Many A Slipper.

Posted on December 16, 2020 by john graham

Two years ago my wife Mo gave me a lovely pair of slippers for Christmas.  It wasn’t the only present she gave me, but it was definitely the one I used the most from then on, because they were so comfortable.     They were expensive tan coloured suede, sheep skin, fleece-lined, slip-on slippers.   So much much more fashionable than my grandad style check pattern slippers with the Velcro straps, that I had previously; or the hotel-liberated flip flops that I used to ware around the house.    I wouldn’t be at all surprised if David Beckham hasn’t got a pair.

They took a bit of getting used to because they were mules, which means that you have to grip them with your toes to stop them sliding off.   I  guess that is why they are called mules, because you tended to walk like a donkey with slow plodding steps.     They would be more accurately called slip-offs, than slip-ons.    Still they were my pride and joy, so I threw out all my old unfashionable slippers and give-away flip flops.

That’s when the problem started.    The 10 yards between the kitchen door and the green house.     That is where I keep my gardening shoes.    Obviously I needed to keep my new luxury slippers for ‘best’,  even a step outside was a risk.     Suede does mark very easily, particularly light tan suede.

I did tip toe to the greenhouse extra carefully for almost a whole year, but gardening is a  muddy business especially in the spring.     So it wasn’t long before my new slippers started to get marked. which caused a few glaring glances from Mo, every time I came in from the greenhouse.      You can brush the dirt off the slippers in the summer, but by autumn in the wind and rain, brushing them makes the marks worse.     Just in that 10 yard sprint, my tan slippers became a dark shade of brown.

So what a lovely surprise it was when the very next Christmas Mo gave me another identical pair of luxury tan coloured slippers, with strict instructions that they were ‘indoor’ slippers.     In future, I think slippers might become a regular Christmas present, like pants and socks.

To be continued ………. in the next post.

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A Fair Bet ?

Posted on December 13, 2020 by john graham

Right now everyone in Government is focussed on the two big issues of the day, either Coronapop or Brexit.     Well almost everyone.

The Rt Hon Oliver Dowden, the Minister for Digital,Culture, Media And Sport is looking into betting.      He is considering banning betting companies from sponsoring sports clubs.     He has clearly lost lots of sleep over this.   No matter that sports clubs are strapped for cash right now.   Dowden is pressing ahead.

The key question is where do you stop with banning betting  ?

  • Should we ban Christmas raffles ?
  • A £5 bet on the Grand National ?
  • A  £10 bet on the Grand National ?
  • What about bingo ?
  • Or if your posh enough and have dosh enough you could try your luck on the roulette wheel ?
  • Premium Bonds ?
  • The national Lottery ?
  • Stocks and shares ?

It is all a form of betting.      Where do you stop ?    Do you gamble responsibly ?    What on earth does that mean ?

No doubt sports Minister, Nigel Huddleston,  will tell us what we can do, when he has concluded his investigation.     Because of all the lost tax revenues if betting were banned I don’t expect anything much to change.

But I wouldn’t bet your shirt on it !

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Useless Eustace

Posted on December 9, 2020 by john graham

The Government are beginning to look ahead to the blue sky of the future beyond Coronapop and Brexit.     The land of milk and honey just over the horizon.

The first appointed spokesman to bring some cheer to farmers everywhere is a happy little fruit farmer from Cornwall, who also happens to be the Secretary of State for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affaires.   The Honourable George Eustace MP.    ( I wrote about George in a earlier blog which you can find in the Archive – 16 August 2020 ).
I suggested that his Department be scrapped in order to save £2.1 billion since most of our food was imported.   Obviously George didn’t agree with me and has come back with a counter proposal to spend an extra £2.4 billion !

George is not too bothered about food, he is more interested in re-wilding the countryside.    His subsidies  will go toward planting more trees, millions of them, maybe even zillions.   An Amazon forest in the heart of England.    Then there are the sparrows to think about – 13 million of them have been wiped out in the last 10 years.   George is really upset about the sparrows.   He has plans to protect the hedges and get the sparrows back and the hedgehogs and field mice.    Oh! And red squirrels and a few family friendly wolves.

But, the  best and most innovative aspect of George’s Grand Plan is to use beavers to build dams all along our rivers to stop them flooding everywhere.   “This is free labour and I am sure it will work”, George told the BBC.

