We visited the orthopaedic surgeon today as Ann has been suffering with a painful back, after she tried to move one of our old sofas prior to the delivery of our new sofas a few weeks ago. The end result is she has fractured a vertebra in her back and will have to wear a back brace and, hopefully, the fracture will mend. As I told her today “Your sofa-moving days are over” and she has agreed.
But she has been remarkably cheerful and upbeat, and I hold her in great admiration. We have now sorted out a fabulous woman to come and clean the house, and iron our clothes, on a weekly basis. And we have also found a lovely young woman to come and do the heavy work in the garden, which we no longer want to do. What is amazing about both of these women is that they work so hard, and so cheerfully. Our next job is to sort out a “pool man” to regularly clean our swimming pool. As someone we know said, “I don’t want to clean the pool. I want to jump in and use it.”
Summer has arrived with a vengeance but we are benefitting from “Ann’s Breeze”, which drifts in from the bay and cools us off on those hot afternoons. Sheer perfection at times.
We are waiting for Ann’s sister and her husband to arrive for another visit in three weeks. Their last holiday last November was a great success. Ann and her sister needed time together and it was great to be told “Why don’t you two go down to the pub for a couple of hours?” Did any man ever need an invitation like that?
Life here is good, despite all the curved balls that come in our direction. For those thinking of following in our footsteps, do your research and jump right in. The water’s lovely.
Wednesday 23 May 2018
Wednesday 2 May 2018
Up the creek without ...
So Amber Rudd has fallen on her sword and the newspapers are full of sound and fury (and most of it signifying nothing). Politicians seem to have had a collective I.Q. transplant or bypass in recent years and I yearn for a man or woman of intellect to come forward because they genuinely want to serve the public.
In my younger days, when I developed an interest in politics, intellectual giants bestrode the House of Commons - on both sides of the political divide. Some were intellectuals and some had a low cunning that enabled them to survive in the pressure cooker. Harold Wilson, a man I never admired or supported, was one of those who often managed to surprise us all with his machiavellian ways and kept his party under control and the country in thrall. I remember many others - men and women of honour and integrity - Sir Alec Douglas Home springs to mind - whom one could admire and honestly believe they were doing what was right for the country.
Politicians and journalists have slid down the slippery slope, and there appears nothing will slow their inevitable descent. I, if we lived in the UK, would not be able to read a newspaper and actually believe what was being written. The era of fake news and incredible bias in newspapers has left all who value honesty and truth to despair. Journalists copy and paste from various sources without seeming to be bothered to verify their veracity, and their professionalism withers on the vine.
To live in a democracy, and to value free speech, is a marvellous privilege and one not to be taken lightly. Living a couple of thousand miles away from the UK does not lessen the pain. Prime Ministers authorise the bombing of Syria without consulting Parliament on the grounds of security. What a load of bollocks! If you believe that the Americans and French and British did not give advance warning to the Syrians, and especially the Russians, to minimise the risk of World War Three starting, then you have been listening to the BBC for too long.
People fought and died to maintain the democratic freedoms that we enjoy, and which our political “masters” are rushing to obliterate at a frightening speed. I despair for the western world, and I despair for the country in which I was born. Quo vadis!
In my younger days, when I developed an interest in politics, intellectual giants bestrode the House of Commons - on both sides of the political divide. Some were intellectuals and some had a low cunning that enabled them to survive in the pressure cooker. Harold Wilson, a man I never admired or supported, was one of those who often managed to surprise us all with his machiavellian ways and kept his party under control and the country in thrall. I remember many others - men and women of honour and integrity - Sir Alec Douglas Home springs to mind - whom one could admire and honestly believe they were doing what was right for the country.
Politicians and journalists have slid down the slippery slope, and there appears nothing will slow their inevitable descent. I, if we lived in the UK, would not be able to read a newspaper and actually believe what was being written. The era of fake news and incredible bias in newspapers has left all who value honesty and truth to despair. Journalists copy and paste from various sources without seeming to be bothered to verify their veracity, and their professionalism withers on the vine.
To live in a democracy, and to value free speech, is a marvellous privilege and one not to be taken lightly. Living a couple of thousand miles away from the UK does not lessen the pain. Prime Ministers authorise the bombing of Syria without consulting Parliament on the grounds of security. What a load of bollocks! If you believe that the Americans and French and British did not give advance warning to the Syrians, and especially the Russians, to minimise the risk of World War Three starting, then you have been listening to the BBC for too long.
People fought and died to maintain the democratic freedoms that we enjoy, and which our political “masters” are rushing to obliterate at a frightening speed. I despair for the western world, and I despair for the country in which I was born. Quo vadis!
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