Posts

Refuge From Christmas

My brother and family popped over to Monmouth for a few days either side of Christmas Day 2023 and, with Mum's house being tiny, I was forced, sadly, to stay in town at a local hotel/inn/pub. I struggled through it, but as you can imagine, the incessant jollity, good food, and beer was tough to ignore. I survived, just.

Alice

Do I have this correct? The "Living Next Door to Alice" was originally released in 1972 but it's the Smokie 1976 version we all know. However, the one we actually know and sing along to is a later version, "Alice, who the fuck is Alice!?", which I always thought was Roy "Chubby" Brown: Ooooooooh ... Smokie collaborated on a novelty re-recording in 1995 with comedian Roy Chubby Brown, with the song interspersed with Roy Chubby Brown saying "Who the fuck is Alice?".  So it's both Smokie AND Roy "Chubby" Brown, got it.

Welcome To The United Kingdom

I don't know of any airports that have a great setup for people walking out of the customs and stepping onto home/foreign land. They all have nothing special exits with some sort of barrier to hold back the excited people wiggling from foot to foot as they wait for their loved ones, or the consignment of hidden diamonds. Once everyone has hugged it's get out of the place as soon as possible. This is not departure with all manner of retail therapy on offer. This is hug and go.

A Pointless Delight

Wrapped around the railings separating Waitrose from the Doctors Surgery is a snake. It may be a part of the railings because a snake is a medical symbol, but I hope not and just want it to be a flourish for no more reason than it's fun and they had a bit of metal left over 

Men, Sit Down For A Piss

Men have two types of toilet they can use, inside and outside, no no I joke, it's stand-up and sit-down.  Stand-up toilets ("urinal", what a crap word) are most often prevalent in pubs and bars. Long, metallic, and somewhere to point ya cock and have a piss. Before using this type every man has to pass the Official Men's Room Etiquette Aptitude Exam . I have no problem with these sorts of toilets, apart from they are generally icky and you can end up with wet shoes. The second type of toilet is the sit-down toilet. This is the one you're most used to as you will, unless you're Adrian Chiles , have this at home. Most offices are these types, and more and more the sit-down can been seen in newer and better pubs. The sit-down has two massive advantages over the stand-up. You can have a poo using one (a "shit-down" if you will ;), and anyone can use them not just humans with wee tubes. Here's the rub, for some reason men don't seem to get that t

The Job, And No More Than The Job

The thinking that went through the minds of the white paint people is quite something eh. So, a part of the road had been dug up to sort out pipes or something. Once that job is done they full in the hole and pop a little bit of tarmac on top. Then, because the hole had cut across some white road markings they painted them back on. Fair enough. Look at the rest of the markings, old and completely gone, however our four new fresh road markings are there. Job done, no more or less, but job done.

Kitchen Net Curtain At Christmas

Silent night, holy night All is calm, all is bright Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child Holy Infant so tender and mild Sleep in heavenly peace Sleep in heavenly peace

Wooden Bird

The tree has been chopped down and the stump carved into a large bird of prey, very cool indeed. 

We Are All Connected Islands

Most people can locate where they are in their body, tap your forehead / brow just where there's a dip and about 2cms inside is where you are. It's not, but that's where we think we are, it's certainly where I'd put myself like some Numskull living inside this body called Mike Riversdale. Neuroscientists believe that consciousness, sometimes referred to as qualia, is located in multiple areas of the brain, including the cerebral cortex, thalamus, and claustrum:  Cerebral cortex The surface of the brain contains sensory, motor, and association areas that are thought to be essential for consciousness. The frontal cortex is involved in detecting new things, while higher-level sensory regions provide ongoing representation. [source:  Study sheds light on where conscious experience resides in the brain ] Thalamus Located in the middle of the brain, the thalamus is thought to be related to consciousness. The interaction between the thalamus and cortical regions, called t

Grey Communication

It's got a quiet but brooding feel about it, and I love the swoosh of the telephone wires as if they're rushing to get out of the way of whatever's coming.

House Side Eye

This house is watching, it sees you ...

Girl Bridge

The private ("public") schools were the Monmouth School for Boys and, unsurprisingly, The Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls . In 2018 those two schools merged and, since 2024, are now known as Haberdashers' Monmouth School. However, this one coeducational school is still housed in two main sets of buildings at different areas of Monmouth with the old girls school up around Hereford Road. Hereford Road has always been a busy wee thoroughfare and so a large covered bridge shipping the students from one side to the other is part of the charm. This is what you're looking at heading down Hereford Street.

The Oxygen Of Attention

Stephen Fry mentioned it many years ago as a means of not only deflating Donald Trump but everyone like him, the self important that survive on the energy that attention gives them. .. Trump is the most talked about man in history, every single restaurant table, every single bar room, every single coffeeshop conversation you can just hear the word Trump Trump Trump.  He's the Trumpallo, he's like a Dr Seus character, the more you say his name the bigger he gets. All you have to do to defeat him is never mention his name. I have failed with this and other posts, but I think I'm gonna do just that. For my own sanity, I'm just never going to talk about him, no matter what happens from tomorrow on - I just don't need him in my life. If we all did that he would deflate like a balloon after the party lights have long been turned off. I also recalled a quote from Adolf Hitler: “It makes no difference whatever whether they laugh at us or revile us … whether they represent