Category: General

Megadeth are coming to town

As big, brash redheads go Musty is in a class of his own. Not long to go until I see the ginger one in the flesh. Dave Mustaine is the singer, guitarist, penalty kick taker and chief songwriter of the family friendly thrash metal band, Megadeth. Our Dave also holds black belts in karate and Taekwondo, so although he’s a Christian (this is true), he’s not the type of guy that gets sand thrown in his face. He’s a mass of contradictions is the evangelist with the Dick Dastardly voice.

Contrary to popular myth, heavy metal gigs are not full of hard men (and women). Most of us are only kid-on tough guys pretending to be the spawn of Crowley with our devil’s horn gestures. I’ve been to many standing room shows and only seen one fight which was between two young lads, worse for drink. It was an absolutely appalling fight to boot. Continue reading “Megadeth are coming to town”

Red in beak and claw

I knew I’d find it some where.  Originally published in February 2010

Leaving the apartment complex this afternoon we found a seagull on the pavement with a badly damaged wing. While we were wondering what had happened to it,  the answer flew past us to perch on a fence nearby. A bird of prey and a very attractive one too. Some research on Wiki suggests it might have been a merlin. They winter in North Africa and it may have been starting on its journey back north to its breeding grounds, stopping off in Gibraltar for a quick snack. The seagull was bigger than its attacker, but had obviously been hit in mid-flight. There was nothing to be done but to move on and let nature take its course. I was not looking forward to walking past the scene on our return, but there was no trace of anything. Could that merlin have moved its prey elsewhere to feed?

Fighting fire with fire

Today’s edition of Nice Matin has a short report on the Hotel Martinez in Cannes.  For the second year the hotel has called on a falconer and his team of ten Harris Hawks to patrol the garden in order to discourage the local seagulls, who have no qualms about helping themselves to food from guests’ plates.

http://www.nicematin.com/cannes/au-martinez-des-faucons-pour-proteger-les-clients-des-goelands.1274945.html

But what happens if one of the hawks is tempted beyond endurance by a tasty morsel on one of the plates and the gamekeeper turns poacher?

If you want to talk to me, pull up a chair and sit down

Sunday best
Sunday best

Hi, my name is Kojo and some of you will remember me. I have just turned 6 and this picture was taken yesterday. I’m wearing a chief’s cloth which says “If you want to talk to me, take a seat and sit down”. Well that’s what my mum says. She says its because the cloth has this red pattern which is the chair design used by African chieftains. Fine by me. My mum’s national language is “Twi” which is Ghanaian but I defy anyone to try and pronounce the word “Twi”. It is more like “chree” with more “sh” than “ch”. All I know is that dad can’t pronounce it – sounds like he is shredding celery between his teeth.

Anyway, what would you like to talk about? I’m like my mum, got an answer for everything. Dad calls mum “The Church of Janet” as she is always pronouncing some kind of judgment or has a view or opinion on everything. She even came up with a number system for winning the lottery. Well she came up with this last week. She used the system last Saturday. I’ll tell you what it is …. it’s numbers 5, 10, 20, 25, 30, and 40. She says the reason is that she can imagine counting the lottery winnings in these combinations. Well that makes sense to me, if you can visualise something then it can happen. Makes sense to be counting your winnings in tens and twenties and why go for all these obscure numbers like birthdates?

Continue reading “If you want to talk to me, pull up a chair and sit down”

Fortune cookies aren’t Chinese

The films aren’t as good as the comics: well known saying.

After waiting a few weeks to let the vast crowds of True Believers die down I watched the latest Marvel blockbuster to hit the big screen, Iron Man 3, with a sprinkling of TB’s. Recently, superhero films have not made much of an impression on me. Poor characterisation, not so good special effects and less than subtle plots that have no sense of any impending danger. In short, they’ve been terrible to watch. Dull, a word I very rarely use. IM 3 is a return to form for the brand.

