9/11

© SuperStock, Inc.

I couldn't let today go by without remembering the atrocities of September 11th 2001.

I doubt anyone will ever forget the events of that day or the feeling of disbelief at what we were witnessing.

My thoughts are with those who so tragically lost their lives, the families they left behind and with the courageous individuals involved in the aftermath.


We may carry fear but we must never bow to terrorism.

Why I love ...... my cat.

My mother sent me this cutting from The Guardian. When I say cutting I mean just that, the piece cut from the paper! Not for her the wonders of email, her preference is snail mail. Normally my father attends to the technology in their household but he is currently away enjoying his annual weeks holiday with his friends, no doubt doing their damnedest to emulate 'Men Behaving Badly' despite the advancing years! :o)

So here it....and very amusing it is too:

Why I love ...... my cat.

There are the obvious reasons of course: the delicate marmalade-coloured fur on his feet and belly, the utter reliability of his cupboard love, the joy he gave me once when he caused my mild wife to say "Get down you buggering little sod" as he trotted across the fish lasagne she had just prepared.
But the main reason is his endearing stupidity. Some cats are clever, and one owner I know claims that her favourite has not only worked out how to open the fridge to get at her food, but has also declined to teach this trick to the other cats in the house.

However, my cat is stupid. He exhibits this best in the rain. He pushes his way through the catflap at the back of the house, gets his nose wet, and returns immediately. But now his eyes plead with me to open the front door - on the grounds that, although it is raining out the back, it may be dry at the front.

What is especially attractive about this is that there is no development. Almost without exception, children become more intelligent, almost day by day, and if you watch them, you can see this happen. I have even noticed myself becoming cleverer, and now, at the age of nearly 60, I have almost thrown off adolescent habits of moral certainty and political priggishness.

But my cat never learns. He insists on sitting on the mat where the door might slam on him, and on challenging the same old bruiser of a female four doors down, who duffs him up every time, leaving him cut and scabby.

I admire this determination not to develop, and reflect how simple it makes his life. Those of us who try to do a little better every day, and who break our hearts in failing, could learn a lot from him.

Fred Sedgwick
© The Guardian 2004

Miscellaneous mumblings

'Cloudless blue sky in gemmakville'

If the weather holds for today, and it looks promising, that will be three entire days of unbroken sunshine we have enjoyed. For a British summer that's pretty impressive and all complaints will cease from this point on!

I did a modicum of spring cleaning, or should that be autumn cleaning?, just doesn't have the same ring does it,here last night and removed some dead blogroll links. They were swiftly replaced with a few new one's. Gone it seems are the early days of living in the blogosphere, when my blogroll was short and sweet, there are so many good blogs out there. I'm gonna have to use a smaller font before long or risk litigation from those suffering RSI whilst attempting to navigate through it!

My original and enduring list of favorite blogroll residents still remains and joining them now are Justitia, Road to pregnancy, Number Wann and Beyond Northern Iraq. The latter is the blog of BBC world affairs journalist Stuart Hughes, who in April 2003 unfortunately made the headlines himself. The guy is an inspiration and his posts are always interesting stuff.

Should you have a spare moment in your blogosphere travels take a second to visit 'getblogs', a new (ish) blogring set up and run by a guy in Canada, he is working hard to 'make it happen' and deserves the attentions of the multitudes! :o)

Off now on a completely different tangent.

Yesterday in my small corner of Scotland, where people are few and crimes even fewer I was victim of an amusing if aggravating theft! Don't rush of and alert Reuters please, this was the unlikely theft of my dustbin. Here, where council tax is high and services few the 'bin men', or as they are now prefer to be titled the 'refuse technicians', do little more than put your 'already deposited at the correct point 500 yards up the road', bags onto the truck.

It is the 'depositing in the correct place' bit that miffs me. We have to drag copious amounts of refuse a considerable distance to comply with this rule and yesterday by the time I had arrived at the designated spot I was knackered (no reference to age please). In my near state of collapse I abandoned the bin temporarily for rescue on my returning visit. In those few minutes someone helped themselves to it! Strange in the first place because there are few people here and even fewer at 7.30 in the morning.

Suffice to say, memories of residing in Manchester and London where real crime is part of daily life left me temporarily and myself and two neighbours, in a state of over reaction at this minor misdemeanor, set about hunting the bin....to no avail.

