British Winter / The Dark Ages :/

Gah! This stoopid weather sucks! It's dark when you get up . .and it stays that way all day!
Ahhh . . how we love the British winter. We're all broke and we're groping around like moles in our holes :/And, of course, we'll all become deliriously happy just cos some 'royals' are getting wed', next year. Tbh, I'm sick of that story already . . and it's on'y been 24 hours!

Appreciating Teachers

' Tonight, a teacher is preparing lessons to teach you, or your children, while you are relaxing and watching T.V. In the minute it takes you to read this, teachers all over the world are sacrificing their own time for your - or your children's - literacy, prosperity, happiness and future. It's Teacher Appreciation Week. Re-post this if you are a teacher, love a teacher, or appreciate a teacher.'

I worked as a teacher for ten years & I know this to be true. The vast majority of teachers do their very best for the students in their charge. There are some teachers, of course, who should never be allowed anywhere near impressionable young minds; they tend to be mean-spirited, lazy, vindictive and inadequate. Teachers are drawn from a broad cross-section of society and, like all other professions, there will always be a few "bad eggs" who stink the place out.

Playground Jibes

Comments allegedly made by supposedly intelligent Brits, during the Pope's visit. Despite the U.K.'s reputation for good manners, they apparently described the Pope as follows :

Richard Dawkins (scientist) - " Head of the world's second most-evil religion "

Stephen Fry (actor/comedian/writer) - " An evil presence "

David Starkey (historian) - " A little clown in a dress and red slippers "

If true, then they show themselves in their true colours with such childishly rude comments. It's like name-calling in the playground. How arrogant, uncharitable and self-absorbed they all appear to be.

" Don't look at him . . look at ME ! " they all seem to be saying, " I'm so jolly clever, aren't I ?"

The Olympic Money-Pit

I have the great good-fortune to live on the beautiful Isle of Portland, in Dorset. Our sailing centre will serve as the base for the sailing events, during the 2012 London Olympics

I just discovered that some of the of grotty little houses that developers have been squashing-in near the sailing-centre are actually being built as office-accomodation for the Olympics. They aren't putting-in kitchens until after the Olympics . . . then they'll finish them off and sell them.

The land they were built on was practically the only flat, football-pitch sized area on the whole island for kids to play on . . so they took most of it away. The remaining 'postage-stamp' pitch will have to be shared with a new Junior School. Unbelievably, the completed properties will stand empty, from now until the Olympics!

Great! . .so we can't afford to build Academies or provide recreation-fields, or provide expensive anti-cancer drugs, or universal child-benefit or decent State pensions . . .and people are living-rough on the streets this winter, as always, . . but we can build offices for two weeks in 2012. Never believe a Politician when they say they 'care'.

Sons Of Seamen ?

I was thinking about what jobs some well-known U.K. YouTubers might do, if the whole 'music' thing doesn't quite pan out.

Hexachordal, I reckon, could get an admin job at the Tax Office.
Charlieissocoollike would be good at selling Menswear.
Eddplant could run a friendly Pub, with alternative comedy and acoustic music nights.
Nerimon? I think he might get a job on the Essex Council, dealing with Waste-Management.

Whatever happens, I'm sure they will always look back on their days of YouTube celebrity with a great fondness - and why wouldn't they ?

A Very Unlikely Thing . . . At The Gym !

I recently joined a Health Spa. You know the sort of thing - gym, jacuzzi, steam room, pool? This, in itself, is not unusual for a man of my age who's trying to make up for lost time.

What happened today, however, was a little out of the ordinary - even for someone, like me, who rather relishes 'the unexpected'.

I had got quite hot and sweaty and was taking a breather, chatting to one of my daughter's old schoolteachers whom I'd just met. We looked around . .and who had just come in the door but the Mayor & Mayoress, with associated hangers-on.

We didn't want to stare, so we got back to our 'yarnin'. When we next looked back there were 3 Mayors, Mayoresses and associated hangers-on. Okaaaay :/

Could happen =p Not that strange. Back to chatting.

Next time we looked around, however, there were at least ten Mayors, Mayoresses and associated hangers-on. You could hardly move for them! I guess it was an 'outing' for all the Mayors in the County or some-such. I must impress upon you that all of these Mayors were be-suited and regaled with golden chains of office. The Mayoresses were snapping away on their digital cameras and the Mayors were being guided around by other be-suited, important-looking folks.


I'm glad I went, really. There were only about five of us in the gym, at that moment. At least we made a bit of a show. The resident trainer had been pointing us out. I expect he explained that we were in-training for the 2012 Olympics . .but had been barred from the Commonwealth games, on the grounds that we would eat all the curry and drink all the Kingfisher lager.

Apparently, the whole group also descended on the pool area; some strolling around in their street shoes . .and taking pictures. That's not on, now is it . .V.I.P.'s or not.

'Tis a strange place, My Dorset home, it never stops surprising me =p

I also stuck my head in both the sauna and the steam room for the first time, today . . but that's as far as it got. It was like sitting next to an iron-foundry. Not for me, I'm afraid . .I'm more 'clerical ' ;]

About 'Dads'

I read a teenage guy's Tweet, today, about how all Dad's are crap at jokes. There is some truth in this . . but I hope he still loves his Dad. Dad's are people, too, and it's sad if their children dislike or disrespect them. I loved my late father to bits . .still do . .although he never really showed much overt affection. I guess he showed he cared in other ways. He would've loved to have met you and you would have found him funny, for sure.

I was puzzling about this, yesterday. My paternal Grandad was a very cold, Victorian father . .so I can't imagine how my Dad turned-out so well. I think it must've been his 6 yrs at War, in Nth Africa & Italy. It seemed to give him a perspective on life that a home-body might have lacked.

When I asked him about the War, he simply told me that when he saw kids playing the same games in Africa , Italy . .wherever . . .it just clicked with him that we were all the same - all brothers and sisters. He also had a great facility with language. I never saw him pick up a book, so I guess it must've come from his schooling. Kids were taught to read poetry and spell properly, back in the day.

" Love ya, Dad, . . thanks for everything " :]