This film is a delight even for non-fans of the genre. It has a cracking story with unexpected villains that aren‘t all they seem to be. No spoilers from me but there are lots of twists in the tale. There are many exciting moments that bring back fond memories of the gripping ends of the Flash Gordon serials of olde. (I didn’t see the original performances but saw re-runs on the TV when I was young. Honest ). There’s the most beautiful woman in the world, allegedly, Gwyneth Paltrow, if you like that sort of thing. Naturally, there’s the obligatory Stan Lee cameo.

And then there’s the humour. The Iron Man franchise has always had a plethora of one-liners in its armoury. In it’s third outing it ups the ante. One visual gag in particular concerning a Iron Man duplicate is very amusing. Robert Downey Jr. is again, terrific in his role as the man in the tin suit. He gets the best lines. And doesn’t he deliver them well. Continue reading “Fortune cookies aren’t Chinese”

Woe, thrice woe!

Its happened again!

Everything, but nearly everything happens to me in threes.  It has become quite ghastly waiting for the other shoe to drop. (Okay, so triffids would wear three shoes wouldn’t they?)

Three people dropped dead on the week of October 10th over the recent past years, so that date is finished now!  Three relatives in the 80s died within a few weeks although none were apparently ill.  Three husbands and three dead children, I won’t go on!

This time it is only appliances thank God!  The other day my worthy, elderly, very comfy desk top computer blew up!  Smoke billowed forth, thank heavens I was using it at the time or otherwise it would have burnt the house down.  Needless to say, I ran screaming, (Union rules!)  Spousal unit had it disabled before it could render the office into a funeral pyre.  Seriously pissing off as it held my whole photo archive or so I thought and all my club admin stuff, but a great troll round his mates has found all the material to retrieve data so no real harm done.  So here I am on my laptop which already has my photo archive thanks to forethought of spousal unit, (I knew there was a reason why I married him!!)

Continue reading “Woe, thrice woe!”

May 2013 Photo Contest — Results.

Thank you, Araminta, for the chance to judge this photography competition. As the deadline has now passed it is time to announce the results.

Araminta’s picture of a tea pot was a good way to start the competition. My intense addiction to caffeine made my sympathetic to this entry.

FEEG’s two entries were welcome additions, although I must concur with Christina that there is little normal or regular about Washington, DC. If you’re interested I can put you into contact with someone who is an expert on the US Civil War.

LW: thank you for the picture of the boat. The comment about scraping barnacles off the bottom gave me a chuckle. I often spend hours and hours at my computer researching and writing reports.

OZ: your picture made me a bit hungry. Well done.

The winner of this competition is Soutie for his pictures of the vegetable seller and the road to Cape Town. Both captured the spirit of the theme perfectly.

Cul-de-sac

There is a short article in DT by Jane Shilling about the Britons’ love of living in cul-de-sacs and it brought back memories of my childhood in a “no through road” in Aberdeen.  It was unfortunately not signposted as such, so we did occasionally get lost motorists, who then had to do a three or more point turn in a very steep and steeply cambered street.  Entertaining to watch, as were all the learner drivers brought to practise in this particular purgatory.   I don’t think the milkman’s horse was too keen on it either, though he was regularly rewarded.  Taxis used to refuse to come down it in snowy weather.

But the best point of our cul de sac was that it ended in an entrance to a park, “our” park.

http://www.aboutaberdeen.com/victoria_park_gardens_aberdeen.php

At that time there was no conservatory or greenhouse in the park and not many visitors, but there was a small eminence that had been designed to look like a grotto and planted with rhodedendrons and other sizeable shrubs and which was ideal for childrens’ games.  We were in ignorance of the fountain’s history, but it was great for paddling in the summer.  This was our playground and we didn’t bother the neighbours. Very few children from other nearby streets ever came to it, so it was definitely “ours” and our parents knew we were safe there.

Now I live in another cul-de-sac and the driving instructors still bring their pupils to practice three point turns, but there is no camber to speak of and the entertainment is not the same.