I duly and rapidly typed and laminated a terse notice and stuck it on the wall requesting the return of said item and then forgot about it. At 7 am this morning I was woken by a phone call from an excited neighbour announcing the return, overnight, of the item in question. My faith in human nature is restored but on a more serious note I was reminded just how lucky I am to be living in a place where 'bin theft' is noteworthy. It never dawned on me just how much stress living in a city with it's attendant crime levels subjected me to until I escaped!

A right decision

Logo

For once it seems common sense and a feeling of moral wrong-doing has prompted a correct decision.

The Mobo Awards list for 2004 included artists ( I use the term artist loosely here)'The Elephant' Man and 'Vybz Kartel' both of which have produced lyrics of homophobic content and in the case of one, lyrics promoting the killing of homosexuals!

The gay rights group Outrage!, among others, called for these artists to have their nominations for this years awards removed and the BBC agreed not to broadcast lyrics with this content. The usual arguments ensued with the artists promoters claiming the lyrics in question where earlier in the careers of those involved and more recent content was of an acceptable nature.

Is it relevant that now, doubtless having suffered previous negative reaction and the attendant economic fallout, these individuals have had a change of direction. In my opinion it is not. The tracks concerned are still available and the damage done, this is likely to be merely a decision taken on the grounds of economics alone and not a genuine change of heart.

These people carry the inherent responsibility that comes with being in the public domain, or at least they should. Their audience is in the main young people, still formulating opinions and to witness individuals they admire condoning such heinous behaviors and thinking has the possibility of very serious consequences. I do not think for one minute that every teenager listening to one of these tracks will immediately go out and commit a crime of this nature but I do think it has the likelihood of instilling in some, that homophobic attitudes are acceptable or even 'savvy'.

We should not be encouraging anyone, in any manner, to think that prejudice of any kind, is in any way, acceptable and yesterday it was agreed by those within Mobo to remove these artists from the list of nominations.....bravo Mobo! a good call in my opinion. The industry should be sending a message that it will not reward people for such appalling displays of hatred not reinforcing them, in this instance they got it right and hopefully in the future others will follow suit.

I do not pretend to be familiar with these artists, I am way too old for that but even the name 'Elephant Man' I find offensive, no doubt the A&R people will have an excuse for that too, but for me, to choose a name with such sad connotations is in itself unacceptable and indicative of the mentality we are dealing with here.

Yes I would defend the right to free speech for all, and defend it fervently but where the speech is coming from a source so obviously ignorant and misguided we have a duty to silence it or at the very least not encourage and reward it.

One last thought, both the individuals concerned are black and by virtue of that have sadly perhaps suffered prejudice at some time in their own lives. Should they not therefore have a good understanding of the pain caused by such ignorance and would they not be outraged themselves, and rightly so, at a band or any other individual or group of people inciting racial hatred?

An Indian summer

Glowing sunset

Summer finally arrived in the Borders of Scotland today. A little late maybe but very welcome! A whole day of unbroken sunshine, blue cloudless skies and temperatures unheard of in recent weeks. As evening fell and the light faded we were treated to this beautiful glowing sunset.

The human spirit

Yesterday was a long day.

PG finished work at 2.30 and we made our way the 80 miles South to visit his father in hospital.

It was surreal day. We where of course prepared for the sight that is ITU, the myriad tubes, pipes and numerous items of high tech equipment that currently support his father but I somehow hadn't expected to be unable to quite equate this man, completely at the mercy of machines, with the man I know. In some ways we were relieved, he was comfortable and appeared peaceful. I had expected agitation as is often the case but there was none. He had a good colour and despite all the technology surrounding him the unit was bright airy and new and an atmosphere of calm was very evident.

His condition is slightly improved thankfully, though not in any way perceptible to anyone other than a professional. His sats and blood pressure have improved and remained stable, his heart rate is nearing normal and he has short periods now of consciousness and appeared to recognise us. There is of course a very long way to go and we are not complacent but for now things are looking very slightly better.

We in the U.K are used to hearing nothing but dire predictions and horror stories of the NHS. Good news is not news as they say but I have to beg to differ where my own experience is concerned. I and those close to me have had need of the service on maybe more than our fair share of occasions over the years and have, without exception, had excellent and prompt attention. That of course does not detract from the importance of the incidents where the system fails but I am constantly struck by the fact that those working within the service are dedicated, professional hard working and highly skilled individuals but who are ultimately like you or I....human beings and fallible. I don't envy them their job. I for one would not like to be in the position of making life and death decisions on a day to day basis with the inherently attached impact that has on others. PG's father is receiving care of very high calibre, at a staffing ratio of 2:1 and with equipment available to him that beggars belief. All this at a moments notice and at the point of delivery, free.

