15 minutes with Backside, 3

First edition of the Treaty of Utrecht

My most jingoistic hackles rise whenever I see that the pesky Spanish are trying to negate the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) by which, with the agreement of everybody who was anybody at the time, Gibraltar was granted to GB in perpetuity, together with Minorca, Newfoundland and St Kitts thrown in for good measure. Not long after there was a bit of a scrap over Minorca and GB gave it up. Fair enough. Newfoundland of course was discovered by Vikings yonks before and should be returned to them but nobody can be bothered to argue about it.

What I don’t get is why Spain doesn’t tell the French they want to negate the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659) under whose terms bits of Catalonia west of Perpignan were parcelled out. Surely it’s all Spanish land really – using the same arguments employed to claim Gibraltar?

What say you, cherished reader? Am I missing something here?

A little diversion for the afternoon

One of the worst things in life is listening to other people’s ailments. Getting told the latest medical report from folk you barely know can be galling for a number of reasons. For one, it’s hard to be witty when someone you’re not that familiar with is giving you a car crash headache and another is that you’re suffering this barrage of bad news while trying to smokescreen a yawn. The perpetual groaners seem to revel in their pain. I’ve seen myself locked, piggy-in-the-middle, in a sickness session ménage à trois conversation with two swinging whingers trying to outdo each other in the illness stakes. The contest seemed to be who is the nearest to death’s door.

The only thing worse than hearing about the dooms and glooms of others is when someone tells you about the dream they had last night. In the name of Bobby Ewing, go away. Dreams are insignificant and instantly forgettable. I can’t remember any dream I’ve ever had and I must have had billions of them. Continue reading “A little diversion for the afternoon”

Kongos

It was early last week, Mrs S asked me if I knew the song on radio Algoa with “what are you waiting for” or similar in the lyrics, I didn’t.

So I phoned my mate, who’s a DJ on the station and asked him, he said he’d try but he didn’t get back to me (not enough info I assumed.)

Then on Friday Mrs S phones me at 10:22am to tell me it was currently playing, didn’t help me I was nowhere near a radio.

I bumped into my DJ pal on Saturday night (after the heartbreaking rugby win but loss, if you know what I mean?) “10:22 on Friday” was all that I said. He messaged me (during his show) yesterday, here it is …

 

For reasons unbeknown to me this youtube video is now “no longer available” in South Africa!

Here’s another copy for locals who may have chanced on this post but unfortunately without the live shots seen in the first video that I posted.

 

Info on Youtube tells me – “The video is compiled from footage of our recent touring in South Africa and includes shots from our performances at Joburg Day, Oppikoppi Festival, One Night in Cape Town (Grandwest Arena) and our opening slots for Linkin Park at Soccer City Stadium and Cape Town Stadium. “

I like it

We won, we won!

The Beeb has obligingly promised rain and more rain for Manchester today, which means that England will draw the match with the Aussies and retain the Ashes, even if the last two tests go the wrong way.

Monday's weather forecast at Old Trafford

Forecast Summary

  • Today

    Cloudy with rain persisting for much of the day, very heavy at times with a risk of thundery bursts and localised flooding. Towards evening the rain will ease and slowly clear eastwards, perhaps allowing some late brightness in the west.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/7281603

Huge smiley thing.

A rainy day in Phoenix (NY not AZ) – August 1

Rain stopped play today, a good internet connection and lots of time, but not a lot of action.

During yesterday evening “Frances” arrived, a big old tug out of Troy, she rumbled in quietly and moored across the canal at the big boys wharf.  I think the crew went to Sammy’s Sports Bar up the street for dinner and a few brews.

1

Continue reading “A rainy day in Phoenix (NY not AZ) – August 1”

Cyclista

Good morning, cherished reader. I awoke today in robust form having overdosed on barbie with my brother and his family yesterday afternoon, but then I went to the papers this morning and had this shoved in my face.

linkey thing

What is it about cyclistas, especially those of a metrosexual, London-centric persuasion, who think that none of the rules that bind lesser mortals apply to them?

Listen, two-wheeled Taliban, wear a hard hat as other two-wheeled motorcyclists as obliged to do, wear a seat belt as motorists are obliged to do. Get some number plates like every other road user, and insurance for when you collide with a pedestrian and an MOT certificate for your conveyance, obey the rules of the road, including stopping at traffic lights and not riding on pavements you throbbers, that apply to every other road user and PAY ROAD TAX .

Oh, and lose the Lycra. It’s not cute and it’s not even funny. It’s just a lot of fat in a dayglo plastic bag drooped over a thin slice of synthetic leather. I have lost my breakfast on less offensive images.

OZ

Down in the forest……

Flintinge Byskov

Something stirred. So faint that I scarcely heard,
But the forest leapt at the sound,
Like a good ship homeward bound.
Down in the forest something stirred,
It was only the song of a bird.

But it was quiet inside the 5,200-year-old burial chamber, just a stone’s throw from our front door. It’s what’s known as a ‘passage grave’ – referring to its construction, not its purpose! Excavated 140 years ago by the then-landowner, about the same time as our house was built for his gamekeeper-cum-forest bailiff.