This is a corruption of the song from South Pacific 'I want to wash that man right out of my head. So what has this year been like for everyone? Good, bad,curate's egg, indifferent. I won't bore you with all the details completely but I can safetly say that 2010 can hardly be categorised as one of the best by any means what with change of government to a hung parliament then coalition which has hardly lived up to everyone's expectations.
The beginning of the year, hailed a bit of sorting out of my files and office space spurred on by the fact that the top drawer of my MFI filing cabinet had indicated that it had reached the end of the line so armed with a large pink bag, I set to, clearing out both filing cabinets in between trying to write as well.
Like all New Year's, there were challenges and highlights. The first of them finding myself on Workwise through JC+ There had been hopes that I would be able to set up but August put a shelving on that idea but more about that later. May or was it June, I purchased a second hand filing cabinet from a local overseas charity that sells medical equipment abroad. It is a four door job, each named. The other one in the lobble was sorted and renamed with the help of my PC. My mother's comments were very complimentary so it has been worthwhile. The other two drawers store my wire trays, scrapbooks and other writing paraphenalia. Yes there were little high points for I purchased some twinlocks from the local office supplies out the outskirts of town, returning from Bury by a different route where I saw the most glorious view against a mid spring lemon coloured skyline, bringing out the best in the English countryside after a hard winter, not this one at present has been that great.
July, we had a day out with a friend of mine from Open University days then the following day, Ulli, my other uni friend arrived. That had been expected. We arranged some accommodation locally then on Saturday, I joined her and the kids on a visit to Stowe
August, I enrolled on to an evening course in creative writing at the local learning centre, that was the high point but blighted on the Sunday the fifteenth when I suddenly became unwell. The day before, our Burmese cat went awol so knowing what cats can be like, curious and all that, I walked down to the entrance of our field, naive to a very unpleasant small danger. I had wellies but no socks on alas for unbeknown to me, I was bitten by a very nasty insect called a Blandford fly, resulting in cellulitis and now lymphedema. Its immediate effects were more startling ranging from a feverish high temperature to involuntary shivers, a foot the size of a rugby ball. The long and short of it, I had to leave Workwise to recover properly. I am now appealing to get my Employment Assistance benefit back yet I am not trying also to seek work I can do from home
The dreadful weather, two lots of snow, my aunt being less than well has culminated in a year that can hardly be classed as ideal. Now thankfully the festive season is slowly drawing to a close, New Year's Day on Saturday.
So what are your feelings about 2011? Anticipation, apprehension perhaps. Maybe both of these 'A' words mixed into one. Hardly surprising perhaps as these are common thoughts that run through the minds of everyone. Challenges I am sure there will be but let us raise our glasses in hope for another year that will be less of an annus horrabulis Happy New Year everybody
Tuesday 28 December 2010
Wednesday 17 November 2010
Hail to thee, William and Kate[Catherine]
Unless you have just had a holiday on another planet, you do not need prizes in guessing what I am about to talk about which is on everyone's lips, the new Royal engaged couple. What I say is hail to you both and many congratulations,I hope you have a happy wonderful life. Also this is just the tonic the country needs to see two very happy people looking forward to their married lives together.
However, not surprisingly, this has created a battle ground of verbosity between the republicans and the royalists, I for one on the side of the latter have put my point across in their support for contrary to republican views which sadly are growing in number, state that the royal family are an expenditure we cannot afford. This growing jaundiced view to me, is extremely sad, in fact reading some of the comments on the internet I found ridiculously laughable, such as oppression of the population. In my view, they have been reading too much Tolstoy and other Russian novelists. I never read so much Horlicks in all my life. Sadly Writer's News Talkback are not devoid of a few republicans so perhaps the time has come to put a few of these die hard republicans in their place and to consider their good fortune.
OK, yes we have a democracy and free speech, and all that but perhaps these republicans should read or listen to what is happening in some of the more sinister republican countries, Burma, Zimbabwe,Hungary,China where if the government does not like your face, let alone what you write, you can be thrown into prison and even tortured for your views, yes, I repeat tortured. I am not saying Britain is perfect but then no country can truly boast that but it is stable compared to many, in fact take a look at Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Holland, and yes, Spain, what do they have, that's right, you have probably guessed, a royal family. There are republics, including America who adore our royal family, Germany is all over the place, cock a hoop according to their press that we are going to have a royal wedding for they would dearly love to have one and did of sorts but they were made up of a series of disparate states. Russia had one until the Bolsheviks assasinated the Tsar and his family, who incidentally was a cousin of George V. Look what happened there when it became a Soviet Republic under Lenin then Stalin. Think a little closer, look at Czechoslovakia, invaded two or three times.
