Friday, 25 January 2008
Thursday, 24 January 2008
My fifteen minutes of fame....not!
My post yesterday on the subject of John Hogan, today caused me an hour or two of slight panic when the B.B.C. got a hold of it!
Halfway through the day a B.B.C. researcher emailed me to ask if I would be prepared to take part in a World Service radio broadcast, 'World have your say', on the subject of 'Is insanity any excuse for murder'.
I didn't really take it seriously but mailed him back late in the afternoon saying yes I would....almost immediately he called me, chatted to me for a few minutes and then said he would like to try and fit me into the programme if he could...to air in 45 minutes time, from that point!
Jeez! Vallium anyone? ;o)
Ok, joking aside, it's a serious subject and one I feel passionately about so I agreed to wait by my phone while the show aired, ready in case they could find a spot for me and my opinions.
As it turned out it didn't happen, my five minutes of fame didn't materialise and without doubt those who did take part in the programme were way better qualified than myself to do so.
I may not have made it to broadcast but nonetheless it's kinda pleasing just to know that my little blog got noticed at all .......and I have to confess that in the end, my relief at not having to string a coherrent sentence together live on air was tangible!
Sorry Mr Warhol...it just wasn't my time!
Halfway through the day a B.B.C. researcher emailed me to ask if I would be prepared to take part in a World Service radio broadcast, 'World have your say', on the subject of 'Is insanity any excuse for murder'.
I didn't really take it seriously but mailed him back late in the afternoon saying yes I would....almost immediately he called me, chatted to me for a few minutes and then said he would like to try and fit me into the programme if he could...to air in 45 minutes time, from that point!
Jeez! Vallium anyone? ;o)
Ok, joking aside, it's a serious subject and one I feel passionately about so I agreed to wait by my phone while the show aired, ready in case they could find a spot for me and my opinions.
As it turned out it didn't happen, my five minutes of fame didn't materialise and without doubt those who did take part in the programme were way better qualified than myself to do so.
I may not have made it to broadcast but nonetheless it's kinda pleasing just to know that my little blog got noticed at all .......and I have to confess that in the end, my relief at not having to string a coherrent sentence together live on air was tangible!
Sorry Mr Warhol...it just wasn't my time!
Wednesday, 23 January 2008
Verdict - John Hogan
Though I am sure there are many who will disagree with me strongly, I am glad to hear that a verdict of not guilty has been returned in the case of murder against John Hogan, the man who leaped from a balcony with his children in Crete in 2006, resulting in the death of his son.
That in no way suggests that I don't understand the seriousness of the act or the anguish caused to all involved but rarely it seems is depression truly understood, in this case it seems unusually that it was.
The quote by a representative of the charity Sane at the bottom of the linked page (and repeated below) sums it up:
That in no way suggests that I don't understand the seriousness of the act or the anguish caused to all involved but rarely it seems is depression truly understood, in this case it seems unusually that it was.
The quote by a representative of the charity Sane at the bottom of the linked page (and repeated below) sums it up:
"We welcome the verdict in the trial of John Hogan, and the judge's acknowledgement of his disturbed mental state and his need for psychiatric treatment.
"This case highlights how extraordinary mental pain can tragically distort a person's perception and judgment.
"While in no way underestimating the terrible consequences of John Hogan's actions we should not automatically condemn him without considering the depth of mental anguish he was suffering.
"Severe depression is not simply a case of feeling 'blue' and those at its mercy cannot 'pull themselves together'. It is a serious illness and a debilitating psychiatric disorder that changes personalities and wrecks lives."
Tuesday, 22 January 2008
(Un)Health & (Un)Safety!
My place of work is a nightmare at times and at no time more so than last week!
There was constant 'infighting' and fallings out among staff and management, I use the term 'management' very loosely here because not one of them has the slightest ability or training in management and one in particular has even less in the way of people skills than the average bull in a china shop, the result being that two people did a 'no show' for a couple of days and the rest of us had to work harder and in an atmosphere that was somewhat less than congenial!
