Month: August 2020

The Chancellor is under pressure from the IFS to increase taxes in his next budget to cover the losses during the pandemic and reduce borrowing. It’s been suggested that this could be done by increasing tax on fuel and raising council tax on more expensive properties. Maybe they could start by stopping tax havens abroad for companies trading in the UK and in fact stop the many loopholes for the super rich enabling them to avoid paying what they should. Poor old Joe Bloggs who goes out to work and has his tax stopped before his money reaches him doesn’t benefit from any loopholes.

It seems that volunteers have been doing a bit of a clear up on Snowdon and have collected 200 bags of rubbish. In June when Bournemouth was invaded by a load of louts, volunteers and council workers collected 41 tonnes of rubbish from Bournemouth beaches, I think bigger on the spot fines need to be imposed although how you impose it I’m not sure. Maybe people need to be encouraged to take and post photos of people rubbishing our countryside. Webcams are working on the road so why not?

French railway has been suffering from electrical problems leaving travellers stuck on trains for more than 24 hours. Not a pleasant experience in an overcrowded carriage. food and water have run out and so has loo paper. Lovely, just what you need when you are trying to get home or away. Some trains were able to return to their departure point and passengers transferred to buses.

That well known strip of land almost surrounded by water known as Mudeford Spit between Bournemouth and Christchurch is back in the news. The beach huts are very popular there and can be sold for large sums of money. There are no cars allowed and the views are fabulous. There was a restaurant but it burnt down and now there are plans to build a bigger and better one. The beach hut owners are furious saying it will be too high and will spoil the look of the place. Doesn’t look that bad in the photos The upper floor is made up of three pitched roofs but as there are no huts in front or behind I can’t see the problem. Still I haven’t spent £300,000 on buying one.

In the US 100 Black Lives Matter supporters have purchased one hundred acres of land in Georgia to build a new city. Well, that’s how America was built when it was first colonised. Sounds like a fine idea and their hope is for it to be an environmentally sustainable community. I’m not sure that apartheid, no matter how well intentioned, is a long term solution to all people living together in harmony.

Their was a great video, although a bit scary, of a small child being carried way up into the air by a kite. It happened at a kite festival in Taiwan. Although the child was twirled around for a few seconds 30 feet in the air she landed and happily was unhurt. Nighty night. 😴💤😴

I had a trip out today to Pallington near Dorchester to have a look around Sculptures by the Lakes. I had heard it was good but it definitely exceeded all expectations. We had to book online before leaving home and I’m guessing they have limited number of people due to the virus. There were people there but it is spacious, easy to walk around, very beautiful and the statues are stunning. It is partly wooded so there is shade and there are also plenty of places to sit and rest your feet if you wish to do so. We found benches in all shapes and sizes, swing chairs and picnic areas. Statues are set in the lakes and nestled in the gardens. I’ve posted a few pictures on my FaceBook page but they don’t do it justice. I’ll certainly go again.

Yesterday’s rally in Trafalgar Square saw one pensioner getting arrested and fined £10,000 for breaking the new coronavirus laws. It turned out that the pensioner in question was Piers Corbyn brother of the once upon a time labour leader. He was branded by the arresting officers as the organiser of the rally. Piers said he wouldn’t pay the fine. The law he was breaking was holding a gathering of more than thirty people. Yes, I read there were a few thousand. Who will be proven right at the end of this pandemic and what will we have learnt? In South Wales the leaders of an illegal rave have also been fined £10,000. There were about three thousand people that had attended and I’m wondering how much they each paid. I’ve never been to a rave so I’m definitely out of touch on this one, is it too late?. I’ll have to ask the grandchildren – how much not whether it’s too late for me.

A man won 140 million pounds on the euro lotto but it doesn’t seem to have brought him much happiness or luck. Eighteen months later he was getting divorced and no doubt his wife got a big chunk of his winnings. He’s had a few girlfriends who have accepted lots of gifts but then moved on taking the gifts with them. The winner had bought a large mansion for a few million but it is now on the market and squatters have been helping themselves to the use of his pool and leisure centre. It’s not easy being a millionaire, thank goodness that my ticket only won £30 this week and that’s to be divided among a syndicate of three, and no you can’t have a loan.

