Happy Samhain!



















A lot of tosh is written about halloween and Samhain so all I can suggest is look up the information yourself; ignore the satanist sites (complete bollox); keep an open mind and if you want to celebrate then do so. I'll drink a pint of decent ale to honour hecate, herne, etc... But then I'll drink a pint to honour anyone! I'm all in favour of dark haired large breasted witches at any time of the year.
TTFN

I looked through the blog for this date over the past two years.
Today: a cold, Most Haunted Live, hung over from a few welcome beers yesterday as I visited some local pubs ( £1.00 a pint in Swigs!!!).
Predictable, moi?

TTFN.

"Life is islands of ecstacy in an ocean of ennui, and after the age of thirty land is seldom seen"
Luke Rhinehart.

TTFN.

Apparently the number of the beast was miscalculated and is in fact 42....do we run for the hills now as well as give propitiatory offerings to the soul of Douglas Adams. Who would be the modern day counterpart to Nero? Russell Brand, Jonathon Ross and Cilla Black all spring to my mind...that is one picture I really do want to eradicate.Ughh!!
My vote after considering the above candidates would go to Tony Blair. Wars, discord, famines, distress and an acute sense of having been duped is the result of his time in office. It wouldn't go to Cameron who is a minor imp in the scheme of things. His job would be to polish the pitchforks or fetch coal alongside the other minions.Blair smiled and exuded goodwill as he lied and cheated you. If you caught him shagging your wife he would leave you demanding he carry on for the good of your marriage and the neighbours as you paid his cab fare home and threw in a free pizza with diet coke.
In the U.S. the highway agency renumbered Route 666. I think they got it wrong and the beastly highway is the A180. Noisy, full of rubbish and HGV's with the odd slow moving flat capped pensioner in a three wheeler. But is also officially the most boring stretch of road in the UK.* The ominous cracks one encounters occasionally opens up to belch forth sulphur and noxious fumes and a waiting demon to catch the unwary early morning commuter.





A180 road repairs.









TTFN.

* May contain erroneous made up material.

"Kredit krunch?
I prefer winalot".







I would love to say my absence from blogging over the past week was due to the IMF flying me over to various world capitals to solve the worlds financial problems. Sadly, I have been working but, at the more mundane task of assessing and helping the sad, bad, mad and lonely who are experiencing their own problems. If any of the pc brigade have a problem with the last sentence they can fuck off. We have had some genuinely mad people over the past several weeks, consequently we have been busier than busy buzzy bumble bees on a lorry load of spilt honey in an accident with a tanker of lager. Happily I am now on my hols here in sunny ingerland and I plan to walk on various beaches/ hills/ scenic bits and put my trusty camera to work. I may even blog some of the results (bear, catholic, woods, pope).
TTFN.

With all the news about recession and its impact upon us ordinary folk, I thought I'd have a wander around the fish docks and Freeman Street whilst walking the fleabag. Apart from the olfactory overload which put the pooch into seventh heaven the place was dead. Sicker than a Norwegian blue or an Icelandic banker. The docks does not surprise me but Freemo as it's known locally is freefalling into terminal decline. I wonder if our local MP Austin Seven has dragged his arse from his comfy Westminister seat to have a look at grass roots level the impact of the recession. Mind you, the blame can also be directed at the local councillors because the recession started in Freemo a few years ago. I would have taken photos of Freemo but the prevention of terrorism act stopped me. Al Qaeda mustn't be informed that bombs do not work but economic terrorism by bankers, accountants and financial advisors is a more effective weapon of mass destruction.
Every other shop boarded up with the obligatory glut of charity shops making up the rest. The various pawnbrokers and loan shops appeared to be thriving. I believe the local paper once ran a forum for suggestions as to the future of Freemo, inviting the public to make suggestions. Closure came top closely followed by Christopher Biggins. Well, two digits easily mixed up by members of the public voting for 'I'm a celebrity...'. I'll add my vote: Christopher Biggins skatepark and all year ice skating rink it is then. With trees and benches for the pensioners and unemployed.
TTFN.

I've wanted to do this for a while now. Put together some different versions of a favourite song and see how they compare. Starting with Ben Harper, here ya go....



I chose versions that interpreted the original and did not slavishly copy it



I hadn't heard the Cyndi Lauper version until this evening and it's not bad. The following version by Candy Flip I do remember and will undoubtedly upset the purists...



Which out of the above tickles your fancy?

TTFN.

I'm Free!

She's gorn...magic seats, spacious interior and ability to attract moronic twats with her shiney red paint. 37,000 miles of happy...ish motoring amidst the green splendour of rustic Lincolnshire. I now have to use the team pool cars with the bickering about fuel, rubbish in cars and who forgot to leave the car keys. I would say 'end of an era' but it was only a car and I am happy to have cut one of the ties to the NHS(mis)Trust. Foundation status will make it "more accountable, more inclusive" and more open to the eventual privatisation and gradual dismantling of the NHS. But with one less tie I'm free to consider other trusts as and when vacancies arise. Mind you, with the recession any jobs may be few and far between as money is saved by employing more bean counters and fewer clinical staff. Newly qualified staff are cheaper and easier to push around whilst experienced staff are worth their weight in gold, hence management preferences for newly qualified staff.
Talking of recessions I have been watching 'Are You Being Served' reruns on the net, a blast from the recession hit seventies. Marvellous. Nostalgic mental comfort food with typical British humour which has had me LOL at some of the antics.


















....and why not....

TTFN.

Just what I need...



TTFN.

The winner of the hairiest hair shedding hairball award goes to....cue drumroll...














It took me an hour to hoover the lease car out and she only goes in the back. But the hair goes everywhere. I brush her three times a week and still there is enough hair shed in the house to knit balaclavas for a regiment of our boys in Afghanistan.
I had planned to wash the car today but the rain did the job for me. It goes this week and I'll be sad to see it go but I am happier now to have the Postman Patmobile. No 1 hasn't yet reminded me of my promise to allow him to drive it on one of the old airfields but that'll come.
I have had to change my driving style to accommodate the 'new' vehicle. Slow, small but tall and I have discovered that I am driving a lot more slowly. Cue the moron in the vectra who sat on my bumper and then overtook me on a dangerous bend. I'm travelling at 60 mph but he is unhappy with this. Count to ten and deep breaths...however I couldn't resist laughing as I followed him slowly for the next couple of miles in the queue behind a large tractor. I even waved at him.














I do like cars with character although it stops short of madness (Reliant Robins, Ladas, etc...)and I believe the Suzi has plenty of character. Popular with the elderly hence an 'Oldsmobile' although sitting in Sainsbugs car park with No.1 and listening to Eminem. Even punks get older...
TTFN.

An enforced absence from work as a result of a poorly ankle and heel (medical jargon). No swelling but painful when walking and when I stand up after resting I can't immediately bear any weight on my foot. Ice packs and pressure bandages seem to do the trick. What has made this enforced absence worse is my ISP playing up and irregular access to the net. Afternoon TV is bloody dire. Murder she wrote, Dr Sloan and other assorted drivel. The pensioners, unemployed and the ill have very little power in this country as evidenced by the shite on TV whilst everyone else is working.
I'll keep this short as the ISP is playing up.
TTFN.