Very pleasant walk round the outskirts of Wymondham this morning. It was a bright but very cold day. Lunch afterwards at Wymondham Railway pub.
Interesting article on the news about a new city being created as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Apparently something like 26 places are in the running ranging from the good to the bad and the plain ugly. One of them is Tower Hamlets in London. Sorry but TH is part of London which is already a City.
Looking down the list the best claim seems to come from Colchester from an historical point of view. Strikes me the place deserves to be a City.
Subjected to another nuisance cold call today although at least this came from somebody we have our car insurance with. But there is something quite unwholesome about being asked to pay for add ons with a company you are already with. In this case it was the AA who were trying to sell me legal protection and other bits and pieces that would total over £50. If I had wanted these services I would have taken them out when I took out the policy. Actually I feel sorry for these people who have to go through policies, identify people they feel have not paid enough and contact them. The AA is bad for this kind of thing. I can remember taking out a £25 recovery service in a special offer a few years ago only to find when I went to renew it that the cost would have been well over £200. I bet some people just pay that without thinking and without being aware. Nowadays you do have to be very aware of what almost amounts to a scam.
Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Monday, 30 January 2012
Manufactured Pop But It's Okay
There is an unbelievable number of things going on in our village at the moment. Today I tried to put as many on my village web site as I could and it took virtually all day. 2012 is going to be a huge year for fitness, sport, well being, health and the environment.
So pretty much stuck in the study all day. On days like this I need music to keep me going and today worked my way through a whole host of new releases through my Napster account. I wuite like the Lana Del Rey album Born to Die which I have been looking forward to ever since the release of Video Games. There is a lot of criticism of Del Rey for being a manufactured artist. But does this really matter? It has scarcely stopped Madonna or Lady Ga Ga. Del Rey is really common or garden Elizabeth Grant but the fact is that Video Games was an Internet phenomena and responsible for gaining the artist a major record deal. So the question is whatever her name is this a good album and the answer is yes. Del Rey has a sumptuous voice that has depth as well as variety. Okay the album falls far short of being a classic but it is half decent and in these times of so much dross that's probably good enough.
Other albums I listened to included Old Ideas by Leonard Cohen, Ringo 2012 by Ringo Starr, Hello Cruel World by Gretchen Peters, The Lion's Roar by First Aid Kit, Stage Whisper by Charlotte Gainsbourg, Be Strong by the 2 Bears and Barton Hollow by the Civil Wars.
Enjoyed the offerings of Gretchen Peters (morbid country/folk), First Aid Kit (Swedish female harmonisers) and Barton Hollow (slightly too country for me but still enjoyed it and was surprisingly impressed by their version of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean). 2 Bears was just too techno for my tastes and Charlotte Gainsbourg left me cold. So what about the two from aged Septuagenarians.
Ringo Starr is 71 which might account for the shortness of his latest album. It must have taken him ages to think of the title Ringo 2012. The album weighs in at a less than impressive nine tracks and lasts just 28 minutes and 51 second!! Take into the account that one of the pieces is a re-working of a 1973 song and another a re-working of a song from 1977 and you begin to think the guy was struggling. Add in the fact that he covers Buddy Holly's Think it Over and re-arranges Rock Island Line and the whole thing is beginning to look rather thin.
Then we have the obligatory song about his past in Liverpool. Whereas in previous albums there was merit in Liverpool 8 which spawned Liverpool 8 and Y Not which gave birth to The Other Side of Liverpool, this time around we have In Liverpool which is quite poor. The opening track Anthem is embarrassing with the opening lyrics "This is an anthem of peace and love/We have got to keep trying we can't give up." Sounds like the poetry of a 12 year old.
Ringo is just a youngster compared with 77 year old Leonard Cohen. His new album has garnered almost universal praise. I'm still not sure about Old Ideas. The thing that worries me about Cohen is the fact that bankruptcy forced him back into the music business - so money was more of a motivation than art. His voice croaks/talks through the pieces but there is poetry here and poetry that knocks Ringo's efforts into a cocked hat.
So pretty much stuck in the study all day. On days like this I need music to keep me going and today worked my way through a whole host of new releases through my Napster account. I wuite like the Lana Del Rey album Born to Die which I have been looking forward to ever since the release of Video Games. There is a lot of criticism of Del Rey for being a manufactured artist. But does this really matter? It has scarcely stopped Madonna or Lady Ga Ga. Del Rey is really common or garden Elizabeth Grant but the fact is that Video Games was an Internet phenomena and responsible for gaining the artist a major record deal. So the question is whatever her name is this a good album and the answer is yes. Del Rey has a sumptuous voice that has depth as well as variety. Okay the album falls far short of being a classic but it is half decent and in these times of so much dross that's probably good enough.
Other albums I listened to included Old Ideas by Leonard Cohen, Ringo 2012 by Ringo Starr, Hello Cruel World by Gretchen Peters, The Lion's Roar by First Aid Kit, Stage Whisper by Charlotte Gainsbourg, Be Strong by the 2 Bears and Barton Hollow by the Civil Wars.
Enjoyed the offerings of Gretchen Peters (morbid country/folk), First Aid Kit (Swedish female harmonisers) and Barton Hollow (slightly too country for me but still enjoyed it and was surprisingly impressed by their version of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean). 2 Bears was just too techno for my tastes and Charlotte Gainsbourg left me cold. So what about the two from aged Septuagenarians.
Ringo Starr is 71 which might account for the shortness of his latest album. It must have taken him ages to think of the title Ringo 2012. The album weighs in at a less than impressive nine tracks and lasts just 28 minutes and 51 second!! Take into the account that one of the pieces is a re-working of a 1973 song and another a re-working of a song from 1977 and you begin to think the guy was struggling. Add in the fact that he covers Buddy Holly's Think it Over and re-arranges Rock Island Line and the whole thing is beginning to look rather thin.
Then we have the obligatory song about his past in Liverpool. Whereas in previous albums there was merit in Liverpool 8 which spawned Liverpool 8 and Y Not which gave birth to The Other Side of Liverpool, this time around we have In Liverpool which is quite poor. The opening track Anthem is embarrassing with the opening lyrics "This is an anthem of peace and love/We have got to keep trying we can't give up." Sounds like the poetry of a 12 year old.
Ringo is just a youngster compared with 77 year old Leonard Cohen. His new album has garnered almost universal praise. I'm still not sure about Old Ideas. The thing that worries me about Cohen is the fact that bankruptcy forced him back into the music business - so money was more of a motivation than art. His voice croaks/talks through the pieces but there is poetry here and poetry that knocks Ringo's efforts into a cocked hat.
Sunday, 29 January 2012
Engrossing Tennis and Holiday Decision Time
Engrossed in the Australian tennis men's singles final around lunchtime today. Unbelievable match between Djokovic and Nadal. These guys have spent the last few years (along with Roger Federer) taking tennis to new heights.Supreme athletes with supreme skill. The result almost doesn't seem to matter as it's hard to take sides for or against such fantastic players.
Last night we came joint first in the Little Melton Village Hall quiz. Lost out on a tie breaker which was to name the two stations at the ends of the London Victoria Underground line. We got Brixton but not Walthamstowe. Respect for the other team for getting both!
The weather was good enough today for more gardening and another three bags of rubbish collected. We are still well ahead of where we would be in a usual winter and now are beginning the job of cutting things back.
Where to go on holiday this year. That's the question. With everything that is happening in the village and all my involvement it's getting increasingly difficult to pick a date. There are three short breaks we really fancy from an historical point of view. The first is a six day tour of Northern Ireland including Belfast - somewhere I have been wanting to go to for many years but never got around to. Then there's a five day visit to Dresden and Berlin - two more places I have wanted to visit and finally Krakow in Poland with a visit to Auschwitz included.
Norwich City have been drawn home to Leicester City in the fifth round of the FA Cup. This is a game they should be more than capable of winning and reaching the quarter-finals.
Last night we came joint first in the Little Melton Village Hall quiz. Lost out on a tie breaker which was to name the two stations at the ends of the London Victoria Underground line. We got Brixton but not Walthamstowe. Respect for the other team for getting both!
The weather was good enough today for more gardening and another three bags of rubbish collected. We are still well ahead of where we would be in a usual winter and now are beginning the job of cutting things back.
Where to go on holiday this year. That's the question. With everything that is happening in the village and all my involvement it's getting increasingly difficult to pick a date. There are three short breaks we really fancy from an historical point of view. The first is a six day tour of Northern Ireland including Belfast - somewhere I have been wanting to go to for many years but never got around to. Then there's a five day visit to Dresden and Berlin - two more places I have wanted to visit and finally Krakow in Poland with a visit to Auschwitz included.
Norwich City have been drawn home to Leicester City in the fifth round of the FA Cup. This is a game they should be more than capable of winning and reaching the quarter-finals.
Saturday, 28 January 2012
Wild About Hethersett and Newts on the Moon
So last minute change of plan meant we didn't have to choose a film to see yesterday. Instead went to the monthly quiz at Bawburgh Golf Club. These are usually over subscribed and so thought we had missed out this time around but an early morning phone call established differently. We came fourth or fifth which was disappointing as we usually finish in the top three and won the last one. Still another very good evening.
This morning I went to Hethersett Methodist Church for the launch of the Wild About Hethersett book - an excellent publication detailing all the nature witnessed in the village in 2011. The cost of the book has been part met by a bequest from dear old George Beckford who died a couple of years ago and left money in his will for a specific project in the village. George was a leading environmentalist and chair of the parish council and an all round top guy. He would have been well pleased with the book which acts as a scrapbook of biodiversity. Yet another example of Hethersett working together as part of a Big Society concept. Yesterday I launched a new section on my village web site to reflect all the excellent work in the village to improve sport, leisure, fitness, well being and the environment.
Went from the church to Norwich City's training ground at Colney to see the first half of the club's Under-18s game against Chelsea. Norwich were leading 2-0 when we left. Now I'm trying to thaw out as it is very sunny and bright but very cold (well it is still January). Interesting to see the five minute tirade from the Chelsea coach aimed at the referee at half-time. It probably surrounded Norwich's second goal. As somebody who has a diploma in sports psychology this kind of thing interests me. Basically the referee can do nothing about a decision that happened minutes earlier, whether it be right or wrong. The coach would have left his players on their own in the dressing room, would probably gone into them moaning about the decision and unsettling them even more when what he should have done was put the decision behind him and concentrate on working out how his side could pull back from being two goals behind.
And whilst we are on the subject of sport what on earth were England doing losing the test match against Pakistan when they required under 150 to win. Admittedly the Pakistan spinners were excellent but England allowed themselves to be psyched out of the game through negative tactics in trying to grind their way to the very modest total. They got bogged down. Had they have attacked the Pakistan bowlers they would have made them look ordinary rather than world beaters. Now we have lost the test series let's hope we adopt a more positive attitude for the final test in Dubai.
Fascinated to see that American presidential candidate Newt Gingrich wants to see a colony developed on the moon by 2020. Presumably only Americans would be accepted. And I thought I was the only person living in Cloud Cuckoo Land. Gingrich may not make it to the White House on policies but he does seem to have enough potty ideas to get there. He wants to make the moon an American state apparently. Maybe Gingrich had been at the alcohol hence the phrase p----d as a Newt!!
A friend said they had fallen behind with Eastenders and could I tell them what's been happening recently. Well basically Phil Mitchell shouted at people, Phil Mitchell hit some people, Phil Mitchell felt sorry for himself then Phil Mitchell shouted at people, Phil Mitchell hit some people, Phil Mitchell felt sorry for himself and then everyone shouted at everyone else and that's about it. Oh sorry forgot Pat Butcher died.
This morning I went to Hethersett Methodist Church for the launch of the Wild About Hethersett book - an excellent publication detailing all the nature witnessed in the village in 2011. The cost of the book has been part met by a bequest from dear old George Beckford who died a couple of years ago and left money in his will for a specific project in the village. George was a leading environmentalist and chair of the parish council and an all round top guy. He would have been well pleased with the book which acts as a scrapbook of biodiversity. Yet another example of Hethersett working together as part of a Big Society concept. Yesterday I launched a new section on my village web site to reflect all the excellent work in the village to improve sport, leisure, fitness, well being and the environment.
Went from the church to Norwich City's training ground at Colney to see the first half of the club's Under-18s game against Chelsea. Norwich were leading 2-0 when we left. Now I'm trying to thaw out as it is very sunny and bright but very cold (well it is still January). Interesting to see the five minute tirade from the Chelsea coach aimed at the referee at half-time. It probably surrounded Norwich's second goal. As somebody who has a diploma in sports psychology this kind of thing interests me. Basically the referee can do nothing about a decision that happened minutes earlier, whether it be right or wrong. The coach would have left his players on their own in the dressing room, would probably gone into them moaning about the decision and unsettling them even more when what he should have done was put the decision behind him and concentrate on working out how his side could pull back from being two goals behind.
