Christmas Lights

The town's Christmas lights were switched on last night.  I swear they make the place even darker!  The date today? November 18th!!!  Six weeks before Christmas  I read that at least one person in the town has already got their decorations up and I suspect Tesco will be installing the 'Valentines Day' cards by Friday!  Cynical, me?  Yes!  There again had I not got all my buying almost complete a little bit more cynical. I hope your shopping has been done.  Soon the local TV news will be offering us those daft folks who place hundreds of lights, accompanied by reindeer, sleigh's, Santa's and snowmen, and then expect us to believe they do this to collect money for charity.  Just give the cost of the electric instead pal it would gain more money!  It's Christmas and such have no relevance to the real deal.  Just saying. 

No doubt there will be grumblings from some shopkeepers who pay towards this that the lights are insufficient for the cash, I suspect they are correct. Had there been sufficient lights to brighten the city of London some of these folks would still complain, and if there is one thing I canny stand is folks complaining!  No need for it.   

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The Dangerous Middle East

listen to ‘Middle East crisis 'especially dangerous'’ on Audioboo

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Friday

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Thursday, Voting Day

Billions of dollars were spent on the US election in recent days, considerably less has gone into organising today's electoral vote in England and Wales.  Scotland of course runs things differently as you will understand. No president is being sought, nor are we voting for either members of parliament or local councils.  The vote is a new one, we are choosing a man to head the local police!  Until now a local police authority has called the police to account, checking into the cheif constables behaviour and accounting for the cash spent. The Conservative government, sorry Con/Lib-Dem coalition, have decided one man is required instead.  To be frank I doubt anyone knew who was on the previous committee unless there was reason to contact them.  I suspect Cameron and his hordes believed the local authorities were all communists and require changing so he could tell them what to do, so the one man accountable to the people is introduced.  You will of course realise that few of those standing are known to the nation, fewer still are known in the locale, some may be unknown in their own house even, however the stand anyway.  A website has been laid on to supply some details of those standing, a picture, basic details, a statement of intent, and answers to some questions.  On such basic  details most of the electorate will decide.  No-one knocked on doors, no leaflets were given out, and one meeting in Chelmsford was the soul outreach I heard off.  I was the 20th person to vote early this morning, and the lowest ever turnout is expected by evening when the doors close.  Will this individual receive a mandate that makes much difference to me or most others?  No.  Still, it's democratic I suppose. 

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The Great City

I have 'borrowed' this excellent video I found on YouTube.  This intelligent lass went to Edinburgh (Pronounced Edinburra) and discovered it was the great city she had hoped it would be.  The sun even shone for her, and that is unusual it must be said.  Always be prepared for a touch of dreich drizzle when there. (Glasgow sends it over!)  It is a nice tourist video made in 2009.  One day I might go back and make my own.  

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Banter

Edinburgh contains two professional football clubs, the Heart of Midlothian who I may have mentioned before and Hibernian, the wee team down in Leith, Edinburgh's port.  Now it is of course inevitable that the followers of these two clubs would become entangled in swapping insults, both kindly offered and sometimes quite barbed.  But the question is how far can we go?  During any game between the clubs the bad behaviour of the Hibernian fans often caused the constabulary to become involved with controlling their bad attitudes.(Hearts fans always behave like gentlemen as you know) In such circumstances it is imperative that club officials behave with propriety.  However when the clubs are not meeting together surely some 'banter' is allowable?

The Heart of Midlothian, struggling financially because of Rangers draining resources from Scots football and their own high wage rates for mediocre players, let alone the payments to ex-managers, has run into trouble with the Queens taxmen!  These London controlled gentlemen, much reduced in number since the Cameron government appeared, have been forced to hassle football clubs for unpaid taxes, in Rangers case about a £100 million worth.  Of course little is done regarding Vodafone who owe £6 Billion or Amazon, Starbucks and all who avoid tax in similar fashion to Tory cabinet ministers.  I wonder why?  The situation however has caused anxiety amongst some fans regarding the Heart of Midlothian which in turn leads to much banter and no little vile expressions from Hibs fans.

However the other day the PA announcer at Hibernian's half empty plastic seated football ground played, amongst other records, the great Beatles song 'Taxman.'  This naturally caused mirth among the fans as they knew this was banter aimed at the bigger and better rivals.  The club however did not agree!  The PA announcer sacked after someone somewhere lodged a complaint about the 'offence.'  Is this for real? 

