Yes, I am feeling a little tired today.

“.. almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

And I’m trying, Mr. Jobs, I’m really trying.

Like this.  The Culture ‘ who like a good scaremonger’ Secretary, Mr Mark ‘I have no idea about anything and was given this job because I can lick boots with the best of them’  Burnham is proposing putting age restrictions on websites that have harmful or offensive material on it, and as a father of three believes that ISPs should provide child friendly web-access.

Not the parents.  No.  TheISPs.  The government can control it better than you can. Because we can not in any way trust parents to look out for their kids.  No.  The ISPs should be in control of what their kids see.  It’s only a matter of time before a government monkey will be round to tuck the kids up in bed for you becasue you cannot be trusted to know what is right.

Say it with me… Muppet.

This from a party who’s own damn website needs help. 

So, it may be time to check my own rating again.  Nad after a long long long search I found the damn page and….

So I hope you all brought a responsible adult with you!

Many many people will have no idea who he is, but most will know at least some of his work.

Bagpuss

The Clangers who never say a word but tell you more than you need to know, Bagpuss who was just an old, saggy cloth cat, baggy, and a bit loose at the seams, but Emily loved him… and so did we.

Add into that Noggin the Nog and Ivor the Engine and you have a lot of childhood memories.

Thank you, Mr Postgate.

Gift of the Day

Choco Clock

Chocolate on your desk in a bowl or a bag, readily available and tempting. Stressed at work and throwing it down your neck there will come the inevitable guilt.

This clock will, once an hour, offer you a chocolate treat.  It will leave it out on show for 30 seconds tempting you into the land of chocolatey goodness… and will then snatch it back leaving you chocolate-less.  Perfect treat for those who like their chocolate maybe a little too much!

Truly fantastic.  People today were excited and smiling… about politics.  Nuts!  But fantastic!

And then fireworks today!  Hurrah!

And then, the news I didn’t want.  Michael Crichton has died.

It’s been a very weird day.

The government in this time of war, economic crisis and general horror has decided that what it should be spending money on is a series of documents (Cats, Dogs and Horses to start) on how to look after your pet.  One of the recommendations in it is that you entertain your cat… and make sure it has somewhere to go to the loo.

Dear Cat Owners.  If you do not know that your cat will need to, on occasion, go to the loo give your cat to someone else and go hand yourself in at the ‘Too Stupid To Be Alive’ Centre.

While I am completely for preventing cruelty in animals and believe that people should be informed any pet shop or book shop will have at least half a dozen books on looking after your cat including the excellent Dummies series and… oh many others.

Dear Government.  Please provide the things you are supposed to and stop having lunch meetings on things like this.  We are not as helpless as you think we are (other that on the one thing we need to be – forcing Brown to grow a pair and call an election)

Bad segue: Dear America.  Do what you think is right and it will be right.  Love the entire world.

And, no, I  don’t pretend to even vaguely understand it.  It just makes me sad.

The world really is run by oil isn’t it?

It’s funny, while I have this storm in my head, and the storm outside is really getting into the swing of things, that the world is going through this quiet change.

Yeah, I really don’t know what I’m talking about.  I’m sure it’s going to get real noisy soon.

We all know China won an unbelievable amount of medals but out of the rest of the world who came second?  Oh yeah, Team GB (I have made my peace with the name)!  So, massive massive congratulations to Team GB – 4 years to work on everything else when, of course, we will have home court advantage!

So, the bus came back in the Closing Ceremony.  It’s had a respray with the bright coloured version of the logo.  Dancers and a guitar playing Lord Nelson, Mika’s drummer and a tea lady.

Yep.

That’s the UK for ya!

Lovely.

Oh, and Boris ‘Bless him’ Johnson… he looked slightly more comfortable this time round… Slightly…

So, I am awake enough to be able to celebrate that.  But considering I haven’t been awake this late all week I think I am doing quite well.

Now, however, I am going to bash my head against the wall and knock myself out.  I am reading my feeds now, and I am immensely jealous of the talent you have… and you… and especially you (no links but you know who I am talking about).  Can anyone give me a clue how you guys do the job and excellent blog thing?  Anyone?

Hello?

No, out to get me is the wrong sentiment.  Out to make me feel like crap. Yes, that’s more like it.

You may think this is me just whinging but oh-ho bear with me.

Yesterday I wrote the post that I have received a number of emails about – one calling me a ‘fucking bitch’ and telling me I ‘must be one of those rich fuckers that can go on holiday whenever the fuck I want’ and that I ‘obviously have no fucking idea how the world works’; the next telling me that I should stop being so ‘snobby and let people talk and write however they want’.  The same email told me that it was people like me that stopped the writer getting anywhere in school (well skool as the writer spelled it.  No comment.)