And whilst we are on the subject of sport what on earth were England doing losing the test match against Pakistan when they required under 150 to win. Admittedly the Pakistan spinners were excellent but England allowed themselves to be psyched out of the game through negative tactics in trying to grind their way to the very modest total. They got bogged down. Had they have attacked the Pakistan bowlers they would have made them look ordinary rather than world beaters. Now we have lost the test series let's hope we adopt a more positive attitude for the final test in Dubai.
Fascinated to see that American presidential candidate Newt Gingrich wants to see a colony developed on the moon by 2020. Presumably only Americans would be accepted. And I thought I was the only person living in Cloud Cuckoo Land. Gingrich may not make it to the White House on policies but he does seem to have enough potty ideas to get there. He wants to make the moon an American state apparently. Maybe Gingrich had been at the alcohol hence the phrase p----d as a Newt!!
A friend said they had fallen behind with Eastenders and could I tell them what's been happening recently. Well basically Phil Mitchell shouted at people, Phil Mitchell hit some people, Phil Mitchell felt sorry for himself then Phil Mitchell shouted at people, Phil Mitchell hit some people, Phil Mitchell felt sorry for himself and then everyone shouted at everyone else and that's about it. Oh sorry forgot Pat Butcher died.
Friday, 27 January 2012
Tax and Breasts!!!
Relief today after having filled in and submitted my tax return - a horrible task self employed people have to do each year.
It ends up as a very complex matter, that is more than a tad confusing as well. The problem is that not only are the forms difficult to understand and fill in, the whole payment thing gets very confusing. Now that payments have to be made on account for the coming year the whole thing gets even more confusing. The worst part is the system works out the amount of tax you owe but doesn't take into account anything paid on account which you are left to subtract. Get it wrong and you get charged interest! It's all extremely complex and confusing. Certainly glad it's behind me for another year although at times I question what the point of working hard is when much of the money gets taken away. But I mustn't get started on the benefits situation or I would go on all day.
Which leads me to a subject that certainly isn't a benefit - breast implants. Call me old fashioned but I really don't see quite where this kind of cosmetic surgery should fit into human existence. We are what we are and should accept that fact. I hate being short but wouldn't want any kind of leg stretching operation. Feeling unhappy with your shape is all down to the consumerist and throwaway society we live in. It really is what you are inside and not what you look like that is important, although it is important to take a pride in your appearance. But taking a pride doesn't or shouldn't involve having your body carved about in so called enhancements.
There was an item on the national news yesterday that featured in quite graphic detail an operation to remove a silicon breast implant that had ruptured. The woman involved said "I always wanted big boobs" and then complained because she was having to pay for the implants to be removed. I can't see there being much sympathy for her in her financial loss. Why should the National Health foot the bill for an operation that should be unnecessary and is all centred around vanity? Yes I understand the psychological situation but I still come back to the point - be happy in your own skin and with what you were born with. Stop trying to fight the forces of nature. Take care of yourself by keeping fit, exercising and eating properly and let's leave the skills of the surgeon to necessary operations. Stop listening to the advice of fatuous people.
There seem to be so many good films around at the moment. Often you go months without anything of note and suddenly four or five good ones come out at once. Over the past couple of weeks we have seen The Iron Lady and War Horse. Today we have decided to go to Cinema City again but can't decide between the film about J Edgar Hoover, Shame, The Artist or The Descendants. Could be a late choice based on seat availability. I will let you know which one we decided on tomorrow.
It ends up as a very complex matter, that is more than a tad confusing as well. The problem is that not only are the forms difficult to understand and fill in, the whole payment thing gets very confusing. Now that payments have to be made on account for the coming year the whole thing gets even more confusing. The worst part is the system works out the amount of tax you owe but doesn't take into account anything paid on account which you are left to subtract. Get it wrong and you get charged interest! It's all extremely complex and confusing. Certainly glad it's behind me for another year although at times I question what the point of working hard is when much of the money gets taken away. But I mustn't get started on the benefits situation or I would go on all day.
Which leads me to a subject that certainly isn't a benefit - breast implants. Call me old fashioned but I really don't see quite where this kind of cosmetic surgery should fit into human existence. We are what we are and should accept that fact. I hate being short but wouldn't want any kind of leg stretching operation. Feeling unhappy with your shape is all down to the consumerist and throwaway society we live in. It really is what you are inside and not what you look like that is important, although it is important to take a pride in your appearance. But taking a pride doesn't or shouldn't involve having your body carved about in so called enhancements.
There was an item on the national news yesterday that featured in quite graphic detail an operation to remove a silicon breast implant that had ruptured. The woman involved said "I always wanted big boobs" and then complained because she was having to pay for the implants to be removed. I can't see there being much sympathy for her in her financial loss. Why should the National Health foot the bill for an operation that should be unnecessary and is all centred around vanity? Yes I understand the psychological situation but I still come back to the point - be happy in your own skin and with what you were born with. Stop trying to fight the forces of nature. Take care of yourself by keeping fit, exercising and eating properly and let's leave the skills of the surgeon to necessary operations. Stop listening to the advice of fatuous people.
There seem to be so many good films around at the moment. Often you go months without anything of note and suddenly four or five good ones come out at once. Over the past couple of weeks we have seen The Iron Lady and War Horse. Today we have decided to go to Cinema City again but can't decide between the film about J Edgar Hoover, Shame, The Artist or The Descendants. Could be a late choice based on seat availability. I will let you know which one we decided on tomorrow.
Thursday, 26 January 2012
Catching Up, The People of Abu Dhabi and Cold Callers
I have always liked the phrases After the Lord Mayor's Show and hoisted by his own petard to mention just two. Today was certainly an occasion for the former. Yesterday was such a busy and buzzy day in the village that today was always going to be something of a comedown and a day catching up on all my promotional stuff like placing yesterday's information and photos on my village web site at www.hethersett.org.uk, sending off thank you e-mails and photographs to individuals and supporters of the events and putting details on the new Archant iwitness24 web site.
So a day tied to my desk while England showed some sense of normality in the second test match against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi which reminds me of that awful Flintstones joke about the people of Dubai not liking the Flintstones whereas the people of Aba Dhabi Do - seriously strange.
For the first time in my life I have agreed with something said by professional footballer Joey Barton. I may have mentioned him before. He's in trouble again for tweeting and has just received another letter of warning from the dinosaurs at the Football Association. His crime this time was simply tweeting what he thought the results of matches involving Manchester United and Manchester City would be at the weekend. The kind of comments passed by millions every weekend. Problem is the FA think by telling us who he thinks will win Mr Barton could be compromising or having some affect on the outcome of the games - I don't think I've ever heard anything so ridiculous.
I seem to be the subject of regular cold calls - three in consecutive days from people wanting me to take part in surveys. They all come from India and start with the words "I am not trying to sell you anything." Well indirectly of course they aren't. But once they pass your details and contact numbers on to various other organisations I just know I would be subjected to rude hard sell once again. I'm afraid I told this morning's caller to p--s off. I really do view this as an intrusion in my privacy and it's particularly annoying when I'm in the middle of some quite intricate work that needs considerable concentration.
So a day tied to my desk while England showed some sense of normality in the second test match against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi which reminds me of that awful Flintstones joke about the people of Dubai not liking the Flintstones whereas the people of Aba Dhabi Do - seriously strange.
For the first time in my life I have agreed with something said by professional footballer Joey Barton. I may have mentioned him before. He's in trouble again for tweeting and has just received another letter of warning from the dinosaurs at the Football Association. His crime this time was simply tweeting what he thought the results of matches involving Manchester United and Manchester City would be at the weekend. The kind of comments passed by millions every weekend. Problem is the FA think by telling us who he thinks will win Mr Barton could be compromising or having some affect on the outcome of the games - I don't think I've ever heard anything so ridiculous.
I seem to be the subject of regular cold calls - three in consecutive days from people wanting me to take part in surveys. They all come from India and start with the words "I am not trying to sell you anything." Well indirectly of course they aren't. But once they pass your details and contact numbers on to various other organisations I just know I would be subjected to rude hard sell once again. I'm afraid I told this morning's caller to p--s off. I really do view this as an intrusion in my privacy and it's particularly annoying when I'm in the middle of some quite intricate work that needs considerable concentration.
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
Great Day in the Village
What a great day it's been in Hethersett and so many people to thank.
2012 promises to be an exceptional year with so many events taking place and so many people working so hard to make us one of the best places to live in Norfolk, in East Anglia and in the whole of the country.
Today saw the Active Norfolk pledge to fitness pod at Woodside Nursery and Infant School which gave local children and adults the chance to pledge towards improved health and fitness either on paper or via a simulated velodrome video link from within a tent like structure. High tec fun yes but also a serious side to it. Lovely to meet up again with Norfolk Olympian Paul Evans who wants to start an athletics group in Hethersett and has the funding to do so. Paul will be coming to the next meeting of Hethersett and the Meltons Sports Association to outline his proposals.
Then in the afternoon we had the official opening of the new playground equipment on Hethersett Memorial Playing Field. The equipment is in place thanks to the generosity and funding from the Veolia Group, the Geoffrey Watling Foundation and the South Norfolk Neighbourhood Scheme.
We had a very pleasant ceremony with Norwich City's Andrew Surman cutting the ribbon and then having his picture taken with and signing autographs for local youngsters. Andrew really entered into the spirit of the event and was an excellent ambassador for Norwich City Football Club.
Oh and he visited the school to pledge to help keep Norwich City in the Premier Division.
Many thanks also to Woodcote Sheltered Housing Complex for providing refreshments at the end of the event. It was a day that will long be remembered, but just the first of many such days we will see throughout this Olympic year.
2012 promises to be an exceptional year with so many events taking place and so many people working so hard to make us one of the best places to live in Norfolk, in East Anglia and in the whole of the country.
Today saw the Active Norfolk pledge to fitness pod at Woodside Nursery and Infant School which gave local children and adults the chance to pledge towards improved health and fitness either on paper or via a simulated velodrome video link from within a tent like structure. High tec fun yes but also a serious side to it. Lovely to meet up again with Norfolk Olympian Paul Evans who wants to start an athletics group in Hethersett and has the funding to do so. Paul will be coming to the next meeting of Hethersett and the Meltons Sports Association to outline his proposals.
Then in the afternoon we had the official opening of the new playground equipment on Hethersett Memorial Playing Field. The equipment is in place thanks to the generosity and funding from the Veolia Group, the Geoffrey Watling Foundation and the South Norfolk Neighbourhood Scheme.
We had a very pleasant ceremony with Norwich City's Andrew Surman cutting the ribbon and then having his picture taken with and signing autographs for local youngsters. Andrew really entered into the spirit of the event and was an excellent ambassador for Norwich City Football Club.
Oh and he visited the school to pledge to help keep Norwich City in the Premier Division.
Many thanks also to Woodcote Sheltered Housing Complex for providing refreshments at the end of the event. It was a day that will long be remembered, but just the first of many such days we will see throughout this Olympic year.
Top Fours - All a Matter of Choice
Somebody asked me yesterday to name my four greatest loves in life and put them in order. What an impossible task. Of course number one would always be my family, but excluding them and thinking more along the hobby lines they would have to be (in no order) - sport, music, reading and writing.
Trying to put them into an order is virtually impossible as it's difficult to separate them. I read about music and sport, I write about music and sport, so they are all intertwined. Suffice it to say they all give me incredible pleasure.
But of course each of those can be sub-divided. Name my four favourite sports. That would have to be football (soccer if any Americans are reading this), cricket, tennis and golf - all of which I have played to various degrees of success. Then there's reading and favourite authors. Well one would have to be Dickens but where do you go from there? As for writing well I like writing about virtually anything whether it be in diary form, poetry form or prose form. Give me a computer keyboard and I'm happy (probably might be a tad happier if it is attached to a computer).
That takes me to music which is obviously subjective and open to personal taste. I was very interested in the comments made by violinist Nigel Kennedy on Radio Two yesterday when picking his favourite pieces of music for "Tracks of My Years." Kennedy is renowned as a spiky haired classical violinist with rock music leanings.
Ken Bruce asked him about his favourite music and his reply was interesting. He basically said that to pigeon hole people and musical styles is wrong as tastes differ and most people have a surprisingly open mind about what they listen to with a huge variety of styles on their Ipods and MP3 players. As he pointed out, many people categorise music as either classical or pop whereas in reality there are two much more distinctive types of music - good or bad - irrespective of whether it's classical or popular.
In other words keep an open mind and listen to all styles and types of music. Today I have listened to English classical composer Patrick Hawes and Swedish alt country/folk duo First Aid Kit whose music is better than their name. It's a kind of swingalong harmonious country. Well worth listening to.
Interestingly the two tracks played by Kennedy were rather unexpected. - Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple and the sublime River Man by Nick Drake. You can't get two more different tracks than those.
Trying to put them into an order is virtually impossible as it's difficult to separate them. I read about music and sport, I write about music and sport, so they are all intertwined. Suffice it to say they all give me incredible pleasure.
But of course each of those can be sub-divided. Name my four favourite sports. That would have to be football (soccer if any Americans are reading this), cricket, tennis and golf - all of which I have played to various degrees of success. Then there's reading and favourite authors. Well one would have to be Dickens but where do you go from there? As for writing well I like writing about virtually anything whether it be in diary form, poetry form or prose form. Give me a computer keyboard and I'm happy (probably might be a tad happier if it is attached to a computer).
