weird goings on...

Some of the weird things I have seen/heard today. I wonder if the weirdness is due to it being Halloween...?

Weird thing 1) A man stood at the side of the road with a silent, well behaved dog. When the man took out his mobile phone and and began talking the dog began barking incessantly. When the man put the phone back in his pocket the dog stopped barking. This happened twice.

Weird thing 2) A woman walking through the city centre with a pushchair which was completely empty - utterly devoid of child or child related items.

Weird thing 3) A different woman with a different pushchair. The woman was repeatedly ramming the pushchair into the back of my legs as we walked through a particularly busy part of the city. When I asked her to please stop bashing my legs the woman replied "I can't help it you stupid effing* whore, I have a child." Surely an extremely over the top and slightly nonsensical reaction.
*she didn't actually say "effing", she used the f word but I was being polite by not repeating it here. I was not sure where to put the * in whore, so the word remains in its entirety.

Weird thing 4) An overheard conversation in the supermarket:
Checkout assistant: Oh, these are buy one get one free
Woman: No thank you
CA: Erm, well they are just buy one, get another one without paying for it. So...
W: No thank you, I don't want any silly gimmicks.
CA: Yes, but it, oh OK then fine.

Weird thing 5) Overheard on the bus, a conversation between 2 white teenage girls, both with children. One of the women was pregnant:
Pregnant woman: I love babies
Other woman: So do I. I would like a black child next.
Pregnant woman: Oh, I would love a black child. I really want the next one to be Chinese though.
(this was said without a trace of irony.)

Weird thing 6) One of my cats loves jam doughnuts and will do pretty much anything to get his paws on them. When I came home with some today he was going mad trying to find them in my bag. I initially thought he was after the smoked salmon fillets but no, it was the bag of doughnuts he was after. Yet another thing he can't be trusted with. (This is the same cat who ate the ribbon the other day, of which there is still no sign although he seems fine and healthy.)

And finally, the weirdest thing of all....
It is still October and I have all but finished my christmas shopping. Not only is my christmas shopping virtually completed, it is also already wrapped and labelled. How organised am I, eh?!
*glows inside with feeling of smugness*

cats

Last night one of my 4 cats, a 9 year old male moggy, decided to eat a metre long piece of ribbon. As you do. So I spent most of the night worrying about him, with visions of it tangling around his innards and making him ill. I stayed up until 4am, although as he seemed to be OK I went to bed. At 9am I got up and he still seemed fine, although I checked the house to see if he had thrown the ribbon up anywhere but he hadn't. I rang the vet, who said he would most likely be fine and that it would pass through his system naturally, but to just keep an eye on him in the meantime and if he shows any signs of distress I need to get him straight to the vet. So I now have visions of him running around in a day or two with about half a metre of dirty ribbon trailing from his bottom, and with my youngest two cats chasing him around and thinking what a marvelous game it all is. At times like these I sometimes wonder why I have cats. Until one of them comes and curls up on your knee, purring away and being all lovely at which point it is worth it! Anyway, hopefully he will be alright and there won't be any highly expensive late night visits to the emergency vets. My cats have a tendency to do stupid things in the run up to christmas, just at the time when I have even less money than usual and I tend to end up spending any money I had saved for christmas goodies on vets bills.
I decided to go for a walk mid-afternoon to try and clear my head as I feel pretty tired, and only a few metres away from my house was a dead cat in the road, which had obviously been killed by a car. This has left me feeling horrible, its such an awful thing to see. I will never understand why people let their cats outdoors on such a busy main road - either keep your cat indoors, build an outside run or don't keep a cat in the city. I cannot understand why people get pets when they don't look after them properly. If you have enough space in your home to keep a pet and you make it interesting for your cats, with lots of toys, tunnels, bedding, climbing frames and scratchy posts then there is no need for them to go outside. Two of my cats came from a rescue shelter, and when I lived in a quieter area I used to let them outside. They were frequently getting into scraps with other local cats, and were often twitchy and unhappy. When a neighbours cat came home one night with a knife wound I decided to keep my cats indoors from then on (I had 2 at that time) and within a couple of weeks they were visibly healthier and happier. I live in a bigger house now, with 4 cats and they are so utterly content. They never ask or try to get outdoors and get a clean bill of health at every check up.
Yet despite seeing this dead cat on the road, just a few metres further down the street was a beautiful young cat sat on the pavement, out alone on the main road with no collar. It must have only been about 6 months old, and seemed to be well fed and looked after. I stopped and stroked it for a few minutes but left feeling really uneasy with it being out on the road. A walk down the street later this evening has revealed no sign of it, so hopefully it is tucked up safe and warm in someones house.
I know I have a real soft spot for cats and that some people would just say I was overly worried, but I still just don't understand why anyone would put a cat outside when you live somewhere like this.

interesting juxtaposition

I took this photo the other day as I thought you may find the combination of a public house and an islamic butchers rather interesting. It certainly made me chuckle.

horse fail!

I found this rather amusing photo in the metro the other day and I decided to share.
I have heard about curiosity and cats, but not horses!