Now come now, what is an announcer for?  What is wrong with such a track when the enemy is not in a position to even hear the music?  It appears someone has been offended, and we live in an age of offence, and indeed compensation it must be said.  Quite how anyone could be offended, quite how any club would sack someone for this is beyond me!  Possibly there was more behind the scenes but as far as I know this record was the only cause of sacking.  

A Hibs statement implies this individual, a contractor as opposed to staff member, had not obeyed orders in the music that was played.  He admits to breaking the agreed playlist and the statement implies his removal was nothing to do with the 'Taxman.'  Hmmmm a typical Hibernian statement.

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Rip Off!

To avoid the almost non stop BBC coverage of the BBC internal problems with Jimmy Saville and the programmes that were not allowed to expose him but managed to expose another, and an innocent one at that, and the BBC's marvellous way of paying a Director General off with a massive Golden Handshake, I turned to other things.

Tonight I mused on rip off prices.  The camera above,  Zenit - E, a Soviet made camera, cheap and cheerful and ideal for an Irish wedding I was told. How? well when the fight starts everyone swings their cameras club like but nothing survives bar the Zenit!  Built like a brick it was heavy but it did give a feeling of security!   However the digital camera revolution has ended film cameras stone dead.  Old cameras are still available and indeed collectors items, a good quality Leica will cost good money.   The other week when in the big city (they call it) I passed a camera shop with a window stuffed with second hand (sorry, second user!) cameras.  I noted the prices and noted my shock to see a Zenit-E on sale for £65.  £65!!!!!  A few years ago they were going for £5-10.  How people rip us off when they think we will buy.  

When I think of this I am in a state of shock.  Time for a lie down, for a few hours I reckon.

Remembrance

The nation stopped for a few moments today to remember the war dead.   The Queen led the tributes, willingly as she will remember the war clearly, Prince Phillip followed, and he knows war having won an award for his work in one naval action long before he was important.  In towns and cities up and down the land groups large and small commemorated the dead.  Many people concentrate their thoughts on friends and families from major wars of the past, some young women think only of fallen husbands and brothers from recent days.  Men wounded in action pass by the Cenotaph glad they still can, others recently injured watch on TV.  

Someone unknown remembered Leslie Eley Wall who died on the disasterous Dieppe raid in 1942.  He is not on our memorial and I wonder who placed this cross here today.  Most of the 6000 participants who landed at Dieppe that morning were Canadian.  Half the force was lost.  Because the smart, often ageing, soldiers who pass by the memorials surrounded by bright red poppy wreaths do not convey what many servicemen know to be the truth of war I post two pictures from the raid. 

I don't post for 'shock' effect merely to show what many men endured.  Dead men lie around as if sleeping.  Some died immediately some died slowly possibly in pain, maybe concussed.   It is a sight that contrasts with the neat memorials which often hide the terrors of war.  The sight we can see, the smell, the fear, the pain we avoid.

War will always be with us, human nature will see to that, however we must show what the real cost is.  Too few politicians today know the cost, ours were youths in the 'Punk' era!  The constant flood of war films and games and television coverage of battles far away tend to take from us the reality of war, a reality our mothers and grandmothers understood without actually well enough.   My great nephew was lucky enough when in his last year at school they visited the war cemeteries in France.   While he is unlikely to begin a major war himself, a few minor ones possibly, all will remember what they saw and the cost of war.  Recruits to the British Army are now taken on such a tour I understand to ensure they realise just what service may mean.  Few can enlist with any misunderstandings about that today.

I wonder however about our remembrance.  Almost all football teams in the UK now wear a poppy on their shirt.  Every game has a minute silence, soldiers at most grounds get free entry, all pay respects.  Only occasionally does a player refuse to wear the poppy, one was hounded by the Daily Mail for this today.  This man, an Irishman, felt it wrong for him to do this, the paper decided to pick him out as if he was a criminal.  How strange I thought, we saw millions die in a fight for freedom from Fascism and a paper with Fascist sympathies attacks a man for taking that freedom to think for himself!   Too often people join in because it is a passing fancy, in a few years they will once again fall away.  Emotional blackmail helps no-one.  Today there is great support for the fighting men we ought to encourage this and demand our governments do more to care for such when they return broken, but maybe that is asking too much.