I tried my best not to become embroiled in the carrying-ons, thank the Lord I am on the road for the most part of the day (though driving through floods constantly and spending eight hours a day soaked to the skin did little to lift my spirits) but I couldn't help but say my piece on one issue.
For two hours before I hit the road I have the unenviable task of making an array of boringly filled sandwiches, for this a sealing machine is required, we have a sealing machine, just the one mind you, the other two are defunct and seem to have remained that way, the sealing machine seals very well, nay it seals exceptionally well, so where you might wonder is my problem.
Take a look at this picture (very poor quality I'm afraid, you will understand why it was taken 'poste haste' on my phone in secret) and you might just begin to understand where my complaint is coming from. This is the mains cable on the sealing machine....that sits on a wet, steel work surface all day long!!!! (and incidentally the inner insulation is damaged too)
Apparently I am being picky in making a complaint!!!
Add to that someone saw fit to put descaler in the water urn without bothering to put a notice on it to that effect. Yours truly arrived back at the premises cold and wet, made a cup of coffee, took two mouthfuls before realising just how horrible it tasted and the only response offered was that 'at least if my arteries are 'furred up' they would now be clear!!!
FFS!!!
Ok....I'm looking for another job!
There was constant 'infighting' and fallings out among staff and management, I use the term 'management' very loosely here because not one of them has the slightest ability or training in management and one in particular has even less in the way of people skills than the average bull in a china shop, the result being that two people did a 'no show' for a couple of days and the rest of us had to work harder and in an atmosphere that was somewhat less than congenial!
I tried my best not to become embroiled in the carrying-ons, thank the Lord I am on the road for the most part of the day (though driving through floods constantly and spending eight hours a day soaked to the skin did little to lift my spirits) but I couldn't help but say my piece on one issue.
For two hours before I hit the road I have the unenviable task of making an array of boringly filled sandwiches, for this a sealing machine is required, we have a sealing machine, just the one mind you, the other two are defunct and seem to have remained that way, the sealing machine seals very well, nay it seals exceptionally well, so where you might wonder is my problem.
Take a look at this picture (very poor quality I'm afraid, you will understand why it was taken 'poste haste' on my phone in secret) and you might just begin to understand where my complaint is coming from. This is the mains cable on the sealing machine....that sits on a wet, steel work surface all day long!!!! (and incidentally the inner insulation is damaged too)
Apparently I am being picky in making a complaint!!!
Add to that someone saw fit to put descaler in the water urn without bothering to put a notice on it to that effect. Yours truly arrived back at the premises cold and wet, made a cup of coffee, took two mouthfuls before realising just how horrible it tasted and the only response offered was that 'at least if my arteries are 'furred up' they would now be clear!!!
FFS!!!
Ok....I'm looking for another job!
Monday, 21 January 2008
I'm getting too old for this!
Result! It's a Monday and I'm not at work! And I'm not ill! Yayyyyy!
The reason? Fletch's birthday.....and a very heavy weekend of partying preceded by a suitable degree of forethought that today we would require a 'day of recovery' and hence a days holiday leave. It's a good feeling, Monday morning, the world is back to work and we ain't! ;o)
So, the sleepless weekend: A hundred mile drive to Cambridge on only three hours sleep the night before and then a mad night out in St Ives with friends, much beer, much food and much hilarity.
Bed for a few few hours then on the road again to the South coast, another two hundred miles and another night of hilarity, beer and this time tapas. Sunday, the return two hundred miles and finally a whole nights sleep!
It was a damn good weekend, a distraction and relaxation (mental if not physical) from the normal day to day hassles, I even got to sit on the beach (in strong winds and drizzle I hasten to add) and fit a rapid moment of retail therapy in, but really I am getting way to old for all the partying malarkey, or at least for whole weekends of it.
