Prince Harry naked!!!

Good old Prince Harry! He's following the behaviour of his namesake of 400 odd years ago-King Henry V111. If you recall he was the King of England who after cavorting about with 6 wives engaged in lots of other sorts of riotous behaviour  (so we're led to believe anyway!) Some where or other I presume his behaviour involved him parading his manhood about the environs of Hampton Court. (I wonder perhaps if that's where the expression came from "Flashing your Hampton??")

Anyway that's by the by.
The' Sun'  newspaper the other day pictured the aforesaid Prince Harry (apparently) naked nearby a hotel pool in Las Vegas. The 'newspaper' stated that it was posting the picture and subsequent story  "for the public good and interest". WTF!!
 I wonder what good it actually does the good old British Public to see &/or have knowledge of the heir to the throne of the British Isles and Commonwealth bollock naked?? I for one don't care if Prince Harry walks up the Mall in London or goes around Birmingham's Bullring fruit & veg' market naked with an avocado balanced on his head!

I've said it lots of times before.......has the 'Sun' only limited numbers of reporters that its unable to send them to other locations around the world to report on what's happening...the unfolding tragedy that is currently Syria , the jail term imposed on the murderer in Norway-Anders Breivik not to mention the Euro crisis.
But who am I kidding?? Its the 'Sun' I'm talking about!! Gutter press par excellence!!

Dancing dogs

We don't watch much television in our house. Aside from the odd 'period drama' and documentary the programmes are generally shite, mindless & not worth the licence fee.
The channels available seem full of soap operas ( which all share in common a pub and alcohol) and lately trite performance shows such as 'Britain's got talent' & the 'X-Factor' These shows appeal to peoples innate wanton urge for fame at any price. People appear to crave fame, & appear seem prepared to go to any de-humanizing lengths in order to hopefully see their name in lights or make the front page of the gutter press. 
The winner (apparently) of the latest fiasco fame show AKA 'Britain's got talent' was wait for it....a boy with a dancing dog.
Jesus Christ on the Holy mountain!! Whatever next??
I have to state at this point that I have never seen this juvenile & his canine nor will I be in any rush to. However the media this morning have announced that the exhibition of dogs dancing publically will be banned & the dressing of dogs in garish costumes such as father Christmas, clowns etc will also be banned.

Whilst I agree with this-the whole concept of dressing up animals in 'human' costumes is bizarre, & the act of getting the unfortunate animal to perform for human gratification is beyond my understanding.
However, the act of 'banning' the practice causes me disquiet. There are far too many issues/acts & things 'banned' in the UK. Perhaps we should consider banning the UK's interference in other sovereign nations affairs? Never mind the bloody Dancing Dog!!

Part time work & other rantings...

Kate and I have just returned from a wonderful week spent with friends in Vernon-Normandy. To those of you who have never visited this part of France I urge you to go. It is beautiful, moving in the emotional sense, historical and the people warm & friendly. The weather too was blissful-the sun shone which enabled us to take the sea air, paddle in the sea and stroll along the prom' in the seaside town of Cabourg.

Whilst there we visited the beaches used in the 'D-Day' landings of 1944. We stood & gazed in awe,horror & admiration at the thousands of graves of young men who, were it not for them, I would not be able to type and rant as I do, & you dear reader would not be able to read these same ranting without fear of a knock at your door in the middle of the night.
These young men, some as young as 21yrs old, gave me the gift of their tomorrows so that I might be able to enjoy the sunshine of Birmingham today. Thank you gentleman. So much sacrifice, sorrow and so many ghosts hang in the air of the American cemetery nearby Omaha beach. The earth too still bares the scars of the horror of that period some 70 odd yrs ago.
All this caused by one mans' bitterness, paranoia & evil. And have we learnt anything??? The killing goes on... the young men die again & again.....

Now lets rant about part time working.
 I work 2 days weekly-employed by the National Health Service . Specifically I'm employed by an agency called 'Temporary Staffing" which is run by the local Health Trust. The title "Temporary" is a tad misleading-I've been doing the job for over a year now!! Whilst I was away I received texts messages -sometimes 5 texts daily-asking for me to work an extra shift at other locations in the Trust. I ignored them.
My point is this people: I work without a contract, I receive no sick pay if I'm off sick & I am not allowed holiday leave nor holiday pay-if I don't work I don't get paid. My pay is basic, I receive no shift allowance& no 'perks'.
Upon reflection I think that the NHS Trust is taking the piss. I feel that I am being exploited as are hundreds of other Temporary Staffing employees  employed by the Trust.
But what can I do? Its my choice. I love the work and I love the people I work with. Its a well documented fact that the National Health Service functions on the goodwill & morality of the staff employed within it.

On a much more cheerful note however..... whilst Kate & I were in Cabourg we came across a cat with what I can only describe as "attitude". Sadly I didn't take his photo-but I don't think a photo would have done him true justice.
Thus fella used to lie sprawled out in one of 3 places throughout the day on the approach road to the beach. He'd sometimes be washing himself or just lying there catching the rays.
Often I'd witness people approach him, attempt to stroke him, whisper sweet cat nothings to him & the odd person used to offer him the odd morsel of food.
The cat however, didn't budge. His ears went back, & he looked at the person with utter contempt. he seemed to look at the person who approached him with an expression that seem to say "Get the hell away from me....". Man, this fella had serious attitude.
There you go now. The Olympic Games are over, no surface to air missiles were launched...what was all the fuss about then???