Bleurgh

Bull semen hair conditioning treatment? Snail slime skin softener? Faecal facial? What on earth is wrong with soap and water???
I just came across this bizarre article and I wondered - who on earth are the people paying for this stuff? And why? And who thought to try out some of these substances in the first place? The mind boggles.

penny for them

I went up the road earlier to collect one or two bits and pieces from the shops, and outside the convenience store there was a group of teenagers hanging around asking for "a few pennies for the guy" (for those of you who are unfamiliar with this British custom, on the 5th of November we hold a celebration called "bonfire night" or "Guy Fawkes night" where we commemorate the capture of Guy Fawkes, a catholic who plotted, with others, to blow up the houses of parliament aiming to kill the king in 1605. On the 5th of November we hold bonfires, often burning an effigy of Guy Fawkes [the "guy"] and let off fireworks. Traditional foods are eaten such as parkin and bonfire toffee and it is generally a good celebration. Many bonfires are held in parks or on common land, and in the run up to the 5th November children will make their "guy", or effigy and ask for "a penny for the guy", using any money raised to purchase fireworks and sweets.)
The reason I mention this today is that the teenagers I saw near the shops were firstly asking for "pennies" for the guy (inflation?), but they also did not even have a guy. So basically, they were just begging. In a sharp contrast to this, inside the shop were a group of young army cadets who had set up a stall selling poppies to raise money for remembrance day and the Poppy Appeal. I just found it quite interesting that on the one hand you had a group of teenagers basically begging, having not even made a guy, and on the other you have a group of children trying to raise money for charity.
It also reminded me of a family anecdote regarding my Grandma. My Grandma was not born in this country and when she first moved here she was unfamiliar with the "penny for the guy" ritual. When walking through the town centre one day she was stopped by a few kids who said "excuse me miss, penny for the guy?" Grandma rapidly appraised the situation, decided this was a fair deal, gave the kids a penny and took the guy! As she told me when I was young, she had seen the kids sitting there all day in the cold, and thought they were desperately trying to sell the guy so that they could go home. That story still makes me smile today.

more sex

I know I have posted about sex education before, but as it is in the news at the moment, I thought it wouldn't hurt to raise the topic again.
The BBC reports that the government plans to make PHSE (personal, social and health education) compulsory in all England's schools in its drive to tackle underage pregnancy and underage sexual behaviour. What startled me about the article was an example given about a particular school, whereby the teacher was asking children the difference between males and females, and correcting the terminology used by the children (for example the children were taught that women have "breasts" rather than "boobies"). I have no issue whatsoever with children being taught this, what surprised me more was that anybody would think to challenge this approach. Why on earth would anybody have an issue about teaching a child the correct names of their body parts?
It is a constant source of amazement to me how many people get hung up about their body, to the extent that they cannot even refer to certain parts of their anatomy. I acknowledge that I have elbows, wrists and tonsils, so why would I not acknowledge that I also have breasts, a vagina and ovaries? OK, they are not general topics of conversation, but then I rarely have a conversation about my elbows, or my toes, and I tend not to discuss my digestive system and bowel habits either - but it does not mean that those parts do not exist, nor should it prevent me from being able to mention them without fear of reprisals. I am not about to start discussing my gender specific body parts in any detail but I do wonder about people who have managed to reproduce and become parents but are too ashamed to even tell their child where they came from, or the correct names for their penis or vagina.
I do not feel at all ashamed to wander around my house with no clothes on, I have no issue with swimming pools or beaches, and I am quite happy to get changed in communal changing rooms, but from the reactions to the news story mentioned, and a quick poll of friends it would seem that I am in the minority. I have friends who say they would not even let their young child see them naked which I must admit I do find bizarre. As a young child I would see my mum getting changed, or talk to her whilst she was in the bath and I was not made to feel ashamed of my body. OK, I admit that the first time I saw my Dad stepping out of the shower I cried because I had no idea what on earth was stuck to him except that it looked scary and I didn't have one (and for a long time I thought my Dad had 2 penises as I had a total lack of understanding over the male anatomy)but I was not made to feel embarrassed about my body. Yet I have friends who say they have never once in their life seen their parents or siblings without clothes which I suppose would go some way to explaining why so many people are hung up about the way they look. I suppose if you are fairly insecure anyway, you may feel nervous about your body, but whether it is normal or not it is the only body you get so why bother worrying about the way it looks? Surely if it works OK, and does what you require it to the other stuff doesn't matter?
From the responses I have seen and heard to the idea of teaching kids how to correctly name their anatomy, and to be comfortable with their body I am beginning to wonder whether those opposed to the scheme have ever even taken their clothes off and looked in the mirror. Maybe if education focused on areas such as anatomy and biology when children are still young, and drew parallels to the animal kingdom then as people got older they would be less insecure, less embarrassed and more likely to speak up if they do encounter some kind of problem, be it a health issue or inappropriate behaviour.
As a child I often used to watch wildlife programmes, so obviously there were times when you would see two animals mating. I lived in the countryside and would often see lambs drinking their mothers milk, and I knew a girl whose cat was pregnant and went on to have a litter of kittens. Yet I never once equated these things with human beings and had no idea that we too were mammals. If kids were taught all these things at a young age, without shame or embarrassment then surely they would grow up having a better idea of how the world works. Interestingly it was only as I grew older to my pre-teen years that I began to feel embarrassed if a wildlife programme displayed any kind of sexual behaviour, as by then I had picked up that this was somehow "bad" or "dirty". It is only as an adult that I can look back and think, no it is not bad or dirty it is entirely natural. Therefore I genuinely think that it is beneficial to teach young children the basics about their own bodies, and how anyone can object to this is beyond me.
Pretending that sex does not exist does not make it go away, it only leads people to see it as shameful, sinful, dirty or wrong, or even as a source of amusement and ridicule. Being open and honest is the only sensible way to proceed

