pro memoria... The Battle of The Somme July 1st 1916 - Novermber 16th 1916 Casualties - In Excess of 1,150,000 Dead and Missing - 310,486 Lament for a Generation Lost some sorry lines one more lament a generation lost to death were sent nay plan nor purpose for that crime a million lives in double time brave mass of men thus remembered through fearless act lay now dismembered through haze and smog barbs and mud their solemn epitaphs penned in blood what worth the tears that Haig cried when common logic thus defied one more, one more one last big push for England boys, for bloody England. |
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1.7.06 13:48 |
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Born on the first of July... Today, July 1st in the year of our Lord 2006 marks a failure of the most catastrophic and permanent state, there have been failures before, yes, but they were mere hiccoughs, in an otherwise healthy existance. Today had the feel of a historic day, it had the feel of a day when things would change in a shocking way, and I mean even more shocking than the looming appearance of the stars and stripes on my calendar page for July. Yes, come 2044 when my grandchildren are playing their new "Trivial Pursuit: Into the Noughties" edition, there may well be a trivia question relating to this very day. Yes, there were other minor events today, related to sports and such other randomae, but the real events were happening in my wallet, or, rather, the real event was what wasn't happening in my wallet. You see, in my wallet, betwixt the reciepts and the rarely used library card their lies a book, a book which has powers beyond the paper and ink upon which it is printed, a book that has such influence and magic contained within its 8 leaves that all who see it lick their lips in eager anticipation, biting their tongue to stop them crying out at the splendour of what their eyes behold. Yes folks, its the Ben And Jerrys voucher book!
Every month for the rest of this year I should be enjoying the creamy goodness, getting my fill of all kinds of different flavours, and the book started with June and Dublin Mudslide. I think you can see where this is going, yes, today is the first of July and I have singularly failed in my quest to unleash the power of the book and get my cut price tub of Dublin Mudslide. In a world obssesed with Phish Food it can at times feel like a losing battle, and it turned out to be exactly that. Not for this blogger the exciting joys of Ben and Jerrys, instead the lonely defeated ritual of removing the June voucher from the book, tearing at its corner while it slowly breaks free from the staple, sighing as it flits away to the bin, having failed in its mission to bring me ice cream goodness. Yes folks, forget the football, there was only one defeat that mattered today. Luckily we can expect me to find solace in a tub of Cherry Garcia at the first possible opportunity. |
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1.7.06 23:38 |
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What do you do when the music stops? Ok, so I figure most all of the discerning 20sixers already knew to go to the shops and pick up Pull Shapes today, but just in case some of you missed that piece of vital information, I figured I'd have to subtly remind you all, and it also creates an excuse to post a video on my blog. So remember, what do you do when the music stops? |
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3.7.06 14:40 |
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allez les bleus... The first time that English and French swords clashed in anger is not known for certain, but I do think that its fair to say there has been more than a little emnity betwixt our nations throughout the course of History. Even two world wars fought as allies failed to put all of the mistrust and animosity to rest, although thankfully it did in the main stop us invading each others countries, or taking the bi-centennial outings into Belgium for a scrap.  Proposed Postal Stamp of the Franco-British Union * It's odd to think that on the 16th June 1940 Winston Churchill and his cabinet had agreed to the total union of the two countries into one, the wording of which was... 'The two Governments declare that France and Great Britain shall no longer be two nations, but one Franco-British Union. The constitution of the Union will provide for joint organs of defence, foreign, financial and economic policies. Every citizen of France will enjoy immediately citizenship of Great Britain; every British subject will become a citizen of France.' * ..Churchill and De Gaulle agreed, De Gaulle phoned Reynaud who was hopeful, however it was not to be, the French cabinet rejected it, Petain opted for collaboration and Churchill opted to sink the French fleet. For those few hours though, we stood on the brink of permanent and absolute union. It must have seemed as pen stroked armistice paper and shells rattled down upon the fleet that the two countries would remain forever at odds, maybe a millennium of warfare was too much to over rule, maybe we would forever be stuck with a failure to appreciate each other, forever looking for an excuse to roll out the stereotypes and pour scorn on our fellow European.  Terry Henry Tonight however, the past will be nothing but a distant memory, tonight for once I shall get to indulge my love of La Marseillaise openly and proudly, the crosses of St George will be momentairly replaced by le drapeau tricolore, as Englishmen cheer on France as if we were indeed one, as Thierry is applauded as though he were a Terry and two nations expect. Every ounce of emotion and fervour left following Saturday afternoon is diverted to the French cause. * Sources Union Document & Stamp |
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5.7.06 13:25 |
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Frankie says, turn on the AC. I think it was the great philosopher Frankie GoesToHollywood who first alerted me to the principle of 'Relax, don't do it' and it is surely to him who I owe my eternal gratitude, as it is in fairness somewhat of a mission statement for my working life. We were all taught in Business Studies about mission statements and mantra's, and, while I personally believe their motivational benefit to be hovering somewhere below zero, I realised that I could not function properly without one, which, thankfully for us all, is where Frankie popped up with his wisdom, like a modern day Aristotle. (Yes, I am aware that there were five of them, however, my grammatical prowess barely stretches to the level of Janet and John books, so structuring that sentance to reflect the nature of the quintet while maintaing the Aristotle analogy was a task far beyond my meagre grasp of the English language.) At any rate, I think that its fair to say the heat has had a negative effect on my already fairly laid back work ethic. It's not that I'm incapable, it's not that I don't want the work to get done, it's not that I don't want the satisfaction of a job well done, it's just that it's too hot. I awoke this morning at 3:53, which we'll assume was dawn as it was not only light, but aleady almost unbarably hot in the penthouse, I lay for several minutes contemplating whether my barely concious body could be propelled down stairs in some fashion or