Saturday, 31 August 2024
Where to Retire?
Friday, 30 August 2024
Tax and Spend.
I really don't wish to start attacking Starmer & Co after such a short time in office, but all those who voted FOR our new Labour government, and all those who voted AGAINST, knew one thing; that Labour's Trades Union paymasters would need to be rewarded, and that those who work hard, motorists, and the elderly would be the one's to pay.
So far, handouts to Union members are costing taxpayers about £14 Billion; and this is just the beginning. They've handed-out generous salary increases to train drivers who were already some of the highest Union earners, earning in excess of £65,000; and they've taken away the small 'Winter Fuel Payments' from 10 Million old age pensioners who scrape-by on about £12,000. We still have the Autumn Budget to come; and we have been told to expect more horrors. They're not making themselves popular, even amongst their own supporters. Believe it or not, some 'pensioners' did actually vote for them!
Even after the generous offer to the train drivers that I mentioned above, a second rail Union has been threatening to strike as well (that may now have been halted); along with Passport Control workers, doctors, and many others.
It looks like we'll be having a serious 'Autumn/Winter of Discontent'. The Unions have paid their dues; now they want the blood!
People are already suggesting that Sir Keir Starmer's honeymoon period is over, he has told the UK that times will be tough. Frankly, don't earn a decent living, or you'll be stung. Don't go to the Pub' if you're a smoker. Don't drive your car. Don't save any money. And probably worst of all; don't leave any money in your will.
It isn't surprising that they didn't tell us about their policies before the election; they simply said that the country needed a CHANGE, and that's what we've got. The 'Labour Party' was founded and funded by the Trades Union movement, and they have to be rewarded; or else!
They inherited falling inflation, and the strongest economical growth in the G7. They are already doing their best, not only to deny it, but to turn the tide.
Give to the rich, and take from the poor. I can understand the lower echelons voting for them, but is this what the mainstream Labour supporters really voted for?
I didn't vote.
Thursday, 29 August 2024
Cro and Lord Byron.
There is no question that Lord Byron was a pretty strange character.
Born with a 'Club Foot', nothing could hold him back; either romantically or sportingly.
I was recently reminded that he always claimed his greatest achievement to have been to swim The Dardanelles aged 22. The 5 km swim being notoriously difficult on occasions.
Personally I have never been a great distance swimmer, but I did once swim between Brighton's two piers; so we almost have something in common. These days, 10 lengths of our pool is enough.
Wednesday, 28 August 2024
Hearts and Minds
Tuesday, 27 August 2024
Figs.
Monday, 26 August 2024
Sons, daughters, and grandchildren.
Sunday, 25 August 2024
Pukka Tomatoes.
Saturday, 24 August 2024
Foie gras
Friday, 23 August 2024
Why one should always keep a camera handy.
Oh how I wish I'd had my camera (phone) with me yesterday evening.
For the second night running a small baby Roe Deer came up to eat fallen Pears from a tree about 20 yards from where we were sitting. It was the cutest creature imaginable.
It munched away, as Billy ran up and down chasing tennis balls, he was totally oblivious to the fact that the Deer was just a few yards away.
Eventually Billy spotted it and ran over to where it was eating. They chased each other around the tree for a while and played together, then, amazingly, they both came over to where we were sitting and sat looking at each other for a while. The baby Deer came right up to me, and I held out my hand to stroke it; but this was being a bit too familiar, and it ran off. Billy simply stayed where he was.
I don't know if they were already friends, but it did seem so. I'm sure they knew each other. We're now waiting to see if it comes back again for more fallen Pears. I quite expect it will, and with any luck I'll get a photo of them playing together. Lady M has left him a bucket of water, it hasn't rained here for ages.
Watch this space!
Thursday, 22 August 2024
M*I*C*E!
Wednesday, 21 August 2024
A tiny autobiography.
I'm proud to say that I've lived parallel to, if not in any contact with, Winston Churchill, Queen Elisabeth II (my Queen), and Sir David Attenborough. All giants of the 20th and 21st C's.
However, I have met a few notables including Paul McCartney, Brigitte Bardot, David Hockney, Igor Stravinsky, and Twiggy, to name but a few; and Marianne Faithful came to my 50th birthday party. None of this is really surprising as I lived in central London during the second half of the 60's; when London was 'swinging'. Celebs, from A to Z, were ten-a-penny, and bumping into them was almost obligatory.
I've been extremely privileged to have lived through a long period of relative 'peacetime'. I had some basic military officer training, but have never been asked to enlist; and at my advanced age I doubt if I now ever will. There were not many Englishman of my age, previously, who had NOT been asked to go and kill Johnny-Foreigner.
