Wednesday 27 February 2013

Will "twilight" fans be disappointed?

After putting Twilight in my post title, I've probably lost a lot of readers, but don't give up hope.  Please read on.
At the end of March there will be a film released that is based on a Stephanie Meyer novel.  Most people know Stephanie Meyer as the author of the Twilight saga, and might presume that this film is in the same vein.  If you are a reader and read the book the film is based on, and have read the Twilight books, and can tell an author's style, it will be obvious that is by Meyer, but The Host is an adult book
I had no trouble reading it, as I had only read one of the Twilight saga at the time, but a friend, Fluffy, had read the Twilight saga several times over and had to try several times before she could read the novel through.  It isn't difficult going, no, not at all.  Just the setting is somewhat bleak at the start.
If you are expecting Vampires, Werewolves and their ilk, you WILL be disappointed by The Host.  However, if you are a fantasy/futuristic fan and keep that mind open, you will probably thoroughly enjoy The Host. I'm torn between trying to watch it at the pictures, or waiting for the DVD.

Sunday 24 February 2013

Just who is responsible?

There's a story on Yahoo's home page at the moment, saying that Nick Clegg was unaware that the former chief executive of the Lib Dems had been accused of sexual harassment.  The story is here
I haven't read the entire article, but the phrase "responsible adult" springs to mind.  Why are the press bringing this up. The former chief executive is not Nick Clegg's responsibility, or indeed anyone's but his own.  That is unless he is what is termed a vulnerable adult himself, and I hardly think he would have held such a position if he could be looked upon as a vulnerable adult.
So, my point is, what the man did is his own responsibility, and I doubt Nick Clegg could have prevented him from acting as he had.  And leading on from this, why then are the press making a song and dance about Nick Clegg being unaware?  Don't they have some real news to report on, or is life in general so quiet at the moment that they need to write stories about things like this.  The person to blame for the sexual harassment is the person who carried it out.  And I presume he is a full grown adult man who is in control of all his faculties, and doesn't need a nursemaid to follow him around telling him what he should and shouldn't do. Although obviously it sounds like he doesn't understand the boundaries of personal space, and when it is inappropriate to invade another person's individual space.
There are too many instances like this where the buck is shuffled partly onto someone else, especially if there is a high profile person around to shuffle it towards.

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

No, not the song by Small Faces, although I just has to look it up after I'd typed the title. Here's a link to it, if you've never heard it., and here's the Wiki page about it.
My title is ironic, as I have been doing housework, walking the dogs and have just settled down for a rest.
It's very quiet in the street outside, and the dogs are both curled up asleep.
It is so quiet it could be the middle of the night.
That's funny, as soon as I finished typing that there was shouting
I used to look forward to Sunday Afternoons when Zenonas was here as we would snuggle on the settee watching TV.
Now there's only myself here I can have a "lazy Sunday afternoon" on whatever day of the week I want.  After I have done the housework, and it doesn't take as long when there is only yourself to look after, I can relax and do whatever I want.
It does get boring pleasing yourself all the time and it is nice to have others around to look after.  I do like baking, and that passes the time, but seeing as I don't eat much sweet stuff, I don't bake very much these days.
I do like trying out new recipes,but then again, it takes a while to get through the results.

Saturday 23 February 2013

Can I ask a question, please?

I'm trying my best to get back into the habit of writing again. So my question is...does writing a blog post count as writing?  And would that be free writing, or structured writing?
I think it would count as structured rather than free writing, as I usually think of a topic to write about and then write it, but there is only reviewing before pressing the publish button, in order to check for mis-spelt words and sentences that make nooooooooooooooo sense at all.  But I have found that the more I sit at the keyboard and type, the less mistakes I make, and my fingers are finding the correct keys the bulk of the time.  Occasionally my fingers will catch two letters rather than the one I want, so I might get the letter I want and the adjacent to it on the keyboard, which is no worse than your brain going quicker than your pen when writing with pen on paper, and you find when you read through that you have missed entire words out, but you know what goes where and adjust it accordingly.
So, does a blog post constitute writing? As I am trying quite hard to get myself back into writing.

