Email Alert And Other Stuff.

Hallo my dear readers.

First off I would ask you please not to open any emails sent from me inviting you to click on a link. I have been hacked and didn't send any emails with attachments. I have now changed my password so hope this won't happen again.

This is one of those days when I am at a loss to think about what to write about, so let's see what happens. Does the word lets have an apostrophe? I don't know. I don't suppose it really matters in the scheme of things. Tricia helps me with punctuation and grammar when I get stuck. She used to be an English teacher which is very useful. Do you think the word 'very' needs to be put in front of useful? Surely useful means just what it says. So what is the point of 'very'? Perhaps 'extremely' would be better? Extremely useful. Maybe extremely is too extreme? 'Most useful'. How about that? I think I shall move on from this topic. My head is beginning to ache. Beginning to ache. What does that mean? Maybe I should have just said my head is aching? Oh crikey! See what's happening. I am definitely moving off the word topic now.

Bonnie the Ginger Cat is acting a bit strange lately. She has taken to giving me a smack with her paw for no discernible reason - I just had to look up how to spell discernible. She still likes me I think, because she still likes to sit on my lap. She used to give Sadie the German Shepherd an occasional smack. I think it was to show Sadie who was the real boss. Sadie used to simply ignore her. Maybe Bonnie thinks she has to keep me in check too? She gets really sulky when I tell her off for her bad behaviour. Makes me feel guilty too. It'll be interesting to see what happens around here when I get a new puppy.

Bonnie the boss cat.

My extremely handsome son George has passed his first two exams at university. He has been inquiring about joining a local football team in Liverpool and is going to a training session tomorrow. I am pleased about this because he is such a good player. I am not just saying that because he is my son. Well perhaps I am, but it is true. Did I tell you that he has become a football association coach? I asked him if he would mention that to the new team. He says he might do, but I suspect not. He is such a lad for 'hiding his light under a bushel' as the saying goes. Have you heard that saying before? We do have some strange sayings in England.

Anyway, the things he is doing up there in Liverpool such as learning martial arts and now the football give me hope that he is settling into life away from home OK. He will make good friends at the football club too.

I am feeling more positive about things now and can feel my creativity wanting to return. It is a month now since Sadie the German Shepherd died and I am no longer constantly feeling her presence at my side. Tricia is going to visit EHS George at the weekend. I shall be looking after her three little dogs while she is away, so I will be doing some dog walking again.

In my last post I made some references to God and religion. I don't really consider myself religious to be honest. I suppose I can best describe myself as an agnostic. I am saying this in view of the recent dreadful typhoon in the Philipinnes. All those deaths. So many people made homeless. People who in most cases had very little anyway. It sure does make me think. Why would a benevolent God allow that to happen? I suppose people of great faith would be able to explain His thinking. I can't.

It is 2 am. I think I shall go to bed now. Goodnight and God bless -Well why not?




PS. Remember to ignore any email links, purporting to come from me.

Who Want's To Be A Millionaire?

I bought myself a steak yesterday. Cooked it in the frying pan. Had it with chips and petit pois. Really enjoyed it too.

Believe it or not it was my first proper meal in a month! Yeah I know, crazy isn't it? Truth is I have been trying to catch up with the vet's bill and other stuff so have been even more frugal than normal. Ran out of gas a month ago and couldn't afford to buy a new tank, so no cooking anyway. I have been living on cereals and ready meals since. Yuk! Mind you I suppose the cereals are good for me. Got rid of my fat tummy too. Every cloud as they say. Anyway yesterday I looked at my account and thought to myself -who else would I think it too? - 'hey that's looks healthier, I think I shall treat myself.' So I did. Not only that but I also managed to put £40 into my new puppy fund. It may well not stop in there for long, but it's a start.

I never have much money. Strange that, what with me being so multi talented and all. Or so people tell me anyway. The trouble is I am one of those people who somehow manages to struggle through the hard times. Always have been. It's a gift. I am not particularly religious but I swear by my mantra - if that's the right word - that 'the Lord will provide'. He usually comes up trumps God bless him. It seems to me that long ago He, in his infinite wisdom, recognised my lack of motivation, and set about giving me a bit of a helping hand. Of course I did try to succeed. I don't sit about not trying, but there is another saying, 'the Lord helps those that help themselves'. Very good of Him. Mind you He did put me through one heck of a tough apprenticeship. I think I shall leave my religious leanings there for now. Wouldn't want to push it too far.

