Sunak and Rain

One of the most inhumane Bills the UK parliament has ever debated has made it through the Commons last night.  All this to keep Sunak in his job, the Nazi part of the Tories happy.  What will happen now we know not, but neither do they.  Just wait until after Christmas when it all blows up in his face again.

What depths we have reached.

A spot of rain forced me to remain indoors enjoying life.

This enjoyment included trying to find reference in the press to Sunak's victory, most downplayed it on the site.  The far right press want him out and Boris back, or someone as dumb that suits them.  When you look at those pushing themselves forward, Jenrick, Patel, Gove, Cleverley and he is the worst named politician around, you wonder what hope there is for the world.  

Tuesday Twaddle

I understand how this leaf feels this morning, hanging there all alone on this tree, wan and lonely.  This I am sure has nothing to do with being at the Liberal Club last night for the SPAM meeting.  Once again, a handful of old men gathered to repeat the same stories once more, the same reminiscences, the same arguments, the same old, same old.

Worse still was my guilt that forced me to buy the drinks as I had not bought a round for about a year.  Of course, this means I will not buy again for another year, hopefully.  I noticed there was no opposition to this.      

The fact that it was boring, except when I began an argument re the number of Islamic immigrants.  Some among us read the 'Daily Express' and believe all the lies found there, compounded by the neighbours and other Brexiteers around them informing them of the Muslim takeover.  How some two million Muslims have taken over a nation of seventy million is hard to understand.  Having a First Minister who is nominally Muslim, and a very nominally Hindu Prime Minister does not help.  I avoided reference to Pritti Patel and the unhinged Suella Braverman for obvious reasons, and avoided indicating that the next Prime Minister will be white, secular, and an imitation Tory.  This would upset what some have wanted to believe.

As always however, we all believed that our half truth opinions were the correct ones.  Ignorance of facts did not stop our determined considerations.  Something, which I must say, runs in this family...

Anyhow, they have become friends, good men, who when sober, still put Jesus and his word first.  Beer does open up a lot of deep beliefs of course.  Their ignorant, but deeply held convictions regarding Scotland, merely reflect the normal English opinion.  Next time I will once again wear my 'Scottish Not British' shirt.

Why does my head hurt...?  

GB News

Nothing much has happened in the real world.  Keir Starmer is offering sops to the 'Middle England' Tories, and ignoring the needs of everyone else.  Scotland is long lost, half of Wales do not recognise him, but he knows where the votes are.  He promises better government, though that should not be hard after Boris and his gang have destroyed all that matters in the UK.  

The 'Online Mail' has a suitable headline discussing Harry and Meghan!  

AP

In the meantime, hours after spending a day claiming 'I cannot recall,' yet not indicating why he spent hundreds of thousands in the courts attempting to withhold his 'Whatsapp' messages from the Covid inquiry if he had lost his phones or could not get them to work, Rishi met for breakfast with a bunch of Tory loons who aim to stab him in the back to his face.  It appears they got nowhere.  Maybe just maybe, an end is in sight.  All we need now is an opposition.  

Late Post

To be fair the 'Daily Mail' has not got around to this yet, but they will!  They always do!

The only hoax so far is the one on the mobile from crooks pretending to be 'Evri,' click this link they ask for info re parcel.  Sadly if I use 'Evri' they always deal through the email, and that can be difficult also.  However, I finished wrapping the boxes today.  Almost no Brown Tape left in this house, and booked 'ParcelForce' to collect three of them tomorrow.  These might be delivered by Monday, or even Saturday!   

One advantage of the web is not having to carry such things down to the Post Office these days!   'White Van Man' has his uses, he can carry the box and deliver on time, usually.  I only need to carry small packets and buy stamps from the PO, while Royal Mail line their profits through my book of stamps and hinder the actual postman from delivering what I send.   

I began this post yesterday but failed to finish as I got bored reading it.    

The 'ParcelForce' man arrived before 10 am today, cheerfully removing my three boxes, and leaving me with the rest of the day to catch up on the things missing this week.

I failed to do them.

Instead, I took my '£4 off if you spend £30' con voucher round to Tesco and filled up on things required, and one or two that were not.  These vouchers have helped the Christmas shop, and the one for next week,  sadly only £3 off, will enable me to buy the much used things I will need so as to avoid desperate struggles through the last minute Christmas shop crowd.

