A Long Forgotten Ancestral Punch-up!

I sat down last night to watch some telly, and I said to the wife "Remind me to watch "Who Do You Think You Are?" tomorrow night, because I missed it last week". Just as I said this I turned over the channel and started reading a book, when I heard the unmistakable voice of Griff Rhys Jones coming for the box in the corner. I realised straight away that "Who Do You Think You Are?" was already on and a day earlier than expected.

Even though I'd missed the first 20 minutes it made riveting viewing. Griff had been brought up to believe that his Gt Grandfather had been a engine driver killed in a rail crash. The reality was very different. He had been killed in a drunken punch-up outside a pub, which he may well have been the instigator of. I think it's really important that people have a sense of where they've come from and what's gone into making them who they are today. Every family has secrets and it's so much better to have them out in the open.

Of course, my peers will recall Griff from "The Not the Nine o'clock News" and "Smith and Jones" shows, which to my mind were incomparable in their day, apart from Monty Python perhaps. Griff and Mel had and still have I believe a great friendship, which made their act work all the better. I've had some of their stuff on this blog before, check this video for instance. That's just a small glimpse of their material.

I'd Rather Eat Now Than In the 70's!

I had Macaroni cheese for supper! So simple to make and yet surprisingly delicious. I realise that I have a bit of a penchant for food of Italian origin, but not the sort that Keir eats. Silvio isn't putting any of his man fluids in my grub thank you! Taking Tikka Masala out of the equation, my next favorite foods are lasagna, canneloni, macaroni, pizza and so on ad infinitum. I'm procrastinating yet again in making my point clear, so I'll get to the point shall I?

If you are of a similar age to myself (36... cough), then your childhood memories certainly won't involve any of the meals listed above. My abiding supper-time memories are of:

• Mince & Tatties
• Fish Fingers, Frozen Peas and Smash
• Cullen Skink
• Tatty Soup
• Beef Stew

Gladly, the variety and tastiness of meals has increased dramatically since the 70's. I feel like Oliver Twist when I think back upon what we had to eat then. In all probablility the vastly improved nature of the British diet is to contribute for the fact that most kids are way taller now than what they used to be in days of yore. Most kids are over-taking their parents height wise nowadays, and before they get to High School in some cases.

I don't think that the ready availability of delicious grub at present is the only cause of obesity in this country. The reason there weren't so many obese people back then was because nobody could really afford snack-foods, and ordinary grub was simply crap, however you dressed it up. People were willing to starve rather than face Fish Fingers again. They were a rubbish convenience food that mothers up and down the land embraced simply because it was quick and easy to cook!

It Comes But Once A Year (Or Twice)!

It comes but once a year (6 monthly if you're that way inclined) and like Christmas, it leaves me well out of pocket. Yes, I'm talking about the dreaded Road Tax. I had to bow to the inevitable and fork over £180 at the Post Office this morning. Don't give me that "If you're not happy about it, use public transport instead" malarkey. Have you ever been here? It's like the edge of the World. The nearest train station is 9 miles away. the train runs every 2 hours through the day. The buses running to and from the railway station run on some sort of random timetable. Sometimes it comes, sometimes it's already there, sometimes nothing. The ordinary bus service runs every hour, but goes round every little village along the way. It's dreadful, just dreadful!

I also had to follow up on the kilt restrictions at graduation thing from Saturday. No restrictions, I can wear what I like, which is good news, but I suspect that the wife was eyeing some expensive looking clobber, to hire, so maybe the other side of the coin is "heads" as well!

I also spent sometime this morning, going through my little filing cabinet under the stairs, where I keep all the household bumph, such as bills, letters, invoices, whatever! I was looking for my M.O.T. Certificate and Car Insurance, so I could go and get the Road Tax sorted. Looks like the other half had already been in there, everything was jumbled up and in the wrong places. I have a simple system, which doesn't amount to stuffing everything that comes in wherever! I tried to convey that message, but I don't think it was getting through to be honest! I guess that'll be another job for me this afternnoon, sorting everything out... AGAIN!

Talking To Strangers Again!

I got chatting with a woman on the train this morning (no, not like that!), who was from Zimbabwe. She was over here doing care work, because the currency there is worthless, and in order to survive they need to get a hold of foreign currency. I knew things were bad out there, but the stories she told me only reinforced that opinion... 10 hours queueing for petrol in stifling heat, can't get hardly anything from the shops. She actually compared it to Darfur! What I found really surprising though was just how passionate she was about her country. She said she would never leave, and was highly optimistic that change would come.

