Roaming in Rome

I found this delightful short film very helpful in understanding Rome. 

You might like it also.

 

Horse, or is it Pony?

I snapped this horse in the park this afternoon.  A little bit surprised as few horses pass this way these days.  It certainly drew a crowd as the kids forgot the skatepark and surrounded the poor creature.  As this is somewhat unusual to see here I suspect the horse, or should I say pony, belongs to a gypsy caravan.
Occasionally an old fashioned round shaped Gypsy caravan passes through, often for a wedding somewhere nearby, and on two occasions I have noticed this parked in the town centre.  Here is one example.  Possibly the owner thought fit to take the beast to the park to feed on the long grass.  All those kids around it but it appeared not to notice as its head rarely left the grass.  Possibly it was hungry, possibly it was just being a horse.
Nothing else happened that I noticed so this is the exciting news of the moment.  Of course when I looked back the beast had gone.  Typical.

Flying Scotsman

Sent Home From Work...

It took a matter of minutes for the caring colleagues to inform me to get out of their presence this morning.  Wrapping hankies over their mouths (including her what gave shared this bug with me in the first place) fingers pointed towards the door and nursing care was not offered.

As the doors were opened and people were arriving I had to deal with them all the while avoiding the glares from several pairs of eyes.  Having dealt efficiently with the visitors without dying in front of them orders were again despatched in my direction from several women now dressed in NHS supplied protective gear.

For years we had stuff such as this poured down our throats in the pretence that it would ease discomfort, lies all lies.  Today the doctors suggest just drink plenty and this not only eases the cough it saves you money, they are right, but nothing stops the blasted thing, nothing!
Anyway having been pointed in the direction of the funeral parlour I took the hint and made for home.  I must say I was rather glad about that and have tomorrow off before returning on Thursday.
Unless still barred that is...

Chough

Doing My Head in.....

Mail Online

Well here we go! As if it was not enough to fill the media with tales of the US election we now have to face months of lies, half truths and more lies as the UK decides whether to stay in the EU or not.  Usually in elections I am aware that few actually understand the situation, most voting for 'their party' rather than thinking about the candidate or the policies, if indeed any exist.  This time however it will be harder as I have never come across anyone explaining to me (in simple terms) what we get from being in the EU and what it costs us to be there or truthfully to tell us what will happen if we leave.  In short the majority of voters like me are to some extent voting in the dark.  The right wing press have told their readers what the readers wish to hear, now they have to get them to vote the way their owners wish them to vote.
The Daily Mail, who's Billionaire owner lives in France to avoid paying taxes both here and there doesn't really wish to leave the EU, his readers however have been told told how badly the EU treats 'us' because that is what they wished to hear for so many years now it will be impossible to get the 'little englanders' to change their tune.  Murdoch has his media running around milking it for all it's worth and I suspect daily their stories will change to suit his mood, the 'Daily Telegraph' support 'little england' and these readers (ones who consider themselves above the others have also followed the party line) wish to leave the EU but the owners don't and trouble will follow. The majority of voters are like me struggling to work out what really is the truth of the situation and not finding that via the media.
All Brits wish to be part of Europe but not part of a federal state.  The English in particular wish to see the continent as 'different' as their imperialist natures just want to find an enemy (however those in the north may think differently) and maybe that is just an attitude of the south east.  The Scots have happily worked with Europe for centuries and will continue to do so, if however the 'little englanders' win and the UK leaves the EU then a proper Scots independence referendum will occur and Scotland will at last be free.
Boris Johnson has risen from the back room where David Cameron our idiot Prime Minister had placed him, ignored the offer of a job as Home secretary or Foreign Minister (although the present incumbents of these jobs may be speaking to Dave about this soon) and placed himself at the head of the 'Get out of the EU' campaign.  He joins a long time friend of Cameron's and a senior cabinet member Michael Gove who has long wished to leave the EU.  Two big names who will either succeed or finish their careers with this referendum.  I am tempted to wish several others will fall along with them.
Boris of course is a well known lover of History and was offered today a few heckles from those observing his press meetings.  One cry was "You are more Alcibiades than Pericles!" Which I thought clever as well as correct.

Meanwhile the USA struggles slowly through the never ending Presidential election.  The Republican charade continues with the media's favourite bampot Donald Trump still leading the way in spite of telling a story about an American General shooting Muslims with pigs blood tipped bullets which turned out to be a hoax.  All this man says is a hoax in the eyes of the world outside of the US it must be said.  The US has a terrible habit of electing people who would never win in proper democratic elections.  Cretinous, small minded, false types who are all image and shallow as a puddle who would never become British Prim...hold on, forget that, I see a fault in my logic there.
Mrs Clinton continues also to head for the White house.  At least the world would see her as capable if not trustworthy, but with such a choice who would you choose?

