Sunday 17-04-22 A Snap Election

Here we go for a "snap election" then. On the day that the French go to the polls, it will be approximately seven (?) weeks until we get the same opportunity.

I can't see this as anything other than an opportunistic play by the Prime Minister, who has often accused others of playing political games. She has also promised no early election, on several occasions.

I think she has calculated that if the next General Election were to fall in 2020, then it would basically be an election about Brexit. We won't be done with Brexit by that time, there will still be transitional arrangements in place and the process will still be ongoing. If the election is pushed out to 2022, then there is more chance that the dust will be settling.

However, I can see that she wants a mandate. She became PM last year via an internal Conservative party process, and she hasn't faced the general populace. So it makes sense just to check that she is supported generally. But I think she could see that if she looked at the polls. She could certainly save some money by relying on those rather than a General Election. So far, we've had a GE in 2015, the Brexit vote in 2016, and now another GE in 2017. And what will happen if she is not returned with a larger majority?

It may be that the Tory vote increases within certain constituencies, so that incumbents will see their majorities increase. But in constituencies where a Tory is not incumbent, the anti-Tory vote may harden. If there is a 44% favourable rating for the Tories, it is hard to see how that won't lead to extra seats, but these are strange political times, and I think we in the UK are heading towards becoming as entrenched in our existing views as they are in the U.S. So a vote which is supposed to unite the nation will end up being divisive.

I have seen that T May has called for manifesto ideas, which suggests that she doesn't have any of her own. Which again feeds into the impression that this is an opportunistic plan to capitalise on current national sentiment. Seven weeks is a long time in politics though. and if the various left-leaning parties get their act together, and maybe propose one joint anti-Tory candidate in certain constituencies, the Tories may find it hard going.

And by calling the election now, this may lead to serious losses for Labour, and Jeremy Corbyn may face pressure to resign. But he may not act on that; he seems to be a bit "other-worldly" sometimes. Maybe he would be better off in academia, rather than deep in the cut and thrust of today's politics? I'm not sure.

The Lib Dems should see an increase in seats, which may be a good thing; I quite like the Lib Dems, they may come across like Tories with hearts sometimes, but that is no bad thing. They have made a couple of misjudgements recently though; the most damaging was the student fees. Then there was going into a coalition with the Tories; I don't think that was a bad idea per se, but the trouble was that they were then seen as "Tory Lite", so they suffered because Tory voters voted Tory, and people who would never vote Tory couldn't bring themselves to vote Lib Dem. And so they were decimated in the last GE.

It'll be interesting, that's for sure - and we need a reason to be watching the nightly news. I'm sure Newsnight and Channel 4 News will see an increase in audience share. I hope that people take the opportunity to become better informed, but the trouble is that most of the information we receive will be "spin", that is, information presented in a partisan manner. So information provided by Labour news sources will be intended to denigrate the Tories, and information provided by Tory news sources will be intended to denigrate Labour. And most people will ignore the Lib Dems (and, I hope, UKIP?). This would be a good time to highlight the good work done by Full Fact, they independently check claims made by political parties and news programmes (e.g., Question Time) and provide the full picture. They are worth checking out, and supporting if you can.

TTFN.

Saturday 17-04-21 The U.S. Administration and Syria

(I was billed again by godaddy yesterday for my wordpress site, so I suppose I had better make use of it.)

It was a couple of weeks ago that all of a sudden the news programmes were talking about the possibility of the U.S. Administration bombing Syria. It was definitely mentioned on the BBC World Tonight news programme, and I went to sleep thinking that we were being softened up for the attack, and I thought that probably there would be more "preparation" the next day.

As it turned out though, the bombs were launched overnight, and the first news I heard in the morning was that the bombing had happened. I was a little surprised at how quickly things had happened, but not actually against the bombing happening. One thing that did raise a few concerns though, was how quickly the U.S. Administration had changed its mind. It did seem, only a few days earlier, that it was not minded to punish Syria. And then there was the emotional appeal, about the "beautiful babies", that was another thing. I don't want nations making decisions about whether to bomb other nation states when they are emotional. I want them to sit down and rationally plan for any and every outcome.

And that is where I think that the U.S. Administration erred. Yes, probably something needed to be done. But I heard that the bombed runway was back in action before the day was out. The bombs were not a surprise, and all the planes had been moved to safety. So the net effect was to spend a few million dollars on a nice firework display, so that the U.S. Administration could say "Look! we did something!" And what they actually did was:

1. Annoy Russia, who have been supporting Assad's regime, and

2. Put a very small dent in Assad's military capability.

Assad is the only power in the region which is currently capable of keeping the lid on ISIS, so by attacking Assad, the U.S. Administration is potentially giving ISIS some assistance. The enemy of my enemy is not my friend, and all that. And without any follow-up, or at least none that we can see, it looks like the message that the U.S. wants to send to Assad is that it is fine for him to oppress his own people, just not with chemical weapons. And that is a pretty sad state of affairs from where I am sitting.

TTFN

Saturday 17-04-08 Cud at The 100 Club (Friday 31st March

Last Friday I was up in London, settling into student accommodation at the LSE. I had bought a ticket to see Cud at The 100 Club, and TW & I had talked before about me staying overnight in London. This time I had researched the perfect accommodation, at the LSE near Euston station, for £36 per night (including breakfast) and I was going to make the most of it.

I had booked a half day at work, and I caught the train up to Victoria at just after 1pm. I had my Kindle for company in a mostly empty carriage, which suited me fine. I was a little worried that I had the wrong ticket, because I was on the Gatwick Express, but it was okay. I arrived in London just before 3pm, and decided to get the tube to Oxford Circus - then I could find the venue, and walk from there to the LSE. It was a lovely sunny day, and I was in a great mood. I found the club easily enough, it was actually on Oxford Road, east though, just before Tottenham Road. It’s a bit seedy and rundown there, I suppose, but Crossrail might rejuvenate the area in a few years. I walked to the halls, and checked in. I laid down for a bit but was too hyped up to really rest.

