Mars!

That may be a dirty blob to you, however, to those in the know that blob is my first picture of the planet Mars!  Being unable to sleep, aching from preparing the place for the workmen, my aching muscles forced me up just after one am.  In spite of a slight cloud cover it was possible to see many stars glinting above.  I was looking for the latest comet that is supposedly passing by but failed to observe it, however, it is quite wonderful to be able, even through a dirty window, to see so many stars.
While in my teens I was often able to see stars.  Having a cat meant that at unearthly hours one of us would be forced up, downstairs, through the back door, and while the cat stared suspiciously into the void I could look up into the very dark sky, well hidden from street lights, and observe Orion among others.  Always good, even if frostbite was waiting.  The cat would suddenly move, I would close back stair door, open the front door for the cat to enter halfway and glare back at his patch.  We would then return to bed, he satisfied his land was secure from threats no-one but him could see, we happy just to be warm again.
On one occasion on the north coast of Kent a crowd of us stood and stared at the Milky Way.  Vast numbers of stars, clear as can be ranged overhead.  Wonderful sight.
Last night I managed to capture Mars, not easy while holding the camera half way out the window, but another achievement to equal a similarly poor image of Venus obtained a while ago.  If I could understand half of what they say on these star maps I might find others.  Why are they so often confusing?     

OSIRIS

A wee bit better than mine.

I'm Saying Nothing but...

Haircut and Football

At last I had a haircut!
I was about to get one when Lock Down began so it brought back memories of losing the Hippy hair many years again when the Barber chopped all those lumps of grey hair from my head. Waking up with hair not indeed unlike a bad tempered used mop was becoming a bit wearing.  Now I no longer feel my hair growing into my shirt and can happily move my head almost all the way round now.  Not quite Owl like mind.
It was a while before I could find a free Barber.  All the shops I passed had people waiting or several being dealt with as I looked in.  The sight of Barbers wearing those face masks, those with glasses loose out as they steam up so wearing them appears difficult.  I was interested to hear the Barber had not been paid for 4 months.  I thought there was some money made available for businesses, though I suspect these guys work independently so miss out any cash, the boss may do well mind.
He was efficient and friendly enough, the result OK, not that I am one to fuss, and at least the hair is cut.  I need to go again, just before the next Lock Down begins in 6 months time!

Back home I have invested in NOW TV for Sky Sports once again.  I have done this a bit early, Scots football does not arrive for a few weeks yet, but already I have watched several not very good football games.  I also watched the English tedium called Cricket!  This was a bit tedium as not much happened when I watched and the 14 year old director spent far too much time making use of a moving drone and short 5 second pictures of individual players interspersed with each ball or repeats, and several of them, of incidents that for the most part need not be replayed.  Rather typical TV these days.  Then it got dark they went home, and I went back to football.

Take a Leak...

My blissful existence, which consists of staring out the window, reading things and stuffing bad food down my throat, was hindered this morning by the approach of the workmen.  The small leak under the sink required fixing, the plumber stated the sink required replacing, this requires renovating the entire kitchenette.  
I awaited their arrival with baited breath.
They came, they saw, they debated, they pointed, they measured, they cogitated, they refused, they changed their minds, they pointed once again, they remeasured, they cogitated but mostly stood staring blankly muttering "Well...maybe" and "Hmmm..."  "We could ..."  and "But what about that..." and so on.  
Eventually they decided, it all had to come out.  All required renovation.  
They stared at me.
"Everything has to be moved," they stated happily, grinning too cheerfully for my liking.  
"Where to?" enquired I.
Giggles all round from them.
"There may be dust," said one.
"With you there is always dust said I," bringing nods and agreement from both.  
Quite how the hoover has lasted so long no-one knows.    
Eventually we agreed.  Next Tuesday they will arrive, remove the entire kitchenette and replace it.  There is no other option.  The leak is one thing but underneath all is becoming rotten and requires work either now or later.  I suppose this was built in the 1970's, possibly 45 - 50 years ago so it will be getting old and as bits underneath were breaking off as they fiddled about it is probably the time for action.
The actual leak has been temporarily sealed, downstairs need worry no more, bar the noise and dust of course, but now I have to move everything into space that does not exist and continue to live.  Next week I will need to live in a workshop!
I look forward to this...!

