Wimbledon 2011

I not a fan of tennis. Never have been. I have memories of it when I was a kid of it being a game for Toffs. All that strawberries & cream served throughout the games not to mention the strange scoring system. I hate the bloody game.
But now its over for another year-thank God! What seals my dislike for the game is the rewards gained by the winners of this sport of toffs. The winners of the women's & men's singles each net a prize purse of (wait for it....) £1.6million GBP.
Now that is totally immoral &, in my opinion unjustifiable. When we consider that there is a famine going on in the Horn of Africa with thousands trekking miles for water & dying daily, how can we in the west live with ourselves? Its shameful. Western decadence at its worst. And its not limited to tennis alone. All sports appear to be dominated by money, money, money.
I used to as kid go to watch Aston Villa FC, & I still look out for the results of their games but there is no way I could live with myself knowing that the shower of shite who call themselves 'professional footballers' take home sometimes in excess of £200k a week.
Today I feel saddened.

Network rail....more excuses

We were fortunate in the UK the other to experience summer. It was lovely, the mercury in the thermometer reached a dizzy 29degrees C! People walked about in shorts & shirt sleeves, the cat, (God help him in his black fur coat) spent most of the day stretched out under a shady shrub in the back garden. Cool lager and salads were the order of the day.
But not for those poor sods who had to travel via train. As usual the trains weren't only late, they were (lots of 'em) cancelled. Now in the autumn Network Rail cancels trains because of leaves on the tracks (honest, no shit). In the deep mid winter they cancel trains because either the points are frozen or their is snow on the track. (you do find that in winter in the Northern hemisphere strangely enough)
But the reasons for the cancellations last week were the best yet. Network Rail announced that they....."were forced to cancel trains because the overhead power lines were either melting and at best wen't functioning correctly..."
Brilliant!! I have to ask though what happens in places like India were summer tempetures are in excess of 35 degrees C?? As far as I'm aware the trains continue to run.
Network Rail...get yer act together!! We pay a small fortune to use your third world service the least you can do is give us a service &/or offer us a plausible reason why you can't.

The Public Service strike on June 30th-comments made by Francis Maud M.P.

Our comrades in the teaching  and public service unions are going on strike on June 30th. They're striking because Cameron & his Judas catamite boy plan to increase the amount the workers contribute to their pension and for teachers increase their retirement age to 68years of age.
I listened to Francis Maud, Conservative member of parliament for Horsham, on BBC radio 4 this morning, and quite honestly what he said he said like a utter twat. He wants teachers to work til their 68yrs old, said he is concerned about the effect the strike will have upon single parents and here's the best...he said that parents could work voluntary in schools on the day of the strike.
OK. Let me deal with his points one by one: He said that teachers should work 'til their 69yrs old. My daughter works in a jungle of a secondary school in inner city York. She leaves the school at approximately 1645hrs (the kids leave at 1530hrs) She spends this time at school doing work she is unable to do during the day. She has to meet with colleagues, act as a social worker for those kids with special needs & family issues as well as deal with dysfunctional parents.When she gets home she has marking, lesson planning etc to complete. By the end of the week she is shagged out physically, emotionally & intellectually. She is not alone in this either.
Can you imagine how a teacher are going to feel by the time they reach 68yrs old??!!
Secondly, its very heartwarming to here Mr Maud expressing concern for the plight of single parents-the bloody hypocrite! His Government is the one that  ACTUALLY CLOSED CHILDREN'S CENTRE'S.
Finally; is Mr. Maud for real?? Bring parents into work voluntary when the teachers are on strike? I assume of course that every parent who chooses/offers their services will be in possession of a full CRB (criminal records bureau). I think not. Its a  paedophiles dream come true!
Mr. Maud you're a plonker.
Power to the people!!!!

A poem of W B Yeats

WHEN YOU ARE OLD

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,

And nodding by the fire, take down this book,

And slowly read, and dream of the soft look

Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,

And loved your beauty with love false or true,

But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,

And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,

Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled

And paced upon the mountains overhead

                                                      And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

Further evidence of the 'Nanny State'

As if we needed further evidence that the 'nanny State' is alive  & well look no further than than the esteemed College of Psychiatrists who, in a report today, announced that people over 65yrs of age should limit their alcohol intake to 1 half pint of beer a day for men & women.
Now come on lads..... When your 65 a number of factors have to be considered: Firstly when you've reached 65 years of age & worked (if you're bloody lucky in this country) you should be entitled to a binge at least weekly! Secondly, there are a lot of people (65yrs & under) who  (& I'm aware its a bad choice) use alcohol as a mask to hide from the shit life that the Coalition Government /the bastard bankers have gotten us into.

It our choice. If we wanna pickle ourselves in a lake of booze then its our call.
Typical of this Government-Protecting us from ourselves.

Fathers Day #2

Fathers Day came & went. The kids treated me to card, dinner out & a cookbook from my daughter in Yorkshire. However my opinion of the memorial day remains the same though.
If I sound bitter perhaps I am; a bitter, grumpy old man. Having that knowledge saddens me abit to be honest. I shouldn't be to be fair.  I have a home-paid for, 3 loving children & no great money worries in a land beset with debt & unemployment.I have 3 children all in full time employment so...
But if I might be permitted a moan.....Retirement, (even though I'm only 58years old) hasn't turn out what my idealistic head & heart thought it would turn out to be. I'm working harder than when I was in full time employment. I work 2 days weekly in payed employment & spend the other time caring for my dysfunctional mother. Mind you, I learnt so much about her of late-her personality, her relationship with my father, her mother, & my brother & me. I've discovered that I was 'given away' as child to my maternal granny to replace an illegitimate son killed in the Birmingham Blitz of 1941. How does that cause me to feel??- Confused, bitter & explains  to me why I feel very alone at times.
Mom seems to have a degree of developmental (nutritional) mild learning disability, deprived of certain nutriments as a young child, which is becoming more obvious now she is elderly. I reflect upon my growing years with her & I can see the signs now.She presents some personality disorder traits. That's not as bad as it sounds folks, cos' its my belief that WE'RE ALL on a line of personality disorder(s). Some of us more extreme & dysfunctional than others.
I'll end of this note then.... how many of us can honestly say that we are happy & satisfied??.

     

The Birmingham Blitz

This made me chuckle

http://youtu.be/h6CcxJQq1x8

For anyone who likes cats I think this TV commercial will give you a chuckle too!