Morning Mugs,
Yesterday the water pump broke. The 2 year old pump fitted to pump the hot water and upstairs cold has died. Or the electricity supply to it has failed. This is why I hate DIY, hate buildings. They are unreliable. Things just go wrong. No intervention needed. Things with no moving parts fail. Things wear out way before their purported end of life. Things are made from metal the corrodes or wood that rots. And in the world of housebuilding we seem to be using the same techniques and materials as we did 50 years ago. Imagine if all other things were the same as 50 years ago. No mobile phones. No internet. 3 TV channels. Cathode Ray TVs heating the room. 1.3 litre engines giving 20mpg. No computers. No automatic heating and water controls. One phone in the house. No microwave oven. The list goes on. But houses? Oh yeah, timber, breeze block, some concrete, brick and felt mate......thats all you need. And copper pipes, you know the type you can only bend using blow torches. it's archaic bollocks.
This is the house that Jack built, presumably when he was pissed. In the last few years we've had 3 water leakages, one so severe it took £15k to repair the damage. This year alone 2 water leaks have meant insurance repairs. We've had around 10 vacuum cleaners in 19 years, we're on our 6th dishwasher and 7th washing machine in the same time.
So being a man of logic and science. It's either a shit built house. Or we have a poltergeist.
Later Mugs, GJ
Thursday 31 January 2019
Monday 28 January 2019
Brexit - Democracy in the UK
Afternoon Mugs
Now don't switch off. There's loads I can and maybe will say on Brexit. And before we move one bit further , let's make it clear. I'M A REMAINER. And sadly that makes it very unlikely I can ever be really good friends with anyone who voted to Leave. Well, let me the caveat that, I don't think I could be friends with someone who believes a hard Brexit is the way to go. The narrative seems to state that if we crash out without a deal, then we revert to WTO terms. The truth is much more complex that that. if we crash out then we'd be the only major economy with zero trade deals . These trade deals can take years to negotiate. The impact would be devastating. if the 2008 crash saw 2% decline in GDP, then this is estimated to take that to 9%.
Imagine that. Thought you knew what austerity meant? You wait until this baby hits you. But that isn't what this post is about really. Like many I'm pretty exhausted by the bollocks that is Brexit. Whatever happens I have an Irish passport. My insurance policy is there. I have freedom of movement, I can go and live in Ireland and yet I retain my UK nationality. Best of both worlds by an accident of birth.
No, this post is more about the absolutely dreadful site of UK democracy today. In my life this is without doubt the worst set of MPs I have ever know. The ones in keys positions of power are so bad I wouldn't trust them to run a bath on their own, let alone a country.We have an opposition front bench containing a communist in the loathsome bully John McDonnell and leader who is a supporter of Middle Eastern terrorist groups......yes, Jeremy Corbyn, that's you. Diane Abbott may be an honourably MP but there is no way she is capable pf high cabinet office. And words fail me on most of the others on the oppositions front bench. Barry Gardiner, slimy, duplicitous and pompous. Most of the others are just anonymous no-marks. The good ones such as Keir Starmer, Yvette Cooper, Chukka Umunna, Liz Kendall, Rachel Reeves, Owen Smith and others must be very cleverly biding their time to resume control when Labour inevitably loses the next election to the worst Tory party ever. Surely....they must be.....
Yes, the worst Tory party ever. A party infiltrated by Little England UKIP supports, divided on Europe, anti-gay, racist, hostile environment creating rhetoric. A party offering anyone under 30 absolutely nothing. Zero. Zilch. Fuck all. Not only are they so utterly incompetent that they are driving the country towards ruin whilst overseeing a rise in race and hate crime, they are the most loathsome set of Tories ever. How the hell does Esther McVey get elected. Who listens to her and Nadine Dorries and thinks 'yes, these are switched on' . If you vote for Boris Johnson or the utterly despicable Jacob Rees-Mogg, then you're a traitor to your class and the country unless you are Eton or Harrow educated and have a butler. Does anyone think they are MPs to serve national interest? And then bribing the duplicitous, nasty, vindictive, hypocritical DUP to prop them up and allowing a minority party to hold the country to ransom.