That takes me to music which is obviously subjective and open to personal taste. I was very interested in the comments made by violinist Nigel Kennedy on Radio Two yesterday when picking his favourite pieces of music for "Tracks of My Years." Kennedy is renowned as a spiky haired classical violinist with rock music leanings.
Ken Bruce asked him about his favourite music and his reply was interesting. He basically said that to pigeon hole people and musical styles is wrong as tastes differ and most people have a surprisingly open mind about what they listen to with a huge variety of styles on their Ipods and MP3 players. As he pointed out, many people categorise music as either classical or pop whereas in reality there are two much more distinctive types of music - good or bad - irrespective of whether it's classical or popular.
In other words keep an open mind and listen to all styles and types of music. Today I have listened to English classical composer Patrick Hawes and Swedish alt country/folk duo First Aid Kit whose music is better than their name. It's a kind of swingalong harmonious country. Well worth listening to.
Interestingly the two tracks played by Kennedy were rather unexpected. - Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple and the sublime River Man by Nick Drake. You can't get two more different tracks than those.
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
What a Grey Day
Grey, damp and cold - the kind of day when you want to pull your duvet over your head and hibernate rather than get up and face the elements.
Some strange items on the news today like suggestions that families that have two or more teenagers having to share a bedroom should be classed as homeless. Can't quite work that one out. I thought it was called growing up with brothers and sisters.
Then there was the young guy who was asked to pay over £2,000 for car insurance and, as a test, changed his sex (only on the form of course) from male to female and was offered the same insurance for £1,000. Sex discrimination he claimed. Not so said the insurers, young male drivers are twice as likely to have an accident as female. Make of that what you will.
So some bright spark attached a monitoring device to a young male's car to check his driving habits. Doh - do they not realise that with a device in his car he is going to drive very differently!!!!!
Then we had the wonderful U Tube clip (and apparently one hour's worth of additional footage is being uploaded to U Tube every second) where a classical violinist (name escapes me) was in the middle of a piece when a mobile phone went off. So what did he do next.
You might expect him to stop playing and get angry. Yes he stopped playing but he then started playing the ring tone with embellishments and more than a little twinkle in his eye - absolutely priceless.
Tonight we are off to the weekly quiz at Wymondham Railway pub. Tomorrow will be a big day in the village with a pledge to fitness day at the local Infants' school and the official opening of the new play equipment on Hethersett Memorial Playing Field. I have enjoyed arranging a short opening ceremony and will be at all the events with my camera, recording everything for posterity.
Some strange items on the news today like suggestions that families that have two or more teenagers having to share a bedroom should be classed as homeless. Can't quite work that one out. I thought it was called growing up with brothers and sisters.
Then there was the young guy who was asked to pay over £2,000 for car insurance and, as a test, changed his sex (only on the form of course) from male to female and was offered the same insurance for £1,000. Sex discrimination he claimed. Not so said the insurers, young male drivers are twice as likely to have an accident as female. Make of that what you will.
So some bright spark attached a monitoring device to a young male's car to check his driving habits. Doh - do they not realise that with a device in his car he is going to drive very differently!!!!!
Then we had the wonderful U Tube clip (and apparently one hour's worth of additional footage is being uploaded to U Tube every second) where a classical violinist (name escapes me) was in the middle of a piece when a mobile phone went off. So what did he do next.
You might expect him to stop playing and get angry. Yes he stopped playing but he then started playing the ring tone with embellishments and more than a little twinkle in his eye - absolutely priceless.
Tonight we are off to the weekly quiz at Wymondham Railway pub. Tomorrow will be a big day in the village with a pledge to fitness day at the local Infants' school and the official opening of the new play equipment on Hethersett Memorial Playing Field. I have enjoyed arranging a short opening ceremony and will be at all the events with my camera, recording everything for posterity.
Monday, 23 January 2012
The Reasons for a Health Kick
When I'm out and about in the village nowadays I try to leave the car at home for a number of reasons:
1/ Walking improves health
2/ It cuts down petrol costs
3/ It's good for the environment.
I think number one is the primary motive. I spend a lot of my time promoting health, fitness and well being in the village, urging people to cycle, walk and exercise. So it would be a touch hypocritical to not practise what I preach. It also all ties in with the aims of Hethersett and the Meltons Sports Association which has been in existence for a year next moth.
Mind you I'm lucky to be around today. Was just plugging a vacuum cleaner in yesterday when there was a loud bang and a bedside lamp exploded! It threw out all the fuses. I showed my prowess as an electrician, however, by repairing the damage and getting everything back working relatively quickly. Actually I waggled some switches and pressed some buttons and hoped for the best!
This morning I walked to the village hall to meet with the parish clerk to talk about proposed development in the village and then in the afternoon went to the library for some research. Other than that Monday is always my writing day when I get various web sites up to speed and also send newspaper copy over for the Norwich Evening News and the Wymondham and Attleborough Mercury.
Archant (a newspaper and magazine group) have launched a new web site called IWitness24 which opens itself up to contributions from the public - a kind of online publication featuring stories and photos sent in via the Internet. mobile phones etc. I sent a number of photographs taken in early morning Norwich and they have been published.
1/ Walking improves health
2/ It cuts down petrol costs
3/ It's good for the environment.
I think number one is the primary motive. I spend a lot of my time promoting health, fitness and well being in the village, urging people to cycle, walk and exercise. So it would be a touch hypocritical to not practise what I preach. It also all ties in with the aims of Hethersett and the Meltons Sports Association which has been in existence for a year next moth.
Mind you I'm lucky to be around today. Was just plugging a vacuum cleaner in yesterday when there was a loud bang and a bedside lamp exploded! It threw out all the fuses. I showed my prowess as an electrician, however, by repairing the damage and getting everything back working relatively quickly. Actually I waggled some switches and pressed some buttons and hoped for the best!
This morning I walked to the village hall to meet with the parish clerk to talk about proposed development in the village and then in the afternoon went to the library for some research. Other than that Monday is always my writing day when I get various web sites up to speed and also send newspaper copy over for the Norwich Evening News and the Wymondham and Attleborough Mercury.
Archant (a newspaper and magazine group) have launched a new web site called IWitness24 which opens itself up to contributions from the public - a kind of online publication featuring stories and photos sent in via the Internet. mobile phones etc. I sent a number of photographs taken in early morning Norwich and they have been published.
Sunday, 22 January 2012
Books, Manics and Loud Music
Before I go to bed at night I try to read for half an hour. As the years have gone by reading has become an increased pleasure and now new e-readers make everything so simple. I love downloading library books to my Sony Reader or books from the Kindle Store to my Kindle. They are so easy to carry around for the odd half hour waiting somewhere or travelling on a bus etc.
Just occasionally I actually read a printed book and libraries are still my favourite place to visit. I was able to spend an hour in Norwich's excellent Millennium Library yesterday. I love this building. Apparently it is the most visited library in the country. Many years ago the old library was destroyed by fire. Everyone thought it was a disaster. Thankfully thousands of books were saved but, above all else, a wonderful Phoenix rose from the ashes in the shape of the award winning Forum building which also hosts restaurants, archive centres and many other delights with regular sales and exhibitions in the large foyer.
It puts the old and new together in Norwich. Within a few yards you have the historic Guildhall, City Hall, the Theatre Royal, St Peter Mancroft Church and Norwich Market Place. Oh and that's not forgetting the very new Chapelfield shopping mall which is accessible by walking through a church graveyard.
So yesterday I took out a novel entitled "Richard" by Ben Myers which is based on the life of tragic Manic Street Preacher Richie Edwards who mysteriously went missing in 1995 and was presumed dead in 2008. I have never been a huge fan of the Manics but reading the first 100 pages of this book has tempted me to return to their back catalogue with renewed interest and particularly to their album The Holy Bible.
Edwards was a tortured soul - anorexic, a self harmer who suffered severe bouts of depression. He had very limited talent as a musician and often used to mime on stage. So where lies his appeal? Edwards was no Syd Vicious character. He was a humble man from a solid Welsh family background, erudite and intelligent, who got straight A grades and a 2:1 degree at University. He almost masterminded the lyrics and musical direction of the Manics but was always somebody who could relate to others suffering the same anguish as himself. I was particularly interested to read whilst doing some research that one of his most notorious incidents took place at the excellent Norwich Arts Centre which over the years, despite being a small former redundant church, has hosted some the rock musics greatest from the Manics to Nirvana, Muse to Coldplay, the Stone Roses to Kasabian and two of my all time favourite artists Judy Collins and Jimmy Webb. The incident in question saw Edwards carve the words "4 Real" into his forearm with a razor blade after an argument with DJ Steve Lamacq over the band's authenticity and values. The photograph of this incident has become one of the most famous in rock history.
Ordered tickets for the Maccabees concert at the University of East Anglia in March. Not only do we now have to pay a ridiculous £1.50 per ticket booking fee but we also have to pay for postage costs as well. I think shortly live venues are going to shoot themselves in the foot with these hidden additional charges. Anyway back to the Maccabees. Their latest album Given to the Wild is my favourite of the year so far, which admittedly isn't saying a lot. I'm sure it will be overtaken by a number of others as the year progresses but it is a half decent effort and they will be worth seeing live.
Loudness at concerts is one of my pet hates and it isn't my age. I love to pump up the volume with the best of them but when you go to see a live band and they are so loud that every song sounds the same and the lyrics cannot be heard over the noise it all becomes pointless. This was really illustrated last year when I went to see an American band called the Hold Steady. Sometimes myself and my mate take what we call "a punt" on bands. The Hold Steady were recommended by some mutual friends and are one of the favourite bands of Uncut magazine which I subscribe to. They are known for their literate songwriting. They were playing a small venue - Norwich Waterfront. I have to say it isn't one of my favourites. the acoustics aren't great and there always seems to be a preponderance for heavy bass.
We left the Hold Steady gig before the end (first time I have done this for many years). They were over the top, ear shattering loud and listening to them (if listening is the right word) was a complete waste of time. If bands want to be so loud and indistinct why bother to write lyrics. They may as well just scream into the microphone which is basically exactly what they were doing.
Sadly you can never be sure how loud a band will be. So I will report on the Maccabees and their volume control in due course.
Just occasionally I actually read a printed book and libraries are still my favourite place to visit. I was able to spend an hour in Norwich's excellent Millennium Library yesterday. I love this building. Apparently it is the most visited library in the country. Many years ago the old library was destroyed by fire. Everyone thought it was a disaster. Thankfully thousands of books were saved but, above all else, a wonderful Phoenix rose from the ashes in the shape of the award winning Forum building which also hosts restaurants, archive centres and many other delights with regular sales and exhibitions in the large foyer.
It puts the old and new together in Norwich. Within a few yards you have the historic Guildhall, City Hall, the Theatre Royal, St Peter Mancroft Church and Norwich Market Place. Oh and that's not forgetting the very new Chapelfield shopping mall which is accessible by walking through a church graveyard.
So yesterday I took out a novel entitled "Richard" by Ben Myers which is based on the life of tragic Manic Street Preacher Richie Edwards who mysteriously went missing in 1995 and was presumed dead in 2008. I have never been a huge fan of the Manics but reading the first 100 pages of this book has tempted me to return to their back catalogue with renewed interest and particularly to their album The Holy Bible.
Edwards was a tortured soul - anorexic, a self harmer who suffered severe bouts of depression. He had very limited talent as a musician and often used to mime on stage. So where lies his appeal? Edwards was no Syd Vicious character. He was a humble man from a solid Welsh family background, erudite and intelligent, who got straight A grades and a 2:1 degree at University. He almost masterminded the lyrics and musical direction of the Manics but was always somebody who could relate to others suffering the same anguish as himself. I was particularly interested to read whilst doing some research that one of his most notorious incidents took place at the excellent Norwich Arts Centre which over the years, despite being a small former redundant church, has hosted some the rock musics greatest from the Manics to Nirvana, Muse to Coldplay, the Stone Roses to Kasabian and two of my all time favourite artists Judy Collins and Jimmy Webb. The incident in question saw Edwards carve the words "4 Real" into his forearm with a razor blade after an argument with DJ Steve Lamacq over the band's authenticity and values. The photograph of this incident has become one of the most famous in rock history.
Ordered tickets for the Maccabees concert at the University of East Anglia in March. Not only do we now have to pay a ridiculous £1.50 per ticket booking fee but we also have to pay for postage costs as well. I think shortly live venues are going to shoot themselves in the foot with these hidden additional charges. Anyway back to the Maccabees. Their latest album Given to the Wild is my favourite of the year so far, which admittedly isn't saying a lot. I'm sure it will be overtaken by a number of others as the year progresses but it is a half decent effort and they will be worth seeing live.