It got to 5pm and so I headed out, determined to make the most of my London visit. I hit a number of pubs and sampled the real ales. I had a pint in a pub, The Ship on Wardour Street and was reminded of the Underworld song Stagger, with the lyric “I saw you shopping in Europa on Wardour Street, not phoning back”. The beer was good too... After a couple of pints I thought it would be wise to eat something so I popped into Gourmet Burger Kitchen on Berners Street - it’s good to stick with what you know, sometimes…

Then it was time for the gig, so I wandered around the corner to the venue, showed my ticket and went downstairs into the hallowed 100 Club. It’s a nice venue, the pints were cheap, and the layout is more wide than it is deep, if that makes sense; there were seats at the side of the stage and there was no backstage area, so the musicians have to walk through the crowd to get on stage. Which is nice because it feels as if you’re close to the band(s) wherever you are in the venue.

The support band were a Surrey/Sussex combo called La Flamme, they had an energy about them, and some good songs, and they acted as a good warm-up for Cud. I’ve been quite impressed with their warm-up bands, especially Sheen who supported them at the Garage a couple of years ago. Anyway, La Flamme (pronounced “flame”) did their stuff, thanked Cud for inviting them, and then departed.

It was time for Cud. Cud are a great band live, and tonight they were performing all their singles. With a career stretching back to 1988/89, there were a few they had to get through! Cud gigs are a great thing, as far as I am concerned; a way to get together in a group and share a common appreciation of some good music. The rhythms are stirring, the tunes are memorable, and the lyrics are other-worldly on occasion. But it’s not really about reproducing the songs note for note; Carl delivers the vocals differently live, and really hams up the role of lead singer. Mike and Will take their turns in the spotlight as well, and it’s more a celebration than anything else. You recognise the opening notes of a song and suddenly you’re dancing, which can be a bit difficult in a sold-out venue when you’re all jammed together. But I managed it; probably the beers helped. I was standing at the back (which as I mentioned, wasn’t really far back) and I was behind some tall guys. I realised that people in front of them were shorter, so I pushed past them closer to the stage. I had a great view, I was dancing, and it was great.

After they finished, I was in no rush to leave, so I got another beer, and actually had a chat (more likely a drunken burble) with Will the bassist. I presume he is used to mumbled non sequiturs, but he seemed happy to chat, so that was good. I bought a tshirt, which I don’t normally do, but since the pints were under £4 each, I had a few spare pounds. Then I headed out into the night to see what London was about.

Actually, the area I was in, at the east end of Oxford Street, was closing down. One pub had stopped serving, and the pub I managed to get a drink in was about to close. So it was a quick pint of London Pride and then on. I was told that there was a late-night drinking establishment called Nordic, so I headed there. I bought a pint, but it wasn’t my thing so left pretty sharpish, and headed back to my room. And that was last Friday night, done and dusted. The only last bit of business was the breakfast the next morning, which was delicious. It was a full English, but served buffet-style, so if I'd thought it through, I could have had double helpigns. I didn't though, one plate full was enough to set me up for the day and the journey home.

TTFN.

Thursday 17-03-30 Brexit And Article 50

So, I won my 39p. Article 50 has been triggered, and the two-year process has begun. Why then do I have a sinking feeling, like there is something nagging at the back of my mind, as I do when there is something that I know I’ve forgotten? I have a sense of slowly-approaching doom, and I don’t think it will become clear until it is almost upon us. I think it has been pointed out several times in the Houses of Parliament that if we are aiming for the same deal as we had before, why don’t we just keep the same deal? The paucity of thinking in this regard is quite scary. It has been suggested that -if- we have to fall back on WTO rules then we can copy and paste the existing EU tariffs and work to those. If we are going to do that, and we are going to transpose the EU bill into UK law, I have to ask: what is the point?
And in my view we are being softened up for “no deal”. It takes two to tango, and I think that if the EU negotiators don’t see things in quite the same way as David Davis - and they won’t - then the UK team will walk away from the table. There is no way that we can have the same deal as a non-member of the EU as we had as a member. We contributed £250M per week last year, and that was used in the running of the EU: paying farmer subsidies, paying regional development funds, paying the salaries of regulatory authorities. We can’t reap the benefits of those initiatives without paying in, so if REACH have to rubberstamp our chemicals, we will have to pay a fee for that. Yes, Regional Development Funds and farmer subsidies will be handled nationally, but we will have to set up bodies to oversee those disbursements. We will have to replicate REACH for the domestic market - BREACH, if you will, and we will have to do this for other EU regulatory bodies. Bureaucracy in the UK will explode come 2019, and the Conservative party will no longer be able to claim to be the party of small government.
In the 36 hours since we triggered Article 50 there have already been disagreements; May suggested that we have the “divorce discussions” and the “future relationship” discussions simultaneously - that has been poo-pooed by the EU. She linked security to a trade deal, and the EU has described that as a non-starter. To be honest, I expect the discussions to go quite badly wrong, although I’d be quite pleased if they didn’t. I understand that our standards are harmonised with Europe, so you’d think discussions would be easy, but I don’t think the mainlanders (I can’t call them Europeans, since we are also Europeans) will make it easy for us. But then, I’ve been feeling pessimistic about the way things have been going for a while. Anyway, hold onto yer hats, it’s going to be one hell of a ride…
TTFN.