The mass of household chores that await have been curtailed because I do nothing at the weekends, so maybe next week instead will be busy cleaning, maybe.   

The news on Twitter, but not in the press, has been filled with the 'Tetchy' PM going off in a huff because the press were asking questions he could not answer, and not for the first time, concerning his Rwanda Obsession.  Today it leaks out that the latest £100 million paid to the nation that has so far seen only Home Secretaries and no 'Boat People,' was signed off by Suella.  Who to believe?

None of them!

This shambles might be heading for closure, but what will result? 

If I were he I would call a vote on this Bill, or is there one tonight?  Anyway, if the ERG and the neo Nazis do not support the PM I would take the whip from them and call an election for the soonest possible moment, probably the last week in January.  Conservative members who have lost the vote cannot stand as prospective Conservative candidates.  This means all the far right would have to stand as independents and would not beat the new Tory candidate, who would lose anyway.  He will lose an election but if he won he would be rid of many the nation does not require in the House.

However, owing to a glitch in the system I remain, as yet, unemployed as PM.

Why are there five syllables in the word monosyllabic?

Eagle Bearer's Guide 6: The Serpent Column

Christmas Posting

A slow wander down the road led to the early packets being deposited into the care of Royal Mail.  The care is not what it was but what can you expect with a Tory government that cares only for making money for themselves?  Privatised Royal Mail, with precedence being given to parcels, cares little about actual mail today.  This is the reason letters are delayed, postmen confused day by day as to what role they will play, and an attempt to sell of Royal Mail parcels to the people who now run Royal Mail will come before the election.

Rejoice!  Rejoice!

Note the Post Office name!

The Jubilee Oak used to sit just up the road from this shop.  It sat in the middle of the road until they redesigned the road, chopped down the tree and the shops on the corner, which stuck out a fair bit, and installed traffic lights and dare-devil crossings.  

I suspect it was Victoria's jubilee, lots appear to have been planted at that time for jubilee, they did the same for the last queen.  How many were conveniently placed so as to block the clogged roads 70 years or so later?

Nothing else happened...

SPQR Rings a Bell

This is worth a read.  

Bought through one of last years vouchers in W. H. Smith, not my favourite store, it took a while to read as I have several books on the go at one time.

Mary Beard, famous for her unkept appearance, which she emphasises for publicity, has studies the classics as they are called for over 50 years, so she must know something.  

Beginning at the beginning, Romulus and Remus, and all that, she attempts to discover what was in between the seven hills on which Rome was built.  The several thousand years or so of constant construction do however make this difficult.  We may never know what the actual origin of Rome was.

Mary attempts a brief history of Rome, through the Kings, the Republic, and onto Augustus time.  

The very nature of her task makes this difficult, all those years, far too little evidence in the far distant past, and the deductions of later historians who may not always be reliable do not help.

Cicero, Augustus, and other famous men, and a few woman, she would not miss them out, get a short hearing, and descriptions of housing, citizenship, punishments, Emperors, family life, wars at home and abroad, the Games, daily life for rich and poor, are all covered to some extent.  Even Christians are mentioned in passing, though it is clear Mary has little knowledge of their writings or purpose.  

All in all this vast book cover a vast number of years quite well.  As an introduction to Rome, at home and abroad, it is a good start.  Many areas require a deeper investigation and further reading suggestions are found at the back with other aids. 

Altogether a worthwhile book to read, but while readable it is not a short book!

On a dreich morning I forced myself out and up to the ironmongers shop.  Here I purchased a wee clock to sit beside me, I cannot see the time on the laptop as it is right in front of me, so I place a suitable clock slightly to the right and I can see that perfectly!  Why?  I don't know!

Anyway, I actually went for a new doorbell, one of those cordless ones that ought to beep when the postman rings the bell.  The previous bell was lying wounded on the ground the other day as it had taken too much punishment over the years from postmen, Amazon and Evri drivers.

So, I spent almost an hour fighting to remove the old one, who tightened that screw?  And screwing in the new one, back and forth until it all worked well.  A variety of tunes can be played on this one, almost all slushy Christmas tunes!  I just have the Bing-Bong thanks.

