VERSATILE BLOGGER? ME? THANKS.

I'm sorry about my rant yesterday. I know that it was very confusing but what I was trying to convey in my rage was that I know from talking to my immediate circle of family and friends there are massive savings to be made without touching front line services.


But today the sun is shining and I had a message from eddie bluelights that he had a little something for me to collect from his blog. It was "The Versatile Blogger" award. Thank you so much Eddie.

Now the challenge is to write 8 things about myself that are not generally known. This could present a problem because my life is pretty much an open book, but here goes.

1. I left school at the ages of 14 and 15! Yes, I know that's hard to believe because I have such a superior intellect, but I absolutely hated school. I like to say that the "school of life" was my training ground. Isn't that sick making?

I was living in the Channel Islands at the time where the school leaving age was 14. I harassed my parents until they agreed that I could leave. That was in July 1954. Unfortunately (for me) they then decided to move back to England where the school leaving age was 15 so I had to go back to school for another year. I should have reported them for child cruelty.

2. My first job at the age of 15 was in the City of London. I used to commute by train in my lovely new red high heeled shoes. I was a trainee typist with the Post Office near St Paul's Cathedral. It was good grounding. It taught me how to be independent, deal with extreme boredom doing the same damned thing day after day in a typing pool and the importance of presentation. It was drummed into us that we were funded out of taxes and as such were one of the public face of the Post Office. All our letters had to be perfect. If only public services had the same ethos today. This may be why I get so het up about the cavalier way our taxes are wasted now.

A point of interest is that at that time the City of London was one huge bomb site that wild cats had claimed as their home. The miracle was that in the middle of all this devastation the Cathedral stood out like a beacon of hope.

3. I met my first husband at the Post Office youth club. We used to go there after work to play dart, billiards and dance to the latest records. This is where I first heard Elvis and was blown away. A group of us that lived in South London would walk down the middle of the road from St Paul's to London Bridge Station. You could do that then because the City was deserted in the evening.

4. I went to the same school as Bill Wyman from the Rolling Stones, albeit that I was in the girls school and he was in the boys. At one of his booksigning sessions I was determined to renew our non-acquaintance but bottled out at the last minute. However, what I DID say was "hello Bill, how nice for you to meet me". How cringy is that? He looked at me as though I was a mad woman. He was right.

5. Since childhood I have been both very, very poor and moderately well off - several times. I prefer to be well off.

6. I believe in love at first sight because it happened to me twice. When I saw my first husband at the youth club I told my friend that I was going to marry him. We married 4 years later when I was 19 and he was 20. We were far too young and tried to make a go of it for 14 years but Vic was a great guy and a wonderful friend but a crap husband and father. Then I fell in love with Davy at first sight. He was lodging with my best friend, very drunk and making up quotes by Confucius. Madness!

He stopped drinking with the help of AA, was sober for 36 years and, being a great family man, was the complete the opposite of Vic. He died last Christmas and we all miss him so much. Tomorrow would have been his 68th birthday.

7. I hate fish apart from battered fish from the fish and chip shop, tuna with mayo and tinned salmon with vinegar.

8. And last but certainly not least. I am a born again Christian. I had been vocally agnostic, but after going to Al-Anon for several years I became a believer. I had a "Road to Damascas" conversion that would take a while to explain but one day I think that it would be good to put it all down in writing.

My next challenge is to pass this award on to 8 other worthy bloggers. After much thought I have selected the following:-

http://alcoholicdaze.blogspot.com/

http://www.wrestlingwithretirement.com/

http://rnsane.blogspot.com/

http://wwwsueann.blogspot.com/

http://gritsday.blogspot.com/

http://reluctantmemsahib.wordpress.com/

http://sandimcbride.blogspot.com/

http://mimiindublin.blogspot.com/

I won't say anything about these blogs apart from to say that I find them fascinating.

GRAVE CONSEQUENCES

The Ministry of Defence has been asked to reduce its £37bn budget by 10%. This morning Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, warned that "draconian" spending cuts while the UK is at war will result in "grave consequences" http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11432620

No Mr Fox, MofD money wasted on the jobs redeployment pool is resulting in "grave consequences" http://network.civilservicelive.com/pg/pages/view/265595/ . This sounds like a good idea, but let me tell you that it is being grossly abused by people who deliberately relocate to rural areas where there is little or no chance of redeployment. Whilst waiting in the job pool they draw full pay and are entitled to take another job until something suitable is offered.

Another "grave consequence" is the unbalanced ratio of 85,700 civil servants in the MofD to 92,250 soldiers.

Yet another "grave consequence" is that highly experienced Defence Contractors are outmanoevring and overcharging inept, inefficient, inexperienced, nieve and ever changing MofD buyers.