I have never experienced poverty, and any very rare medical needs have been met without too much difficulty, and without payment. I've lived through an era of post-war Rationing, Heath's three day week, the Falklands war, the Miners strike, Computers, Covid, the Internet, and even Mini Skirts. None of which has really had any truly negative effect on my life.
I somehow managed to be awarded a Classics Scholarship (bursary) at the age of 14, a 1st class Hons degree at 23, and I was offered a couple of prestigious teaching positions before moving to France at the age of 25. France has proved a total delight over the past 50 years; which is slightly fading at the moment. And, of course, my greatest pleasures is that I have three wonderfully inspiring, intelligent, and charming children, thanks to their lovely Mama (Lady M).
I cannot claim to have been a great success in my chosen profession, but that was probably my own silly fault. Two of my closest school friends became very well known, whilst I remained a nobody, but that was only to be expected having turned down a provisional place at the RCA, then moving out to the wilds of S W France.
I do admit to being a bit of a hermit. I'm not over-keen on crowds, and I keep my circle of friends to a select few.
I sadly became an orphan in the mid 80's, and my sister and I now live at opposite ends of the earth. I have very few other family members; just a couple of male cousins that I never see.
It ain't over quite yet, but it's been a pretty good life. Not a lot has happened, and I haven't achieved all that I'd intended, but overall we've had a lot of fun, and I hope that I've passed-on my love of 'good things' to my children; it does seem so! I certainly intend that the fun continues for as long as possible.
I'm writing this just out of view to the left of the room in the photo above, in our rather primitive 300 year old stone cottage. This is probably the most friendly, and smallest, home I've ever owned. All our dogs and the cat have lived here and (like us) have loved every minute. It has a very special place in my heart.
I shall finish by repeating that some of my mobility has recently gone, and how that will pan-out for the future remains to be seen.
So, there we are; I've been banging my own very small drum. I promise I won't do it again.
Tuesday, 20 August 2024
kiss on the lips - The dualers
Monday, 19 August 2024
Lost In Space- Jupiter 2 Landing
Sunday, 18 August 2024
In search of the perfect Spaghetti Sauce.
I must have spent about 50 years looking for that perfect sauce to accompany Spaghetti; my favourite pasta.
The only ingredients that are a MUST are good Olive Oil, Garlic, Chili flakes, freshly grated Parmesan, and possibly Capers. After that it's a minefield.
Really good fresh outdoor-sun-grown Tomatoes will usually make a good sauce, and a single filet of Anchovy can work wonders in a Tomato based sauce. Another favourite is finely sliced slithers of bacon with a splash of cream added to 'loosen'. The cream makes all the difference, but I avoid all pastas that are 'swimming' in sauce.
I have become extremely bored with heavy Tomato/Beef sauces; the type we usually refer to as 'Bolognese'. These days I much prefer subtlety, with as few ingredients as possible. Olio e Aglio is a good example of this; being the classic Italian student dish that can be made in a few seconds. Students are never wrong
If I was to have to choose a current favourite it would be a simplified combination of an Olio e Aglio and a slightly creamy Carbonara (without the egg); served with plenty of freshly grated Parmesan. It should look something like my illustration above, and not be overpowering.
Like food everywhere, Italian dishes depend very heavily on the quality of the ingredients. It is always worth splashing-out on ONE bottle of really good 'unrefined' Olive oil; the flavour changes everything. Otherwise one should always buy the best one can afford, and use it sparingly. I recently made an Olio e Aglio with a bog-standard Olive oil, and it was disastrous.
Of course pasta sauces are a matter of individual taste. Some love their Spaghetti swimming in buckets of heavy tomato, beef, and red wine sauces; others like their spaghetti tossed with just a few fresh clams. I don't think my search will ever end, but I feel as if I'm getting close to understanding what I really like, and what I don't. In all cases, for me a minimum of sauce is preferable.
Every time I make a new sauce, I never quite know if it'll 'be the one', but I live in hope. I'm getting there, but it's taken a very long time.
Saturday, 17 August 2024
A Very Rare Photo.
Friday, 16 August 2024
Who doesn't love St Trinian's
We all know about the St Trinian's school; those dreadful adults who run it, and the girls who attend it. But where did the original name 'St Trinian's' come from; and who was this mysterious Saint?
Ronald Searle's original strip cartoon came from the early 1940's, and was published again in 1946 after he returned from Japanese Prisoner of War Camp (where he'd been building the Kwai railway) and they continued up until the 50's. Later, of course, the school became the subject of the infamous films.
Searle got his original idea from an Edinburgh school that had been evacuated to Galashiels during the war; who's original name had been St Trinnean's. St Trinnean was another name for St Ninean.
I believe that Searle originally drew some cartoons to amuse some of the evacuee girls.
