Sea Me....

Oh to go down to the sea again!  How I miss it!  I have not seen the sea fora very long time, and the sea has not seen me either for that matter, not that in the mind of the sea I matter that much.  That picture is two years old, and I suspect the ship has managed to make land by now.
In fact I have not been anywhere for a while, mostly because I have been busy searching for dead soldiers or have felt rough.  At last I ventured forth into work yesterday and sat there half asleep all morning.  Clearly an improvement they all thought, usually I am totally asleep!  
Today I was so keen I returned to seeking info on dead men and after much struggle succeeded (although nothing succeeds like a budgie).  I have found interesting info and now must contact the great, great granddaughter of the poor soul to inform them.  Before I do this I need to investigate two more of her distant relatives and pass that info on also, but most of that has already been unearthed. 
I did make two mistakes today, one was to discover yet another butterfly butterflying at the window, so much for then dying out!  I aided his escape and decided to rescue the one in the bathroom.  This I did by gently easing him onto a little booklet and carting him to the fresh air at the open window.  As the beast realised the way was clear he flew off as I congratulated myself on the rescue.  Unfortunately he almost crashed into the telegraph pole outside and swerving to avoid this he went under a car!  I was horrified.  There is no way off knowing if he was carried along the road and escaped, and I am not sure if the bits in the road were parts of a fallen leaf or my mate.  I feel more guilty about this than most things!

My second mistake was to forget I am not fit.  The shelving is falling down and the wee shop next door had a nice (cheap) bookshelf stood standing doing nothing there.  A quick walk in, use the arm as a ruler and measure the length, and then wander up the road pondering the price.  That was the other day as I crept early up to Tesco, today I remeasured the bookcase, using my arm, and my failing shelving, using my arm.  I then obtained the money from the bank, thanks girl for the loan of those nylons, and bought the bookcase, £10 off seeing it was me.  I carried the shelves upstairs and he gave me a hand up my one flight.  This was the mistake!  Forgetting that I was run down, forgetting that I was not fit forgetting that I am 'ahem' older than I was, as he raced back to his shop I floundered on my chair gasping for breath in a manner unknown to me! In fact those athletes at Glasgow in the following few days may find themselves less breathless than I was at that moment.  I really need to do some exercise, properly, and three times a week. The girls at work say, "Visit a doctor," but we know he will just say "Fat slob," so there is no need. At one point this afternoon I was however almost thinking about it.

There are wars and rumours of wars, there are celebs filling the empty pages of papers, and now the kids here are on holiday!  Can it get any worse I ask.....? 

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A Wee Run North

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Flutterby

This boy has been sat here on my bathroom wall for three days now.  Sitting there, face down, as if he expects to be fed somehow.  What is he doing there? The door, a large wooden thing that fills a hole, is wide open, leaving a large empty hole through which he can leave, this is positioned only six inches from his face, yet he stays there.
His mate flew in the other night and fluttered about for a while in the bedroom banging his head on the window before he worked out to go through the open bit.  He flew out to join several other butterfly's fluttering by and yesterday there appeared to be a great many of the things around.  This can only be good as the beasties are suffering a lot with the muck we pollute the air with.
I may however have to call the bailiffs in for this visitor.

The BBC iPlayer is down!  It is impossible to get programmes to arise!  How can I live without listening to something I could not hear when originally broadcast? This great boon to mankind now lying broken somewhere in White City or wherever is more important than anything else to those of us off an intellectual bent.  And I have often been informed my intellect is very bent indeed!  I was listening to the 'Essay' on Radio 3 and it would not work. Last weeks was about the first world war and offered interesting insights as to how it effected people in various nations today, very clever programmes.  This week we have had A.L. Kennedy talking about Scotland!  You would not wish to miss this!  I canny agree with Kennedy on some things but I find her short talks very interesting and clever. Well worth a listen, once the blasted thing comes back up that is!!! Bah!!!  

No iPlayer and it's back to this.....

Hot Heat!

