Category Archives: ramblings

history, ramblings, topographical

Christmas & New Year Traditional Events

This time of year produces a lot of traditional (and often strange) events around Britain. So many places seem to have their traditional event — some are relatively modern while others go back hundreds, maybe even thousands, of years.


I remember when I was a kid there was a relatively modern (started in 1908) Boxing Day tradition of a football match between the Bakers and the Sweeps which survives to this day. The participants, dressed and made up accordingly, paraded round the streets collecting money for charity before playing a fairly rowdy football match on one of the local recreation grounds. This tradition, like many others (both new and ancient) across the country, survives because it raises money for local charities.
I can’t hope to find out about and list here a tithe of the events happening across Britain — and there seems to be nowhere which lists them — so you will need to search out ones that interest you or that are happening near you. IanVisits lists a small number in his monthly “Things to do outside London” listings for December and January.
The most important dates to look for are:
     Boxing Day, 26 December
     New Year’s Eve, 31 December
     New Year’s Day, 1 January
     12th Day of Christmas, 5 January
     Old Christmas Day, 6 January
     Old New Year’s Eve, 11 January
As you see many of these traditions are tied to the old calendar and/or to traditionally important days. They deserve to survive both because they are a traditional part of the British heritage but also because so many do good work raising money for local charities.

personal, photography, ramblings

More Pussy Porn

In keeping with the tradition of the interwebs being the repository of all things pussy, here are another couple of shots of Tilly the Kitten. (Not so much kitten now, actually, as she’s approaching 7 months old.)

Click the images for larger views on Flickr
Please, I would like to catch that mouse
Please, I would like to catch that mouse.
Tilly helps Noreen with Facebook.
6 December 2013
Office Cat
Office Cat
Tilly does duty as a paperweight.
Tummy fur beginning to regrow after neutering.
5 December 2013

beliefs, history, ramblings

Things to do Out of London in December

A few days ago IanVisits published (as usual every month) a rather super list of things one can do out of London during the coming month — ie. December.


The list is full of wonderfully festive events including Christmas tree festivals, boy bishops, torch-lit processions, mummers, football and tar barrels. Many are (or are based on) very ancient traditions especially to do with mid-winter fire and light festivals. You can find the full list here. I commend it to you!

medical, personal, ramblings

On Flu Jabs and Sleep

I love curiosities!
Early on Friday afternoon I had my annual flu jab. By the evening I was beginning to feel meh. Yesterday I was fit for nothing; not full flu but everything except the severe body aches and high temperature. So I spent the day curled up under the duvet, mostly asleep. Not nice, but better this than having full-blown flu.
I understand why this can be a side-effect of the flu jab: basically it is an immune reaction to the (dead) bits of virus in the inoculation which stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies that protect against the real virus. So it is working as designed.


But what I don’t understand is why this only happens to some people and why it doesn’t happen consistently every year. When I first started having the flu jab it would make me feel mucky for half a day or so — maybe less. But three years ago the vaccine contained bird flu (or was it swine flu?) and that knocked me out for well over a week! (Unless I did actually catch flu at the same time I had the jab — unlikely, methinks.) Last year the inoculation flattened me a for a couple of days. This year it has done much the same.
Yes, OK, it is my immune system working as designed. But is this “excessive” reaction a sign that I have a good strong immune system that gets to work quickly and well? Or is it a sign that I have a weakened immune system which is struggling to catch up? Dunno.
I find this whole reaction (side-effect) curious.
Anyway, as I said, I spent yesterday curled up under the duvet. The curiosity here is “curled up”.
Now I normally sleep flat out. Either on my back or (more usually) on my front; and I always have done ever since I can remember. And Noreen will tell you I’m normally spread-eagled across the bed.
But yesterday I was curled up in a foetal position on my left side. I only ever do this when I’m ill. (Occasionally if very depressed I will curl in a foetal position on my right side; but never on my left side.) I’m guessing this is an ancient animal instinct to protect ones soft parts when most vulnerable (asleep). I’d also guess that being on my left side is because I am right-handed — this position leaves my stronger right hand free to smack any predator in the jaw. Maybe?
So just another curiosity.
I love curiosities!

