NIMBY?

I know I've mentioned this before, but this time it's even more personal.

First it was at my people's house in Shropshire where a 'Traveller' threatened to do serious damage to me, after I'd discovered him moving onto a small field at the bottom of our garden. It was a very unpleasant experience; he was a BIG man, and he wasn't kidding.

Then after this recent long Bank Holiday weekend, I see that some of them have moved onto a field in our lovely old Sussex village (above).

West Chiltington is a very pleasant, quiet (and expensive), village. It is filled with very beautiful old houses, and pristine gardens. The residents are mostly good honest middle-class professional folk, who care deeply about their surroundings. It is regarded as one of the most desirable villages in Sussex. This very pleasant house (below) is typical of the houses in West Chiltington (it was ours).

Then along comes this bunch of law-breaking, so-called, 'Travellers', who put two fingers up at authority, and dump tarmac over a large area, put up fences, and illegally invite their pals to buy a 'plot'.

This MUST NOT BE ALLOWED.

Sadly, no-one is prepared to go in and boot them out, and force them to return the field to its original condition.

Just imagine if YOU owned that lovely old farmhouse in the top right of the top photo. One minute you have all the peace and quiet you desire (and have paid through the nose for), the next you have a bunch of criminals moving their caravans up against your back garden. That is an expensive house too!!!

I AM aware that it makes no difference whether or not the location is 'desirable' or not, but somehow because I lived there, and knew many of the residents, it does seem particularly outrageous.

If the Police can't deal with these people, then bring in The Army. They have all the heavy moving kit they need, and could tow away any vehicles within minutes. And I'm sure there's a local 'Crusher' not too far away.

In another part of Sussex, in Clayton (above), the little darlings have even invaded the local Cricket Pitch. Is there no end to their disgusting behaviour !!!

If the authorities simply do nothing, these scumbags will see it as a sign of weakness, and move on to yet another field or Cricket pitch; and do the same again. Someone needs to act AT ONCE.

 

Cheese rolling.

'The Silly Season' is just starting in the UK, when the ridiculous becomes the norm. We Brits (of course) don't see these things as ridiculous, but simply a part of everyday life.

One such example is the Cheese Rolling at Cooper's Hill in Brockworth, Gloucestershire. The good people of the village (and from just about anywhere else) throw themselves down a VERY steep hill, chasing a CHEESE. The person who reaches the bottom first (in one piece) wins the Cheese. All very simple.

There's little more to say about this, other than to declare this year's winner to be German Tom Kopke; who I believe has now celebrated his THIRD win.

Are the Germans as bonkers as we are?

Oh, I do love to be beside the seaside....

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky.

Ah; Summer. Tis the season when we're so happy to live by the sea. To walk along the sea's edge, let the cooling water splash over our bared feet, and enjoy the peace and quiet of a sunny summer's day.

The only problem is that as soon as the temperature rises above 20 C, and they have a day off, half of London thinks the same thing, and they flock down to the coast in their bloody thousands. (Do enlarge photo)

Our very central home runs parallel to the main street from the station to the sea, and even though there are hoards of sun-worshippers heading for the beach with their sun hats and multi-coloured towels; we see none of them. Miraculously our little street remains very quiet and un-sullied.

We stay at home and walk the dog. The 'Rest Garden' is usually very peaceful and I sit with Billy in the shade of a big tree, and let all those tourists eat thir ice-creams, and roast themselves, on the over-crowded beach.

Oh, I do love to be beside the seaside.....

 

Service without any smile.

It's been very hot, sunny, and extremely bright.

My old shades had become a bit cloudy, and had seen better days. I needed new ones.

I had a bit of a look around certain shops likely to sell such things, and couldn't find what I wanted. Some came close but were expensive.

So, what does a chap do when he's at a loss? He goes to Amazon (of course).

The choice was extensive (as you can imagine) and I trolled through page upon page of over-fancy and over-priced glasses until I came across what I wanted. Some simple, polarized, affordable shades, that just look as 'ordinary' as possible.

I ordered them at about 5.30 pm on the 24th, and they dropped through my letter box at 12 noon on the 25th. Hand delivered, nicely packed, no fuss.

And at about £18 for two pairs (inc Post), I shan't panic if (at some time in the future) I lose a pair, or they break.

Thank you Amazon. You're a good'un.

 

Just another morning....

 

I'd been putting some dog 'unmentionables' in the bin, when I was approached by a man of about 35 years old.

"Excuse me Sir, is your name 'Hutchinson' by any chance?". He asked.

"No, I'm afraid not" I replied.

"I'm looking for someone, and I thought you looked a bit like him" he said.

"Not me" I replied "It would be extremely surprising if I was him; with all the number of people around!"

"Well, I thought I'd ask anyway; you do look very much like the person I'm looking for".

"Have your tried any of the Social Media sites, such as Facebook?" I suggested.

"Yes, I've done all that, but nothing".

"Well, I wish you luck with your search" I said, whilst turning to go.

"He's my BLOODY FATHER" he suddenly screamed at me, "and I haven't seen him since my 12th birthday".

Only then did I realise that he was possibly an escapee from Broadmoor. I put Billy on his lead and we walked slowly away, just occasionally looking around to see that he wasn't following me with a Machete. 

Sometimes I feel quite anxious about strangers. This was one such occasion!

Mrs T's 'Care in the Community' never worked, and it never will. Bring back those 'Homes for the mentally disturbed'.

Unite the Kingdom.

'Unite the Kingdom' is a right-wing UK protest group, founded by rabble-rouser Tommy Robinson.

Robinson is quite an unsavoury character, with a string of criminal convictions, assaults, and bankruptcy to his name.

I'm not quite sure exactly when this protest took place; but it says 8 months ago.

What amazes me are the number of people present. Could it be AI generated? 

It comes courtesy of The Guardian (a piss-poor Lefty rag), who wouldn't normally wish to make Robinson seem more popular than he actually is.

I suppose I'll have to accept that the film is genuine.

'Unite the Kingdom' is basically anti illegal immigrant, anti Islam, anti woke-lefty, and anti just about everything to the left of Genghis Khan.

Presuming that the film really is genuine, I'm amazed by how popular this movement is. OK, we're all aware of the strong feelings nationally towards certain troublesome groups, but I had no idea it was THIS strong.

I'm hopeless at estimating crowd numbers, but my guess is 'LOTS'.

 

Lucky Bast*rd

 

Yesterday was the day for my car's (Debi) annual Service, Wash, and MOT.

I had left her with the garage at 8 am, and was advised to collect her at around 5 pm.

At about 4.45 pm I ordered my return taxi, and we set off for the garage. We had hardly gone 20 metres, when the taxi driver pulled-up sharply, jumped out of the car, and ran round to the front.

I wondered what the heck he was up to.

He came back to the car holding a big 'wadge' of bank notes. He had spied them from a distance, and he wasn't going to leave them lying there. There must have been hundreds of £'s; if not thousands (probably drug money).

With his new-found wealth, I was half expecting him to offer me the taxi-ride free of charge; but no, it cost me £20.

Above shows Debi: Serviced, Motted, and Washed. She's now ready for all that life can throw at her.

Look how clean she is! Boootiful.