shameless self promotion

As you will see from the shiny links to the right of the page =================>
my blog has been nominated in 4 categories for the Bloggers Choice Awards 2009!!
Therefore I would like to ask all you lovely blog readers to click on the links ==========>
and vote for my blog! I would also like to thank those who have already voted for me.
I have been nominated for "best blog of all time", "best political blog", "best humor blog" and "the blogitzer". So thanks for the nominations and thanks for the votes.
If you have not done so already, please take 5 minutes and vote for my website.
Thank you :-)

(see, I have a nice side too)

crappy internet

I am having some kind of problem with my internet connection at the moment. I am not sure what the issue is although I am looking into this matter. However it does mean that at present my internet connection is intermittent at best, so please forgive me if I am unable to get posts up straight away.
I will do my best to blog as usual, but if I cannot get online at all for a few days do not worry - I will be back!

I found these a couple of days ago, but I'm having IT problems which prevented me from posting

I just came across these two great stories on current.com, so I thought I would share them with you:

Porn surfing Father cripples church network! (found here and here)

A Swedish clergyman has quit in disgrace after picking up a virus from a hardcore porn website - and crippling the entire church computer network.

The Father from Strangnas, was exposed when technicians trying to fix the breakdown discovered he had choked his hard drive with thousands of visits to extreme pornography sites.

"He'd picked up a lethal computer virus which then infected every other PC linked to the same system. Then they found thousands of visits to very unpleasant websites," said one Church of Sweden source.

There's probably no God on the buses (found here and here)

Interesting developments in a campaign to place the first ever atheist adverts on buses, bearing the slogan "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life"

The campaign faltered in the summer due to lack of funding, but Prof. Richard Dawkins has agreed to match fund donations to the campaign; whilst the British Humanist association will also contribute.

new game (it's a cat thing)

My smallest cat has invented a new game. It is really easy to play, you simply need
1 small cat
1 cushion with tasselled corners (no comments on my taste please)

How to play:
Before going to bed, feed cats as usual, and plump up the cushions on the settee. Give your cats a fuss and go to bed as usual.
When you wake up, go downstairs to open the curtains and stand in sleepy bewilderment at all the bizarre strands of noodle like something all over the carpet.
Wonder why your four cats have all suddenly legged it in different directions.
Follow the trail of white noodley strands until you reach what remains of your cushion in the middle of the floor, which no longer has 4 tasseled corners.
Pick up the noodley strands and dispose.
Try and work out which cat has destroyed the cushion.
Go back upstairs and shower.
When you next come downstairs laugh in exasperation as you see your smallest cat dragging the cushion (that is at least twice as big as her) across the room by the remaining tassels, growling loudly.
Forget your anger as she sees you and bellows loudly as if to say "look what someone else has done to your lovely cushion".

child protection

According to media reports today the NSPCC has conducted a survey that finds that 1 in 4 children has seen images that disturbed them whilst browsing the internet, and is calling for computer manufacturers to install software to prevent children finding images that are described as including "adult sex scenes, violent dog fights, people self harming and children being assaulted".
Now at first this seems like a very sound idea, but I have been doing a little thinking and I am nearing the conclusion that the onus should not be on computer manufacturers to deal with this. In fact, I am laying the blame at the feet of parents.
My reasoning is thus:
I have been using the internet for many years, often for many hours a day (social butterfly that I am) and I can quite honestly say that I have never accidentally stumbled across images of "adult sex scenes, violent dog fights, people self harming and children being assaulted". Actually, just to clarify, I have never intentionally gone looking for those things either. The point is that in all the many, many hours that I have spent online I have never seen the images mentioned above. Yes, I know that they are there but I have never looked for them myself, and they have never come looking for me. I do not have any kind of parental controls over what content can be viewed yet I have never encountered this kind of thing when searching. The only time that suggested links have been for adult sites is when I have been using shared public computers, where these sites have obviously been visited previously and I simply do not click on these links. I do not fill in forms requiring personal data except on sites that legitimately require this information and as such my inbox is not inundated with spam. So what does this have to do with parents? Well, if a child is browsing the internet they should be doing so with parental supervision. I think a large problem is how often parents allow children unrestricted surfing, and even provide a computer in the child's bedroom where their activity can not be monitored easily. At an older friends house one day I popped my head around the door of her young teenage daughters bedroom to say "hi" and found her on her page of a social networking site which featured her name, phone number and photograph and encouraged boys to contact her for a good time. Her mother had no idea that her daughter was even using the computer to go online - surely though this is one of your responsibilities as a parent.
I think people often forget that the internet is not some weird place where odd people unlike those in your local town centre reside - it is just a continuation of our modern world, and all the people posting weird things online are the same people as you ride a bus with, or sit next to in a bar, or go to work with each day. But just as you would not allow your children to wander unattended into unsavoury "real life" situations nor should you allow them to online.
The sample used by the NSPCC was extremely small when compared to the actual numbers of young children in the country - only 497 were polled so it would be interesting to see a larger survey conducted.
I think it is worth mentioning though that although people see the internet as a massive modern day evil there is enough shown on television each day that could be disturbing to a child, yet children often have unrestricted access to a television, even with cable, satellite or freeview. The only time in my life that I have stumbled across porn was as an 11 year old sleeping over at a friends house. My friend had cable TV in her bedroom and as we flicked through the channels late (well about 11pm, late for a child) that night we came across a preview for an adult channel. "Oh my god" we giggled to each other "that woman is licking that other ladies front bottom". I was not left traumatised by the incident, perplexed slightly, and highly amused but not disturbed. Nor did I become some kind of nymphomaniac fiend. Anyway, the point is that it is just as easy to find sex, nudity and violence on the TV as online.
I also find it pretty hypocritical to hear so many people going on about the evils of sex on the internet when I can walk into my local newsagents and find the trashy tabloids on a shelf about 6 inches from the floor, complete with semi naked ladies on the covers and topless women from page 3 onwards and popular magazines such as "zoo" and "nuts" at head height. Huge billboards all over feature adverts with nudity and alcohol, and violent scenes are available in even pre-watershed programmes.
For these reasons I believe that the onus should not be on the internet providers or computer manufacturers to build in child protection software, it should be down to parents to protect their children, after all why have children if you are not going to look after them responsibly?

