Kevin's Watch

Where, incidentally, I have had dinner in the house of Dracula's birth (well - Vlad the Impaler was born there actually) and was served a dessert that consisted of a piece of Swiss roll sprinkled with 'hundreds and thousands ' (or whatever they are called) by a hunchbacked and rather ghoulish appearing waiter (no doubt a really nice fellow in reality).


Theresa May is discovering the true cost of her (what some - not me, not me! - would describe as 'faustian') confidence and supply agreement with the DUP, with said party now beginning to test it's (the agreements) strength to the point of potentially precipitating the fall of the government. The DUP are no strangers to confrontation that sits right on the edge of conflict, and if she thinks she herself is a 'bloody difficult woman', I suspect she's about to receive a masterclass in the art from the DUP leader. I can't, it has to be said, see Arlene Foster dancing onto any stages any time in the near future. She doesn't look like the dancing type to me!

Wow .. eerie .. and yet strangely sounds like fun ..

Yeah .. UK politics

I have been as busy as a three speed walking stick. Fighting the good fight. I hope you are all well!
Yesterday my bloody car broke down. 3 months after the expiry of warranty. It has all of the symptoms of being a failed fuel pump. What a bloody pain in the arse. My wife and accountant told me it was time for a new car at the start of this year. I ignored them because i had grown quite attached to my car. While I have more scars than my car, today I thought for a second that I would trade it in and try a different type of car... Then I thought nahhhhh. I don't even know what I would want as an alternative, and I am not going to buy the same type of car that I already have.
Today I think I will stick to the original plan and drive it 'til the wheels fall off.

That's the spirit Kizza! There are two approaches to cars - get a new one and then replace it every couple of years as the warranty expires, or as you say, keep it right the way through until it's inevitable death. I do the latter simply because I hate the process of changing cars. It's always fraught with risk that you might buy a pup so if a few hundred bucks will keep my existing one going I spring on the basis of 'the devil you know.........'

Meanwhile on the home front I'm developing a serious aversion to automated checkouts in supermarkets that 'talk' to me in that soft oily voice, thanking me for my purchase, thanking me for waiting (automated phone lines are just as bad) and generally pretending they are a human when in fact they are a lump of feelingless technological crap. Take this on board assholes; I don't want to be thanked by your patronising machine - I want to be thanked by being charged less for my food and being left alone with my thoughts at the same time!

Yeah, I'm of the "drive it 'til the wheels fall off" persuasion myself.

As long as the cost of repairs is less than what I would get by selling it, it makes more sense to keep it.

--A

I've never actually owned a brand new car. I tend to buy them at a couple or three years old, when the selling price is about half that of the new one. True the manufacturers warranty is gone - but most of the dealerships will give a further year on a car they have inspected and bought back from those who adopt the first approach, and enough do this to make your chances of getting a fairly decent runabout while still saving a shedload of dough at the same time pretty good.

Interesting day in my town yesterday; a guy climbed onto the roof of the block of flats he was (reputedly) being evicted from, and began hurling slates down into the streets. A rooftop seige developed with streets cordoned off and large numbers of police in attendance. It lasted for 24 hours or thereabouts, during which time the rumours that he had 1) lost his sickness benefits which he had been claiming and been told to return to work, or 2) had been sectioned into a mental hospital that morning and had escaped his collector's by climbing onto the roof. The two stories seem somewhat at odds, but apparently other members of the community had to be removed from the flats to a safe location as the roof became progressively more damaged.

During the afternoon apparently, a second person attempted to join him, but was prevented from doing so by the police. Whatever the case, there was extensive disruption to traffic flow through the town as cars were diverted round closed off roads. People gathered to rubber-neck the 'event' and some apparently began to harangue the assailant from the street. In the shop I had every response across the spectrum from from 'shoot him down' to 'soak him with water hoses' right the way to 'give him tea and cakes and a holiday to Butlins'. I'm not in the judgement business; whatever caused it will out in the end - but the variation in people's response to the situation interests me more and must be a reflection of something deep inside themselves more than a rational response to the circumstances.

And in another price of local news, a cannabis farm was discovered inside a building on the outskirts of town, lights and hydroponics etc, that the growers had rented from it's former occupiers - who ran the site as a local 'enterprise center'!

Haha, suspect your climate makes it difficult to grow outdoors, although, I would have thought it might be feasible in Cornwall...

--A

A chap came into the shop yesterday who had attempted to take a short bus journey to the railway station during the aforementioned rooftop protest, but due to the diversions caused thereby had actually been dropped off further away than where he got on in the first place!

Harry and Megan fever continues apace in the UK media. In the last twenty four hours I have seen headines that chart the daily increase in Megan's 'bump' as her pregnancy progresses, report that the couple "took of their shoes" on a beach somewhere and even one simply saying that they looked at each other. After this kind of excitement I feel we may be ready for the heady heights of a spell of watching paint dry.

Hahahahaha .. yes theyre both down under at the moment .. and my hubbys sick of seeing the vacuous media coverage of their every movement.