Loudness at concerts is one of my pet hates and it isn't my age. I love to pump up the volume with the best of them but when you go to see a live band and they are so loud that every song sounds the same and the lyrics cannot be heard over the noise it all becomes pointless. This was really illustrated last year when I went to see an American band called the Hold Steady. Sometimes myself and my mate take what we call "a punt" on bands. The Hold Steady were recommended by some mutual friends and are one of the favourite bands of Uncut magazine which I subscribe to. They are known for their literate songwriting. They were playing a small venue - Norwich Waterfront. I have to say it isn't one of my favourites. the acoustics aren't great and there always seems to be a preponderance for heavy bass.
We left the Hold Steady gig before the end (first time I have done this for many years). They were over the top, ear shattering loud and listening to them (if listening is the right word) was a complete waste of time. If bands want to be so loud and indistinct why bother to write lyrics. They may as well just scream into the microphone which is basically exactly what they were doing.
Sadly you can never be sure how loud a band will be. So I will report on the Maccabees and their volume control in due course.
Saturday, 21 January 2012
Football, a horse and some canals
Sometimes a day is so busy that it becomes impossible to fit a Blog in. So although this Blog is dated 21st January it is being written on the 22nd, but it is still about the 21st (if that makes sense).
I told anyone willing to listen that Norwich would at least get a draw against the overpaid so called superstars of Chelsea. Just remember that any one of the Chelsea players is valued at more than our entire team and any one of their players will be earning more than our players put together. That should put the 0-0 draw at Carrow Road into perspective. Norwich battled away brilliantly and the reaction at the end from the crowd said it all.
Fernando Torres was tamed, Frank Lampard got injured and only Matta looked like a world class player and that was only on a few occasions. Norwich played as a team and manager Paul Lambert is the most tactically aware manager we have ever had. Not to mention I have won a free lunch from a bet on this game!!!!!
That set the rest of the day up nicely and in the evening we went to see Stephen Spielberg's latest film War Horse at Cinema City. In many ways it was an amazing film and certainly much much more enjoyable than the London stage play which we saw a few weeks ago. Unlike the stage version, this was easy to follow and understand and, despite lasting for almost two and a half hours, never dragged.
One of my least favourite words is "awesome" because it is totally overused, especially by young people. How many times have you heard them use it to describe something that is at best good and usually very often average (like a particular performance on the X Factor)? I think it probably comes from their lack of life experience. I try not to use it but have to say that from a cinematography point of view War Horse was awesome. Okay it's not the best film I've ever seen, it wouldn't even make my top 20, but the action shots are almost unexplainable. How the director and his crew got the horses to act in such a way is well beyond my comprehension. It is one of the few films I have seen that really underlines the futility of war as well with soldiers going "over the top" to be cut down by the enemy.
The film is also very clever in viewing the war from four different perspectives - firstly the perspective of the War Horse, secondly the British perspective, thirdly the German perspective and fourthly the French perspective. This turns the film into more of a narrative rather than just a film about animals and their part in the First World War. It shows the shared fears of British and German troops alike and the futility of that war is summed up in a beautifully crafted scene where a British and German soldier meet in No Man's Land to cut the hero horse Joey free from barbed wire. The two soldiers find common ground, chat like friends and shake hands. They share the futility of their position and the horrible waste of the conflict.
The futility is particularly underlined by the power of the British soldier going out of the trench under a white flag to try and save Joey the Horse. Having had most of their men cut down by the enemy in "going over the top" this one guy is entreated not "to be a bloody idiot." Here we are left to focus on one individual and his heroic/stupid act rather than the thousands who have already been butchered and massacred. It makes a very powerful image because it shows that the individual is important and not just canon fodder.
So having seen the play and now the film, all that is left is to read the book to complete the 2012 month of War Horse!!!
Somewhere on television, I believe it was yesterday, there was a piece about the poor state of bridges in Milton Keynes. It was pointed out that Milton Keynes has more bridges than Venice. How many times do we point out that something has more of something than Venice?
Birmingham continually points out that it has more canals than Venice, places are referred to as the Venice of the North, South, East or West and even in China we visited a city that was so unremarkable that its name escapes me. We were told that it is known as the Venice of the East.
Guys let's get this into perspective. Venice is unique. It is one of the world's greatest Cities and certainly one of the most memorable, unusual and historic. You cannot liken Birmingham, Milton Keynes or a random Chinese City to it because it wins hands down. With respect to Brum and MK just ask anybody where they would prefer to visit and I think Venice might just come out on top,.
I told anyone willing to listen that Norwich would at least get a draw against the overpaid so called superstars of Chelsea. Just remember that any one of the Chelsea players is valued at more than our entire team and any one of their players will be earning more than our players put together. That should put the 0-0 draw at Carrow Road into perspective. Norwich battled away brilliantly and the reaction at the end from the crowd said it all.
Fernando Torres was tamed, Frank Lampard got injured and only Matta looked like a world class player and that was only on a few occasions. Norwich played as a team and manager Paul Lambert is the most tactically aware manager we have ever had. Not to mention I have won a free lunch from a bet on this game!!!!!
That set the rest of the day up nicely and in the evening we went to see Stephen Spielberg's latest film War Horse at Cinema City. In many ways it was an amazing film and certainly much much more enjoyable than the London stage play which we saw a few weeks ago. Unlike the stage version, this was easy to follow and understand and, despite lasting for almost two and a half hours, never dragged.
One of my least favourite words is "awesome" because it is totally overused, especially by young people. How many times have you heard them use it to describe something that is at best good and usually very often average (like a particular performance on the X Factor)? I think it probably comes from their lack of life experience. I try not to use it but have to say that from a cinematography point of view War Horse was awesome. Okay it's not the best film I've ever seen, it wouldn't even make my top 20, but the action shots are almost unexplainable. How the director and his crew got the horses to act in such a way is well beyond my comprehension. It is one of the few films I have seen that really underlines the futility of war as well with soldiers going "over the top" to be cut down by the enemy.
The film is also very clever in viewing the war from four different perspectives - firstly the perspective of the War Horse, secondly the British perspective, thirdly the German perspective and fourthly the French perspective. This turns the film into more of a narrative rather than just a film about animals and their part in the First World War. It shows the shared fears of British and German troops alike and the futility of that war is summed up in a beautifully crafted scene where a British and German soldier meet in No Man's Land to cut the hero horse Joey free from barbed wire. The two soldiers find common ground, chat like friends and shake hands. They share the futility of their position and the horrible waste of the conflict.
The futility is particularly underlined by the power of the British soldier going out of the trench under a white flag to try and save Joey the Horse. Having had most of their men cut down by the enemy in "going over the top" this one guy is entreated not "to be a bloody idiot." Here we are left to focus on one individual and his heroic/stupid act rather than the thousands who have already been butchered and massacred. It makes a very powerful image because it shows that the individual is important and not just canon fodder.
So having seen the play and now the film, all that is left is to read the book to complete the 2012 month of War Horse!!!
Somewhere on television, I believe it was yesterday, there was a piece about the poor state of bridges in Milton Keynes. It was pointed out that Milton Keynes has more bridges than Venice. How many times do we point out that something has more of something than Venice?
Birmingham continually points out that it has more canals than Venice, places are referred to as the Venice of the North, South, East or West and even in China we visited a city that was so unremarkable that its name escapes me. We were told that it is known as the Venice of the East.
Guys let's get this into perspective. Venice is unique. It is one of the world's greatest Cities and certainly one of the most memorable, unusual and historic. You cannot liken Birmingham, Milton Keynes or a random Chinese City to it because it wins hands down. With respect to Brum and MK just ask anybody where they would prefer to visit and I think Venice might just come out on top,.
Friday, 20 January 2012
Why are Cups of Tea Always Nice?
Just been asked whether I would like a nice cup of tea. Have you ever wondered why nobody asks you whether you would like an ordinary or a nasty cup of tea? For some reason cups of tea are always designated as nice.
Which brings me on to one of my pet hates - the use of degrees of uniqueness. There are no degrees. Something cannot be completely or totally unique or almost or nearly unique. If it is the only one of its kind it is unique. If there is more than one it cannot be unique.
All this must lead you to think that today has been pretty boring. Not so. Spent the morning organising an opening ceremony for new play equipment on Hethersett Memorial Playing Field next Wednesday. Being a trustee of the playing field is another of my functions and an enjoyable one at that. Trustees look after the field and 2012 promises to be a bumper year for events - more of which later. We are trying to make the field one of the hubs of village life.
One of my ambitions this year is a minimum of 60 visits to the gym. Today was visit five so any more visits in January will be a bonus.
Now excuse me if I finish reading Are We There Yet by Ben Hatch. It's an enjoyable book about his family's 8,000 mile journey around Britain. Oh and it must be time for a nice cup of tea.
Which brings me on to one of my pet hates - the use of degrees of uniqueness. There are no degrees. Something cannot be completely or totally unique or almost or nearly unique. If it is the only one of its kind it is unique. If there is more than one it cannot be unique.
All this must lead you to think that today has been pretty boring. Not so. Spent the morning organising an opening ceremony for new play equipment on Hethersett Memorial Playing Field next Wednesday. Being a trustee of the playing field is another of my functions and an enjoyable one at that. Trustees look after the field and 2012 promises to be a bumper year for events - more of which later. We are trying to make the field one of the hubs of village life.
One of my ambitions this year is a minimum of 60 visits to the gym. Today was visit five so any more visits in January will be a bonus.
Now excuse me if I finish reading Are We There Yet by Ben Hatch. It's an enjoyable book about his family's 8,000 mile journey around Britain. Oh and it must be time for a nice cup of tea.
Thursday, 19 January 2012
Big Crowd cancelled!
Apparently they are expecting a big crowd in Dubai for tomorrow's play in the test between England and Pakistan. Sad they didn't tell the England batsmen who have just fallen apart and handed Pakistan a massive victory and I thought we were the top test team in the world.
Norwich City look as if they may just have bagged one of the best bargains of the season if they sign Jonny Howson. A midfielder in the style of Frank Lampard.
I understand that Hethersett has been nominated for a national Big Society award in recognition of all the hard work put in by so many people over the past few years. Watch this space as they say.
Norwich City look as if they may just have bagged one of the best bargains of the season if they sign Jonny Howson. A midfielder in the style of Frank Lampard.
I understand that Hethersett has been nominated for a national Big Society award in recognition of all the hard work put in by so many people over the past few years. Watch this space as they say.
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Politics - Such a Turn Off
Can't quite make my mind up about what is the biggest turn off - politics or the X Factor. Pretty close thing I would say.
To sum up the current political situation purely from a personal point of view of course. We have a prime minister who is not wanted, a leader of the opposition who is unelectable and a leader of the Lib Dems who is an irrelevancy. So just where do we go from here? Where are the people with charisma and where to the point are the people with genuine policies? I loved Ed Miliband's latest gem - expecting workers to take pay cuts to save their jobs. Dear Ed must be very naive if he thinks pay cuts will save jobs!! Of course everyone would love to voluntarily earn less whilst we are in a vast recession where things are hard but prices continue to soar. Mr Miliband has managed in one swoop to alienate the Unions and half his own party. Is this really a man capable of becoming Prime Minister? To me British politics are in a mess - fuelled by self centred arrogance where the man or woman in the street is expected to foot the fat cat bill whilst finding themselves in serious financial difficulties. What we need is a leader that stands up for the people, a people's champion and not somebody that toadies to the rich whilst selling the poor down the river. IMHO.
Last night's Hethersett pantomime Dick Whittington was the usual misx of colour and fun and thoroughly enjoyable. Much of the fun in village pantos comes from the fact that those on stage seem to be enjoying themselves as much as the audience and there are plenty of in village jokes. The best bits are where the cast forget their lines and start ad libbing. Hethersett village panto is definitely one of the highlights of the village year - two hours when you can forget your troubles and just have a good time.
To sum up the current political situation purely from a personal point of view of course. We have a prime minister who is not wanted, a leader of the opposition who is unelectable and a leader of the Lib Dems who is an irrelevancy. So just where do we go from here? Where are the people with charisma and where to the point are the people with genuine policies? I loved Ed Miliband's latest gem - expecting workers to take pay cuts to save their jobs. Dear Ed must be very naive if he thinks pay cuts will save jobs!! Of course everyone would love to voluntarily earn less whilst we are in a vast recession where things are hard but prices continue to soar. Mr Miliband has managed in one swoop to alienate the Unions and half his own party. Is this really a man capable of becoming Prime Minister? To me British politics are in a mess - fuelled by self centred arrogance where the man or woman in the street is expected to foot the fat cat bill whilst finding themselves in serious financial difficulties. What we need is a leader that stands up for the people, a people's champion and not somebody that toadies to the rich whilst selling the poor down the river. IMHO.
Last night's Hethersett pantomime Dick Whittington was the usual misx of colour and fun and thoroughly enjoyable. Much of the fun in village pantos comes from the fact that those on stage seem to be enjoying themselves as much as the audience and there are plenty of in village jokes. The best bits are where the cast forget their lines and start ad libbing. Hethersett village panto is definitely one of the highlights of the village year - two hours when you can forget your troubles and just have a good time.
