Lighthouse

Now isn't that spectacular? Wouldn't you be proud to be part of such a forward thinking community? It made the National Press and made headlines on the National News, really putting the town on the map. I can't wait to see Easter Bunnies on the first of January. I know they are not due to be switch on for a few weeks and unfortunately I shall have to miss the ceremony, afraid of getting crushed, but I shall be visiting to take photos of the display, so watch this space for further news.

Tesco's has moved....

Tesco's have moved at last. After months of discussion and argument between the Council and Tesco, the biggest U.K retailer, an agreement has been reached.................and Tesco has got everything it's asked for. Surprise, surprise!

The proud edifice is no more and all that is left is a pile of rubble. We have even more in common with the Lebanon now......... except for the cluster bombs, but we can do without those little joys!

His name is Dillon, and you might be able to see that he is a West Highland Terrier....... a rather scruffy one at that. We've been friends for over thirteen years, had our ups and downs, but best of all, we have kept each others secrets.

He hates a lot of exercise, thankfully, and insists on being carried when his poor little legs get tired. He has his own armchair, which I've recently lowered by sawing four inches off the legs, so the old chap hasn't too much of a struggle to get comfortable.

He can be a bit snappy but he has only bitten the best people. My mother, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, daughter's boyfriend, a couple of neighbours and the lady who reads the gas meters. In each case it's been their fault.......or so he told me. The problem is that he's deaf and people will keep coming up behind him when he's not expecting it, or he has his nose in his feed bowl......a most dangerous time. Luckily, the bites have not cause him any serious harm.

A true four legged friend....or fiend!

Quietly taken down while no one was looking. And still the argument goes on about their reason for being. I wonder if those people that protest too much ever gave them more than a glance.

Did they take the time to stand with them, look up, see the multitude of colours caused by the movement, and hear the wind roaring through their twisting form? Did they see them against the blue of the sky or see the sun shining through them?

No, all they could see was the cost. The sort of people who would look at a picture by Monet and see only a £20 canvas and £20's worth of paint. People who have never watched a stone grow or drank tea from an empty cup. People with no imagination or joy in their hearts. Did they appreciate that the gardens beneath them were planted with wild flowers? I doubt that they even noticed.

Well, I look forward to next year, when the Welcome Flags will return, and I shall visit them again to see and hear them fly. I expect the moaners will have their say once more. I expect nothing less!

Post Script to Welcome Flags....

It appears they were taken down early so that they were not damaged by the tail end of Hurricane Gordon............ which never arrived!

I hear the Pope is in trouble. I'm not the best one to advise the old chap, and I usually try to stay away from anything religious. Far too much harm has been caused by the religions of the world.

He definitely did not understanding implications of his words. A grave error for one in such high office. Ask George W.

In the Pope's case it's a highly educated academic, using examples which have no relevance to the modern world, then being taken literally by the peasant masses, or those who have their own agenda, who see only the words and not their meaning.

I must e-mail His Reverence and tell him not to mention cling-film in his address this Sunday. It could land him into even more trouble!

It took me a while, and many endless hours waiting in shops, to understand the fascination with shoes and the 'must have' matching handbag. But why would she need a new purse?

The old one had hardly been used. Carried everywhere, but never opened, well, not in my presence anyway. The catch still brand new, as shinny as the day it was made, and the leather in perfect condition. Even the coins it contained showed our Queen as a young woman.

Credit cards in neat rows, never scuffed by scanning or chip 'n pin machines. Not much use any more as the pin number have long been forgotten. A receipt, some four years old, print faded and hardly readable, despite never being exposed to daylight. A card warning of an unusual blood group, and a Donner Card with next of kin carefully printed. All now have a new home.
It was a suggestion from her sister. She had just bought one and was showing it off at a recent visit. As she was getting one for another sister, would my wife like one too? Well, of course she would.

"I'll post it to you", said sister, "and you can send me a cheque", looking in my direction, knowing that my wife can't write a cheque. "It will last for ages", she added. I bet it will, thought I.

We took it for a drive today. To a garden centre where it easily could have been put to good use. No, it was my wallet, my very old battered wallet, that was opened to make the purchases. A watering can for me, an orchid and two Christmas cards (buy them when you see them), for my wife. She didn't flinch, not even when I mentioned that now would be a good time to see if her purse worked. It stayed hidden in the dark recesses of her handbag. There, I expect, it will languish, until another new purse takes it's place.

But it's hardly been used, so why would she need a new purse?

This was e-mailed to me from a friend in Australia. No doubt it's travelled around the world quite a few times already, but for those who have not seen it before, I think it's worth a read.

Crabby Old Woman

What do you see, nurses ......... What do you see?
What are you thinking ............. When you're looking at me?
A crabby old woman ................ Not very wise,
Uncertain of habit, ............... With faraway eyes?

Who dribbles her food ............ And makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice, .. "I do wish you'd try!"
Who seems not to notice ......... The things that you do,
And forever is losing .............. A stocking or shoe?

Who, resisting or not, ............ Lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding, ...... The long day to fill?
Is that what you're thinking? .... Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse, ......You're not looking at me.

I'll tell you who I am .............. As I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, .......... As I eat at your will.
I'm a small child of ten ............With a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters ................ Who love one another.

A young girl of sixteen ..............With wings on her feet
Dreaming that soon now . .........A lover she'll meet.
A bride soon at twenty, ............. My heart gives a leap,
Remembering the vows .......... That I promised to keep.

At twenty-five now,..... I have young of my own,
Who need me to guide......And a secure happy home.
A woman of thirty, .................. My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other........... With ties that should last.

At forty, my young sons ........... Have grown and are gone,
But my man's beside me .......... To see I don't mourn
At fifty once more, .................. Babies play 'round my knee,
Again we know children,....... My loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me,..........My husband is dead,
I look at the future,........ I shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing..........Young of their own ,
And I think of the years .............. And the love that I've known.

I'm now an old woman................ And nature is cruel;
Tis jest to make old age ............ .Look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles, ............... Grace and vigor depart,
There is now a stone ............... Where I once had a heart.

But inside this old carcass .. ....... A young girl still dwells,
And now and again, ................. My battered heart swells.
I remember the joys, . I remember the pain,
And I'm loving and living . Life over again.

I think of the years ................. .All too few, gone too fast,
And accept the stark fact . That nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people, Open and see,
Not a crabby old woman; .......... Look closer....see, ME!!

.
Bet he wished they had stayed at home..................... and watched repeats on the television!