Christmas Market

I discovered this afternoon a Christmas Market was under way.  This has occurred a few times in recent years and stalls from France and elsewhere usually predominate.  Clothes, hats, trivia, and far too many fast food (healthy well made foods) on show.  For some the stalls offer gifts for Xmas, for me they appear overpriced.  They must make money however as many appear to have been here before.  The simple idea of blocking the High Street, only buses use this in theory, allows folks to parade back and forwards.  Sadly a stall at the far end has a stand for some sort of performance so I expect loud, bad, music to be heard tomorrow afternoon.  I looked at the bread stalls (£2:70 - £4:00 a loaf!!!) and fancied some of those on offer but managed to restrain my hunger.  A good selection but prices that those who call themselves poor appear able to pay!

In the shopping centre itself the British Legion stand, with resplendent lorry on show, brought the remembrance services on Sunday to peoples mind.  Since the 1920's the Poppy has been the UK symbol of remembrance and the Legion makes millions for sale throughout the land to raise money to aid ex-servicemen.  It always get a huge response.  This year Armistice day, the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, falls on the Sunday itself.  Throughout the country people will gather at local memorials to remember the fallen.

Remembrance Day    Royal British Legion   Poppy Scotland    

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Day Trip Anyone?

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Rest Easy!

The world rests easy tonight.  Around the world leaders of all nations, bar one, have been congratulating Barack Obama on his success in regaining his position as President of the United States.  Memories of Ronald Reagan's disastrous adventures in the middle east, Bush seniors Kuwait expedition, and the needless invasion of Iraq led for reasons as yet unexplained by George 'Dubyah' Bush junior caused the world to fear when they realised a man even less able, less intelligent and less knowledgeable than than those who had gone before becoming president.  Mitt Romney, a man who thought Iran wanted Syria to reach the sea when Iran lies on the Persian Gulf, a man who thought the United Kingdom which he calls 'England' could not run an Olympics, a man who closed his factories and outsourced the work to China then criticised Obama for losing jobs to China, this was a man who wished to spend trillions on increasing military hardware and once again oppose the Soviet Union while not appearing to notice the Islamist threat. Such a man as president?  It would be like having Dave Cameron as.....oh!  Romney is a Mormon yet has not realised that Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormons, was a scam merchant and a fraud, surely his is a fit hand to be on the nuclear button?

The world rests easy but does not sleep!  The world will never be safe and many dangers lie ahead.  Islamic extremists, economic collapse, nuclear fears with Iran and Korea, and the growth of China as a world power all offer a slippery slope. This however is why these men take office.  His problems at home come from a rising number of young liberal voters.  Too liberal for me, these believe abortion, the murder of the unborn child, is acceptable, they also see nothing wrong with sexual perversion such as homosexuality, the women also appear to think that being female ought to give advantages not offered to men.  The racial element is less about 'Blacks' sorry, African American's today,  Hispanics flooding over the border appear to be a more urgent question.  Advantages for these also appear to help gain votes.  Meanwhile what is often referred to in the UK as the 'Right wing Republican Christians,' or 'Tea Party,' appear to be demographically losing out.  You of course realise that biblical Christianity is somewhat different from their biblical view.  Their numbers may be failing, hopefully a reading of their good book will change their worship of mammon to worship of God!

What happens now?  The Congress has to work with this man, although they are mostly Republican but the Democrats do control the House.  If they fail to agree the whole world may be affected, including the second most powerful economy China!  Already that nation is suffering from the west's economic slowdown, jobs are being lost and some millionaires there are beginning to almost worry about their next bottle of single malt whisky.  A new leadership in Beijing arrives shortly, how will they deal with Obama?  

As always the world is full of 'wars and rumours of wars.'  Natural disasters will continue to occur, political events will surprise us in the way the Arab Spring has,  and none of us really know what will occur tomorrow - and the majority of the world will just get on with life and make the best of it, there is no other choice.  

The one man who does not rejoice at Obama's success? Premier Netanyahu of Israel.  he it seems has already attempted to drop a nuclear device on Iran and been stopped by his own people.  He  would have been happier with Romny I think.