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
Cricket, colouring and Poetry
Got up nice and early to catch up on some paperwork and to watch some of the First Cricket Test between England and Pakistan and what a disaster that turned out to be. Pakistan brought the spinners on after just six overs and had England all over the place with wickets falling at regular intervals. Were we really watching the world's number one test team batting? What made it worse was England won the toss and both sides agreed that it was a good one to win and a good batting pitch.
Mind you there was a more interesting game to play - spot the spectator. I swear I saw one at one point. Playing cricket matches in Dubai to a virtually empty stadium seems a pretty pointless exercise. There was scarcely any atmosphere. Then we were subjected to the thoughts of Bob Willis on Sky TV. Now in his time Bob was a pretty fearsome test bowler. He was good to watch. Bob the pundit looks ill at ease, wears badly fitting suits in the trouser department and gives a good impression of a startled rabbit caught in the headlights. He almost makes Nick Hewer, the new host of Countdown on Channel Four, seem interesting. Please note I said "almost." At least Countdown has the delectable Rachel Riley to act as Hewer's sidekick. Bob Willis just had Marcus Trescothick!!!!!
Talking of empty cricket grounds reminds me of a visit to Napier in New Zealand a few years back when we walked into their test ground to watch a first class match and counted the number of spectators on one hand!
Went on a very pleasant five mile walk around the Thorpe area of Norwich with lunch at The Cottage Pub. Visited one of my favourite areas - Thorpe Green - which I used to know as Whitlingham. Took some photos and enjoyed the January sunshine despite the cold. On the way back to the car passed an interesting Middle Aged lady with long bright blue hair. Obvious comment was "That colours not natural" (I'm quick like that). Second thought was "why would anyone of her age want to colour their hair blue? Why would anyone of any age want to colour their hair blue?" Green and yellow for Norwich City supporters I can just about accept but not BLUE.
Thorpe Green is very picturesque with the river area, boats, a train line running alongside and a green for picnicking (but not when it's cold). I was reminded of my impressionable youth when I wrote a hideous poem entitled "A Poem Influenced By Wild Swans at Coole by W.B. Yeats". It was set in Thorpe Green and included the following:
We came to that place where swans drink,
Their thirst an unquenchable feeling of desire.
The water lapping, quietly refreshing in its dignity.
Scenes of childhood in those swans
Solitude, love and emotions,
A craving to better myself.
Scenes of childhood when as a boy I watched,
Silently, gazing at the thrill of things unmeaningful.
The trains with steam hissing smoothly,
The quiet blue engulfing skyline
Encompassed by our complete world
A world within a world.
This evening I'm off to the Hethersett village pantomime which is always fun and goes back to the 1970s. Sitting in the front row I could easily be a target for the Dame or smart arse from on stage. If anyone has a go at me my retort will be sharp:
"I don't have to come here to be insulted."
To which the obvious reply from the stage will probably be "Where do you usually go?"
It will be quite late when I get back from panto so I will tell you what I thought of it tomorrow.
Mind you there was a more interesting game to play - spot the spectator. I swear I saw one at one point. Playing cricket matches in Dubai to a virtually empty stadium seems a pretty pointless exercise. There was scarcely any atmosphere. Then we were subjected to the thoughts of Bob Willis on Sky TV. Now in his time Bob was a pretty fearsome test bowler. He was good to watch. Bob the pundit looks ill at ease, wears badly fitting suits in the trouser department and gives a good impression of a startled rabbit caught in the headlights. He almost makes Nick Hewer, the new host of Countdown on Channel Four, seem interesting. Please note I said "almost." At least Countdown has the delectable Rachel Riley to act as Hewer's sidekick. Bob Willis just had Marcus Trescothick!!!!!
Talking of empty cricket grounds reminds me of a visit to Napier in New Zealand a few years back when we walked into their test ground to watch a first class match and counted the number of spectators on one hand!
Went on a very pleasant five mile walk around the Thorpe area of Norwich with lunch at The Cottage Pub. Visited one of my favourite areas - Thorpe Green - which I used to know as Whitlingham. Took some photos and enjoyed the January sunshine despite the cold. On the way back to the car passed an interesting Middle Aged lady with long bright blue hair. Obvious comment was "That colours not natural" (I'm quick like that). Second thought was "why would anyone of her age want to colour their hair blue? Why would anyone of any age want to colour their hair blue?" Green and yellow for Norwich City supporters I can just about accept but not BLUE.
Thorpe Green is very picturesque with the river area, boats, a train line running alongside and a green for picnicking (but not when it's cold). I was reminded of my impressionable youth when I wrote a hideous poem entitled "A Poem Influenced By Wild Swans at Coole by W.B. Yeats". It was set in Thorpe Green and included the following:
We came to that place where swans drink,
Their thirst an unquenchable feeling of desire.
The water lapping, quietly refreshing in its dignity.
Scenes of childhood in those swans
Solitude, love and emotions,
A craving to better myself.
Scenes of childhood when as a boy I watched,
Silently, gazing at the thrill of things unmeaningful.
The trains with steam hissing smoothly,
The quiet blue engulfing skyline
Encompassed by our complete world
A world within a world.
If you think that's bad you should read the rest of it which is actually worse. I'm glad you will never get to read the rest (whoops I forgot it's all on my family web site.
This evening I'm off to the Hethersett village pantomime which is always fun and goes back to the 1970s. Sitting in the front row I could easily be a target for the Dame or smart arse from on stage. If anyone has a go at me my retort will be sharp:
"I don't have to come here to be insulted."
To which the obvious reply from the stage will probably be "Where do you usually go?"
It will be quite late when I get back from panto so I will tell you what I thought of it tomorrow.
Monday, 16 January 2012
Varied Day
This was a pretty varied day with some highs, but also some lows with the funeral of a neighbour at Earlham Crematorium near Norwich. Another sad occasion, although lunch at the King's Head in Hethersett afterwards was as joyous an occasion as could be expected under the circumstances.
Before going to the service I popped down to Woodside School to take some photos for the Press of a cheque presentation to the Hearing Dogs for the Deaf charity. Then, after an afternoon of writing, went to the latest meeting of Hethersett Athletic Football Club of which I am chairman.
We always meet in the excellent facilities of Park Farm Hotel. Quite a difficult meeting tonight as there is a lot happening and so many things to sort out to keep our 14 teams running smoothly. We give competitive football to all ages from six to adult and both sexes and have eight youth teams, one girls team, two ladies teams and three men's sides.
The club has been in existence since 1991 and holds two national FA awards - one of which is for community involvement. I have been chairman for numeorus years and it really is like running a small business and relies on people giving their time freely. Football is just one of my sporting passions and just one of the things I am involved with in the village. I will feature more in subsequent blogs.
I recently wrote to Prime Minister David Cameron in praise of our village and its efforts in the field of well being, fitness, health, sport and the environment. My original letter got passed to the Cabinet Office and today I received a reply congratulating us on our efforts. Unfortunately the letter spelled my surname incorrectly which doesn't give me a great deal of faith in them if they can't get the basics right.
Must mention how much I have enjoyed the BBC's Sherlock series which puts Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson in contemporary London. Excellent drama.
They are still banging on about the portrayal of Maragret Thatcher as a confused old lady in the new film The Iron Lady. The only people criticising the film seem to be those that are embarrassed by the portrayal of Alzheimer's Disease. Anything that highlights this horrible illness has to be for the general good. It is not something that can be ignored or swept under the carpet. So let's continue to raise awareness.
Before going to the service I popped down to Woodside School to take some photos for the Press of a cheque presentation to the Hearing Dogs for the Deaf charity. Then, after an afternoon of writing, went to the latest meeting of Hethersett Athletic Football Club of which I am chairman.
We always meet in the excellent facilities of Park Farm Hotel. Quite a difficult meeting tonight as there is a lot happening and so many things to sort out to keep our 14 teams running smoothly. We give competitive football to all ages from six to adult and both sexes and have eight youth teams, one girls team, two ladies teams and three men's sides.
The club has been in existence since 1991 and holds two national FA awards - one of which is for community involvement. I have been chairman for numeorus years and it really is like running a small business and relies on people giving their time freely. Football is just one of my sporting passions and just one of the things I am involved with in the village. I will feature more in subsequent blogs.
I recently wrote to Prime Minister David Cameron in praise of our village and its efforts in the field of well being, fitness, health, sport and the environment. My original letter got passed to the Cabinet Office and today I received a reply congratulating us on our efforts. Unfortunately the letter spelled my surname incorrectly which doesn't give me a great deal of faith in them if they can't get the basics right.
Must mention how much I have enjoyed the BBC's Sherlock series which puts Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson in contemporary London. Excellent drama.
They are still banging on about the portrayal of Maragret Thatcher as a confused old lady in the new film The Iron Lady. The only people criticising the film seem to be those that are embarrassed by the portrayal of Alzheimer's Disease. Anything that highlights this horrible illness has to be for the general good. It is not something that can be ignored or swept under the carpet. So let's continue to raise awareness.
Sunday, 15 January 2012
Cold and Grey
One of those cold and depressing days when it just proved difficult to get going. I call this kind a mark time day when staying in the warm is preferable to going out.
It was cold and grey. Popped down to the Hethersett Memorial Playing Field in the morning to take a photo of our Sunday Men's side (Hethersett Athletic FC) who have been given a new strip through the continued generosity and support of Park Farm Hotel. Stayed to watch the first half which saw them drawing 1-1 with Hingham. Sadly I think they went on to lose the game.
Whilst at the playing field I took some photos of the new play equipment to send to Veolia who have met the majority of the cost. Also will be doing some publicity for the local newspaper on the coming official opening of the new equipment which will be on January 25th. The playing field is looking in excellent nick with the new equipment cut off from the playing area by a metal fence which will effectively stop dogs getting in to foul the area. Additional trees have also been planted.
Hethersett is by and large a very progressive village with so much happening and so many good people putting in so much effort. I like to think I contribute to that and over the next few days in this blog will be looking at and discussing some of my roles within the village.
It was cold and grey. Popped down to the Hethersett Memorial Playing Field in the morning to take a photo of our Sunday Men's side (Hethersett Athletic FC) who have been given a new strip through the continued generosity and support of Park Farm Hotel. Stayed to watch the first half which saw them drawing 1-1 with Hingham. Sadly I think they went on to lose the game.
Whilst at the playing field I took some photos of the new play equipment to send to Veolia who have met the majority of the cost. Also will be doing some publicity for the local newspaper on the coming official opening of the new equipment which will be on January 25th. The playing field is looking in excellent nick with the new equipment cut off from the playing area by a metal fence which will effectively stop dogs getting in to foul the area. Additional trees have also been planted.
Hethersett is by and large a very progressive village with so much happening and so many good people putting in so much effort. I like to think I contribute to that and over the next few days in this blog will be looking at and discussing some of my roles within the village.
Saturday, 14 January 2012
Iron Lady and Footie
In many ways I don't like praising services, being wary that at some time most things go to pot in some way, usually due to ridiculous cuts. Having said that the Norwich Park and Ride system is, at the moment, excellent.
Today we didn't have to wait a single minue to get on a bus either into or out of Norwich. So it takes away the hassle of parking in the city.
Started the day by going to see our son Matt's partner Emma who was celebrating her 23rd birthday. So it was cake and coffee before setting off for Norwich. Did some shopping and then had lunch at Morellos cafe opposite Debenhams. Visited Norwich Cathedral for a quilting exhibition which was sadly unimpressive and took just a few minutes to get round.
Went to Cinema City to see the Iron Lady - a thought provoking and very interesting film. Meryl Streep's portrayal of Margaret Thatcher was superb and certainly deserving of an Oscar. It is a difficult film to sum up. Much of it concentrates on Thatcher in old age and this has been commented on by current Prime Minister David Cameron who feels it is too soon to depict Thatcher's frailty whilst she is still alive. I disagree. It is a relatively kindly portrait where we tend to side with Thatcher in the light of some of the toadying male politicians and the sexist make-up of Parliament in the 1970s.
Although it is of course about politics it is more about manners, morals and the course of history. Many of the main events of the era such as the Falklands War, the Brighton bombing and the Miners' Strike are covered but it feels like this is just an aside to Thatcher's character, as if we are viewing her life through a vacuum set aside from the actual events. The power of the film is in not preaching. At the end we feel sorry for a sad, elderly lady rather than feeling angry at her policies. The film leaves us to once again make our own mind up as to whether Thatcher is one of the greatest leaders this country has ever had or a tyrant and autocratic leader that heaped misery on our country.
Left the cinema to find that Norwich had achieved another excellent away win - this time 2-1 at West Bromwich Albion. What price the Canaries to beat Chelsea at Carrow Road next Saturday?
An e-mail from American relatives brought a tear to my eye. My third cousin has become a grandmother for the umpteenth time. One of her triplets has had a baby boy and wanted to include a part of the Steward heritage within the baby's name. So they have called him Blake Owen. It is the second of these names that is the relevant one. My middle name is Owen, my grandfather's middle name was Owen and my eldest son's middle name is Owen. For years I believed it was due to a Welsh connection but some research showed that my great grandmother's maiden name was Owen. It's nice to know that the tradition has now moved to the USA.