Sensibly I took the advice of those who have already endured 'Man Flu' and made considerable use of 'Hot Toddy' as a cure and relief from a variety of monstrous symptoms, and monstrous they were this time I must say.  The 'Toddy' line was worth undertaking and the bottle has some reserve for the next time, I assure you the bottle was open a wee bit before I began this.
My headache however appears to be still with me, I know not why.
The inability to sleep kept me up during the night and this along with the inability to concentrate led to turning on the TV at 2:30 in the morning.  All those channels offering unmitigated pap interspersed with channels offering 'Teleshopping.'  These showed many people with American voices selling new style vacuums and rowing machines, kitchen equipment and perfume and I kept asking myself who buys rowing machines at 2:30 in the morning and from a TV advert at that?  Interestingly those channels that spend the entire day selling stuff had closed down for the night!
I'm so glad that medical emergency is over it helps me to comprehend how those suffering proper illness must endure.  My thoughts are with them.  This bug has hit everyone here and thanks to the international jet set it will be with you by now I suspect, good luck with that. 

Cough!

Half Term Mayhem

A herd of wildebeest descended on the museum today.  This being half term the kids are on holiday and we have been overbooked for the activities put on for them.  So I had thirty kids, acting like three thousand, at the desk checking in.  This entailed taking cash, paying by card, convincing mum to buy the weekly ticket to save money, running out of paper in the credit card machine and making a mess of replacing it, the phone ringing again and again, people not being noted down claiming they were, and all this while alone at the desk!  For thirty minutes nothing had occurred then for the next hour I never sat down except to write up the paperwork hoping it was correct.  I had forgotten half of what had gone before and all the mums and kids faces began to run into one.  I can only identify those who came last year and returned this.  And another thing all those Polish names take ages to write, that's why many are known only by their first name.
Having a 'Body Science' exhibition on at the moment, this being put on in conjunction with the council allowed us to cancel the entrance charge.  This in itself encouraged many, mostly grandparents, to bring the kids in for a look.  Amazing how many will not come in when a £3 charge is required, £1:50 for old folks.  They are unwilling to fork out this for a look round the museum.  With so many visiting now it may be we do without a charge for the rest of the year but that does lose us many thousands that we need.  
Naturally many family groups turned up when I was busy booking the others in so the place was crowded!  I have seen less people in the bus station!  However the mums know the score and are always good (mostly) and the visitors behaved also today, usually there is one grump.  Once the activity had begun and half had been rounded up and hidden far away at the other end of the building I was left with a constant stream of visitors who made use of the various machines all of which made noise and encouraged the kids to make more noise on top of this.  Ringing, high pitched screeches, bangs and on and on and on!  All had great fun, old and young, but the noise is doing my head in!  I noticed the office door tight shut so as I had my mental breakdown they could not hear me gurgling away in the corner.  Still it is worth it for the education with fun aspect of the exhibition.  Parents and grandparents got a laugh and most were happy about the day, all he kids I spoke to enjoyed it.
As the exhibition is about what we eat and how the body works I was somewhat surprised to note the kid eating crisps at the desk, especially as they had been reading up on what goes into them!  I wonder how this will change their eating habits if any?  Certainly there were one or two big women there who did not appear to like what they saw, I avoided asking them if they had learnt anything and avoided any use of the term 'couch potato.'
I have to do this all over again on Thursday!

Another Debate

PM

A good insight into the UK today is seen in the outrage caused by Dan Walker.  This man has the temerity to believe in God and work for the BBC!  Not only but also he has got a plum job with the 'BBC Breakfast' show!  How dare he after all this man is something horrible, he is a Christian!  The 'Daily Mail,' 'Independent' and 'Daily Telegraph' all ran articles from those questioning his right to the work.  Rupert Myers in the 'Telegraph' wrote 'The BBC has done nothing to explain how someone who believes that God literally created the Earth in seven days can present the news accurately.'  He could have asked how many atheists, liars and perverts already read the news on the BBC slanting the stories to follow the establishments will but he failed to ask this.  Reading a prompt with a prepared story must be harder than I thought.  The 'Telegraph' failed to allow anyone to comment on his piece as I suspect they would have opposed his approach strongly.  Why should such a question be asked?  Why should his faith cause such outrage?  Thirty years ago no-one would notice so why shout out now?

Daily Mail

Another of this ilk is found with Richard Dawkins the anti God botherer.  He had a stroke poor man and the Church of England Twitter account tweeted 'Prayers for Prof Dawkins and Family.'  This of course caused outrage!  The militant atheists and the rest of the usual suspects jumped at the chance to take offence and claimed the church had 'trolled' the poor man.  Quite why an official Tweet should do this I know not but loudly they proclaimed their empty beliefs  (which few can put into words) and criticised the church for doing the decent thing.  Asking folks to pray for another is now wrong it would seem?  Where is the 'tolerance' these folks desire for their opinions, where is the respect for others opinions in this 'democratic' age?

