Category: General

Dido and Aeneas

My entry for Bearsy’s New Competition

Aeneas fled Troy’s epic, tragic ending.
Obeyed the Gods and journeyed ever West.
Tired of miles of endless, aimless wending.
Found rest and peace and love on Dido’s breast.
A brief respite. The Gods renewed their call.
He left. She wept, her love still unabated.
Then, hopeless. spurn’d and sworn to end it all,
She built her pyre, expired and immolated.

Ladies, mark her case. Try not to follow.
Don’t give your love to men whose paths are driv’n.
Their passions spent, their honey’d words ring hollow.
They leave, nor care if they are unforgiv’n.
Take care. Perhaps, like her, your heart’s pyre lurks,
He’ll not stay true despite remember’d fireworks.

Whackos of the week.

Psychologist Maarten Bos, and the ‘scientists’ at Radboud, (where?) University who have announced, to great fanfare, in a paper to be published in the ‘Journal of Consumer Psychology,? (what?) that sleeping on a problem helps to find a solution.

As they note, my Nanna could have told them that – and saved another few pence of taxpayers’ cash.

This is Public Service…

As some of you may know, I’m a cat person. I really do not have a problem with dogs, only with their owners who allow them bark or howl continuously.

Earlier this year I gave up hoping that one of the neighbours at the back would ‘do something’ about their dog’s continually howling. Well, it wasn’t so much of a ‘howl’ as a bark-cum-howl that got cut off at the end. We could only assume that the creature had one of those collars that are supposed to train the dog not to bark – it obviously was not working.  In the end I phoned the local Council’s ‘Dog Squad” who said they’d deal with it. And very efficient they were. Within 24 hours the noise had stopped, the Council had phoned me to check that all was well – and we were once more able to sit in the garden in peace.

However, last week the ‘noise’ started again. By 8.30 a.m. this morning I’d had enough. At 8.40 a.m I phoned the Council. Extremely sympathetic woman, who told me that the offending animal was a beagle. At around 8.50 a.m. we decide to brave it, took our tea, coffee and cigarettes outside – and were greeted with…. Continue reading “This is Public Service…”