Happy Christmas
Christmas holidays are nearly upon us, I will be pretty much on tour among friends and family so don't expect much from me for a while.
I know I gripe and moan on here quite a lot, about an awful lot of things but try and understand that this is simply where I let it all out. I am actually quite a happy person! I have a fabulous family, lots of brilliant friends, the wonderful Mrs Akela, a roof over my head, a stable job that I enjoy, good health, live in a democratic country with freedom of speech, enough to eat and drink and so much that many others in this world don't have as do the majority of folks who visit this site.
So I intend to eat, drink and be merry and leave the griping behind me until the new year (unless Littlejohn writes anything uber offensive over Christmas that is, then I may do a special edition).
Happy Christmas all of you, have a wonderful time, see you in January :)
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Alcohol
On Friday I got drunk. It was the office Christmas bash, and I had a lot to drink. No surprise there, milions of people have done exactly the same thing. Except I didn't just have a couple too many and decide that a KFC would tast good, no, yours truly didn't just do that, what I actually did was drink until I didn't know who I was or what I was. My mum phoned me that evening and I had to call her back on Saturday to find out what the hell we talked about.
I know I wrote on various facebook walls and I dread to look at half of them for fear of what embarrassment it might lead to. According to Mrs Akela I had created my own language by the time she scraped me off the sofa where I was threatening to pass out and put me to bed. I feel at this moment I should say just how wonderful Mrs Akela is for the way she looked after me on Friday and then held back from rubbing the embarrassment in on Saturday, when she would have had every right to.
And then I had to go to a wedding on Saturday. It was rather hard work grinning through that hangover.
I am seriously considering neverd drinking again.
On Friday I got drunk. It was the office Christmas bash, and I had a lot to drink. No surprise there, milions of people have done exactly the same thing. Except I didn't just have a couple too many and decide that a KFC would tast good, no, yours truly didn't just do that, what I actually did was drink until I didn't know who I was or what I was. My mum phoned me that evening and I had to call her back on Saturday to find out what the hell we talked about.
I know I wrote on various facebook walls and I dread to look at half of them for fear of what embarrassment it might lead to. According to Mrs Akela I had created my own language by the time she scraped me off the sofa where I was threatening to pass out and put me to bed. I feel at this moment I should say just how wonderful Mrs Akela is for the way she looked after me on Friday and then held back from rubbing the embarrassment in on Saturday, when she would have had every right to.
And then I had to go to a wedding on Saturday. It was rather hard work grinning through that hangover.
I am seriously considering neverd drinking again.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Britain's Arm Pit
It's been a long day, I've travelled in excess of 500 miles, endured a tedious meeting and eaten some rubbish food. Worst of all my travels have taken me through quite possibly the worst town the UK has to offer. That's right, Peterborough.
I had the dubious pleasure of working in this God forsaken hell hole for 5 years. Everyday I slogged my way there and back and spent more hours than I care to remember in the city with the highest crime rate in the country, where twice the number of kids are in care than there should be, institutionalised unemployment, crumbling buildings, pollution, racial tension you name it, Peterborough has it.
I wish to pass a motion, I think I should petition parliament, please, for the sake of sanity, for the love of common sense, can we not just bulldoze the whole sorry mess and start again?
Please?
It's been a long day, I've travelled in excess of 500 miles, endured a tedious meeting and eaten some rubbish food. Worst of all my travels have taken me through quite possibly the worst town the UK has to offer. That's right, Peterborough.
I had the dubious pleasure of working in this God forsaken hell hole for 5 years. Everyday I slogged my way there and back and spent more hours than I care to remember in the city with the highest crime rate in the country, where twice the number of kids are in care than there should be, institutionalised unemployment, crumbling buildings, pollution, racial tension you name it, Peterborough has it.
I wish to pass a motion, I think I should petition parliament, please, for the sake of sanity, for the love of common sense, can we not just bulldoze the whole sorry mess and start again?
Please?
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
The Good The Bad and The Ugly
The last night of cubs for this term has passed and it was a pretty sad moment for me. As I mentioned a couple of days ago I will be moving on to scouts in the summer so this was my last cubs Christmas bash. And because various discussions need to take place I couldn’t actually tell them that it was my last one. Maybe I’m just a big softy, maybe I need to grow up but I felt pretty sad about it all.
