Life moves on

Today I got The Letter.

In August I become redundant. That is, the charity I work for can no longer afford to pay me. The work I do is still requested, but it's not chargeable because I advise charities and the Government has decided to put most of the advice online, making my job no longer feasible.

Doesn't bother me particularly - I'm practically at retirement age anyway, and I've been doing it for far too many years - but in a time when jobs are supposed to be something they're creating, why do they make so many jobs redundant? Machines to do manual work, the internet to do mental work, but none of it as well as humans used to do it (preen, preen!).

Machines can do the same job over and over again, but ingenuity and additional flair is way beyond their capacity. Information can be posted on the internet, but somebody is still needed to explain it to those who can't quite get it. Shame - they will never get it now unless they can scrape together enough money to pay someone to explain it.

And there's the rub. Charities used to do things free of charge, funded by the goodwill of those with money and social conscience. The present government (with help from the last half dozen) has made it practically impossible to do that. Charity will be abolished (sorry, God - they're not listening). Anything you do has to be paid for these days - if not, you'll be taxed anyway. And if you haven't ignored all the pundits and saved madly for the last few decades, you won't be kept in your old age either - you'll work till you drop.

I hope they sleep well at night. I will - but I'm one of the lucky ones.

Stars before the eyes

We had an amazing weekend.

We went to Nottingham to see Bellowhead on their final tour. We've been fans for some time, so we had to get to see them one last time.

Nottingham was a surprise - I haven't been since I was at college, and all I remembered was the Robin Hood statue (from a school visit), Yates' Wine Lodge and the Hole in the Wall pub... Great days! 

Turns out there's a lot more to Nottingham than I remembered, so we're hoping to go back for a long weekend before too much longer and see some of the sights. There are great shops and eateries too - not what we're used to here. The waitress in Zizzi's didn't bat an eyelid when we asked for vegan options.

Anyway, the main event was definitely Bellowhead. The theatre was wonderful, and huge! The support act, Mawkin, were really good, but Bellowhead were on top form and absolutely amazing. You just get absorbed into the music and the crowd and all move together.

I do hope that was not their final tour - how could you give up the effect you guys have on a crowd? How could you never produce that amazing sound ever again? Nobody else can do it. Have a rest, then think again!

Bellowhead, stop reading here. We really enjoyed your show, honestly.


The crowd were great. Except one or two. Honestly, if you don't want to go to see the band, why on earth did you take up a seat that an enthusiast could have? 

The one that most irritated me was just to my left and down a couple of rows. She was on her phone the entire time, with the backlight on maximum so it was quite blinding whenever it flashed in my direction - the stage lighting was either blue or red, so a bright white light was really distracting. Eventually she got up and left.

She wasn't the only one. Do they come with partners who are fans, or do they not know how to behave in public? 

There's only one word for that kind of behaviour - rude! It distracts other audience members and is totally disrespectful to the performers.

Shall we set up a movement to tap these rude people on the shoulder and ask them to leave, or would it be better to ask an usher to do it, or to get one of the stage lights directed at them? No, the last one would totally ruin the show!

Emails - a help or a curse?

As most people who know me have by now realised, I love email.

I can have a conversation with someone I couldn't normally speak to because they're busy when I'm free, but I can send an email and they can respond when they can, and vice versa.

However - as my friends and acquaintances will realise, I do quite a lot of things - I'm into politics, I work practically full-time, I volunteer and I campaign on anything from vegetarianism to government policies. On top of these, I love cooking and gardening (when the weather's fit), I read novels and I like puzzles (they are my 'me-time activities').

Everyone needs a little time to themselves to keep them sane, but when I take time out now, I miss things. It's very difficult to weed out those emails you no longer need, but I am still interested in many of the causes - I just don't have time to read them all, and I don't believe anyone should work (or volunteer) all their waking hours.

So what's the solution? I can't bear the thought of having them come into my phone as they arrive, so my phone would be constantly pinging as some people do. In any case, the coverage in this part of the country is pretty patchy and there is no chance that I would read emails while driving, so I'd still end up with a backlog.

Is there an answer? Or shall I just ignore the ones I can't get to? Answers on a postcard please - I might just read those!

Get Carter in Doncaster

I wasn't sure about going all the way to Doncaster to see Get Carter - it's not my absolutely favourite novel, but I'm so glad I did. The https://www.northernstage.co.uk/ production was superb - dark, menacing and gritty in a way the Michael Caine movie could never have been.

Kevin Wathen as Jack Carter was perfect, with northern accent and the ability to turn from nice young man into terrifying vicious monster in a moment. The set was magnificent - totally adaptable at a moment's notice - so clever!

It was a shame that the theatre was so empty - I know it was Saturday afternoon and football's on the telly, but really, people missed a fantastic afternoon.

It was also sad that the movie and this production were set in Newcastle. I don't think it says in the book where it's set, but it should be Scunthorpe and Barton on Humber - the Ted Lewis group in Barton are beginning to identify where scenes in various Ted Lewis novels are set and take guided tours around the 'scene of the crime'. But having said that, the North East accents really made the Northern Stage production work well - I'm not sure a Lincolnshire gangster would work nearly as well!