Today we didn't have to wait a single minue to get on a bus either into or out of Norwich. So it takes away the hassle of parking in the city.
Started the day by going to see our son Matt's partner Emma who was celebrating her 23rd birthday. So it was cake and coffee before setting off for Norwich. Did some shopping and then had lunch at Morellos cafe opposite Debenhams. Visited Norwich Cathedral for a quilting exhibition which was sadly unimpressive and took just a few minutes to get round.
Went to Cinema City to see the Iron Lady - a thought provoking and very interesting film. Meryl Streep's portrayal of Margaret Thatcher was superb and certainly deserving of an Oscar. It is a difficult film to sum up. Much of it concentrates on Thatcher in old age and this has been commented on by current Prime Minister David Cameron who feels it is too soon to depict Thatcher's frailty whilst she is still alive. I disagree. It is a relatively kindly portrait where we tend to side with Thatcher in the light of some of the toadying male politicians and the sexist make-up of Parliament in the 1970s.
Although it is of course about politics it is more about manners, morals and the course of history. Many of the main events of the era such as the Falklands War, the Brighton bombing and the Miners' Strike are covered but it feels like this is just an aside to Thatcher's character, as if we are viewing her life through a vacuum set aside from the actual events. The power of the film is in not preaching. At the end we feel sorry for a sad, elderly lady rather than feeling angry at her policies. The film leaves us to once again make our own mind up as to whether Thatcher is one of the greatest leaders this country has ever had or a tyrant and autocratic leader that heaped misery on our country.
Left the cinema to find that Norwich had achieved another excellent away win - this time 2-1 at West Bromwich Albion. What price the Canaries to beat Chelsea at Carrow Road next Saturday?
An e-mail from American relatives brought a tear to my eye. My third cousin has become a grandmother for the umpteenth time. One of her triplets has had a baby boy and wanted to include a part of the Steward heritage within the baby's name. So they have called him Blake Owen. It is the second of these names that is the relevant one. My middle name is Owen, my grandfather's middle name was Owen and my eldest son's middle name is Owen. For years I believed it was due to a Welsh connection but some research showed that my great grandmother's maiden name was Owen. It's nice to know that the tradition has now moved to the USA.
Friday, 13 January 2012
Ed Sherran
I think I must be the only person in existence who finds Ed Sheeran dull and uninspiring.
He has been put forward for so many awards, his album is top of the charts and his concerts sell out in minutes, but I just can't understand the attraction.
Today I have been listening to James Taylor, Paul Williams, Phil Ochs and Jackson Browne. Now they can really write a good song.
He has been put forward for so many awards, his album is top of the charts and his concerts sell out in minutes, but I just can't understand the attraction.
Today I have been listening to James Taylor, Paul Williams, Phil Ochs and Jackson Browne. Now they can really write a good song.
Cricket, Music and Wimpdom
Yes okay I know Wimpdom isn't really a word but it does sum a certain part of my day up.
Started the morning by flicking through the Sky Sports channels and came across an absolute gem. Australian cricket opener Dave Warner hit the fourth fastest test century in the history of the sport - 69 balls. He destroyed the Indian attack and reached his century with a huge six.
The programme was only spoiled by the commentary team who seemed obsessed with getting Tony Greig to agree to wearing a Mankini. There's something very unwholesome about Middle Aged men trying to regain their youth and be trendy whilst they are just being sad. The image of 6ft 7in Greig wearing such a garment is too painful to think about.
Felt in rather reflective mood during the afternoon by playing one of my favourite all time albums - just an Old Fashioned Love Song by singer songwriter Paul Williams who is relatively unknown but wrote many of the Carpenters' hits such as We've Only Just Begun and Rainy Days and Mondays. Also re-visited Sweet Baby James, a very patchy album by James Taylor but one that contains one of my favourite all time songs "Fire and Rain." Some pieces of music just hit the spot with stunning lyrics. They don't come much better than "I've Seen Fire and I've Seen Rain, I've Seen Sunny Days that I thought Would Never End, I've seen Lonely Days When I could Not Find a Friend, But I Always Though that I'd See You Again.
As for the wimpdom well I should have gone to the gym but it was cold and wet so I chickened out although I did manage a two mile walk.
Started the morning by flicking through the Sky Sports channels and came across an absolute gem. Australian cricket opener Dave Warner hit the fourth fastest test century in the history of the sport - 69 balls. He destroyed the Indian attack and reached his century with a huge six.
The programme was only spoiled by the commentary team who seemed obsessed with getting Tony Greig to agree to wearing a Mankini. There's something very unwholesome about Middle Aged men trying to regain their youth and be trendy whilst they are just being sad. The image of 6ft 7in Greig wearing such a garment is too painful to think about.
Felt in rather reflective mood during the afternoon by playing one of my favourite all time albums - just an Old Fashioned Love Song by singer songwriter Paul Williams who is relatively unknown but wrote many of the Carpenters' hits such as We've Only Just Begun and Rainy Days and Mondays. Also re-visited Sweet Baby James, a very patchy album by James Taylor but one that contains one of my favourite all time songs "Fire and Rain." Some pieces of music just hit the spot with stunning lyrics. They don't come much better than "I've Seen Fire and I've Seen Rain, I've Seen Sunny Days that I thought Would Never End, I've seen Lonely Days When I could Not Find a Friend, But I Always Though that I'd See You Again.
As for the wimpdom well I should have gone to the gym but it was cold and wet so I chickened out although I did manage a two mile walk.
Thursday, 12 January 2012
Bravery and The Same Old Story
I was speaking to my cousin today and she told me that she thought there were some details of her father in law's war record on the Internet but she wasn't sure how to access the details. So I spent an enjoyable hour or so reading about the bravery of Squadron Leader William Cowan Ollason and his many decorations.
Squadron Leader Ollason, who I believe later became a Group Captain, was involved in 15 bombing raids over Germany and Italy. His bravery was rewarded with numerous awards including the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). On one occasion he managed to bring an aircraft home despite being bombed and losing colleagues.
Nice to read about a genuine wartime hero. It does underline the futility of war and loss of life, however. Whilst the British were bombing Hamburg, Berlin and Dresden etc the Germans were bombing Coventry, Norwich and London etc. Thousands and thousands of innocent people butchered in the name of obsession and power. The sheer futility of it all.
And talking of futile things it's getting round to American election time again. There seems to be some feeling that Barack Obama won't be elected for a second term. What on earth does that say about the man - even George W Bush got eight years in the White House?
I just wonder when disillusionment will finally set in with politics. Obama was heralded as the great American hope, the man who was going to make the USA great again. The fact he may fail appallingly makes you ask the question just when will a charismatic politician who also has great policies come along? How many times have we been promised a new golden age only to find that the new great hope is no better than what has gone before? The same happened in the UK with Tony Blair but ultimately it's always a false dawn.
Now we are faced with months of inanely grinning American candidates shaking hands, smiling as only American political candidates can whilst they promise the earth and subsequently deliver virtually nothing - that's the name of the game, all spin with little substance. What would I give for a political leader to concentrate on his or her own policies rather than just rip the opposition to pieces. The only thing that does is illustrate the lack of policies and the lack of original thought.
Squadron Leader Ollason, who I believe later became a Group Captain, was involved in 15 bombing raids over Germany and Italy. His bravery was rewarded with numerous awards including the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). On one occasion he managed to bring an aircraft home despite being bombed and losing colleagues.
Nice to read about a genuine wartime hero. It does underline the futility of war and loss of life, however. Whilst the British were bombing Hamburg, Berlin and Dresden etc the Germans were bombing Coventry, Norwich and London etc. Thousands and thousands of innocent people butchered in the name of obsession and power. The sheer futility of it all.
And talking of futile things it's getting round to American election time again. There seems to be some feeling that Barack Obama won't be elected for a second term. What on earth does that say about the man - even George W Bush got eight years in the White House?
I just wonder when disillusionment will finally set in with politics. Obama was heralded as the great American hope, the man who was going to make the USA great again. The fact he may fail appallingly makes you ask the question just when will a charismatic politician who also has great policies come along? How many times have we been promised a new golden age only to find that the new great hope is no better than what has gone before? The same happened in the UK with Tony Blair but ultimately it's always a false dawn.
Now we are faced with months of inanely grinning American candidates shaking hands, smiling as only American political candidates can whilst they promise the earth and subsequently deliver virtually nothing - that's the name of the game, all spin with little substance. What would I give for a political leader to concentrate on his or her own policies rather than just rip the opposition to pieces. The only thing that does is illustrate the lack of policies and the lack of original thought.
Wednesday, 11 January 2012
Film and Music
Listened to an interesting debate on Radio Two today following comments by Prime Minister David Cameron along the lines that the primary objective of British films should be as money earners rather than artistic losses.
This is an interesting debate as film director Ken Loach pointed out. When a film is released how can you judge how popular it's going to be with the public and how do you decide whether a film has more artistic merit than money earning power?
As Jeremy Vine pointed out it was pretty obvious that The King's Speech would be a box office draw as it had many of the elements of successful cinema - a good story, the Royal Family, top actors etc. The same can be said for the Iron Lady which covers an interesting era in British politics and also stars Hollywood great Meryl Streep. But as Loach pointed out who will be the judge of the money-making potential of a film. His own film Kes was seen to be a likely loss maker but did "quite nicely" and what about Slumdog Millionaire and "The Full Monty" both relatively low budget films whose success far outweighed their potential as earners.
To me one of the problems in our country at present is a stifling of initiative and art and this will be one of the great failings if British films only gain funding according to some committee or individuals whim or view. It was interesting to hear a second director whose name escapes me as I was driving at the time who said that he had deliberately been involved in producing a film that was set up to achieve funding. I can't remember the title but I do remember it being about Asian Lesbians cooking curry. The producer said the plot ticked so many boxes that money was thrown at it. It's almost certain, however, that it was a box office flop.
It seems at times that all we are concerned with in this country is box ticking and meeting minority quotas. I can see so many worthwhile films never seeing the light of day in the future that we could be left with a kind of X-factor of the film world where only the most benal films with little or no artistic merit see the light of day. I worry that standards will drop and we will lose the ability to surprise and amaze.
Lots of people have been having fun on Facebook recently by using a little gizmo that tells everyone what the number one record was on the day they were born. The British charts as such didn't begin until the 25th of October 1952 so I have always stated that the number one on my date of birth - 9th October, 1952 - was Here in My Heart by Al Martino. Now I find an excellent series of CDs has been released taking the charts back to more than 13 years previous. Apparently the first music chart show appeared on Radio Luxembourg around 1939 with the charts based on the sale of sheet music. So technically the first number one on the day of my birth was The Homing Waltz by Vera Lynn and Alma Cogan.
Today saw me keep up my New Year's resolution to cut my weight and improve my fitness by regular exercise. That means either the gym or a lengthy walk each day. Today I played golf. I always get more exercise on the golf course than my opponents simply because I hook and slice the ball more than them, which usually takes me on a rather circuitous route around the course.
This is an interesting debate as film director Ken Loach pointed out. When a film is released how can you judge how popular it's going to be with the public and how do you decide whether a film has more artistic merit than money earning power?
As Jeremy Vine pointed out it was pretty obvious that The King's Speech would be a box office draw as it had many of the elements of successful cinema - a good story, the Royal Family, top actors etc. The same can be said for the Iron Lady which covers an interesting era in British politics and also stars Hollywood great Meryl Streep. But as Loach pointed out who will be the judge of the money-making potential of a film. His own film Kes was seen to be a likely loss maker but did "quite nicely" and what about Slumdog Millionaire and "The Full Monty" both relatively low budget films whose success far outweighed their potential as earners.
To me one of the problems in our country at present is a stifling of initiative and art and this will be one of the great failings if British films only gain funding according to some committee or individuals whim or view. It was interesting to hear a second director whose name escapes me as I was driving at the time who said that he had deliberately been involved in producing a film that was set up to achieve funding. I can't remember the title but I do remember it being about Asian Lesbians cooking curry. The producer said the plot ticked so many boxes that money was thrown at it. It's almost certain, however, that it was a box office flop.
It seems at times that all we are concerned with in this country is box ticking and meeting minority quotas. I can see so many worthwhile films never seeing the light of day in the future that we could be left with a kind of X-factor of the film world where only the most benal films with little or no artistic merit see the light of day. I worry that standards will drop and we will lose the ability to surprise and amaze.
Lots of people have been having fun on Facebook recently by using a little gizmo that tells everyone what the number one record was on the day they were born. The British charts as such didn't begin until the 25th of October 1952 so I have always stated that the number one on my date of birth - 9th October, 1952 - was Here in My Heart by Al Martino. Now I find an excellent series of CDs has been released taking the charts back to more than 13 years previous. Apparently the first music chart show appeared on Radio Luxembourg around 1939 with the charts based on the sale of sheet music. So technically the first number one on the day of my birth was The Homing Waltz by Vera Lynn and Alma Cogan.
Today saw me keep up my New Year's resolution to cut my weight and improve my fitness by regular exercise. That means either the gym or a lengthy walk each day. Today I played golf. I always get more exercise on the golf course than my opponents simply because I hook and slice the ball more than them, which usually takes me on a rather circuitous route around the course.