current affairs, ramblings

Government and IT

Yesterday’s Independent carried a short article under the headline

Using computer technology ‘could save state £10bn a year’

Yes, you bet it could! Here are extracts from the article:

Civil servants could cut the cost of government by £70bn in seven years just by making more use of computer technology, a think-tank report … claims.
The ambitious claim … is almost 10 times what the Cabinet Office hopes can be achieved.
The report … highlights ways government departments waste money by using too much paper.
Offenders include the Crown Prosecution Service, which prints a million sheets of paper every day, the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency, where “two articulated trucks loaded with letters and paper pull in every day”, and the Passport Office, which prints out forms filled in online and posts them back to applicants to sign.

Oh FFS! I know I worked for a large IT company but set in its ways though the Corporation was even we got rid of most paper forms 10 years ago!
So you bet the government could save £10bn a year, but it will happen only if:

  • They learn something about IT and how to manage IT projects
  • They are prepared to listen to advice from suppliers
  • They are prepared to invest some money up front
  • They are prepared to grasp the nettle and tell the civil servants that this is how things will be done — no push-back allowed.

Will all of those happen? … No.
Will any of those happen? … Probably not.
Gawdelpus!

ramblings

Grumpy Old Men R Us

I’m clearly getting senile: I’m getting grumpier in my old age.

No, correction … I’ve always been senile and grumpy.

I get more and more irritated, to put it mildly, by sales droids cold calling me. They ring the landline (which is already registered with the Telephone Preference Service). They ring my mobile. They ring the door bell. They stuff rubbish flyers through the door, or mail them to me.

[Mailing stuff out speculatively like that has to be an obscene waste of resources: paper, fuel for transport, postage, etc. as 99.99% will go straight in the bin. Although at least it does provide employment for postmen.]

None of it does any good. All these people do is get themselves hated and probably blacklisted. I only ever respond negatively to cold calling.



If I want a product or service I will know that I want it and will go out and look for it. If I don’t do that I don’t want (or need) it. I do not need you to try flogging me your rubbish that I don’t want. And it isn’t just people selling things. Surveys, charities, and so on are just as bad. I do not do BUSINESS (of any sort, that does not just mean selling things) with anyone who cold calls.

And if you are stupid enough to cold call me … do NOT argue with me. You’re just digging yourself a bigger pit. And you’ll lose. See I’ve worked in sales. I know all the answers and objections. I know why you do it (basically you’re all desperate) and why you’ll tell me you do it. I know all the lies.

The first rule of selling anything is to recognise when your (potential) customer has said “NO” and to take the hint.

If I want a product or service I will know that I want it and will go out and look for it. If I don’t do that I don’t want (or need) it. I do not need you to try flogging me your rubbish that I don’t want.

I doubt I know anyone who actually likes people cold calling them. And I’ll give you 10-1 that most of the sales droids who do it, detest having it done to them. Which surely makes it immoral for them to do the cold calling.

I’ve also seen how destructive it is of salesmen. Few survive very long at it. To me that makes it immoral for anyone to be asked to cold call.

So don’t do it! It’s counter-productive. Remember: Treat others as you would like to be treated yourself. Anything less is bad for your karma.

Besides it pisses me off. So you are likely to get a very dusty answer. “I don’t do business with anyone who cold calls me. Thank you.” [click] is the shortest and politest version. Argue and you’ll get more than you bargained for because you’ve made me angry. Which is bad for my karma as well as yours.

So don’t do it!

ramblings, topographical

World Pea Shooting Championships, 13 July

If you were anything like the kids in my childhood, pea shooters were all the rage. So what better way to relive ones delinquent infancy than at the World Pea Shooting Championships which take place at Witcham on 13 July.