I am a royalist .. not literally .. I suppose. But its likely more about the ex pat connection so I have a morbid interest in what theyre up to. Though was not a fan of the wedding scene lol ..

Its been such a busy but lovely week here in rural Oz .. we have a number of boaders who are a delight .. but they are like children, they require constant supervision, and getting them to cohabit peaceably etc.

so not really lap top viable.

Guess it goes with the territory Sky. We used to board in the vets; damn, it could be hard going at times but I always loved the company of the animals. Miss it a lot actually.

You could find work with animals Pete .. its very good for your health

We dont do kennels .. we care for them in our home. Not all that suitable for working dogs that might not be used to the lifestyle a pet becomes accustomed to.

I prefer this .. as we get to expand our family for the duration of their stay.

I am currently in need of a farrier for my horses. I could do it myself .. and have in the past .. but .. the smell .. I can do poop without being overly bothered mostly ever but the hoof shavings .. are well .. often a bit nasty.

Farriers are pretty reasonably priced ..

Truly animals are the best for the full and free release of endorphins and all manner of other good things. They make you smile, laugh .. and growl sometimes. Ive growled a bit with the heeler x we have .. what a lad???? Always getting into some mischief or other.

I've done a great deal of 'footwork' with horses in my time Sky. Not actual shoeing, but shoe removal, pairing back overgrown feet, following infected tracks from nails and the like. Back breaking and quite often dangerous if the horse is big and ain't happy about having the work done!

Worst thing that ever happened to me was removing the shoe on a Shetland pony that was so bad with laminitis that the wall of the hoof had separated from the lamina matrix underneath. The whole hoof came away in my hand as I tried to get the shoe off. Such is the danger of keeping a moorland pony on rich pasture until it is rolling in fat. Killing it with lack of understanding and misplaced 'kindness'.

I got blamed for breaking a vase yesterday. I didn't actually physically do it.
Dear wife has had this blue and white Chinese vase with the dragon designs on it for over 25 years. It stood at over a metre tall. It had lived with us through three houses. I haven't had the guts to ask where she got it from yet, as I will have to replace it.
Long story short I was in the front yard doing the rounds of the garden and I looked into the house to see our dog Charlie the groodle just waking up and making his way through the house. He had been sleeping in with my youngest teenager.
Charlie is a standard poodle (you know the big ones) crossed with golden retriever, and he has a great deep bark on him. To be fair he is very intelligent and has a beautiful nature about him.
Anyway, I was in smartarse mode and I gave him a "peek a boo" at a window which he was totally not ready for. Well, his eyes widened, he turned tail and bolted through the house sort of yelping as he went. I saw him run through the living room and hit the tiles in the landing where he slid straight desperately clawing himself to turn right into the hallway towards the back of the house.
His slide went in slow motion as he bumped into this vase before he disappeared from view. The vase went over and into too many pieces to ever repair.
Wife not happy. She is okay with the dog, but not me. I think I am going to be reminded about this for a long time.

beautifully described fun times

Its not funny Sky!!!!
I can advise you that I am now in trouble for not knowing where the original came from or how to find a replacement!!
Allegedly I was there when it was originally purchased!! I dont bloody remember that.....

I am trying not to laugh because I am not supposed to be laughing. I cant find one online taller than 18 inches. This one was at least 30 inches tall.... bloody hell.

Haha, sucks to be you. The wife will not let this go, and I speak from experience.

--A

Ouch!

Was it actually Chinese Kizza or a Delft vase with a Chinese motif? That might be your starting point. The trick here is going to be replacing it with something so outrageously much better that the lost vase will be forgotten as if it never existed. This fortuitous accident has freed up a space for something new and extraordinary in your home - an opportunity not to be squandered but to be relished - grasped with both hands by virtue of its simple rarity!



(Of course you have to sell this idea with lavish amounts of money to your wife, giving her full autonomy in respect of the purchase; well, I never said it wasn't going to hurt! )

It was a "knock off" blue and white thing.... And it didnt have dragons on it. I have just been reminded of how I fail to notice anything "which isn't important" to me.
Based on how I remember it measuring up against the coat and hat stand thingy in our entryway, I reckon it was about 90 odd cm high and around 40cm wide.... its in pieces in the bin and I am not brave enough to go there until the coast is clear.
My jokes are still not funny...Am I ever in the shit. At least the dog hasn't deserted me.... so I keep chipping away in a "yes dear" kind of way.

Hahahahaha .. she isnt really mad at you .. it sure feels like she is .. but shes projecting .. shes upset about the thing. Right now she is grieving over its destruction .. but her logical mind knows YOU didnt break her much loved thing.

The dog broke it .. she knows that. And at the end of the day she knows its just a THING.

I wager shell come round .. just give her, her space to cool down .. if shes premenopausal or menapausal that wont help but could help you to know to tread cautiously

It will all be ok .. and you will both laugh at today over a few cheering drinks