   
During the discussion we discussed St Stephens in London where the Landlord found me all those years ago.  There I was, up there at the top, the window open as it is easier to open it than clean it, and quite happy bar the number of disturbed and disturbing tenants that were beginning to arrive.  So I moved to this wee market town full of boredom where I fitted in perfectly.  
However I did learn something I had not known before.  I was under the impression the first landlord in London had bought the house, indeed all his houses, during the war.  It appears this was wrong, he obtained these run down premises, and continued to let them be run down as much as possible,  until the council made him do them up.  He sold them!  
In fact he had obtained the building in the early 60s when Peter Rachman, a notorious landlord, had died and the buildings sold on.  Rachman had specialised in bedsit tenancies.  Usually the West Indians that came in during the 50s were his clients as he knew there were less protections for them.  He, or at least those who collected the high rents, were known to use despicable tactics on the clients.  Setting dogs on those who could not pay, acid thrown, or removing the staircase so they could not get it, or out!  In the end this led to many changes in law, though it did not help that race riots in that part of London were common at the time.  He moved himself into Winnington Road, Hampstead, and moved around in a chauffeur driven Rolls-Royce.  He was done on occasions by the police, who were desperately seeking to catch him and his men, for prostitution that was taking place in his flats.  I sometimes wonder who has been sleeping in my bed there in times past!  
I had been told he was a Jew who ended up in Auschwitz but in fact he was a Polish Jew caught by the Germans who escaped in Soviet held territory.  This did him no good as he was sent to Siberia with 3 million other Polish men, women and children, and eventually they escaped when Hitler invaded Russia and these men formed the 2nd Polish Corps.  He served in the Middle East and ended his war in Italy.  From there they were moved to the UK where Rachman like so many others remained.    
Rachman died after marrying his long time girlfriend but he had many other woman at the time including Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice-Davis, famous for other famous people they knew.  He kept them in local flats, for the use off, and his money was a major attraction for them.  However his style of record keeping, not letting the left hand know what the right hand is doing, meant that at his sudden death, he took a heart attack while driving, there was insufficient paperwork to prove ownership of properties.  His friends grabbed what they could.
I need to state at this point my landlord is not like this man.  This landlord does not offer a small payment to move, insert loud, all day and night party loving types all around, or indeed do deals with the Kray twins to keep them out of his hair.  
Dealing with plumbers can of course be worse than this...

Blethering Sunday

Being the new month I had to wash today.  This is helpful as I did dust yesterday and you can imagine what stour was created by such an action!  The first free day from English Lock Down was expected to cause trouble, now news so far, and not having Facebook I now miss out on local gossip re Saturday night happenings.  For myself I made it to Tesco by 7:30 on Saturday morning to avoid the crowds and noticed a lot more stalls being slowly erected in the market.  They expected crowds I see.
It made me wonder about the stall holders.  For years now these people have had the enormous effort of erecting tables of some form, then slowly unpacking their goods for display, followed by a days trading, followed by an enormous effort to pack the leftovers into boxes and vans and going home.  Often they do this five or six days a week, I ask myself is it worth the effort?  The fish man of course has the right answer, he has a van, drops the back end into a shelf, and provides his customers with a view of the goods and an easy display and repacking and off we go.  Clearly an early start in the morning, like the fruit men at 2 am, but the van makes life so much easier.  As for the handling of several tables, dozens of boxes, often alone or just two men, to me this is hard work and much better becoming a postman.  

The sight of Boris clapping for the NHS was not one that produced a thankful response in me.  The man responsible for 25,000 deaths dumped on care homes with no PPE or testing resulting in many carers dying applauding the dead does not inspire gratitude.  It is to be hoped a proper court of law can be persuaded to inquire as to the justice or lack of it all.  Chances of that are small however the law being what it is.  'Support your NHS, Don't vote Tory.'