Standing at his bedside trying to think of things to say, unsure if he is hearing I felt humbled by the human spirit and it's contradictions. One one hand life seemed so fragile, in a moment changed forever, circumstances in an instant rendering an individual completely helpless and dependent entirely on technology and the help of others. On on the other hand fighting still, despite the odds, strangely strong in the face of such adversity.

Against massive physiological trauma the human body and spirit still fights for life with all it's got!

U.S. coverage of the paralympics

I am appalled!

One of my favorite and regular reads is Someone else's life. Blackrat, it's author, never fails to deliver something both well written and absorbing, Today is no exception. His latest posting concerns the U.S. broadcasting companies coverage of the imminent paralympics, or rather the lack of it!!

I am for once lost for words. I won't repeat here the content of his post, rather I urge you to read it for yourself HERE.

Indoor hunting!!

Blue Tit. Parus caeruleus

Ditto, having honed her hunting skills over this summer, to such a degree that we have bestowed proudly upon us at least one 'gift' a day seems to have turned her attentions to a less rugged form of sport.

We have tried our best to dissuade her from the attractions of live quarry, she has not one but two bells on her collar, a reflective 'tag' that the maufacturers assure the purchaser is noticed more readily by the unfortunate creature within her sights, though I have my doubts and wherever possible we are seen chasing her like madmen to extract small mammals from her jaws before serious harm is done. We are often successful in this endeavor and are the source of much amusement for our few neighbor's who call us to alert us when they see her 'with prey' and then watch us scooting about after her in a most ungainly manner!

With winter approaching and her dislike of the cold on her paws she has, it seems begun training for a new winter 'game'! Our living room window is very narrow and hinged at the top. It has installed a lock, which enables it to only be open approximately 2 inches, purposely so, in an attempt, as we live on the first floor, to prevent her skydiving in moments of over excitement. Yesterday however she managed somehow to circumnavigate this security measure to some degree. Just as I exited the shower, dripping wet, there was an unearthly commotion from somewhere close by. On investigation, still dripping wet, I came upon Ditto, beside herself with glee, chasing a blue tit around the living room! She had it seems managed to catch it through the 2 inch opening in the window....heaven knows how. The window is recessed from the outside preventing birds flying close to it, we have never seen one land on the sill and even if that was the case the design is such that I just cannot see how she would get any part of her body in such a position as to reach! We are still scratching our heads on that one.

Suffice to say, a scene followed that I am sure to any onlooker would have been hilarious. A most undignified battle began between a naked an wet me, a terrified bird and a much thrilled Ditto!

I am pleased to say that ultimately I was victorious, bird and cat where separated, cat was confined to another room and bird was captured unharmed, if somewhat alarmed, and released safely. I was left with an extremely miffed cat, a living room scattered with small feathers and an array of scratches on my unprotected flesh!

Said cat is now most confused, she can obviously smell 'bird' in 'her house' and is still monitoring the area closely in the hope of further sightings and possible opportunities for indoor hunting!!

...and on a lighter note

Can we have some manners please!!!

At the eleventh hour

Today didn't work out as planned.....at the 'eleventh hour', circumstances beyond our control dictated it better that we go to visit PG'a father tomorrow. Half of me heaved a sigh of relief the other half knows we have to key ourselves up for it allover again in the morning.

Consequently I have found myself at a bit of a loss as to what to do with my day, having made plans to be busy all day today I had caught up with everything I needed to do last night and what I was going to do tomorrow will have to wait, that aspect of the re-arrangements I'm not sorry about!

Tomorrows planned job was to be to endeavor to lay a laminate floor myself.
I will no doubt rue my decision to take matters into my own hands later this week. Ok guys I know this isn't quite on the scale of house building or foundation digging but believe me, that stuff is damn heavy when you're small!

I'm not even convinced I like the stuff but the carpet is crying out to be replaced and laminate flooring is cheap, this is a rented property and I'm not paying a fortune to carpet someone else's floor! Laminate is also considerably more forgiving where cat vomit is an issue!

So I'm off to gather together a jigsaw, mitre block and other sundry items. PG has promised to assist but I wont hold my breath, particularly if there is an upturn in the weather and golf becomes an option! DIY is neither his passion nor his forte.

Expect there to be expletives of exasperation here later this week ....these
'simple' jobs fail ever to be simple in practice!

