bigjohn

“Old age ain't no place for sissies.” .. Bette Davis

  • Warning ! Very Old Person Blogging

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  • My Life and Times

    I was born in 1939 BC.
    That’s ‘Before Computers’.

    Luckily I survived the following events in my life, such as

    World War II, The London Blitz, Rationing, and worst of all… Archbishop Temple’s School.

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    During the mid 1950s I was enjoying Rock ‘n’ Roll and being a first generation teenager, when suddenly, just like Elvis, I found myself in uniform during ‘The Cold War’…and then

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    I became ‘a family’. Which meant that I sort of missed the ‘swinging sixties’, but still managed to look a complete prat in the 70s, just like everyone else.

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    During the ‘Thatcher Years’ I lost my hair and a lot of people lost a good deal more. My career fluctuated to say the least as I was demoted, promoted, fired and hired a number of times, but still I managed to stagger on into a welcome retirement and to celebrate 60 years of happy marriage.

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“Never complain. Never explain” .. Benjamin Disraeli

Posted by Big John on June 27, 2017

HRH .. ‘His Royal Harryness’ .. From ‘hence forward’ to be known as ‘The Ginger Whinger of Windsor’ has decided not to join us peasants in the real world out of loyalty to his dear old gran, ‘er Maj’.

It comes as no great surprise to me that he wishes to stay in the highly privileged sycophantic world of ‘royal fantasy land’, where he can play polo, be pampered, piss about all day (with Megan ?) and live in a palace rather than take responsibility for his own life and get a proper job.

If he loved life in the army so much, why doesn’t he return to the military life. He would soon be promoted and his gran could pin a few more medals on his chest, as there is bound to be another war coming along soon, and he could once again take a couple of  ‘brief tours’ surrounded by SAS bodyguards and play at being “Hero Harry”, instead of being just another hedonistic …

… ‘Hooray Henry’ !

Posted in humour, rant | 2 Comments »

Why am I not surprised ?

Posted by Big John on June 21, 2017

I know that there are many things that I do not understand about the vacuous behaviour of people in modern day Britain; and I have often commented on ‘grief lite’ otherwise known as ‘recreational grief’, where those suffering from this ‘mourning sickness’ openly make a display of their ‘feelings’ by leaving anything from balloons to teddy bears at a ‘shrine’ to someone they never knew.

Now I learn that amongst all those good people who have shown a dignified respect for those lost in the Grenfell House fire, a new group has emerged .. the ‘grief tourists’ .. and those who survived the disaster have been forced to put up posters asking these callous creeps not to take … ‘disaster selfies’ … of a building which still contains …

… the remains of their loved ones !

 

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

What a way to run a country !

Posted by Big John on June 13, 2017

For the first time in my life I did not vote in a general election, mainly because I’ve had enough of being governed by a bunch of self-serving hypocritical slippery chancers, who’s manifestos did not make me feel that I should rush to the polling station knowing that my future prosperity would be secure and our country would be in safe hands.

I then learned, after one of the biggest cock-ups in our political history, that our Prime Minister and her cabinet appeared to have had little to do with the proposed future government policies as they were conceived in the brains minds of two unelected advisors from Westminster’s ‘La-La Land’ known as the ‘gruesome twosome’ !

Now, after her failed gamble, we have one of the weakest prime ministers ever, who could be ousted at any moment, and who is about to start Brexit negotiations with the EU. Something which she wasn’t in favour of in the first place.

… What could possibly go wrong ? 

Posted in humour, political, rant | 4 Comments »

Bullet or Baton ?

Posted by Big John on June 8, 2017

When I was young it was common to see policemen ‘on their beat’ patrolling the bobby (239x398)streets. They were usually impressive figures in their helmets, smart high collared uniforms, blue and white striped armlets and silver whistle chains. Their only means of defence was a short wooden truncheon which was concealed in a side pocket of their trousers.

Today’s coppers look very different, and although some still wear the traditional helmets, most are dressed in ‘Hi-Viz’ clothing, stab vests, polo shirts, even baseball caps and the vast majority still rely on a similar ‘weapon’ for self defence , as did those very brave officers who were the first to tackle the three terrorists in the recent London Bridge atrocity.

Now my question is … Is it time to arm all British police officers ? .. for if those officers who first confronted the fanatics had carried side-arms and used them, it is possible that there would have been far fewer casualties including the officers themselves.

The days of the ‘beat bobby’ are long gone. We now have ‘robocops‘ and armed response units and, as far as I know, members of the public do not feel threatened by them.

It has been said in the past that our police officers do not want to carry guns. In view of recent events and future threats, I wonder how many …

…  still feel that way ?

Posted in History, nostalgia, political | 6 Comments »

“Thanks for the Memory”.

Posted by Big John on May 30, 2017

At the age of 78 memories fade, and it is hard to believe that my earliest memory is of sitting up in my pram on a rainy day and watching the raindrops splashing on the waterproof fabric covering my legs. I guess that I must have been about one year old at the time.

I have clear memories of my young days during World War II, of aircraft engines, searchlights in the sky, gunfire and sheltering with my mother. I can remember the troop trains that steamed passed our house around the time of ‘D Day’.

My first day at school is as clear to me now as it was then, as are the names of most of my young friends and the games we played in the street.

My ‘world’ was a very small one back then, but it was soon to expand into employment, military service, marriage and parenthood. I’ve had a good life. I have been bloody lucky ! .. I have many happy memories; and the old brainbox is still functioning, if a little slowly, when I try to recall some event or other: which is more than can be said for the confused, but smiling, ‘old dear’ I met this morning, who couldn’t remember …

… where she had parked her car ! 

Posted in family, humour, nostalgia | 4 Comments »

Manchester in Mourning.

Posted by Big John on May 25, 2017

Every right minded person throughout the world must feel for the families of those killed and for those who were injured in the Manchester bomb outrage this week: and people have the right to show their grief and respect in any way they see fit.

However, I do feel that the media coverage of the aftermath and the often emotional and moving tributes paid by many, can only bring laughter and delight to the extremist killers and their supporters as they see the results of their heinous attack reported in detail by TV channels across the globe.

I know that this is the ‘modern’ way, with everything ‘out in the open’, and I may be wrong, but can it be right to …

… ‘motivate’ those who hate us in this way ?

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

Another ‘tall tale’ of a tree.

Posted by Big John on May 23, 2017

This is a picture of a Leylandii which forms part of a hedge in my garden …

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It is about eight feet high and is kept neatly trimmed.

If it wasn’t it would soon look like this 50ft ‘giant’ ..

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… growing in a garden a little way from my house.

“So What ?” … I hear you ask.

Well, usually I am lucky enough to be awakened each morning by the birds singing in my garden, but not today. Instead, this morning, I left my bed to the sound of the screaming buzz of a chainsaw, and on looking out into the street I saw this …

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… and a few yards from my house the men in hard hats and safety harnesses were already hard at work …

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… turning this monster first into this …

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… and then into this …

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Unlike the last tree I wrote about,  I can’t see this one …

…doing a ‘Lazarus’ ! 

Posted in humour | 2 Comments »

A tree named Lazarus.

Posted by Big John on May 13, 2017

A few weeks ago a gardener, who was erecting a fence for a neighbour, asked me if I wanted this old dead fruit tree …

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… cut down as he was in the process of clearing some land bordering our properties. I said that I would think about it, but then decided to keep it.

Six weeks later, and …

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  Even the top most bare stump …

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… is springing back to life.

 So, to borrow a little Cockney rhyming slang would you…

…  “Adam and Eve” it ?

Posted in humour | 4 Comments »

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