fur-ly sure some will disagree

If you had asked me a year ago what I thought of the wearing of fur or animal skins I would have answered that it was absolutely, categorically wrong. However I have begun to revise my thinking on this (oh-so-slightly) contentious subject and I will attempt to explain my current reasoning.
I think it is fair to say that the farming of animals, in sometimes awful conditions, in order to slaughter them solely for their fur, which will be used to make something as unnecessary as a stole or a trim on a jacket is wrong, for roughly the same reasons as I believe that farming animals in poor conditions for non essential foodstuffs is also wrong. However I do not think this is as black and white as I previously would have thought.
There are obviously some circumstances where the wearing of animal skins is a necessity for survival, such as in remote tribes living in extreme climates, or even for those living in places with extreme low temperatures (and by this I do not mean northern England on a chilly day). In such environments I would say it is perfectly reasonable for people to wear fur, or to use animal skins in their properties for warmth.
I am coming to think though, that there are other circumstances where furs and skins should not be treated as some kind of evil. One of the things I do not understand is why it is considered morally wrong to wear a fur, full stop. I have heard tales of animal rights campaigners throwing paint or dye over women wearing antique furs - how is this practice in any way justifiable? Firstly, if the fur is an antique, the animal died so long ago that it is hardly worth arguing about, and to then destroy such an item is totally nonsensical and amounts to little more than bloody mindedness and vandalism. If the fur is more newly created, then surely it is just an absolute waste of the animals life if the fur is then ruined irreparably? Similarly, if the fur is being used simply as a by-product of the meat trade then it surely makes more sense to utilise as much of the animal as possible? For example, if I were to occasionally catch rabbits for my tea, how can there be any moral argument against my having those furs turned into a pair of gloves, rather than just discarding the skin and fur?
One of the things that totally baffles me about those people who often campaign against the wearing of fur is that they will often (though not always) be seen wearing some other product which comes from an animal source, such as a leather strap on their watch, or a leather belt, shoes, jacket or wallet. If it is so wrong to wear the skin of one species, why is the skin of another fair game?
I admit that I am totally against the use of fur and skins as a fashion accessory, and I try to avoid designers that I know promote fur in their products, although I would probably change my stance if I was given some kind of guarantee that the skins came as a by product of animals that had been reared and slaughtered ethically for meat (please see my earlier post on vegetarianism). However, even though I say this I must admit that I do own a pair of leather shoes, and a pair of leather trainers, and even a watch with a leather strap. I also sit down in the evening on an inherited leather settee that was left by the previous occupants when I bought my house. All of this is what leads me into believing that for some reason the majority of us somehow separate in our minds the wearing of one type of animal skin (leather from a cow or sheepskin) from others (such as rabbit skins), which does not make any sense.
Another consideration to be made about wearing or using animal skins is the damage to the environment that can be caused by the manufacture of alternatives. I have been given the impression that tanneries use some pretty nasty chemicals, but I have to wonder how much damage the manufacture of plastic alternatives causes the environment, and whether the overall cost of non animal alternatives is more detrimental to wildlife and ecosystems than treating skins and furs. It may well be that the long term damage inflicted on the environment by the animal free alternatives to fur and leather actually cause more animal deaths than ethically farming the animals themselves. This is an area I will have to research further.
One of the last things that has occurred to me regarding the wearing of furs is where the animal came from. I cannot see any moral or ethical reason why it would be considered wrong if I opted to save the furs of my beloved cats when they die. I love my cats dearly (yes, enough with the "cat lady" comments already) and think it would be nice to keep something of them when they eventually pass away, and cannot see any moral reason to prevent me from keeping their skins. I accept that many people may find this macabre, or eccentric but I cannot think of any moral objection. To think therefore that there are people out there who, if they saw me wearing a stole made from one of my cats would think it acceptable to destroy that with ink or paint is just criminal.
I think that this is a topic which falls entirely into the grey area that people tend to be so keen to avoid, but having carefully considered the arguments I simply cannot accept that the wearing of animal skins is fundamentally wrong. Yes I object to clothes designers slaughtering hundreds of hamsters in order to make a cloak for the catwalk in what amounts to little more than a gross publicity stunt, and yes I object to raising animals in squalid conditions in order to make a fat profit on the furs of these unfortunate creatures, but to use these examples as an argument that wearing skins or furs is one hundred percent morally wrong is ludicrous and to perpetuate the myth that every person who wears a fur is somehow evil or deviant is absurd. To destroy and ruin furs that are already in existence is surely more of a waste than campaigning against the cruel treatment of many of the animals bred in fur farms, and to vociferously decry the use of fur while wearing leather or eating meat is farcical and hypocritical.
I think that we ought to take a long hard look at our views and moral standpoints because sometimes something which seems obvious at first look turns out to have many layers. So while a year ago I may have said that wearing fur was wrong, now I would have to say that it depends entirely on the circumstances.

