09/01/2022

New Year, new set of goals.  Started with agreeing to do dry-ish January with the Lady of the House, we can’t totally do it as there are some parties this month and you always need some sort of ‘get-out-clause’ for those ‘bad kids’ days .  Its a bit too arbitrary in any case.  It also gives me a good excuse to start organising ‘Wet February’ whilst at the same time saving on the usual, large, monthly wine bill (‘Dry-credit-card-anuary’ anyone?).  Just as well as we are about to shell out on a new outbuilding for her highness use as an office so we need all the spare coffers we can get.  Throw in a holiday she is also busy planning and I’ll soon be needing a new Counting house.  Is that a blackbird I see in the garden?

16/01/2022

What an interesting week we have had in the news.  Wall to wall car crashes which could come under the collective banner of ‘Fools doing foolish things’, you can take your pick from the formerly-known-as Prince Andrew, Novak Djokavic and Boris and his Gov’t.  Personally I feel sorry for the Queen in all of this, she is a model example of abiding by the rules the same as the rest of us, even at her husbands funeral, whilst No. 10 was turned into some sort of civil service nightclub.  She also has to endure all the ongoings with her no. 2 son, all this whilst in her Platinum Jubilee year – the first time in history this has ever happened.  I wouldn’t mind being a fly on the wall when she next meets with Mr Johnson…. that will be a great episode of The Crown I am sure!  As a supporter of Boris (I am the original Tory boy after all), I think its all a shame because he has had the right approach and policies to bring the UK together through Brexit, Covid and levelling up but there has been a serious lack of judgement and understanding of being in Gov’t.  First and foremost, in politics, you have to be whiter than white.

I don’t often have too much time for Australian politicians, their lip service to Climate change is legendary – these are people who actually think the film ‘Mad Max’, where the World runs out of oil and descends into anarchy, is a documentary.  This time, however, they got it right deporting him.  Like all the people mentioned in this rant, he thinks its one rule for him and one for everyone else, when the truth is we are all in everything together whether its climate change, Covid or anything else for that matter.  Anyway, enjoy your Sunday!

03/03/2022

I don’t post for a month and the World seems to have gone mad.  Energy costs have risen at least 50%, markets are volatile and conflict is rearing its ugly head.  Mr Putin has invaded another Country starting conflict in Europe but at least the Americans have reacted promptly this time by sending planes and troops into NATO Countries, just in case.  The last time couple of times there were World Wars they turned up late, so it looks like they want to be ready this time.  At least they have learned from history, Mr Putin wants to turn the clock back 70 odd years to create a ‘sphere of influence’, not realizing in the age of the smart phone and internet that everyone is an influencer these days.  With these new found freedoms comes better communications, economic prosperity and the right to choose.  This is why he is doomed to fail, but like all dictators (in all but name) when the end game is in site, they lash out like a dying star.  Lets hope when he implodes, he doesn’t take us with him.  #FreedomForUkraine

On a personal note, I’ve continued to be pulled around on a weekly basis by the chiro in trying to fix the on going saga of my back issues.  After several sessions of being used as a human climbing frame, she finally exclaimed I was ‘straight’.  In the last month, I felt a bit like King Richard III , all bent over and twisted.  Next stop core strength… the road is long on this particular journey (not via the Tower of London!).  

20/03/2022

Having two teenagers in the house, however posh they are, is a right pain in the neck I’ve decided.  No matter what you do for them, they see it as just something you have to do and if the nice thing you have laid on for them is slightly wrong?  Well that’s your fault and you must be stupid!  Oh, ‘and you have wasted your money’.  Even when they are choosing their options at school, the fact you have been through the same system and made the same choices and then seen the consequences of those choices play out into the real World, you actually know nothing and don’t understand.  Apparently myself and my wife, despite being in totally separate industries, just sit there all day typing.  I mean, really?  How does that reflect on the differences in pay between two ‘typists’?  That had no.2 stumped.  Then we had to listen to why he didn’t need to know/learn any of his subjects at school as they don’t relate to the real World.  This is something I’ve heard from adults too, though usually the ones who collect rubbish from people’s driveways once a week and for those people, lets face it, calculus is pretty irrelevant.  Not so the engineers who built the refuse lorry of course, or anyone else in a high powered job who does end up using these tools and more to design/build/programme etc and where the money is.  That can be a difficult nut to crack, as his peers know more than you do (remember?).  As anyone who has been a teenager, if there is an easy way out then the path of least resistance will always win out.

 22/10/2022

To say its been a while is an understatement, good job no one reads this stuff anyway!  A lot has happened in the last 6 months so here goes….

My lovely Mother-in-law had a spot of car trouble a few months back so I decided to help her out.  Going into this, my expectations were of it being anything from a ‘thankless task’ to an ‘absolute disaster’.  So with that in mind, what could possibly go wrong?  As it turned out we seem to have caught the second hand car market just when the last 12 months frenzy seemed to be coming to an end.  We started off at a local car lot, armed with no knowledge at all other than she wanted ‘a proper car shaped car’.  I put it through the ‘woman talking filter’ and it came out as ‘saloon car’.   OK good start, I prepped the M-in-L as we stood outside the gates of the second hand car emporium with strict instructions that I should do the talking and we should be ready to run at the drop of the hat.  We ventured in looking for a Dell Boy look alike but instead, to my absolute suprise, bumped into a pleasant Mediterean chap who turned out to be not in the least bit shady.  He had no car under £10k (our limit was £10k but ideally we’d spend no more than £6k) and began offering to search Autotrader to see if he could find anything.  We thanked him and left, I then had a quick search on my phone and after showing some pics to M-in-L we were off to Milton Keynes to look at a Mercedes C-class.  Maintaining low expectations, just in case, we arrived in the middle of the Coutryside where some industrial buildings resided.  Fully expecting to be shot-gunned to death by the travelling community at any moment, we pulled into some waste ground with a Porta-cabin at one end.

