18 March 2024

73

 

I was at university in Scotland between September 1973 and December 1977. Bang in the middle of that time, a song was released by Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel. It made Number 1 in the British charts and for many weeks was played continuously in the student union's pub - "The Allangrange".

The song was "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" and if a film was ever made of my university days and that particular  time in my life, that single would have to be the theme song. Admittedly, such a prospect seems highly unlikely unless I become a mass murderer or, more likely, assassinate Boris Johnson with a cricket bat.

I had never really analysed why I liked that song so much. After all, there's a lot of bitterness in the lyrics. Steve Harley was addressing the original members of Cockney Rebel with whom there had been a breaking up in the summer of 1974 but at the time we never knew of that background. With its pauses, its guitar solo and its Mae West-like top line it was a curiously catchy song.

Sadly, Steve Harley died yesterday morning at the age of 73. It wasn't drink, drugs or a rock star lifestyle that did for him but a cancer that he had been battling with for a few short months. Now, as the song said, "There's nothing left/All gone and run away" and Steve Harley is no more. But behind, as well as his grieving family, he leaves an army of people from my generation who danced to "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" without fully understanding what it meant though it truly did make us smile.

17 March 2024

Easy


Some visitors have been struggling with questions  from "The Hammer and Pincers" pub quiz so this week's quiz is easier. It gives you a chance to feel better about yourself. Who knows - if you really concentrate - you might be able to score ten out of ten! Once again, answers will be given in the "Comments" section but no peeping!

1. Who is the current president of the USA?

2. Wine is generally sold in two colours. One of them is red. What is the other colour?

3. Name the country at the southern tip of Africa.

4. What is the capital of Sweden? (a) Bujumbura (b) Ouagadougou  or (c) Stockholm

5. "Oui" means "yes" but in which European language?
6. 50/50 question. Which sauce is traditionally served with roast pork - apple or tartare?

7. ANAGRAM of GOD - Clue - it's a domesticated animal.

8. Standing on the Yarra River, which big Australian city beginning with the letter M is the capital of  the state of Victoria?

9. Mathematical question. How many eights are there in 56?

10. BRAIN TEASER Last year was 2023. This year is 2024. What will next year be?

16 March 2024

Imperfect

 

Superman had several special powers - from X-ray vision to the power of flight and from superhuman strength to enhanced hearing. More than that, he was an all round good guy who stood on the side of the righteous against the powers of evil.

I used to think that I was bit like Superman as I never seemed to get ill and could do almost anything that I set my mind to but recently I have been increasingly aware of my frailties. I am not really like Superman at all. I am just another seventy year old guy and my days of invulnerability are over. It is time to hang up my red cape.

You may recall me recounting my February visit to Sandy Denny's grave in south London. What I didn't say then is that my left foot began to give me some gyp that very day. There was discomfort in my heel and over the next couple of weeks that mild gyp turned into actual pain that caused me to limp.

I hadn't consciously hurt my left foot and what I thought it might be was a touch of gout in that area. After all I know what gout feels like because over the past twenty years I have infrequently suffered from it in both of my big toes and the balls of my feet.

When you have an attack of gout, it's as if it creates a strange tension in your body as a whole - not just in the affected area. Gout comes and then it goes.

In the last three weeks I haven't been able to get out and about on my customary country walks because of the heel pain . However, today I thought I would take a two mile circular walk just to test it out. I drove to Shotts Lane on the edge of the city  and then followed a route I have taken many times.

Although I wasn't limping I could still feel discomfort in my left foot with every step I took. Normally I can walk for five, ten or fifteen miles without feeling a thing. The idea of not being able to do that is a little depressing as this has become the activity I enjoy the most.

I don't suppose that Superman ever suffered from gouty pains and twinges that  made him limp. Come to think of it, did he ever have a bad cold or toothache?  Did he get sunburnt or neglect to pay his home insurance? In short, were there ever times when he was not super?

15 March 2024

Diane

In 1953, Diane Abbott was born just eleven days before me. In 1987, she became Britain's first ever black female Member of Parliament, representing the London constituency of Hackney North for the Labour Party. Like Frank Hester, I have never met Diane Abbott in person though from afar I have admired her tenacity and her willingness to fight for worthy causes.