That was first thing this morning.  I went back to bed.  I know.   Lazy cow.

I woke up at 2 this afternoon and felt sick so my plan of going through everything I own to try and find things for the Table Top Sale the scout group is having next weekend went completely to pot.  I now have to do this tomorrow because oh right news!  I have a temp job starting on Monday for a couple of weeks, meaning I am going to be quite the more tired individual.

The tiredness.  Oh holy crap it sucks so much.  I could sleep all day everyday. I can’t wait for my blood tests in 3 weeks.  PLEASE let them show something that can be fixed.  I will take more pills, anything!  I am still on the referral list for the councillor and waiting patiently but I need a quick fix to get me through the current time before everything else starts to work.

Sigh.

These evening Last NIght of the Proms was on.  I love this, it’s a huge tradition for me.  I watch it every year without fail.  It’s unashamedly patriotic and it makes me believe for a couple of hours that this country has a hope, that it isn’t going to hell, that we really are GREAT Britain. Tonight, I was watching it with my mum and brother and I felt guilty for singing along and feeling something.

There was a commissioned piece played composed by Anna Meredith called ‘froms’ that was performed musicians joined together from the four Proms in the Park and the Royal Albert Hall over the satellite feeds.  It was brash and loud and confusing and wonderful and throbbing and oh… I was in tears.  It was magnificent.  I loved it.  My mum and brother, however, hated it.  They talked through it or started to and then must hae caught the murderous look in my eyes.

At the end of the performance they played Jerusalem and the natioanl anthem which are almost religious experiences for me.  I sing them both full throated and with no shame… usually… but after all the sighing and grumbling I felt shamed into almost whispering them.  I cried because of the lack of emotion in the room.  The Proms for me are like most pieces of music – all about emotion.  They give me a chance to feel something more than the horrible blah that I usually go through.

I don’t know what to do.  All I do know is that I… know nothing about how the world works.

More ranting followed about two stories but not for the reasons the journalists that were presenting them wanted people to rant about.

The first story, and the thing that has been heading up the news reports all day is the collapse of XL – a holiday company – that has left 65,000 people ‘stranded’ on holiday and more unable to go on their holidays.  This morning a report on the BBC was doing the usual wandering around the airport talking to those who could longer go in particular a family of four going to Disney in Florida.  Yes, very sad that they won’t get to go but this is not the point.

The family had two school age children in the party.  I’m not sure but I’m guessing nearly all the schools are back.  Now if that family is willing to take their kids out for the THREE WEEK holiday they were going for then thank God they can’t go.  Letting your kids miss three weeks at the beginning of the school term is irresponsible.  There isn’t a day of school that should be missed.  Some schools in my area fine parents £30 per child for taking them out of school.  It is up to the school how much, others fine up to £100 and threaten to withdraw the place of the child at the school.

Now I know holidays are more expensive during the school holidays and that’s why parents will want to go during term time but something has to be done to stop this.  Something real.  Not another namby pamby policy by our ridiculous government who never seem to…. grrrrrr!!!! Okay, maybe I am still angry.

The other one made me rant for about 30 seconds and then laugh.

Yesterday a story broke about Professor John Wells, the president of the Spelling Society (yes, there really is one) made some suggestions about how to make the English language easier to spell and deal with including the following:

• Short vowel sounds

Drop the final e from words if the preceding vowel sound is short: Give becomes giv but love remains love

• Double consonants

Allow double consonants when the preceding vowel sound is short: River becomes rivver; model becomes moddel

• Danger, Anger, Hanger

Replace the soft g with a j: Danger becomes danjer
Use a double g after the n if the sound is hard: Anger becomes angger
Use a single g if the sound is elided: Hanger remains hanger

• Embrace Americanisms

Many people already use an s in “practice”, as in the US. Also, the American version of organize with a z is accepted. Why not thru?

• Abolish the apostrophe

Get rid of the two types of its (it’s and its) as it is hardly likely to confuse your meaning. If removing the apostrophe is a problem, then leave a space: We’ll becomes we ll

• Their, there and they’re

They all sound the same and the meaning is unlikely to be lost if we just use “there” in each case

(Yes I lifted that from the article on BBC World Service)

You can imagine why I was angry…

Today on our local news there was the rebuttal. (I only wish I could embed this)

The two things that made me laugh are at 00:02

“…if you couldn’t spell proper.”  That would be properly?

and 00:16

Did they deliberately choose a book with the American spelling of prioritizing on the back? In England, darling, it’s prioritising.

And right now my priorities are:

• apologise to my readers for being a crabby cow today.
• stop now being they all run to pastures far far away
• go to sleep and end this day.

Sorry!  I really am… this is what I get for not having an anonymous blog.