The election cost several billion dollars, however one facts today indicated the States spend $3 billion on Halloween outfits!  The election seems cheap at the price!

Christmas Adverts

It takes a while before I find a TV programme worth watching and when I do it is interrupted by adverts.  Now the adverts are all Christmas themed.  That is snow is seen falling, brightly dressed numpties smile stupidly while throwing money at shops, sleigh bells adorn reindeer (often seen around these parts) and tinsel and Christmas trees abound.  I cannot tell of my joy at such scenes, especially as they were recorded in March!  Bah! 

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Graph

Rab, our favourite Dunbartonshire shopkeeper has posted this graph on his site.  This tells us all we wish to know about the free worlds view of the presidential candidates.  The free world understands the situation correctly, although Pakistan fails badly here, will the ones who visit the ballot box have the same clear understanding I wonder?

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Stout

A long time ago and in another life I worked in a brewery.  The term 'work' as used here must be taken with a pinch of salt in truth as the office where we piled the loads together for the lorries could not be said to be full of men fighting their way to the top.  The girls took the orders over the phones, typed them up and passed them on.  Bob went round and put the price totals correct afterwards as some of the lassies found counting a bit difficult.  I must say I was happy there, the people were good it was fun and the young girls all wanted me, what?....oh!  However the beer made there was not great.  'Tennents Lager' was our biggest seller, and indeed it still is up there but the rest of the beer was lousy on the whole.  One famous beer introduced was the 'Super.'  It has remained popular and all drunks are known to be held in bondage to the 'purple tin!' 

Since the war breweries had begun to merge, large conglomerates taking over small local breweries, and the varieties of beer began to dwindle.  As they did so it was in the big companies interest to produce less variety and keep costs down.  This being the late sixties and industrial strife breaking out regularly cost was important.  I say industrial strife, what I mean is bad management, greedy workers, poor laws, even poorer union people, incompetence and buck passing everywhere.  For instance the men in the office were annoyed after the drivers struck for more money, within a day or two they got what they wanted thus leaving them a good deal better off than the office workers.  We formed our own union and made a wage demand, this was rejected, so we had a one day strike (which I spent watching 'Midnight Cowboy) and all our demands were met the next day.  Poor, thoughtless, management led to the strike we didn't want (the only strike day I've ever had) and worse management caved in.  The directors you see didn't care as long as they were OK.  Typical attitude off the day.  It was a combination of bad management and short sighted unions that destroyed British output and growth during the 60's and 70's leading to the arrival of the lower middle class Thatcher!  Her answer was to sack everybody at the low end and keep the money for the top lot, like her friends.  Strong but thoughtless leadership which could have been successful but just brought division.  Our brewery management and union needed strong sensible leadership, it just didn't exist.

Brewers were all producing run of the mill beer.  Scottish Brewers dropped their 'Heavy' and 'Light' to replace this with 'McEwans Export' and 'Tartan Special.'  Sewers produce tastier brews.  At that time we young folks all drunk Lager & lime, costing 1/11 pence in the 'White Cockade' Monday to Thursday, and 2/1d Friday and Saturday.  We had not developed taste in those days. For many years vile brews dominated the land, England became famous for 'Watneys Red Barrel,' a concoction so vile that people drank sea water in preference.  Well in Scotland anyway, the English just drank it without thinking, they are like that.  Rebellion however was brewing.  Men gathered in groups demanding to taste their beer.  The 'Campaign for Real Ale,' CAMRA, was launched by folks we all considered a bit, well middle aged men-ish.  Laughed at by many it is clear they were right!  

By the eighties beer adverts were dominated by the Thatcher followers, young get rich quick males for the most part, dressed in striped shirts with red braces, drinking beer out the bottle in overpriced pubs and among all the right trendy, moneyed people.  The TV adverts appealed to them with exotic sounding foreign lagers which image conscious types fell over themselves for.  When you actually tasted the stuff it was all very similar and not up to much, it was also very expensive!   CAMRA did produce results however.  By the nineties taste was beginning to be seen again.  Bottled beers with exotic names, Theakston's 'Old Peculiar,' 'Abbot Ale,' 'Spitfire' and 'Bishops Finger,' were to be found by an older wiser type.  Quite how these brands got their names I know not, and possibly this is the wiser option.  The economic collapse (begun by America!) has led to people spending less time in public houses.  Many happily buy from supermarkets, at cut down prices, and drink at home.  Any consequences of this tend to be limited to their families and close neighbours rather than the High Streets of the nation.  That is some sort of plus I suppose.  An interest in beer with taste has increased and said superstores are following the trends happily.  Grossly overpriced beers in my view they may be but a variety now abounds.  While the large breweries have been failing, my old brewery works are now an overpriced block of crammed flats, the smaller breweries have been developing.  