Friday 22 February 2013

Who names cars?

I don't mean names their individual cars.  All the cars I have had, of my own, have been named.
No, what I mean is who thinks up the names for the various types of cars?
It is obviously not children, apart from the fact that children don't work in the civilised world.  If children named cars we would be driving around in cars with names like a Vauxhall jelly bean, a Ford candy floss, a Volkswagen puppy.  Kids would name cars after their favourite things
The people at Mercedes, Volvo, Audi are obviously far too busy to think up names as their cars just have numbers, letters or a combination of both allocated to them. Similarly the guys at Aston Martin just use a combination of letters and numbers.
Why I wonder did Ford call one of their first cars a model T Ford?  Wasn't it actually meant to be driven?  What happened to the models A through to S?
My current car has the name and a number, which is odd because Rover used to name their cars. Did Rover fall out with naming their cars towards the end?
I do seem to remember that when Fiat first launched their Panda, there was something to do with WWF, but perhaps that was just if you got the one with the actual panda livery. They have evolved since they were first launched back in the early 80s.
One last thought to leave you with though. 
Do you think the people who work at Volvo, Audi, Mercedes, SAAB and Peugeot call their offspring by numbers and letters rather than names?

Thursday 21 February 2013

Identity?

Yes...that is my subject.
or in the words of the caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland, " Who ARE you?"
This is something that has always been on my mind for various reasons
Are you always identified to others via your relationship with family members or close friends?
Yeah!  
We are all individuals, with our own identity, and it has taken me a long time to be comfortable with being identified as me, not in relation with anyone else.
When you get there the feeling is very liberating.

Wednesday 20 February 2013

Old photographs

I was looking at some old photographs from Mum and Dad's silver wedding anniversary the other night. (They were Mum's photos)  It set my mind thinking of all sorts of things that I've not thought of for over 30 years myself.
You never can tell which way your life is going to go. I for one never thought I'd be alone in my mid fifties.

Tuesday 19 February 2013

Strange but true

I'm sat here listening to Classic FM radio.  The announcer introduced a piece and said it was played by the philharmonic orchestra of such and such.
Which made me wonder what exactly philharmonic means, so I looked it up in the dictionary.
Philharmonic means devoted to music.
So then I thought to look up the dictionary definition of orchestra.
Orchestra means a large group of instrumental performers.
So two words sum up nine succinctly.

I sometimes do look up words in the dictionary.  It's amazing what you can find out.
Take for example a particularly annoying tendency of some people to pronounce the word liquorice as lickerish.  This particularly annoys me as lickerish is NOT an alternative pronunciation, it has a completely different meaning.  Go on look it up in a good dictionary, and you'll find it has nothing whatever to do with a black coloured sweet. And...every time you hear someone say it that way in the future you'll find it difficult to not smile.

Enjoy your dictionary, it's a treasure house just waiting to be discovered.

Mother's day treat planned

Earlier today I booked a canal cruise as a treat for Mum on Mother's Day.
I had been telling Mum about the cruises last year, as I have been on a couple of the fish and chip quiz cruises.  They are a good evening out. Although it appears that they no longer set off from The Canal Turn pub in Carnforth.
I did look at other cruises available and noticed that there was one on my birthday, so I might treat myself to that one later ion in the summer.  You do need a good day for the cruise though in order to enjoy the countryside that the canal goes through.
Mother's Day is only two and half weeks away, so I am looking forward to that.  I hope Mum enjoys it as much as I have enjoyed the past two that I've been on.

Monday 18 February 2013

Have you ever?

I decided that instead of sitting home watching soaps...I would go down to see Mum.
It's a year since Dad left us..."The nights are still getting longer, Dad"
Driving back was seriously odd.....I drove up the A6 and only passed 5-6 other vehicles.
I drove through Lancaster, there was no one around!
Is this because of the high fuel prices?  or that combined with the fact most people don't have the disposable income they had ...what 5 years ago?