Hot heat today, reaching 84 degrees, that's 29 to you in the colonies! i have still got the bug which has wearied me badly this week and have not been out in this much.  20 minutes this afternoon after I was forced to shop for ink for the printer (£28:50 for a set of B&W & Colour. Tesco wanted £32 for the same!!!). I sat for a wee while on the way back and rested my ailments and gazed at the blue above us.  

    
He came out full of vim and vigour, dropping the ball and ordering the boss to chuck it for him. As you can see on the way back after a short tour of the park he is less keen or haste.  Age is catching up on us all.... 

I'm off to bed....

This Morning

This was this morning, now I am asleep on my feet and I forgot all about this, so goodnight.....

The Ancient Near East, A Very Short History.

This wee book is one of dozens produced in this style.  The intention is to produce a short book to inform the reader of a particular subject, and the subjects range far and near.  It looks a worthwhile series.
This book takes us back before what most folks consider to be history, back before the Romans, the Greek, the Egyptians, those places we consider 'ancient' or 'Classical,' to the generations that lived in Mesopotamia long before.  The poor teaching of history, both professional and popular, leaves out what happened in what is now southern Iraq, even though it is considered to be the place humanity apparently began to settle so long ago.  Certainly where the book begins, 3600 BC, large towns were in existence and the usual problems known to us today bothered them also.  Uruk I think it was had 25,000 folks crammed inside the mud brick walls, although many may have dwelt outside of course. Personally I wanted to go further back but if you have no knowledge this is a good place to begun as here at this time writing begins.
As population growth continued small city states developed into empires.  Some were quite keen on peace and prosperity, others were somewhat rough.  It is interesting to see how many leaders built an empire but encouraged people to live peaceful lives.  The Assyrians however were clearly different in this.  While others revealed their works by carvings on walls depicting the temples and cities they built, the Assyrians depicted the king as waving his bow about, taking cities and chasing wild animals.  His peace was putting hooks in the noses of the rebellious.  
This is an interesting, delightful short read, with takes us from a temple document at Uruk in 3100 BC to the Persians ending the Babylonian empire around 500 BC, ish.  If you know nothing about such an important period, and much of what we know was known then, this book is worth a read.  Of course there are problems, the woman who wrote it was American!  This shows clearly in the grammar ....tut! 

      
Life is not fair.  These chaos arrived to entertain the kids and found rain and gloom.  Some sun on Saturday for them and a wee bit more on Sunday but not much and by teatime they are dismantling everything to head off to the next place.  The town was quiet at the weekend, a Carnival in a nearby town taking the kids away.

Yet when once they leave the sun shines.  Not that I have seen much of this. They claim, as they always do, the sun will be a belter tomorrow and Friday and warnings have been issued.  Climate change is occurring and we had better realise this.  Could it really be the end of the world this time?  Maybe we had better give that some serious consideration.

They done it again.  Out of the blue this appears outside my window, badly parked,  and no polis in sight!  Why?  What were they doing?  Who were they visiting?  Why do they never explain their movements to me, that's what I want to know.  All this integrity for them, they will never get to be Chief Constable if they insist on doing the job properly I'll tell you that! 

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Changes, but no Difference.

This buffoon has revealed his latest desperate attempt to save his job.  Dump middle class, middle aged men and bring in women!  Brilliant!  It gets publicity, it makes some women faint with joy but avoids offering a policy that will work. After Cameron's deliberate failed attempt to stop one cash grabbing monkey from becoming the top man in Europe, deliberate in that he knew he would lose but was an attempt to persuade folks not to vote UKIP, this is just another PR stunt.  The fact is his weakness is shown as Ian Duncan Smith retains his job simply because Cameron cannot sack him, what strength of leadership!  As always from this man each attention grabbing headline has nothing behind it.

Among the many 'bits of fluff' that will never get higher than this we find Priti Patel, an Essex MP, not far from here in fact.  Her position is easy, she has made it clear Scotland gets too much money thereby showing where Scotland will stand if the people are stupid enough to vote 'No' in the ballot.  The Conservatives will rob Scots of every penny, in spite of robbing Scotland already. Careful how you vote folks.  She is now in the Treasury!