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Truly Awful Television
Is it me or is the new host of Countdown Nick Hewer truly awful? He seems to be way out of his comfort zone and something of a sour and bullying presence, mind you that hasn't stopped Jeremy Paxman hosting University Challenge.
Whilst we are on television I think today it hit a new low. Just seen a promo for a programme showing women cooking their placentas. That's about as gross as you can get and the trailer was shown at 4 pm. The programme, and the title and time deliberately escape me, will also show how to make placenta prints.... Yuck.
Not everything is bad in tele land. Caught up today on Law and Order UK which is exceptional drama with Bradley Walsh in great form as a laconic cop.
Today I had to visit the dentist for my first filling for years. The numbness has just warn off, thankfully in time to take my son and his fiancee out for his 28th birthday.
Whilst we are on television I think today it hit a new low. Just seen a promo for a programme showing women cooking their placentas. That's about as gross as you can get and the trailer was shown at 4 pm. The programme, and the title and time deliberately escape me, will also show how to make placenta prints.... Yuck.
Not everything is bad in tele land. Caught up today on Law and Order UK which is exceptional drama with Bradley Walsh in great form as a laconic cop.
Today I had to visit the dentist for my first filling for years. The numbness has just warn off, thankfully in time to take my son and his fiancee out for his 28th birthday.
Monday, 9 January 2012
Joey's Rant
What a sad and troubled soul footballer Joey Barton appears to be. Tonight he has been ranting on Twitter and openly attacking people in general along with the Irish in particular. This really is the kind of mindless drivel we can do without. Racism and prejudice seem to be rife in professional football.
Tied up in Knots
It seems that UK tycoon Richard Branson got slightly tied up in knots when interviewed on Breakfast TV this morning about Virgin Money taking over Northern Rock. When asked by Sian Williams why current account holders were going to be charged a fee, his reply was that people could either pay a fee or not pay a fee which seems something of a contradiction. Sian Williams' next question was along the lines of "why would anybody voluntarily pay a fee" and Sir Richard seemed to struggle for a plausible answer.
He did get his own back when Ms Williams asked him a rather stupid question about the public being slightly suspicious that he had obtained the bank at a cut price. Branson is first and foremost a businessman. Was the interviewer really suggesting that he should have voluntarily paid more than the going price? It is unlikely that the man or woman in the street will care two hoots about how much Branson has paid for the bank. They will simply be interested in what kind of service they are offered and how rates compare with other banks!!
Glad and sad in the same breath at news that Neil Warnock has been sacked as manager of QPR. Glad because we no longer have to be subjected to the man's tirades about every team he plays cheating, glad that we will no longer have to put up with claims that Joey Barton is whiter than white, but sad because deep down Warnock is passionate about football and outside the game seems like a regular bloke. Sad also that he hasn't failed but has still lost his job despite taking his team into the Premier Division.
It was so warm and unseasonable today that I spent well over an hour clearing up leaves in the garden and didn't even need to wear a coat!! Buds are peeking through. I just hope they don't have a rude awakening as there is still plenty of time for the weather to turn nasty.
He did get his own back when Ms Williams asked him a rather stupid question about the public being slightly suspicious that he had obtained the bank at a cut price. Branson is first and foremost a businessman. Was the interviewer really suggesting that he should have voluntarily paid more than the going price? It is unlikely that the man or woman in the street will care two hoots about how much Branson has paid for the bank. They will simply be interested in what kind of service they are offered and how rates compare with other banks!!
Glad and sad in the same breath at news that Neil Warnock has been sacked as manager of QPR. Glad because we no longer have to be subjected to the man's tirades about every team he plays cheating, glad that we will no longer have to put up with claims that Joey Barton is whiter than white, but sad because deep down Warnock is passionate about football and outside the game seems like a regular bloke. Sad also that he hasn't failed but has still lost his job despite taking his team into the Premier Division.
It was so warm and unseasonable today that I spent well over an hour clearing up leaves in the garden and didn't even need to wear a coat!! Buds are peeking through. I just hope they don't have a rude awakening as there is still plenty of time for the weather to turn nasty.
Sunday, 8 January 2012
Hiding it Under the Carpet
Apparently Prime Minister David Cameron has praised the new film about Margaret Thatcher but expressed a view that, with MT still alive, it is too soon to feature the dementia angle. I haven't seen the film yet but would say that anything that raises awareness on the issues of dementia can only be a good thing.
Having experienced this terrible disease within my own family and spoken to many people with similar experiences, there is no doubt in my mind that there is still a lack of awareness and the care afforded in hospitals to the elderly is still poor.
So what the PM is in effect highlighting with his comments is a fear that greater awareness will reveal just how far his Government has brushed this whole subject under the carpet!
Somebody said to me recently that we still live in a civil service culture where arrogance is rife and where the phrase "it's the rules" usually overshadows common sense and humanity.
Having experienced this terrible disease within my own family and spoken to many people with similar experiences, there is no doubt in my mind that there is still a lack of awareness and the care afforded in hospitals to the elderly is still poor.
So what the PM is in effect highlighting with his comments is a fear that greater awareness will reveal just how far his Government has brushed this whole subject under the carpet!
Somebody said to me recently that we still live in a civil service culture where arrogance is rife and where the phrase "it's the rules" usually overshadows common sense and humanity.
Saturday, 7 January 2012
Typo Time
As if to illustrate how easy it is to make a typo. Yes I made one in my previous blog. It should have said that Ed Miliband referred to the quiz as Blackbusters. Whoops.
Also forgot to say that when visiting Cromer Church today saw a face from the past on some promotional material. Derek Osborne was rector of Cromer when I worked there almost 40 years ago. Lovely to see that such a nice man is still heavily involved in local life.
Also forgot to say that when visiting Cromer Church today saw a face from the past on some promotional material. Derek Osborne was rector of Cromer when I worked there almost 40 years ago. Lovely to see that such a nice man is still heavily involved in local life.
More Racism in Football
Racism continues to rare it's ugly head in professional football.
Last night Oldham defender Tom Adeyemi was visibly upset after being racially abused in the FA Cup match at Liverpool. This is a tough call. Tom is on loan to Oldham from Norwich City. I know him a little from his time at Norwich when we acted as landlords for a number of Norwich's academy players. Tom visited us on a couple of occasions. In addition Tom attended my old school The Norwich School. Tom is a highly intelligent and polite young man and it is easy to see how he would become upset. So in this situation we have a highly intelligent black footballer being abused by a moronic Scouser who just happens to be white.
The problem is just where do you draw the racism line and how far can players go in complaining against what is chanted at them during a match. Recently when Norwich played Tottenham, Spurs' world class player Gareth Bale was subjected to considerable verbal abuse. He got on with the game.
Ultimately football has to somehow end all obnoxious chanting and fans have to realise that swearing and chanting remarks at players whether they be racist or not should not be tolerated. The Liverpool fan should have been arrested for his racist remarks. Unfortunately matches cannot be stopped whenever a player is subjected to abuse. On those grounds no match would ever finish.It is the fans themselves who can put an end to the abuse by 1/ cutting it out themselves and 2/ reporting anybody guilty of unacceptable behaviour. Somehow I can't see this happening.
That leads us onto a rather ridiculous situation whereby Labour leader Ed Miliband has been openly criticised in his Twitter message about the passing of Bob Holness. Milliband's crime was to make a typo error in his message, calling Holness' quiz blockbusters instead of Blockbusters. Some newspapers went on the racist slur front again. Now I'm no lover of politicians but actually feel sorry for Milliband on this one. It was just a typing error, the same as we all make. I'm sure there will be typos in this message. To suggest it is racial is utterly ridiculous. The only crime the Labour leader has committed is not checking his message before either he or somebody else sent it.
Today we went to Cromer for a walk. It was cold but very bright. Missed Norwich's comfortable 4-1 FA Cup win over Burnley on the grounds that I expected them to get knocked out as they always seem to do in the early rounds of the cup. So at least a nice surprise there
Last night Oldham defender Tom Adeyemi was visibly upset after being racially abused in the FA Cup match at Liverpool. This is a tough call. Tom is on loan to Oldham from Norwich City. I know him a little from his time at Norwich when we acted as landlords for a number of Norwich's academy players. Tom visited us on a couple of occasions. In addition Tom attended my old school The Norwich School. Tom is a highly intelligent and polite young man and it is easy to see how he would become upset. So in this situation we have a highly intelligent black footballer being abused by a moronic Scouser who just happens to be white.
The problem is just where do you draw the racism line and how far can players go in complaining against what is chanted at them during a match. Recently when Norwich played Tottenham, Spurs' world class player Gareth Bale was subjected to considerable verbal abuse. He got on with the game.
Ultimately football has to somehow end all obnoxious chanting and fans have to realise that swearing and chanting remarks at players whether they be racist or not should not be tolerated. The Liverpool fan should have been arrested for his racist remarks. Unfortunately matches cannot be stopped whenever a player is subjected to abuse. On those grounds no match would ever finish.It is the fans themselves who can put an end to the abuse by 1/ cutting it out themselves and 2/ reporting anybody guilty of unacceptable behaviour. Somehow I can't see this happening.
That leads us onto a rather ridiculous situation whereby Labour leader Ed Miliband has been openly criticised in his Twitter message about the passing of Bob Holness. Milliband's crime was to make a typo error in his message, calling Holness' quiz blockbusters instead of Blockbusters. Some newspapers went on the racist slur front again. Now I'm no lover of politicians but actually feel sorry for Milliband on this one. It was just a typing error, the same as we all make. I'm sure there will be typos in this message. To suggest it is racial is utterly ridiculous. The only crime the Labour leader has committed is not checking his message before either he or somebody else sent it.
Today we went to Cromer for a walk. It was cold but very bright. Missed Norwich's comfortable 4-1 FA Cup win over Burnley on the grounds that I expected them to get knocked out as they always seem to do in the early rounds of the cup. So at least a nice surprise there
Friday, 6 January 2012
Round London with a Suitcase
Author Tony Hawkes famously went round Ireland with a fridge and wrote a book about it. Today I went round London with a suitcase but won't be writing about it - oh sorry I just did.
Today had a decided Olympic feel about it. Was gobsmacked when we checked the Olympic information having previously thought we hadn't been successful in getting tickets for the London games. But today showed that we have an amazing array of tickets including two for the opening ceremony, two for a day of athletic finals and two for a day of gymnastic finals.
After that news we had a morning walk through Hyde Park and then onto the Underground to go to Bromley by Bow to enjoy a two hour guided Olympic themed walk. It was a hugely interesting area. Before meeting up with our guide we wandered to the Lea Valley Park in search of a cup of coffee.
Failed to find coffee but did find the Mills Yard Studios and was passed by somebody I recognised. At first I thought it was someone from Norfolk but then realised it was actually film director Danny Boyle who is masterminding the Olympic games opening ceremony. I later found out that indeed Boyle has an office in the complex and works there three or four days a week.
The tour took us round the periphery of the park which still resembles a building site in certain areas. Plenty of work to do but it will be a very pleasant park once it is finished. Later visited the new Westfield shopping centre at Stratford before returning to Liverpool Street to get the train back to Norwich.
Isn't it incredible how you can walk past something hundreds of times without realising it is there. It took a Jewish friend of mine from Brooklyn to tell me that Liverpool Street station was the entry point in this country for thousands of Jewish children coming into the country in 1939 fleeing from Nazism. There are commemorative statues both inside and outside the station as recognition of the British people in potentially saving the lives of so many young people. Heart-warming stuff. My friend also pointed out that Liverpool Station is situated on the original site of the first Bedlam Mental institution. Certainly something to look into next time I'm in the area.
Spent the evening at the latest Bawburgh Golf Club quiz which our team won by five points - more glory.
Finally just to explain I had to cart my suitcase around all day in London which considerably lengthened my arms by the end of the day.
Today had a decided Olympic feel about it. Was gobsmacked when we checked the Olympic information having previously thought we hadn't been successful in getting tickets for the London games. But today showed that we have an amazing array of tickets including two for the opening ceremony, two for a day of athletic finals and two for a day of gymnastic finals.
After that news we had a morning walk through Hyde Park and then onto the Underground to go to Bromley by Bow to enjoy a two hour guided Olympic themed walk. It was a hugely interesting area. Before meeting up with our guide we wandered to the Lea Valley Park in search of a cup of coffee.
Failed to find coffee but did find the Mills Yard Studios and was passed by somebody I recognised. At first I thought it was someone from Norfolk but then realised it was actually film director Danny Boyle who is masterminding the Olympic games opening ceremony. I later found out that indeed Boyle has an office in the complex and works there three or four days a week.
The tour took us round the periphery of the park which still resembles a building site in certain areas. Plenty of work to do but it will be a very pleasant park once it is finished. Later visited the new Westfield shopping centre at Stratford before returning to Liverpool Street to get the train back to Norwich.