(Interestingly the Daily mail put up a picture of Richard Hawking first! Journalism at its best in the DM!)

What we have is nothing other than an attack on Christianity from those in the media, the gay lobby and the militant atheist, all the usual suspects.  Why so?  They of course have no idea why they hate so much.  For some Christianity is bad because it tells them where they are wrong and as we all know right from wrong their conscience is tickled and therefore they reject it and hate so easily. Others have their own many and varied reasons but none understand how the spirit of the air is using them to break up this society.  The feminist lie destroyed many woman by separating them from men and encouraging them to stand alone, it hurt many confused young men also.  Easy divorce and free sex left many single mums struggling for a man to join them, a long time partner.  Liberal philosophy was supposed to free the individual and instead encouraged selfishness and greed, something Thatcher also encouraged rather notably.  Lack of discipline in schools and lack of a 'norm' among teachers led to indiscipline among the young with the fad of the 'celeb' and dumbed down TV offering bread and circuses for the people to keep them from thinking people lost their way.  Today gay marriage and the cult of the 'transgender' shows how society had lost all sense of right and wrong.  People come in many shapes and sizes, life offers many difficulties and we ought to be helping one another through these with no condemnation and lots of acceptance.  What a shame it is not returned as the CoE Twitter account shows. 

One by one the basics of life have been eroded.  Each time a justification was offered, simple to understand and sounding so acceptable at the time, each time a society was being turned by the bad guy into one that does his bidding and they have not seen it yet.

Today we can hate only three kinds of people, paedophiles, Muslims and Christians!  One is dangerous to children, one is going to kill us all and the other, yes the other is dangerous but I wonder why? Why are Christians so hated by their enemies?

Ask yourself that.

  

For My Women...

A Dark and Stormy Week

It's been a tough week.
Office politics, based on girls jealousy, selfish ambition and misunderstandings have ruined my life.  Not that I was much involved, my place was on the periphery, but after many meetings, discussions and tears changes are afoot.  Two of the lassies are now leaving us which breaks my heart and worse means two strange incomers will arrive and require training in 'our ways.'  No doubt both will be female!  I have told the big boss, a man, to bring at least one male in to avoid such conflict again but the majority interviewed will be female I suspect.  
Little things develop from misunderstandings, people separate from one another gossip, that grows and before you know where you are resentment erupts and lovely people suddenly fall out.  How easy to sit down now and see it happen in hindsight, to consider what should have been done, what I could have done even to lessen the growing problem.  Too late, it's all over now.  At least those moving on will get a good life elsewhere and we will continue as always, however many new ideas flow and changes arrive.  I just sit here shell shocked and not a little peeved.

  
Life goes on and in the midst of this I have been dragged in to fill the spaces from volunteers who have also moved away.  So many changes are not good for my equilibrium I tell thee!  Especially as being there I am not here and this means nothing is done.  The Landlord arrived on Tuesday while I was out unannounced as his lass forgot to send out the warning note and they did the annual boiler check.  Fair enough but at least they know how smelly this place is when I don't open the windows!  The cold prevents this and when I have been out three days in a row the mess piles up.  The question "Are you opening a charity shop?" was however a bit harsh I thought.  
Today I have the joy of housework, the word joy' is misplaced here, and as I rose late from sheer exhaustion I have already cut corners and will leave much until Monday when it can be done then.  Actually, I might just leave it and go back to bed....

Debating

This football lark is a funny old game right enough.  Two men sitting in different sides of the stadium see two completely different games.  Facts are blinded by bias.  Situations that are clear to one are disbelieved by the other simply because they wish it to be so.  Sadly this can continue for years into the future and no fact can ever cause this to cease.
Sunday was one such situation.  Hurrying home I switched on the Heart of Midlothian v Hibs derby in the Scottish Cup, a game we usually win, and sat back to enjoy another rollicking 4-0 victory.  This by half time was what I was expecting as we swept aside the wee teams puerile attempts at football in spite of the kicking they gave our better players and our manager deliberately giving Hibs a chance by playing two men who were not fully match fit.   The kicks led to three our our noble players being replaced as injury forced them from the field, brutal Hibs tactics continued unceasing to the end I must note.  The injuries and a rather strange desire to sit back and wait for full time led to Hibernian stealing two goals, one from a fluke of a header and the other while assaulting the goalkeeper, and this brought a great deal of rejoicing from the lower orders in the visitors stand.