For the second time that day, I was v. pleasantly suprised by the Asian chap selling a raft of lower end second hand motors.  The car turned out to be in v. good condition for its age, low mileage and only four careful previous drug dealer owners.  I checked the boot for signs of crash damage and blood splatters from where the bodies had been put, but it was all clean.  The M-in-L loved it and after a quick test drive, my back wasn’t in too bad condition (actually it was very comfortable) so I put my terrible negotiating skills into action and got next to nothing off.  Having seen the state of the market, however I was comfortable we had a bargain anyway so we bought it.  Several months in, nothing has gone wrong so far and she is still pleased with it.

Unlike 98.7% of blokes on the planet, I am happy to organise a night out for a curry/chinese/random drinks.  After spending the past 2 years on hard core medicines though, I seem to have mislaid my drinking boots.  To be fair, they were more like drinking trainers as I have never been able to drink copious amounts like some of my friends.  As such, I have been out a few times now I am off the drugs and it turns out they have become more like drinking flip flops.  I seem to start getting a hangover before I even get home.  Bit of training needed before we get to Christmas….

Since we now have a new monarch on the throne (gawd bless you, King Charles) and, I was going to say newer prime minister, but as I write
this, Ms Truss has resigned and we await Tory PM 3.0, since he came to the throne.  At this rate he will have seen more PM’s than His Mother did by Christmas.  I could make some jokes about it (Sam Allardyce waiting in the wings?) but its pretty serious tanking the economy, mortgage rate increases, cost of living, bringing back fracking.  Despite my Posh pretentions, I would like a General Election so we can get Labour in.  I know, I actually put that in writing.  Its down to Labour not to mess it up between now and whenever the election happens in my opinion.

The Tories also want to undermine some workers rights as well, and whilst I’m in favour of a balance (definitely no return to the bad old days of too much Trade Union power) equally there has to be a balance (the American model of hiring and firing is no good either).  I’ve been blessed in many ways in my working life, the closest thing to an industrial accident I’ve ever had is leaving it till after lunch to visit cubicle two on the first floor toilets.  Wow, you can physically chew through the atmosphere in there.

Some years ago, you may recall I underwent a failed experiment to be a bit kinder to other people and true to form I’ve had another go.  The results have been good, right up to the other day when I was heading for an escalator and noticed some chap coming from the other direction also about to go down it.  “After you, mate” I said (note I can turn on the working class when I need to).  Very shortly after I noticed the greasy hair and nano seconds after that, the escalator dragged me into his jet wash.  My God, I’m sure he didn’t look homeless when I let him in front of me but from the smell, he was definitely going through hard times!  I put into action my ability to hold my breath for the next minute or so until finally the moving staircase turfed me off and I was able to get into some clean air.

Well I’m glad to have got that lot off my chest, till next time.

14/11/2022

Good news – Arsenal are top of the league and have extended the points gap to 5 between them and second place Man City.  Mercedes, and aka Hamilton also appear to be back on top as well albeit a bit late for this season after Brazil at the weekend.  So now for the World Cup in Qatar, will we pick up where we left off at the Euros or will we have lost form?  We’ll know in a week or so’s time.

In the meantime, I have a new rant (suprise, suprise!) – and its Audi A1 drivers.  These wanna be proper Audi drivers have all the hall marks of the worst driving (indicators?  What are they? Pedals?  Thought they were on/off switches!) but can’t afford the price tag of the serious German metal.  This gives them an added chip on both shoulders and as they all tend to be about 17/18, throw in some youthful arrogance while you are about it.  I was once cycling along minding my own business when one came along side me and started talking to me.  Thinking he was lost I helpfully asked him to repeat his question as his high, pitched, pre-pubescent, squeaky voice got lost by the engine noise.  The question turned out to be ‘Why aren’t you cycling on the pavement?’  – after a quick glance at his underage girlfriend in the passenger seat, I just laughed in his pimply face and rode on.  Some of my more serious cycling friends have some big gripes about the older generation of drivers we seem to have here on the West side.  They amble around at 20 miles an hour (so far OK) but are happy to overtake parked cars straight into your path and keep going running you off the road in the process.  My police friends are quite clear about cyclists and their rights on the roads and as a car driver I am happy to give way (such a nice guy!).  Comes back to a wide spread theory that people are becoming thicker.  

And another thing – I was on the tube the other week coming home and it was busy as usual so I removed my backpack and squeezed onto the carriage.  Well, judging by how other people just crammed in with backpacks in situ and then proceeded to swivel round as though they were in an empty carriage it made me wonder why I bothered.  I have decided from now on I will walk in straight lines and expect other people to get out of my way and please myself.

I’m slightly grumpier than usual as just survived Covid and now have a bit of a cough and a cold.  I know its the season but its not exactly been chilly out.  Its costing me a fortune in Day/Night Nurse.  Apparently the Lady of the house thinks I was just being annoying hacking and sneezing, right up until I gave it to number one son at which point it became my rotten cold!  

Other than that, I am looking forward to Christmas.