Poof.....wheeze, wheeze.....and it's dead.

Before you get worried, this is about an inanimate object.  One that we almost all have in our house, and we all take for granted, yet I don't think that many people replace the one they have on a whim.
I mean, I wouldn't, but I have heard of people who replace the small electrical items in their kitchen, just because they have new units, new cooker, etc, etc.
I wouldn't do that. When I moved in here the only kitchen appliance I had, large, or small, was a fridge, so I indulged myself and bought all green appliances, and painted the walls a bright sunshine yellow.  Through the years the small green appliances have gone their way, my green range cooker the only thing that is still there.
But it wasn't my cooker that made funny noises, it was the kettle.
I put some water in it, and went to do something in another room as it boiled, pick up my mug I think. I heard a poof, then another strange noise, I went to the kitchen and it was sat there wheezing. The strange thing is, I let it cool and tried it again. The light that shows that the kettle has been switched on is showing orange, so I am not entirely sure what is wrong with it.
I'm not too bothered though, as I have a stove top kettle.
I'm pretty sure that there might be an old kettle in the cellar. (One that I thought had stopped working, but it turned out that it was just the fuse.....so I kept it.)
You probably think that this is a fuss about nothing, but us British like their cups of tea.

Interesting conversation

As I went out for a hobble this afternoon, I met a man who I have known for a while, no idea what his name is, but just over twelve months ago his wife and kids came to join him.  He's from one of the north African countries. (I know that it's not Egypt or Algeria.)
That aside, what he said truly hit home. 
World leaders are all about prosperity of their country, and although they have environment summits, it's all words.
Until the world, as a whole, starts putting the environment first things will get worse. It won't matter how much money people earn, if there's no food to buy.
We need to do everything we can to stop global warming.  Politicians in global meetings can't do anything tangible. The action needs to be made at grassroots level.
You might not think that your bit of environmentally friendly action helps,  but if we all do our bit....maybe...just maybe....we can do it.
Yeah! And the creepy politicians will try to take the credit.

"Celebrity" crusades

I believe that certain celebrities are taking exception to telling their kids fairy tales, and letting them watch Disney films of the fairy tales.
At first this seems like a good idea. Their, the celebrities, argument is that the female lead characters have unrealistic ideals. But....that's because through the years the original stories have been softened in order to be more child friendly.
Hans Christian Andersen and the brothers Grimm collected folk tales and made them child friendly, although I believe that the Little Mermaid was Andersen's own story.
If you read the the folk tales that today's fairy tales are based on, you'll find much darker tales.
Cinderella, for instance, has several tales that it was developed from. Some of the tales are quite violent in places. They were usually told around the fire at night, after the evening meal, and before turning in for the night. Normally shared by mainly adult audiences.

If the Hollywood celebrities read the original tales, they might change their minds.
Also, it might be more useful to teach their children the difference between fact and fiction, but maybe people who make a living out of being someone else have lost understanding of the difference between fact and fiction themselves?

Just grr

Since my Dad died in February 2012, I have rung Mum most evenings, unless she's been out, or on holiday, or on the rare occasion that I have been out. Been out tonight, but haven't phoned, as Mum got me very cross when we last spoke.
I won't go into what she got me cross about, other than it is something that is in the past, which can not be changed. I can see that you can't change the past, you have to learn to accept whatever is past, and if you don't like it, learn to accept it and learn how to grow from that point on. Life goes on.

Be wary of the Ritalin ranter

As you probably know, I like to have a hobble along the prom.
It's peaceful there if you sit and watch the sea, and the sea wall blocks most of the traffic noise, apart from at peak times. In the evenings it's very peaceful, when it's warm enough, and watching the sea, seabirds and the kite surfers/windsurfers is calming.
However, I went down last week just wanting a short breather, and to watch the sunset when I met up with the Ritalin ranter. If you live here, and have encountered him, you'll know exactly who I mean.
This guy only has one topic, oh and he's the one person who watches the televised parliament.
He's convinced that he was "spiked" with R, (as I am going to refer to it from now on,) as a child at a very good school.....as the jokes go.....you know, an approved one.
His son was also put on it, and he thinks that it dulled him, no, his son was out of control and found  to have ADHD....or whatever the initials are
He's a total conspiracy theorist.  His conspiracy that he's convinced with is that the government have known all along how bad for people it is.  The funny thing is, that he doesn't mention the fact that R can cause heart problems.
At one point the Ritalin ranter walked around with earphones in, and blanked people he knew. Perhaps he was listening to the parliamentary goings on via his earphones. I wish that he was still doing that.
He really spoiled my chilling out time.
There is a good chance that I can avoid him from now on, as he has a dog, not a little one either....so if I spot the dog.....no....not that Spot.....I'll do my best to avoid him.

Grey Day

Just a short one today.
Don't you just hate grey days?
You know, those where the sun struggles to make a dint in the thick clouds, but it doesn't rain.
At least it was bright enough to make it less grey outside the house.

Robots, or not?

I remember in the late 60s, early 70s, there was a programme on TV called Tomorrow's World.  They were predicting that in the future everyone would have robots around the house.
At first glance, they were miles off, but if you look again, some people are slowly turning into partial robots.
What on earth does she mean? I hear you say.
Years ago if someone walked down the street seemingly talking to themselves, you would be right to assume that they weren't talking to you, or anyone in particular.  Plus if they started shouting, it was a safe bet that they unfortunately had Tourettes. 
Now, if you see people walking down the street talking, it's not to themselves, or at least 99 times out of 100, it isn't.
Or, you walk past someone you know, and they blank you, because they haven't heard you due to the music playing straight into their ears.
Or, they're glued to their mobile phone and have no idea you're trying to talk to them.
Sometimes, the only way to gain their attention is to give them a call, send them a text.

So, we have people turning into robots as we watch. Not quite what Tomorrow's World had in mind, but if you look at it from a tangential point of view, the robots are there, and some of them are part of your family as predicted.