Tuesday 17-03-21 Six Nations Round-Up

And so the Six Nations comes to an end for another year. It’s a great tournament and I really enjoy watching it. This year, highlights for me were Scotland beating Ireland and Wales. Their appetite and attacking play has really changed in the last two years or so, and it is a joy to watch. The way they physically threw themselves into the game against Wales had me worried / looking forward to the match against England. Eventually though, that fixture turned out to be a bit of a damp squib, meaning that England dominated the match from the start, and the end result was never in doubt. Scotland’s final game against Italy yesterday saw them keep a clean sheet against Italy, but there were points where the old style of game play surfaced again, where they passed back and weren’t able to go forward. Maybe that was due to Italy’s forwards, but it was a bit concerning.

The game between Wales and Ireland last week was a brilliant, breath-taking game, quite literally. TW was holding her breath, she was so excited…! I could have done with a lie-down in a dark room to calm down afterwards.

There were two outstanding games which I think will be talked about for years to come; the first is of course the England - Italy game, or “ruckgate” as it will be forever known. Basically, Italy didn’t want to come to Twickenham and get beaten by England on England’s terms, and so they refused to commit men to the ruck area. This completely confounded England, because they had their routine all sorted: take the ball in, get tackled, go to ground, ruck over, recycle, take the ball in… How could England progress without a vital phase of their game? Unfortunately it took England much longer than it should have done to adapt to the game Italy were trying to play, but they still won through.

There have been rumblings that the laws of the game need to change to prevent teams playing like that in future, but I think it was a high-risk ploy, and if you play like that you risk losing massively; so it is self-managing. It was a fascinating match to watch though.

The other match which stretched the bounds of the game was the France-Wales match, which took 20 minutes of extra time to play a scrum. So the game took 100 minutes to play. Unfortunately at 80 minutes Wales were ahead, and by the time the clock showed 100 minutes, France had taken that lead. I think Wales should have won, so it was a pity, from my point of view, that the scrum had to be reset so many times.
It was though an exhilarating competition all round, with some brilliant moments and some awesome contests, and I can’t wait until next February comes around…

Friday 17-03-17 Comics

I've decided to start actually reading my comics, and rather than just buying and hoarding them. I have been collecting a series called Red Thorn, which is basically on a whim because it said it was set in Glasgow. It's okay, but it's about demi-gods and myths, which is not what I was expecting. 



It's enjoyable enough, but I'm still not sure whether the main characters are likeable or good or evil, so I'll wait and see how the first story arc turns out. 

Tuesday 17-03-14 Interesting Times

As the saying goes, “may you live in interesting times”. I think it was meant to be a curse. Well, the bill conferring authority on the Prime Minister to invoke Article 50 became law yesterday, and on the same day Nicola Sturgeon announced her intention to invoke a second Scottish Independence referendum. We are indeed living in interesting times.

The world as we know it is disintegrating around us, and things are going to change beyond all recognition. We will be out of the EU by March 2019, probably without much of a deal with the other members. It certainly feels like Theresa May is preparing us for that eventuality. If the negotiations are tough, we may not have much leverage and so we will come away with nothing.

At the same time I think that if Scotland does hold a second referendum, this time they will vote to leave the Union. It seems that the Scots feel that they are not being listened to, and their concerns are not being addressed. If that feeling spreads widely then I can see Scotland voting themselves out of the Union. And it will be David Cameron and Theresa May who can take responsibility for that unfortunate turn of events.

Then there are other days when I think it won’t have any impact at all. Go figure.

Saturday 17-03-03 PaddyPower and I are Parting Ways

Paddypower and I are parting ways. It’s sad to say, it did seem to be a blossoming romance, but unfortunately things were not well in paradise.
It all came to a head on Tuesday night. Previously Paddypower (hereafter known as PP) had falsely reported goals, or stopped reporting on games altogether, which was annoying but manageable. Tuesday night, though, things were different. Brighton were playing at home to Newcastle, and it was a top-of-the-table clash. Since I lived in Brighton for ten years, and have worked there for nearly twenty, I was not only financially but emotionally invested in the game. Mum and Dad were also at the game, since they have season tickets, along with quite a few friends I work with. Yes, I had a small wager (70p) on the game, in Brighton’s favour.
TW & I decided to start watching Apple Tree Yard, the recent BBC drama, since we’d recorded it and heard some good things about it. I had the PP website up on the laptop to follow along with the score.
The drama on the telly was pretty good, but I noticed that Brighton went 1-0 up after about 15 minutes. I double-checked it with flashscore.com, and it was confirmed, Brighton were ahead. I settled back and watched the telly, and kept one eye on the score. Half-time came and went with no change, Brighton were still winning. Then 60 minutes, then 70, and then 80 minutes, and things were static at 1-0. I was getting a little jittery, if Brighton won that would mean that they were clear at the top of the table. But Paddypower reassured me, the score was still 1-0 and everything was right with the world. And besides, I was focused on the story unfolding in Apple Tree Yard. Full-time was announced, and the score was 1-0. Excellent! I informed TW, Brighton are top of the table, they won!
I checked my winnings, but they hadn’t been awarded yet. No worries, that happens sometimes, it takes them some time to pay out. So I waited. And waited. And nothing. Hmm, I thought, maybe the game went to extra time. That happens sometimes, Paddypower stop showing the in-play score before the end of the match if it’s gone over 90 minutes. So I checked on flashscore.com, and they advised that the game had finished, but the score was 1-2 to Newcastle. What?
I checked with the BBC, they advised the same thing. Newcastle had won. PP had stopped updating their website at some point and missed the goals in the 81st and 89th minute. So I’d missed out on £1.78 as well as Brighton going clear at the top of the table, and happy family and friends the next day. Gutted. I did contact them on Twitter, they “apologised for the inconvenience”. Well, that isn’t enough, I’m sorry to say; they messed up. I mean, they’ve taken my cash, but they aren’t showing me the actual real scores, and for that reason I’m done.
I’ve still got a couple of pounds with Paddypower, but once those are gone, I won’t be refilling my account. It won’t be any great loss to PP I’m sure; I'm not a high-roller by any means, but if they don’t have reliable systems, then I don’t want to bet with them any more. It’s a shame; like I said, it was fun while it lasted, but if they can’t get the important stuff right, then there are plenty of other sites I can spend my money at.