Life changed for most people during the pandemic and that includes life models who were no longer allowed to pose for artists. The rule has now been lifted and the models will be able to pose in their birthday suit. One place that will be welcoming back the artists and models is the Chocolate Cafe in Canterbury. However, they will be keeping to social distancing and there is one new rule, the models can strip off but will have to wear a face mask.  My bed beckons, goodnight.😴💤😴

 

 

Thousands of protestors were in and around Trafalgar Square today many of them claiming that the coronavirus is a conspiracy. Some were against having to wear a mask and others against maybe having to have a vaccination. The conspiracy theorists are the ones that amuse me the most. They absolutely refuse to believe there is a major pandemic that needs to be halted in spite of 850,000 deaths worldwide. They’re probably the same ones who tried to convince me they had the cure for cancer when my family was suffering from the disease. One suggestion I got was to eat nothing but apricot kernels. Another person offered to lend me a book which would explain how to cure terminal cancer. They all seemed to believe the doctors were part of a conspiracy to not cure it.

Others who think that covid is a lie were having a party in Burnley, Lancashire. The police were called to break up the revellers at just after 7 in the morning today. They were all very drunk after a night long party and obviously not maintaining any social distancing. It’s all a conspiracy though and apparently Bill Gates is to blame. I bet he’s sorry he ever gave that Ted Talk.

Spain has had a bad time with fires. In Madrid today there were some frightening videos of a fire in the top of a block of flats in madrid. The three top floors were ablaze and firefighters fought it with hoses attached to cranes and helicopters. The whole building was evacuated as soon as the emergency was declared and no one was hurt. Meanwhile in the Costa del Sol fire swept through a holiday village after flames crossed the motorway from a field that had caught fire. Photos showed that the whole of the holiday village had been gutted. After weeks of closure due to the virus this is more bad news for the Spanish tourist industry.

Police were attending a crash on a motorway in North Carolina and they were out of their vehicles dealing with the incident. They were suddenly knocked to the ground as their police car was hit by a Tesla. The driver of the electric car had put it on auto pilot while he watched a film. He is a doctor who was on his way home from working in emergency services, he’ll be in trouble now. I almost feel sorry for him.

Now I must warn you to be on the lookout with eyes wide open as it has been reported, by experts no less, that five hundred big cats are on the prowl throughout the UK. These include leopards and pumas and they have been attacking farm livestock and wild deer. The largest number of sightings has been in Norfolk where 57 have been seen. I’ll have to let my sister know as she lives up there. Might be worth a visit just to see the wildlife, makes a change from the birds and the bees. Time for bed, nighty night.  😴💤😴

 

Do you listen to podcasts? I do off and on and a bit like going to the library or choosing books for kindle, the difficult bit is finding something I want to listen to. My son Pete recommended some the other day one of which is a series called ‘Don’t Stop Us Now’, created by Claire Hatton (English) and Greta Thomas (Australian). Claire is an old friend of Pete’s from many years ago when we all lived in Wimborne and she’s been a big part of his life ever since even becoming godmother to his number two son. Claire was also called the ‘Genie of Jakarta’ when she was working for British Airways and there was civic unrest in Indonesia. But, back to the podcasts, Don’t Stop Us Now series is described as fascinating stories from innovative and pioneering women around the globe. I’ve tuned in to a couple and found them well worth a listen and intend to be inspired with some more. Thank you Claire and Greta.

Thousands of Americans marched to the state capital of Washington DC today in protest against the treatment of black citizens. People of every colour, race, religion and sexual orientation came together to demand equal rights for all and who can argue against that. The March was called ‘Get Your Knee Off Our Neck March, and this has become a rallying cry. A very powerful message using very few words. I sincerely hope something changes and I equally hope they all get out there and cast their vote for democracy in November.

A US coast guard boat was out in the Pacific ocean and about 40 members of the crew decided to go for a swim. Maybe that’s why they had gone out there and it had nothing to do with guarding the coast. Anyway, an officer on board the ship spotted an eight foot long shark and shot at it several times and managed to distract it while the crew scrambled back on board, not very elegantly I might add.  I also chuckled when I saw they had a white inflatable unicorn in the water with them Ah, these brave boys. The shark swan away very elegantly and apparently unharmed.

A cleaner was doing his job at a coop supermarket when he found a bar of chocolate. It was a now discontinued Mars Delight which hasn’t been on sale since 2008. Doesn’t say an awful lot for the previous cleaners at the supermarket. The finder decided to advertise it on Ebay and it sold for £50. Well done that man. I’m wondering what I might have in the dark corners of my kitchen cupboards, I never was that good at housework.

