Sunday 31 July 2022
Are Chihuahuas actually Dogs?
Saturday 30 July 2022
How does this happen?
Friday 29 July 2022
Our Guests Arrive.
Thursday 28 July 2022
Raspberry Vinegar.
Wednesday 27 July 2022
Garden Corners.
Tuesday 26 July 2022
What a bloody mess!
Anyone who has seen the chaos at Dover in recent weeks will understand why the UK should apply to be part of the Schengen area, for freedom of movement; and should also apply to re-join the Single Market.
This would not be giving-in to the EU, it would simply make things easier for all Europeans; in or out of the European Union. It would be similar to being back in The Common Market.
If any political party suggests re-applying, please give them your support; whoever they are (within reason).
May I suggest that if you're planning to cross The Channel via Dover in the near future that you stay at home. Take your holiday somewhere in the UK instead, where you, and your holiday £'s, will actually be welcomed.
20 hours stuck in a car is no way to start a holiday. You can't sleep as you have to inch forwards every so often. You can't have a pee. You can't turn around to go home. And all because those bloody French Customs folk are playing silly bug*ers.
Monday 25 July 2022
You're The Best Thing - Paul Weller, and Boy George.
Sunday 24 July 2022
Bread, Bakers, and Baking.
Saturday 23 July 2022
Birthday Boy.
Friday 22 July 2022
The race is on.
Thursday 21 July 2022
Wednesday 20 July 2022
A First!
Tuesday 19 July 2022
How I do things.
Monday 18 July 2022
What the.....
Sunday 17 July 2022
Scottish MPs thrown out of Prime Minister's Questions.
How lucky we are.
Saturday 16 July 2022
A Cat by Moonlight.
Friday 15 July 2022
Now that the Dust has (almost) Settled.
There is no question that the one thing all opposition parties fear the most, is a popular and successful ruling party. If that success has been focussed on one person; then get rid of him or her at all costs, and by any means possible. Constant criticising is the easiest method.
The Tory Party in the UK has always been the 'one nation party'; it looks after the interests of the rich and poor alike. Its aims are always to lower unemployment, and to increase employment; making UK plc into a successful 'business' which would attract serious foreign investment. The current Tory government has achieved most of this, whilst at the same time coping with Brexit, Covid, and Putin.
Unemployment figures are at their lowest since around 1979, and the figures of those in Employment are the highest since the early 70's. Funding for the NHS is at an all time high at approx £180 Billion; plus there has been extra funding to cope with the ravages of Covid.
All in all this current government was doing pretty well. It was also the first country to help fund Ukraine in fighting-off the vile attack from Russia.
So, what went wrong? In my mind it all started with the unnecessary refurbishment of the Prime Minister's apartment at No 10. Boris and wife's ridiculous spending, and choice of furnishings, was viewed as wasteful, if not pompous; this caused ill-feeling. There have been too many public rows (Cummings comes immediately to mind). Too many "do what I say, not what I do" situations. Too many dodgy explanations. And too many cover-ups. However, very few of these peccadillos were 'politics' related; they were side-events that luckily didn't affect the smooth running of the country. He was eventually dethroned following the sexual antics of some drunken MP.
Sir Keir's endless hounding of Boris at the weekly PMQ's has finally succeeded, but maybe not for the better, or even to Starmer's advantage; that remains to be seen.
In politics you savage the most popular and most successful. Churchill suffered it, Mrs Thatcher suffered it, and now Boris has suffered it. No-one ordered the character assassination of Alec Douglas-Home, John Major, or Theresa May; they represented no real political threat.
The left are cheering. An intellectual Eton and Balliol 'toff' has been toppled, and nothing pleases them more. Too much charisma, too much brain, and far too much success.
Boris will probably quit politics quite soon, and be in HUGE demand globally as an 'after dinner speaker', where he'll probably make even more millions than Blair. He'll certainly be laughing all the way to the bank.
Boris was a major political figure on the world stage, but when your own parliamentary party start to side with the opposition; you have to go. I just hope his successor will be as worthy of the position as Boris was. The last thing we now need is a weak PM, or (heaven forbid) a radical Marxist government.
