Without doubt politics is a contentious subject. Money might make the world go round, but politics decides where you get off. Throughout history politics has caused revolutions, wars, even a genocidal massacre or two. It can even get you thrown off internet forums (as I discovered last year).
I once got accused of being a mouthpiece of the Conservative Party. Not because I said anything nice about them, but because I dislike the Labour government even more and said so. Such is the depth of f
For some strange reason I woke bright and early this morning. For a reason probably easier to understand I wobbled dangerously as I overconfidently got out of bed. Oh well, start as you mean to continue.
As usual I made a brief glance out the window to check what sort of weather awaits me today. The horizon was buried under thick grey clag, a sort of dark fog, and at first sight it looked as if I was expecting a very damp morning.
By the time i was washed, dressed, and ready to take on t
"Trust Sicknote to get in the way... Should have stayed in bed..." Muttered AM as he shuffled past on his crutches. Was that comment directed at me? AM doesn't like me very much. Back in the days when the library was at its temporary hut, he had his favourite PC and used to bully people off it when he came in. He tried that with me once... "Come on, Mate, didn't you see my name on the screen?" No, I didn't, because it wasn't there and I couldn't have logged on if it was. And then I had to repeat
Last night I sat back to watch a little tv. In both senses. Outside I heard a revving car engine and tire squeals. Oh come on you idiot, surely you're not pratting around in this weather? Sheesh...
Later I became aware of a persistent rumble. I get that from big diesel engines idling outside by the pedestrian crossing. Except this time it just went on and on. Its uncomfortable because the vibration carries through the house. Looking out the window I spotted why. The single decker bus outside
Another glorious morning. On my way to the Job Centre I stopped in the park for twenty minutes, watching the various waterfowl doing fowl things on the lake. The black headed geese stayed by the shore, pecking each other for something to do before the breadcrumb crowd arrive. Pidgeons in all shades of grey didn't wait, flapping around and searching the pavement, mystified as to why breadcrumbs hadn't magically appeared. There were no swans today. Those graceful birds are a common sight here usua
I got the good news last night. The International Monetary Fund have suggested that Britain might be in recession for as much as twenty years, struggling to pay off debts while the rest of the west recover nicely thank you. Twenty years? You mean I'm going to bleat on about the economy and my lack of good fortune for two more decades? Should I cancel the Ferrari then?
Now That I Come To Think Of It
Until a few years ago, life was simple. I had money in my pocket and a slightly fast car on t
Sometimes at night I look up at the stars, and like everyone else, I wonder if there's anyone out there. Sentient creatures, aliens, living out their lives and who knows? - Maybe plotting galactic domination as we speak? To a rational mind that's mostly paranoia and a reflection of the Cold War values that spawned the popularity of alien invasion myth, though I dio note that stories of alien inansions are nothing new. HG Wells classic War of the Worlds postulated the events in his late victorian
Its almost impossible to escape the news that the global banking system is wobbling. Governments are stepping in and in some cases, falling out (I refer to Britain freezing Icelandic assets over concerns about the amount of british money held there).
One chap contacted the news team and said that forty years ago he needed an interview with his bank manager for a loan of
There was a time, before the BBC discovered computerised special effects, that we used to see those fifties 'B' movies. You know the ones? A terrible threat to mankind emerges from its hiding place and lays waste to the nearest big city before mankind finds a way to destroy it. Good wholesome family viewing. All these films followed a familiar pattern. Whether the threat came from space aliens, nuclear radiation, meteorites, or chemicals, it all started with an innocent small town slowly becomin
Yesterday afternoon I made my way home through that familiar alleyway that riuns along the old college site. It is something of a rubbish tip, a place for personal drug deals, and even sometimes the odd bonfire or two. The discarded clothes, rotting wood, rusty springs, smashed plastic shells of consumer electronics, incomplete graffiti, and broken bottles and stones are something I've wearily become used to. As I leaned forward to avoid the ever-increasing expanse of foliage, the troughs dug by
Today I spent another three hours on a volunteer stint, manning the reception desk and researching some of the exhibits. Friday mornings are a bit quiet to say the least. Whilst chatting to the boss a young man popped in, sharp suit and dangling camera, for no apparent reason than to find an excuse to show off.
It turns out the young man in question, Young D, is something of an entrepeneur. Always starting a business or other, making connections, wheeling and dealing. "This month I made
Woolworths are closing. After nearly a century of trading on the High Street the grand old name is to vanish, unless someone pulls a rescue package together. London and Rochdale sites have already laid off staff, and it won't be long before the Swindon site does too. Somehow I doubt I'll get a job there anyway - I know of manager of old and she doesn't want me working there - but with hundreds of warehouse personnel on the market my job search isn't getting any easier.
Weather Report
Our fi
As always the weather has dominated my British sensibilities. Our ever changing climate has been a bit different to the one predicted by long range forecasts during the last year, which told us of 'barbeque summers and mild winters'. Ho ho ho.