This being broke business, it's quite weird really because - listen, I shall share a secret with you. Don't tell anyone okay? - because the truth is, I am a millionaire. No listen, it's true. Look at it like this. Here I am living in my showman's wagon, which I made myself out of reclaimed materials. But, and here's the important bit, my wagon is in a field. I own this field. In southern England. It has it's own access road from the main road. There is a severe housing crisis. Do you see where I'm going with this? Developers are desperate for land to build on. This is a prime site. Houses are soon going to be going up all around this area. Not a nice thought to my way of thinking.

Anyway a developer gave me a huge valuation about five years ago. Huge! Phenomenal! Is that how you spell phenomenal? What a strange looking word. I have rounded that valuation up a bit to allow for the years since. They could fit a lot of houses on here. So there it is you see. I am a millionaire, just don't have the cash in the bank yet.

And I never will have, because I will never sell this little haven of mine. What would I do with all that money anyway? For a start I would have to find somewhere else to live. That would take a big chunk out of the money. I couldn't live in a town. I tried that and hated it. Lonely places towns. And how could I afford it, even with all that money? I would be able to buy my dream car, but you know, the dog would soon mess that up. Honestly I cannot think of anything that would enhance my life to the degree that I would sell this place.

Please don't get me wrong, when I was younger, I would have wanted to realise this asset, I would probably have spent most of it on wine, women and song, and squandered the rest, but age gives one insight, and dare I say, a little wisdom. Thank goodness!

It can be a struggle sometimes, especially in the winter cold, but I have managed so far, and as the saying goes, 'what doesn't kill you can make you stronger' or something along those lines. I am a rich man in the love of my family and friends. You cannot put a price on that.

I am having beans on toast for dinner tonight. Ain't got the money for anything else. That steak took up all my housekeeping money. I still think it was worth every penny though!

Racism.

I wish I hadn't watched this video. I am just so incensed by this woman, this so-called teacher. I am too much of a gentleman to say what I truly feel about this foolish, ignorant, abusive, unfeeling, patronising person. Far too much of a gentleman so I won't say those things. I am very unhappy too about the person who thought this was a worthy cause and put this video in the public domain.

I feel such sorrow for the young student who was shouted down. All she wanted to do was to put across what appeared to be a very valid point. To reduce her to tears for this, is to my mind unforgivable. And then to prevent her apologising -unnecessarily in my view- furthers her upset.

The lecturer should really give some thought as to whether she is in the right job and consider her position. To treat anyone, let alone a young girl in this way is completely wrong. I can only hope that the young student is strong enough to rise above this, and not be too harmed.

Rather than helping the fight against racism, I fear this lecturer does more harm than good. In fact I think it is so patronising towards black people.

http://www.upworthy.com/i-never-thought-id-want-to-high-five-a-teacher-for-yelling-at-a-student-but-i-was-wrong?

Not too sure if this link will work. If it doesn't you can maybe find it at upworthy.com. I think it's a site that is supposed to make you feel better about things. Not this time for me though.

I am not alone in my anger. If you watch the video, please also read some of the comments made afterwards.

Oh well I have had my say. I am angry. I am upset. Maybe I am wrong. But it is not wrong of me to express an opinion. Not that this lecturer would agree.

Thinking About My Extremely Handsome Son.

My extremely handsome son George is, as far as I can tell anyway, enjoying university life. He likes his new digs and flat mates. He loves Liverpool the home of his grandfather and great grandfather, and he loves his beloved Everton football club. His great grandfather - on his mothers side - was one of the founders of the club. George's grandmother recently gifted him some shares in the club. Golden shares they are called. These shares have been in the family since the very beginning. Everton is not a rich club so they aren't worth a fortune. Even if they were I doubt if they will ever be sold.

I don't have a reason for telling you about Everton. It just popped into my mind, so as is my way, I wrote it down. That's what I do. Write down thoughts as they occur to me. Sometimes it leads to exciting writing. Sometimes it doesn't.


EHS George had an exam today. He thinks he did all right with it. I am sure he did. He spends a lot of time in the library looking things up and revising. He is a good lad. Not one for doing the usual freshers things such as partying and drinking. That's not his style at all. He has been to a couple of parties, but he tells me he left them early. He doesn't touch alcohol at all. Tried it and didn't like the taste. He doesn't drink tea or coffee either. Never has. I know he has the occasional Coca cola, but all he really drinks is water. He has made a couple of good friends who seem to be of the same mindset as himself. I suppose if you take sport seriously it is not a surprising way to be.

