notes to one another at each Rail Cam, it is a way of meeting friends, the subject becomes less important than the communication.  All appear happy, friends chat and greet one another in that kind US manner.  Happiness flows.

I rarely comment.

The situation regarding these railways reveals much about the US way of life and how they do business.  It makes the UK appear almost normal.  We see small towns with around a couple of thousand people struggling to survive in one state, while elsewhere a vast metropolis has miles of railways running through it, reflecting their history as well as their trade today.  

Of course they drive on the wrong side of the road.

The rush hour appears dead tonight, hardly anyone trundling slowly past.  All is speed, well, 30 mph, and all ignore the 20 mph side the county council wasted thousands on.  All this rush is wearing me out, time for bed...

Conkers & Chick Peas

The walk through the 'dingily dell' beside the Police Station was enlightened by the finding of these conkers.  I grabbed them quick before the kids start taking them for selfish reasons.  It was clear there had been a struggle for these before I arrived, the floor was littered with shell cases.  Another time of youthful enjoyment for kids, unless some schoolteacher forces them into armour plating 'In case they get hurt.'

Hurt the teacher I say.

 

By making use of two tins of these Chick Peas I made myself some excellent soup this morning!  The recipe is simple, boil the peas, crush them down, throw in anything lying about, add too much Chilli Powder, light the blue fuse and stand back.

What came out was in fact quite tasty, and the Chilli within made me check the fire alarms afterwards.  A success this time, it is not always, but several more to actually enjoy this week.

Monday, Twitter and Kirk

So I gave in!

I removed the 'offending' post, though only an AI machine was offended, and returned to the 'Twitter' fold.  At least for now.  I attempted to revisit my old site, which appears still to exist, yet it would not let me in.  Possibly still banned, or maybe the password changed.  Typical Tech problems.

I have looked at what is on offer today and found little of excitement.  Pictures from the Tory Conference in Manchester reveal empty seats indicating the bars are open early, or they are still sharing rooms with those who can 'progress' their careers.

Cabinet ministers are making promising sounds, Sunak apart as he never actually says anything, and the impression given is not encouraging for anyone outside of the Labour Party.

After much prayer I hobbled slowly, oh so slowly, down to the Kirk on Sunday.  Having breakfasted well, enough sweet coffee to last me till lunchtime, I made it.  I had to, I was reading from Ezekiel and had promised I was OK to be there.  

Today was communion, but also  a 3 yr old being baptised.  This meant some 40 relatives, non church goers, were in attendance.  It also meant a long morning, hence the coffee.

At one point the kids are ushered out, after the baptism bit, and then the adults, minus most women who ran for the door also to avoid the sermon, that is the men, were left to endure the morning.  None were keen.

As I read the Ezekiel bit I could see lots of blank faces in front of me.  They were not interested, failed to grasp what was going on, and reflected the men of today.  The good thing is there is no pretence to  like what is happening as would have been the case 50 years ago, they were just not into it.  This reflects the difficulty in getting people to understand what God is all about.  The actual words I used I realised later were probably not opening their minds.  The words were a bit old-fashioned, I ought to have sought a different versions for a better, more modern rendering.  Those words spoke to me 50 years ago, but they may not speak to men today.

The girls, hiding with the kids, were also getting a similar message, and probably heard it better out there.  We look to see what may happen as we pray for the relatives.

Mind you, I am not one for kids baptism, I se no justification for this.  To me, you must be old enough to understand what you are doing, toddlers cannot grasp this, especially when all they wish to do is run around the hall like a daft one!  We let him do this.  I think the reason for kids baptism, or christening, is based on the story of the Philippian Jailer. 

Acts 16:16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, ‘These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.’ 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned round and said to the spirit, ‘In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!’ At that moment the spirit left her.

19 When her owners realised that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market-place to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, ‘These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practise.’

22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, ‘Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!’

29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’

31 They replied, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.’ 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptised. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God – he and his whole household.

It is the phrase: 'He and his whole household.'  That some say children can be 'Christened' or 'Baptised.'   But where are children mentioned?  Philippi was a 'Roman' town.  That is, to offer a pension to his army Augustus, once he had defeated Mark Anthony, threw everyone out of the town and offered the facilities to those of his men who had retired, or were disabled, from service.  After 16 - 20 years they were given a Wine Bar, or fats food place, a shop or whatever, as their pension.  By Pauls time the population was therefore sons and grandsons of Roman soldiers, and many had arrived in the years following the original men, and therefore it is likely the jailer could have been an ex-soldier.

