As I sit in this office this morning, I am counting my blessings. This time last year I had not started the blog. I knew I was very ill and that my situation was worse than the doctors were indicating. Things just went from bad to worse from then on. By January I had the scans and the proof that cancer was now infesting my lungs. I didn’t really need my doctor to tell me that there was probably not a lot that could be done for me. I began my ordeal by sitting around feeling sorry for myself with
There is a deep frost this morning. So, who is kidding who with this global warming lark? Our summer was no big deal, and it’s not normally this cold in November. Of course the scientists and politicians all believe that global warming is taking place. But that is because they keep holding all seminars on the subject in places such as the Caribbean and such places. They don’t need to go gallivanting around the World in order to spout their rubbish. I shall send them my oil bills, but somehow I d
Well yesterday's poem brought the biggest reaction from you since I began the blog last February. Today is going to be an exciting day. No idea why, I just know that it is. I shall be off to walk Skipper in the next half hour or so. Then we are off on a tour of a few shops that hopefully will take Barbara's latest prints. Its time we discovered for ourselves whether the credit crunch has hit the Isle of Man yet. No sign of it having any effect in Castletown so far. Christmas card writing has got
Will we get home sick in Heaven; will we miss our family and friends?
Can you get Sky on the telly and never need money to spend?
Are the houses all built by Dandara, or does everyone live in a tent?
If you can't pay a Heavenly mortgage, does God call around for his rent?
Can you live on a beautiful Island and be as free as the sweet mountain air?
Is the Government caring and sharing, or is the system just as unfair?
Is the Government made up of angels, all hanging their heads in despa
Last Thursday I heard that they were going to knock down mother and fathers old house situated on Janet’s Corner the following day. Yesterday I called round there to check it out. Sure enough, the old house on James Road had been reduced to a pile of rubble. The 4 bed room house and the one next door have been flattened to make way for an old folk’s complex. I don’t have a problem in making way for the future. Isn’t that what we all do at the end of the day? We are simply here to mind space. It
I see there is a vote running on the forum at present. You can vote for the best blog, best joke, best thread, best insult etc. Just about anything. I’m sure our good friend Keyboarder will be right up there for best troll. Because of the internet, we can now insult people from just about any corner of the world. Our insults can travel thousands of miles, and of course we can insult a lot more people at the stroke of a few keys. Winston Churchill and George Bernard Shaw did not have the benefit
The Blackpool comedian Eddie Gray was a great practical joker. He once began talking into a letter box in the street. When a crowd had gathered, he called into the letterbox in a loud voice. “Well how the hell did you get in there in the first place?” When the police turned up, he just sidled off leaving the police and the crowd shouting in to an empty letter box. On another occasion he found himself in London and at a loose end. Clutching a length of rope, he walked up to a suited gentleman and
I am told that today is world toilet day, and appropriately I will be relaying a story regarding a toilet matter later in this blog.
I have always been fond of the odd practical joke. Down through the years I have been the perpetrator, and on the receiving end of many. Providing no one gets hurt, or humiliated, a good gut wrenching laugh is what most of us need to deal with the more serious aspects of life. Of course some people simply don’t have a sense of humour. It’s no different to being
I heard on the radio yesterday, that a group of youngsters in the Midlands have been prevented by the local council, from singing carols and taking mince pies to an old folk’s home, on health and safety grounds. I also heard about a special training centre for Father Christmases. Yes, it appears that the large department stores are sending their Father Christmases on courses. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s not possible to gain a university degree in Christmas. In fact in a couple of years it wi
Good morning people, well Christmas is now only 5 weeks away. For those of you who hate Christmas, there is always Boxing Day. You will love Boxing Day because it is the longest time until the next Christmas.
I am glad to report that we got through the weekend without having to drag anyone out of the river. Our rescued friend paid us a couple of visits on Friday. She explained that she had been to see her MHK to ask for a fence to be erected along the river bank and lights to be installed.
Hi Folks! Well this is my first blog this week. I’m sorry about that. For one reason or another I just didn’t get around to blogging.