The kids, as ever, were lovely and I got showered with cards and chocolate (but no booze this year, come on kids, there’s normally at least one bottle of something, don’t you realise that Akela needs alcohol???) and when I do finally move on I am really going to miss them.
It should have been the last night for my number 2 S as well. She is about to drop her first sprog so wont be with us for a few months while she settles into life as a mum and by the time she’s back I’ll be gone. She couldn’t make it in the end as she felt a tad unwell (which I think your allowed to do when your 38 weeks pregnant!). Over the last few years me and her have made, what I think, is a dam good team, in many ways we’re very alike and are very good friends, in other ways we are very different and bring to the pack what the other one lacks. So as I left last night it felt a bit like the end of an era.
As a rather naff boy band once sang though, one day this will be somebody else’s dream, so I guess I shouldn’t feel too sad, just look forward to what is still to come.
And then I went to cycle home and found some little fucker had pinched my bike lights.
GRRRRR……..
The last night of cubs for this term has passed and it was a pretty sad moment for me. As I mentioned a couple of days ago I will be moving on to scouts in the summer so this was my last cubs Christmas bash. And because various discussions need to take place I couldn’t actually tell them that it was my last one. Maybe I’m just a big softy, maybe I need to grow up but I felt pretty sad about it all.
The kids, as ever, were lovely and I got showered with cards and chocolate (but no booze this year, come on kids, there’s normally at least one bottle of something, don’t you realise that Akela needs alcohol???) and when I do finally move on I am really going to miss them.
It should have been the last night for my number 2 S as well. She is about to drop her first sprog so wont be with us for a few months while she settles into life as a mum and by the time she’s back I’ll be gone. She couldn’t make it in the end as she felt a tad unwell (which I think your allowed to do when your 38 weeks pregnant!). Over the last few years me and her have made, what I think, is a dam good team, in many ways we’re very alike and are very good friends, in other ways we are very different and bring to the pack what the other one lacks. So as I left last night it felt a bit like the end of an era.
As a rather naff boy band once sang though, one day this will be somebody else’s dream, so I guess I shouldn’t feel too sad, just look forward to what is still to come.
And then I went to cycle home and found some little fucker had pinched my bike lights.
GRRRRR……..
Friday, December 12, 2008
Have any Daily Mail readers ever read the Bible?
This may sound like a strange title for a blog post but it's an important one. You see as regular readers are aware I am a Christian. I am on the pink and fluffy, pretty liberal, live and let live wing of Christianity, (we do exist, it just seems that often we are few and far between) but still a Christian at that, that's right I believe that Jesus was the son of God.
Anyway, the Jesus I believe in, as described by the gospels, was an individual who didn't have a huge amount of time for the establishment, for traditions and how things were done. He spent time with tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers. He was a refugee himself. He had few if any possessions and sought to provide for the poor and treat the sick.
Even if you are not a Christian, even if you are of no religion at all, even if you think that the whole thing is a lot of hocus pocus, you must admit that the Jesus portrayed in the Bible was a pretty good egg.
So where is this going?
Well take a look at this story in the Mail
Now the story itself, while poorly written and a bit incoherent, is pretty balanced. Yet lets take a look at some comments shall we?
Total nonsense. Time these silly vicars got back to basics instead of trying to be politically correct. No wonder churches are empty!
Click to rate Rating 7
- GB, England, 11/12/2008 17:55
So GB thinks that a priest trying to emulate Jesus and bring attention to those at the bottom is politically correct. Sorry GB but I thought that following the example of Jesus was exactly what they were meant to do.
Not even funny. Leave our traditions alone.
Click to rate Rating 1
- Renee, Melbourne, Australia, 11/12/2008 19:06
Sorry Renee, but much like Jesus himself the job of priests is not to protect tradition but to spread the word of God and the example of Jesus. Do you think churches are there just to look pretty?
Stop 'getting with it' and leave well alone, too many on the bandwagon changing everything.....What for?
Click to rate Rating 14
- Ross, Bucks, 11/12/2008 19:35
What for? To do as Jesus did you twat.