Inevitably this led to wasting much time later that day attempting to transform the somewhat over the top reaction from the Leith faithful who saw a draw as a significant victory.  I suppose as a wee team a draw with a Big Team is indeed a victory and it was important for them to make the most of their temporary position.  However I fell it was my duty to keep them sane, a near impossible idea I realise.
Many rude and needless words flew from the enemy as they considered themselves victorious.  I have required to remind them of the proverb:-

Haughtiness leads to a fall

Pride leads to destruction.

They will not listen.  I indicated the fact that sitting in a stadium full to the brim was an unusual event for them and this may be playing on their minds, minds that are easily distracted,and the noise generated must have been an alien sound  for them, but they still would not listen, possibly they are deaf.
Reminding them of the overall statistics did not hinder the wee lads attempts at argument, facts as you know are not acceptable to them.  Indeed several clear penalties as well as the assault on the goalkeeper appear to have been missed by standards that Willie Collum would be proud off.  I suspect sitting in the 'Roseburn Bar' for an hour before the game might be at the root of their failure to accept facts.
Now the whole weary business must be done again in a week or so's time.  Once more our gallant boys will suffer bad decisions and many knocks as they continue our noble effort at football education in Leith.  Will they be grateful for this free lesson?  I somehow doubt it.  
Now I discover they are unable to show this game on live TV as it clashes with European games, have Hibernian deliberately chosen this date to stop people watching them humiliated I ask?
It's a disgrace!

The successful Hibernian team on the open top bus 

the last time they won the Scottish Cup!

Fat Boy!

Enjoying my grossly overfilled plate of muck for lunch I was disturbed by a call from the museum, her voice shrilled on the ansafone and I rose, put aside my lunch and made my way to the desk.  She put the phone down as I lifted mine.  Typical woman!  I realised some tragedy was taking place so I acted swiftly - I went back to my lunch.  I would have called but that costs money.  Later, before I had cleaned up, I waddled into the museum to discover I was not required.  She just wanted to know if the email sent that morning had arrived!  Tsk!
However the new 'Body Science' exhibition was up and running so I wandered around that pushing here and feeling there and recognising the kids will love this one as much as the adults do!  Glancing at the skulls brought some of you lot to mind and I wondered if you recognised anyone...?  This looks a good exhibition, one with lots of thing to play with and that makes folks happy.  Mind you they are getting in free for this exhibition so they ought to be happy.

This there here supposes to inform you of the fat content of the grub you eat.  Difficult to picture through the cabinet but clear enough to see why we are so fat.  I was reading about folks in the past and their healthier diet was mostly vegetarian with occasional meat or fish.  They were thinner, stronger and fitter because of the manual labour and much walking but could of course not cure most diseases.  In fact when I was a lad few fat folks could be seen around town, except for the drinkers of course.

Not very clear but this shows one pound of fat, the fat we carry in our gut.  It has put me off the pizza for tonight anyway!  I had chips instead...

Sleepy Wednesday

After I trudged my weary way home yesterday (56 kids almost all at once!) I followed the normal procedure of laying my head on the desk and switching on the laptop.  It didn't work!  I picked my head up and pushed this and touched that, internet dead totally dead.  The laptop worked as always but the web was unreached.  No matter what I did nothing would work until I was so fearful of the silence I turned on the TV and left the machine to stew.  Fifty channels on pap so I ended up with the 24 BBC news where I discovered the while of BT's output was damaged by an 'outage!'  Some outage as most of the UK was outaged!  When the internet returned it was about seven in the evening and I was beginning to see spiders crawling up the wall!  I was also worried I would miss the football and a cold sweat was running down my back.
Once again I had that strange feeling of silence.  Not a chosen silence but an internet lost silence.  The world seems suddenly to be dull, life empty and having the TV on to fill the gap does not help, especially when it is full of pap.  How did we live before the internet?  How did we follow football?  How did we keep in touch with people or things?  Some folks were out overnight and some of those run businesses what a hindrance for them this must have been.  I suffered also and now I await my compensation, 72 pence for loss of web and £600,000 for emotional hurt. 

In spite of a chill in the wind that appears to have been kept in the fridge the daffs have come out all over the land.  The council ones have broken through about two months early and when Spring arrives there will be none left.  The birds are confused by the mild weather just as we are.  Still I prefer this to the snow we had before.
It was much better on Monday when I had to crawl into the museum to aid 74 children in their shopping.  This was fun as both days kids were all six year olds and had no idea about the counting business.   With our advice however most managed to get something they liked and some managed to get at least four things for their £3.  It is quite hard having to break their hearts when telling them three things worth £4:99 are out of their league and they must choose to drop one, this can take time.  The teachers on both days were good which helps and all went off happy.
I have been asleep three times today to recover...