Wednesday and Saturday he gets on the train and goes to do a martial art. I am not sure what type. I know it is a Japanese one. Something to do with turning an aggressor's attack back on himself. If EHS keeps on going to the classes I had better watch my step.

Sometimes he feels homesick, but as I remind him, he can get on the train home whenever he wants. It isn't as though he is a prisoner in Liverpool. Actually he can, if the trains run on time, be back home in just a few minutes over four hours. This reminder is enough to calm his home sickness.

He has actually been home a few times since he started at uni. I think he likes to make sure things are still the same here. He is not a lad who likes change too much. In fact he doesn't like things to change at all, and I understand this. There is such comfort in familiar things. I think I will mention OCD here. He has it mildly. Another reason I am so proud that he took the chance to do his course so far from home.

I didn't tell him that Sadie the German Shepherd had died until his last trip home. Tricia and I both thought it best not to. He would have been very upset and we couldn't bear the thought of him being sad and far from home. It was awful keeping it from him. He phones me every night and knowing that Sadie was poorly he would always ask after her. I have never lied to him before, and would quickly change the subject. Hiding my grief was difficult but somehow I managed it. I told him as soon as he got back. Apologised for the deceit. Of course he understood my reasons, and took the whole thing really well. In fact he was more concerned about me than anything. I sometimes forget that he is not a boy anymore. He is a young man. A strong young man.

At those times when I get to worrying about him too much, I remind myself that I was far younger when I went off to sea as a merchant seaman. It's life. One just has to get on with it. That is it and all about it, as they say.

It is a sports science degree he is doing. At first he was a little dismayed, as were quite a few of his peers, to discover that this involved more science than actual sport. But I think he has got to grips with it now, and is getting stuck into it.

He is also looking into joining a football team in Liverpool. I hope he finds one he likes. He loves to play football and is a really good player.

It is half past midnight. I am tired now. Good night and God bless.

I Need To Write This Down.

I feel completely lost not having Sadie the German Shepherd around to take care of. Only to be expected I suppose after ten years of constant companionship.

There is a feeling inside me at the same time that I may be behaving like a big wimp over her death, but I can't make the feeling go away. Living alone with a pet might possibly make the sudden loss more hard to bear maybe. Of course I have lost beloved pets before and felt extreme grief, but this time it seems even harder.

The fact that it was me who had to make the final decision is still tearing away at me. This, even though the vet said her condition and her age made any hope of a recovery impossible.

Her last night was so traumatic. She refused to stay indoors with me, and took herself off to her outside kennel. I am sure she did this because she just wanted to be left in peace and to get away from my constant fussing. As it was I stayed up all night with her and was so concerned that I called the emergency night vet twice. Both times though she seemed to recover enough to relax a bit. As it was we already had an appointment with the vet for the morning and I knew that it was time for her suffering to end.

She is buried in the paddock at the place where she liked to lie down. She could watch the whole field from this place. She could see right down the drive and she could keep an eye on the wagon door. I like to think she is doing these things still.

Why am I telling you this? It is not for your sympathy I promise you. Although your thoughts and expressions of condolence have comforted me. Perhaps I am not telling you. Perhaps I am just writing my thoughts.

Some people will think this is too much grief to feel. She was only a dog. But she wasn't just a dog, she was my friend.

Hello Again.

Hello all. I am still here but have not been in blogging mood for a while. I'm still not, to be truthful, but I shall try to keep it going until the writing bug resurfaces, as I am sure it will. Along with the rest of my creativity hopefully.

I am missing Sadie the German Shepherd terribly. Bonnie the Ginger Cat seems to be missing her friend too and has taken to sitting on my lap again. Could be just coincidence perhaps but I really think not.

I am thinking of getting another dog. This place seems so empty without one. And I haven't been for a walk since Sadie the German Shepherd died. My first thought was to get an older rescue dog but I must think about Bonnie the Ginger Cat. Although she loved Sadie, she does not appreciate other dogs coming to visit and always runs off and hides until she is sure they have gone.

When Sadie the German Shepherd first came here I had a cat called Stig. He was so upset that he ran away and was never seen again. I would hate that to happen to Bonnie.

So I think I shall get a puppy this time. Bonnie should be able to deal with that. Mind you it is all rather academic at the moment because I don't have any spare money and am still paying the vet's bill.

Finally thanks to all who have purchased my book, I hope you were not too disappointed. I have no idea how many I have sold, because all I get when I log in to Amazon is that there have been no sales. I know that isn't true.

I shall be back soon.