The culprit has been a static zone of high pressure keeping the warm jetstream from reaching our shores. I think we forget that Britain is on the same latitude as Labrador, and only that jetstream, a high altitude wind from the Carribean, keeps Britain
Oh no! I've been so wrapped up in an interview this morning I've forgotten to do any job searching! Heresy! I'll be rendered destitute if the Job Centre finds that out (Please don't tell anyone).
With that minor disaster in mind I popped straight down to the library for a frantic internet browse of the job sites. The library is often crowded at lunchtime, and sure enough, not a free screen to be had. I'll have to book one. None of the computers have got a two hour slot available for the next
Its all quiet on the western front. There's nothing moving in no-mans land, and here in my trench, eating ration packs and latrine duty are the norm.
The weather is typically british. Its sunny one moment, raining the next. The skill of dodging rainshowers and going about your daily business without getting soaked is something picked up from years of practice, and right now its proving very useful in keeping dry.
The noisy young lads don't seem to going to the library anymore, or perhaps
In the good old days when men were railwaymen and cars came without pillows in the steering wheel, I used to hear english spoken. It's true. These days official forms come in fifteen different languages and young people don't understand each others slang any more. People wonder why I don't go on foreign holidays. Are they serious? Not only do the Department of Work and Pensions not pay me to enjoy myself abroad, they invite every other country's inhabitants to live next door. Sign on the dole an
Some years ago I wrote a piece on another site condemning the European Union as a dictatorship in the making. Not necessarily because it is at the moment, so to speak, but because its construction lays the groundwork for those those wishing to rule without accountability.
I had said that Ireland would be forced to ratify the Treaty of Lisbon regardless of their previous vote - as the recent pressure on them demonstrates. There was also an interesting letter in the local paper this morning f
I notice the control unit for Evil Robot was missing from the customer services desk at the museum. Well, although I've got better things to do than remove his restraining bolt, if he fires up I've got no way to bring him under control. Luckily this was the quiet shift so the risk to the general public was minimal. Personally I was more in danger of dropping dead from boredom.
We had a visit from none other than DW, our intrepid online journalist. It's always good to hear from him because y
They gave a weather warning last night. Heavy rain expected. They weren't kidding. I was woken by the cascade of water on the roof during the early hours. This morning I had to don waterproofs to walk down the road to the library and thats after the rain had eased somewhat. What a difference from yesterday when I was out on my hike. Here's a sample of the weather...
Pic of the Day
This ones a view of Coate Water in the cold December sunshine. Notice the ice on the surface. Coate Water is a
Despite the threat of heavy rain it looks like this years RIAT airshow at nearby Fairford will go ahead. It's a huge and popular event. Ticket admittance only this year just in case they need to reimburse everyone. I don't much like fariford as a flying display. The prospect of seeing lots of aircraft you can see every day of the week doesn't appeal, especially since you have to pay a heavy ticket entry and face aggravation on the roads getting in and out. But to anyone whio is going there, I ho
Sometimes I watch tv. No really. I don't often indulge (other than Top Gear, BBC News, and the odd Star Trek episode - Boy do I live fast and dangerous) but last night, no-one could stop me. Anyhow, it was quite late when I pointed the remote at a black box and to my suprise, the normally innocuous channel was showing a sex program. Sex? On british tv? Thats a suprise....
The american program revolved around a holiday resort for sado-masochistic women. It was styled after a british stately h
According to the news, there's a record number of people being given counselling to make them give up being gay and go straight.
You know, I can't help feeling all this gay stuff is just ridiculous. To be fair, I don't know a lot about it (don't want to, it sounds a bit undesirable to my traditionalist view) but having been on the receiving end of ignorant opinion depicting me as one of their number, I do have some sympathy for those that choose that lifestyle.
Thats the trick isn't it?
For a couple of days now the weather has been very warm and sunny, albeit a tad windy. The rainfall that has drenched France has threatened to claw its way north and finally today, it's here. Not heavy, just that dull drizzle that makes everything damp. It always brings that dull greyness that I associate with Swindon. It also brings a subdued mood too I notice.
It also brings out the dull people. It really does. Now the sun has gone away and the bright cheerful crowd with it there's a crowd
This getting out of bed lark is starting to annoy me. Time was when I didn't mind, always rushing about to go here and there, but now? Another trek across Swindon for a doctors appointment.
Today they were going to give me a blood test. I suspect that has something to do with extracting a sample of the stuff, and since my body was designed by nature to keep all the precious red fluid inside, I also suspect some sort of puncture is required. Oh well. No pain, no gain.
So I booked in and w
Another day, another job agency. Part of the ritual of finding work is submitting to the high street slave traders. A very necessary evil. The days when some old woman with horn rim glasses, blue rinse, and a cigarette hanging out of her mouth handed you a card with a vacancy written on it are long gone. Now they're all plush offices with ettiquette and protocol droids ruling the roost with an iron hand.
In fairness the young lady who handled my case was pleasant enough despite her misgiving
