Month: February 2008

It,s been over a week since I last had a full English breakfast and I have not touched any biscuits, although there is some debate on whether shortbread is a biscuit or not. My own take on it is this if it really is a biscuit instead of bread then trading standards should be informed and action taken to ensure that that the public are not mislead. Speaking of misleading I went into a butchers the other day to buy some ribs and asked him about Ox tails. I mentioned that you don’t see many other bits of Ox for sale only tongue and tail. What happens to the rest of the Ox? He mentioned that it probably was not Ox at all but cow and that he happened to be a pork butcher so he would not know. Is this not a case for trading standards to inspect?

Onto the week and some mindless morons, probably illiterate, inbred halfwits, have started egging my windows and my car. Mindful of what happened to Gary Newlove and that was not an isolated incident, I sat and ignored it. Mine is not the only property to be attacked but it shows the isolation and sense of being unable to “do” anything when some thing like that happens. Peaceful law abiding citizens are slowly being hounded out of the UK aided by a police force that turns a blind eye to criminal damage under 500 pounds because it is not cost worthy to investigate it. The PSCO’s seem to have had limited success mainly because the powers they employ are so limited. I have not seen one in my area and I have never seen one in any area after 7-30pm.  Are they worth having? Well not from my point of view.

No post these days would be complete without an update on Genghis. He is now putting on some weight and has become increasingly playful. I suspect this is mainly due to me feeding him raw steak and full fat cream. In a few weeks he will go for his injections and inoculations and then after a couple more weeks, mainly when the clocks have gone forward, he will be unleashed onto the world at large. Rather than having him bring dead birds and frogs into my house I expect him to be dragging half dead mindless vandals. If that does not work then it’s either move or get a tiger.

Last night I went to see a Thin Lizzy tribute band called Limehouse Lizzy. They are probably the best tribute band I have ever seen or heard. The bass player looks remotely like Phil Lynott and the guitarists looked remarkably like Scot Gorham and John Sykes. The Lynott look-alike had the accent and actions off to a T. All thrusting groins, sexual innuendo, searing guitar licks, long hair leather and denim. The very stuff that rock n roll is made of. Would I go and see them again? definitely.  It was so different to the last time I went to see a band or artiste. Some time ago I had booked to see an amazing guitarist by the name of Alvin Lee. All pumped up I arrived at the venue to see one of the great rock n roll legends and relive some of my fast fading youth (some might say bleached beyond recognition).  

I knew something was wrong when said artiste walked on stage. His gait and manner were not what I had expected and he didn’t look entirely like I remembered him from his days with Ten years After. Within a few seconds the awful truth had dawned on me. It was Albert Lee on stage. I had booked to see the wrong guy. An easy enough mistake to happen when you book online after having had a few beers! Albert is also a great guitarist, born at the same time as Alvin and from the same country and indeed the same part of the UK. However, Albert is mainly a country guitarist while Alvin is pure rock. Both have the same skill and are equally talented but I hate country music. I stayed as long as I could for I really appreciated his skill and talent, but I could not bare the music he was making.

Ted Magnum has contacted me from Argentina and over the course of a few emails we have discussed the possibility of the two of us travelling from Alaska to Ushia some time in 2011. It’s a distinct possibility although anything can happen in three years. I have given some thought to travelling around the world when Château Ghastanbury has been sold. Last year I was given a rucksack and some rather fine walking boots and shoes for this very purpose. The trip if it comes off will be via motorcycle or Landrover. There are pluses and minuses for each form of transport however the rucksack and boots will be used whatever method is decided upon for the trip.

Sitting at my desk and looking out of the window at the bright blue sky and watching my old friends the Collared Doves attempting to build a nest for the coming season, the world seems fine and all is well. Plans are afoot for a financial venture and travel beckons at some far away point. The future looks bright, a different planet away from the chaos and bad news. What bad news? Well the Traveller who arrived an hour ago tells me that Japanese fighter planes have been scrambled to escort a Russian bomber out of Japanese airspace. The Russians are also building a naval base at a Syrian port that will give them the largest naval base in the Mediterranean. Combined with their flights into British air space at regular intervals and their increased control of gas and oil throughout Europe it looks ominous. Kosovo is expected to declare UDI which will be opposed by Bosnia and Russia oh and the Archbishop of Canterbury has suggested that the UK accepts certain parts of Sharia law for some sectors of the community. Its time to get out before the Russians bomb us to bits and those who are left have to buy prayer mats and face east every morning. Mind you the Mayans did say the world would end on December 23^rd 2012. We had best enjoy what time is left while we can!

At last January is finally over. The skies are blue and the sun is shining and the winter blues are finally on their way, well at least for today. So what have I been up to? Well I have now taken up yoga as well as Tai Chi. Both are equally difficult for an unfit novice like me but I felt better the morning after the yoga session. The stretching and breathing really made a difference and I had a spring in my step when I woke up unlike when I went to bed and I could not move. In fact during the night, I actually fell out of bed and could not get back in without the assistance of BC.

On Shrove Tuesday me and BC went to friends house for a meal. My friend is some one I have known for a long time and both she and her mother used to call in and see Elsie on a regular basis. Mum and me both looked forward to seeing them as the pair of them are regular rays of sunshine and can brighten up any one’s day. They have also been active members of my barbecue circuit for some time. For the purpose of this blog I will call them Sophia Loren and her Mum. Anyway I digress, the meal was wonderful. It was Italian and we had a massive starter of cannelloni followed by Pork escallops with tomato stew and vegetables. For afters we all had a huge piece of Italian cake smothered in Amaretto syrup and preserved peaches. By this time I was feeling rather full and was convinced I could eat no more when a huge block of Cheddar cheese that had been steeped in Port and was almost pink in colour was placed on the table with some crackers. Needless to say I ate far more than I should of when the chocolate and coffee arrived. Strong rich Italian coffee laced with liquor and topped off with cream and all washed down with several (I lost count) bottles of wine. I really do not understand how Miss Loren and her Mum manage to stay so slim and svelte on a rich calorie laden diet like theirs but they do. I only have to look at Ginsters pasty and 3 inches go on my waist.

After a truly wonderful meal with delightful company during which the time flew all too quickly, I waddled out and set off for home and decided there and then that for the very first time I would give up something for lent. I have now given up chocolate, biscuits and full English breakfasts. To aid me and ensure my will power does not wilt Commander Riker has also given up the same things. Given our combined failure to keep to any news year’s resolutions for the last umpteen years, the abstinence for lent does not hold out much hope but I am banking upon the fortitude and sense of purpose of my good friend CR to keep me on the straight and narrow.

The Traveller arrived at mine a few days ago and we had a drink with Teech. During this session we all decided we needed to do something for our futures and that three heads and combined financial power was much better than one. Thus we have agreed to form an alliance the purpose of which is to buy land wherever we can find it at costs that are agreeable to all three of us. Consequently we are looking at wedges of land in Texas. Will we buy any? I really do not know but the will to do something is there. I have no doubt that before the end of this year we will have purchased something somewhere. As land prices rarely if ever fall, it disproves the old saying that what goes up must come down. For now the dream is a step closer.