TTFN…

Sunday 17-02-19 Girl of the Match

So I couldn't let TE's first rugby tournament go unmentioned. Last weekend we went to Reigate for a mini-tournament, involving five girls' sides; two from Essex, Old Reigatians and Pulborough (I think). The two Essex sides were Eton Manor and Barking. It was a freezing day, the wind was bitter, and it wasn't pleasant. We got there and TE went off into the changing room with the other girls from Worthing.

She's not been playing long with Worthing RFC and others in the team joined after her. She used to play at Worthing Leisure Centre but gave it up. Then she asked if she could go back, and her coach suggested she might benefit from going to the town club. So that is how we ended up where we are, which reminds me, I need to pay her club fees...

So that recap was by way of explaining that expectations weren't high. Worthing are a new team, in the sense that there were a lot of new team members, and they were up against some pretty organised competition. Old Reigatians for instance seemed to have a very desirable set-up, a seemingly new clubhouse and very well-kept pitches. And their team was good, I think in the final reckoning  they were the team who won most games. And that makes sense, right? I mean, why invite other teams to play at your club unless you are confident in your abilities to contest the game? And the clubhouse was really nice; it was the sort of place that people want to be a part of. If I lived in Reigate, I would probably enrol my daughters in the club just for the social aspect - apart from the bar prices. They may have been club prices, but they were more Fabric prices than Tarring Working Men's Club prices. That came as a bit of a shock! But we lived through it...

Worthing Girls, on the other hand, managed to lose their four matches. But the team, despite taking some injuries, weren't despondent. The coaches encouraged them, and pointed out what they were doing well, and congratulated them when they put into practice what they had learned in the training sessions.

So even though the weather being cold and damp, and the scorelines not being encouraging, the girls weren't disheartened. We asked TE if she had enjoyed it, and she said yes. She certainly didn't appear to have struggled at all. She scored a try, which always puts a better spin on the day, and she was one of three girls who got a "Man of the Match" (I suppose it should be "Girl of the Match") award, for improving over the course of the day and being instrumental in some of the closing plays of the final game.

Most of the team are moving up to the 13-year old side (TE currrently plays with the U13s). So she will be one of the longest-serving players, which means, possibly, that the other girls in the team will look to her for support and guidance during games. I hope that Worthing can keep up the momentum and generate more interest in girls' rugby. The current coaches are moving up with the girls, so I hope that they can get some replacements who do as good a job and be as positive as the current guys are.

I'm certainly glad that TE is enjoying her rugby, and I hope that future tournaments are played on better days (weather-wise) and the results are kinder, but if she enjoyed playing on a bitterly cold day even when they lost all games, I think maybe she might have found her passion?

Tuesday 17-02-07 Brexit (again)

As I write this, MPs are debating Article 50 in the House of Commons. I don't know what they are trying to achieve, since the majority of MPs will vote for the Article 50 bill, which gives the PM the power to inform the EU of our wish to invoke Article 50 and withdraw from the EU.

Most MPs don't want to leave the EU, they think it will be bad for Britain and they think that we will be worse off, but they are still going to vote for it.

No amendments to the bill will be accepted, in my expectation, and the bill will go through as it stands. I don't understand why they are wasting time over it; they have another full day of debate tomorrow.

It's all for show, as far as I can see. I'd like to see some discussion of how to actually reverse Brexit, and if it is at all possible. There is no point, in my opinion, going along with Article 50 at this point and then trying to reverse things later. As has already been said in the House of Commons, MPs have already voted to trigger Article 50, and they have agreed with May's timetable, i.e., to do this by end of March. So if any of them renege now, they will be portrayed as untrusted flip-floppers.

I believe most of the Tories are secret Leavers, even if they claimed to be Remainers and campaigned for Remain. The ease with which they have given up the fight is astounding. Anna Soubry and Ken Clarke spring to mind as MPs who have stuck to their principles. And I don't think Labour are much better; I do think that if Corbyn had been on the back benches he would have been a Leaver, and it was only for party unity that he decided to remain.

It does seem though that the process is irreversible; I can't see a way that this might all be turned back so that we can all return to normal. Maybe we will all regain consciousness in the shower, much like Bobby Ewing did in Dallas? I don't see any other option. So fasten your seatbelts kids, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

TTFN.

Thursday 17-02-02 Farage and Democracy

https://twitter.com/Nigel_Farage/status/826914009056161796

 

Farage is a tit, in my opinion. These MPs are not "enemies of democracy". Less than 40% of the voting public voted for Brexit, so it is only right that some MPs vote against triggering Article 50. MPs are representatives, not delegates. Indeed, most MPs, if it were down to them, would not have voted to trigger Article 50.

But MPs have carried out the will of the people, just as Cameron promised in the introduction to his referendum: "This is your decision. The government will implement what you decide."

And that is why referendums are infrequent in British politics. We elect MPs to represent us in Parliament, and decisions get taken there. We don't instruct our MPs how to vote, they are not delegates. We can petition them, and ask them to vote a certain way during a certain vote, but they are under no obligation to take our views into account when making their decision. I asked my local tory MP to vote for the renationalisation of the railways: I knew he wouldn't, but I wanted him to know that some of us actually agree with that particular proposal. We actually had a good chat about it.

In UK politics the plebiscite (that's you and me) are directly consulted very infrequently, i.e., we don't do referendums. We let the MPs decide on our behalf. I have heard that if we had a referendum on whether hanging should be brought back as a punishment, it would overwhelmingly be approved, and that is part of the reason why we don't have a referendum on it. MPs are protecting us from ourselves - but that is why we vote them in and out of power.