If I am correct, and occasionally I am, this jailer, a tough man indeed, may have been in his 40s at least, he probably was in his 50s and had sons and slaves working with him.  Jails are not places for wimps like me to run, especially in Roman towns.  So I suspect any child the jailer had was at least an adolescent, not a child.

I note John Calvin disagrees with me, but you remember he was French!

Anyway, I was knackered after the day and glad of a lift home.  Of course all the dishes were in the sink, nothing easy was for lunch, so cheese sandwich on stale bread had to do until I could be bothered washing up.  Where is that maidservant?  Still knackered today, but well over the worst and looking for the cough to go, which it must eventually.

David Roberts - Pyramids of Giza

Banned Again

Banned again!

Musk may believe in 'Free Speech' but his AI machinery does not.  

A simple phrase, indeed a correct one, earns an instant ban from the auto machine as it does not understand the nuances of life on Twitter.  Note, 'Twitter' banned me, not 'X.'  There was no mention of 'X' in the AI reply.

It was a simple picture of Princess Anne, dubbing Jacob Rees-Mogg with a sword, as she 'knighted him.

I, representing the nation suggested 'Chop his head off woman!' but find AI consider this an encouragement to violence.

Surely not?

I naturally appealed against this calumny.  

I made it clear that I was speaking on behalf of the nation and this could not be called 'incitement to violence,' when it is clearly 'incitement to justice!'  AI did not agree.  Clearly this is a machine, clearly a human operator would have agreed with me!

So, do I once again appeal, or do I obey the AI and remove the offending, they say, post?  I am in a quandary here.  I see no reason to remove a perfectly good post, nor do I see an urgent desire within to return to 'Twitter.'   

If I do I may as well remove the other offending post, that offended a gay woman, on my other name and return both into action.  The advantage being I can spend time agreeing with myself then...

Meter Reading!

The British Gas lie is under way again.  'Send us your meter reading,' they say, yet the normal system appears to have 'technical problems!  Ha!  This happened last time they were fixing the charges.  The extra system they offered for entering readings did not go through, and I used the normal system.  That is, once it worked!  They demand a reading by tomorrow, for us to save money, but make it impossible to enter one.  Crooks! Crooks! Crooks!

Ha!  Victory!

Trying again brought success.  Forcing me to make use of their new, crooked, meter reading has not worked!  I have entered the reading properly, but will they notice?  

Interesting how the gas prices have fallen back to the original rate, the electric ones have shot up, all the while claiming they are coming down!  Crooks! Crooks! Crooks!  

Nationalise them all now!

So, having clambered down into the bowels of the building for the electric reading, having fought past the overgrown plant to read the gas, my day returned to nothingness.  Hopefully the last effects of this Covid will end this weekend.

Channel Fisher, Eric Ravilious, c.1940

Chilli Day

It takes a lot of thought, a lot of searching around, and a lot of dumping in any old item that is standing around to produce a Chilli as bad as this one.  I think it will be referred to as the 'Cardboard Chilli,' as that sums up the taste I have manufactured.  I find cooking is always a surprise, at least the flavour, if that is a word to use here, always surprises me!

There was a recipe, but not the ingredients, there was an excess of water, but not those little sauce capsules, and there is a lot of chilli in there, I can vouch for that!  Flavour, taste, and sustenance, we can do without.

A cheese sandwich will do for that tomorrow...

I saw this picture and was reminded of how we all wore these constantly in days of your.  Through the 60s and 70s these were our constant feet!  I bought a pair a while back, and use them occasionally, but in the past we never took them off, it was the 'in style' fashion of the day.  Simon & Garfunkel's album, 'Bridge over Troubled Water,' featured them wearing these boots and jeans, like we all did then.  How wonderful to find them copying us!  'Levi's' costing around £3:50-£4 a go, and these boots were the thing.  The local 'Levi Outlet,' had a 'Special Offer' on 'Two pairs of Levi's for £90.'  That was the offer!  

Imagine what the price of other 'Levi's' could be?  I did not buy. 

Bay Evening Jeremy Mann

Tech Troubles and Mental People.

 

Another day, another day of tech troubles.

'Viaplay,' a Norwegian company, took over some Scottish football.  Yet more cash to be laid out.   A few months ago they decided they and their owners, were going bust, therefore changes must be made.  Now, the present season of games has been paid for up front, therefore these will continue, however, what happens next season?  Will this company exist?  Will Scottish games be covered?  We do not know.