That done there has been no-one ringing it since, so I am yet to know if I can hear it if they do.  The suspense!  Of course I tried it, but the noise from the road made it difficult to hear.  It appears not so loud as the previous bell.  1st world problems.
They may not hear bells in Gaza today, too many bombs crashing down for that.

Saturday Struggles

David Walker

 

I have spent the day attempting to sort out the mess caused by Christmas Cards.

The mess was caused by not having a wide enough selection, this was sorted today by finding several decent cards that would fix the problem.  Now I have a problem with too many cards to select from!

The family cards are done, this makes it easy.  Tomorrow I will hopefully put the rest in order.

Filling the couch I found three separate lots awaiting packing.  This is a problem, as one packet has already been packed, wrapped with an entire reel of brown tape, and awaits sending next week.  This leaves me three lots to sort.  This would be fine except there ought to be only two awaiting packing!  I have been making two lots for the one person!  How does this happen?  Now I need to restart as the box I have is not big enough.  I think next year I will demand they come south and pick them up themselves!

Andrew

Andrew, as we all know, was a Scotsman.  Born on the Fife coast to a Hebrew couple who had been enslaved by the Romans and traded across Europe.  Having landed on the Fife coast they settled down to work under brutal rule, but not from the Scots around them.  Andrew was born in the wee village and by the time he was 9 year old had developed the game of golf by hitting wee pebbles around the sandy bunkers on the beach.  However, in time a fellow Hebrew trading along the East coast of Scotland rescued them and returned the family to Galilee.  

That is why St Andrews is called St Andrews.  He is also the first disciple bringing Simon and the rest to listen to Jesus while at Johns baptism at the Jordan.   It is difficult to believe that some people are sceptical about this story.  They refuse to accept historical fact.  Shame on them.

Andrew, the first disciple, a Scotsman!

Sunny Day

It has been a difficult day.  Everything I do is going wrong.  I was tired last night but still awoke at 5 am.  

I fought this but had to rise at 6:30 in that half asleep way.  Whatever I touch has gone wrong since.  I am on a Browser, I try to click the star to save a link and instead press the 'X' and lose the Browser entirely!  I press the button to 'repost' on Twitter and find instead I am 'reporting a fault.'  I have tried to sort out Christmas cards but they keep going into the wrong envelopes, and then someone puts the wrong thing in with the wrong card!  Don't ask what I do when pouring the tea! 

I have left all this until tomorrow!   

I made my ungainly way downstairs to the basement to check the electric meter, I noticed how clean, neat and organised everything was round the building.  The man came along yesterday, clanging his steel ladders as he clambered up to clear the gutters of almost no dead leaves.  He sorted out the weed growth all around and did an excellent job there.  This is our first response to the inspection last week.  No doubt he will find other things to do also, but he claims he has to check the gutters in all her properties, and there are quite a few.  

I checked the numbers on the dial, stumbled up the narrow, slimy, basement steps, and made my way under a shining blue sky slowly upstairs.  I am just glad I went to the right door!  

Checking the crooks at EON I found I had used almost another 50% of electric in the past month, on heating!  It is time to get out the hot water bottles, make tea, use the rest of the water for the rubber bottle and place this behind my back.  This is cheaper than EON, better for me and cuts down the costs.

I mean I can afford to pay the grossly inflated price, which increases in January thanks to a crooked government, but we are being badly used by energy people.

"Hey Boy!  Tell them I am not going back to PMQs until they stop laughing at me."

Tuesday Twaddle

The sun is remarkably low in the sky these mornings, at least on the mornings when the clouds clear to allow us to see him.  He is still shining now, several hours and one trip to Tesco later.  I'm sorry to say that up Aberdeen way they are having early sleet showers, but they of course are used to this, not us down here in the warmest part of England. 5c or 40f at the moment!

Another day, another royal 'Bombshell' book.

This one takes the side of Meghan and Harry, which goes against the grain for the London tabloids.  They have already decided she Meghan is bad and Kate is good.  The truth is that both are woman on the make, both run their husbands, and neither are anything like what the press has painted them to be.

