Boadicea's Chariot

The weekend before Christmas, feeling somewhat guilty about not getting to it sooner, I walked down Christoph Straße in order to purchase my grandparents presents. My grandfather, an iconoclast in practically all matters, was rather difficult to shop for. Any material gift would be taken not as an act of kindness, but as being burdened by another bit of useless tat to add to his already uncomfortably large collection of tat. My blessed grandmamma was, as usual, far easier to buy a present for. A compulsive hoarder with a bitter sense of having wasted most of her 83 years, any unusual trinket she will appreciate. The search for a present for my grandfather concluded with the discovery of a small box of chocolates. For my grandmother, a Vietnamese coffee maker sufficed. My grandfather is not diabetic and he enjoys eating a piece of chocolate or two now and again. My grandmother has in recent months become overly fond of espresso and other strong coffees.

Continue reading “Living With the Huns V: Yuletide a la Hun”

Wearing your  pullover with the V neck at the back might well set a new trend in fashion. Wearing the said pullover walking up and down the aisle of the church as a sidesman would have been good practice for an elderly guy’s future cat-walking exhibitionism. This is what happened to a mate of mine this December. I would think the congregation neither knew if he was coming or going. Its a wonder no one in the congregation tugged his sleeve and commented on it.  Perhaps they were all too polite, perhaps many were confused. Perhaps many were asleep.

Anyway, this leads me into a rant about Carol Singing – the Downside.  Continue reading “Carol Singing? Nah, don’t fink so.”

Am I the only one to feel that these “heroes/heroines” who go off to West Africa to help Ebola victims should not be permitted to waltz back into the UK with a warm, virtuous glow in their hearts and the Ebola virus somewhere about their person?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scotland/11317035/Ebola-in-UK-Second-patient-tested-in-Scotland.html

Now all the other passengers who were on the same flights as the first victim are put through the stress of worrying whether they may have been infected, through no fault of their own.  And the already stretched resources of the NHS have to be mobilised to care for the infected person.

The UK needs to set up a quarantine centre for such returning heroes, where they must be kept until they can be declared free of infection.  No parent sends a child to school with chickenpox or measles, so why should someone possibly infected with the Ebola virus immediately come back into society? As the parents of the measles-stricken child have to keep that child at home at their own expense, so should those who have exposed themselves to the possibility of Ebola infection pay for their quarantine. Six months in kennels might be a bit much; a few weeks should suffice for those who dash off to help their fellow men in Africa with a singular disregard for the welfare of their fellow citizens in the UK.

Have a good one.

 

I can’t believe what I have just heard. Maybe writing on here will help me to vent my anger.

Over a week ago my auntie died in the UK. She was 95 and had a stroke a few months ago, as a result of which she was transferred from her home of 60 odd years to an old people’s home near her birthplace of Lowestoft. We were never very close due to distance but I did have a soft spot for her as she was a loving gently person, with a great lust for life. However, at 95 the loss is not so painful as she had a wonderful life. (Her husband only died a couple of years ago)

The funeral will be in January some time. This will be over a month after her death. When I enquired why the delay I was told that her doctor (the one that saw her in the home) is now on holiday until the new year and all other doctors at the practice refuse to sign the death certificate as she was not their patient.

The next time someone tells me that I should be proud of the NHS they will receive a punch on the nose.