They are like so many of the 650 in place, career politicians, and as such they are a scourge on the country. And then you have the poor old Lib Dems, headed up by the nice but ageing and faltering Vince Cable. The SNP, a party I wholeheartedly agree with, headed up by one of the few good politicians around, Nicola Sturgeon, but now tainted by alleged sexual misdemeanours of former leader Alex Salmond.
The answers to this political malaise, and the rise of the politically homeless is simple.
1.) Get rid of the ridiculous 'first past the post' system which underpins the 2 party state and means MILLIONS of votes are utterly wasted. Proportional representation is the way to go.
2.) No more career politicians. No more leaving University and going straight into political mainstream life. No, you need to have worked in a real job for 8 years minimum, in fact I'd even be minded to restrict being an MP to a minimum age of 30, allowing for university to finish.
3.) MPs will only ever come from the area they represent.
4.) The House of Lords need replacing with a fully elected second house. Also PR based.
5.) At any time of war or national crisis, a UNITY government must be formed representing every party in Parliament.
6.) Voting is MANDATORY. yes, you have vote and must use it. people fought for that right, use to, and in a PR system every vote counts.
7.) There should be a fact checking independent body. A permanent Truth Commission. This would be to check any claims and facts spouted by both politicians AND the media. No more dressing things up. Facts, Facts, Facts, Indisputable facts. They would watch everything from parliamentary debates through to BBC Question Time, through to newspaper and in-line editorials.
8.) Mothball the Houses of Parliament and re-open to the pubs for visits. Build a new assembly building in London with other regionally. Modern buildings and do way with all the ceremonial bollocks except for the public and opening/closing of parliament maybe.
9.) If Scotland wants independence then grant it. Ditto, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Start there and re-engage people in politics. Move away from extremes because that isn't what Britain is about. In other words, tear the current rotten system up and start again with something for the 21st century.
Later Mugs, GJ
Now don't switch off. There's loads I can and maybe will say on Brexit. And before we move one bit further , let's make it clear. I'M A REMAINER. And sadly that makes it very unlikely I can ever be really good friends with anyone who voted to Leave. Well, let me the caveat that, I don't think I could be friends with someone who believes a hard Brexit is the way to go. The narrative seems to state that if we crash out without a deal, then we revert to WTO terms. The truth is much more complex that that. if we crash out then we'd be the only major economy with zero trade deals . These trade deals can take years to negotiate. The impact would be devastating. if the 2008 crash saw 2% decline in GDP, then this is estimated to take that to 9%.
Imagine that. Thought you knew what austerity meant? You wait until this baby hits you. But that isn't what this post is about really. Like many I'm pretty exhausted by the bollocks that is Brexit. Whatever happens I have an Irish passport. My insurance policy is there. I have freedom of movement, I can go and live in Ireland and yet I retain my UK nationality. Best of both worlds by an accident of birth.
No, this post is more about the absolutely dreadful site of UK democracy today. In my life this is without doubt the worst set of MPs I have ever know. The ones in keys positions of power are so bad I wouldn't trust them to run a bath on their own, let alone a country.We have an opposition front bench containing a communist in the loathsome bully John McDonnell and leader who is a supporter of Middle Eastern terrorist groups......yes, Jeremy Corbyn, that's you. Diane Abbott may be an honourably MP but there is no way she is capable pf high cabinet office. And words fail me on most of the others on the oppositions front bench. Barry Gardiner, slimy, duplicitous and pompous. Most of the others are just anonymous no-marks. The good ones such as Keir Starmer, Yvette Cooper, Chukka Umunna, Liz Kendall, Rachel Reeves, Owen Smith and others must be very cleverly biding their time to resume control when Labour inevitably loses the next election to the worst Tory party ever. Surely....they must be.....
