Life Patterns

How a good citizen got shafted by the law

I have recently become acquainted with the shortcomings of German toilets

Life mostly consists of playing with the kitten these days. Already she's starting to look like a small cat - the speed at which they develop is fantastic. She's sitting here now watching me type.
Autumn progresses - clearing the fishpond of leaves. All the hornwort seems to have died off or been eaten and, as a result, the fish are much clearer to see. They seem happy enough - especially when it's feeding time. I wonder whether Sophie will try to scoop them out of the pond when she's finally allowed outside.
I realise that I'm spending as much time on Facebook recently as i am on CIX - a pointer to the future perhaps. Discussion on CIX is infintely better than on facebook but all those bells and whistles (or links and videos) hold their attraction too. If only the threading wasn't so awful. Perhaps google wave will be the next big thing though I am yet to get my hands on a copy -not quite desperate enough to buy an invite from Ebay.
Talking of Ebay I bought a behringer guitar multi-effects pedal which is proving to be fun when I manage to rememebr to plug it in and pick up the guitar.
But, as I said, Life mostly consists of playing with the kitten these days....

Reading some stuff about Moondog I came across Thoth who is probably no relation but interesting in a similar kind of way. His leading disciple/co-performer is the delightfully named Lila'Angelique who has more to say here.

The doctor has now confirmed that the spot was skin cancer and I will be having another operation soon to get shot of the remains of the growth.

Another of the good guys bites the dust.

Pat gave me one of these for my birhday! Thanks!

A fine tribute.

For their sterling efforts in Africa. We can but oblige.

British Press banned from reporting parliament.

Sophie meets the gang

Today I'm dog-sitting the Alfie dog. We've already had a good walk down the river. The cygnets seem to have flown the nest since the last time i visited and the two swans are contentedly munching weed.
On Wednesady I underwent the full operating theatre experience the aim of which was to perform a biopsy on a spot on my nose. The surgeon seems to think it's cancerous which means that the whole thing will turn out to have been a dress rehearsal. Oh well. Meanwhile Pat went off shopping and bought herself a cute kitteh which she's (probably) calling Sophie. She's vastly amusing, friendly and energetic. I hope she can avoid the pitfalls of catlife in the fens (mainly fast cars).
Applied for quite a few jobs and got some very civilised rejection letters back. Next weeek I'm ceasing to sign on and taking my chances with pension credit - a bit of an unknown quantity at the moment. I seem to be busier than ever too - there's something deeply wrong about that.

Why so many silly titles? My contributions culled from a thread on facebook.....

The irony is that she was a minister in the Home office responsible for introducing the very legislation that she is now falling foul of. That takes a particular type of carelessness which seems to be increasingly common in this Govt. It could be seen as symptomatic of the "us and them" mentality which divides us from our elected represntatives - all too vividly exemplified by the continuing expenses scandals of the past year.

Whilst on the human level I can sympathise to some extent with an individual who gets themselves in a publicly embarrassing situation, on the societal level I think that the ridicule it engenders is fair and necessary.

These are the people that we elected and mid term we have no way of making them accountable except by holding up their actions to the sharpest scrutiny we can manage. Ridicule, where it's deserved, is probably our most potent weapon in these circumstances.

I don't think this type of carelessness is endemic in our culture except in those parts affected by complacency. A Govt in its 3rd term, a business monopoly, a union leadership voted in on the nod, a local council with an inbuilt legacy party majority - these are the places we should expect to find it - and do.MPs as a class have earned my disrespect by covering up their ill gotten gains for years in a systematic and sophisticated manner. I, and I suspect many others, are not in much of a mood to be generous to them