They're back. Having reconnoitered the library the other day, an even greater horde of little barbarians have stormed the premises in a quest to occupy their equally little minds with positive activity. The teachers hiss and hush to no avail as they spot something that interests them and erupt into frantic efforts to point at something first.
"I'm only good at the world stuff." Said one child as a statement of his intellectual achievement. Well good for you son. They walked past me on the wa
After the intros for all the other Giants, you hear the sound of
In the bullpen, warming up...number 55...TIM!!!!! LINCECUM!!!!!!
Yes, it's the post season for Major League Baseball, and my Giants are in, and looking strong. While I don't have tickets to any of the games, at least I can watch at home. Also, I won't be freezing at AT&T Park, whic his very and entirely possible to do during night games.
Oh, I had some gripes on what manager Bruce Bochy concocted for the 25-ma
Time to whinge again about the weather. Not because it's particularly bad, but because the weatherment told us the rain was going to lurk over britain for the next week. All those amber triangles were displayed again, warning us of biblical floods and apocalyptic storms. Well... Looking out the window of the library... What a nice day. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, and I wish I'd known it was going to be like this beforehand.
So what shall I do today? The options are endless. I could
One of the features of the Wiltshire countryside is the crop circle. A pattern made in a field by flattening crops. Since their early days these patterns have gotten quite sophisticated and some are extraordinary to look at. For me it's a part of everyday life in the country. Every year there's a crop circle or two, so no big deal, though I doubt the farmer sees it that way.
Why do these circles appear? This morning I've picked up a book at the local library that discusses this very point. I
Yesterday was a complete suprise. Not that Monday happened you understand, I learned long ago that Mondays are inevitable and crop up on a regular basis. Face it, most Mondays are a terrible experience. Weather turns for the worse automatically as thousands leave their front doors for the start of the working week. No, the suprise yesterday was how nice a Monday this was.
The sunshine had a lot to do with it. Unlike a blistering hot summer day, there was a cool, refreshing air to it. As mond
Has the mystery of the lowered level of water at Queens Park been solved? I notice workmen are repairing the pavement edge that used to meet the water. To be honest, it did need working on, having collapsed in places, but I found it interesting to notice signs of a previous brick lined edge the current pavement was built on top of.
That would mean the lake is usually higher than it was when the lake was first created. Not world shaking shaking news, but hey, do you really want another descr
One of the advantages of digital broadcasts in the media is that you can watch television on your computer. I was doing that long before Windows 7 came out, so I'm afraid the young lady claiming on the advert that she thought of watching television on her PC and Windows 7 was her idea is talking out of her script.
As I'm sure you're aware, staring vacantly at the screen while you rapidly page through the available channels is typical human behaviour. In a state of mental numbness I strayed
I spoke too soon. Serves me right I guess, but that doesn't excuse what happened. Last night someone tried to steal or steal from my sorry looking Eunos Cabriolet. It has no steering wheel. It has no gear knob. There's an entire ecology all of it's own thriving inside that vehicle. Moss is growing along the ground each side of the car. And if those clues weren't enough, it has two gaping holes in the roof marking the previous attempts by larcenous youths to steal whatever they could.
So why
'Twas a cold and eerie night. I looked out the back window in the early hours and a dark open sky seemed to be relatively shy of revealing stars. Down in the valley, the urban spawl was in the clutches of a thick mist, glowing a dull orange from the street lights. It looked very gothic and mysterious, and without the usual soundtrack of traffic light grand-prix's, arguments with windows and lamp posts, or the salute to football team affiliation in song, the mood was perfect.
So I went to be
Life has been busy lately, but somehow I've managed. I've had to get creative in order to make ends meet...it doesn't involve a street corner, but it does involve applying my talents in new ways. I have decided that I need to be called a 'consultant.'
Why, you ask? Because for one, I live not in the city, but in the suburbs, and evidently all those minimally-employed or unemployed professionals who are looking to rectify their economic situation call themselves as such. I've been told th
Why? Why did they do it? Why did they make Ed Milliband leader of the Labour party? He makes you wince every time he stands in front of a microphione. It isn't the first time the Labour Party have made an odd choice. Remember Michael Foot? Probably a great guy, but not the man future prime ministers are made of.
Politics is a funny game sometimes and I can't help wondering if the sole reason Eddy Baby got the job was to stop his oolder brother David from achieving his ambition. He was disap
We all have a new regime to cope with. For most people, the change in government from Gordon Browns grand money giveaway to the scrooge brothers of the coalition hasn't really impacted on them yet. For us dole seekers the changes are already apparent. They might get a lot worse yet, but already we share knowing glances at each other and expect trouble ahead.