'Setting the Desert on fire'

My best looking and most intelligent niece only ever made two mistakes, she married a Hun and bore his son.  That said she appears to be quite happy about all this in spite of my opinions and the son has turned out to be the only member of the family with the ability to read books.  Since he learnt the art of reading he has always had a book in his face although drink and women have lessened his reading abilities somewhat in recent years.  However when Christmas arrives and the two are together long enough for a briefing re presents he has clearly advised her regarding a book for me.  It is not possible she, wise though she be, would consider such a work as suitable.  Indeed the last book she chose by herself was 'Grumpy Old Men,' a book with which I could not begin to comprehend the reason she sent to me and then could not see any 'grumpy men' within, indeed they appeared quite commonsensical for the most part. 
This year once again she has returned to him for advice and clearly his advice has been good.  "Setting the Desert on Fire" by James Barr is a wonderful fast moving narrative concerning the details of 'Lawrence of Arabia' and his Middle Eastern adventures during the Great War.
Having read so many Great War books I was going through one of those moods when any more offerings were not seen as urgent reads, naturally I have four more lined up after this one all demanding my attention!  However once I opened the book I could not put it down.  Everyone has heard of 'Lawrence of Arabia' British propaganda and tabloid newspapers half truths saw to that but few including myself know the real deal.  This book, the result of four long years trawling through documents, diaries and letters scattered across the globe, enlightens us as to the reality of the popular myth.  Creatures found in Hollywood movies usually bear no relation to the facts I find.

The political problems faced by London were simple enough.  The Royal Navy was now powered by oil rather than coal so guarding the oil fields in southern Mesopotamia was urgent.  The Turkish threat to the Suez Canal could lead to uprisings in Egypt which may lead to loss of the Canal and cut the lifeline to India, the so called 'Rose in the Crown.'  France was desperate to control Syria and the Brits were desperate to avoid any interference from them in that area.  Here also two forces fought for control of the region, London and India.  The Indian end was afraid upsetting the balance in Arabia could lead to disturbances in India and their solutions cut across much of what London, or their people ion Cairo wished to see.  Political games are of ten delicately balanced and strong forces often care little about the harm others may suffer.
The Arabs were of course not asked their opinion.
This is not quite correct as Arab opinion was important, that is getting Shaikh Hussein and Ibn Saud the two most powerful Arab leaders, to follow British wishes in removing the Turks.  Politically this led to vague promises that in reality meant little in western diplomacy however in the Arab mind many steadfast promises were made.  Often this was exaggerated by translation promises and lack of comprehension of the other sides views.  This still causes resentment today.     
Lawrence, or Captain Edward. T.E. Lawrence as we should call him was an intelligence officer in Egypt.  Before the war he had travelled widely in the region working as an archaeologist and just happening to note Turkish positions in the region.  During 1916 he got his way for more action by transferring to the Arab Bureau and entered the Hijaz region to assess the situation.
In Arabia hew as able to convince the Emir of Mecca Shaikh ibn Ali Husein to follow British will and provide men to help deal with the Turkish railway that ran to Medina the then capital and birthplace of the prophet Mohammad.  
For the next two years Lawrence developed the various factions into an army of sorts and indulged in 'Boys Own' type adventures attempting to destroy the railway line.  As time passed they progressed form cutting small sections soon repaired to blowing bridges and long lengths of line.  Each occasion hindered Turkish movements of men and supplies destroying equipment and men.  On occasion the Arab nomadic approach of looting and taking no prisoners caused some degree of disagreement as this cut across the normal British approach to prisoners.
Difficulties with tribes fighting with one another rather than Turks, of shaikhs demanding large sums of money which appeared to disappear, with Husein fear of ibn Saud taking his place from the rear, and above all problems between London, Cairo, and India and the personnel involved each working from his own position all added to Lawrence's struggles.
For political and personal reasons Lawrence's aim was to enable the Arabs to be seen as fighting the war, not a Briton leading them.  This was to stop the French moving into Syria and to encourage the British to allow Arab rule over the land.  Treaties were signed unknown to those in the field, and often hidden for months, promises from one, vague or not, flew between various peoples, all to often Lawrence would no little of these or in some cases be found responsible for them.  It was that kind of situation.

