A Good Day

I entered the day with aching limbs and, an (all too familiar) inability to concentrate. As per the norm, Helen readied herself for morning worship .. of God not me .. whilst I remained au lit for some necessary rest. Emerged from the duvet lair at 11.20am and, as the day progressed, was pleased to discover that yesterday's activity had none of the severe repercussions about which I am always a little apprehensive.

By mid-afternoon I felt ready to take a brief brisk walk, a shorter route than yesterday as my knees and leg muscles were giving me a few warning shots. After this, I still had suffient energy left to take a shower so, that's a bonus!

This evening, my beloved and I have settled down to watch "A Child of Our Time" (BBC1) and, energy reserves permitting, hope to watch "Foyle's War" (ITV1). As accompaniment to the TV habit, the contents of a bottle of 'Lindemans Bin 95, Sauvignon Blanc, 2003' are being consumed "for the stomach's sake".

All in all, an enjoyable leisurely day!

An Active Day

After a slow emergence into day, quite leisurely until the ‘phone rang about 11.00am forcing me from my early morning stupor, I’ve managed to excel myself in terms of energy expenditure. Don’t get me wrong, excelling my normal levels is far from earning me an entry in the ‘Guinness Book of Records’. I actually feel quite proud of my achievement and, I’m trusting that I won’t have too heavy a toll to pay.

My beloved, before dashing off to a Coffee Morning, brought me a wonderful ‘breakfast in bed’ (bacon, black pudding and egg … takes some beating) and, whilst I was basking in the afterglow the disruptive ‘phone call came. The call was actually quite welcome, our surrogate son calling from his Midlands home, and he did apologize for getting me out of bed! The next few hours are lost to my memory; I probably did a bit of web browsing, which would be par for the course.

By about 3.30pm, suggested to ma belle that it might be nice to go out for a little walk and, this we duly did. On this occasion, the walk was of the moderately brisk, (slightly extended) brief variety. It did us good to notice how the afternoons are lengthening although, admittedly, on more overcast days the change is much less perceptible.

On our return home, I noticed that the net covering the pond had started to sag a bit so, the next minor task was to re-stretch it a little. That task done, it was time to clean out a blocked drain at the side of the house; by that task was done my halo really began to shine. Ten minutes after the completion of this task, decided to make a start on preparations for Sunday lunch and, as usual, this burst of ‘creativity’ proved most rewarding!

Tomorrow, Cathy joins us for lunch and, I know she relishes the prospect of devouring my latest creation.

This is the day the Lord has made and, I rejoice and am glad in it!

Tips for getting to sleep faster & sleeping better

I hope to get around to reading this when I'm sufficiently wide-awake! Looks interesting.
Tips for getting to sleep faster & sleeping better

AlterNet: Predictions of an Economic Hit Man

Just been reading this short article: a few minutes read but much food for thought.

AlterNet: Predictions of an Economic Hit Man

The author John Perkins website is well worth a visit too!

Turning The Other Cheek

Last night, after a relaxed evening in the company of my beloved and the goggle-box, sleep was extremely hard to come by. Amongst our viewing was “Who Do You Think You Are” (BBC1), in which Jeremy Paxman was persuaded to explore his family tree and, coming from his quite privileged background, was visibly moved to discover the hardships endured by his great-great grandparents. Come my attempt to sleep, my thoughts turned first to the hardships experienced by my parents but, swiftly moved on to remembering other people who had been important to me.

In an attempt to focus down my mind, I settled on remembering one especially important person. Don S had settled down in rural Lincolnshire after working on a farm with fellow ‘conchies’ during WW2. In 1966, on the verge of a mental breakdown, I’d fled the hecticity of London life for a few weeks rest with my parents who had recently moved to Lincolnshire. To say I was living on my nerves would be an understatement, it was rather a case that they were feeding on me.

Don, a Quaker, also attended a small village chapel where my father was minister and, shortly after this prodigal son of the manse returned home, he called around to have a chat with me. My response was to pick up a broom handle to threaten him with and, yell and tell him to “f*** off”.

A couple of days later found me, fuelled by a few sedatives (all I really wanted was to rest!) and copious amounts of alcohol, wandering around the village putting my fist and feet through windows, including those of the pub and the manse. Somehow the police stumbled across me and, being the lithe sort of guy I was in those days, I managed to perform amazing feats of escapology from the strait jacket they applied as they prepared to have me sectioned and transported to the psychiatric hospital.

After a few days, when I became sufficiently compliant to be trusted to wander the locked ward rather than my ‘private’ cell, I was surprised that Don came to visit me during his lunch hour. These visits became a fairly regular event and, eventually, the staff allowed me to go on evening visits to the Theatre in Lincoln along with with Don and his wife. When I was eventually allowed to have weekends at home, Don was once again there for me and introduced me to the local Film Society where I made my first social contacts in Lincolnshire.

Here was a man who really believed in turning the other cheek!  

Mixed Blessings

It was good, this morning, to find that my friend The Oxcliffe Fox was sufficiently recuperated to have done a posting; by the miracles of technology it’s possible to be concerned for a friend’s “well-being” in situations where previously one would have been oblivious to any ailments that had befallen them. It certainly is a mixed blessing!

Talking of mixed blessings, the last few days have seen an amazingly sluggish performance on msn spaces, so much so that, by the time one gets into the ‘edit’ programme one has had plenty of opportunity to forget the purpose of the visit.

A further blessing is your ability to visit this space and discover that “I compliment you on your good taste and/or curiosity”.

Progressive Politics, Populist Voices Forums-viewtopic-Shouldering a Burden, Building a Bridge, Blogging a Convention

Somehow stumbled upon this posting over a month after it first appeared - an interesting post on "the cost of discipleship".
Progressive Politics, Populist Voices Forums-viewtopic-Shouldering a Burden, Building a Bridge, Blogging a Convention

Truth is harmful to international relations - Bush's proposal to bomb al-Jazeera

“David Keogh, a Cabinet Office employee, is charged with leaking information damaging to international relations to Leo O'Connor, researcher to Tony Clarke, former MP for Northampton South. The two are due to appear in court today for committal hearings.”

And I thought it was already common knowledge that Bush showed signs of being a moronic megalomaniac; so how does further evidence damage international relations?

MediaGuardian.co.uk Media Labour MPs leaked Bush's proposal to bomb al-Jazeera

Sluggishly Alert!

The day is still quite young and, despite a familiar erratic sleep pattern, I feel reasonably alert; what an unusual conjunction of events this is! I was already up, and surfing the blogosphere, at a time when most recent days would have found my location to be in the heart of  Zzzzzz …zzz ..land. It’s the kind of shock to the system that I’m just about able to cope with. Perhaps I may even make so bold as to venture forth for a brief brisk walk, although that thought makes me start to wonder whether I’m really as alert as previously assumed!

I’ve just pinched myself and, I’m definitely not dreaming but, already the thought processes are falling back into their traditional sluggish mode. Who knows, once the caffeine and nicotine hits home, I may even have something to say.

Meantime, I wish you all good day!

Summer Daze

As it has been yet another cold grey day, just thought I'd remind myself of bright summer days beside the garden pond.