The World Cup is over, Germany, bit dint of putting the ball in the net while Argentina failed to, now have the trophy for the next four years.  However football begins again soon!  About time to I say! August the 10th is the big kick off and how we have waited for this!  It's been ages...

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Stolen!

Stolen from Jerry as this is brilliant 

and I am watching the World Cup Final, so go away! 

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Roman in the Glo...Museum....

For the 'Festival of Archaeology' we dug up some Romans today.  Bits of tile, pots and beads and stuff abounded.  Slides of Ephesus, weaving & cooking Roman style (not at the same time) and the chance to build a town from Roman style houses.  The 'flint lady' arrived also and found many friends among the young.

Our Roman Auxiliary placed helmets on kids heads, this they thought heavy until they tried the chain mail vest!  This weighs 25 kilo's and enabled them to stand still afraid to move!  Lovely to see.  These two had a lovely time, as had I wearing a toga and declaiming to the masses.  The masses I must say remained unmoved.  The masses may not have turned out today, the town was very quiet, but those that came, including two of Houston's finest, enjoyed their ambling about the place.  Kids were supposed to make their own Roman style house and contribute this to our plan of the Roman town. Most took theirs home so the town is more like a village tonight. 

I had a small taste of the cooks Roman bread and was won over!   I will not look out a recipe and burn my own.  It tasted fabulous and while some say the diet was rich I see all that fruit as healthy.  That is if they could afford the rich foodstuffs. Roman plebs lived of the free handout of flour did they not?  Not much date sauce around their houses.  

Anyway, this guy found my usual seat.....

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Lazy Days

Wolfenfotography

That's me!  Two days with nothing to do, or at least nothing to do that got done! No late night football, early to bed, rising before awake meant back to bed and today I was full of energy, more or less.  How lovely to do little when there is much to do.  I was so full of energy I even cleaned the place, although this would not impress any woman it is cleaner than it was with that grime over everything.  

Tomorrow it is back to work, Romans at the museum all day and I am in the shop!  Oh goody, all the moaners will come to me.  Just as long as there is no requirement to wear a toga I will survive!

Daily Mail

The internet is a wonderful place.  This foto of Steven Spielberg next to a dead Triceratops has led to thousands commentating on how nasty this man is.  The replies condemned the man for killing this animal and few stopped to consider how he managed to kill a dinosaur that died out several million years beforehand.  Still that is the web for you!  Have any off you ever fallen for something as obvious as this?  I have but have forgotten (cough) what it was.

The Monday Tour

This great French event came within two miles of me today.  To avoid the crowds and the great danger of spending money I watched on TV.  I watched very carefully as they made their way from Cambridge down into Essex, through Saffron Walden and Finchingfield ('the prettiest village in England') and headed towards Rayne.  It certainly revealed a lovely country scene along the way.  The villages, ancient churches,crops almost ready for harvest and the sun shining of medieval but much upgraded buildings.  The commentators prattled on as always, inane ramblings needless facts read from a script, often at the wrong time revealing their ignorance, and as they did so I waited to watch for the pelaton taking the humpback bridge over the old railway at Rayne just up the road.  I wanted to see them as they took the immediate sharp, narrow, right hand turn.  Naturally as the leaders entered the village the telly went for an advert break!

Grrrrrrr!  

Now who wishes to see, for the fortieth time, five minutes of bad adverts? Meaningless and irrelevant to the programme, indeed even the commentators make more sense than the adverts, yet when we enter a village they leave us for them!  Why not on the long boring roadway you eejits?  Grrrrr!

On the first day the 'British' rider Mark Cavendish fell and broke his collar bone. He was one tipped to win the race.  If these commentators manage to get through any sentence, whether about the race, the churches and castles passed by, the crowd or the colour of the sky without mentioning Cavendish I have not heard them.  The bias is unavailing, constantly spouted at every opportunity. Cavendish of course is out of the race. 