While some queued outside pubs many in this town were more careful how they stood in line.  People avoided one another, keeping 6ft apart whatever the PM says, and still many are very fearful of this virus.  I await the 'second wave' like many others.
Barbers shops were open, six men at least outside of those I passed later on yesterday.  I require an urgent haircut but will wait until the desperate have been attended to first.  I suspect the prices have increased to make up for 4 months lost wages.  There appears to be a Dullux dog in this house, the place is covered in white hairs that have appeared everywhere.

Worn Out Today

Rising late I expected a decent quiet day.  This was ruined by the banging of the plumber and his mate downstairs and the information that I was leaking!  It was flat Number two that reported a leak a week or two ago.  John and his mate came round attempting to locate leak.  We looked under sink, saw nothing, behind washing machine and saw nothing, concluded it was Number 5 at fault and they were out.  I heard no more until the banging today.  
In fact the plumber was at Number 1.  they had a leak also, they thought it the boiler, the plumber thought the boiler was off anyway and replaced it.  In doing so he realised I was leaking.  On inspection, much better than before, a small but persistent leak was coming from around the U-bend bits.  
Having banged and thumped at Number 1 satisfactorily he wished to check mine, then look into Number 5's bathroom.  He looked at mine, decided a refit was required, John will say rude words, I canny imagine what the landlord will say, and that is now in the process.  More next Tuesday.
Plumber goes to Number 5 who has gone out so he will be back next week also.  More banging expected.

In the midst of all this I received a new scanner.  A small device to transfer slides onto digital.  A very good idea and something I have been wanting for a long time.  The problem was they ranged between £50 to 80 and that was beyond me.  The other day however, while scanning the Online Oxfam Shop I found one for £29.  It arrived during the banging time and gave me something to annoy me all day.  
Once I had worked out how to make it work, once I discovered the lead from the plug is two feet too short, and once I had dusted down the old box of slides I discovered the colours have faded.  Whether this was because of where they have been kept or simply age, it is 30 years since I went to Jerusalem, I know not but it was time consuming beginning to put them through the scanner.  Some have been done, some are not very good, and yet I may get a couple of decent hots if I turn them into B&W when the colours do not succeed.
Interestingly, among the debris in the box was an SD card. This contained photos from years ago which a previous owner had attempted to digitalise.  Most of them are not very good, almost all upside down, reversed, but some are very good indeed and may be made use off.   
No siesta today, no decent food either, hopefully I will get a decent sleep now...

Bored

Another day of sudden downpours, thunder and lightning.  Lovely to see, from the window at least.  
Other than visiting Tesco in the bright, reasonably warm sunshine at 7:30 this morning I have avoided polluting the streets.  Instead of original thought or real purpose I have merely eased my ears - my sister phoned last night - and concentrated on staring into space.  This some appear to consider wasting time but I prefer to see it as pondering life.  
Once, full of zeal and little sense, I wished to be out there!  The world was full of adventure and excitement.  There were places to go, things to experience, action, friends and whatever.  Not now.
Much of it I have seen, the excitement has lessened, and a dog speaking to me as I made my way home is more than enough friendship that early in the day.  Much joy can be had waiting on the postman or those white vans that draw up and pull out parcels.  Never it appears for me however.  
Of course I could buy something but I would rather it just arrives as a surprise.  That would be good.
However, with everybody broke, unemployed, locked down, or merely going off their heads I suppose surprise packets will not be arriving any time soon.  Maybe I ought to send one to someone else? I wonder what item (cheap) I could go for?  Of course once I start going for something some fool will put a price tag on it (plus P&P) and put me off.  Ah well.
No football tonight either, though what has been available has mostly been poor.  OK then, back to listening to the wireless!

Walking the Streets...

At first I considered these 'walking tours' somewhat absurd.  A man carrying a camera wanders along the streets filming as he goes, revealing a city or whatever from the ground, as a tourist would see it.

Then I discovered I was hooked!

There are problems with these videos, one concerns London.  Walking around London, and there are many of those as you will guess, involves meeting Londoners.  These ignorant, rude people who walk into you as if you do not exist, cut in front of you, barge past you, and generally make me glad I am now in this wee market town, appear regularly on the videos.  One other problem, the man with the camera will insist on turning the wrong way!  I wish to turn to the left, he goes right, and there is nothing you can do about this!  