The eat out to help out restaurant scheme is valid Monday through Wednesday throughout the month of August. The last day of the month is Bank Holiday Monday, 31st August and as long as the restaurant opens you can eat out and get up to £10 off per person. Book your party in now and celebrate. Good night everyone. 😴💤😴

 

Feeling quite grateful tonight. The weather’s been a bit naff and I never got done half of what i’d intended but I chattered on the phone to lots of nice people and all my family seem to be keeping well. When I stop to think about children (three), stepchildren (five) and all their offspring (twenty one), not forgetting the offspring’s offspring (eight, I think), well that’s a whole lot to be grateful for. Yesterday I had a nice couple of hours out in the sunshine with my daughters then came home and had an hours chat with my son. Today I saw that Claudia had posted pictures of handsome grandsons Henry and Christian and granddaughter Lou had been on the beach with gorgeous Artie. All these reminders keep popping up and keep them coming I say.

Also grateful to still be together are the world’s oldest married couple. Hubby Julio is 110 years old and his missus is 104. They’ve been married for 79 years, live in Ecuador and have now been mentioned in the Guinness Book of Records. They had five kids and quite a number of grandchildren. That’s quite a record, congratulations to a love couple..

We often hear of valuable paintings being stolen and a Dutch masterpiece called “Two Laughing Boys With a Mug of Beer’ has been stolen from a small museum in Holland for the third time. What surprised me most was to learn that the thefts are often stolen to order and then sold to criminals who use them to bribe officials and get shorter sentences for a variety of crimes. This is a funny sort of ‘you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours’.

A man was found drifting off the coast of Spain on a surfboard and said he had been there for three days having fallen from a cruise ship. Really? How does a 55 year old man fall off a cruise ship and just happens to be holding a surfboard or maybe it just happened to be floating around in the sea when he landed. Sounds very fishy to me. Also this week in Greece a small child had been playing in the shallow waters on an inflatable unicorn. Without her parents realising it she was pulled by the currents and floated further and further away from the beach. Her parents raised the alarm and officials radioed a local ferry and the captain immediately went to search for the little girl. She was found, hauled on board and returned to her parents. The captain and his crew were hailed as heroes.

Following a popularity poll it seems that both BoJo and the conservative party have suffered a huge slump following the exams fiasco. Now there’s a surprise. And today it was reported that the Ofqual boss Sally Collier who has quit her post due to the exams crisis will leave with a pension pot of one million pounds. She will very likely also be offered another well paid job in the civil service. It’s time to stop such huge payouts to inept politicians. Slumberland calls. Nighty night.😴💤😴

Permanent Secretary Jonathan Slater will leave his post in the Department of Education on 1st September. So it seems the buck is moving around and, just like the little ball on a roulette wheel, no one knows where it might stop next. Not that it matters much to most people out there trying to earn a buck or two or just trying to get educated because all these politicians are about as bad as each other no matter which party they belong to. How come with sixty million people in the country we can’t come up with a team of people who actually care about the people rather than how much power or money they can get from the job? I notice Williamson is still in his job as is Dominic Cummings.

Another overpaid footballer gets off with a slap on his wrist after behaving like a drunken thug in a foreign country. Harry Maguire and others like him are an embarrassment to normal British travellers. Some people in Cornwall recently commented that the English tourists this year were badly behaved and would be better off in Magaluf. Why? I don’t see that Spain, Greece or any other country should put up with our British louts.

A young man named Matthew Robson was born in 1992 and his father purchased a bottle of 18 year old Macallan whisky and put it away for when the boy was old enough to drink it. He bought another bottle on his birthday every year. The dad spent about £5000 altogether but as the price gradually increased the whole collection is now worth at least £40,000. Matthew is more than happy with his father’s gift and is going to put the whole lot up for auction and use the money as a deposit on a house. I hope it gets top bidding.

Every year somebody, or I probably should say some computer, comes up with a list of the most popular names for babies. This year Oliver for a boy and Olivier for a girl have come out top. I have been wondering where June is on the list but I can’t help thinking that it probably didn’t even make the list. It was very poplar until the 2nd world war. Still I shouldn’t worry too much as my name is actually Valerie with June as my middle name and I’m often called nanny or mum.  A rose by any other name is still a rose.