Hospital visit

The weekend at work with it's sadness' overwith and this morning we are off to visit PG's father in hospital. This is our first visit, his parents live a considerable distance away and visiting restrictions combined with work made it impossible sooner.

It's one of those difficult decisions, one's gut reaction is to immediately 'be there' but employers are 'less emotional' and common sense and hospital advice advise a less 'knee jerk' reaction.

His father is slightly improved since yesterday, he remains ventilated and critical but is awake at times and recognises those around him.

I have to admit to being one that watches medical drama and reality shows from time to time but events such as those this weekend bring home that it is perhaps not 'drama' to be watched for entertainment, rather it is other people's real lives and trauma and I should question the ethics of such shows and of my viewing them. When it happens in your own life or that of someone close to you it is a whole different story. In reality I am not a fan of hospitals, I doubt that many are. The selfish part of me anticipates this visit with some trepidation. Outwardly I cope well with these situations but inwardly, so much raw emotion and intensity I find hard to deal with at times. But today is not about me, it is about the others involved, PG and his family. So it's time to put my strong head on, brace myself and get on with the matter in hand of hopefully offering some support where I can.

Swan-song

Eggs


Hatched

Talking of swans, which I wasn't, but I have been recently, and I am doing again, a friend of mine from 'the south' sent me these lovely photographs (thank you Pauline) after she read my last 'swan post'.

The pictures where taken on a canal bank behind her place of work. She was lucky enough to be able to follow the progress of the parents and their eggs from laying to hatching and managed to take some pictures along the way.

Sadly these delightful little creatures may not have had a happy ending to their story. A few days later they mysteriously disappeared with out trace and where never seen again. The circumstances surrounding their disappearance where never discovered but it is thought a predator took them.

Nature can be cruel at times.

Apologies, it's not been the best day.

My apologies if you have mailed me or left me a comment and I appear to have ignored it thus far.....I will get to it eventually I promise and if anyone asked for a Gmail invitation and hasn't got it yet please remind me!

Today was not good, I am just home from a particularly hard day at work, it was hot, very busy, under staffed (what's new) and customers from hell where out in force.

I shouldn't complain, my annoyances pale into absolute insignificance in comparison to problems affecting some of those around me, about who I care.

PG's father was re admitted to hospital again yesterday. He underwent heart surgery last week and seemed to be doing well until 36 hours ago. He has undergone further surgery and is now in ITU, ventilated and critical but stable.

I arrived at work this morning to hear tragic news of two colleagues. We employ a Downs syndrome man, a lovely guy and a real character, sadly he suffered a stroke last night, we have no further details.

The brother of another colleague, also last night, in a freak accident, fell down the stairs and died of his injuries.

What can I say, my thoughts and sympathies are with all those affected. Today was a difficult day but it sure makes you count your blessings and appreciate those you love..........

The small things in life make it worthwhile

Puffin © Laurie Campbell

It's a special pleasure when little things work out so unexpectedly well, when in this age of mistrust and corporate paranoia someone takes your word and treats you as a normal reasonable individual.

On Thursday when I posted the beautiful picture of the swans, I gave little thought at the time to any copyright that I might have violated. A while later it dawned on me that the picture must actually be someone's property and so set about tracking down it's owner.

Task complete I emailed the individual concerned explaining that it was rather a case of 'locking the stable door after the horse had bolted' but please would he be kind enough to permit me use of his photograph. In honesty I expected to either hear nothing back, or to be the shame faced recipient of a mail telling me to take the picture down and reminding me sternly of copyright laws.

Neither was the case. I received a reply this morning from the individual concerned, a professional natural history photographer of some note, Laurie Campbell, not only giving me permission to use his picture but offering me the use of others should I need them. He also included information about his current exhibition at Paxton House near Berwick.

This nice little story goes further. It transpires that Mr Campbell lives not more than 10 miles from me!!! What a small world it is. I had no idea when I looked for the copyright owner who or where he was!

And more still. A week or two ago at work an advertising display was erected for bird food. On this advertisement is the most beautiful picture of a robin on frozen twigs, I fell in love with it immediately. On perusing Laurie Campbells online gallery the night before last I discovered the 'robin' is one of his!! Not only that but he has a number of limited edition prints still available for sale.....one of them will be mine!

I just love it when little things work out so happily, yesterday was not a good day in the gemmak household (more on that another time) and this nice happening made my day and renewed my faith in human nature.

For anyone even remotely interested in natural history or photography, a visit to Laurie Campbells website is a must. This guys work is beautiful and breathtaking...... an absolute joy.