Yes, the worst Tory party ever. A party infiltrated by Little England UKIP supports, divided on Europe, anti-gay, racist, hostile environment creating rhetoric. A party offering anyone under 30 absolutely nothing. Zero. Zilch. Fuck all. Not only are they so utterly incompetent that they are driving the country towards ruin whilst overseeing a rise in race and hate crime, they are the most loathsome set of Tories ever. How the hell does Esther McVey get elected. Who listens to her and Nadine Dorries and thinks 'yes, these are switched on' . If you vote for Boris Johnson or the utterly despicable Jacob Rees-Mogg, then you're a traitor to your class and the country unless you are Eton or Harrow educated and have a butler. Does anyone think they are MPs to serve national interest? And then bribing the duplicitous, nasty, vindictive, hypocritical DUP to prop them up and allowing a minority party to hold the country to ransom.
They are like so many of the 650 in place, career politicians, and as such they are a scourge on the country. And then you have the poor old Lib Dems, headed up by the nice but ageing and faltering Vince Cable. The SNP, a party I wholeheartedly agree with, headed up by one of the few good politicians around, Nicola Sturgeon, but now tainted by alleged sexual misdemeanours of former leader Alex Salmond.
The answers to this political malaise, and the rise of the politically homeless is simple.
1.) Get rid of the ridiculous 'first past the post' system which underpins the 2 party state and means MILLIONS of votes are utterly wasted. Proportional representation is the way to go.
2.) No more career politicians. No more leaving University and going straight into political mainstream life. No, you need to have worked in a real job for 8 years minimum, in fact I'd even be minded to restrict being an MP to a minimum age of 30, allowing for university to finish.
3.) MPs will only ever come from the area they represent.
4.) The House of Lords need replacing with a fully elected second house. Also PR based.
5.) At any time of war or national crisis, a UNITY government must be formed representing every party in Parliament.
6.) Voting is MANDATORY. yes, you have vote and must use it. people fought for that right, use to, and in a PR system every vote counts.
7.) There should be a fact checking independent body. A permanent Truth Commission. This would be to check any claims and facts spouted by both politicians AND the media. No more dressing things up. Facts, Facts, Facts, Indisputable facts. They would watch everything from parliamentary debates through to BBC Question Time, through to newspaper and in-line editorials.
8.) Mothball the Houses of Parliament and re-open to the pubs for visits. Build a new assembly building in London with other regionally. Modern buildings and do way with all the ceremonial bollocks except for the public and opening/closing of parliament maybe.
9.) If Scotland wants independence then grant it. Ditto, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Start there and re-engage people in politics. Move away from extremes because that isn't what Britain is about. In other words, tear the current rotten system up and start again with something for the 21st century.
Later Mugs, GJ
Wednesday 23 January 2019
Shingles is a bastard
Afternoon Mugs
There are loads of things that happen as we get older. Stuff stops working quite as well. Befuddlement sets in as millennials re-write language. We scratch our heads at the notion of people not wanting gender labelling and then coming up with LGBTTTQQIAA to cover all bases. I mean, honestly could they make that any more cumbersome? Society changes and we're not consulted. And then we're made out to be the wrong 'uns.
Despite the growing awareness and frequency of things not working quite as well as they used to, it does seem that on top of that you're a bit more susceptible to other things hitting you. Things they don't teach you at school .
Three years ago I thought I was dying (as we all do in our 50s when we get ill) on the way to work. I was having what I thought were stomach cramps, but with no...ahem...end result the pain got worse. I should have turned around but being the brave (stupid) sort of person persevered and got to work. I was soaking through sweat and spent nearly 90 minutes in a toilet sweating more and more and getting weaker and weaker. In the end I cut my losses and struggled back home. I reckon I was so u fit to drive that any police officer pulling me up would have wanted to throw the book at me and then probably would have called the paramedics. It was THAT bad. What was it? Kidney Stones. They were zapped a few days later, itself an unpleasant and painful experience. No-one will ever tell me that I won't know the excruciating pain of childbirth because even women I know who've had kids and kidney stones said the pain from the latter was worse.