The 'less fortunate' eh? At least six of the new items are self-inflicted. Fortune not only favours the brave, it favours the clean-living. And besides, GT of Belgium is right, it isn't a religious ditty so has no place in church. Oh, how I hate trendiness in the church. I stopped going to church when the choir started wearing jeans and tee-shirts and strumming their 'geetars' and we were all encouraged to hug the person beside us whether we knew them from Adam or not. Church is a place of quiet prayer and solemnity for me. Sorry to be so old fashioned, but there it is. I feel that this modernity has helped to destroy church-going, because there's as much racket there as anywhere else. B&Q is the new C of E for a lot of folk.
Click to rate Rating 7
- Kathy Bianco, Kensington, London., 11/12/2008 20:07
Arsehole, pure and simple.
The Rev. George Fisher, should remember that he is a disciple, who's job is to go out and spread the word of God.....not waste time re-writing the words and context of a Christmas song, that has nothing to do with the church....it is just another song that is sung at Chrismas. With religious ministers such as Rev, Fisher, it is no wonder that people are leaving the church in droves.
Click to rate Rating 6
- Max, Hampshire, 12/12/2008 3:11
This may sound like a strange title for a blog post but it's an important one. You see as regular readers are aware I am a Christian. I am on the pink and fluffy, pretty liberal, live and let live wing of Christianity, (we do exist, it just seems that often we are few and far between) but still a Christian at that, that's right I believe that Jesus was the son of God.
Anyway, the Jesus I believe in, as described by the gospels, was an individual who didn't have a huge amount of time for the establishment, for traditions and how things were done. He spent time with tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers. He was a refugee himself. He had few if any possessions and sought to provide for the poor and treat the sick.
Even if you are not a Christian, even if you are of no religion at all, even if you think that the whole thing is a lot of hocus pocus, you must admit that the Jesus portrayed in the Bible was a pretty good egg.
So where is this going?
Well take a look at this story in the Mail
Now the story itself, while poorly written and a bit incoherent, is pretty balanced. Yet lets take a look at some comments shall we?
Total nonsense. Time these silly vicars got back to basics instead of trying to be politically correct. No wonder churches are empty!
Click to rate Rating 7
- GB, England, 11/12/2008 17:55
So GB thinks that a priest trying to emulate Jesus and bring attention to those at the bottom is politically correct. Sorry GB but I thought that following the example of Jesus was exactly what they were meant to do.
Not even funny. Leave our traditions alone.
Click to rate Rating 1
- Renee, Melbourne, Australia, 11/12/2008 19:06
Sorry Renee, but much like Jesus himself the job of priests is not to protect tradition but to spread the word of God and the example of Jesus. Do you think churches are there just to look pretty?
Stop 'getting with it' and leave well alone, too many on the bandwagon changing everything.....What for?
Click to rate Rating 14
- Ross, Bucks, 11/12/2008 19:35
What for? To do as Jesus did you twat.
The 'less fortunate' eh? At least six of the new items are self-inflicted. Fortune not only favours the brave, it favours the clean-living. And besides, GT of Belgium is right, it isn't a religious ditty so has no place in church. Oh, how I hate trendiness in the church. I stopped going to church when the choir started wearing jeans and tee-shirts and strumming their 'geetars' and we were all encouraged to hug the person beside us whether we knew them from Adam or not. Church is a place of quiet prayer and solemnity for me. Sorry to be so old fashioned, but there it is. I feel that this modernity has helped to destroy church-going, because there's as much racket there as anywhere else. B&Q is the new C of E for a lot of folk.
Click to rate Rating 7
- Kathy Bianco, Kensington, London., 11/12/2008 20:07
Arsehole, pure and simple.
The Rev. George Fisher, should remember that he is a disciple, who's job is to go out and spread the word of God.....not waste time re-writing the words and context of a Christmas song, that has nothing to do with the church....it is just another song that is sung at Chrismas. With religious ministers such as Rev, Fisher, it is no wonder that people are leaving the church in droves.
Click to rate Rating 6
- Max, Hampshire, 12/12/2008 3:11
Priceless Max, fucking priceless. What do you think the word of God is? have you ever heard of "love thy neighbour"? Have you read the bible?