Unfortunately on this occasion, despite the fact that the Brexit vote will lead to a massive constitutional change, Cameron put in no safeguards or thresholds over voting levels or participation. If only one person had voted, we would have had to follow that individual's wishes. That is how ridiculous the Brexit referendum was.

In my opinion, the 114 MPs who voted against the bill should be applauded. They carried out their job, as the representative of their electorate, to the best of their abilities and as their consciences dictated (especially those Labour MPs who voted against the whip). They knew that they wouldn't stop the bill being passed, they knew that they were making a futile gesture, but they went ahead and voted as they did anyway.

They might lose their jobs at the next election, or other considerations might sway the electorate. But by voting as they did, the 114 MPs showed that we were living in a democracy and not a dictatorship, which is probably what Farage would prefer - as long as he was wearing the leather trousers.

TTFN.

Thursday 17-02-02 Water

I am beginning to develop a pathological hatred for water, which isn't good for my health. Currently it seems that it has been raining constantly and heavily for about four days, and I am getting to the point where I am dreading having to go outside under the open skies. Because they are not open, they are closed over by grey and rain-bearing clouds which obscure the sun and the sky, and the clouds continuously pelt me with rain.

I don't dress well for rain, either, which doesn't help. I have a fantastic waterproof coat which I bought from Mountain Warehouse, but that is about it. The water runs off my coat onto my trousers, and turns them two-tone, normally dark at the front and then lighter at the back. On days when the rain is particularly heavy, even my shoes get in on the act, and go all two-tone too. And then they take an age to dry out.

I popped to the chip shop the other night, and it was raining, so I hurried there and got into the shop quickly, to get out of the rain. I placed my order and then sat down on the window ledge, and then jumped up pretty quickly - the shopfront was leaking and the water was collecting on the ledge. Another example of where rain or water was out to get me.

And it's not like I'm safe even in my own house. A few years ago, we had an extension built onto our kitchen, and that leaked on us too. To be honest, it leaked onto a friend while they were standing up and preparing to leave. It was a bit lucky really, or we might not have noticed. We had to have the flashing redone to seal the join, but it seems to have been dry since.

Last summer we had a flood in the house; the toilet in the bathroom overflowed and flooded the kitchen while we were out. We're still in the process of putting that right, and I will come back to it.

A couple of weeks after that water escaped from our shower and flooded the bedroom below; that was a minor incident compared to the kitchen flood, but it prevented us from using the shower for a few months. It turned out that the sealant around the shower tray had dried out, and so water had escaped around it and ruined a small portion of the wallpapered ceiling below.

And now, while installing a new kitchen suite, we've discovered that the mains pipe has been leaking since forever. The guys who are fitting the kitchen are proper builders who can also take care of the plumbing, so that is a bonus, but there is no guarantee that the leak will be fixed before they want to start installing the new cabinets, and other bits & pieces. I am dreading that they might have to delay the install, especially considering that currently we don't have a kitchen at all; no basin for washing up, no oven for cooking, no washing machine or tumble dryer to clean our clothes with. And the ground floor is about half the size that we are used to without the kitchen, which is making things all a little squished. If I were to try to spin it positively, I might describe it as "cosy".

So that might go some way to explaining why, these days, when I hear the patter of raindrops seemingly constantly and continuously against the window, my heart sinks. But it'll be summer soon, and then I will be able to enjoy warm sunny days and long summer evenings, and it won't rain at all.

TTFN.

Friday 17-01-26 Brexit Update

The Supreme Court came back with their judgement on Tuesday, and actually Parliament do have to vote on whether to grant the Government the power to invoke Article 50. Of course, Parliament will probably vote to do so. Here is the bill, in its entirety:



It is sobering to think that so few words are going to have such a big and lasting effect on the nation. And whether it is a good or a bad thing, it will have a big impact.

I believe that the judges were right to decide that Parliament needed to vote, and that Government could not invoke Article 50 without Parliament's approval. Whatever happens next, at least no-one will be able to say that Article 50 was triggered improperly and claim some sort of compensation from the State.

It also seems that a number of MPs will vote against approving this bill, which will lead to the triggering of Article 50. I think that is only right as well. The basis for that assertion is that the vote was nearly a 50-50 split. Almost the same number of people voted for Brexit as voted against it. There were also a number of people who could have voted but didn't, and when you take their numbers into account, only 37% of the electorate voted for Brexit.

On that basis, the claims by Tory MPs and others that they are enacting "the will of the people" seem bogus. The people who didn't vote either did not have enough information (or misinformation), or, perhaps they were just happy with the status quo,  the way things were? I would argue that actually, with less than 40% of the electorate having voted for Brexit, we shouldn't be galloping towards the exit with such enthusiasm.

I think that the Tories, whether they voted remain or leave, see this as an opportunity to throw off the "shackles" of European legislation and regulation. But David Davis has claimed that workers' rights will be unaffected, and we are going to approach the WTO (World Trade Organisation) with exactly the same tariff schedule as we currently have under the EU umbrella. So if nothing is changing, what is the point of leaving? I believe that the Tories see this as a chance to have a "dynamic and thriving" economy, but if they are going to keep exactly the same conditions as we currently have, I'm not sure that I see the point. If, when they study the relevant bits of legislation, they decide that they'd like to keep those bits after all, because actually workers' rights and blue flags on beaches are the right thing to do, what is the point of leaving?

The "state" will have to increase in size, as well. All those monitoring and regulatory bodies which the EU currently maintains will have to be set up from scratch in the UK. We will have to increase the number of border guards and visa stampers currently employed. The annual national budget will have to go up to cover all the bureaucracy that we will have to manage, which was previously handled by the EU, or rendered unnecessary by our membership of the EU.