We found out today where we're going for our school experience placements. I won't tell you where because that wouldn't be appropriate, but let's just say within a 10 mile radius, for me. I'm happy enough with the 2 schools I'll be going to. I already know one of the teachers and he's a really nice guy, so I'm sure that's going to be a great benefit. I know it's going to be hard, but I plan on steeling myself for it. I know what I need to do to get where I want to be, and there's no way around it, so I'll just have to get stuck in. I hope that if I treat every experience as positive in some way, then I can only improve.

I've also realised that not only am I the only Computing student in this area, but it also look as though I'm the only Trainee Secondary School Teacher from this area. I have a list which shows where everyone has been placed and no-one is going to the same schools as me. That' really surprising. We have some fairly large schools round here and I would have expected others to find places here, but I guess that I must be the only Trainee living in the area. Good or bad? I'm uncertain at this stage. It might have been handy to have some other trainees to exchange opinions and ideas with while on placement, but it's not going to be possible now.

Another Legend Lost!

I was saddened to hear this morning that the Scottish Rally Driver and former WRC Champion, Colin McRae, had been killed in a helicopter accident. For as small a country as we are, we don't half seem to do well at producing top class sportsmen, and anyone living in Scotland will tell you that we're at an immediate disadvantage because of the lack of facilities and funding available.

I actually have something in common with Colin McRae, believe it or not. My own father was a rally driver back in the late 70's and through the 80's, just like Colin's father Jimmy McRae. I'm sure my father competed in several races in which Jimmy was also competing, although my father was more semi-pro while Jimmy was at the top of the tree so to speak, at that time.

Unfotrunately, rallying is a very expensive sport, as my father discovered, and even with sponsorship, which he had to go out and get himself, the costs of keeping a car racing were phenomenal, and eventually he had to pack it in. He did win a lot of races though, and also placed highly in many pro-events. His Co-driver/Navigator was actually a Primary School Headmaster, would you believe? I certainly don't have the same "Need For Speed" that my father had, but having had a few trips in his rally-car as a kid, I can telly you, that you do get a real adrenaline rush. The nearest thing I can acquaint it to is taking off in an aeroplane with a short runway, when they hold the brakes on until the engines are screaming. When they let the brakes off the acceleration is amazing. I'm talking about Aberedeen airport here in particular, but I'm sure it would apply to other small airports. Perhaps it's the actual need for the adrenaline rush which is addictive. I think I could understand that!

Back In Print!

So, I headed into Elgin this morning in order to:

• Hire a Kilt for Graduation
• Buy a Laserjet Printer
• Get my niece her birthday present

Two out of three ain't bad is it? As Meat Loaf used to sing! On the kilt front, yes, I finally saw some kilts, but then the guy in the shop queried what the College rules were on the wearing of kilts. Apparently certain things are permitted, while others are not. It was pretty much suggested that I return when I've acquainted myself with that information. Bah, people always have to make things difficult, I just want a kilt!

Regarding, my desperate need for a Laserjet printer, I went to Argos to buy one that I'd seen in their catalogue! I checked online yesterday and it said they had plenty in stock. Liars! I checked every printer in the book when I was at their store, guess what, they didn't have any printer in stock, not least the one I was after. I'm talking about the Samsung MI 2010, for £79.99. In desperation I decided to try a small computer shop up a side street. They had the same model on display for £99.99, and as I said, desperation took a hold of me and I decided just to go for it. So the shop salesman goes through the back, and my son and I followed. He tells me that the one on display is the only one left, but that they have plenty of the newer model in stock (ML 2510), but he doesn't know the price, he'll check it! We go back to the till so he can scan the barcode and I'm thinking £120, maybe £130. Then up it comes £70.49. I nearly tore it out of his hands, of course I bought it. It's very rare that something like that happens to me, these days.

Bought some curling tongs or hair-straighteners, whatever, for the niece, and that's her sorted as far as I'm concerned. My wife was saying, "what about perfume, what about this, or that, blah, blah, blah?". Just buy the first semi-suitable item you see, that's my motto. Who cares if they need it, or even if they want it. You've bought them something, that's all that matters! With a little luck, you might have got them something they were needing, result. Then you look like a truly considerate person who spends time deliberating a birthday purchase.

Sing A Song For You!

I forgot to mention yesterday how fortunate both I and my fellow commuters aboard the 5:15 from Aberdeen, were, to have in our midst, some Scotland fans, quite obviously still on their way home from the match against France. When you're travelling home after a long and tiring day, believe me, the last thing you want to hear is a slurred but raucous version of "Flower Of Scotland", sang repeatedly, regardless of whether the team pulled off a great vistory or not. Clearly, they did achieve a massive win, but most of us are not in the fortunate position where we can spend the following day getting hammered.

Going back to my attempts to hire a kilt for graduation day, as I narrated to you a couple of days ago, I went back to the shop this morning at 11am, certain that this time it would indeed be open. Well, it wasn't! When it is open, if ever, remains a mystery. How the hell can you run a business like that? Now I'll have to hire a kilt from Elgin, which will make things a lot more awkward for me!