Small premises closed in times past are now reopening and over two hundred such 'micro breweries' are enjoying good sales, at first locally and then further afield.  Possibly a revulsion against the empty aloof corporate giant helps here.  We feel a satisfaction when drinking 'March of the Penguins' from Williams wee brewery in Alloa which we don't when drinking Tennents, where ever that is brewed these days.  Now I don't drink much these days, half a bottle is enough for me and I tend to fall over easily afterwards, but when I do I wish to taste the thing.  These days I drink 'stout,' a concoction they claim was started long ago in London's Covent Garden when it was the fruit market of the city. That may be the case, it may not, whatever I find Fullers 'London Porter' to be the best I have come across, and naturally not enough sold in our Sainsburys for it to remain in stock.  Mann's 'Brown Ale' went the same way sadly.  Ah well, while I contemplate my next bottle of 'Piddle in the Pot,' named after an English village they say, or maybe a 'Kelpie Seweed Ale,' I will wish you a good evening and wander off to find all the football scores I missed while waiting for the BBC Alba coverage of the Ross County game.  After that game believe me I need my  'Old Speckled Hen!' 

The Blues

This is Soub's fault!

He offered Sonny Boy Williamson the other day and I have been listening to the Blues ever since!  I am so lucky that this was the music that influenced my generation so much.  The Beatles, based in Liverpool, had family and friends who worked as stewards and the like on liners taking the rich back and forth across the Atlantic.  These brought back Jazz, Blues, and Rock & Roll records which influenced the youth learning to play their music.  Picked up from Radio Luxembourg, once upon a time the only way to hear decent pop music, similar types in the rest of the country wanted more!  Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and others influenced so many people in Britain while being almost unknown to the major Radio & Tv stations in the US.  Their sin was to be black and play music not acceptable to the genteel white folks who controlled America.  

Young Americans however were listening also.  Up in Duluth Bob Dylan, then known as Zimmerman, was annoying folks with music influenced by what he had heard, a great many others were like him.  The arrival of the Beatles allowed them to develop their music as an audience was ready and waiting for them.  

Today black Americans (now called Afro-Americans) prefer to ignore Blues music and for reasons no sane person sould possibly understand they find life through Rap!  A type of music that misses out the appropriately placed letter 'C.'  Shame on them!

How I wish I could play guitar like these guys could.  Max found one man who could play like they!

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Early Morn Bike

You will of course be delighted to hear that just after seven this morning I jumped - carefully - onto the bike and whizzed slowly around the streets.  The weather was quite gentle for a change, the sun almost shone and as I honed my bulk I found myself enjoying the strange experience of physical effort once again.  The weather, feeling poorly, and laziness being too busy has meant I have hardly been near the bike all year.  Once the cycling stops it is not easy to get back into it especially when the weather is lousy as it has been all year.  Leaving the bike I limped around the town watching the smiling people head for their workplaces.  How I envied them, but then I was just glad to get home and call the Thai Takeaway Curry House & massage people round to massage my knees for me.  Tonight I ache all over!  I suppose this means I am not fit and healthy?

Did you realise that there are more plastic surgeons keeping people beautiful in Brazil than anywhere else?  I would have thought the US would have more but Brazilians are the ones desperate to remain young all their lives, at least those who are rich at any rate.  The poor, and there are many in Brazil, have to exercise, preferably on the beach where the beautiful people show themselves to the world.  Something about all this does not attract me.  The desperate having their face lifted often look worse afterwards, regular ageing and making the best of themselves makes people look better than any surgeon can manage.   Of course some have real reason to go under the knife but the faces filling the media are always broken people looking to be loved or just for attention.  Me myself have retained my handsome feature through living a good life and being naturally Adonis like.  What? ........Oh!

