Yawn.......

 

It's that time of year again. People in silly clothes, perform awful songs, in front of 'over the top' flashing lights and smokey backgrounds. Yes, it's The Eurovision Song Contest time.

Apart from the awful songs, the competition has become overly political in recent years. This year it has actually become RACIST as well.

Several countries have refused to take part on account of Israel participating. Can it be because 1.200 innocent Israelis were slaughtered by terrorists on October 7th ? Or maybe it's because in their retaliation, those who were attacked actually managed to give Hamas a bloody nose !

Strangely, I don't remember any country staying away because Germany (the worst WAR-CRIMINALS of the 20th C) were taking part. But perhaps they didn't see the HOLOCAUST's 2 Million deaths as racist genocide.

As far as the 'singing' is concerned, it was the usual round of shouting, dancing, and awful costumes. The worst of which must have been Albania, who's song was about his dead mother, and Greece that was simply mad. The UK, of course, came last; it's traditional.

I think we've all had enough. Time to call it a day !

N.B. Boy George (above) who (for unknown reasons) was representing San Marino, was eliminated at once. In that outfit, I'm not surprised.

Bring us sunshine

A couple of days ago it would have been Eric Morecambe's 100th birthday.

I can't give you any details about these children, other than they obviously love singing.

Just look at that little boy at the back on the right; he's having the time of his life!.

If this doesn't make you happy; I don't know what would.

 

Al fresco camping.

Camping has always been popular with certain people, and who could blame them. It's lovely to spend time out in the countryside, breathe fresh air, and be 'at one with nature'. What could be nicer in late Spring.

Occasionally some choose camping sites that are 'illegal', and they are 'encouraged' to move-on. So they've packed-up their things and moved to another site where they hope to be more welcome; making sure to have left the area around where they were camped as clean and tidy as it was before they arrived. The last thing they want is a reputation of being litter-bugs.

Above was where they were in the Rest Garden where I walk with Billy, it's a lovely, well tended, oasis of calm in inner city Brighton.

Some other people who were camped nearby (above) were also asked to move elsewhere. They had installed themselves in the Graveyard, in a secluded spot known for being a meeting place for those who enjoy an exotic cigarette or two. Again they left the area in as clean a state as they could manage.

Wherever both lots of campers have now gone, I wish them well, and hope that they will be able to remain there for as long as possible. I also hope that they treat their new locations with the same respect they have shown here.

What effing PIGS.

 

What was the last book you read?

When I was small, other than my own parents, these family members (below) were my role-models.

They were good honest people who always helped others. They lived an ordinary life, and their son, Rupert, was always having adventures with his friends; usually helping to solve problems.

Rupert was a Bear, and his friends were a Lion, an Elephant, a Badger, etc. Nothing seemed unusual about this group of friends as they went about doing good. And I always looked forward to reading about them in my annual Christmas present book.

The great difference between my childhood, and that of today, is that instead of the Rupert Bear Annual to read, children will have a mobile phone on which they'll watch porn, crazy antics, AI composed videos of anything you could imagine, and even nude photos of Angela from the Lower IVth Form (probably faked).    

These days, children rarely read books, and if given a Rupert Annual it would simply be put away and never opened. Even the great adventures of The Famous Five no longer see the light of day.

I doubt if children now see or read anything that represents 'GOOD' in society. All is bad or dangerous. 

I have never looked at TikTok or Snapchat, but I believe they are pages where junior noses are glued for most of the day. As far as I know, they are certainly not a good-example for young people.

If you ask a group of school children "What was the last book you read?", you will probably be met with a grunt, and confused disbelief.

We currently have over a Million young people on benefits in the UK, half of whom have NEVER had a job. Maybe they should read a book (if, indeed, they can read).

 

The Fox Trot ?

 

I entertained TWO Foxes for breakfast yesterday morning, and they, in turn, entertained me to a Fox Trot. 

They seemed to be quite young, and treated me to a short, but perfectly choreographed, dance. What lovely animals they are, I feel very privileged that they come to me for breakfast every morning.

Preserves

In a different life, one of my greatest pleasures was the growing and preserving of fruit and vegetables. I've always hankered after a 'Smallholding' life-style.

As Winter approached, every single cupboard was filled with bottles of jams and preserves, and the freezer filled with certain vegs. Onions, Squashes, and Apples, filled boxes. At Haddock's itself, there was always plenty of greenery right through to the following Spring. It really was 'The Good Life'.

These days we are not in France for long enough to grow what's needed to 'preserve' in the same way, but we do still manage to make plenty of Jams; Plum, Apricot, and Greengage.

One of the fruits which we have in profusion in late August are Figs, and this year I intend to return to bottling some for Winter. They are very simple to process, and are preserved in an Armagnac flavoured syrup (500 gms water to 300 gms sugar). We have three HUGE Fig trees, and we hate to see them go to waste.

The trimmed, slightly unripe fruits are pricked all over, and blanched for about 4 minutes, then plunged into ice-cold water before being bottled, covered in the syrup, and sterilised for an hour. It couldn't be simpler.

A few of these Figs with a big dollop of thick cream in the Winter months is pure heaven.

I am very pleased to see that my Greengage tree doesn't seem to have suffered from its radical pruning (thank you Kimbo), and it is now looking extremely healthy. Whether or not it is producing lots of fruit remains to be seen. If it is, I shall be making LOTS of Greengage Jam. Delicious.

My mind is filled with Summer things at the moment, and I'm really looking forward to it all. All you veg' gardeners out there will know how I feel.

I can hardly wait.

They're at it again!

It's almost inevitable that as soon as there's a weekend Public Holiday (when all bureaucrats are away in Tuscany), the 'Travellers' turn-up overnight with their diggers, caravans, tarmac lorries, and thuggish behaviour, and make yet another field into a trailer park and rubbish tip, in a military-style takeover. This time it was in Felsted in Essex (below).

These folk take absolutely no notice of rules, regulations, or even laws. They do as they please, and stick two fingers up at authority; they even sell the individual plots in advance. And the most amazing thing is that 'authority' does nothing to stop it; not even to tell them to get-out, and repair all the damage.

Easy Solution: All their cars and caravans should be immediately towed-away, and if the field wasn't returned to how it was within 48 hours, everything would be crushed. The 'travellers' themselves would be imprisoned until everything was back to normal.

The effing cheek of these people really annoys me. You wouldn't believe the process ordinary folk have to go through, even to alter a garden shed; these people could build a whole bloody city illegally and no-one says anything. 

Why do we allow such things. We have a well-trained Army who could enforce laws, and we have over a Million young people on the dole who could help remove all the campers. Where's the difficulty?