In 2016 I had a fall on the way TO the pub because some ignorant prick parked his lorry on soft tarmac leaving a pothole on a poorly lit road. Shoulders and hip took a beating but worst was the ankle. In 2018 I had ankle ligament reconstruction surgery as I couldn't walk anywhere without risking yet another fall. From the original fall to the operation I had in the region of 7 other falls due to the ankle not having anything in the way of connected ligaments. All fixed now it seems, but yeah 3 months in a cast then a surgical boot. Just when the run of bad luck seemed over..........on Boxing Day, post hangover I felt inland my upper right chest and shoulder blasé had a strange ache, and my right nipple itched, but an itch that scratching just seemed to ignite pain in deep.
In typical bloke fashion you think the worst. HellsBells on the other hand, despite the full on Nurse Ratched levels of sympathy and compassion said 'Shingles'. My response was 'Bollocks, there's no rash'.
Of course there wasn't a rash.....that doesn't come until later. So I hosted Boxing Night, sober and grumpy. Aware that the slightest touch to the now tingling areas would send me through the ceiling. Two days later there's the shingles rash. A visit to the doctor confirmed it. Fien, I thought, my tough luck, a few weeks of discomfort and no beer won't hurt. The rash lasts a week or so, but now.......now.....just as a sting in the tail....I am suffering post-herpetic neuralgia. And bloody rotten it is as well. It stabs, shoots, aches, tingles itches like hell and there's sod all to be done except take Gabapentin and try not to scratch. Scratching is like an invite to the nerves to lash back with excruciating, eye-watering pain.
I've had better starts to the New Year.
Later Mugs, GJ
There are loads of things that happen as we get older. Stuff stops working quite as well. Befuddlement sets in as millennials re-write language. We scratch our heads at the notion of people not wanting gender labelling and then coming up with LGBTTTQQIAA to cover all bases. I mean, honestly could they make that any more cumbersome? Society changes and we're not consulted. And then we're made out to be the wrong 'uns.
Despite the growing awareness and frequency of things not working quite as well as they used to, it does seem that on top of that you're a bit more susceptible to other things hitting you. Things they don't teach you at school .
Three years ago I thought I was dying (as we all do in our 50s when we get ill) on the way to work. I was having what I thought were stomach cramps, but with no...ahem...end result the pain got worse. I should have turned around but being the brave (stupid) sort of person persevered and got to work. I was soaking through sweat and spent nearly 90 minutes in a toilet sweating more and more and getting weaker and weaker. In the end I cut my losses and struggled back home. I reckon I was so u fit to drive that any police officer pulling me up would have wanted to throw the book at me and then probably would have called the paramedics. It was THAT bad. What was it? Kidney Stones. They were zapped a few days later, itself an unpleasant and painful experience. No-one will ever tell me that I won't know the excruciating pain of childbirth because even women I know who've had kids and kidney stones said the pain from the latter was worse.
In 2016 I had a fall on the way TO the pub because some ignorant prick parked his lorry on soft tarmac leaving a pothole on a poorly lit road. Shoulders and hip took a beating but worst was the ankle. In 2018 I had ankle ligament reconstruction surgery as I couldn't walk anywhere without risking yet another fall. From the original fall to the operation I had in the region of 7 other falls due to the ankle not having anything in the way of connected ligaments. All fixed now it seems, but yeah 3 months in a cast then a surgical boot. Just when the run of bad luck seemed over..........on Boxing Day, post hangover I felt inland my upper right chest and shoulder blasé had a strange ache, and my right nipple itched, but an itch that scratching just seemed to ignite pain in deep.
In typical bloke fashion you think the worst. HellsBells on the other hand, despite the full on Nurse Ratched levels of sympathy and compassion said 'Shingles'. My response was 'Bollocks, there's no rash'.