The final victory brought more confusion as one promise or another was pushed aside to suit worldwide requirements.  All to often consideration for the Arabs themselves were considered unimportant.  The Arabs of course were not one nation, they remain today a variety of tribal and sectarian groupings forced together into political states invented by more powerful nations and their requirements.  Political turmoil in itself is not the fault of the west, that would occur anyway but it is always good to have someone to blame, especially if you have oil and money.  
For most of the war Lawrence's role, along with that of many other British officers and men who joined as time went by, remained a secret back home.  It was the French, in an attempt to prove their position, that revealed his work.  A great hero was created and common myth keeps this going for years afterwards.
Lawrence was not in my opinion a man you could get close to.  He was certainly affected by the war but appears to have been a troubled soul before this time.  he claimed in his 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom' that he had entered the town of Dara then in Turkish occupation and been arrested as a deserter from the Turkish army and roundly whipped and abused by the commander of the town.  Much of this appears from this book to have been an invention of his mind.  The 'Seven Pillars' was not meant for popular publication and given only to friends and this may have allowed him the freedom to express his rather unusual desires more openly.  He certainly indulged them after the war.  The settlement saw Lawrence back in 'England' and later he went on to join the RAF as a lower ranked airman.  Captain W.E. Johns famous for his 'Biggles' books was working at the RAF recruitment office when this strange character entered to sign on.  Orders from above came through and it was only later did he realise what was going on, the purpose of his enlistment was never clear.
Lawrence died a hero by crashing his motorbike at high speed in 1935.  His influence on the Middle East must have hung heavy with him as he saw the major powers mishandling the situation there.  At least some of those he worked with were inspired by their actions there, one Francis Stirling was to join him and later became the leader of the 'Long Range Desert Force' in the North African campaign, this was the beginning of the SAS. 

The book is well researched and a racy read.  My knowledge of that aspect of the war was limited to General Allenby's push up through Palestine and the actions of the Arabs against the railway line did indeed go a long way to helping him by disrupting Turkish movements and greatly hindering the Turks in their operations.  The suffering of Turkish prisoners is not something to consider however but the Turks had followed the usual Middle Easter approach and treated all peoples badly.  The book does not gloss over the good and bad aspects of Arab and political behaviour, it shows the British in a poor light all too often and exposes the confused mix of Arab politics.  
Well worth a read and a change from the Western Front!    

A Wander

Having had a few days when nobody wished my presence (the first day started about 50 years ago) I have managed to catch up on half of the things that required doing about an eon ago.  So as the sun decided to shine even though this allowed the chilly air to freeze everything and some things that ought not to be freezed I wandered abroad through the gardens.  The thing about the cold weather is that while the plants have few flowers the cold keeps the mums and kids well away.  Only two could be seen in the play area, two too many for me, and I wandered freely among the greenery breathing almost fresh air and enjoying the sun.
A passing stranger offered me a smile, the type of smile women like her offer when fearing you are a rapist, and I only just stopped myself shouting "BOO!"   I had an encounter with a neurotic teacher on Tuesday and I am rarely in a mood for other neurotic females.  I blame the 'Daily Mail.'  Any man walking alone is clearly a rapist/murderer/paedo/ like that man on the TV and needs to be watched as they have read about such things.  The only other who approached me was this timid squirrel and I had nothing to offer him.  However as another possibly older squirrel came hurtling down the oak tree and began to chase him from what was clearly his patch this was an irrelevance.  I actually put aside some nuts for the beasts and of course go out without them.  Tsk!  

As a few birthdays are coming up I decided to shop around the charity shops.  With Christmas past I was hoping folks would have dumped their old stuff in and give me a chance to get a new jacket, shoes and birthday gifts.  How disappointing that was today.  Nothing worth paying for except one book that they were asking far too much for.  It's a charity shop not a bookshop I wanted to say to the woman.  
I noticed some things however such as a dozen or so DVDs of English football.  I noted these were not new and it struck me one lad has found himself a wife at last and his favourite videos and DVDs are being dumped.  It may be of course that she has dumped him and his goods are following or she might have tidied up in that female fashion with no comprehension of what has value and what has not.  I expect the 'Jane Austen' sets are still in their place at her house.
There are six charity shops in town, two of them attempting to be 'High Class' shops with quality shopfronts, decent adverts and higher prices than required.  Most of the staff are of course volunteers but such shops while making money appear to have the wrong attitude for charity shops in my view.  This is made worse when the bigger the charity the more is spent of staffing costs and it appears to me some require urgent and radical rethinking of their policies.  The other shops are less pretentious and a wee bit cheaper in my view and I like that.  While one works hard at making second hand stuff look almost new the other makes sure stuff is decent and puts it on show.  What more is required?  One or two of these shops have been going for years, since before I came here 20 years ago almost, and the 'Cancer' shop has taken over a million pound in its time.  A recent refurb has made it look good and sadly they now stock less books, mores the pity.  I sometimes wonder about the history of the objects on sale.  Who wore that jacket?  Why was that gift rejected?  Did the owner of the university books make a success out of their study?  I'm very taken with the 'Sue Ryder' shop as they sell furniture and have loads of everyday items usually with that one thing you have been looking for.  Naturally they did not have what I was looking for today.
Ah well, next week maybe.