I've got so much work to do today, but I'm procrastinating yet again, as you can see. There's not really much time for blogging these days, but I do it anyway. It's a sort of diary in many ways, in others it's a mirror into my soul... maybe! Oh yeah... one of my fellow students warned me that Laserjet printers are bad for your health, something about micro-particles. I think that any worries about dying from a printer related illness should be of very little concern to someone about to embark on a profession in teaching!

Courting Controversy!

You certainly won't be aware of the fact, but on several occasions I've written my post for the day then deleted it in its entirety, simply because the content was too controversial. I know that it's my blog and that I should be able to say whatever I like, but that's not really the case. Since I'm going to be a teacher (hopefully), I don't think I should comment on yob culture or crime and punishment for instance. There's also the matter of the Iraq War. Well, are we still at war? Apparently not! It supposedly ended ages ago, we're only peace-keeping now! That seems to be going well! Why exactly did they (we?) invade Iraq again?

It's not that I don't think I should mention certain "taboo" topics, because believe me, I've got plenty to say about events that are happening right now and the potentially catastrophic situations that certain governments in the World are creating for the future. The reason being, I've come to realise that right is left and up is down. I used to think that we were the good guys, and we still are, only we're being completely misrepresented abroad, by our misguided leaders, and our allies are genocidal maniacs. Does that about illustrate the position I'm assuming? I think so!

Doing a volte-face again, I told you that I might be getting a digital camera. Well that's on hold, becasuse I now need to acquire myself a Laserjet Printer, simply owing to the copious amount of documentation that the University keep uploading. I have a £1 print allowance, which I haven't even bothered to touch, and more reading material than I can ever handle. I guess Manfredi's "Spartan" book will have to be put aside until I get a break, possibly until next Summer, the way things are going

What's In Your Sporran?

So, I've been putting it off, but this morning I decided it was time to go and see about hiring a kilt for graduation day, which is in about 4 weeks or so. The trouble is, the gown is a dark navy blue colour with yellowish-gold trim (that's how it was described to me), and I'm having difficulties picturing in my head, just exactly what colour of kilt is going to go with that.

Anyway, there's a shop here in town, which hires kilts, so I decided to have a walk over and see what they have, bearing in mind that it's a small shop and that their range would probably be limited in respect of that. Quite unsurprisingly, because I live at the ends of the Earth, the shop was closed. I decided to inspect the times as advertised in the window, these are the notices I saw, in order:

• Open Monday - Saturday 10am - 4pm!


• Only open for returns on Monday's!


• This shop will be closed on Wednesday's until further notice!

What is it with people around here? There is no ambition! They open 6 hours a day, 4 days a week? Why bother? I have grave doubts abut these people's committment to kilt hire. So, I'm not sure that it would be a good idea to order from them, given that my graduation is on a Friday morning, I'm in Uni all day Thursday that week, and they're closed on the Wednesday, which is the only time realistically that I can collect my kilt prior to graduation. Besides which, I still don't know what colour to get!

The Real Shakespeare!

Haha, who is this ridiculous looking Elizabethan gentleman? Why it's none other than the greatest man of his time, Sir Francis Bacon. It's quite possible that you've never heard the name before, other than there was an artist who shared it also, but this man was surrounded by mystery and controversy, and still is to this day. What did he do to generate such mystery?

To all external apperances, Bacon was a genius. He was student of philosophy, nature, science and law. He was also a great writer and statesman, the greatest of his time probably. His oratory skills were unrivalled as well. He curried such favour with Queen Elizabeth, that it was widely believed then (and still is by many today) that he was her illegitiate son. However, the suggestion which has most firmly attached itself to Bacon, is that he was the true author of Shakespeare's plays. There is a great deal of evidence from that time to indicate that only he and no other could have written such momentous and elaborate works of literary genius.

While there is much evidence to suggest that Bacon was the true author of the Shakesperean plays, there is probably just as much evidence to demonstrate why Shakepseare could not have been the author. The man was a largely ignorant fellow who couldn't possibly have possessed the worldly knowledge and knowledge of court, law and philosophy, which shines through in the plays attributed to him. Unless one assumes that he absorbed information and ideas from those he met, like a sponge, then clearly the plays were conceived and written by another, by a man who did possess the knowledge and intellect. The only man of his time who did, was Sir Francis Bacon! Did Bacon take a slightly promising fresh-faced actor, newly arrived in London, and with the promise of riches, use him as a vehicle to publish plays which quite often contained satirical digs at the nobility, churchmen and monarchy of the period. Plainly, using a stooge, Bacon could air his grievances in public without fear of retribution. I'll bet he had a jolly good laugh in doing so too!