The tell tale signs of this I suspect were that and there were more than a few moments when curling up in a corner for a snooze seemed a very attractive prospect and that despite chastising myself for the reaction I found myself aggravated (just once mind you) by the volume of music preventing any conversation!
Yup....ten years ago I would have been horrified had anyone suggested the music was too loud......definite proof of age!
The reason? Fletch's birthday.....and a very heavy weekend of partying preceded by a suitable degree of forethought that today we would require a 'day of recovery' and hence a days holiday leave. It's a good feeling, Monday morning, the world is back to work and we ain't! ;o)
So, the sleepless weekend: A hundred mile drive to Cambridge on only three hours sleep the night before and then a mad night out in St Ives with friends, much beer, much food and much hilarity.
Bed for a few few hours then on the road again to the South coast, another two hundred miles and another night of hilarity, beer and this time tapas. Sunday, the return two hundred miles and finally a whole nights sleep!
It was a damn good weekend, a distraction and relaxation (mental if not physical) from the normal day to day hassles, I even got to sit on the beach (in strong winds and drizzle I hasten to add) and fit a rapid moment of retail therapy in, but really I am getting way to old for all the partying malarkey, or at least for whole weekends of it.
The tell tale signs of this I suspect were that and there were more than a few moments when curling up in a corner for a snooze seemed a very attractive prospect and that despite chastising myself for the reaction I found myself aggravated (just once mind you) by the volume of music preventing any conversation!
Yup....ten years ago I would have been horrified had anyone suggested the music was too loud......definite proof of age!
Thursday, 17 January 2008
The attack of the killer parasols!
In retrospect this tale of something that happened to me this afternoon is funny, but I can assure you that at the time is was somewhat less than funny and quite dangerous.
For those of you not in the UK we seem here to have recently developed a 'monsoon' season, it has barely stopped raining for weeks and for my part I have been driving the van from hell through constantly flooded roads day after day after day for what seems an interminable length of time.
So with that background today's tale:
Having finished work I decided on a stroll through the local town, a bit of window shopping and maybe a coffee. As I was strolling through the town centre in only light rain, minding my own business, from nowhere there was a clap of thunder, immediately followed by torrential rainfall and a sudden extremely strong wind. Accompanying this I was immediately aware of some god awful noise and looking up I was faced with the sight of two table, eight chairs, two parasols and two accompanying concrete weights hurtling towards me at break neck speed.
I kid you not, this wind was strong and the industrial strength patio furniture usually housed nicely on the pavement outside of Starbucks was moving en-mass at an unbelievable speed towards me.
There was only one thing between me and the killer parasols, a man also walking along the street, he pinned himself to the wall and with only a second to react I did the same.....only I happened (thankfully) to be by a shop doorway....which in my panic I duly fell through!!! Oh, forever elegant! Not!
The parasols and their incumbents came to a crashing halt against another shop just yards away....and broke up into their various, previously assembled parts!
Starbucks staff rushed out into the street all full of concern for any passers by and to survey their once reasonably attractive furniture and an assistant in the shop who's doorway I had made my rapid and in elegant entrance hauled me off the floor and checked I was still in one piece!
Ok, so it's funny now, you may titter, but had all that stuff hit me, or worse still some elderly frail soul, it might have been a whole less funny....this was industrial strength, heavy duty furniture and concrete travelling at an unbelievable speed in the middle of a town centre.
For my part....hey, the shop I fell into was a shoe shop....it was only polite that I should make a purchase by way of thanks for the staffs concern over me! ;o)
For those of you not in the UK we seem here to have recently developed a 'monsoon' season, it has barely stopped raining for weeks and for my part I have been driving the van from hell through constantly flooded roads day after day after day for what seems an interminable length of time.