Lady DiTn thinks the commentators ought to try Nascar!  I would like to see Phil Liggett there also! Heart attacks abounding!

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I Got Sole....

 

Or at least I aint got sole.  As my feet ached as I walked it came to my attention the problem might have something to do with the soles no longer being of any use to anyone! This is annoying as these shows now fit my feet, or is it the other way around? Comfortable, waterproof unless it rains, and clearly fashionable, oh yes they are.  I suppose I will have to use the 'Sunday Best' shoes from now on, once I have wiped the dust from them. Things under the bed get very dusty I find.   

Only three more World Cup games to go.  One more week I reckon before normality returns.  I sat in front of the TV at five today and was somewhat shocked to find there was no more games!  Only the semi-finals and final to come. I began to see spiders after a while, then realised there were spiders on the telly!  I really must dust more. The 'Tour de France' which is running about Yorkshire at the moment is a nice alternative.  Watching the knees bending is very tiring to me but the scenery, without rain at that, is magnificent!
Tomorrow the 'Tour' comes past our way.  Two overcrowded miles up the road the race will flash past, except when crossing the humpback bridge with a sharp right turn, and ignore the crowds stuffing themselves with hamburger from the stalls ll over the fields in the village.  I should have gathered all the England flags thrown out by loyal fans after the World Cup games and taken them up there to sell!   I will watch on TV, I will see more this way.

Three weeks till our Great War exhibition opens.  We still have five weeks work in hand!!!  Lummy, as they used to say....

Warm Rain Saturday

I joined with this bird this morning to examine the rain and wondered if I ought to stay in rather than go out.  He was somewhat bemused as the sun burnt those of us lucky enough to be out in it while this morning the land was under a rain cloud.  bravely I went to the Museum where we were bored by the lack of custom.  Those that came, eventually, were very interesting but so few in number.  Something has to be done I say!

The press have indulged themselves once again over Rolfe Harris.  Pages are given over to the details of his 'shocking' activities and as many 'hurt' women as possible will appear in these pages, on TV and on radio, telling us of their despair.  Those who were there, and I know one who was, are somewhat skeptical.  It was clear then what was going on, so why the fuss?  Indeed why did the media not bring this into the open forty years ago?  Why was Saville allowed to continue, and why have MPs involved in abusing boys been a secret all this time when everybody knew?  Ah the hypocrisy astounds.
I note the same media make a fuss over the 'short' sentence given to Harris but fail to fuss over the even shorter sentence given to Coulson, the man who hacked phones and has become the fall guy for Murdoch's empire.  When it's one off their own they are less keen to talk, probably because they all (do) did it!

Not that I wish to complain but watching the World Cup I find the commentators talk rubbish, yes Jonathan Pearce I mean you, the pundits not much better, the constant search for pics of the crowd, senseless slow motions that are too slow, who needs to see celebrations in slow motion I ask you?  But worse are the fans.  Supposedly football fans whenever the camera picks on them they jump up and wave to the screen.  On many occasions these 'fans' were watching their team being humped yet they could ignore this to wave to the camera?  If you are losing and you support your team you do not react like this.  This I suspect is because most watched are female, accompanying the male but less interested in the game than the event and the holiday.  Dump them I say!

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Quarter Finals

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Sunshine!!!!