I managed a small London Art Gallery in 1966/7-ish. The Fine Art Gallery in Devonshire St, W1, held an exclusive annual sale of original cartoons from all the major newspaper cartoonists of the day. I was given the task of going to Paris to see Ronald Searle, to bring back a good selection of his recent work. Right at the last moment Searle decided not to sell his work, and my visit was cancelled. I had really been looking forward to meeting him.
The original film, The Belles of St Trinian's was from 1954, and featured the wonderful Alastair Sim, George Cole, Joyce Grenfell, and Beryl Reid; amongst others. If you haven't seen it I recommend that you do so AT ONCE!
I would loved to have known what Searle himself thought of the films.
Thursday, 15 August 2024
How dare he!!!
That nasty man Putin has a bloody cheek to admonish the Ukrainian Military for making incursions into the Russian territory of Kursk.
War isn't one-sided. If you kill, then expect to be killed. If you invade territory, then expect to be invaded in return. The only thing I cannot understand is how Moscow and/or St Petersburg hasn't been targeted. After some serious bombing, Putin could have been given the opportunity to halt his aggression or lose more cities, and I'm certain he would have waved a white flag at once.
From Kursk, Moscow doesn't seem too far away, surely a volley of hefty Cruise missiles could hit The Kremlin?
I know there's no comparison but in August of 1945 the Japanese were given the option to surrender or suffer more devastation; 6 days later they capitulated.
p.s. On a lighter note, I was very pleased to see that some Honey that Susie bought before she returned to Blighty came all the way from Ukraine. And very delicious it is too!
Thank you Ukraine, and thank you to the Ukrainian Bees.
Wednesday, 14 August 2024
Orléans
Tuesday, 13 August 2024
What happened to Respect.
When I was young we respected those 'in authority'; especially our Teachers and the Police.
These days, sadly, both these occupations are viewed very differently.
It is not uncommon to hear of Teachers being verbally and/or physically abused in our State Schools, leading to many leaving the profession. This abuse at an early age then seems to lead naturally to a lack of respect for authority in general; ending with the behaviour that we've recently seen by rioting thugs on our streets.
The Police who were defending Muslims, Mosques, and properties from the stone throwing mobs (above), then became targets themselves, with people of all ages throwing bricks and Molotov cocktails at them, as if they were the subject of their original anger. One child of 12 has already been prosecuted!!
There really is no excuse for such behaviour, but the origins begin at home, and at school, where discipline has been outlawed by the trendy liberal woke brigade. A parent can be prosecuted these days for giving a child a smack on the back of the legs. No discipline at home means no discipline in later life.
But, as all Brit's are aware, it's not only Teachers and Police who are the target of hatred on our streets, Fireman and Ambulance drivers often come under attack when they attend emergencies.
It's difficult to comprehend what goes through the minds of such hooligans, but I suppose it's no different to the terraces at Football matches, or outside bars on the 'Costas' in Spain. There is an inbuilt violence inside many people that they simply cannot wait to externalise.
I'm pleased to see that Sir Keir Starmer is coming down hard on these thugs, and they're appearing in court very quickly. I just hope he comes down equally hard on those criminals who have prompted the troubles, and not simply let them go free, as he did with the 50 Jamaican criminals that he saved from deportation back in 2020.
I'm afraid that our Police need to be tougher. We need Water Cannons, Zero tolerance, and 100% consistency. What we don't need is a brutal force such as the French CRS, but if this goes on I expect that's what we'll eventually end-up with.
Monday, 12 August 2024
The End is Nigh
Sunday, 11 August 2024
The Palm Tree.
Saturday, 10 August 2024
Walnut Oil
Friday, 9 August 2024
Being comfortable in the heat.
Thursday, 8 August 2024
Old friends
New situations in life bring new friendships. I still have good friends from my Prep' School days, my Upper School days, and from my College days.
Mostly we eventually lose contact with them; we move around, and unless we are 'facebook' friends we never hear from them again.
I've recently tried to find an old friend from my Prep' School days (aged 6-13). Richard was a very outgoing young man who desperately wanted to be a girl. I've written about him before. As hard as I try to find him; I cannot. Of course he may no longer be with us, I simply don't know.
From my College days I have always kept in contact with one good friend, who also lives in France, but further south. We don't see each other much these days but there's always news at Christmas, etc. Simon and I went through our Fine Art degree courses together, and shared a taste for beer, literature, and the French countryside.
So, I was extremely happy to have a phone call from him recently. He's more active than I am, and still has projects to keep him busy. Simon (above) is a renowned Watercolour Painter, and you can see his work here.....
Simple things in life can be so rewarding. That recent phone call was to ask after my health, etc, and was really appreciated. We exchanged some news of family, and really enjoyed about 10 mins of chatty conversation. My circle of good friends is dwindling these days; we're all approaching 80, and not many live pain, or illness, free.
So, thank you for your call Simon! My good friends are like 'family'. We must speak again more often.