Here in the UK today is Mothers’ Day, so this year I’ll just leave it at that, and not have my usual rant about what was once Mothering Sunday etc.
Here is a picture of some flowers which arrived at our house today for ….
“Our Wonderful Mum”
“One man’s terrorist is another …”
Posted by Big John on March 23, 2017
Yesterday a terrorist was shot dead in London.. Good !.. Regrettably a brave police officer and two other people also died and many were injured.
This mindless act of violence has, quite rightly, been condemned by members of the press and our political elite, some of whom only recently lauded another ‘terrorist’, the late Martin McGuinness, a former commander in the IRA, an organisation responsible for the murder of more than 1,800 civilians and members of the security forces during ‘The Troubles’.
What a difference a day makes !
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
HAPPY SAINT PADDY’S DAY.
Posted by Big John on March 17, 2017
Many years ago I drove into Dublin and stopped to ask directions from a taxi driver …
“Ah” .. he began ..
“D’yer know where Nelson’s Column was ?”
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
A creepy coincidence ?
Posted by Big John on March 9, 2017
The day after my recent rant about smart meters, energy companies etc. I found myself without electricity for two hours due to an unexplained power cut !
Own up ! … Who told ’em ?
Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
Not so ‘smart’ meters !
Posted by Big John on March 6, 2017
I am a great believer in … “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it !” … so, unlike these people, I have ignored the many emails, letters and ‘phone calls from my gas and electricity suppliers offering to install a ‘smart meter’ in my home for ‘free’, thus avoiding ‘estimated’ bills and supposedly reducing my energy costs.
“Free” ! .. So who is paying for it ? .. Not the fat cat energy company bosses, that’s for sure; and I already avoid ‘estimated bills’ by reading my own meters and registering my readings on-line when requested.
That just leaves ‘reducing my energy costs’. Well, if I take a short walk from my house down to the beach I can view .. THIS ! .. the largest bloody wind farm in the world, and if I look out to sea and above the giant turbines I can just make out those …
… flying pigs !
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
A supermarket ‘zombie’ on the loose !
Posted by Big John on March 1, 2017
This morning I was driving out of Sainsbury’s car park when I noticed a young lady who appeared to be about to cross the road at the pedestrian crossing which I was approaching. So being the courteous gentleman old git that I am, I stopped my vehicle and waited for her to cross in safety. She stood at the edge of the crossing, then took one step onto the road. She never looked at me, but instead she stood there, pulled a smartphone from a pocket and…
… commenced texting !
Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »
“nascent digital culture” .. ?.. No! me neither.
Posted by Big John on February 25, 2017
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a serious problem for many people and the type of events that can cause ‘PTSD’ include …
- serious road accidents
- violent personal assaults, such as sexual assault, mugging or robbery
- prolonged sexual abuse, violence or severe neglect
- witnessing violent deaths
- military combat
- being held hostage
- terrorist attacks
- natural disasters, such as severe floods, earthquakes or tsunamis
To me, the cause that first ‘springs to mind’ is that related to ‘military combat’ and it’s association with the ‘shell-shock’ suffered by soldiers who experienced the horrors of the trenches during WWI and the devastating effects that modern warfare has had on so many people across the world to this day.
Now I learn that another cause can be added to the above list …
… Being separated from your bloody smartphone !
Posted in rant | 4 Comments »
He may look like Bill Sikes, but Dickens it ain’t !
Posted by Big John on February 18, 2017
As you may know from some of my earlier posts I do enjoy a good historical costume drama, and so I have been watching the latest offering on BBC TV .. “Taboo” .. although I’m not sure that ‘enjoy’ is the right word to use when referring to this mysterious, dark, brutal and somewhat historically inaccurate tale.
The story is all about some scruffy bloke with a bad haircut returning to England after spending years in Africa, and getting into a bloody dispute with The Honourable East India Company over the ownership of a piece of land off the west coast of North America referred to as “Nootka Sound”, although how a body of water can be described as ‘land’ beats me.
I’ll skip a lot of the plot other than to say that it’s set in 1814 when England is nearing the end of a war with America, with, according to this story, both countries seeking control of Nootka Sound Island, and the East India Company being far from “Honourable” also wanting to grab it for themselves … ‘er ? .. Something to do with .. “all the tea in China”. It’s worth noting that, at this time, they (HIEC) were more powerful than most nations, having a huge private army and navy.
Of course, as you would expect these days, there’s lots of swearing, ‘rumpy-pumpy’ (including incest), graphic violence, mystical mumbo-jumbo and bloody tattoos galore !
So, if you like your historical fiction grim, your sets gloomy, your hero leading character mean and morose, and you can cope with the rather muddled plot. Give it a try and stick with it. You never know…
… There could be a happy ending !
Posted in entertainment, humour | 2 Comments »
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