However, an email arrived informing me that my account will run out on 5th October.  So, I looked at the account, following all the instructions, decided to change things and amend the out of date debit card, and nothing happened!

I pressed the buttons, nothing changed.

Several times I went through this, following instructions, and nothing changed, no response.

In the end I left it as it is.

When the time comes to pay for the next year I will be unable to as the card is out of date and they will not let me change it.  Nor indeed would the system accept a change to 'Paypal' either.  This means I will let it die, and if I can get it to work, I will amend the details and resign in on a monthly pay, via 'Paypal,'  so that if the football stops I can dump it.  If, that is, they let me sign in anew.

No wonder this company has money worries...

This is as exciting as life gets at the moment.  The Covid experience has not quite left, and it is beginning to drag.  However, others suffer worse.  The lass at the checkout got Covid in 2020, was on breathing equipment, almost died, and now suffers 'Long Covid.'  There are many like her, yet this government refuses to accept this is true, refuses free tests for Covid, and there is no way of reporting such a disease anywhere.  No wonder they could not make HS2 work!

Is Suella Braverman mentally unbalanced?

Discuss.

Sunday Mask.

The 'wear a mask' and the 'anti-maskers' are out again.  The increase in Covid is being seen across the globe.   However, if you catch it here there is no way to report this, unless you waste the doctors time by informing him, and lets face it, he does not wish to know.   Boris pretended the virus had gone away and ignored the deaths following, just to look good in the press.  Now, while the latest version, and there appear to be many versions rises we cannot report this, so the nation has no idea how many are suffering Covid, rather than colds or flu.  If it turns out to be another pandemic will the UK be ready?  

No, of course not.

For a start Sunak is to busy lining his pockets and watching the infighting between ex-PMs to care.  He also cares little re the virus, or indeed anything else, if there is no money to be made out of this.  He may however, get a backhander from some health organisation for equipment they sell him.

Anyway, I decided I was too tired for going out today.  I noticed on Friday just how tired I was coming back from Sainsburys, I juts wanted to yell at everybody for no reason.  Today is not much better.  The virus may have passed but the legacy hangs on.  Sleep and eat is the cure.

Oh, and cheap Brandy...

And I winder if the long term effects of Covid are responsible for the removal of dress sense from men, and men of a certain age at that?  The number of men in shorts, T-shirts and baseball caps, making them suitable for extras in a Donald Trump rally, wandering about the streets imagining they are 'hip,' or 'trendy.'  I keep seeing them pass by.  Why?  What is it about the weather that leaves men senseless?  Now, young men badly dressed we can understand, but few dress like this, only men of a 'certain age,' possibly because the mind is rotting, possibly because the wife has departed, possibly because they are just dumb?  I know not why, but it is a bad sign.  I am now looking forward to dropping temperatures and warm coats, just to see if these men can grow up.

Friday Flannel

 

Life after a wee bout of Covid is not much different from what occurred before.  I sit here doing little, thinking little, and watching the 'to do' list slowly curl up as little has been done about that.  This however, changed today as I hoovered quickly because the boiler man is coming to check the boiler tomorrow.  This means moving a couple of things and I wanted to see the dust first and check what may be lying under there.

After that the world slowed down again, and I am glad.

The worst of Covid passed, but the lack of sleep and eating did not do any good.  I ate little yet my weight has not gone down!  This week I have eaten and slept much more, just like having a job again...

Have you noticed how facebook comes alive after 9 am, when office workers turn up for work?  

Facebook at least has ceased the absurd ideas for now.  They have bled us dry in many ways, and still do, but I think the boy is just waiting for Musk to collapse so no new initiatives appear.  Musk, and his swastika Twitter, must collapse soon.  His latest idea of charging a fee has not gone down well.  The number who will move or just drop it, I amongst them, will be great.  His followers will remain but Twitter under Musk is very dead.

With parliament closing down so the parties can have a wee jolly at others expense, I not the PM, a man called Sunak I believe, has announced yet another 'U-Turn,' after being ordered to do this by one Liz Truss.  This has angered the other right-wing zealots who thought they were running the party.  None care for the UK of course, all are concerned to win an election, keep their job, and in Truss's case, make a come-back!  Surely not?  We await the stories of lax living at the conferences any time soon.

The King, that Charlie fellow, went over to France and more or less indicated that Rishi rejecting the 'net-zero' idea was a foolish idea.  Charlie spoke up for doing something about climate change just as Rishi was doing the opposite.  Charles has always been tactful.  There is no doubt he was implying also that BREXIT was a dumb idea and ought to be reversed.  The royals have not forgotten how Boris treated them, have they?  I suspect more to come here.