The people in this song are exactly the people who Jesus would have spent his time with if he was on earth today, exactly the sort. And Christmas, or the Christian Christmas anyway, is about celebrating the birth of Jesus. The traditions are neither here nor there, maybe it's time some Mail readers started remembering that.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Grumbling
This is a letter that I today wrote to the Universoty of Durham, i think it's self explanatory.
Dear Sir/Madam
Letter from The Chancellor
I write further to the letter I recently received dated 28 November signed by Bill Bryson that was encouraging me to donate to Durham University. I wish to make it clear that I will not be making any such donation, for a number of reasons, which I set out in detail below.
Firstly some weeks ago I was contacted by phone asking me if I would make a donation. At that time I made it quite clear that if I was to make such a donation that I wanted to ensure that my money would be well spent and that the university was financially well managed. To this end I asked that a copy of the most recent accounts was forwarded to me for my review. I am financially literate so would have been able to use these to make a judgement. I received a letter some days later that did not contain the accounts and instead was just a further request for money with details of how I could do so.
I was not impressed by that and feel that if the university is in need of money to the extent that has been made out then it should be able to supply me with something simple like some accounts. If you were to send me them then I would still be happy to consider making a donation once I have reviewed them.
I would now like to turn to the letter of 28 November. I don’t know who actually wrote it. I suspect it was not actually Mr Bryson and if it was then he had clearly been poorly supplied with information as it can be described, at best, as misleading.
Once passed the introductory stuff we get to the 4th paragraph where the letter suggests that I might be surprised that government grants do not make up 100% of turnover. Is that some kind of joke? While at Durham I was invited to pay college fees every term that I lived in and had to take most of my belongings home over the holidays as my room would be used for conferences which no doubt earned the university a fortune. I am also perfectly well aware of the fact that most science research at universities is funded by outside industry and that since I graduated most students now pay tuition fees. Indeed while I was there foreign students already did so. So to suggest that I be surprised that the level of government is not 100% is quite insulting.
If we may turn next to the issue of why fewer Durham students donate compared to Cambridge and Oxford I would suggest that perhaps this has something to do with the astonishing proportion of privately educated, ie very rich, students that they take.
Next your comments regarding the libraries at Oxford and Cambridge are somewhat inaccurate and misleading. Firstly they are copyright libraries so are entitled to everything published in the UK. However they do not take all of it, I know this because I am personal friends with a fellow of Trinity College Cambridge. Secondly, and this is where I feel you have sought to mislead me, I know that first and second year students are not allowed to borrow from the university library at Cambridge. They make use of departmental and college libraries. By omitting this information you have made out that the comparative library provision is much greater than it actually is.
I would like to return as well to the recent telephone campaign. My partner also received a phone call that was one of the rudest phone calls she has ever dealt with where an individual with no knowledge of our financial position informed her “you must be able to afford £20”. This was a disgraceful piece of pressure and makes me even less inclined to donate if these are examples of the tactics used.
I am not completely averse to making a donation however I would suggest that the tactics used show me and other alumna more respect and do not contain insulting and misleading information. I would once again ask that a copy of the latest university accounts are supplied to me and then I can make an informed decision as to whether my donation is firstly required and secondly will be made good use of.
This is a letter that I today wrote to the Universoty of Durham, i think it's self explanatory.
Dear Sir/Madam
Letter from The Chancellor
I write further to the letter I recently received dated 28 November signed by Bill Bryson that was encouraging me to donate to Durham University. I wish to make it clear that I will not be making any such donation, for a number of reasons, which I set out in detail below.
Firstly some weeks ago I was contacted by phone asking me if I would make a donation. At that time I made it quite clear that if I was to make such a donation that I wanted to ensure that my money would be well spent and that the university was financially well managed. To this end I asked that a copy of the most recent accounts was forwarded to me for my review. I am financially literate so would have been able to use these to make a judgement. I received a letter some days later that did not contain the accounts and instead was just a further request for money with details of how I could do so.
I was not impressed by that and feel that if the university is in need of money to the extent that has been made out then it should be able to supply me with something simple like some accounts. If you were to send me them then I would still be happy to consider making a donation once I have reviewed them.