Who is Frank Hester you may be asking. Well he is a wealthy tech-savvy businessman specialising in servicing our National Health Service. The ruling Tory or Conservative party have awarded him several lucrative contracts and he in turn has donated millions of pounds to The Tory Party. If that sounds dodgy then it probably is. A large slice of his wealth came from contracts awarded during the COVID pandemic. 

At a work meeting held in 2019, it appears that Hester, the Tories' biggest donor said that looking at Abbott makes you “want to hate all black women” and then added the MP “should be shot”. Hester does not deny making these vile remarks.

Questioned very recently about this episode, Hester said he “accepts that he was rude about Diane Abbott in a private meeting several years ago but his criticism had nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin”.

Nothing to do with her gender nor the colour of her skin? That is ridiculous! He used the word "women" and the word "black" and now he tries to water it down by saying he was just being "rude"!

It took over twenty four hours for our current prime minister to admit, through a spokesperson, that Hester's comment was both racist and sexist but nothing was made of the sinister add-on that she "should be shot".

Furthermore, this year Hester donated £15 million to The Tories and they have refused to return it. So that's okay then - fighting a general election with dirty money! In addition, it is worth noting that our current prime minister has also enjoyed some free flights in Hester's helicopter.

This all stinks and it is more than unfair on Diane Abbott. The remarks are downright dangerous. A lily-livered apology cannot negate what Hester said in the first place. That would be like Putin apologising for what he has done to Ukraine. Hollow. Bizarrely, the Tories gave arrogant Hester a richly unmerited medal in 2015 - the O.B.E. (Order of the British Empire) - presumably for services to his own bank account.

14 March 2024

Elk

Every state in The United States has its own official song. I have been listening to some of them recently and reading their stirring lyrics. Of course people from around the world are familiar with a good bunch of the fifty states - including California, Alaska, Texas and Florida but some other states are easily forgotten, more obscure. They include Idaho up in the north west but many miles from The Pacific Ocean.

In terms of  land area, Idaho is a little smaller than The United Kingdom with a population of just under two million. In America it is often known as The Potato State but another nickname is The Gem State - both for obvious reasons. Idaho has various state parks and boasts some of the wildest natural areas in the entire nation.

As regular visitors to this blog know, I am geographically inquisitive and rather than focusing on Idaho as a whole, I decided to dig a little deeper and picked a small settlement in the northern heart of the state called Elk City. It is located roughly at the tip of the gunman's rifle in the map shown below

Elk City did not exist until the 1860's when it became the centre of a minor goldrush. Many of those who arrived were Chinese but later the mining activity was dominated by white miners and panners seeking fortunes. Elk City serviced their needs as they fanned out to the nearby mountains. By the nineteen thirties the gold boom was more or less over. Today, the remote settlement has a population of only 170 but some gold is still found in the region. By the way, the last eighteen miles of the D14 road into Elk City from the west were not paved until 1980.

The pictures that accompany this blogpost were all snipped from Google Streetview imagery. Actually, coverage in this remote area  is surprisingly incomplete with only the main road through Elk City going blue when you move the little golden man over the map.

I would love to make my way to Elk City but I don't suppose I ever will. I would stay at the "Elk City Hotel" shown below:-
Of this establishment, a 2013 Trip Advisor contributor wrote: 
"They are not the Ritz, nor do they claim to be. It is the only functioning hotel in the city. The staff is super attentive. The room was clean. In fact my husband lost a bottle top and in his search for it he looked all around the kitchen even under the the refrigerator. It was very clean even there. Not even dust. This room could stand some remodeling. At the very least a coat of paint. The couch must have been replaced since the previous reviewer. We were tickled pink to find that it had recliners at both ends. The TV reception was fine. We didn't really have a lot of time for TV. This area is magnificent. The beauty around there is breathtaking. If you go make sure to take some drives around the area. We drove over the mountain to Selway Falls. The road is unpaved. It was only really rough for a couple of miles. The beauty abounds on the entire drive. There are two places on the drive where you feel like the king of the mountain as you can see both valleys at the same time. Elk City, Idaho is a very beautiful setting. All of the people we met there were very pleasant and helpful. We hope to go back again soon. There are so many more roads to traverse."
Homes by Main Street, Elk City

The little city still has its own post office so if I was staying in Elk I might mosey down there to post a few postcards. I guess it remains an important link to the outside world for those who dwell hereabouts.