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Another Monday Starts the Week

Such a lovely, and irrelevant, picture this.  I should indicate I did not take this photograph in case you wondered.  It's pre Great War but not sure when.  I post it as I have taken no new pics, have no desire to rant tonight, and as usual nothing worth saying.  I spent much of the day attempting to fill out the Heart of Midlothian & the Great War site, the replacement for the site that died when the free Yahoo sites died.  It has taken years of sloth to finally do something (free) about this.  The trouble is the research takes so much time.  While I have much of the material further searches involves lots of Google work.  Hundreds of sites to look at and most repeat what they took from my old site anyway!  Bah!

The news is dominated by a storm in the US, but nothing will be said in the US when the remnants of 'Sandy' hit the west coast of Scotland in a few days time I suppose.  The other news remains the media fascination with Jimmy Saville.  This man was known to be a problem for years but nothing was done.  The problem as Jim Davidson indicates was that so many perverts are in the entertainment business.  It is full of broken people hiding behind the image and a Saville and will find friends and be free to indulge themselves unhindered.  Some had too much to lose, and no business will expose its own failures in this.  Personally I am uninterested, especially as the papers have dozens of stories to tell, many are jumping on the bandwagon, and if money is to be paid out I suspect others will appear with invented sob stories.  The less well known perverts will continue to hide in big companies, and if discovered silently moved out.

My tired brain is too knackered to bother unless something really important shows up, the many Nigerian Princes contacting me to offer millions don't count, the usual crop of murder, rape, lies and half truths are just a pain tonight.  The TV is full of pap, the radio also, nothing remotely interesting or humerous.  Maybe it's the cold weather?  I am freezing below my aged ex-army blankets, and I have attempted to keep warm by drinking expensive brandy but the supermarket man threw me out sadly.  There is nothing for it but an early night and hopefully an interesting dream.  Last night I dreampt I was talking to someone in the hallway while cars drove past us.  Quite why I have no idea but there you are.

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Just For You....

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It Suddenly Struck Me....

That I was surrounded by Autumn at its best!  Wandering through the Gardens I had to stop and stare at the world in front of me.  It was marvellous!  The colours, the leaves, bushes, tended beds, they all were just wonderful to look at this afternoon.  The picture cannot convey what I saw, nor my anxiety that someone would walk round the corner and watch me staring, you know how women get hysterical at such things.  However I really enjoyed these few minutes.  I am not sure if this was caused just by watching creation around me or whether I had been spending too much time indoors, or maybe relief the mists had cleared away, however I didn't waste time asking, I just enjoyed.

It could be that having helped out at the museum yesterday when the school kids were around I was still suffering from that.  They come into the Victorian classroom and find out what 1862 teaching was like.  They are then allowed to spend £3 in the shop on suitable and appropriate gifts.  I was only there to help out and it was enjoyable but when the shop has six or eight kids in, under a teachers control, it can easily give the impression there are three thousand of them, each accompanied by a wilderbeast!  Watching themselves wave to themselves when they found they were on CCTV was hilarious.  I am not sure how I would cope with thirty or so kids at one time.  Victorian cane or Lochgelly Tawse would be much used I reckon.

This was going to be a deeply thought out serious post but then I thought, "Forget it," and I'm watching the football instead.....


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Autumn ('Fall,' to you) Mists

Makes no difference to the dog here.  The nation is hidden beneath a deep, darkening mist and as you promenade along the tiny droplets settle and leave you fair drookit by the time home is reached.  The dog however insists he takes him out, favourite ball and all, and allows him to run around for an hour or so, visiting the same spots he met yesterday to check for strangers on his patch.  Dogs you see are mutts, they need you to do everything for them.  You take them for walks, you feed them, you clean them, you ensure they have a good bed at night.  Cats however do all of this by themselves, and do not venture out on days like this unless there is very good reason to do so.  Cats walk by themselves, cats clan themselves, then sit on you, cats find their own beds, and if they cannot find a mug to live off cats are more than capable of feeding themselves also.  They just prefer to have whatever you are having, and they want it now!    

Dogs also get confused easily.  This one was struggling to decide between picking up the ball or eating a stick when I came on the scene.  Here he is just sniffing out a friend.  

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