And this is all Cameron's and Farage's fault. Even if we make a success of Brexit, and there is a chance we might, there should be no argument over the fact that it will cost us money. The Brexit vote was offered to the people by Cameron to settle some internal Tory party wrangling, and he never thought that people would vote for it. So he never put in place the proper safeguards; that over 80% of the voting public had to vote, that >66% had to vote for Out, etc. And so Cameron and Farage should not receive any public honours - no knighthoods, no OBEs or CBEs, or similar. Cameron promised to take us through the Brexit negotiations, and as soon as it didn't go his way and it looked like there was a bit of hard work involved, he jacked it all in. Now, apparently, he is getting paid tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of pounds for giving speeches. So Farage and Cameron have massively inconvenienced the country and shouldn't get any thanks or praise for what they've done.

I'd rather we didn't leave the EU, but then I've never known any different environment. We used to be outside the EU, and we got along perfectly well, so I don't see why we shouldn't do so again. Companies who are working on slim margins might go to the wall, and a large percentage of people may not interact with other European countries at all, so they won't feel the impact at all. But with the change in the exchange rate imports should get more expensive, and that will lead through to higher prices on the high street. My pension fund has increased a lot over the last few months, and that is because the stock market indices have gone up. But the stock market indices have gone up because £ Sterling is worth less than it was. If I was able to access the money in my pension now, the worst possible thing I could do would be to try and spend it overseas. Something that cost $100 in the US, would have cost me £69 last June (exchange rate £1 = $1.45) and today would cost me £80 (exchange rate £1 = $1.25). TW would love me to take her to the U.S. for a shopping trip, but if everything in the U.S. is suddenly 15% more expensive, due to the deteriorating exchange rate, then it is even more unlikely now than it was last May.

Anyway, I've blathered on for long enough. I do have another couple of thoughts, which I may note down separately.

TTFN

Friday 17-01-27 Cheap Fitbit Imitations

So we bought cheap Fitbit imitations, or I guess you could call them fitness trackers in their own right, for our daughters for Christmas. They were easy to set up, the girls have phones which they could use to download the designated app (except TY, who has a tablet), and they followed the instructions.

The trouble is that the time often goes wrong on these devices, and then you have to sync them back to the app, and in doing that the steps counter resets to zero, so if it gets to five p.m., say, and we've been out for a long walk, the girls are pleased that they've walked  a lot, but in looking at their activity trackers, they notice that the time is wrong. So they sync, and lose their progress for the day.

One of them was so bad that I gave in and replaced it with a secondhand Fitbit Flex. It was secondhand off of eBay; it's not as "feature-rich" as TW's Charge HR, but it's a complete 100% improvement over the no-brand cheap imitations out there.

I am expecting to have to replace the activity trackers the other two have over the coming months, but I thought I would buy one a month to spread the cost. So what we thought was a nice Christmas gesture will probably turn out costing somewhere between £90-£100. But they are pretty good.

There are several models, other than Fitbits, which I would consider. The brands I'm keeping an eye on are Jawbone, they do one called UP24 which has had favourable reviews (I have a Jawbone earpiece, so I know they are good) and Xiaomi, who have produced the Miband. I have some of their headphones, so I believe they are reliable. Those are the ones I'd buy in my price range, I'm sure there are others (Nike, possibly?), but I'm planning to stay away from the no-brand types as, when it comes down to it, they are a false economy.

TTFN.

Sunday 17-01-22 Rugby Morning

This morning TE practised with the U13 girls at Worthing Rugby Club. I took her, as TW was out last night and was still sleeping at 10am. We had expected that though, and planned for it. There was a gas leak along the A259 which I thought might slow us down, but as it was we were able to get to the ground in plenty of time. I dropped TE down to the area of the ground where the girls were gathering, and I went off to sample the facilities.

I've been to rugby mornings before and I was looking forward to a bacon roll and a tea or a coffee. As it was, they did have bacon butties, but I plumped for a sausage in a roll, smothered in mustard and brown sauce. It was very nice. And as I sat to eat it, and drink my coffee, I had this scenery to digest as well:





Sometimes life isn't so bad :). Sitting in the sun, watching kids train and learn the intricacies of rugby (something I never did), I thought that we're actually quite lucky, living the life we do.

Sunday 17-01-22 Techno Lust and Consumerism

I have several ways of connecting to the internet and modern life, but recently it's just not enough. I yearn for a Microsoft Surface.

It would probably do exactly the same things as my current Windows laptop does, and I don't use the full functionality of that. I don't know all the apps and utilities which are available in the Microsoft Store, it's not something I check often. I've not bought into the Microsoft ecosystem in the same way I have with Android. The laptop we have in the sitting room is there to be used, but I prefer interacting with the chromebooks we have. Maybe that is the effect of Google and Chrome? But I yearn for a Microsoft Surface.

I can't afford a Microsoft Surface Pro 4; that's about £500 more than our family laptop cost two years ago. Or £450, to be more precise. So the best I would be able to afford is a first generation Microsoft Surface RT off of eBay. They go for about £80 or so, depending on their condition. But that is a device running RT, which isn't Windows 10 (which I quite like), so the app store may be slightly limited, the display is a standard 1366x768 - which may be okay on a 10" device - and I don't even have the first clue about the keyboard and whether that's any good. There is no guarantee that even if I picked up a bargain off of eBay that my yearning would be sated. It may feed my yearning, so that I end up selling a kidney to get my hands on a later version of the Surface, running "proper" Windows, with a more high definition display, and an i5 processor.  And I do yearn for a Microsoft Surface.

Here is a picture of the main devices we have in our home currently:

[caption id="attachment_552" align="alignnone" width="300"] My Devices[/caption]

I say main devices, because that doesn't include my phone, which I used to take the picture, TW's phone, the two phones belonging to TE and TMO, a back-up HTC One X which I don't use any more, a Lenovo 7" tablet which TY uses, and the original Samsung Galaxy Tab - which can also be used as a phone. And yet I yearn for a Microsoft Surface.