Summer has ended, Autumn has arrived, I can tell by the rain outside my window, always falling at the wrong angle to clean the panes.   While the natural Englishman still wanders about in shorts and T-shirt more intelligent people are now wearing coats, and coats with hoods I note, as they can tell the temperature drop and notice the wet stuff falling on them.  Some Englishmen appear not capable of noticing this. 

I will now shut all the windows opened for air, close the doors, turn the over on to heat the place, and add another blanket on the bed.  I canny wait for January!

Scotland beyond the Bagpipes

The author is one of those travel writers who makes her way around the globe scribbling about what she encounters.  Having been to Scotland, or bits of it before, she decided to take an 3 month trip and 'discover Scotland' for herself, at least the Scotland far from tourist sites.  

That is the  basic idea at least, and she works her way around the country, Berwick, Edinburgh, Fife, and so on, describing what she sees, mentioning a bit of history or a story re a place, and eating scallops and lobster and drinking whisky.  She loses me at the eating I must say.  Boiling a creature alive is vile, and shellfish is not for me.  Fish much have fins and scales I say.  Whisky, we soon discover, is something she likes and personally I begin to understand why the whisky industry is doing so well, she is a major customer!

The travel details re eating, hotels and B&Bs etc is as good as you would expect.  Those following in her footsteps (by car) would find helpful info here, though she did travel during 2017 so much may have changed.  Brexit and Covid will have worked their hindrance.  

One complaint was too much time was spent describing eating and drinking, and the other was her tour through the Isles.  Helen clearly loves island life, and indeed the people were helpful and friendly. However, for me, chapter after chapter on the island description, the glowing sunset, the water, the hills, the ancient standing stones, and the whisky became very boring as it was repeated page after page.  Having seen such sunsets, enjoyed the hills and occasionally the people, I thought this bit was over done.  The lassie did however, find many distilleries there and managed to obtain bottles from the shop.  I wonder if these bottles are empty yet?  I was beginning to think she is in a van, not a car.

The overall tone of the book is of a woman who has almost no understanding of Scotland, but was intent to seek out the place for herself.  Did she discover Scotland or not?  She discovered acceptance in spite of the accent, joy and happiness from the people she met, but was this real Scotland?  There were no trips into Livingston, no sights of the Foodbanks that were beginning to rise up, far to little contact with the 'everyday' Scot.  

Clearly the hotels and B&Bs were good to her, not just because of the cash.  Scots tend to be friendly usually.  However, while attempting to miss the bagpipes she was mostly visiting tourist sites and interesting places, no visits to factories or warehouses, police stations or those nasty areas we all wisely avoid.  

The result is a good book that will encourage many English to visit Scotland, and they will enjoy themselves.  But it is a holiday Scotland they will meet, and that is no bad thing.

One point I note, her lack of understanding re the relationship between the nations is clear.  The author refers to the 1707 Union of Scotland and England as a 'union of equals.'  Nothing can be further from the truth.  It is to be hoped that now she has loved Scotland so well that she has forced her husband into buying a flat in Glasgow (Not Edinburgh?) that maybe she will come to understand much more clearly the falsehood of a 'United Kingdom.'

However, that said, I recommend this book.  Any chapter can be taken on its own and read as an essay.  This will be fruitful and well worth reading.  With climate change the nation might even be warmer and the sunsets more glowing today!  Visit now, while you can!

Covid

 

What a stupid man!  

I thought this was just a normal cold, coughing all night etc, but I foolishly dug out one of these things and it now claims I have Covid, of some sort!  

It's a disgrace!  I'm too old for this!

I managed to avoid the plague and get this now, it's all wrong in my mind, only young people should catch this.  

Bah!

Breakfast Grumbling

Having forgotten to eat properly yesterday I struggled to work out why I was so knackered last night.  In the end I worked it out.  Therefore, this morning I sauntered off to the café, the one I was going to was shut, I hope this is because of a holiday as they fill me up much better, and at the town's most popular eating place I found a seat in the corner, under the chefs cooking area. 

From here I had a good view, ignoring the two people sitting at the next table by the window, a good view of those coming and going and passing by outside.