However, for someone suffering Lock Down it is a window on the world, and they do cover a good part of the world now, and while you may wish them to walk down different streets or check the notices on old building more many of these are worth a look.

This half hour one covers the city of London.  Clearly he was there on a Saturday as the place is quiet.  Masses of blue suited smart people, they say, fill the area normally, making use of the pubs and clubs, cafes and grossly overpriced restaurants while seeking to do deals and make money.  So many would be happier moving out and getting a life instead!

Once upon a time I had some knowledge of the streets, watching this glass fronted, disgusting tower block filled place all I had was neck ache!  Far too many old buildings have gone, too many disgusting ones have arrived, though many from the late 19th century were pretty drab also.  The more interesting ones, where you really have to look up to see carvings and insignia, were missed!  Bah!

Worth a look for anyone who has been there or wishes to avoid entering the den of iniquity.

 Alex

Monday Mump

It's been one of those weekends. Nothing has gone right.  Even my spelling has failed more than ever, according to all the red lines under this sentence.  Just like being back in school.  I had to buy the teacher six new red pens when I left.  Some refer to being 'Booted' out of school, my teacher took that phrase to heart.  She had a nasty streak after all.
Early this morning I headed to Tesco for bread.  I had been in Sainsburys late yesterday for bread but when I got back I discovered I had got everything but!  I knew I should not have followed that woman around the store...
Today I was in Tesco just after 8 am.  Wandering around, just for bread, I spent £7:27 on other things that I suddenly realised I required, but managed to obtain bread first.  By only shopping once a week I have spent much less money, today reminded me how I was overspending in these money grabbing places.  Of course the lovely lass at the checkout did not like me, that helped to make my day.
The list of things that did not work, was not possible, unavailable over the weekend, plus rain when I considered wandering outside, all added to a dreich weekend.  I did rejoice at the number of freely available football matches on telly but discovered most of these were dower, dreary typically English affairs.  The best part was the second half of the 3rd division German game I found, at least both tried then to play football.
However, with Craig Gordon returning to the Heart of Midlothian there was one piece of good news this morning.  Just as long as he does not injure himself going up to the press conference.
 

I suppose I could have been like the clever people and taken out insurance against my day.  Many celebrities take out such insurance in case their voice/legs/talent suddenly leaves them.  Others take out insurance for their wedding day just in case 'cold feet' appear.  Still others, while swimming in Loch Ness took out insurance in case the Loch Ness Monster bit them!  Similarly a cruise ship did likewise as they feared the monster might bite them!  Sometimes of course insurance is worth while.  The Wimbledon Tennis people took out 'Pandemic Insurance' after the 'SARS' outbreak some years ago, now it appears they may get back some of the £1.5 million they paid out annually, around £114 million expected to arrive sometime soon!
I wonder if they will allow 'Having a bad day' as an insurance request...

Nothing to Say

Thursday Rambling

Imagine my delight at 10:30 last night when outside my window a lorry, full of unknown substances, began, very loudly, to work on the road surface.  I have no idea what he was doing, I only knew I was going to  have tinnitus by morning!  I did shout at him but he could not hear me for the noise he was making.  Half an hour later he moved away down the road leaving a road surface in similar condition as to when he had started!  I fell asleep.  Just after midnight he was back, making similar noise and no effect on the other side of the road.  
Now many men had been working last night.  Other JCB like monsters moved up and down, digging here and there, spades scraping alongside, but none made a noise equal to johnny in the truck.  I thought at first he was cleaning drains, but there are none at these spots.  I thought he was washing the road but no!  He is merely employed to be a nuisance!  Grrr!
I awoke at 5, I looked out and a new road surface had appeared.  All the way down the road has been replaced with no noise whatsoever, so why did Johnny in the truck unknown have to make such a racket?  Bah!