Please Give Blood

I would urge all people who are able to donate blood to do so. Other than age or health problems I cannot see any reason why people do not donate blood. I guess a small exception can be made for people who do not donate for religious reasons but only if they would also refuse to receive blood should they need it (such as jehovahs witnesses).
I have had this conversation with so many of my friends and family and I am always shocked and appalled by the excuses that people come up with as to why they cannot or do not give blood. As far as I can see there is no excuse not to go to your local blood donor centre or donation session and at least find out whether you can donate. Yes, it is true that certain people are prevented (for good reasons) from giving blood, such as being on certain medications, being too old or young or having certain medical conditions but at least go and find out whether or not you can donate.
I had this conversation with my uncle a while ago and he told me that he does not give blood because "he is not fond of needles". Well, to be honest I doubt that there are many people who like needles, but that is not the point. I think that anyone who would receive blood should be prepared to at least try and donate. You may not like needles, but if you were in an accident and needed a blood transfusion to survive would you really turn to the medics and say "actually, you're alright, don't bother with the transfusion as I don't really like needles"? I doubt it very much. What if it was your wife/husband/small child laying there unconscious? You would hope with all your heart that there were adequate stocks of the relevant blood group to save them. But this is the issue that we face - if people do not donate then it is always possible that there simply will not be enough blood should you ever need it, something which can easily have tragic consequences.
I think it is simple really - if you would receive blood then you should donate blood. It is for the benefit of everyone, takes only about an hour of your time, many employers will allow you time out of work to go and donate and I can assure you that it will be a far less painful experience than losing a loved one due to a lack of blood when all that was needed was for someone to take an hour and donate.
Please give blood.

Children

What on earth are nine year old girls into nowadays?
I need to buy a birthday present for a wonderful little girl who turns 9 in a couple of weeks and I have absolutely no idea what to get for her.
I am torn between getting something I would have loved back at that age (mainly books, or book tokens), getting something that is aimed at that age group (like a popular toy or game) or going for something more "grown up" like toiletries or perfume.
Any ideas then please leave me a comment below. Thanks

so tired, but so f**ing rock

I am really tired. I am telling you that in case I write something which seems to make sense now but is actually nonsense, and you read it before I come back, realise it is nonsense and then edit it accordingly.
It is currently about 5am on Thursday morning. Last night (Tuesday night) I went to bed at about 4am. I was awoken by the council workmen (who still have not finished smashing up the road outside my house) at 7:30am. I produced and presented a 3 hour radio show this afternoon then came home, ate something for the first time that day at about 5pm, got changed and went out to meet friends for a meal before going to see Tim Minchin's live show. After the show I went round to the house of different friends and ate chips and bread and bananas and stayed up to watch the live debate between Obama and McCain on the BBC news channel. When said friends started looking sleepy we got a taxi home, fed the cats and then I decided that I didn't want to go straight to bed because I wanted some "me" time, to chill out for a little bit, update the blog. So I have now been up for about 22 hours, having had only 3.5 hours sleep the night before and I am shattered, but stubbornly refusing to go to bed yet.
Anyway, the Tim Minchin show was pretty darn good, we were sat right down at the front which was cool, the tickets were bought for me as a present for my birthday in August. There was plenty of new material which was good, including "if I didn't have you" which was on the secret policeman's ball that recently screened on channel4, "bears don't dig on dancing", "prejudice" (I was accused of being a fake ginger by Mr Minchin. Which I kind of am, having dyed my hair bright red. Anyway more on that topic another day) and an excellent "beat poem" entitled "storm" which I thought was great.
The only negative thing about the show in my opinion was the closing song, about christmas in Australia, which was a bit too somber in my opinion. I would have preferred a more upbeat song to finish on, maybe "inflatable you", "rock and roll nerd" or "fat children", none of which were played in the show. Anyway, all in all it was a good gig and I really enjoyed myself, and I had a great evening in all, a good meal with good friends, a good show followed by an enjoyable evening with yet more friends. Excellent.
Anyway, I am going to sign off for now because the effort of typing is becoming too much for my poor brain to cope with.