So with that background today's tale:
Having finished work I decided on a stroll through the local town, a bit of window shopping and maybe a coffee. As I was strolling through the town centre in only light rain, minding my own business, from nowhere there was a clap of thunder, immediately followed by torrential rainfall and a sudden extremely strong wind. Accompanying this I was immediately aware of some god awful noise and looking up I was faced with the sight of two table, eight chairs, two parasols and two accompanying concrete weights hurtling towards me at break neck speed.
I kid you not, this wind was strong and the industrial strength patio furniture usually housed nicely on the pavement outside of Starbucks was moving en-mass at an unbelievable speed towards me.
There was only one thing between me and the killer parasols, a man also walking along the street, he pinned himself to the wall and with only a second to react I did the same.....only I happened (thankfully) to be by a shop doorway....which in my panic I duly fell through!!! Oh, forever elegant! Not!
The parasols and their incumbents came to a crashing halt against another shop just yards away....and broke up into their various, previously assembled parts!
Starbucks staff rushed out into the street all full of concern for any passers by and to survey their once reasonably attractive furniture and an assistant in the shop who's doorway I had made my rapid and in elegant entrance hauled me off the floor and checked I was still in one piece!
Ok, so it's funny now, you may titter, but had all that stuff hit me, or worse still some elderly frail soul, it might have been a whole less funny....this was industrial strength, heavy duty furniture and concrete travelling at an unbelievable speed in the middle of a town centre.
For my part....hey, the shop I fell into was a shoe shop....it was only polite that I should make a purchase by way of thanks for the staffs concern over me! ;o)
Wednesday, 16 January 2008
It's been...
....one of those weeks and I can't believe it's still only wednesday!!! We should be well into Saturday by now!
I need some fun (work has been an utter debacle one way and another since Monday) and lots of sleep and then maybe I can begin to resemble something approaching a civil human state again.
...or maybe not! ;o)
I need some fun (work has been an utter debacle one way and another since Monday) and lots of sleep and then maybe I can begin to resemble something approaching a civil human state again.
...or maybe not! ;o)
Monday, 14 January 2008
Sunday, 13 January 2008
Any one got an ark?
Um...it rained last night!
These two pictures are of the same spot, the first is this morning, the second a few weeks ago, the fields are usually full of merrily grazing cows and sheep!
Yup, it rained and it rained and I suspect that when they emerge from their beds this morning, the owners of these vehicles will wish they remained sober last night and driven home....
But hey, the swans are having fun!
....and if anyone fancies a Sunday afternoon stroll and is in possession of a sturdy pair of waders there is this on offer!....
(Images clickable and a few more here)
These two pictures are of the same spot, the first is this morning, the second a few weeks ago, the fields are usually full of merrily grazing cows and sheep!
Yup, it rained and it rained and I suspect that when they emerge from their beds this morning, the owners of these vehicles will wish they remained sober last night and driven home....
But hey, the swans are having fun!
....and if anyone fancies a Sunday afternoon stroll and is in possession of a sturdy pair of waders there is this on offer!....
(Images clickable and a few more here)
Saturday, 12 January 2008
How typical!
It's not often I receive a compliment, so a few days ago when one was offered I should have been suitably flattered and I would have been had a fact not transpired that I am sure some will find suitably amusing (yes Fletch I mean you!).
I was at work, out on the road at a call when a young-ish guy new to the place I was at, asked me how I was. I was soaked to the skin, cold and bored to a greater degree so I said in (semi) joking tones that I would be better if I were not in such a condition. His reply.... "oh well, never mind, at least you still have your looks"
I took the compliment with the grace it deserved only to be informed by the customer next in the queue....... that my 'complimenter' is in fact for the most part blind!
I don't wish to be ungracious or politically incorrect, it was regardless a kind comment, but somehow it just wasn't quite the same!
I was at work, out on the road at a call when a young-ish guy new to the place I was at, asked me how I was. I was soaked to the skin, cold and bored to a greater degree so I said in (semi) joking tones that I would be better if I were not in such a condition. His reply.... "oh well, never mind, at least you still have your looks"
I took the compliment with the grace it deserved only to be informed by the customer next in the queue....... that my 'complimenter' is in fact for the most part blind!