For me it is unusual to sit people watching.  However, I was intrigued by what I was watching.  The number of fat young women for instance, not counting the ones carrying a child.  The lack of dress sense from almost everyone who passed, not counting those in work wear.  The weather indicated light outfits and for the most part this was what was to be seen, but a possibility of rain meant some protection, like my cheap jacket, was noted.  But the mixture of styles made me wonder where some folks get their ideas from.  Putting aside those faces covered in metal and chains, the fantastic perversion of fashion that appeared was laughable at times.  Have some folks no mirrors?  What TV shows do they copy?  Do they not realise those on TV programmes dress for the show, they do not dress like that at home.  

I was in danger of becoming one of the old maids who sat in Jenners café taking the world apart.  Yet it surprised me how the town has changed in the near 30 years I have been here.  The number of foreign faces has increased vastly.  When I came there were one or two black faces, and the owners of Chinese and Indian takeaways only.  There are a great many more today.  Indian, Arab, Asian of a few varieties, and the Turks who run this excellent café.   Allowing for two attempts to burn down the mosque, one man getting 3 years for his attempt, there appears to be little objection to this from most in the town.  Certainly many complain the place is dangerous at night, forgetting this was the case when they were young and did not notice this then, but rarely it seems to me are the foreign incomers responsible.  Drugs and the usual criminal, drink cause most crime in town.  Youths like drugs, I passed a couple who I thought looked like they indulged too much, and thus a 'county line' of young folks get caught up in this.  Not all parents care enough to stop them.  Late night troubles are usually from pub fights, an not as bad as this was a few years ago.  Now pubs close at different hours and do not all empty at once less trouble results.  

My biggest irk today was the tables outside the café.  Here the diners can smoke, and one woman of many years smoked constantly while yapping with friends and while sitting next to the door.  This allowed the smoke to gather within and thus spoiled the eating for me.  Funny how we never noticed cigarette smoke in days past.  Everyone smoked and nobody noticed we stunk because of it.  There was no indication that the pub, restaurant, café, or whatever was a smoke filled danger zone.  Now, one whiff and reach for the fire extinguisher!  

Anyway, I finished by breakfast, I still feel full now, gathered my rags together, paid my bill, left a tip, and having no guilt re my fashion choice, wandered into a crowded Tesco for milk.  This one bottle of milk cost me £19:35.  Someone stuck other things in my basket...

China Tightens Persecution of Christians Once Again.

Wiki

The point of the bible, a collection of books, Law, letters and literature, 'God-breathed,' that are intended to reveal the Living God to his people, and his way, through the death and resurrection of Jesus on the cross, to reconcile a sinful humanity to the perfect Holy creator.

Thus it is important that those who believe must translate the scriptures into a many languages as possible, and often suffer the consequences from dictatorial enemies of God.  One such enemy is the intellectually weak Chinese President Xi Jinping.  Desperate to keep control, possibly because of economic troubles and the growing 'Cold War' between the USA and China, he is attempting to secure his back, and to do this means he must ensure nothing that veers from his desire is allowed to function.  Hence the decision to attack the freedom of churches to exist.  Throughout the country churches are being closed down, sometimes knocked down, in Zhumadian, Hena province, a pastor and his wife were both bulldozed by developers wanting the church removed so they could build.  The pastor managed to dig himself out, his wife was buried alive.  This is repeated in many area of China, the churches are closed, only certain controlled congregations are allowable, few Christians will join these.  Indeed, such is the control, even these churches are watched constantly by the authorities.

  

Wiki

This of course is not the first time Chinese governments have cracked down on those who would not 'bend the knee.'   President Xi Jinping was himself a prisoner under Mao many years ago, though not for attending church.  Today he feels free to use similar brutal tactics to stop any who will not accept his dictatorial rule.  Such rule lasted for years under Mao, how long can this president remain in power?  His support is lessening in the party each time he squeezes opposition, in time honoured Chinese style he will suddenly fall, if a strong man arises within China.

In 1951 the 'China Inland Mission' was removed from China by Mao, the missionaries feared for the churches they left, scattered all over the vast China hinterland.  Small and large churches existed in every city, many towns and villages, and they were expected to suffer.  Indeed they did!  Eventually an 'Official Church' existed in China, all under central control, even the powerful Catholic Church was restricted.  However, the vast majority of believers did not exist in these churches.  Throughout China the churches grew, not diminished under persecution.  Millions among the vast population gave themselves to Jesus and saw the back of Mao and the present prosperity in the land.  Of course many suffered, from persecution and through the dubious ideas of Chairman Mao.  Chairman Xi will also see similar results now as he attempts to kill of the 'word of God.'  He will find, as others before him found, that in time he will disappear yet the church will remain and flourish. 

Jesus is not beaten by Chinese or any other President, He is Lord of All.

PikBest