I know people working in this sector and the waste is mind blowing. There is no need to cut the Armed Forces, just stop this scandalous misappropriation of the public purse.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1302711/Liam-Fox-rules-merging-forces-hints-Trident-funding-Treasury-row.html.

But the MofD is the tip of the iceberg. I know individuals in the public and local government sectors and who are being instructed by their line managers not to work so hard because it looks bad on the others. And then there is the police. Another can of worms http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1302580/Police-chiefs-axe-overtime-bid-slash-500m-bill.html. Again, I know this to be true from personal accounts. I could go on all day.

It simply has to stop. No wonder the Country has run out of money. It's not only greedy bankers that have caused the problem it's systemic greed throughout the whole population from benefit fraud to MP's inflated expenses and all the stops along the way.

HOW US "SENIORS" GET OUR KICKS

What do us "Seniors" do to fill up our leisure time. Go disco dancing? No, certainly not! Go binge drinking at the weekened? Well maybe! Flirt with the postman? At the risk of being accused of baby snatching, I don't think so!

I'll let you into a secret. We spend hours on-line hunting out the weird, wonderful and bizzare to write about. This was written by a blogging friend of mine who is age "challenged", much like myself. It is so funny. http//www.wrestlingwithretirement.com/2010/09/disaster-protection-needs-second-look.html

GRANDMA BONKERS

Eve Pollard one of my favourite journalists and one time editor of The Sunday Express and the Sunday Mirror was reviewing the papers on TV this morning during which she revealed that her grandchildren call her Grandma Bonkers. A great name and very distinctive.

My own grandchildren and great-grandchildren, being the fruit of multi-marriages have multi-nannas, some of us with the same christian name so it can get quite confusing. I have been called many things ranging from Nan, Nanny, Big Nan (my mother was Little Nan. They assured me that it refered to my height and not my width, but I didn't actually buy that). Big Nan was pluralized to "The Bigs" to include Davy (now I'm simply called "The Big"). Some of my great-grandchilden call me "Nanny Bullet" originating from their mother who used to say "you're quick, what do they call you? Bullet?"

So... Grandma Bonkers? Yes, it has a certain ring and fits me well.

HE DID IT

Vincent Cable gave his speech and raised some very interesting points. Now I realise I'm just an old woman who doesn't understand how these things work but I do know that rampant commercialism kills competition, just as the man said. It's the nature of the beast. Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't we have a Monopolies Commission to stop businesses becoming too big and powerful for this very reason? And while I'm on the subject, as we have this legislation how come 96% of banking transactions in the UK are channelled through 4 banks?

So, what's the answer? It certainly isn't nationalisation. We all know how that one goes. Unskilled public servants attempting and failing to run massive corporations. Uggggg!!!

Then there's that other mob. The Unions. Now demanding no public sector cut backs and, amazingly enough, PAY RISES or they will strike. They should be flung in prison for treason. We teeter on the brink of global financial collapse and they don't want to help because the bankers caused it? Get real.

There is talk that "small government" is being advocated. I could see this working provided we, the good citizens of this Country, take more interest in what is happening, particularly what our leaders and public servants are doing. Make them accountable. I know, easier said than done. We need a true democracy run by the people for the people and we need it now.

And now for something completely different - dada.........

Warning, you have to be broad minded to view this video.



I suspect that "cheap air flights" might be a particularly a European UK phenomena, originated in the UK by EasyJet.

GREEN SHOOTS OF RECOVERY? I HOPE SO.

Today Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation & Skills is to speak at the Liberal Party Conference. He was to launch an attack on "the murky world of corporate behaviour" and criticise capitalism, saying it "takes no prisoners". He is already being critisised. Let's see if he has the balls to pull it off. I love that man.

For our friends across the seas we have a unique situation going on here. The Labour Party (left) has been running the country into the ground for the last 13 years, scheming and blagging money out of good honest citizens to squander on feckless dossers and mad schemes. spending money they didn't have and getting the country into massive debt while doing nothing to curtail the bankers as they robbed us blind.

So... we had an election which, naturally, Labour lost. The Conservative Party (right) received most votes, but not enough to form a government so they formed a coilition government with the Liberals (centre). Now we have a Conservative Prime Minister (David Cameron) and a Liberal Deputy Prime Minister (Nick Clegg). It's my belief that they are two modern, honest and capable men, but they do have ideological differences with the Liberals leaning more to the left than the right.

We live in interesting times and I only pray to God that they can pull together for the good of the Country and put aside the pressures that are being applied by their more radical colleagues. This could all go horribly wrong, but if the will of the good citizens of this Country is allowed to take root I have hopes it will work. Or am I just being a Polyanna again?

THE CAR WASH

Sorry I haven't posted for a while, my car needed washing again. I went to the car wash and had to have them rewash it three times...they kept missing spots...so if you don't hear from me for a week or so...you'll know where I am!