For reasons I fail to fathom the sun keeps shining.  Australia is colder than us today!  It is 43% in Perth and 53% in Brisbane, we reach 77% here today and it is past the zenith!  Jings, Crivvens and Help ma Boab Jimmy!   I spent twenty minutes in the sun and found it too hot.  Oh if this can last a few months I will be happy.  I was meant to live in hot places, with a Tesco close by.  
The swifts are racing across the sky chomping on beasties and screeching after one another, doing their best to avoid the police helicopter that has suddenly appeared.  Scattered around the part are half dressed young women, this is fine unless they are fat and insist on wearing shorts!  Worse still are men in shorts, it's not clever and not fashionable, especially at your age mate!  Fat men in T-shirts with ageing messages across the front is one thing, add shorts and it's a no go area.  Fine for the garden, not the street!  
A strong breeze is waving through the trees blasting warm air on everybody, this I assure you is unusual here.  Around the pubs in the town centre the 'continental layout' introduced by the council some years ago features folks sitting chatting at the tables while soaking in the sun and beer.  Whether the continentals fail to hold their drink like the English is a question others can answer.  The English flags that began to spring up a week or two ago have all but disappeared again.  I must check the recycled bins to see if there is one set apart for them alone.  

The gap in the world cup games has been useful, I have caught up on sleep!  I was so tired and feeling worn out that I fell asleep as the extra time began in the USA game the other night.  This half hour turned out to be the best of the tournament!  Typical innit?  The big four teams, all getting through by luck rather than talent, now face each other.  The 'smaller' nations who attempted to play with a bit of swagger are out but the usual crew are through.  Hopefully Belgium, the least of the four, will turn them over and take the cup home.  Any team that manages to beat Scotland deserves to win the World Cup I say!

I am touched by the birthday greetings I have received.  My great niece made a point about being an uncle, then changed it to 'Great Uncle' because I am old. Her Christmas has been spent on Amazon Books but she does not yet know this. Funnily enough I look at the cards and still expect to see one from my mum, yet she died almost five years ago.  How things stick in the mind.  I am grateful for those kind greetings, even though the poison bottle was empty......bah! 

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As if Life was not bad enough....

Today I became 63, now that is old.

I am celebrating with a bottle of this....   

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Meat!

Having been convinced, by women as you may guess, that I am puny, weak, and a fat slob rolled into one ball of lard I decided to do something about this. So I struggled out to the shop and bought MEAT! Yes that red stuff that comes from cows, cows filled with antibiotics and other drugs, yes that stuff.  I went at a time when the cheap stuff was available, and it was not available, it had gone! I went to the not cheap at all stuff and it was not cheap at all.  I would be cheaper buying a cow! Anyway I came home with a few flat slabs of this red stuff and burnt some yesterday with tomatoes and mushrooms then washed it all down with 'Lucozade!'  Good old 'Lucozade,' the original stuff not the sports type that comes in bottles with 'teats' attached.  Just what is the point of those eh?  I forgot how useful Lucozade was.  I slept better after that meal, twice, and today I was busy at the museum, supported by 'Lucozade!'  Just as well as it was a busy morning and the staff all hopped it to a 'meeting.'  They were suitably bored while I entertained the visitors.  This use of the word 'entertained' does not require dictionary acceptance.  Hopefully I now have the rest off the week to myself, so I can do the woman's work that women will not do for me and iron some more shirts.  Thank you for your concern, I'm off to sleep again.....

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Groan....

Sick, suffering, unwell, weary, .....ooooohhh  aaaarggh etc, let me sleep.....

The Weekend

Temporarily Lost

Friday morning brought a herd of these beasts hurtling through the museum. Naturally we ran! In time one of the herdsmen arrived and managed to corral them into some order.  Quite how teachers can gain control without the use of whips and chairs like those lion tamers do is a wonder to me.  Eventually all 58 kids had been through the shop, spent almost £5 each (not counting those that thought things worth £6:90 can be bought for £5) and running out off small change half way through, eventually everybody was happy.  Really nice kids but by the time the last fiver had been crushed into the till (with change obtained somehow) we relaxed, breathed deeply and drank tea.
I was knackered when I got home and had to begin sorting out stuff for the exhibition when my brain no longer functioned.  I started but did not finish and after a quieter time today just want to sit and do nothing.  However I did glance at the online press this morning to see the big news stories.  The Online Daily mail began today by revealing that the English queen has worn the same flat shoes for fifty years! How I wanted to know this!  The 'Daily Mail' reader you understand has little in their life.  The DM reader has only one real concern, money!  His wife cares what others wear so she can copy them or compare herself to them to see of she is better than they.  Nothing else matters to them but plenty of sex stories are required for them to feign shock.  I didn't bother with the rest but the BBC splashed on David Cameron's attempt to grab UKIP votes at the EU Summit and problems abroad.  What sells and what is news are different beings.   