Witcham is one of those quiet villages in the Cambridgeshire fens a handful of miles west of Ely. They will be holding the 43rd World Pea Shooting Championships as part of their local festival and village fête which raises funds essential for the upkeep of facilities like the village hall.



As well as the World Chamionship there are ladies, juniors and team competitions. And yes,the championship is truly international: the 1996 and 1998 World Champion was an American!

There is more information n the World Pea Shooting Championships and the village of Witcham on their website at www.witcham.org.uk.

ramblings

Awareness Days etc.

As you may have noticed, there has been a bit of a hiatus in my postings of interesting awareness days/weeks, curious festivals etc. There are two reasons for this. The first is that there don’t seem to be quite so many happening in the the last few weeks.



Secondly I have been thinking about how I select what to write about and updating the rules I use. Going forward this may mean slightly fewer postings, but hopefully about better quality events. Although the rules are not rigid I will mostly be obeying the following:

  1. The event must be either UK-based or international in nature
  2. I will not cover anything medical, literary, social welfare-related, or to do with schools; nor will I cover music festivals.
  3. And I will not cover anything overtly commercial. (Some events are run by companies as a cover for marketing, eg. National Shed Week, and will not be covered. Sponsorship is fine but the event needs to be independent of a single commercial entity.)
  4. The event must have a functional and useful website, to which people can be referred for further information. (I’ve found that far too many don’t!)
  5. The event has to engage my interest in some way, however marginal.

There will of course be exceptions. After all, I make the rules round here!

And I’m open to suggestions as to what to include.

Thank you!

beliefs, current affairs, ramblings

In which I worry about Bishops …

… or more precisely, retired Archbishops.

The BBC reported a few days ago that according to Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, allowing Gay marriage “paves way for polygamy”.

In an article for the think tank Civitas, Lord Carey … argues that the government is effectively seeking to change the definition of marriage to “a long-term commitment between two people of any sex, in which gender and procreation are irrelevant”.

He says he does not want to be “alarmist”, but that could logically be extended to “say, two sisters bringing up children together” or “multiple relationships, such as two women and one man”.

Let’s just leaving aside the fact that this is an absolute load of old baloney — the relationships his Lordship cites have been happening since time immortal, so where’s the problem? But I do worry what school Lord Carey went to when he can clearly think that two women plus one man is two people. Do divines have different arithmetic rules to the rest of us? Or has he actually lost his marbles?

Fortunately others of Lord Carey’s colleagues are more sane:

[T]he Bishop of Salisbury, the Rt Rev Nicholas Holtham suggested in a letter to the Telegraph that it was time to “rethink” attitudes about same-sex marriage, as Christians had done with slavery and apartheid. “No one now supports either slavery or apartheid. The Biblical texts have not changed; our interpretation has.”

And in a brilliant response to Lord Carey …

Stonewall chief executive Ben Summerskill said: “This is regrettably hyperbolic shroud waving”.

You just have to love someone who can talk about “hyperbolic shroud waving”!

personal, ramblings

Volunteers Week

The week beginning Saturday 1 June is Volunteers Week — an opportunity to celebrate the amazing contribution millions of people make out of their own busy lives each year.

There are many different ways to volunteer from helping out at your child’s school through getting involved with your local hospital’s radio station to doing VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas) in your gap year. Whatever your interests, and however little time you can spare, there is a volunteering opportunity near you.


Why volunteer? Well I know from experience that not only is volunteering immensely satisfying in itself, but you can make a real difference to people. Bring some friendship or comfort to someone lonely, help improve the environment, teach children in a third world country (or just here at home). Almost whatever it is there is an opportunity for you in your local community or much further afield.

And as someone who is involved in running two, totally different, voluntary organisation I know that both small local organisations and national charities are always in need for more people to help. And I also know that volunteers really do make a difference.

There’s a lot, lot more information about volunteering, and Volunteers’ Week, over on the Volunteering England website. Find out what there is near you!