Did we have a republic, of course we did, under Cromwell, and you would hardly call that a howling success, quite the contrary in fact which is why the monarchy was restored with Charles II. Our monarchy contrary to the propoganda put out by republicans,the most ardent one that comes to mind, the Glaswegian Willy Hamilton now long since dead, work very hard. Yes, OK, the Queen who, bless her worked all through the war, remember in the ATS, repairing army vehicles etc and has since worked her socks off throughout her reign, is taking it easier now and so she should. Prince Charles and Princess Ann really earn their privvy purse and now Edward is having to do his share, quite right too. Both Charles's boys are in the services,one of them, Harry god bless him too, went out to Afghanistan, the rights and wrongs of it is irrelevant here but the fact he wanted to do his bit should make the republicans sit up and reflect, not only that he has been responsible for the campaign charity, Help the Heroes. Both of the princes have been involved in their natural mother's charities.
I am also tired of the bitching against Prince Charles who has done much to turn people's lives around,especially the young with the Trust, even helping to create businesses and also for older people. His food products are now sold in Waitrose as they have formed a partnership so I would like to raise a toast to our Royals then spit in the eye of those stingy mingy republicans
However, not surprisingly, this has created a battle ground of verbosity between the republicans and the royalists, I for one on the side of the latter have put my point across in their support for contrary to republican views which sadly are growing in number, state that the royal family are an expenditure we cannot afford. This growing jaundiced view to me, is extremely sad, in fact reading some of the comments on the internet I found ridiculously laughable, such as oppression of the population. In my view, they have been reading too much Tolstoy and other Russian novelists. I never read so much Horlicks in all my life. Sadly Writer's News Talkback are not devoid of a few republicans so perhaps the time has come to put a few of these die hard republicans in their place and to consider their good fortune.
OK, yes we have a democracy and free speech, and all that but perhaps these republicans should read or listen to what is happening in some of the more sinister republican countries, Burma, Zimbabwe,Hungary,China where if the government does not like your face, let alone what you write, you can be thrown into prison and even tortured for your views, yes, I repeat tortured. I am not saying Britain is perfect but then no country can truly boast that but it is stable compared to many, in fact take a look at Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Holland, and yes, Spain, what do they have, that's right, you have probably guessed, a royal family. There are republics, including America who adore our royal family, Germany is all over the place, cock a hoop according to their press that we are going to have a royal wedding for they would dearly love to have one and did of sorts but they were made up of a series of disparate states. Russia had one until the Bolsheviks assasinated the Tsar and his family, who incidentally was a cousin of George V. Look what happened there when it became a Soviet Republic under Lenin then Stalin. Think a little closer, look at Czechoslovakia, invaded two or three times.
Did we have a republic, of course we did, under Cromwell, and you would hardly call that a howling success, quite the contrary in fact which is why the monarchy was restored with Charles II. Our monarchy contrary to the propoganda put out by republicans,the most ardent one that comes to mind, the Glaswegian Willy Hamilton now long since dead, work very hard. Yes, OK, the Queen who, bless her worked all through the war, remember in the ATS, repairing army vehicles etc and has since worked her socks off throughout her reign, is taking it easier now and so she should. Prince Charles and Princess Ann really earn their privvy purse and now Edward is having to do his share, quite right too. Both Charles's boys are in the services,one of them, Harry god bless him too, went out to Afghanistan, the rights and wrongs of it is irrelevant here but the fact he wanted to do his bit should make the republicans sit up and reflect, not only that he has been responsible for the campaign charity, Help the Heroes. Both of the princes have been involved in their natural mother's charities.
I am also tired of the bitching against Prince Charles who has done much to turn people's lives around,especially the young with the Trust, even helping to create businesses and also for older people. His food products are now sold in Waitrose as they have formed a partnership so I would like to raise a toast to our Royals then spit in the eye of those stingy mingy republicans
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