A woman asked me a while ago what I did with myself now I am retired. "What do you do all day," she asked, implying I must be bored.  I strangled her.  It was the only way.....

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Free Day eh?

The two crows moved steadily, intent on their destination.  Behind them transparent white clouds streaked the deep blue of the morning sky.  Two tall trees, resplendent in their greenery, brightened the day as their leaves twittered in the breeze.  A female blackbird hopped several paces and stopped, cocking her ear to listen for movement underground.  She hopped three steps more, then again, continuing on her way, coming close to me, happy that I was not going to disturb her routine.  In the distance a female form with white top stood in the shadow of the trees.  She gazed into the distance as if awaiting someone yet no other movement could be seen. Two cyclists, independent of one another passed by, both wearing those lime green 'Hi-Viz' vests, ideal for crossing a near empty park in bright sunshine.  A young women paced by with determined expression, laptop grasped tightly in hand. Someone out to change the world perhaps, a young lawyer about to save the needy, or a businesswomen heading for financial utopia I wondered.  My existence appeared to mean little to her. 'White top' had moved.  She had come out of the shadows and now at last I saw her understandable reason for hesitation, a small black dog.  This, possible a 'Scottie,' ambled slowly, content like me to let the world pass by but keeping at a distance from the woman just in case she urged speed upon him. 
So the world awake early today.  At last I had two whole days to myself, this was guaranteed yesterday when I covered for someone who was off, but turned up anyway.  This was my time, time to relax, sleep, consider the Great War only if I felt like it and iron those shirts the au pair ignored.

Having shopped even earlier I returned home to healthy thick brown bread full of bits and filled it with unhealthy bacon!  I read the grubby online papers full of wonder at how they failed to ask why that editor women got off 'scot free!'  Did David Cameron's brother defend her at a cost of £20,000 a day? Was the prime minister's intervention that came so close to scrapping the trial, at enormous cost, a deliberate device I ask?  Yet the papers appear to play this down.  The law works different for important people.  I mused for a while, looked at the ironing board, and sat in the bath even though it was not a Sunday.  This was a day for enjoyment.
Then I returned to my e-mail.  I like e-mail, it is a great way to stay in touch, it avoids needless chatter, gets to the point and brings folks together so well.  Not counting Mary who abused me for not liking tennis, something she has been glued to since this nonsense began!  Boring I say, get it off the screen.  I'd rather talk to a woman about her baby!
Then it happened.  I had finished one of the items I was writing, my delightful boss has now read it and sent it back using this 'word' system that allows corrections.  I had a long list of corrections, adjustments, recommendations to attend to.  This I did once I worked out what to do.  Helpfully I returned this and also finished the second piece this time readjusting it to make more sense.  However not long afterwards she enquired as to where the thing was, it had not arrived and the reason was simple, me!  Not only had I not linked it to her I had not saved the blasted thing after finishing it!  The only action was to redo the whole lot!  'Na Poo' to this I thought!  So back it went, no doubt the second one will have just as many red lines on it.  My teachers at school were not this bad!
Then the other e-mail arrived.  Tomorrow I must go in again, as well as Saturday, as a girls sick dad has died.  This was expected as he is aged and very sick.  A second lass is off tomorrow as her dad is close to following on also.  I'm going to ask for a wage soon!
The advantage of being in is taking the laptop and working at the desk.  Hopefully it will be quiet and I can get on but if busy I will just write a story, 'Living death in the museum!' Oh yes and now I must iron a shirt....
Time for football and sleep.  Who will join the USA in the next round, I know not as I have no idea who is playing yet.  Oh sleep, wherefore art thou mush?

  
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