babies

Right from the outset of this post I will make one thing perfectly clear - I do not want children.
It is not that I dislike children, the vast majority of them are fine and the ones who do behave badly are usually more of a reflection on their parents than anything else, it is just that I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to have any of my own.
The real issue for me is the reaction of other people when I say that I don't want kids. I am a 23 year old female, intelligent, reasonably healthy and of sound mind (although a few of my friends may debate this point). I have gone through some rather difficult times in my life, I have battled serious ill health and am at a point where I am stable and settled with my own home. I am capable of deciding what I want to do with my life, where I want to live, who I wish to associate with, the kind of career I would like and what to do with my free time and money. So why is it that people find it so hard to accept the idea that I do not want to have a family?
The most common response I hear if I mention in conversation that I don't want children is "oh but you are only young. You will change your mind when you are older." Actually, I know my own mind and I doubt that I will change my view on this matter. Apart from the fact that it is hugely patronising to tell me that I will inevitably change my mind just because many people do, what really irks me is that I have never once heard someone say to a 23 year old who is pregnant or a parent already "oh, but you are only young - what if you later realise that you don't want children?" Surely if at this age I am incapable of making the decision NOT to have a family, I am also incapable of choosing that I do want to procreate? Nobody says to a 23 year old who expresses the view of wanting to have children at some point that they are too young to make that choice, so why do people get so funny about the opposite choice?
Furthermore, many people respond to me by saying "What a shame, you would be a wonderful mother". Well, that's as maybe but it doesn't change the fact that I have absolutely no desire to get pregnant, go through nine months of carrying a child and all the associated problems and restrictions and then give birth to something bigger than my cat, look after said creature for 18 years and spend hundreds of thousands of pounds in the process. It holds no appeal for me whatsoever.
I have heard people say that I am selfish for not wanting children, as though the only thing a woman is good for is having children. I happen to think more highly of myself than this, and value my own life and opportunities and do not want to hinder them in any way through having a family. Maybe it is selfish, but I am fine with that. It is better to be selfish in wanting my time to myself than bowing down to social pressure and having a child that I am not interested in or 100% committed to, and infinitely better than some of the reasons I have heard people spout for wanting children "I can get a council flat", "babies are so cute", "it may save my relationship", "I don't want him to leave me", "I just want someone to love me" and so on. These are extremely selfish reasons to have a child and in my opinion these people do not deserve to be parents. The most common argument I have heard in favour of having children is that "it is someone to look after you when you are old". What an incredibly horrible reason to bring someone into the world - to tie them to you with guilt so that they feel obliged to support you in old age. I think I will put the money I will save from not having kids into a nice pension fund and look after my self in retirement thank you very much.
If, for some bizarre reason I ever did change my mind, it would not be down to a bunch of people telling me that I should, and even then I cannot see myself having a biological child. At the furthest stretch of my imagination I could possibly see myself fostering and even that is unlikely.
The reason I am telling you all this is because I am fed up of otherwise rational and intelligent people, people who I consider to be my friends, telling me that I am too young to have made such a choice.
I am not too young. I know what I do and do not want. Please do not patronise me. Thank you.

Random Ponderings

Just a couple of things that are bothering me today so I thought I would share them with you, as I often wonder if it is only me thinking about these things.
Firstly, orange juice. Now, I quite like a glass of cold orange juice in the mornings, especially on the occasions when I have made a cooked breakfast when I feel like the acid and vitamins in the juice are clearing away the hash browns grease, leaving me satiated AND feeling virtuous. But the thing I am struggling to get my head around is the concentrated variety of orange juice. I can see that by reducing the juice down to a thick syrup it can be easily transported and have the water added later, that's fine. It may not taste as good as the fresh squeezed stuff, but it does make sense. The type of orange juice I am struggling with is the concentrated juice - with bits. Because it would seem that on these occasions the juice is reduced down to a thick syrup, and the peely rindy bits are dried out, the whole lot is transported and the dried out bits are then added back to the mixture along with the water. Which is a concept that I find kind of weird. It may just be me, but I don't like this idea. Fresh juice with bits is fine, but concentrated bits just seem a bit odd and unappealing.
The second thing bothering me today is women who dress their small children and toddlers in bright white clothing and expect it to stay clean. And then get angry when it doesn't. I saw a woman just the other day walking through town with her toddler in tow. Said toddler was wearing a spotless, dazzling white tracksuit, it had been raining and the child, as children do, decided to jump in a puddle then climb onto a wall. What surprised me was that the mother started shouting angrily at the little boy for getting all dirty, but I just found myself wondering what she had expected to happen. I think the safest option is to dress small children in black, navy and khaki when going anywhere that offers an opportunity to get dirty - as in anywhere!

Where did last week go?