And finally, I know that you are keen to hear the Idaho state song. It is called "Here We Have Idaho":-

VERSE 1
You’ve heard of the wonders our land does possess,
Its beautiful valleys and hills.
The majestic forests where nature abounds,
We love every nook and rill

CHORUS
And here we have Idaho,
Winning her way to fame.
Silver and gold in the sunlight blaze,
And romance lies in her name.
Singing, we’re singing of you,
Ah, proudly too. All our lives thru,
We’ll go singing, singing of you,
Singing of Idaho.

13 March 2024

Childcare

Our lovely daughter Frances has just landed another job. Now a mother to two beautiful little girls, she was laid off last summer when her previous company was bought out by a bigger American-based company operating in the same field. 

Like her previous firm, the new one is involved in servicing and supporting recruitment agencies. I don't fully understand it all but most of the work is computer-based.

She will be working four days a week - mostly from home but one day a week will be spent down in London and perhaps once a month, she will have to travel up to Glasgow where the company's main office is located.

The salary package is generous but in her field she is both capable and knowledgeable and the new company needed someone with her skills. As luck would have it, the new business's London arm currently consists of three people who were all in her previous company.

As women all over the world have discovered, it is not easy to maintain a career when you are also the mother of small children. There's a lot of balancing to be done and of course in the western world at least, childcare costs can be horrendous. If the truth be known, Frances would much prefer to be a stay-at-home mum but the pressures of modern living  seem to oblige most women to get back to work as soon as they can.

Besides, Shirley and I are here and most weeks Frances's mother-in-law will be around too. Such back up can provide a vital lifeline, making a return to work more possible.

Phoebe already goes to nursery school three days a week and we look after her every Thursday but soon we will be playing a bigger caring role with Baby Margot before she is ready to attend the same nursery school. 

As I said to Frances the other day, we are happy to look after our granddaughters and in fact consider this role to be a privilege. It's a type of team work and we do not resent our future involvement even though it will make us less free to get away from home whenever we want to go. The bottom line is that we love them.

When I was a lad, my mother was mostly at home though she supplemented the family income by teaching adult evening classes - specialising in "mixed crafts" - including leather work, glove making, basketry, embroidery and lampshade making. She was very talented. 

My three brothers and I did not attend any kind of nursery school because there wasn't one and there was no extended family support either  because my father's parents were both dead and our maternal grandmother lived up in Newcastle.

The world is different now. Probably more than ever before, we have got to pull together.

12 March 2024

Yassou!

The Greek Debt Crisis in 2013

At lunchtime today, I dropped Shirley off at the "Age Concern" charity shop where she volunteers twice a week and headed back home. As there was an empty parking space close by, I called in at our local post office to post a couple of items and buy some books of postage stamps. They are going up again next month.

Leaving the post office and heading back to Clint, I decided to do something I had not done in quite a while - buy my lunch from "Neptune's" fish and chip shop. They used to do a great lunchtime deal - £3 for mini fish and chips with mushy peas.. Of course that particular treat has also gone up.

Waiting for my battered fish to fry, I got talking to the couple who now run the establishment. They are in their late forties and came to England back in 2013 when the Greek economy was on its knees. They arrived with two young children and headed up to  Sheffield where they had a connection with another Greek family. That was eleven years ago.

Their children settled into school here and now their daughter is at university. Their son hopes to follow her. He is now eighteen  and plans to pursue a law degree.

The couple spoke warmly about how they'd been welcomed in this city and how neighbours and new friends had been so kind to them. They also spoke of how proud they are of their kids and how pleased they have been with their schooling. Though the husband and wife team still pine for their homeland, they are happy here and have no plans to return to Greece except for holidays.

It was so nice to hear their positivity and I could have stayed chatting to them all afternoon but I had a battered cod fish to eat, mushy peas and a huge pile of chips (American: fries). Actually, there were so  many chips that I saved most of them in  a casserole dish and this evening we had them with our evening meal. I tossed the cold chips in a little rapeseed oil and spread them on a baking tray before heating them for twenty minutes in the oven. They turned out perfectly.

It had been very nice to hear an immigrant story that was not wet with tears - nor pulsing with underlying resentment. They had made their brave move and then made the best of it. It would not surprise me if their two children now speak with Yorkshire accents.

"Yassou!" I said as I left. It means "Good health!"

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