It’s disappointing to see that all the home page posts are mine. Yes, I know, CT is busy moving and my other reader has nothing of interest to say. Well, it didn’t stop me, did it? Backside says f**k ’em. (Pause for weak smiley intrusion.)
Enough already
Boadicea's Chariot 
Oops, guilty conscience time again, Janus. Must try harder.:( I always read your posts and comments though if that helps. Do keep up the good work.
Christopher sends his apologies but he is computerless until the shop has completed the data transfer to his new one.
Still here. Always reading, but only occasionally commenting. Must try harder.
OZ
Arrers, our absent friend! 🙂 It’s good to have a mole in CT’s world……..
OZ, there’s a rumour that Portugal could behave like our oldest ally and assist with Brexit talks. What say you, o wise one?
House in disarray at the moment. Major redecorating project under way. Broadband not always available. Will post again whenever possible.
Afraid I’ve “done” my back again. I’ve already got three prolapsed discs on the lower left and it feels as if I’ve added to the total on the lower right. While awaiting MRI scan, the strong painkillers mean that I tend to nod off whenever I sit down. So not really in a fit state to write much.
The damage started on a visit to Worcester. While there we looked on on Choral Evensong in the cathedral. The reading was from Ezekiel 34 and boy did he prophesy the current EU accurately.
FEEG, life intervening again, eh?
Sheona, sorry to hear of your back problems. Get well soon.
I never think if anything to write that may start a debate. I do enjoy joining in though, once someone else has had the idea. Tut tut, the yoof of today!
(or in reality, I can’t remember how to and can’t be bothered to RTFM!)
Cuprum, as the Oirish say, three’s enough for a foight, so hold me coat.
You may have heard or seen that Portugal has suffered two particularly horrendous forest fires this year, one in June and the other earlier this month. In all 109 people lost their lives, hundreds more lost their homes and entire livelihoods and more than 350,000 hectares of land were destroyed. The cost of the damage has been assessed in excess of two hundred of million Euros.
The political fallout has been significant. With the honourable exception of the firefighters assisted by the paramedics and the police, practically every state department or organisation failed to perform. For example, a vastly expensive communications system called SIRESP and designed to coordinate the rescue services yet again proved totally useless, leading directly to scores of the fatalities. Survivors who suspended their cellphone contracts until the service is eventually restored to their areas were issued with fines. Meanwhile in Lisbon self-serving public functionaries and politicians scuttling from meeting to useless meeting with their silly name tags, clip boards and little bottles of water have been exposed as the negligent, incompetent, complacent wastes of oxygen and money that they are and have been proven to be about as much use as the vast bureaucracy they created and are supposed to administer for the benefit of the citizens they are supposed to serve. Instead finger pointing, personal blame avoidance, damage limitation, political survival and keeping one’s seat on the gravy train are the predominant activities . The current joke here is that whereas the clocks went back one hour last weekend, the country really needs to go back one hour and twenty five years to start sorting out the intervening mess.
Our president, the recently elected and politically independent Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, is generally regarded as a decent bloke never afraid to speak his mind, With much public approval and gratitude he has visited all the affected areas highlighting the failures of the government whilst crisscrossing the scorched wilderness holding functionaries, local councils and state departments to account. Meanwhile the current prime minister, the socialist Antonio Costa totally misread the public mood, refused to be seen amidst the devastation and instead buggered off to Brussels to be filmed parroting the EU line that not enough progress had been made
blagging even more money from the UKin the Brexit negotiations to allow the UK to submit itself to the next round of threats and extortion.So in eventual answer to your question, Janus, Portugal is indeed our oldest ally and your average Tomas, Ricardo and Henrique on the street are decent enough, but I doubt that with all the present domestic problems the present bunch of charlatans masquerading as the Portuguese gobmunt are going to risk breaking ranks with Brussels and biting the hand that feeds them.
OZ
Thanks, OZ. No good hoping for their help then.
But ever ready to start a fight, here’s one
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/10/30/non-smokers-get-six-days-extra-paid-leave-make-smokers-cigarette/
Janus – that article definitely needs to be a separate post……as an ex-smoker I could happily offer some controversial opinions!
Cuprum, OK but even I have limits! 🙂
Ho hum. The shop finished with my computer today.
CT, that’s good news and bodes well for life here on the Chariot. Isn’t November when you join the yokels in Dorrrset? 🙂
Yes. I am due to arrive in Dorset the 11th of November after gracing London with my presence for two days. For work reasons I’ll need to commute to California periodically, however.
Janus… an ex-smoker (yes! finally!) I could also offer a few opinions too…
Christopher – there’s ‘commuting’ and ‘commuting’… but ‘commuting’ from Dorset to California seems to require another word… 🙂
Boa, O-kay then…
Would “sojourning” be a better word? The nature of my job is very political and requires that I remain in the good graces of the powers that be. Since it’s for the state, ultimately, I have to make the occasional appearance in California. Norwegian have relatively cheap flights and some friends are willing to put me up for a couple weeks at a time.
I suppose you will be ‘frequenting’ califirnia too.