Trials & Tribulations

So "one-eyed, hook handed, cleric of hate", (I believe you have to call him that now by law), Abu Hamza feels that after years of preaching terrorism and incitement to violence that he didn't get a particularly fair trial. And also that those who carried out the bombing of 7/7 and 9/11 didn't help either.

No, you probably didn't Abu. Tough life isn't it.

I've become rather fed-up with the wonderful world of windows and whilst I'm still going to do odd contracts for family, friends and existing customers that I like, from now I am concentrating on just one product, (for the time being), through my new company.

Welcome to Serranda Shutters.

Feel free to leave feedback on how you think the site works. It is as always a work in progress but at least it's now online.

So Gifted

Latest government directive to screw up the world of education is that all scholls have a register of gifted and talented pupils. Fair enough.

Government says that 25% of pupils must be registered!

That should make truly gifted children feel better when the oik down the road gets into the register for being able to pick his nose simultaneously with both fingers.

And don't even get me started on the report regarding the awarding of A & As levels where commas aren't required and the use of "u" rather than "you" is acceptable.

The Good, The Bad and The Unlikely

Many of you must be waiting with baited breath to hear whether my proposed 50th Birthday party if I'm a millionaire is going ahead.

The answer is I still plan to do it. The problem is that I'm still aproximately a million short. Still, the good news is that with 6 weeks to go there are still a number of National Lottery draws left!

Happy Birthday Muffin

Happy Birthday Muffin the Mule.

So old is this tele programme that it had finished before I was born. Just.

Altogether now!

"We love Muffin, Muffin the Mule"

No sniggering at the back you boys!!!

Handy Hint #178

If you have a conservatory or house guttering that has a flat bottom (ogee), then you can clean it easily by cutting off the bottom of a plastic milk bottle and running it along the guttering. It scoops everything up and your gutters will run clean and true once again.

Brought to you by "I've Got A Milk Bottle and I Know How To Use It"

Taming the Terrible Tens

This afternoon Marj has to teach the class from Hell.

Year 6 are a bunch of kids who cannot sit still for more than about 5 minutes without mayhem breaking out. If they're not talking/laughing/shouting, they are hitting each other or generally larking about. It will be worse today because they has Assessments this morning and they will have been "quiet" and under control, or what passes as control for them, all morning.

Every teacher in the school dreads having them regardless of how many yuears in the job because they cannot be controlled. Because now you cannot do anything to control them.

I'm sorry, I'm going to say it, but "In My Day" it just wouldn't be tolerated.

I once got slapped on the leg with a ruler by the teacher when I was too busy talking to Malcolm Venn and didn't see her creep up on me. Can't do that now. It's common assault.

I remember the whole class having to sit with their hands on their heads for talking or with a finger to their lips to remind us not to talk. Can't do that now. That's listed under child abuse.

Really disruptive children can be sent to the headmistress who can talk to them about their behaviour. Oh wow. That really panics them.

So on the whole, this clkass will go on to senior school with no sense of discipline, achieving lower standards of literacy and numeracy than they should, and no doubt the parents will blame the teachers.

If I got into trouble at school I wouldn't go home and tell my parents, I'd only expect to get told off again by them. (I might if I thought i'd been treated unfairly). Now, kids rush home and the next thing parents are down the school complaining about little Johnny being told off cos really he's a good boy.

And the poor teachers aren't even allowed to get their own back by putting sarcastic comments on school reports. No wonder they all want to leave.

An Act of Kindness

As I sit here at my compyuter keyboard I should be about 100 miles north at my uncles funeral. I turned up at Kings Cross this morning to discover there were no trains due to power cable problems.

My main concern was that my mum was meant to be meeting the train I was catching so we could travel up together. I spoke to information and they told me the trains were fine at Hatfield.

They weren't. My mum turned up to discover there were no trains and she was going to miss her only brothers funerals. She went back to the flats she lives in and the warden, Peter, saw her. Knew where she had meant to be going and asked why she was back. She told him and he said to give him 10 minutes to make some arrangements and he would drive her there himself because there was no way she was going to miss out on being there.

I don't mind missing out, funerals are not my cup of tea at the best of times, but I am eternally grateful to him for making sure my mum gets to see her brother off.

Bus(t)

So there I was sat on my local bus at the traffic lights when a lorry came round the corner and swung rather too wide.

My bus no longer has the rear offside quarter to it.

Tools of the trade

I have been looking for a tool to cut into brickwork in a very specific way. I didn't know if such a tool existed, but recently was sent a brochure for one that might do the trick. I expected I might have to pay up to £200 or maybe even £250 for it even though it. I wasn't expecting THIS!