So I crossed the road, crossed the park, stood back, as did two others and a dog, as a large jogger woman passed by.  'Joggernaught!' Thought I.  The two and myself, plus dog, decided we would not indulge in such frivolity, the dog especially pleased as he is at the granddad stage like the rest of us.
As we watched go, and she did go, I moved on, walked about the town wondering why it was 70% at this time of the morning.  I have hidden away indoors ever since.  

SKY

Bournemouth beach, one of the best in the world, has declared a 'Major Incident' as thousands of dafties headed for the seaside.  Too many people, Coronovirus still alive, and 558 parking tickets, a record, given out.  Some will not be pleased. 
Mind you Tesco was still busy, why did this lot not go there?

Clear as Mud

So I answered the problem of 'how to get photos from my phone to the laptop' by obtaining a suitable USB cable.  Considering I have a box full of cables and every one was the wrong size, USB 'C' apparently is required, all mine were different, possibly used for laptops, computers and radios rather than phones!  Any how I got one today delivered by 'Hermes' the worst of all courier services.  Not only did it arrive as promised (they promised to deliver between 11 - 1 after I had gone out just before 11) they actually did deliver before one O'clock.  I saw the man push the packet through the letterbox, take the obligatory photo as they do these days and depart as I was crossing the park.  Jolly good show 'Hermes.'  Since Lock Down 'Hermes' has employed many more drivers.  Their system was poor before, the worst of all, yet it appears to me they have white van men all over the place at the moment.  There were two here today, one doing large packets and this one with the small stuff.  I wonder if it will last?

So, now I have a cable to connect the phone to the laptop, I connect, it bleeps, it registers, and then nothing!  Naturally I try all things before looking for help in the instructions.  Here, as you see, helpfully the instructions are written in Mandarin, or is it Cantonese! 
Jolly good show!
Now I believe this the chinky folk trying 'soft power' in the way the US has been doing it for years, completely ignoring the people of this land and expecting us to understand what they are talking about.  I mean, Cartoons like 'Peanuts,' or 'Garfield, 'Marvel Comics, those dreadful US comedies with canned laughter and no humour, the movies and all else is dumped upon us and we are expected to know what they are talking about.  Naturally in reverse this gets nowhere!  With the exception of one small house in Georgia where a young woman lives with her own translator.  
Possibly the Beijing Emperor hopes to do similar with his export power?  I see a problem here.  While the normal citizen can translate US speak into some form of human dialogue ( you see, we used to call that 'talk') translating Chinese characters into some form of English is unlikely for 99% of the people.  Possibly they have heard the Geordie's cry 'Huawei the lads' and got the wrong idea?  
Anyway, after some struggle I found the spot to change things and discovered that I can indeed load the laptop with bad pictures taken on my feeble phone camera.  However, I am peeved that I cannot uplift to the phone from the laptop!  There has to be a way to do this, I will discover it, even though it may take a while, in Mandarin!

Slow Sabbath...

Been a slow day.  Made slower by having to drop everything and watch Newcastle United beating Sheffield United by 3 - 0 this afternoon.  Other things had to be put aside while I gaped at the Newcastle side in a vast empty stadium.  This did not spoil the game however, I enjoyed it and was pleased at the result.  Last night the BBC gave us Bournemouth v Crystal Palace just to indicate that Bournemouth are finished and will go down.  The only hope they have is that West Ham are also chronic and may fare even worse!  

This means I have wasted no time in seeking parades or protests to pretend I care about.  In Glasgow and Edinburgh (pronounced 'Edinburra') Rangers fans act out 'British Loyalism,' which in Glasgow means attacking peaceful asylum seekers meetings and of course the police.  'Unionists' are always violent, it i the English part of their imperialistic make up.  The Glasgow police (pronounced 'Polis') often appear somewhat right wing and 'loyalist also, at least those visiting Ibrox Park, Rangers home, often find.  This time however too many punches have been thrown, too many assaults have strained the officers and I think there will be many doors 'knocked on' at 6 am soon in various 'Loyal' districts.

I did notice the weather man claiming hot weather was in the offing.  It is summer I suppose, and this means the numpties will be racing to the beaches to collect virii from close packed sun lovers. I have watched them well behaved and well spaced out on Bournemouth's well cared for beaches but others may be less disciplined.  The NHS will be looking forward to the week...