I probably wouldn't use all of its functionality, so I definitely wouldn't need an i5 or and i7 processor. I do a bit of surfing, and a bit of blogging. I check my bank balance and catch up on the news. I don't even watch iPlayer on the PC, although maybe I would with a more high definition screen? It's unlikely; I still buy CDs - I'm the sort of person who thinks TV shows should be watched on the TV. I think technology is leaping ahead of me, and I like to think that I'm quite tech-savvy. But I yearn for a Microsoft Surface.

And it's not like I have a choice of which of those devices I can use at any one time. Normally TE has snaffled one to watch Netflix in her cesspit of a room, and TMO has probably snaffled another to watch YouTube in some as yet undiscovered room upstairs. So often I have to use whatever is left. And yet, I do okay. It'll probably get worse as they get more homework and assignments which need to prepared on a computer, although they seem to be working with Google apps more these days, which means that I was wise to pick up the chromebooks. But I do yearn for a Microsoft Surface.

So, I can't afford one, and I wouldn't use it to its fullest. I have plenty of toys already, which I could probably do lots more with than I already do. And the children need feeding every now and then, so it's probably wiser to spend what we do have on food rather than a device which will just replicate what we already have. So I'm resigned to lusting over specs on Curry's website and believing my life would be better, if I just had more new tech in my life. And occasionally looking on eBay to see people snap up seemingly ridiculous bargains. I'll probably continue to yearn for a Microsoft Surface, but I'll just have to ensure that my yearning is unfulfilled...

Monday 17-01-16 Dryathlon

Here we are then, halfway through the month and I've not had a drink since I went to bed on New Year's Eve (which was really 1am on New Year's Day). It's not been too bad, although the Friday nights and Saturday nights have seemed longer and slower than normal. But then that might just be the sight of Gary Barlow's grinning fizzog looming out of the idiot box at me, giving me palpitations. 

I did sign up to do Dryathlon via the Cancer Research website, but I'm not intending to raise funds, this is purely a personal thing. They sent me two of the beermats pictured above, as well as a "Dryathlete" wristband, and I'm feeling a little guilty about it. Maybe I'll donate £20 or something at the end of the month; after all, I will have not spent much more than that on wine and beer. But I wanted to make some sort of external statement, rather than just an unspoken promise to myself, which I could then pretend at some point was never made. 

I've been wearing the wristband, although not in an ostentatious fashion. It's quite snug on my wrist and doesn't move about much at all, so even I don't see it. 

I've also enjoyed not having a hangover, and feeling brighter more often. My sleep hasn't improved, but I think that's because I'm 45 rather than 25, and even if I am awake for an hour or two early doors, I tend not to feel so tired later during the day. 

I did well in the Park Run on Saturday; despite not running mid-week, I managed my second-best time. I'd like to get a PB later in the month, but I think I will need to go out mid-week for that, and at the moment, it being January, it's bloody cold out there. Still, if it is dry tomorrow night, I may channel my inner Forrest and stretch my stumpy little legs. 

We were moving a dresser yesterday, for reasons which were beyond me, TW likes to move furniture around at random times; it keeps us all on our toes, she thinks. Anyway, we had to empty it before moving it, and we came across our Christmas booze stash - all the bottles left over from Christmas we didn't have enough days to drink. I think I counted five bottles of red wine, three bottles of white wine, and a couple of bottles of prosecco... It's going to be a good February! 

My only dilemma now is whether I stay up on January 31st until midnight to celebrate my month of sobriety with a glass or two, or I wait until the evening of the 1st February. I guess, since I drank into New Year's Day, that the month doesn't officially end until about 1am on 1st February, and I'm not sure that staying up until then and starting to drink at 1am is the wisest option - so I'll probably leave it. 

TTFN.

Monday 17-01-16 Dryathlon

 

 

Here we are then, halfway through the month and I've not had a drink since I went to bed on New Year's Eve (which was really 1am on New Year's Day). It's not been too bad, although the Friday nights and Saturday nights have seemed longer and slower than normal. But then that might just be the sight of Gary Barlow's grinning fizzog looming out of the idiot box at me, giving me palpitations. 

I did sign up to do Dryathlon via the Cancer Research website, but I'm not intending to raise funds, this is purely a personal thing. They sent me two of the beermats pictured above, as well as a "Dryathlete" wristband, and I'm feeling a little guilty about it. Maybe I'll donate £20 or something at the end of the month; after all, I will have not spent much more than that on wine and beer. But I wanted to make some sort of external statement, rather than just an unspoken promise to myself, which I could then pretend at some point was never made.

I've been wearing the wristband, although not in an ostentatious fashion. It's quite snug on my wrist and doesn't move about much at all, so even I don't see it.

I've also enjoyed not having a hangover, and feeling brighter more often. My sleep hasn't improved, but I think that's because I'm 45 rather than 25, and even if I am awake for an hour or two early doors, I tend not to feel so tired later during the day.

I did well in the Park Run on Saturday; despite not running mid-week, I managed my second-best time. I'd like to get a PB later in the month, but I think I will need to go out mid-week for that, and at the moment, it being January, it's bloody cold out there. Still, if it is dry tomorrow night, I may channel my inner Forrest and stretch my stumpy little legs.

We were moving a dresser yesterday, for reasons which were beyond me, TW likes to move furniture around at random times; it keeps us all on our toes, she thinks. Anyway, we had to empty it before moving it, and we came across our Christmas booze stash - all the bottles left over from Christmas we didn't have enough days to drink. I think I counted five bottles of red wine, three bottles of white wine, and a couple of bottles of prosecco... It's going to be a good February!