Now here's a feisty lady who I am sure would appreciate the car wash. Stick with it, it's very, very funny. I saw this on Eve's blog http://wrestlingretirement.blogspot.com/ and this what she said:

"A friend of the couple who founded Home Instead Senior Care, Mary Maxwell, was asked to give the invocation at the company’s 2009 Convention. Initially it seemed like a normal prayer, but it soon took a very funny turn. After I saw it, I had to share it with you. Feel free to click on the square at the lower right hand corner to enlarge the video to full screen "

ANOTHER MEMORY

These memories come at the oddest times. This morning I was watching a news report of the tragedy on 9/11, listening to a very dignified lady talking about her son who died in the attack when, out of the blue, back flooded my memory of that day.

Davy and I had recently bought a flat in the city and were happily shopping for "stuff" in the John Lewis store when we noticed groups of people huddled around TV's in the electrical department. Wondering what was going on we strolled over and were horrified to see the image of one of the Trade Centre towers burning. As we watched another plane smashed into the other tower. The shared grief in that group of strangers can't be described. Strangers who didn't speak or look at each other but somehow had a merging of minds. After watching in silence for an hour or so we walked back to our flat in silence and continued watching on TV for the rest of the day.

There has been the usual publicity approaching this anniversary again, including the mad Pastor who wants to burn the books of the Koran, but it wasn't until I saw this beautiful lady being interviewed that memories of Davy and I slamming from extreme happiness in anticipation of buying new things for our beautiful little flat, to the horror of seeing that scene unfold on TV, came back and I felt the two extreme emotions all over again.

Memories are strange things aren't they? I was prepared for our wedding anniversary on 27th August and I'm preparing for his birthday on 1st October, I was even prepared for his favourite TV programme to end afte 40 years. What I wasn't prepared for was hearing the intro music to this show and watching this poor brave woman talk of her son this morning.

I must admit that I'm a bit all over the place at the moment because I have been embroiled in a delicate and difficult family situation since immediately after Davy died. It finally came to a head a few days ago and I had to make a very traumatic decision. Again, it was the unexpected that that managed to creep under my radar. A birthday gift being delivered, the door unexpectedly being opened with a hypercritical smile after I had suffering months of abuse resulting in me "behaving badly", refusing to say hello and the children being told that "nanny needs to learn how to behave towards her family". I guess that was the final straw for all of us and it's left me a bit shaky.

THE REAL SUNDAY ROAST

On my last post I mentioned that Eddie Bluelights interviewed me for his Sunday Roast Feature. It is now live on http://eddybluelights.blogspot.com/ and, if I might say so myself, he did a very good job of it, even if he is a bit risque at times!

Reminds me of when I had my one and only full body massage in the Alps last winter. As I was approaching the ripe old age of 70 I thought that it was something I should experience, and where better to experience it than in the Alps. I duly booked myself in and presented myself to the masseur, a very handsome French man, who told me to strip off down to my bra and pants and enquired why I felt that I needed a massage.

When I told him my story he naturally assumed that I was there purely out of curiosity. He worked merrily away, chatting about this and that until he got to my shoulders. He stood back and exclaimed "Madame! I sink zis is not a luxury but a necessity, you have very naughty shoulders". I was alarmed. "Naughty shoulders?" "Yes, naughty shoulders". "Oh! you mean knotty shoulders". "Yes, zis is what I say, naughty shoulders". If only!!!

I heard this read out at an AA meeting once. It never fails to make me cry.

Touch of the Masters Hand

Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
thought it scarcely worth his while
to waste much time on the old violin,
but held it up with a smile;

"What am I bidden, good folks," he cried,
"Who'll start the bidding for me?"
"A dollar, a dollar"; then two!"
"Only two? Two dollars, and who'll make it three?

Three dollars, once; three dollars twice;
going for three..". But no,
from the room, far back, a gray-haired man
came forward and picked up the bow;

Then, wiping the dust from the old violin,
and tightening up the loose strings,
he played a melody pure and sweet
as caroling angel sings.

The music ceased, and the auctioneer,
with a voice that was quiet and low,
said; "What am I bid for the old violin?"
And he held it up with the bow.

A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two?
Two thousand! And who'll make it three?
Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice,
and going and gone," said he.

The people cheered, but some of them cried,
"We do not quite understand
what changed its worth." Swift came the reply:
"The touch of a master's hand."

And many a man with life out of tune,
and battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd,
much like the old violin,

A mess of pottage, a glass of wine;
a game - and he travels on.
"He is going" once, and "going twice,
He's going and almost gone."

But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd
never can quite understand
the worth of a soul and the change that's wrought
by the touch of the Master's hand.

Myra 'Brooks' Welch

Davy and I were touched by the Master's hand.