Unfortunately George forgot that farming is about food, but at least the wild animals will be happy, while we all starve in a re-wilder nature reserve !

P.S.     Watch out George, it is just a matter of time before an animal rights group decides that this will be slavery for beavers and asks for beavers to be included in the Modern Slavery Act …. or at least be paid the National Minimum Wage for their damming work.

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Barring Barristers.

Posted on December 6, 2020 by john graham

Thanks to  Coronapop waiting lists are getting longer and longer.    This is not just in   health care settings, but also in our Courts of Justice.     People are being denied justice which is obviously unjust.    There are 51,000 alleged criminals awaiting trial.    So proposals have been put forward to speed up the courts by extending their opening hours.    This doesn’t seem unreasonable,, since many organisations have had to change their working practices.

However nothing is simple when it comes to the law.   The legal profession is steeped in hundreds of years of tradition.    The whigs and gowns are testimony to that.

The legal eagles, our highly paid barristers, are considering it, which could take a year or two.    Some are horrified by the obvious injustice of  having to work before they have had time to read the morning paper or even worse if they can’t get home in time for afternoon tea.
So serious is the situation that strike action is threatened in the new year.    They are concerned that after been  called to the bar, the bar has now been closed by the Coronapop lockdown, so impoverished barristers are struggling to make ends meet.
One thought being put forward is the possibility of improved compensation for working longer hours.   Maybe double time legal aid for a 9am start and for weekends perhaps triple time and free meals.

If an agreement can’t be reached, the barristers  believe they will have a strong case for discrimination and will sue for strike pay.      Of course, if they are on strike it will be difficult to find a barrister to represent them.     They may have to fall back on a barista to grind out their case 🤡

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Dear Mr Sharma

Posted on November 25, 2020 by john graham

Completely out of the blue I received a letter today from a Government Minister.    Not just any old Government Minister, but a Cabinet Minister !   Frequently seen on TV. —-  The Secretary of State for Business Energy And Industrial Strategy —— The Rt Hon  Alok Sharma MP.

I have to admit I was somewhat taken aback, because I haven’t heard from Alok for ages.    In fact never.     It is all the more surprising when you think that only a few months ago I was recommending that his Department be abolished.    ( See my post in the Archive dated 19 August 2020 )

Here is my reply which I have decided to send as an open letter :-

Dear Alok,

How nice to hear from you and thank you for sending me “the new rules for business with the EU.”     I was beginning to wonder if Brexit would ever happen.
Your letter is addressed to the GrumbleSmiles Trust and I think you may have slightly misunderstood our purpose.    Still I will try to respond to each of the paragraphs in your letter.

  1. New rules on exporting and importing goods to and from the EU.    You really don’t need to worry too much about this.   The last time I came back from Europe I only had a couple of bottles of wine and some smelly French cheese.   I promise I will get them at Tesco’s in future.     As for “exports”,  the GrumbleSmiles Trust did suggest sending all MPs to Spain, but Outer Mongolia would be another option, if you would prefer.
  2. New rules for recruitment overseas.               We actually don’t have any staff at the moment, they were all furloughed at the time of the first lockdown.    If we do decide to recruit from abroad, I have made a note that we will need a license.     Will my driving license be okay for this?       We will only recruit from New Zealand because of their excellent record with Caronapop and their ability to play rugby a lot better than anyone else.
  3. Selling manufactured goods.              I have grown rather a lot of carrots this year during the lockdown, but I am not sure they would qualify as manufactured goods.    Perhaps you could give me a ruling on this ?
  4. Moving goods into, out of, or through of Northern Ireland.     I don’t think I will be sending my carrots to Northern Ireland, but if I do I will be sure to stick to the new Protocol.    To be sure.

I must say Alok, that with your 5 Government Ministers, 7 Director Generals, 40 Directors  and 4,420 staff working tirelessly for the past eleven months, you have done a remarkable job producing this one page letter.    Everything is so much clearer to me now.

Finally, I do like your catchy little slogan :-

CHECK     CHANGE     GO

I  have emptied my pockets and  counted  my money.     Now where on earth can I go during lockdown ?

Posted in SMILES | 7 Comments

Nostalgia.