It's the last night in Doncaster tonight, so if you don't have tickets, it's too late (we heard they've sold out!), but you can still catch them in Durham, Salford or Southampton. And if you have tickets for tonight, spare a thought for poor Kevin - he's already done one performance today - yet I'm sure he'll be excellent tonight too.

A Blog Addiction

Insidious, these blog thingies.

I started writing a little blog of my own, as a place to moan without upsetting quite so many people on Facebook (!), and now I seem to be involved in rather a lot - either following or writing, or helping to write.

For instance, I can recommend the blog on the Voluntary Action North Lincolnshire website - it tries to explain what VANL does, which is difficult because it keeps changing with economic circumstance. Green Party councillors on both Bottesford and Barton Town Councils have blogs, which they write between them, and I'm following some other interesting ones which explain about the people who write them.

Blogs are a great way to find out about other people. You rarely have time to talk to people nowadays, so why not read their thoughts in their blog? People you may have thought you would not like become much more understandable when you read about their motivations.

My only problem now is, when do I find time for all the other stuff I used to do?

Ch, ch, ch, ch, changes

I've just been reading some of Martin Bell's book about why he turned to politics, and he's quite right.

We all know things change over time. If not, we'd stagnate and get nowhere. But before I was born, everyone respected the UK. Our press told the truth; our politicians were wise and would support and protect weaker nations; we stood for law and order, and we had a place in the prosperity stakes.

What happened?

As Martin Bell says, in the 1990s the press went down the plughole. Rather than chasing the stories that were important, that mattered, that might make a difference, the press were taken over by multimillionaires wanting to make money and possibly put their own point of view as fact. Sales plummeted, but they continued pushing to make papers like the Sun concentrate on naked women and misbehaving single parents, instead of what our politicians were doing abroad. It didn't seem too important at the time - we were all busy trying to make more money ourselves in the 1990s (probably because they'd told us it was a clever thing to do), and we didn't have time to read the papers.

But while we were ignoring the boobs in the tabloids (in many ways!), those same multimillionaires, with their friends, pushed the politicians into supporting their crazy schemes, reducing their taxes and selling their goods to make them even richer. So we got even less news from the rest of the world, wars broke out behind our backs, fuelled by the arms manufactured by these men and their friends, and millions of people were starved, bombed and driven out of their homes through no fault of their own.

And only now do the great British public complain - they don't want these same refugees to come here. They might steal our jobs! Well, we don't have any skilled people here to do many of those jobs; neither do we have any unskilled people to do the unskilled jobs, because they're apparently too busy procreating and stuffing their benefits money up their noses or into their arms - I do, of course, get my information from the tabloid press here!

We now have social media to help us, so perhaps now is the time to set up a new press, like the Victorians did, to pass on the real news of what's happening in the world. In the meantime, use your own social networking skills to find out about it. Don't just believe the tosh they print or publish on TV - even the Russians beam their version of news to us, but we all know from James Bond how reliable that's likely to be. (Having said that, some of it makes more sense than what our lot are telling us!). Take it all with a very large pinch of salt, and work out for yourself what's really happening.

Then Vote Green at the next election!

The sins of the fathers

How dare they fire tear gas at families with small children? 

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35687257

If you were trying to escape from a war that was none of your doing, trying to save your family, and all that you're offered is a sea of mud with perhaps a tent, perhaps a few bits of scrap to make a home out of, wouldn't you try to reach something better? Try to give your children the chance that you thought they would have had, but which was snatched from you by idiots fighting for some obscure reason?

And that war is largely the fault of the USA, the UK and Russia, all of whom wanted the oil underneath the land there, and all of whom have been selling weapons to those who wanted to fight over it. The fault goes back further, to the Gulf War, the World Wars and before then - the rich nations have always fought over there.

Well, I think a cruise ship or three should be chartered by these governments and used to transport refugees to the three countries, where they should be provided with the means to start their lives again.

Our governments made the mess - it's our responsibility to clear it up. Yes, Europe was involved, but they have done their bit - or at least, as a whole they have. Our governments, who were far more deeply involved, should now play their part. These people are (largely - yes, we risk the occasional baddie - they're in all walks of life) honest, law-abiding citizens. They probably include doctors, nurses, teachers, and all the other professions the UK is now desperately short of, thanks to past government policies. So let's welcome them with open arms and work together to try to make the world a better place.

And before anyone says I'm spouting politics, I haven't bothered to check policy. This is my opinion, formed when I finally found out what happened in the Middle East in the past - it didn't feature in history lessons at school particularly. I wonder why?

Give to charity - lose your friends?

Do you ever make a donation to a charity instead of buying a gift? I often do the charity option instead of buying greetings cards, which I would then forget to post anyway!

Charity Matters, an electronic publication, says that a donation to charity in place of a gift may be around a quarter less acceptable than some donors think. A study at the University of Southern California asked 151 people to either make a £25 donation to charity on behalf of a friend or give them a gourmet coffee hamper to the same value. The givers and receivers were then asked to rate the gift in terms of overall appreciation, offensiveness, commitment to the friendship and thoughtfulness.