I'm already beginning to notice a certain sadness amongst the more logical thinkers that Boris is going. He was a real character, and a good politician.
As Joni Mitchell reminded us 'You don't know what you've got till it's gone'.
My £5 is still on Penny Mordaunt to replace Boris, although I now see she's slipped into second place.
Thursday 14 July 2022
Gardening
Wednesday 13 July 2022
Twins?
Tuesday 12 July 2022
PM for PM.
The bons vivants of Jura & Franche Comté - Gueuleton
Monday 11 July 2022
BBQ Season
Sunday 10 July 2022
Pruning the Palms
Saturday 9 July 2022
(Non-political) Job Opportunity.
Young energetic men or women wanted to fill several vacancies, and be your own boss!
Requirements: Good quality Ride-on mower, medium sized trailer, tow bar on car, pair of solid ramps, large petrol can.
Job Description: Estate Management. The candidates will care for grassed areas of absentee owner homes. The candidates must be prepared to travel short distances, and work an eight hour day (minimum).
Financial outlay: An initial investment of between €3,000 and €4,000 for equipment; recoupable within a month or two.
Expected Annual Income: The candidates can expect to earn between €40,000 and €50,000 per annum; with plenty of opportunities for more.
Work Load: The candidates must expect to be in high demand, and like others in the same occupation he or she must be prepared to turn away clients due to excessive work load.
Work Environment: Outdoors in dry weather only. Hay fever sufferers need not apply.
Please, please; will someone please apply! You are desperately needed.
Friday 8 July 2022
Pizza Night.
Thursday 7 July 2022
Blimey!
It's been a month, and the 'lawn' is now greening-up.
There are plenty of Greengages on the tree, and I shall bottle some for our upcoming Brighton Winter.
Wednesday 6 July 2022
Après Boris?
Having just watched Boris at PMQ's, it does look as if he is about to quit. The knives are out, and people are now 'seriously' looking to replace him.
It's a sad state of affairs as Boris, despite all his problems, is head and shoulders above most of The Young Turks who are out for blood.
However, there are plenty of heavyweights amongst the Tories. Gove, Sunak, Javid, Hunt, Zahawi, and my own favourite Penny Mordaunt.
I just hope they choose the right woman for the job!
It's Obligatory.
Tuesday 5 July 2022
Cleaning-up the Mess.
Monday 4 July 2022
Decline and Fall: Redd4x - Rain ft. (Flyysoulja)
N i show that a choppa it ra-ain
I got a bullet i got all the bullets
I show them they gra-ave, ya
I got a bitch and she bad
And she showing us ass, cause she making it rai-in, ya
Stick to my time n, i to keep it
Ar-15 and i spra-ay
I got codein prome-ethizine, inside of the trunk
I count up money, n yall could really see this blue in bulk
Iuh k-keep it on time, a nigga s-seen it
N now they star-struck
Keeping my time n they having some fun
While i be jus clapping the buns
Walk in the club then show them my time
And i just so fam-mous
I-ma just sing it, cause im from real gun-shine
Don't stay or you get to see uh the sun, yea-ah
Walk down on nigga, but i could just do it
Why they get so run, yеa-ah
Beggin us in it, waste all of my time
N thеy saying like niggas my son uh uhn
You gonna play, dis my time n i say, whats up oh blood-od
In this street they show to no love
You coulda sent it, lets go to get wrote
Ar 15 they play it like now
7 point 62 bullets right now
Ima just do it n show to my mamma
Lets make her just pro-oud
You better send it n im smoking uh gas
And its in it, is lou-ud, ya
You get to play with a 9, not every 10
Like n i said it again
You shoulda show us, but you don't bring friends
You show no nothing, no you show tha trend
You don't make everything, plan ain't no-seennse, ya
You don't make nothing, but you don't make nothing
But i came from nothing, and now i'm just something, ya
Yaa yaa now im a blessing, n yaa yaa having no set
Ya, i got the stick n all of the stick
N i show that a choppa it ra-ain
I got a bullet i got all the bullets
I show them they gra-ave, ya
I got a bitch and she bad
And she showing us ass, cause she making it rai-in, ya
Stick to my time n, i to keep it
Ar-15 and i spra-ay
I got codein prome-ethizine, inside of the trunk
I count up money, n yall could really see this blue in bulk
Iuh k-keep it on time, a nigga s-seen it
N now they star-struck
Keeping my time n they having some fun
While i be jus clapping the buns
{flyysoulja}
Im like ya run up, on all of them, n all of these ba-andz, ayy
All of these bitches they say that they love me
You kno-ow i be sagging
You just a want me to fuck you , cause you just a gas stop store, ya
Ima just with my brother, and we just day gaze, yaa
Im like im jus in miama, where my zaws at
We just on that gang, and we be on that gang, ya
Talk right, yea with six tight
N this bitch i got them sticks, aye
You know what it is, aye
All of my bitches they say that they love me
You know im living god, im just a blessing
You know i keep all, yahh ah
SoundCloud:
edit soundcloSunday 3 July 2022
Swimming.