My only dilemma now is whether I stay up on January 31st until midnight to celebrate my month of sobriety with a glass or two, or I wait until the evening of the 1st February. I guess, since I drank into New Year's Day, that the month doesn't officially end until about 1am on 1st February, and I'm not sure that staying up until then and starting to drink at 1am is the wisest option - so I'll probably leave it.

TTFN.

Sunday 17-01-14 Wet Saturday

Yesterday we started the day by Skyping Mum and wishing her Happy Birthday. She and Dad are in Singapore visiting my sister and her family, which is nice, especially when the weather in the UK is so dreary at the moment.
Then it was the Park Run, obviously, it being a Saturday morning. I did okay, I finished in 29:01, which is my second best time. Apparently I have managed it in 28:14 once, but I am sure that was an anomaly and they got it wrong that week. It was dry for the Park Run and TW also did well, coming close to her PB (personal best) time. TE wanted a slushie but the machine wasn't working at Splashpoint, so TW offered to make her a hot chocolate when we got home. TE agreed, surprisingly, and so we stopped and bought some squirty cream from Tesco Express at the Worthing rail crossing on the way home. We also picked up some halloumi and as soon as we got home, TW started frying that as a snack / late breakfast for the girls. Then she went out to pick up some clothes & deliver some make-up, while I washed.
I was looking forward to a lazy day from there, but TW had other ideas. She was on the go pretty much all morning and then suggested we go out for a walk. The girls protested but I could see that they needed some fresh air; the youngest two had been glued to YouTube all morning and were beginning to mong out. They did suggest Woods Mill, but couldn't all agree, and eventually we plumped for Southwater. That was a nice compromise, I thought, because it's quite a relaxing park but most of the paths are paved, and so we wouldn't end up getting unnecessarily muddy.
I didn't count on the rain though. Although it was dry when we left home, by the time we got there, it was raining, and it didn't stop. It was an okay walk, and the girls got their fresh air and some exercise on the climbing frames in the park. Everything was wet though, so playing on the swings and slides was out of the question.
We stopped at McDonalds Buck Barn on the way home, initially for a snack, "something off the 99p menu" TW said, but when we got in the girls asked for more substantial eats, and so they had burgers and fries, and I had some Nuggets and a Quarter Pounder with cheese. It was 4pm by this time, and TW realised that we were planning to have burgers for dinner, which wasn't going to work any more. The girls ended up having a snack at about 18:30 and that seemed to sate them.
Then it was an evening of crap telly; the Gary Barlow vehicle Let It Shine, which seems more kindly-spirited than X Factor, but is limited to men only, and then The Voice on ITV, which I think comes in second place, but that is due to its familiarity. The Barlow show is a suppose a retread of the previous talent search How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria, which of course was limited to women only. But the whole show (Let It Shine) acts as a big advert for the forthcoming musical, which isn't the precise story of Take That, but is based on their story, and incorporates the music of Take That. So Barlow is being paid to appear in a show which promotes a musical which he has written, which contains songs for which he will receive royalties. That sounds like a nice little earner.
And then it was bedtime, and I slept.

Sunday 17-01-14 Wet Saturday

Yesterday we started the day by Skyping Mum and wishing her Happy Birthday. She and Dad are in Singapore visiting my sister and her family, which is nice, especially when the weather in the UK is so dreary at the moment.
Then it was the Park Run, obviously, it being a Saturday morning. I did okay, I finished in 29:01, which is my second best time. Apparently I have managed it in 28:14 once, but I am sure that was an anomaly and they got it wrong that week. It was dry for the Park Run and TW also did well, coming close to her PB (personal best) time. TE wanted a slushie but the machine wasn't working at Splashpoint, so TW offered to make her a hot chocolate when we got home. TE agreed, surprisingly, and so we stopped and bought some squirty cream from Tesco Express at the Worthing rail crossing on the way home. We also picked up some halloumi and as soon as we got home, TW started frying that as a snack / late breakfast for the girls. Then she went out to pick up some clothes & deliver some make-up, while I washed.
I was looking forward to a lazy day from there, but TW had other ideas. She was on the go pretty much all morning and then suggested we go out for a walk. The girls protested but I could see that they needed some fresh air; the youngest two had been glued to YouTube all morning and were beginning to mong out. They did suggest Woods Mill, but couldn't all agree, and eventually we plumped for Southwater. That was a nice compromise, I thought, because it's quite a relaxing park but most of the paths are paved, and so we wouldn't end up getting unnecessarily muddy.
I didn't count on the rain though. Although it was dry when we left home, by the time we got there, it was raining, and it didn't stop. It was an okay walk, and the girls got their fresh air and some exercise on the climbing frames in the park. Everything was wet though, so playing on the swings and slides was out of the question.
We stopped at McDonalds Buck Barn on the way home, initially for a snack, "something off the 99p menu" TW said, but when we got in the girls asked for more substantial eats, and so they had burgers and fries, and I had some Nuggets and a Quarter Pounder with cheese. It was 4pm by this time, and TW realised that we were planning to have burgers for dinner, which wasn't going to work any more. The girls ended up having a snack at about 18:30 and that seemed to sate them.
Then it was an evening of crap telly; the Gary Barlow vehicle Let It Shine, which seems more kindly-spirited than X Factor, but is limited to men only, and then The Voice on ITV, which I think comes in second place, but that is due to its familiarity. The Barlow show is a suppose a retread of the previous talent search How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria, which of course was limited to women only. But the whole show (Let It Shine) acts as a big advert for the forthcoming musical, which isn't the precise story of Take That, but is based on their story, and incorporates the music of Take That. So Barlow is being paid to appear in a show which promotes a musical which he has written, which contains songs for which he will receive royalties. That sounds like a nice little earner.
And then it was bedtime, and I slept.