I don't wish to be ungracious or politically incorrect, it was regardless a kind comment, but somehow it just wasn't quite the same!
Thursday, 10 January 2008
Wednesday, 9 January 2008
Meet 'Cassie'
I have been meaning to introduce 'Cassie' here for a while but somehow I never quite got the time.....so now, please meet 'Cassie':
Cassie is my 'surrogate' pet. My missing Tilly and having an animal to live alongside me in my life never leaves me and as a consequence I seem to have turned into one of those odd individuals who stops to 'talk' to almost any available creature as I go about my daily routine. Rabbits, squirrels, cats, birds, horses, donkeys, and most often of course dogs....dogs are more readily available!
Cassie, a ten year old golden retriever bitch is my most regular 'adoptee'. She belongs to a lady I deliver too each day on my rounds and she has become the highlight each day of my trundles around the countryside.
She knows when I will call and is ready and waiting by the time I arrive. Her greeting always cheers me as she rushes along the lane, ears flapping wildly in the wind and almost bowls me over coming to a rapid halt by laying down on my feet and turning herself belly side up for her daily ten minute cuddle!
I am not fooled of course, there is a degree of 'cupboard love' going on here for she knows only too well by now that not only do I deliver sandwiches but I also carry a treat for her each day! This routine has become entrenched now and there is no way I could escape the daily offering! She has consumed all manner of fare over the months, crisps, snacks, biscuits, the odd sausage I have purloined when no one was looking at the shop before I set out, an occasional bone my mother supplies and on one or three occasions her favourite.....a whole hot sausage and bacon breakfast roll!!! ;o)
This habit has caused there to have to be a 'new line' on my van in an attempt not to turn her into a very fat dog and so now I always carry a selection (hidden of course from my employer) of various proper dog treats and biscuits....I even have low fat and low gluten versions to hand!
Cassie is my 'surrogate' pet. My missing Tilly and having an animal to live alongside me in my life never leaves me and as a consequence I seem to have turned into one of those odd individuals who stops to 'talk' to almost any available creature as I go about my daily routine. Rabbits, squirrels, cats, birds, horses, donkeys, and most often of course dogs....dogs are more readily available!
Cassie, a ten year old golden retriever bitch is my most regular 'adoptee'. She belongs to a lady I deliver too each day on my rounds and she has become the highlight each day of my trundles around the countryside.
She knows when I will call and is ready and waiting by the time I arrive. Her greeting always cheers me as she rushes along the lane, ears flapping wildly in the wind and almost bowls me over coming to a rapid halt by laying down on my feet and turning herself belly side up for her daily ten minute cuddle!
I am not fooled of course, there is a degree of 'cupboard love' going on here for she knows only too well by now that not only do I deliver sandwiches but I also carry a treat for her each day! This routine has become entrenched now and there is no way I could escape the daily offering! She has consumed all manner of fare over the months, crisps, snacks, biscuits, the odd sausage I have purloined when no one was looking at the shop before I set out, an occasional bone my mother supplies and on one or three occasions her favourite.....a whole hot sausage and bacon breakfast roll!!! ;o)
This habit has caused there to have to be a 'new line' on my van in an attempt not to turn her into a very fat dog and so now I always carry a selection (hidden of course from my employer) of various proper dog treats and biscuits....I even have low fat and low gluten versions to hand!
Tuesday, 8 January 2008
iTelly!
Wow...I don't have a television, I don't have easy access to a co-axial connection and so for the last 18 months I just haven't really watched any TV...until today, and the discovery of the new BBC service, 'iPlayer'.
Click the link, choose a show and that's it, the last seven days programming there on your computer....it's that simple, really, and it even worked without a hitch, first time.
Ok, so it's small but aside from that (famous last words) it seems faultless!