I've always loved swimming, ever since I was quite small. At my Sussex Prep' School we were thrown in, and someone shouted "SWIM". If you didn't, somebody might have dived in to rescue you; but mostly boys did as they were advised.
The pool at my Prep' School was quite large, but it was fed by a natural spring, and was not chlorinated or cleaned in any way. The water was permanently green, and there were often snakes, or ducks in it. It was always freezing, but we didn't care.
I've just come out of our pool as I write this. I've been very busy all morning, and a refreshing pre-lunch swim was perfect. I always do the same thing; 12 lengths, which is just over 100 metres. I usually do this 3 times a day.
I cannot understand people who fail to learn to swim. Out here in the countryside it is quite common to find such people; surely, swimming is one of life's great pleasures.
One of my best swimming memories was from around 1959/60 in Puerto Soller, Majorca. Our hotel had a wonderful beach/pool/garden man. He was a man of 'small stature' (I'm not sure what we're supposed to call that these days), and would swim out into the bay, returning with half a dozen Octopi stuffed into his swim trunks. He was a wonderful man, and I used to love early morning swims in the pool whilst he swept tidied and gardened. I think his name was Emanuel.
These days my daily swims are for refreshment and exercise; mostly the latter. They do say it's one of the best forms of exercise; using all muscles. I don't really mind if the water is cold. Anything above 20C, and as long as there is sunshine, I'm in there splashing about.
What we DO NOT do is smother ourselves in sun cream, lounge about on the 'layabouts' drinking iced Pimm's through a Flamingo shaped straw, whilst wearing Hawaiian shirts. Nor do we scream when entering ice cold water!
For us, the pool is not a luxury item; it's essential. If one thinks of it as an extra room, and calculates the value of any extra room, a pool is a very good asset.
Saturday 2 July 2022
The Dumbing-Down of Lord's.
For those who know little or nothing of Cricket, the Lord's ground in St John's Wood, N W London is its spiritual home. It is in fact the home of the Marylebone Cricket Club, but is named after its founder Thomas Lord. The ground was opened in 1814.
Lord's is where all the country's most important Cricket matches are played. Test matches, County finals, and even prestigious School and University matches.
One particular schools match has been played there since its foundation, but was actually already being played ten years earlier. It involves Boris Johnson's old school against that of another Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. The two schools have always been sporting opponents. This annual 'grudge match' has been fought over since 1805.
The MCC, in their superior wisdom, have now decided that in the name of egalitarianism, this match will no longer be played at Lord's. Instead they have instigated a Twenty/20 match which will be open to all Secondary Schools, with the final being played at Lord's instead of the one played for the past two centuries.
The traditional 200 year old annual match will, of course, continue and in future will be played at the Wormsley Estate in Oxfordshire; in fact the site of their very first rivalry match back in 1805, which featured Lord Byron.
All I can add is that I do hope that both these schools will also take part in the new competition, and do well enough to face each other in the final. Otherwise the last game of its sort was played just a few days ago on June 28th 2022. Churchill's alma mater won!
I wonder if they are planning to stop the annual Oxbridge match as well? The Boat Race maybe? Where will this 'egalitarian' dumbing-down stop?
Poor old Blighty; high standards are no longer welcome.