Few people really know what the individual royals are like in person, our image is cloned from the press lies, books written by hangers-on and chancers, and a few public appearances.  The life led by anyone born into the royal household is not one most of us would welcome.  While we can guess some attitudes and personality of many royals we lack clear understanding of their position.  Some clearly have a 'duty' sense,' others, the younger ones, less so.  

And what of the future?   

Charlie might last ten years, which will annoy William, and especially Kate who I think is keen to be queen.  Maybe she ought to let the kids grow up first.  The rest will continue to annoy one another while fighting for position and a handful of wealth and 'prestige.'  Good for them.

But their days are numbered.  Scotland has for  along time considered the royals a waste of time.  Many elsewhere take a similar attitude.  While the folks around Balmoral Castle enjoy their presence, and the tourists who follow them, a recent survey reveals that 36% of Scots wish to keep the royals, 48% did not.  This of course may have changed month by month.  Charlie scooping up the cash from dead people with no next of kin did not go down well.  The royals millions, their jet set lifestyle, the cash spent on frocks, all tend to put people off when they are struggling to pay the gas bill.  

Add to this the disinterest in Scotland shown by Willie and his woman it is clear he will not make a successful King of Scots, not that he would car I suggest.  

It is time for a sensible debate regarding the royals, before Charlie goes.  There may not be a sensible debate after that time.

Christmas is going well.  The 2nd hand truck my niece wants for her kid, she always buys 2nd hand, has arrived here.  When I have finished playing with it I will post it on, eventually!  This afternoon I will do the cards that I have obtained, and hope to send some off by the 1st December, just to remind folks to get one for me!

A Supper Party - 1903   Julius LeBlanc Stewart (1855-1919)

Monday Moan

 

I took this poor picture on Sunday morning as I limped down the road.  The sun was shining, the sky blue, and so were the faces of all who passed by as the wind blew cold from the north.  This morning, as is weather round here, the rain has not stopped.  

Typical innit?

Typical also is the web!

My best looking and most highly intelligent niece sent me a link to obtain a toy lorry for her sons Christmas.  This I obediently followed, only to be told to 'sign in,' 'register,' 'select a name,' 'Not that one, nor that one, nor that one... until I eventually got it in.

Then came the paying.  This involved a phone number, 'Not accepted,' other number, 'Not accepted,' several versions of both later, through gritted teeth, I ignored it, paid, and it went through!

A day or two later an acknowledgement that the goods have been sent tells me 'Evri' have the goods at their Hub.  This may take some time!

Add to this the way my machine blanks when I have more than one browser up.  That is I begin to write this on 'Edge,' because it has a much needed spellchecker, but when I search for something on Firefox the screen goes blank.  I was going to change to one of those high speed Fibre brands but the paperwork confused me so I did not bother.  maybe I ought to look again, but the problems will return.

November Xmas Market

Being November it is assumed the Christmas market will appear and so it does.  The crowds flocked to the overpriced hand made items on offer, and many listened in the cold to the Brass Band Blowing Bigly Boisterously.  It was not just the reindeer who appeared frozen.   

I sauntered among the throng, being pushed this way and that, all the while eyeing the price tags, at least those that I could see, while attempting to stay upright.  Who brings pushchairs into crowds? 

The sun was shining brightly, though it may not show it here.

Fighting off the offers of pantomime or a discussion with this months two Mormon missionaries, though afterwards I realised I ought to have indulged them, I ploughed on to pass by the stalls one more time.   

I then headed towards the museum, I needed to buy set honey and check out what was on show.  It is many ages since I last looked inside.  Nothing much has changed, just the latest exhibition regarding how the town grew in more recent times.  Not many in, the market was calling, and if they have the Xmas lights switch on tonight the shop will be open until late.  They might make  money tonight.

As you know these are wee Roman gods found when the shopping centre was being built.  As usual a 'dig' was organised and quite a bot of Roman stuff found.  Not much Saxon, it appears the centre area now was just farmland to them.  Some Saxon bodies are found to the west of this area however, none in the museum...

I stumbled home with my treasures to eat and read the new magazine that has now begun to appear on the supermarket shelves.  Proper journalism, not owned by the right wing.  Mind you at £4:50 I can see me reading their items online rather monthly.