Where on earth did the last week go? I can't believe that it is Saturday already, I have no idea where the time has gone.
Actually I have a vague idea, but it is a rather long winded and uninteresting story involving council tax, cat poo, a sore leg and the usual passage of time. Anyway, I am back now and I apologise for the extended absence.
I have decided this week that I ought to learn a new language, so I have been trying to teach myself some basic Greek and German from online language programmes. So I can now say "Hello, how are you?" in 5 languages (English, French, Spanish, Greek and German) I cannot say much else though other than "excuse me" and "thank you", but at least if I ever have enough money for a holiday abroad then I will be a polite tourist.
It would probably have made more sense to try and learn more of the languages I already know at a basic level, but that would be too practical and far less fun.
I have also been trying to write left handed, which is proving more difficult than Greek.
As you can see, it has been one of those kinds of weeks.
Anyway, I am going to go and read the news which will probably prompt me to write some passionate rant on a subject that is at this current time not in the forefront of my mind so its "auf wiedersehen" for now but I may be back later tonight...

The Case of the Missing Salmon Fillets

OK, something is really puzzling me.
Yesterday evening I went to the shop and bought two smoked salmon fillets. I was convinced they were in the fridge when I unpacked the shopping last night. This evening I went to the fridge to get them out for tea - and they weren't there! we checked the car boot, the fridge, the freezer, even the cupboards but cannot find the salmon. I was so looking forwards to some lovely smoked salmon for tea and had to make do with fake chicken fillets instead.
I have no idea what happened to the fish, I can only hope we left it in the supermarket or that it fell out of the bag somewhere because otherwise in a few days the house or the car is going to be rather smelly...

dog trains man

I decided to walk the long way round to my local shops today so that I could walk through the park as it had finally stopped raining.
On my way through the park I saw a rather amusing scene that I thought I would share with you.
There were 2 men and a Jack Russell terrier in the park playing with a red tennis ball. It appeared that the men were trying to teach the little dog "fetch", but the dog had other ideas. Every time one of the men threw the ball the dog went racing over to it, barking excitedly, but every time it reached the ball it stopped, jumped about a foot in the air and then ran back to the men. After a few attempts one of the men threw the ball and shouted "fetch" and the other man ran, picked up the ball and dropped it back at the first mans feet. They did this a few times, much to my amusement, then tried to get the dog to do it. The dog just looked at the other man, as if waiting for him to fetch it! It certainly amused me anyway.

On an altogether different note, I read a book yesterday that I would urge you to read as it is the best novel I have read in a long time; The Other Hand by Chris Cleave.
It is an incredible novel and without giving too much away I will say that this book made me laugh, made me cry, kept me up all last night and has been haunting me all day.
This is the kind of book that makes you see people differently, and makes you think about your own views and opinions. I have a feeling that this book will stay in my mind for a long time, it was amazingly well written and extremely poignant.
I hope to be able to write as well as Chris Cleave myself one day as this is one of the best books I have read for ages, so moving and yet humorous at the same time.

a few websites that you should know about

I have just finished reading a book called "Bad Science" by Ben Goldacre, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
In light of this there are 3 websites that I think you should know about, as they are very interesting/useful.
Firstly is the the bad science website, which I think you will find most interesting and amusing. It is well worth a look, as it exposes "bad science" in the media, and the distortions and untruths which we are subjected to on a near daily basis. The website is amusing, does not patronise and is well worth a look.
Second is the Cochrane Collaboration. This is a not for profit organisation who run meta analyses of science and health reports. Basically, they look at many different studies into a particular area and use all the available data to produce interesting and accurate reports. The results can be rather interesting.
Last but not least is the yellow card reporting scheme. This is a scheme whereby if you experience any side effects from a drug you can report it, so that trials can be carried out and so that medics, pharmacists and scientists can be aware of any possible side effects which may otherwise go unreported. This is a very good website to know of, hopefully you will never have to use it, but if you do experience a weird or negative side effect, then by reporting it you may well reduce the risk to others in the long term and improve the safety and efficacy of the available drugs which we are prescribed.
That's all from me for now, enjoy what is left of the weekend.

speechless!!

Well, I do not know what to say, and it is not often that I am speechless.
I just came across a programme on BBC iPlayer called "hole in the wall", a prime time Saturday evening show hosted by Dale Winton. The problem my brain is having, is accepting the concept of a programme in which famous (c-list probably, not your a-listers) people dress in skin tight shiny silver suits and attempt to make their way through holes in a wall. Really, I am not making this up. Although I wish that I was just imagining it, because seriously this is like a disturbing hybrid smash up of Idiocracy and Charlie Brooker's TvGoHome.
Look, I am not making this up:

Dale Winton hosts the series in which two teams of celebrities, captained by dancing star Anton Du Beke and cricket legend Darren Gough, must try to force themselves through various crazy-shaped holes in giant moving walls while clad head-to-toe in tight silver lycra.

Joined by stars Phil Tufnell, Iwan Thomas, Josie D'Arby and Nell McAndrew, the teams have everything to play for, as failure results in a head-first plunge into a swimming pool. Will anyone manage to stay dry?