And last but not least a story from Birmingham. A car crashed into Sparkhill police station today. The Seat hit two vehicles in front of the building and then crashed through a wall stopping in front of the station. Two passengers were taken to hospital and a man was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, dangerous driving and vehicle theft. And all this at 7 o/c in the morning. Made me laugh especially as my son Pete lived in Sparkhill when he was at Aston Uni.  Time for bed, nighty night,   😴💤😴

I wouldn’t mind a fiver for every U turn the government has made during the lockdown. I bet it would even cover the cost of my tv license that I haven’t paid yet. Anyway, the latest one is on kids wearing masks in schools which yesterday wasn’t necessary but today is in local lockdown areas. But only it seems when they are in the corridors and other communal spaces, that’ll help. I thought that all areas in a school were communal except the loo. of course, and the isolation room if you’ve been very naughty. The only sensible advice that came out of the changes is that head teachers will be able to  use their discretion on the matter. While we’re on the matter of schools, the head of Ofqual, the exams regulator, has resigned following the A levels exam fiasco. Gavin Williamson remains in his post as Education Secretary despite having said that Ofqual had his full confidence but later saying it was responsible for the climbdown. Originally he claimed that the climbdown decision was his.

Two French gendarmes have asked some topless sunbathers on the beach in the south of France to cover up as a holidaymaker had complained. Now, women have been removing the top half of their bikinis for years on the French beaches and in some parts don’t even bother with a bikini at all. The Frenchwomen are not happy and want to be left alone without interference from the authorities on what they choose to wear, or not wear as the case may be. Had to smile at the article in the newspaper as it ended with a snapshot of a nudist beach and all the private parts had been blanked out. Bring back the fig lead.

A man in Leeds awoke in the middle of the night because he had heard a noise. He immediately switched on his mobile phone torch (just what I would have done) and was shocked to find a four foot bright orange and yellow snake climbing over his bedside cabinet. I don’t know about you but I would have run straight out of the room and shut the door behind me. Our man though managed to get the reptile into a sleeping bag cover and called the RSPCA who said it was just a corn snake and completely harmless. Phew, that’s a relief.

Texas and Louisiana coastal towns are about to be hit by Hurricane Laura. Galveston mayor signed a mandatory evacuation order as did many other officials up and down the coast.  Port Arthur was also mentioned which Sandy and I visited once just because of the name and thanks to the detour I met my dear friends Paula and Daniel. We travelled all around that coast and even went to their daughter’s wedding on Crystal Beach, a very special day. Now though more than half a million people will be on the move to get out ahead of the hurricane. They could do without more flooding and destruction down there and I’m hoping they all stay safe.😴💤😴

I’ve just been watching Pavarotti, Birth Of a Pop Star on Sky Arts. I didn’t expect to keep watching but I must admit to finding it fascinating. As a poor boy from Modena in Italy he had quite a struggle to get recognised on an international level. He could have carried on in his own country but he felt he wanted more. Then, even when he found fame in New York he wanted more, more fame and more adoration and sadly more food. I thought he was great, an amazing voice and he always looked happy whenever he was performing. Definitely an artist.

Burgess Hill was in the news tonight. All caught on video of course, how did we ever manage without a smart phone? Two men can be seen arguing in the street until one walks away and the other gets into his car and starts to drive away. He seems to change his mind, reverses around a corner turning to face the walker and accelerates straight at him. He hits the pedestrian hurtling him over a railing into the hedge behind and crashing into a sign post. He gets out and walks back to his victim who manages to stand up with blood pouring down his face. The driver then lashes out punching him in the face. A neighbour who was standing nearby runs away into his house, no help there. The attacker gets into his car and eventually drives away. The police managed to arrest him and charged him with attempted murder. The victim was taken to hospital with multiple injuries. Lock ‘im up I say, and throw away the key. Can’t have happenings like this in West Sussex.

I can’t believe the video of a black man being shot by a police officer in Wisconsin. The victim appeared unarmed, he didn’t seem to be aggressive but had walked away from the two officers and was about to get into his car where his three children were. A policeman stopped him getting in and shot him several times probably in the back. I’m completely speechless.

Have you got an apple tree in your garden? A nurse from Ealing, London has and has so many apples she didn’t know what to do with them. She decided to put them in boxes with a note for passersby saying, ‘free eating apples’. Soon after she received a notice from her local council fining her £150 for littering. Now what jobs worth person decided to take that action? He should be pelted with rotten apples. The council did cancel the notice after receiving several complaints from neighbours. I should jolly well think so too.

Batten down the hatches. Having got through storm Ellen we are going to be hit by storm Francis within a few hours. Rain and up to 70 mph winds along the coast, north and south. Take care everyone, now it’s time for bed. Sweet dreams.😴💤😴

Is this possible, have I really written every day for 150 days or five months? I have, and you lot are not paying attention. Yesterday when I wrote about Ghandi’s glasses I said they had been passed down through the family since 1020s instead of 1920s, nobody said a word. I should wear my glasses to do this.