Well he tried his best but failed to rouse much in Tulsa.  He managed to enable Nigel Farage, the attention seeking Hedge Fund chancer to visit him to swell the crowds.  Nigel was barred but allowed into the US as because of 'National Interest!'  Possibly he was interested in a 19,000 seater arena in which only 6200 bothered to come and listen to Trumps lies?  

In major news it appears the Heart of Midlothian have ended their time with Daniel Stendal and replaced him with ex-manager Robbie Neilson.  I wonder if Craig offered any advice here?  With court cases ongoing, league placing uncertain, this is a bright move that will please many and annoy others.  We await with interest further developments.

Night Highway Repair

I was a bit perturbed to see this monster outside my window the other night.  There had been some noise further up the road but I did not expect a Dinosaur type machine to look in on me.

He had disappeared by morning and much later on Friday evening he turned up again, along with several large trucks.  There was much to-ing and fro-ing by these vehicles, men in bright orange suits pointing fingers this way and that while the late shoppers at Sainsburys tried to get home.

Eventually, late on, they managed to get under way.  Grumbling re the state of the potholes has risen considerably in recent days.  The road here, once made stable by Roman soldiers giving it the name 'Stane Street,' now known by less happy terms as holes appeared everywhere.  The building of two blocks of houses on either side of the road did not help, Gas, Electric and Water all took turns in digging up the road and then doing it all over again for the other side of the street.  Then faults occurred and they had to do it all over again.  Some of the workers offered to camp in the park to save time coming and going!  The temporary patches put on the road after this did not go down well with the locals, many spleens were vented!  Being some 15 years or so since this was last resurfaced the County Council has decided to resurface now.  How long will this last I wonder?

Scrape the surface and dump it straight into the lorry in front.  The Roman soldiers slogging their way along the road would have loved this machine.  I wonder how much this costs?  I must say I have not been so fascinated with men working on the roads since I was coming up for 3.  Way back then I remember what I am sure was a steamroller used by the men creating the roads in our new housing estate.  Over the Brazier hung 'Tate & Lyle' syrup tins from a short improvised metal handle.  This was their tea!  No fancy mugs in those early 50s days. 

Being right outside my window I was not going to miss this, even though I was slouched in bed when they began.  Efficiently they removed the surface, slowly walking the great machine along, careful guiding required.  Alongside the men swept the pavement clean of dust, I had to do my own window, nose and throat myself, as they followed the craft alongside.  Quite why they all wore hard Hats when nothing was going to fall on their heads was not explained. 

The sky, being almost Mid Summer, was brilliant, deep red as the night wore on.  Well after 10:30 when I managed to take that shot.

 
See how clear it is at that time, the youths happily exchanging drugs unafraid of the police who cannot get past the men working on the road way.  Clearly this lot work together often, such teamwork requires practice.  Scraping the ground requires a truck to move in front of the machine while manoeuvring backwards and forwards to fill the truck evenly.  Then when laying the tar similarly a truck has to load the laying machine carefully, tipping it's load without covering everyone in road surface.

As the light faded various machines and men in yellow outfits wandered about.  Here they were working around an electric 'hole in the road,' doing their best not to destroy it.

Filling the beast while blurring my picture.

The first layer goes down, more to come tonight I understand, and it surprised me how hard the layer was.  The men walking on it left no impression behind.  The smell of tar is much better than the dust that was flying about earlier.

Such jobs involve much intense work followed by lots of standing about while the machine gets refilled, the men in charge discuss the next move, or some hold up arrives.  The workers appeared to get on well with the few people passing by.  The wage may be quite good, especially as most of the work is done at night.

What happened to the large machinery I do not know, I awoke to find this man running about and others painting temporary white lines in the road.   There is more disruption to follow but as far as I can see they have done it with little stress on others, not counting the Sainsburys lorry that arrived at the wrong time, and left little mess.  The cynics this morning still did not appear full of joy at the work.  I think they are hoping it fails so they can say "I told you so!"

Something different

 

Something different from the virus and shambolic politicians.