For many in the general public that's no cause for sympathy. Many will see us as worthless parasites. Many of us are exactly that. Feck
Only when you get up close to a Great Dane do you realise just how big those dogs are. There were two being coaxed along the alleyway across the yard last night. The pair of them just about filled the pathway. Nice horses, I quipped as I strolled past. At least these two dog owners won't get attacked by urban foxes.
The curious thing though is that the owners expected me to be scared stiff of them. Why? Both dogs were behaving themselves. After all, there was an occaision when I decided to p
The last few days have seen dramatic moments in the history of Swindons Mechanics Institute. For those who don't know, the Great Western Railway built a community centre for the benefit of its staff back in 1859 and it's been left to decay for decades, since no-one has any idea of what to do with the place or where to find the money to do it.
The owner, a property developer, has done little to maintain the listed building (that means it has historical significance and should be preserved) an
There's an old chap I sometimes see by the cenotaph on Regents Circus. He stands there, breadcrumbs in hand, and allows pidgeons to clamber all over him, and I do mean, all over. He is swamped by the birds clamouring for his limited supply of titbits. Not my idea of fun, but each to their own.
I was passing his favourite spot the other day and noticed a crowd of hungry pidgeons milling around a pile of breadcrumbs on the ground. Hang on... Have they eaten Pidgeon Man? Oh no!
One of Lifes
Now that was a pleasant lunchtime. Lounging on a bench in Town Gardens, the shrill cacophony from the nearby junior school, the bird calls, even the plaintive requests from dog owners to their stubborn pets to stop sniffing at every excuse, did nothing to stop me dropping off to sleep.
I woke with a start. Whether I'd startled the grey squirrel or whether it had startled me, I'm not sure, but away it went, tame or not. Behind me some guy and his companion strolled lazily down the steps and
Sometimes the urge to wander gets the better of me. Sadly I didn't have enough time to travel far, so I took a stroll around Swindon's Front Garden, that strip of farmland between the town and the M4 motorway now fast disappearing under a new development.
I came across a road junction. As yet, it's unused, because it doesn't go anywhere. There's a couple of 'bus only' signs in front of an earth bank. They've built a brick bridge across the Wilts & Berks canal, and apart from the huge con
The Old College site is proving suprisingly contentious. I see one good citizen of our borough is fuming and declaring the development to be less than impressive. What does he want, Massive monuments and tall glass towers? Of course he does. It's part of the human psyche to seek urban aggrandisement by making tall buildings.
Personally, I think another glass carbuncle is extacly what the area doesn't need. It'll look ridiculous, a flashy tall modern building surrounded by run-down victorian
Walking home on sunday lunchtime I came across a lady walking her dog. Out of curiosity I engaged her in conversation about her canine companion, which turned out to be a Husky. We get a few breeds that are similar, such as Alaskan Mamelutes and such, but most of those have thicker coats so I didn't recognise this one.
The Husky in question was a perky little animal, friendly, and very keen on pulling its owner across Swindon. Whilst I was chatting a couple passed by with their bruiser of a
Seven hours. Seven. That's how long it took me to compile the paperwork the Job Centre have asked for concerning my last fortnight of job searching. Come monday morning I'm going to slap those wads of paper on the desk and believe me, sparks will fly if they get shirty over it.
The trouble is, there's a claims advisor there who doesn't like me very much. He's a very urbane, serious type, and for him any hint of jollity from a claimant is a sign that not enough tyranny has been wrought upon t
I opened the curtains this morning to see a clear blue sky. That happens sometimes, and there's no reason to be concerned, because the sky usually clouds over within a couple of hours.
There's a very lazy mood in Swindon right now. The garage mechanics across the yard are more bothered about cups of tea than mechanical problems, but then they always were. The yard isn't full of cars either, but then, with all the rubbish being deposited in the alleyway that allows access, that's no wonder.
In watching the news today, one couldn't help but notice that the Holy See visited Scotland, met with Her Royal Highness, and held mass in a park in Glasgow, all before heading off to Londontown. The head of the Catholic Church made stronger remarks on the molestation scandal than he has in the past, he made a reference to the strength of the British will in the face of the Nazis, and in general played diplomat.
And somehow, I couldn't care less.
I mean nothing. Dude, the Vatican has n
Folks, if you don't like baseball, then you don't need to be around the Bay Area right about now. The Giants are really in the thick of it...half a game out for the lead in the National League West, about that for the Wild Card...lots of games at home, and Dem Dodger Bums from LA are in town. Sadly, we have their best pitchers going against us right now, and the Boys in Orange and Black are having a tough go of it. But we have our best pitchers going for us, too, so it's been a tight, well-p