 

Dreich Day

A dreich day indeed, wind blowing rain appearing and nothing happening but routine housework - much of which is still undone.  However the day was enlightened by the news that a judge has ruled the 'Bedroom Tax' imposed on the poorest as unlawful!  How good of him!  This pernicious tax, a tax paid by council tenants on each bedroom that is no longer occupied by a family member.  It goes without saying the poorest, often aged parents, were the ones hardest hit.  Now this disgraceful tax has been dealt a blow and I wonder if those who have paid will get a full refund and those who have been forced into other, often less suitable accommodation will receive compensation.  Certainly there is a lawyer somewhere sharpening his pen looking for a client.

 

Daily Mail

Another 'major' story is the one where a headteacher has banned parents from bringing children to school while wearing night attire.  It appears this is what 'slummy mummies' do today.  Somehow I cannot help feeling that something is wrong when mothers care so little about how they dress that they regularly fail to be dressed when taking kids to school - if indeed the wee brats need a mummy to accompany them by that age.  My mother would not have held in high esteem any women so thoughtlessly dressed, indeed she would have considered them in need of care.  
Naturally in today's world some have arisen offering support claiming a mum has the right to do what she wishes.  True, but it is better if she wishes to use her brain and bring her child up properly and not like a lazy slapper, innit? 

 Standard

Andros Townsend has left Tottenham Hotspur to play for Newcastle United.  Newcastle have agreed to pay some £12 million for his services and one paper claims the player now increases his salary from £20,000  week to £55,000 a week.  Is this a sign of desperation from Newcastle or just realism as whoever they buy will wish for similar amounts?

Daily Mail

Claude money spent over ten years painting this mural, an image of his garden and it is a colossal work.  It is being put on show at the Royal Academy of Art in London and in my view it is a con.  Art is of course a con, almost all art is about making a name for yourself and lining your pockets, you know the type of 'artist' I refer to.  
Another is putting on show stuff like this while people pander to the 'in crowd' by speaking in hushed tones of the 'light' the 'handicraft' or the quality of the art.  Total cobblers!
Someone somewhere wishes to pay several billion for this and store it in his house and boast to his friends that he owns it, Putin probably, and jealous friends will gather round to view the painting in secret and be part of the 'in crowd.' 
Me, I think it boring and a dull background in a large hall but nothing special.
People however will queue for hours to spend vast sums staring at this.
Bah!
  

Bristol Univ

Art?

What Time is it...?

StuckOnScotland

You will probably know that on this day, January 26th, the One o'Clock Gun was first brought in to use way back in 1861.  

The needs of shipping at that time depended on accurate clocks as by these the navigator could work out his position. (Don't ask me how it's complicated!) As long as he had the sun or stars and an accurate timepiece he could get his ship into the intended harbour.  Had the clock been inaccurate even by a few minutes this could lead to ships ending up miles of course a rather dangerous experience in Victorian days. 

Leith, a small place near Edinburgh became the capital port, putting it to good use, and this small town was a very busy port during Victoria's reign.  Not she bothered to visit even though her statue stands at the bottom of Leith Walk.    Ships wanted confirmation of the time before sailing so during 1861 Captain Wauchope of the Royal Navy installed a ball on top of Nelson's Column high on Carlton Hill which dropped several feet exactly at one o'clock.  To ensure accuracy the nearby Astronomical Observatory next door connected the ball to their accurate clock.

This was fine and ships in harbour at Leith, Granton or Newhaven would have benefited from this simple invention.  Hold on, this is Edinburgh, known to the world as 'Auld Reekie' because of the smoke from the many chimneys that belched out daily, even in summer in Edinburgh!  Add to this the 'Haar' which descends over the Firth of Forth and soon the watchman on deck of any ship would be unable to see the tower let alone note the ball drop.  It should be noted the dropping sphere was a great idea but as the smoke/mist/haar descend two days out of three you would have thought a Naval person wopuld have considered this. 

Later that year the answer was found when an 18 pounder cannon was placed on the 'Half Moon Battery' at Edinburgh Castle high above the New Town and daily four men manhandled the gun to ensure it was fired exactly at One.  This required a four thousand foot long cable being laid from the Observatory to the castle (by the Royal Navy) and from that time on the gun has blasted out at one each day (bar Sunday) frightening the life out of people in Princes Street below and serving as an excellent tourist attraction. 

It was rumoured that during the Great War the gun was fired at the Zeppelin that flew over dropping bombs on the Grassmarket and elsewhere, however it would not have been possible to manhandle that cannon into a suitable firing position, the castle was defenceless, unless a few rifle shots could reach but I doubt that would work.  

In 1953 the cannon was replaced by a WW2 25 pounder field gun and moved to it's present position high above Princes Street, here it is clearly seen by ships in port and of course those delightful rich tourists who ought to be heading up the slope and into the castle.  Blank ammunition for the 25 pounders ran out and now a more modern 105mm light gun is used to frighten citizens and foreigners alike.  The reason for the gun died some time back and today ships guide themselves by highly technical equipment guided by satellites high above the earth.  The tourist however need not know this and possibly imagines men on deck listening for the sound, some do indeed look for the explosion a mile or two out at sea. 

the gun is fired by an ex-gunner fires the gun with appropriate military pomp a pomp somewhat diminished as today a woman has this onerous responsibility.  A woman, firing the one o' clock gun!  Is anything sacred today...? 