Broadcast on:

BBC One, 5:30pm Saturday 4th October

Duration:

30 minutes

Available until:

5:59pm Saturday 11th October

Categories:

• Entertainment,
• Games & Quizzes

I tried watching a few minutes but my brain hurts. I really do not know what to say except OMFG!!!
BBC Iplayer
TvGoHome

more angry men, bus stops and sexism

Another day, another angry man. Not sure whats going on at present but I don't like it.
I went down to the shops today to fill in some application forms for Xmas temp jobs in some local shops, and decided to get a sit in an eatery with a drink to fill the forms in straight away. Whilst sat writing away, quietly minding my own business a man with his partner and 3 small children walked over to a table near mine, picked up a tray of rubbish that someone had not thrown away and slammed it down on my table, right on the application form I was filling in. "Excuse me" I said "but what are you doing? There is a bin less than 5 metres away, please move this rubbish"
his (rather bizarre) response: "It is not my rubbish. I have 3 children under 3."
Me: "Yes, I can see that, but if you pop down to Boots, they do sell condoms, or you could visit your GP for some free contraceptives. What is your point? Now, please remove your rubbish"
Him: "It is not mine. Why should I move it? The point is that we are meant to procreate"
Me: "Oh, well, congratulations, you are now roughly on a par with sheep and rodents. Hey, if you learn to use rudimentary tools, you may be able to find a job, or at least operate a swing top bin. Please remove the rubbish"
Him (patronisingly): "Oh, is it disturbing you? well, I have kids. You do not have kids. You move it if it is bothering you"
Me: "All I am asking is that you remove the tray you have slammed down in front of me. Also, you have no idea whether or not I have children, and it is completely irrelevant anyway. If it is too much effort to put rubbish in the bin then why not place it on an unoccupied table?"
Him: "Fine, I will." At this point he picked up the tray, and placed it on an empty table, further away from him than the bin.
Him: "Satisfied now?"
Me: "More so, although the bin was nearer than that table"
Him: "Yeah, well, just because you are barren"
!!! What the hell is that all about? Why does having children prevent you from putting rubbish in the bin? Why be so rude about it all? What does being incredibly rude and shoving rubbish in front of someone else have to do with the ability to reproduce?
Am I completely missing something? This incident left me completely baffled. What is going on?
In other incidences of random behaviour - is everybody suddenly illiterate? There is a bus stop near me that is currently not in use. To ensure that people are aware of this (because the road being closed doesn't give you enough of a clue) there is a big bright yellow sign on the bus stop, obscuring the old timetable information, that clearly states, in big bold black writing "Bus Stop not in use"
So if people can read, why on earth are there always people in that bus stop, at least one, sometimes 8 or 10, every single time I walk past? People sat right next to of beneath the big yellow sign, on a road that has been closed. And every time I mention to people that it is not in use (as I am actually quite nice, and don't want people to be sat there all day) they tend to respond with "Really? Ha, I'd have been here all day. I didn't know it was closed."
Maybe someone should do an experiment to discover at what point bright yellow signs with (heaven forbid) writing on them became invisible?
The other thing that has riled me today is a letter which came through the post. It was one of those junk style "to the occupier" style letters, which stated on the front, in big pink letters "It's a girl thing". On opening the envelope I discovered that it was a "please donate" form from a breast cancer charity. This has got me really riled for a number of reasons.
Breast cancer is not a "girl thing". Men have breast tissue too, albeit less of it, and men can also get breast cancer. Men die from breast cancer, just as women do. Yes, women have more breast tissue than men, and yes, women may be much more likely to get breast cancer but, and it is a very important but, MEN DIE FROM BREAST CANCER TOO. For a cancer charity to be giving out the idea that breast cancer is an entirely female disease it is actually ensuring that men are even less aware of it. Many people do not realise men can get breast cancer. Therefore men are far less likely to see their doctor about a lump in their chest region meaning that if they do have breast cancer it is far more likely to go undiagnosed, worsening their prognosis. For a cancer charity to be promoting this fallacy is at best irresponsible and insensitive and at worst downright dangerous. Surely a better campaign would be "not just a girl thing"?
Secondly I do have an issue with charities sending our mail in this way. Firstly it must cost them a fair bit, when you think how many houses there are in my city alone, each one getting a colour printed "donate now" form and a little pen to fill out said form. Secondly I am not going to fill out my bank details on a random form that drops through my letterbox with a signature authorising them to take my money. I am not stupid. Thirdly, I hate the guilt and blackmail method used by charities to try and raise money. I donate regularly to charity - not through guilt but because I wish to support charities that are doing something I believe in. Posting me inaccurate information, or photographs of injured animals will not make me open my purse. I donate only to charities that I have researched myself, and direct mail is a huge charity turn off. After all, I like to think my money is doing something useful, not just paying for unsolicited mail that will go straight in the bin in the majority of households.

proud of myself

Today was a good day for me, because for the first time I presented a 3 hour radio show on my local hospital radio station completely unaided. I have been doing hospital radio for about 18 months, and have been able to present for a while, but I finally have my own show, my own co-presenters, and it was great. Until now I have been co presenting, or presenting with a more experienced co-presenter who could always step in if I got stuck, so it was a step forwards today, to be able to do a show unaided, and to be the only qualified presenter there - it basically meant that if it all went wrong, it was all my fault! Anyway, it all went well, so I feel dead chuffed with myself and thought I would share something positive, instead of just bitchin' all the time (although it is fun to have a good old rant every now and again. Or nearly every day.)
On the subject of music (kind of) I have just been browsing online when I came across a website called worstalbumcovers.org which is worth a look for the pure delight of laughing at some truly dire album covers, such as these:


check out worstalbumcovers and blackgemrecords for more




My favourites are probably "swing that gospel axe" and "mike crain - karatist preacher" but you will have to check out the websites for them.