Well we had an eventful period last night as we hit the sack. Our bedroom looks out over the Silverburn River. The Silverburn is hardly a hive of activity during the daytime let alone in the pitch black night. It’s normal for us to hear kids larking about, but mostly during the summer months. Last night loud screams for help came up from the river and so Barb
MEN’S MACHO ATTITUDE COULD COST 40,000 LIVES PER YEAR Community pharmacy could hold the key to saving the lives of 40,000 men every year*. New research from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) could shed light on the reasons behind the poor state of men’s health in Britain. The RPSGB commissioned study, designed to discover how men’s attitudes might affect their healthcare, revealed that 59% of men are reluctant to ask for help and only seek medical advice if they are ‘very
The name George Freestone will not be familiar to most of you. He neither sought nor did he gain fame. George is one of the kindest men I ever met. When I was a kid, whenever he saw me in the street he would thrust his hand in to his pocket and hand me a two shilling piece or if he had had a good week, half a crown. George was a brick layer by trade. Anyone meeting George for the first time would probably not be over whelmed by his personality. However, they would be struck by the fact that they
Well bonfire night is out of the way for another year, although the fireworks seem to get louder and louder each year. For a while I thought Saddam Hussein was in my front garden. However, we move on to the next date that is marked down in the calendar. This of course is November 11th, Remembrance day where we remember all those who gave their lives so that we can be free. Many of us wear the poppy. In my school days spent in a catholic convent in Liverpool, we were all given crucifixes on a cha
Well what a momentous day. I do believe that as a result of the election in America yesterday, the World today is a safer place. In my opinion for what it is worth, America has given the world a friend, someone that will at least talk openly and honestly, as opposed to someone who talks from behind a cruise missile. I was very impressed with John McCain though. He behaved like a gentleman all the way through. Maybe he was a tad too much of a gentleman at times. However, at 72 his time had probab
Well today is a very big day 3,000 miles away across the pond. I must say though, an American election seems to last for as long as the term of office. In two years time they will begin this entire lark all over again. Well this election has probably been more exciting than recent ones. However, I wonder if in four years time there will be any Americans saying “Thank goodness for Obama,” or “thank God for Mccain, my life has really improved since his election.” I very much doubt it.
Tomorro
Good morning people. Well it’s sure a wonderful feeling to feel good on a Monday morning. When you have retired or had to give up work for whatever reason, Monday mornings are much more welcome that they use to be.
Now then, imagine you are standing in your kitchen, looking out of the window, when you spot a motor car crashing through your fence before finally coming to a stand still on your lawn. Then as if that is not enough, you discover that the driver is a 6 year old child. Well that i
Hop Tu naa has come round again. Well I hope the kids turn up tonight with a turnip and witches outfit. They will get no money from me if they don’t. I hope this stupid trick or treat lark has now gone back to America and never given a passport to roam again. I note that over in the UK, they are now calling tonight mischief night. Extra police are on duty and what have you. I don’t know where mischief night originates from but, it sounds even worse than trick or treat. Let’s hope that our good o
I have just completed one lap of Poulson Park. This is the first time I have walked Skipper for two or 3 weeks. I know I have suggested in other blogs that I was about to take Skipper out, but I didn’t actually manage it. I have been lumbered with pleurisy which has very much restricted what I have been able to do. Well, at least I seem to be over the worst of it now. This time last year, I had just packed in smoking. My cough was getting worse and I was becoming breathless even when out on shor
I was thinking last night about some of the folks I have met down through the years, and whether I had an inspirational effect or a negative effect on them the first time I met them.
Well, there is one guy who comes to mind that I definitely had a disastrous effect on the first time we met. I know this because I heard him say as much. In the mid 80’s I worked on a log splitter with my Dad. I would go out to Derbyhaven to the log splitting shed and split logs using a log splitting machine du
It’s quite common today to come across deal from retailers offering money back within 30 days if you are not happy with the product. The shrewd old Manxies would never pay for anything unless they had tried it out and were 100% certain it did the job. George Rudd was one such shrewd Manx farmer. I am told that George was so strong he could pick up a pony under each arm. Anyway one day George was due to go and collect his new set of false teeth from the dentist. The dentist got a little more than
Hello folks, it’s bitterly cold today, and the wind has swung round to the Northwest. They say it will be even colder tomorrow and for the rest of the week. We have to go to Douglas later; gosh it seems like a bit of an ordeal now to go to Douglas. It has to be something really important to make me go to Douglas.
When I was a youngster, going to Douglas was really exciting, even though it was a lot more hassle in those days. For one thing you had to catch the bus. Today you just jump in th
Well the super seacat is still sleeping in Douglas harbour, and the Ben has sailed but very late for Heysham. I very much doubt that super seacat will have discovered any of her super powers by tomorrow as the weather is going to be worse by then. If you are planning to cross the water tomorrow, I would book your flight now if I were you. The south-westerly gale reached a maximum speed of 58 knots at Castletown Breakwater, that’s about 65 mph. Still we did not get the very heavy rain they predic