Wednesday 13 February 2013

Pancakes

It was pancake day yesterday, and because Edwin is now away at uni I thought I'd either not bother, or buy some ready made ones.  Because, although I am confident with most stuff in the kitchen, I am absolutely useless at making pancakes.  All three of my children are good at making pancakes as a result. ROFL....well they had to learn how to make them, or do without
I opted for buying some ready made pancakes, and I really wish I hadn't bothered as while they might be pancakes, they are not the usual ones made in the UK. 
Pancakes are made with a batter, and could be made into Yorkshire puddings instead of pancakes.  But these ones didn't look like the ones made from standard batter, and when I looked at the list of ingredients, there's sugar in them.  I can tell you now, they certainly made my savoury filling taste odd. 
So...next time, I'll either make scotch pancakes, which I can make, or do without.

Monday 11 February 2013

Horsemeat contamination

So, over the past few weeks the general public have found out that there has been horsemeat in certain pre-prepared food products...i.e. convenience foods.
I can see why a single person would pick up a frozen lasanga for one, rather than make it for themselves....BUT, if they went to the trouble, in my case, pleasure, of making their own bolognese sauce.  They could then make it into lasanga for one meal, spaghetti bolognese for another, and maybe add some herbs and spies to make it into chilli for another meal, and cottage pie for a fourth meal.  That is four decent meals from 450g of minced beef, which has to be minced beef or the supplier gets into trouble for selling things under false pretences. 
Similarly, you can quickly and easily make your own burgers. OK they might not be as firm and compact as commercial ones, but just what do they put in them to achieve the firmness?
As I've said before..part of my job is in the food room room at a local high school, and the burgers...when the pupils make their own, do have bits break off them during cooking, but only disintegrate if they are continually flipped.
The question is....Do you want to know what exactly is in your food, or do you want to survive on "convenience foods"?
I know which I would rather do.

fox attacks

Now, perhaps I am being just a bit obtuse here, but the fox attacks that take part inside people's houses....Why does no-one say how the foxes have gained access?  Is it warm weather and the foxes are wandering in through open doors and just exploring?   If not, just how do the foxes get into the houses?  It's not like they have opposable thumbs and a set of skeleton keys.
These foxes, I suspect are getting in through windows left open, or maybe cat flaps.  The window thing should not be a problem as in this day and age, when most people have UPVC windows...it is possible to lock your window in a vent position, which is not enough to let intruders of any kind in.  In fact UPVC windows can be locked in the vent position.
As for cat flaps...surely if you know there are urban foxes around, it would make sense to put in a cat flap with a collar sensor, so only the household cat could get in?
Just things that went through my mind when I read the article about the fox attacks.

Saturday 9 February 2013

Who choses where supermarkets are sited?

It does make me wonder.  In Morecambe, we have two Tescos, an Iceland, an Aldi, a Lidl, Co-op, Morrisons, a Sainsburys, an Asda and if we count anything this side of the river as Morecambe, a Booths, Spars, (don't know how many of those,) another Aldi and a large Asda. Not to mention places like Home Bargains and B & M bargains,we also have a busy market, and a fairly busy Sunday market
The newest of these is the Sainsburys, and it doesn't matter what time of day you go in, you can get round easily with no crowds and don't have very long to wait to checkout. I wonder who in their wisdom thought we needed a Sainsburys?  There is one in Lancaster, which is always very busy, but the one in Morecambe never is, they are only a couple of miles apart at the most.
Did the powers that be at Sainsburys get around a table and discuss this?  The more affluent people in the area tend to shop in the Lancaster shop, as they can combine it with a trip into the city. As soon as I knew what they were building I thought to myself that it would never be busy, and sure enough it never is.  Could it be that the prices are much higher than even Morrisons and the Co-op? Nah! why would that put people off. And if you want real quality stuff you would go to Booths, well, I would.
I don't expect an answer, but it puzzles me why when there is already a plenitude of supermarkets from cheap as chips places to high quality places, they went and built another one.