another to get a drink, and, uopn deciding that this would be possible, passed another few minutes deciding if the return journey up two flights of stairs would be a manageable feat. Yes, we can all look at the achievments of Edmund Hilary and marvel, but to be frank it wasn't this hot and he probably wasn't quite so lazy as I. Eventuall, after a further few minutes of intense negotiation between the cartoon advisers on my shoulder, I took the option of getting a drink, for fear of roasting alive like a peasent in a 16th century Japanese Execution. And here in lies the problem. I love the summer. It's great, I love the heat, I love that I can where tee-shirts all the time, I love the amazing experience that is a long awaited coke on a hot day, the aural pleasure provided by the click of the ring pull and first spray. I love the cool breeze, or when it rains and cools you down nicely, I love the fact that more people smile. Really, summer is very nice, but how are you expected to get anything done? It's just too hot to achieve anything of merit, unless you subcribe to the theorem that doing nothing is in itself an achievment of merit. And so, tonight, at about ten o'clock, I will realise that I never achieved enough during the day, and will have no other option but to frantically play catch up, the combination of my own lethargy and the added input of the sweltering heat having made a lethal cocktail for my work rate. Having made it this far into the post, you'd expect me to be finalising my point, but, alas, as the sun is beating straight through the skylight onto me, I have completley lost grasp of what point I was trying to make, and also, lost the motivation to read back through and remember. Luckily, I think that proves my point. I'm British, and I can love the weather and moan about it at the same time, they can take my rights one by one, they can force on me Biometric ID, track my movements via traffic cameras, hold my life in their databases and remove all my privacy, but they will never take my right to moan about the weather, not while I still have breath enough to breath the words "and what about that weather we've been having?" |
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6.7.06 17:14 |
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The quest is over... I was beginning to think it might never happen, but today, finally, I found a Manhattan Portage bag, here, in blighty, and well priced at that. Long time sufferers of my blog may recall my desire to have one for some time, however I have never been able to find them here, nor have I had the spare cash to pay silly shipping charges from the States, however today that search was ended when I chanced upon the above bag in a quick look in that great jumble sale of a place that is TK Maxx. It was traumatic, but worth it, as its clearly a fab bag and perfect for none laptop carrying days. |
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7.7.06 16:49 |
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Stolen from the main lady Tan... Tan couldn't find a decent questionaire so she theived this one from The Independent, then, fiend that I am, I thieved it from her... I drive... people to varying degrees of distraction. Aside from that I don't drive a vehicle because of the exspense of learning to drive, passing tests and getting a car, and I figure, why do one if you can't do them all! Anyway, my bike is trusty enough. If I have time to myself... I tend to go into one of the cities and look at galleries or shops or just generally chill around. I like being out and about, its relaxing, watching the world go by. You wouldn't know it but I'm very good at... hmmmm, certainly not answering questions about things I'm good at, thats for sure. I'm very good at being rather average at things. You may not know it but I'm no good at... remembering things, I try, I honestly try, but I just don't seem to be able to hold all the random stuff I seem to have too. A book that changed me... at risk of sounding cliched, The Bible, in fact, I really don't care if it sounds cliched, not only is the Salvation thing life changing, but beyond that there is lots of wisdom for living by, and amazing life advice, has it changed me? yes. will it change me more? yes. Movie heaven... Give me lights out, a big glass of coke, popcorn, and some good company, and a classic movie, like Casablanca or To Catch a Thief. Comfort eating... Comfort eating has to be the silliest thing ever, I don't eat just when I need comfort, I eat constantly, 24/7, food is my oyster, its so much more than something to seek comfort, its a way of life. Chocolate is a biggy though, I need my supply! When I was a child I wanted to be... I wanted to design cars, I used to do projects at home to design them, I even tried looking into engines and the like,I remember my naive self attempted to design a fission based unit. I'm not so sure this was a good idea, but it made sense at the time. Oh, and one that recycled some of the toxins released after combustion and fed them through a device that added something to make them re-combustible. Geez. Such a NERD! I wish I'd never worn... a few years back in Glasgow I emerged from Boss with a pair of casual trousers, I've worn them two or three times ever, and its more of a wish I never bought, they just seem to go with nothing! They're the wierest colour, I'm sure they didn't look that way in the shop! All my money goes on... quite a bit of debt payments, but aside from that I like my food and drink. At night I dream of... a gentleman never dreams and tells. My favourite building... I love the architecture of NY, but having never beem I think my favourite building would have to be Chatsworth house, its an amazing place, magnificent on a scale that no one could even dream of anymore, its so grand, and so beautiful, and the waterfalls at the back? Mind blowing. Modern wise, the Guggenhiem in Bilbao looks outstanding. Gehry is a genius. My favourite work of art... At the moment I am still loving Sam Taylor-Woods suspended Self Portraits, they're really fab, they totally caught my imagination, made me stand back and say wow, and I think thats what art should do. I also really like Violin and Guitar by Picasso. It's not fashionable but I like... politics. It interests me, the way it works, the foibles, the tactics, the history, but most of all the fact that if they cut the crap, they could change things for the better, its sad really, as the cynic in me knows they won't ever achieve what good they could, yet the optimist vaguely hopes they'll achieve some of it. If I wasn't me I'd like to be... I'm not one of those people who really thinks I want to be someone else, I have a lot in life, and while there are always things you want or don't want and things you're unhappy with or would change, I am who I am, and I don't want to be anyone else. If pushed, I'd like to be Bill Gates, because he now finds himself with the foundation and more than $60bn to change the world, and that is just amazing. I've never liked him until recently, but now he has this huge potential to change the lives of billions of people who would otherwise die, to impact people lives like that is something else. Rock on, Gatesy. |
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9.7.06 00:06 |
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