I would now like to turn to the letter of 28 November. I don’t know who actually wrote it. I suspect it was not actually Mr Bryson and if it was then he had clearly been poorly supplied with information as it can be described, at best, as misleading.
Once passed the introductory stuff we get to the 4th paragraph where the letter suggests that I might be surprised that government grants do not make up 100% of turnover. Is that some kind of joke? While at Durham I was invited to pay college fees every term that I lived in and had to take most of my belongings home over the holidays as my room would be used for conferences which no doubt earned the university a fortune. I am also perfectly well aware of the fact that most science research at universities is funded by outside industry and that since I graduated most students now pay tuition fees. Indeed while I was there foreign students already did so. So to suggest that I be surprised that the level of government is not 100% is quite insulting.
If we may turn next to the issue of why fewer Durham students donate compared to Cambridge and Oxford I would suggest that perhaps this has something to do with the astonishing proportion of privately educated, ie very rich, students that they take.
Next your comments regarding the libraries at Oxford and Cambridge are somewhat inaccurate and misleading. Firstly they are copyright libraries so are entitled to everything published in the UK. However they do not take all of it, I know this because I am personal friends with a fellow of Trinity College Cambridge. Secondly, and this is where I feel you have sought to mislead me, I know that first and second year students are not allowed to borrow from the university library at Cambridge. They make use of departmental and college libraries. By omitting this information you have made out that the comparative library provision is much greater than it actually is.
I would like to return as well to the recent telephone campaign. My partner also received a phone call that was one of the rudest phone calls she has ever dealt with where an individual with no knowledge of our financial position informed her “you must be able to afford £20”. This was a disgraceful piece of pressure and makes me even less inclined to donate if these are examples of the tactics used.
I am not completely averse to making a donation however I would suggest that the tactics used show me and other alumna more respect and do not contain insulting and misleading information. I would once again ask that a copy of the latest university accounts are supplied to me and then I can make an informed decision as to whether my donation is firstly required and secondly will be made good use of.
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Bloody Hell!
Yesterday I sent an email to the parents of existing cubs, note that existing cubs, announcing that as we are doing so well for resources we are able to expand the pack so will have vacancies over the coming year or two.
In less that 24 hours we have 3 more kids signed up and 2 more in the process.
Perhaps I'm overly optimistic but there honestly does seem to be a total renaisence happening for the scouts and it is brilliant to be part of it!
Yesterday I sent an email to the parents of existing cubs, note that existing cubs, announcing that as we are doing so well for resources we are able to expand the pack so will have vacancies over the coming year or two.
In less that 24 hours we have 3 more kids signed up and 2 more in the process.
Perhaps I'm overly optimistic but there honestly does seem to be a total renaisence happening for the scouts and it is brilliant to be part of it!
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Happy Christmas
Hi all, Christmas is coming and there are people in the blogosphere who I would like to send a Christmas card to but given that I don't know you in the real world I can't. So instead I shall be making a donation to one of my favourite charities, East Anglian Childrens Hospice (EACH) on your behalf. EACH are amazing people who do so much for young people who lives are threatened by serious illness and I simply can't plug them enough.
So this is for people like Putz, Snuffy, 5CC and Anonymous with their regular and not so regular comments plus IPP who I know reads it and may comment one day! Plus there are others who I know visit like the people from Farnborough and Kirklees and Akron who regularly visit but stay silent. And of course the various blogs who have linked to me either permanently or occasionally.
Happy Christmas to you all!
Hi all, Christmas is coming and there are people in the blogosphere who I would like to send a Christmas card to but given that I don't know you in the real world I can't. So instead I shall be making a donation to one of my favourite charities, East Anglian Childrens Hospice (EACH) on your behalf. EACH are amazing people who do so much for young people who lives are threatened by serious illness and I simply can't plug them enough.
So this is for people like Putz, Snuffy, 5CC and Anonymous with their regular and not so regular comments plus IPP who I know reads it and may comment one day! Plus there are others who I know visit like the people from Farnborough and Kirklees and Akron who regularly visit but stay silent. And of course the various blogs who have linked to me either permanently or occasionally.
Happy Christmas to you all!
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