A Sign, A Cloud, An Aussie and a Bard

As I walked into the somewhat murky gardens this afternoon I noted this sign glaring at me and I wondered about common sense and stupidity.  It has not been raining today but the are has suffered somewhat from this recently and the grass and grounds will be damp.  However I wonder at the requirement felt everywhere these days to inform people about the need to be careful when walking on damp areas.  Some of us learnt when young that rain could make areas slippery and we now wonder about those who feel they need to be informed of this at the age of maturity (I use that word loosely) so as not to endanger themselves.
MacDonald's have to put 'This Coffee is HOT' on their cups because some people complain when spilling it on themselves that the coffee burnt them, almost all packets carry the word 'This could contain nuts' because some are too stupid to check (this includes packets of nuts!) and on the bottom of some cake packs are the words 'Do not turn upside down.'
Common sense has been lost in the drive for cash.  The need for companies and anyone involved with other human beings to protect themselves from spurious (and often victorious) legal actions leads to needless signs littering the world.
I just hope no blind person falls over it!

Here is a fantastic advert for Australia Day 

sent to me by a young lady you will enjoy this!

   
All morning, when I was hoovering, researching and generally not getting out, the sun shone brightly on those walking the streets and above the clouds made way for blue skies and bright shining silver aeroplane's heading for brighter climes abroad.
When I got out this afternoon the sun hid behind clouds and these glowering brutes began to cover the earth and they followed me as I prowled wandered around on my constitutional.  Here at least I met another retired postman who has reached 16 stone by sitting around too much.  When on your feet and wandering the streets come rain or shine weight is not much of a problem however a sedentary life leads to fat people.  He has lost 9 pounds since Christmas by using a healthy diet, I am starting to do similar but not quite there yet.  However I am stuffed full of salmon and veg (with rotten chips) and have already this week failed to lose a pound!
Next week maybe...

Today is Rabbie Burns birthday.  It is unlikely he will join us as he died in 1796 but he left behind lots of poems and songs all of which make him the greatest of all poets and songwriters.  This is one of his best songs sung as it should be and you will enjoy it - or else I will come round!

Rain Stopped Play

Nothing happened.

Global Warming, Birds & Putin...

It's a funny thing this weather.  Today we waken to frozen fields, ice hanging on everything, windows struggling to open, cars covered in frost, a typical winter type day.  Facebook has offered me one of those 'memory' posts where they gave me a picture from three years ago, there a local foto showed snow thickly falling and I considered the weather today warm in comparison.  January after a mild November/December sstill not covering the nation in the depth of snow we expect reflects the reality of global warming.  I wish it would increase the heat around here mind.  
The point I am forgetting to make is that while we have Jack Frost leaving white fields I found the bird feeders I filled yesterday completely empty.  The birds, Starlings, Blue Tits, Sparrows and pigeons of various sorts have spent the day stuffing themselves because they think it is breeding season!  I filled the two feeders with small suet/mealworm pellets and all day the brutes have been hammering away at the thing swinging it back and forward banging on the wall keeping me awake.  
The seasons have fooled the birds and I suspect this will have a result, possibly detrimental, in days to come.  Young birds may face one of those snowfalls just as they begin to fly and this could kill them.  We will wait and see.

So Putin has arranged for the murder, with polonium laced tea, for the Russian, British, Spanish etc spy Alexander Litvinenco.  Naturally the Russians know nothing about this and wonder what the problem may be.  Of course it was not Putin, lots of spies carry polonium in the pockets to use when confronting people they wish to eradicate.
Now lets think about this.  David Cameron and his friend George Osborne have a terrible habit of licking the Russian backside as the Russian's with large amounts of rubles tend to launder their dirty money through the city of London, local football teams, and other enterprises.  Many have spent big on million pound houses, other infrastructure has gone into their care and if we upset them they might move the cash to Germany, France or Italy and that would not do.
On top of this we have the Iraq/Syria/ISIS problem where the Sovie Russians are dropping bombs carelessly around that region.  What if they got annoyed and accidentally wiped out both our planes?  
So Dave and his minions have to work out how to slap Putin down without causing a war, hot or cold, and keep all their cash in our hands.  Putin must be sniggering at them both.  He may be a Mafia type gangster caring only to run Russia for he and his friends but there is no competition when it comes to playing with Cameron & co.  He is well above their league.  There is little chance much will be made of this, I suspect a withdrawal of some from the embassies and newspaper shouting and all will be forgot.