I'll Regret It All In The Morning
Well what a challenging couple of weeks that was, awash with travel, fun, laughter and catastrophe.
It all started with Dearest, Eldest, Mrs Eldest, Youngest, Mrs Youngest and myself flying to Corfu Town to rendezvous with the good ship Celebration for a week of cruising the Adriatic: Koper, Venice, Split, Dubrovnik and Kotor. Free food and free drink added a certain je ne sais quoi . A good time was going to be had by all.
And, in fairness, a good time was had by most of us. The itinerary was superb and the ship was excellent. Unfortunately one of our party thought it would be a good idea to break her shoulder on the first night!! Good old Dearest thought that a spot of Riverdancing was a good idea after a few hours of free cocktails. A visit to the ship’s medical centre followed where Dearest was strapped up and medicated. The day after was a day at sea so she didn’t get an X-Ray until we arrived in Slovenia on Sunday morning. She was than strapped into a strange Velcro contraption that left her with very little movement but protected her enough to get around without too much discomfort. Nights were worse though as she couldn’t get comfortable and ended up having to sleep almost sitting up. Painkillers through the nights and Vodka and Diet Cokes through the days saw her through though and she did enjoy herself in her own way. £800 it cost us which we have now got to try to wring out of our travel insurance.
I’ve got a feeling it may take some time.
As I write Burnley have just won the play off final and will grace the Premiership next season. I bet Alistair Campbell is cock-a-hoop. It’s great having all these Lancashire mill towns represented in the top competition again. Bolton, Blackburn and now Burnley, it’s just like the fifties again.
I wonder if Sheffield United will try to sue somebody?
Congratulations to the Mackems and the Tigers too. Both of them avoided relegation yesterday although Mrs Eldest (being a Geordie and a ‘Toon fan) had what can only be described as a bad day. Still, she comforted herself with the fact that ‘Boro went down too.
The sun shone on Bank Holiday weekend and the barbecues were being fired up all around. The smell of cheap sausage and beefburgers was overwhelming. Why aren’t folk a little more adventurous when it comes to glowing charcoal? You may as well stick sausage and beefburgers under the grill. Use your imagination. Barbecue some fish – sea bass, trout. Spear some good stuff and make kebabs – peppers, onions, courgettes etc. Marinade something. Make an effort, make plans BEFORE you drag out the rusting bucket from behind the shed.
Politicians eh? Thieving bastards. Well, not all politicians obviously because, believe it or not there are some really hard-working, honest ‘doing-it-for-all-the-right-reasons’ people out there. Helping constituents, sitting on select committees, doing all that tedious, unsung crappy stuff that needs to be done. Rarely appearing on TV, rarely attracting media attention at all actually. Just diligently plodding away at their vocation. Just doing the job they don’t get overpaid to do. And doing it well.
But then you get the pisstakers. I don’t know what’s worse; claiming to have your moat cleaned or claiming for a packet of HobNobs, a bath plug or a toilet brush. Hazel Blears unable to grasp that by writing a cheque for £13,000 she was not only accepting she knew her moral compass had been interfered with but, moreover, her Salfordian constituents would have watched her do that and think ‘I barely earn £13,000 a year and yet this ‘Socialist’ can cavalierly sign away a similar sum whilst grinning her fixed grin and staring down the media’.
Meanwhile the odious pair who were the first to be fingered for ‘inadvertently’ claiming rent on a second home owned by a trust have finally announced they are to stand down at the next election because they ‘cannot maintain the hectic pace politics’. Hmmmm, really? I look forward to further revelations in July.
It really is shocking just what has emerged over the past few weeks. I mean this isn’t just a few – no matter what Anne Widdicombe and the rest say – this is a sizeable number of senior politicians with their nose in the trough and an inability to understand that ordinary working people, who were already disillusioned with the state of politics, have now been tipped over the edge. We have Cabinet members who have claimed £11,000 for personal accountancy advice. Jacqui Smith, Blears (again), Miliband, Purnell, Douglas Alexander, Geoff Hoon and Hilary Benn and Alistair Darling.
Perception is all that matters here and there can be no doubt that – regardless of all the aforementioned ‘good guys and gals’ – Parliament is now viewed as a joke filled with main chancers and grubby little snake oil salesmen. When public faith in political institutions is undermined to this extent then the vacuum that remains is in danger of being filled by the advocates of extremity. Intent on convincing us that we need to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Change in our system is long overdue but the last thing we need is a knee-jerk response that leaves us with a half-arsed, ill-thought solution that within a short time produces yet more problems.
Fingers crossed.
Do you remember my posts from last summer regarding the double suicide of Shughie and Ronald? Well here's the newspaper report of the Coroner's findings:-
A DEVOTED father and son were even united in death as they carried out a shocking suicide pact after being unable to live without each other.
Mystery surrounded the deaths of Shugie and Ronald after the pair — aged 87 and 58 —were found hanged in their house in Failsworth by horrified neighbours on July 5, last year.
As a double inquest yesterday revealed details of a tragic past blighted with health problems, coroner Simon Nelson described it as the saddest inquest he had dealt with in 10 years.
Shughie’s sister-in-law Ida Wrigley told the Oldham hearing: “There was a very close and loving relationship between father and son. I don’t think they could have lived without each other.”
Ronald was diagnosed with a brain tumour aged only 13. He needed eight hours of surgery and was initially unable to walk or talk. With the help of his mum, Beryl, Ronald fully recovered to become a draughtsman and a qualified glider pilot.
Beryl died 15 years ago. In 2001, Ronald was diagnosed with dystonia, a painful condition affecting control of the neck muscles.
The former Chadderton Grammar School pupil, who always lived with his parents and never married, had to stop working and give up his hobby and socialising.
Several years ago his dad discovered a note on his computer and found Ronald in bed after taking an overdose. He was hospitalised for five weeks.
Shughie, a retired engineer, began having breathing problems four years before his death. He was advised to get rid of a pigeon they kept inside the house.
Doctors’ records showed Shughie had glaucoma, high blood pressure and osteoarthritis but neither had made suicidal comments or shown signs of depression. Ronald had been receiving botox injections but it had stopped relieving his neck problems.
Mrs Wrigley said: “Shughie was a very nice, friendly man, quietly spoken and very reserved. Ronald was a very pleasant, laid back and reserved gentlemen but never spoke of concerns.”
The pair were found by neighbour TWLFWWLND after Shughie’s niece Susan Thompson, from Failsworth, became worried she had not heard from the pair, who she described as very friendly and very good to her but who kept themselves to themselves.
Shughie left behind a box of financial documents and instructions for solicitors and a suicide note, which spoke of his intention to kill himself and the pair’s worsening health.
Detective Inspector Derek Weaver said the pair had hanged themselves next to each other in an identical manner. Ronald’s rope had unravelled and he was found lying at his dad’s feet.
He said there was nothing to suggest either had assisted the other against their will and it appeared a joint venture.
Recording a verdict that they each took their own life, Mr Nelson said: “There was a tremendous bond between them. Just as they cared for each other in life they were united in death.”
Ah well....back to life.........
Snaps
Butterflies? In the Adriatic?
Leaving Montenegro.
It's a hard life.
Yes it is.
Kotor, Montenegro.
Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Farewell Venice.
I dream of Venice.
Venice.
Reflections on the hull
Corfu Town.
That's all folks!
Right, it's official: 
So how come the Decemberists haven't blipped on the Occupied Country radar until this week? 
Memories of Barcelona.
Have I just experienced the next great leap forwards in the way we access and listen to music? Whilst thumbing through the latest edition of 
Way back in August I referred to 