Of course there wasn't a rash.....that doesn't come until later. So I hosted Boxing Night, sober and grumpy. Aware that the slightest touch to the now tingling areas would send me through the ceiling. Two days later there's the shingles rash. A visit to the doctor confirmed it. Fien, I thought, my tough luck, a few weeks of discomfort and no beer won't hurt. The rash lasts a week or so, but now.......now.....just as a sting in the tail....I am suffering post-herpetic neuralgia. And bloody rotten it is as well. It stabs, shoots, aches, tingles itches like hell and there's sod all to be done except take Gabapentin and try not to scratch. Scratching is like an invite to the nerves to lash back with excruciating, eye-watering pain.
I've had better starts to the New Year.
Later Mugs, GJ
Monday 21 January 2019
Social Media is dying
Morning Mugs
Today is Blue Monday it seems. Another 'made up' day to apparently let everyone know that it's the day when the early Xmas pay has dried up and there's a week to go before pay day. Blimey, my pay has usually gone about 2 days after pay day , after which everything seems a blue day. If I didn't know better, and was more cynical I'd wonder if Blue Monday was marketing tool for the Pay Day loan industry. Surely not......
Anyway, in 2004 I posted 202 entries here. In 2005 it fells to 165, but hey...still reasonably prolific. Then from 2010 onwards I've only hit double figures once.10 posts in 2017. So I ask myself what happened?
It's pretty simple really. Social media. Most notably Facebook and Twitter. I've been a pretty huge advocate of both in recent years. I looked at Facebook as a huge room in which you and friends have access to and can use it to share moments, voice opinions and catch up. it was, and still is to a degree, a great way of keeping in touch, with the choice of how much touch being with the Facebook user. But over the years, it's been sullied by targeted adverts, although the person aiming the adverts is usually horrendously off beam. And then it became a way of getting gullible people to spread horrendous cod philosophy, fake news, bullshit political claims, hatred. It became a place where gullible people could spread malware and friends lists by sharing an 'Amen' message on completely untrue stories. It now resembles a junkyard where you have to sift through rubbish to find the odd status update of any interest. In the last year, I use it for crap jokes and sharing photo's or getting photo's, local events and wining people about hoaxes on bloody Facebook. It's lost its way. It's slowly but surely dying.
I turned to Twitter some years ago out of interest. It seemed fun, a place to get news quickly, to find out much more interesting things because you could fill your timeline with things that interest you. I have around 2300 followers now, pretty much all due to a shared interest in Chelsea FC. I've also made some truly lovely friends as well. But just as there iOS the positive, there is a negative and there are some truly dreadful people out there. Those who want to snipe, to argue, to belittle, to abuse and to dismiss. It's a mosh pit of keyboard warriors and trolls. Negotiating Twitter is now like walking through a city, you love the good people but constantly have to be scanning for the bad and the ones who wish you harm. I'll keep on there but use that account less.
I do have one now for the Guild though, and if you're interested in short bursts of joy, angst, frustration, disbelief, anger and interest then do follow me on @GrumpyBlokesUK. It's there to complement this not replace this. I made a resolution that once the festive stuff was finally behind us, I'd try and do a little post here, every couple of days, and to try and recapture the humour of the blog from days gone past.
Let's do this.
Later Mugs, GJ
Things to come?
Morning Mugs,
Subjects to cover
Brexit
Politics
Division
Technology
AI
TV
Films
Radio
Holidays
Football, but only a little
Diet
Exercise
Places to see, places already seen
Trials and tribulations
The Daily Grind
Should I do an oldies VLOG?
And much much more......the quill is new, the inkwell full, the paper unrolled - let's get this going again
Later Mugs, GJ
Subjects to cover
Brexit
Politics
Division
Technology
AI
TV
Films
Radio
Holidays
Football, but only a little
Diet
Exercise
Places to see, places already seen
Trials and tribulations
The Daily Grind
Should I do an oldies VLOG?
And much much more......the quill is new, the inkwell full, the paper unrolled - let's get this going again
Later Mugs, GJ
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