Maybe I'll catch up with Eastenders now, yes, I would prefer Corrie but the world is never quite perfect! ;o)
Yayyyy, I have television again!
Monday, 7 January 2008
Good news is no news!
Years ago I made a conscious decision not to watch, read or listen to the news any longer in any real depth, my reason, it was way too miserable, rarely was anything positive reported, it was all doom and gloom and I didn't need it in my life. Yes, I scanned the headlines and looked slightly further if any major story broke but that was it....I became a very definite 'news dunce'.
And then I started to drive the white van from hell for a living, this is not, as one would expect, an intellectually fulfilling occupation, eight hours a day behind the wheel with only intermittent small talk for entertainment, is not a mind occupying way of life by any one's standards so to alleviate the boredom I found myself listening to the news on the radio all day long.
This 'news thing' seems now to have become a small obsession, I wait with baited breath for the half hourly bulletins, I check interesting stories on my phone because I can't wait for the next bulletin to be broadcast, I read much of many of the newspapers I carry, I sit in Nero's after work and read the Times frequently and after reading my email, the BBC news page is probably my most frequently surfed web page these days, I can waste hours jumping from one story to another embroiled in numerous items of news!
I'm not sure if all this is a good thing or a bad thing. Ok, so perhaps I am better informed than I was and distracts me from the boredom of the white van but one thing certainly hasn't changed over the years.....very little cheerful or positive is ever reported, it's still all doom and gloom, probably now on an even greater scale than years ago when I decided on my 'news blackout', it's still depressing in the main, the political machinations still wind me up and I find myself huffing and puffing to myself frequently, at the stupidity of those charged with running this world we inhabit.
As they say 'good new is no news' in a world where sensationalism seems to prevail and it's damn hard on occasion to remember that for the most part human beings are nice things that behave reasonably!
But for all that I can't help but listen/watch/read the news day in and day out.....hell, somehow it's almost addictive.
Perhaps I'm just a glutton for punishment!
*************************************
N.B.
'ANDREX'....the piglet!
Talking of no good news....here is some! Ok, not on a world importance scale but hey, we have to be thankful for small (no pun intended) mercies! :o)
What I want to know though is how someone thought that was funny!
And then I started to drive the white van from hell for a living, this is not, as one would expect, an intellectually fulfilling occupation, eight hours a day behind the wheel with only intermittent small talk for entertainment, is not a mind occupying way of life by any one's standards so to alleviate the boredom I found myself listening to the news on the radio all day long.
This 'news thing' seems now to have become a small obsession, I wait with baited breath for the half hourly bulletins, I check interesting stories on my phone because I can't wait for the next bulletin to be broadcast, I read much of many of the newspapers I carry, I sit in Nero's after work and read the Times frequently and after reading my email, the BBC news page is probably my most frequently surfed web page these days, I can waste hours jumping from one story to another embroiled in numerous items of news!
I'm not sure if all this is a good thing or a bad thing. Ok, so perhaps I am better informed than I was and distracts me from the boredom of the white van but one thing certainly hasn't changed over the years.....very little cheerful or positive is ever reported, it's still all doom and gloom, probably now on an even greater scale than years ago when I decided on my 'news blackout', it's still depressing in the main, the political machinations still wind me up and I find myself huffing and puffing to myself frequently, at the stupidity of those charged with running this world we inhabit.
As they say 'good new is no news' in a world where sensationalism seems to prevail and it's damn hard on occasion to remember that for the most part human beings are nice things that behave reasonably!
But for all that I can't help but listen/watch/read the news day in and day out.....hell, somehow it's almost addictive.
Perhaps I'm just a glutton for punishment!
N.B.
'ANDREX'....the piglet!
Talking of no good news....here is some! Ok, not on a world importance scale but hey, we have to be thankful for small (no pun intended) mercies! :o)
What I want to know though is how someone thought that was funny!
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