Everyone’s had enough of lockdown and people are creating their own rules and hoping to get away with it. Joan Collins who is on holiday in the south of France was unceremoniously kicked out of IKEA for not wearing the proper type of face mask. She had chosen to wear a plastic visor which it seems are not allowed. She really should have bought the Burberry one I told you about a couple of days ago, it’s a snip at £90 and I’m sure she can afford it. She was later photographed with Piers have a glass of bubbly. He could afford to buy her one. Meanwhile on an internal flight in the US all the passengers had to alight from the plane because a two year old wouldn’t keep her face mask on. The mother tried to reason with staff and she was backed up by other passengers but no, they weren’t relenting. A message came over the speakers advising everyone to leave the plane. Can any of you parents imagine trying to make a 2 year old wear something on their face when they don’t want to? Kids that age know what they want and they know what they don’t want. Is this really a rule that everyone must wear a mask on a plane from age 2?

People are still partying, I’m not sure if they ever did lockdown. In Blackburn which is already a covid hotspot and in Huddersfield illegal raves were attended by hundreds of partygoers. In Birmingham officers attended over seventy different parties this weekend and one had even erected a marquee. From next Friday organisers of such events can be fined £10,000 and participants £100 which can be doubled each time for a repeat offence. Don’t suppose that will stop them but the local authorities might make a bit of money to help balance the coffers. Although it might be the local copper paying the fine as in Telford at least three policemen were seen posing with the wedding guests for a photo opportunity. There were two hundred people at the event and it lasted two days with fireworks and festivities. They forgot to remind the guests about social distancing. Lock ’em up I say.

This is a bit gruesome. In Kent in the river Medway there’s an island known as Deadman’s Island which is littered with the remains of prisoners from long ago. When people were waiting to be transported to Australia they were kept in floating prisons in very harsh conditions. Many of them died before even setting sail and were buried on the island. Over the years the wooden coffins have decayed and coastal erosion has done the rest. What a way to end your days. My day 151 is ended and it’s time for bed sleepy head. Goodnight.😴💤😴

A coroner in Cheshire has become suspicious of a string of murder/suicides which seem to have started in 1996 with two similar cases in Wilmslow.  Both couples were described by their families as devoted and they couldn’t understand how it came about. The police at that time deduced that the husbands had murdered their wives and then committed suicide. The couples didn’t know each other and in both cases the murders were quite ferocious. Three other similar cases have since been identified by investigators, two in Manchester and one in Cumbria. In all five cases the women had been hit over the head several times with a blunt instrument and then stabbed in the neck. The coroner’s office has handed a report to the Cheshire police who are reviewing cases across the UK and Europe for similarities. It is feared there may be a serial killer who has gone unchallenged.

Tower Bridge got stuck today, it wasn’t open and it certainly wasn’t closed. It had opened to let a boat pass underneath and then when it started to close to let the traffic cross over, well, it got stuck. Police tweeted that travellers would have to find an alternative route and that mechanics were working on the problem. Good work by the said mechanics as the bridge was back in working order after just one hour. Takes some people longer than that to change a light bulb.

It’s been reported that the PM was not happy that his holiday hideaway in Scotland was leaked to the public and that he had to cut short his break away from office. Well, I’ve got news for Mr BoJo, he can have another holiday, in fact many more holidays but the kids who have lost their place at Uni due to his ministers’ incompetence over A level results, may not get another chance. So suck it up Prime Minister and start acting like one.

An auctioneer found an envelope sticking out of the letter box when he turned up for work one Monday morning.  Inside he found a pair of wire rimmed spectacles with a note claiming they had belonged to Mahatma Ghandi and that if they weren’t worth anything to bin them. The auctioneer spoke to the writer who said they had been passed down through his family since the 1920s. A relative had been working in South Africa at the time and met Ghandi who gifted them to him. Sounds like a strange story to me, why would someone give their glasses to a stranger or did the relative steal them? Or maybe it’s all a load of tosh and they’re just a pair of old specs? Still someone believed it as they sold for £260,000, very nice too.

A man believed to be the oldest man in the world has died aged 116. Fredie Blom was born in May 1904 in South Afrika. He seems to have had a hard life working as a labourer on a farm and later in the construction industry.  He hadn’t drunk alcohol for years but was still an avid smoker although due to lockdown he was unable at the end to buy his tobacco. RIP Fredie. and good night to everyone else.😴💤😴