THere was a German, A Mallorcan and an Englishman

Following my holiday in Mallorca I can share these observations with you for the German, Spanish and UK parts of the journey.


GERMANY

• If you ever have a few hours stopover in Dusseldorf make sure you go out to the main part of the airport as there is bugger all near the gates.


• SHould you wish to overthrow the German people this can be achieved by the elimination of all cheese from the country. They appear to eat nothing but cheese.


• Lufthansa are a good airline and I'm particularly impressed with the automatic check-in machines.

MALLORCA

• Even half way up a mountain in the middle of the island you can get a mobile signal if you need one.


• Don't think about retiring to Mallorca. House prices are exceptionally high.


• Diesel is 0.99 euros per litre, rather than 0.99p!


• The streets, even away from the tourist areas, are noticeably cleaner then the UK


• Ladies: Leather boots are an absolute bargain.

UK

• The only delay we had in travelling was coming back in to Heathrow which took quite some time queuing to prove I was entitled to enter.

Satisfaction Guaranteed

It's taken 15 months, dozens of letters, loads of phone calls and eventually the issuing of County Court proceedings against them, but today, Marjs' insurance company decided they would pay her claim, in full, in cash and not make her accept vouchers.

I knew they would in the end. Who wants to be the company that has that practice tested at law and then discover that all claims have to be settled as cash rtaher than with vouchers that save the insurance companies 20% or so.

Kennamatic Vacation

I am off to Mallorca tomorrow for a week of rest and relaxation.

Bye Bye for now.

Cross Denominational Confusion

Listening to the radio yesterday they were speaking to some young Muslims who were explaining that they didn't like the fact that when we fight terrorism we pick on Muslims. As one explained, "when the IRA was about, you weren't picking on Christians".

For his information, and anyone else who failed to pick it up, the entire Irish conflict was a religious war!

As one door closes....

As he starts his community serivce, I finish mine.

On a serious note, George has a court sentence imposed upon him and the media has prevented that sentence from being carried out correctly. Should they not be charged with either "perverting the course of justice" which is what is actually happening, or "contempt of court". They have also deprived the New York community from an improvement in their environment for which it would be nice to think that all the journalists might go along on a day off to pick up litter to show that they are sorry.

1/8th Millenium

On 23rd September my mum and I will reach our combined 125th birthday.

Can anyone suggest something appropriate for us to do in celebration.

Catch Up

I seem to be in one of those periods where I have way too much happening and not enough time for reading blogs or posting much. Work is busy, social life is busy and computer time is severely diminished.

It's not likely to get much better as the rest of this month includes a weekend in Eastbourne. A weeks holiday in Mallorca by way of Dusseldorf. Three lots of installations plus anything else that comes in. Sleeping, I hope.

I guess it also all means that apart from being tired, things are generally going along quite nicely for once. My company may be morphing into specialising in one type of product soon but more on that when it happens.

Private life wise, I'm still living with Linda but spending most of my time with Marj. This situation can't carry on for ever as it takes it's toll on at least two of the three of us and therefore I am talking to my doctor about support for me and support for Linda as I am starting to make the move to be with Marj full time. It's a very hard decision to have made, and made even harder by the feeling that I am running away from a difficult situation and abandoning Linda but my doctor thinks it is the right decision, for Linda as well as for me. (For those passing through, Linda has suffered with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder for 10 years and shows signs of getting worse rather than better).

Anyway, as long as you don't expect hourly bulletins from yours truly you will get the odd bit of news.

Probably.

Age is all in the mind.

Was chatting with someone the other day who helps out at an old peoples home. There's a retired Brigadier there who has just traded in his Lexus IS200 2 litre for the newer 2.5 litre because the old one wasn't exciting enough. The Brigadier is 96!

And talking of age, in Septemeber me and my mum are having a bit of a party as our combined age will reach exactly 125 years old. Who'd have thought it, we'll have seen as eigth of a millenium!!!

Travels With My Ant

Have been on holiday.

I am back.

Did not go with an ant. I lied.

Co-Incidence?

Can there be any connection between the two stories that appeared in Metro the other day?

On the same day that the government want to cut the nuclear defence capability to cut costs, they are also trying to push throught the purchase of "Blair Force One" as the intended purchase of a Prime Minesterial equivalent of the US Presidents jet has been called. The new Jet, along with one for the Queen, will cost mopre money to run, even forgetting the purchase, than the present service supplied by the RAF. To my knowledge, I don't think the Queen has asked for a private jet so I guess it's being offered to make sure it doesn't look as though it's just Blair who wants one.

Next time we have an election, can people vote for a party that might be interested in the governing of the country rather than just the trappings of office.