Posted on November 22, 2020 by john graham

My last post was illustrated with this lovely rose called Nostalgia in the final days of autumn.     It will bloom again in the Spring.     What world will it bring ?

These are some of the exciting changes, which  will be heralded by newly anointed President Bodj’s new slogans :-

  • Behind the mask of limiting infection the use of cash has been replaced by a new currency.   “Contactless plastic is fantastic”
  • All the big shops will close and be replaced by Amazon.   Small specialist shops will invite you in with green tea or coffee and treats for Coco and her friends.   “High streets revitalised.”
  • Now that there are free school meals for children Coco has had a bark with Markus Rashford’s dog about a new campaign about equality for dogs.   “Doggy treats for eats.”
  • Unemployed graduates will be conscripted to be PA’s for all older people, to help do your on-line shopping and teach older people how to meet people on the internet, now that they can’t go out ever again.      “Zoom from your room”
  • GP’s who will know your name and family history.     “Free pills for all ills”
  •  Buy local produce and products.   “ Get you local produce from a yocal.”
  • There will be tree planting instead of more roads.     “Plant a pothole.”
  • We will all have electric Boris cars fuelled by windmills.
  •      “No travel when the wind don’t blow.”
  • In Boris wonderland there will be NO PETROL, NO DESIL, NO ROAD TAX.   “Get on your Boris bike”
  • NO POLITICIANS THEY HAVE ZOOMED OFF BECAUSE THERE IS NO MONEY LEFT TO SPEND.

IT ALL MAKES SENSE TO COCO AND THE  LAST LAUGH LOONEY PARTY !

 

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Final Flourish.

Posted on November 18, 2020 by john graham

Autumn is drawing to a close, a few flowers still bring a smile to these wet and windy days.      They have waited all summer-long to wave their good bye.

My garden has kept me busy and the flowers have kept me smiling all through this troubled summer.    Planning for a new year of bloom will carry me into a fresh start to  new garden age where every flower brings a smile.

One last final flourish is from a single rose which is aptly named “ Nostalgia “.

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The Little Things !

Posted on November 15, 2020 by john graham

In these dark down, tied down, up and down days, it’s the little things that keep you going.

  • the Phillips screwdriver in your hand when your trying to unscrew an old type screw,    Grrrr!
  • the exciting parcel that has just arrived with the book you have been waiting for,  but that is double-wrapped so tightly in reinforced tape and extra strong plastic.
    Scissors and knives, a bleeding finger and rubbish strewn all over the carpet somewhat dims your excitement !
  • The TV remote control with a mind of its own, with buttons accidentally pressed that lead you to mute the sound as News at Ten is about to start.
  • The mud on your shoe when you come in from the garden or the leaves that blow in through the door when you have just swept the floor !!!

Is this what Dylan Thomas ment by raging against the dying of the light ?

Then you go out for a walk to relieve the tension and a passing by baby in a pushchair smiles at you for no reason and  all the screwdrivers, packaging and remote controls are long forgotten 😀

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Covid Vacuum

Posted on November 11, 2020 by john graham

I am in a Covid vacuum.

Coronapop has crowded out all other thoughts.

I could turn back to clutter,

but Coronapop now is my clutter.

 

Turn on the tele and it’s all about Coronapop.

Open the paper and Coronapop is on the front page,

the middle pages and even the sports pages.

Everybody has caught Coronapop.

 

Take a break and go out for a walk.

A socially distanced passer by,

shouts through a muffled mask.

“CORONAPOP”

 

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A Puzzling Day ?

Posted on November 8, 2020 by john graham

Full up and fed up with Coronapop.    Locked in ☹️     Shielding  or  shielded ?

Time for a puzzle to keep my brain alive and free from Coronapop for a while.

No point in looking at the news it’s all about the outcome of the American election which is still a …… puzzle.

Maybe I will do a Sudoku which is a jumble of puzzling numbers ….. rather like the statistics on Coronapop that come out each day !

Perhaps I would be better of with Ruzzle, which is a word game where you have to make up words like “stay” or “wash” or “protect”.   That would help clear my head.

What about a jigsaw, gradually piecing a picture together.   Like a C    and an R    and an O    and    another   O     and  maybe a   P  or even two     And yet another    O     and an N   and last but not least what about an   A.

I feel much better now I have got Coronapop out of my head at last 🤡

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