Isn't it incredible how you can walk past something hundreds of times without realising it is there. It took a Jewish friend of mine from Brooklyn to tell me that Liverpool Street station was the entry point in this country for thousands of Jewish children coming into the country in 1939 fleeing from Nazism. There are commemorative statues both inside and outside the station as recognition of the British people in potentially saving the lives of so many young people. Heart-warming stuff. My friend also pointed out that Liverpool Station is situated on the original site of the first Bedlam Mental institution. Certainly something to look into next time I'm in the area.
Spent the evening at the latest Bawburgh Golf Club quiz which our team won by five points - more glory.
Finally just to explain I had to cart my suitcase around all day in London which considerably lengthened my arms by the end of the day.
Thursday, 5 January 2012
It Took Some Time
A day or should I say half a day in London. Spent the morning filling out my tax return which is always stressful.
We were booked on the 1.30 pm from Norwich to Liverpool Street but it was cancelled at the last minute whilst we were having an overpriced coffee. So we had to wait another half hour. Was booked into first class - strangely cheaper than second class on the Trainline web site. Even first class had ripped and tatty seats. National Express provide a pretty flimsy service.
Eventually got to our Hotel near Hyde Park - very basic, that's the hotel and not Hyde Park. Had tickets in the evening for War Horse at the New Theatre in Drury Lane. Decide to walk the three miles in order to take in the Christmas lights of Oxford Street before they come down tomorrow. Thousands of others seemed to have the same idea. It was tough avoiding all those on mobile phones who seemed to be quite oblivious of anybody else being around.
One of the delights of London is eating at the small cafes that seem to be on virtually every street corner. They usually sell good food, cheaply and we found one right by the theatre.
As for War Horse. Well the staging was very clever and you really did think the puppets were real horses but ultimately I found it all rather disappointing with much of the second half pretty incomprehensible and much of the dialogue being muttered with too much German and French which just made it all confusing. The guy who played Albert had a squeaky voice when he got excited, which was quite often and midway through the second half I wanted them to shoot the damn horse so we could all go home.
The British characters were supposed to come from Devon but many of them seemed to have more of a Norfolk accent which was an achievement because on TV actors trying to put on a Norfolk accent sound more like Devonians.
Had another walk to get to our hotel as there was a signal problem on the underground so we got off a stop early at Lancaster Gate
We were booked on the 1.30 pm from Norwich to Liverpool Street but it was cancelled at the last minute whilst we were having an overpriced coffee. So we had to wait another half hour. Was booked into first class - strangely cheaper than second class on the Trainline web site. Even first class had ripped and tatty seats. National Express provide a pretty flimsy service.
Eventually got to our Hotel near Hyde Park - very basic, that's the hotel and not Hyde Park. Had tickets in the evening for War Horse at the New Theatre in Drury Lane. Decide to walk the three miles in order to take in the Christmas lights of Oxford Street before they come down tomorrow. Thousands of others seemed to have the same idea. It was tough avoiding all those on mobile phones who seemed to be quite oblivious of anybody else being around.
One of the delights of London is eating at the small cafes that seem to be on virtually every street corner. They usually sell good food, cheaply and we found one right by the theatre.
As for War Horse. Well the staging was very clever and you really did think the puppets were real horses but ultimately I found it all rather disappointing with much of the second half pretty incomprehensible and much of the dialogue being muttered with too much German and French which just made it all confusing. The guy who played Albert had a squeaky voice when he got excited, which was quite often and midway through the second half I wanted them to shoot the damn horse so we could all go home.
The British characters were supposed to come from Devon but many of them seemed to have more of a Norfolk accent which was an achievement because on TV actors trying to put on a Norfolk accent sound more like Devonians.
Had another walk to get to our hotel as there was a signal problem on the underground so we got off a stop early at Lancaster Gate
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
Count on Me
Now I am officially concerned that I might be a bit weird.
Have just been watching Deal or No Deal which is weird enough in itself. One of the contestants had everyone laughing because of his obsession with numbers. He explained that when out walking he picks a point in the distance, estimates how many steps it will take him to reach the point and then counts to see how close he can get. I do the very same thing although I take it a step further (please pardon the pun) by attempting to get within 10per cent either way of my estimation. Yes it may be weird but it stops walking getting boring.
Which reminds me. Been to the gym today and getting fit is really boring. The fitter you get the more running and cycling you have to do, which makes it even more boring.
Today I had a bit of spare time so re-visited two Pink Floyd albums - The Final Cut and Momentary Lapse of Reason.. Two very different albums. The first a Roger Waters obsession with war and the second a more typical Floyd album after Waters has left. I have now virtually reviewed all Floyd's albums on my family web site www.stewardfamilyweb.co.uk/pink.htm
Have just been watching Deal or No Deal which is weird enough in itself. One of the contestants had everyone laughing because of his obsession with numbers. He explained that when out walking he picks a point in the distance, estimates how many steps it will take him to reach the point and then counts to see how close he can get. I do the very same thing although I take it a step further (please pardon the pun) by attempting to get within 10per cent either way of my estimation. Yes it may be weird but it stops walking getting boring.
Which reminds me. Been to the gym today and getting fit is really boring. The fitter you get the more running and cycling you have to do, which makes it even more boring.
Today I had a bit of spare time so re-visited two Pink Floyd albums - The Final Cut and Momentary Lapse of Reason.. Two very different albums. The first a Roger Waters obsession with war and the second a more typical Floyd album after Waters has left. I have now virtually reviewed all Floyd's albums on my family web site www.stewardfamilyweb.co.uk/pink.htm
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
Stephen Lawrence
Good to hear that two men have been found guilty of murdering Stephen Lawrence. Justice at last but it really shouldn't have taken all this time. There should be no place for racism of any kind in our country. Attacking somebody because of the colour of their skin defies comment. It is what is inside a person that matters.
News that rail fares have gone up by 6 per cent. How can this be when there is a recession on and wages and pensions are being eroded? Is there any wonder that there is industrial action. If wages are pegged than fares and prices in general should be pegged as well?
Last year was the worst on record for scrap metal thefts from churches. Now the Government is being asked to tighten up on legislation with regards to the sale of scrap metal. Putting in legislation to capture a trail of sale seems to be an obvious and simple thing to do. So why is it taking so long to bring action?
News that rail fares have gone up by 6 per cent. How can this be when there is a recession on and wages and pensions are being eroded? Is there any wonder that there is industrial action. If wages are pegged than fares and prices in general should be pegged as well?
Last year was the worst on record for scrap metal thefts from churches. Now the Government is being asked to tighten up on legislation with regards to the sale of scrap metal. Putting in legislation to capture a trail of sale seems to be an obvious and simple thing to do. So why is it taking so long to bring action?
Too Windy to Walk
Well the proposed walk from Overstrand to Cromer was called off. After a number of very mild days and good weather woke up to high winds and driving rain. So abandoned plans.
A few weeks ago I wrote to the Prime Minister to obtain some national recognition for our village of Hethersett after we had been named Norfolk sports village of the year and Norfolk Champion of Champions. Thought we deserved some kind of plaudits for all the voluntary work put in by so many people and fitting in with his idea of a big society.
Waited sometime for a reply which eventually came from a minion stating that my concerns had been sent to the cabinet office for a reply. Do these people bother to read what they have been sent? I was asking for recognition for the work in the village on fitness and health issues and not expressing any concerns.
Also rather miffed that certain people in the village were nominated to carry the Olympic torch on its way to the London games in July. One person in particular deserves the honour for setting up a village Olympic committee and organising a weekend full of events over the past two years with an Olympic theme. He was turned down. Those that have been successful include the usual Lollipop school crossing person and even a woman who walked round her village hall for charity and a shop owner who has modernised his shop. Another example of decisions not being made on merit but rather on fulfilling quotas for the various categories.
A few weeks ago I wrote to the Prime Minister to obtain some national recognition for our village of Hethersett after we had been named Norfolk sports village of the year and Norfolk Champion of Champions. Thought we deserved some kind of plaudits for all the voluntary work put in by so many people and fitting in with his idea of a big society.
Waited sometime for a reply which eventually came from a minion stating that my concerns had been sent to the cabinet office for a reply. Do these people bother to read what they have been sent? I was asking for recognition for the work in the village on fitness and health issues and not expressing any concerns.
Also rather miffed that certain people in the village were nominated to carry the Olympic torch on its way to the London games in July. One person in particular deserves the honour for setting up a village Olympic committee and organising a weekend full of events over the past two years with an Olympic theme. He was turned down. Those that have been successful include the usual Lollipop school crossing person and even a woman who walked round her village hall for charity and a shop owner who has modernised his shop. Another example of decisions not being made on merit but rather on fulfilling quotas for the various categories.
Monday, 2 January 2012
Christmas is Over - Official
Christmas is officially over. Today we took down most of the decorations and all the cards. We have left the tree up because I understand it's bad luck to take everything down until Twelfth Night or January 6th.
Mind you we have already bought Christmas cards for next year in the sales. Next year I'm not doing any Christmas shopping. I will be buying things as I think of them throughout the year and have a large box which can be raided next December. It's called Being Prepared.
Mind you we have already bought Christmas cards for next year in the sales. Next year I'm not doing any Christmas shopping. I will be buying things as I think of them throughout the year and have a large box which can be raided next December. It's called Being Prepared.
Football, Music, and Getting Fit
One of my favourite games is trying to guess what whinge Neil Warnock will have after his team has lost yet another match. Today Norwich won 2-1 at QPR but rather than admit that Norwich were the better team for the second time this season Mr Warnock will go ballistic, blaming everyone but himself and his own players.
Joey Barton got sent off for violent conduct and guess what - he's protesting his innocence on Twitter. Of course Mr Barton is whiter than white. Message to Joey Barton - start acting like the intelligent human being you think you are and you might find life becomes more pleasant.
Strangely Mr Warnock is a person I would like to meet. Okay he's a nutter when it comes to football, but he seems to be much nicer outside of football. love to chew the cud with him on life, nature and the universe - in fact love to chew the cud on anything but football where he seems to become irrational.
First session of the new year in the gym. One down, 59 to go. Why is exercise so beneficial but so boring? If I sit at home and listen to music on headphones I'm totally happy. put me in the gym on a running board or bike and give me the same headphones and music and I instantly become bored.
On the subject of music I have been searching today for some new artists to listen to. Tried Cass McCombes and Kurt Vile. Okay in a fairly basic way but I ink the search will go on. thinking of all those poor souls who are back at work tomorrow. Personally I'm walking from Overstrand to Cromer along the cliff top with fish and chips in Cromer - it's a tough life but somebody has to do it.
Joey Barton got sent off for violent conduct and guess what - he's protesting his innocence on Twitter. Of course Mr Barton is whiter than white. Message to Joey Barton - start acting like the intelligent human being you think you are and you might find life becomes more pleasant.
Strangely Mr Warnock is a person I would like to meet. Okay he's a nutter when it comes to football, but he seems to be much nicer outside of football. love to chew the cud with him on life, nature and the universe - in fact love to chew the cud on anything but football where he seems to become irrational.
First session of the new year in the gym. One down, 59 to go. Why is exercise so beneficial but so boring? If I sit at home and listen to music on headphones I'm totally happy. put me in the gym on a running board or bike and give me the same headphones and music and I instantly become bored.
On the subject of music I have been searching today for some new artists to listen to. Tried Cass McCombes and Kurt Vile. Okay in a fairly basic way but I ink the search will go on. thinking of all those poor souls who are back at work tomorrow. Personally I'm walking from Overstrand to Cromer along the cliff top with fish and chips in Cromer - it's a tough life but somebody has to do it.
Sunday, 1 January 2012
Good day at the Races
Had a good day at Fakenham races with four winners, a second and only one longshot unplaced in the last race. Only my second ever visit to the course. Very compact and very crowded and big queues to put bets on which meant the odds of horses changed as we stood in line. On one occasion I had to watch helplessly as my horse's odds came in whilst I was waiting to get the bet on.
So a decent day and a real wish that 2012 will be kinder to our family than 2011 which was an horrendous year.
Thinking about my favourite albums and tracks of the year. Favourite album was a tough one and
probably a surprise choice for somebody very much into rock. I would have to go for the Glenn Campbell album simply because it was such a pleasant surprise with it's beautifully crafted songs and optimism despite the artist suffering from Alzheimer's. Track of the year came right at the end - When the Thames Froze by Smith and Burrows.
2012 is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens and I'm hoping to read as many of his novels as possible during the year.
Main hope for the year is that we all treat each other with more love and respect. Sadly I can't see it happening.
So a decent day and a real wish that 2012 will be kinder to our family than 2011 which was an horrendous year.
Thinking about my favourite albums and tracks of the year. Favourite album was a tough one and
probably a surprise choice for somebody very much into rock. I would have to go for the Glenn Campbell album simply because it was such a pleasant surprise with it's beautifully crafted songs and optimism despite the artist suffering from Alzheimer's. Track of the year came right at the end - When the Thames Froze by Smith and Burrows.
2012 is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens and I'm hoping to read as many of his novels as possible during the year.
Main hope for the year is that we all treat each other with more love and respect. Sadly I can't see it happening.
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