The recipients in the study were up to 27% less appreciative of the charity donations than the givers expected, and their expectation of thoughtfulness at 74% was much higher than the actual figure of 48% recorded.

The study concluded that the virtuous identity bought by the giver by the charity donation was only really of value to the giver and not the receiver.

However, those with a slightly more cynical outlook might think that since this study was conducted in the USA, a country with a more capitalist outlook than most, its findings may not apply directly to the UK. How many people do you know in the UK who would rather your gift went to a good cause than to buy some cheap tat that you would have to discreetly dispose of later?

Be careful who you see on stage

We thoroughly enjoyed Victoria Ironside's show at The Ropewalk in Barton this weekend (Saturday, 20th February 2016). I used to read her column religiously, back when I could find the time to read newspapers like The Observer - so that was a long time ago. She's still outrageously funny, but boy, did she make me feel old!

Yes, I get the creaks and aches she described. Yes, I emit that strange noise sometimes when I stand up. Yes, I'm becoming quite partial to a nap occasionally - which could be awkward, since I'm still working. But Victoria's several years older than me, so should I feel like that? Am I ageing prematurely?

And is the answer to do more to keep myself functioning at 'young person speed', or should I aim to do less so that I have time to do it at what is now 'my speed', and if I do the latter, will I slow down even more?

Well, having typed this much, my poor arthritic fingers are already aching, so I think I'll do what I usually do and be bad-tempered - some of the time at least. And I'll eat - I made some amazing spicy cheese biscuits this weekend. I know that's a Granny thing to do, but what the heck - at my age, that's what you do! And if I keep on putting on weight - well, I suspect that's also what you do at my age: many of my family certainly did!

So be jealous if you're still young - I'm going to do what I do best, and enjoy it :)

Don't drive like a fool

Most mornings on my way to work, I am overtaken just as I approach the 'end of 30mph zone' signs, so that I have to slow when I would normally be picking up speed. Not a problem for me - I can be patient - but it makes me really angry when the overtaking car does so in the face of oncoming traffic. They could wait a short while until the oncoming lane is clear, and by then the general flow would have speeded up anyway, but they don't. They risk their lives and those of others by having to get past. The fact that I'm a silver-haired woman in a Smart ForTwo probably really upsets these (usually) men in (often) Audi or Mercedes sporty models.

Well, I'm using my blog spot this time to inform these drivers that I DO take registrations, and I DO report them to the police, so if you've overtaken in the face of oncoming traffic, on a dangerous bend or a hill where you can't see over the crest, then don't be surprised if you get a visit.

If these idiots also upset you, then please, remember their registrations, make, model, colour of car, and anything else useful, and call 101 to report them as soon as it's safe. You could help the police to make the roads safer and allow them to get on with solving crimes instead. Win/Win!

Clean up - for the Queen or otherwise

You may have heard of the campaign this year to "Clean for the Queen". I know some people object strongly to the idea of cleaning for a monarch who they never see in person; others simply object to the idea of cleaning without payment!

Well, this morning I followed a truck most of the way to work. The wind was gusting to 70mph, according to the BBC, and the truck, although sheeted, was not sheeted well enough. Large plastic sheets and bags flew out from under the sheeting at regular intervals and caught in trees and hedges or blew out across farmland.

Although the truck was heading for a recycling plant, it passed a household waste tip. At that point, the flying plastic roughly doubled as refuse blew off the tip. The remaining bit of road into town was a disaster site, carpeted on either side with plastic.

So what I want to know is, as the Earth warms up and the weather patterns intensify, why can't we have rules that say if you're dealing with something light-weight such as plastic sheets and bags, you MUST stop work when the wind gusts at more than, say, 50 or 60mph? Tips could be regulated to cover their waste when strong winds are forecast, and trucks delivering waste could be made to tie down their sheeting more firmly or just not transport waste in high winds. Yes, it might slow down the economy, but the economy is going to have to slow down soon before it burns out entirely.

What do you think? If you agree, comment on this blog or tweet your opinion. Let's get this place tidied up! (Lorries first, litterbugs next!)

How to feed your family ...

... more cheaply. This was roughly the title of a cookery book I used to own. It was aimed at hard-up families in the depression at the end of the 1970s, and contained some brilliant recipes, but didn't in my opinion go far enough.

The book pointed out that if you cook meals yourself from scratch the cost is far less than buying ready-made (frozen, chilled, tinned even). And there is the bonus that if you cook enough for two meals at once you can reheat the rest the next day or freeze and eat later. And it will be far more healthy - less fat, added sugar or salt.

Reheating doesn't necessarily mean just putting it in the microwave - you can stick some pastry on top of a stew* and make a pie, add a few tasty ingredients to alter the flavour entirely, chop it more finely or liquidise to make soup - lots of alternatives.

To make chips, don't buy frozen oven chips. Compare the price with raw potatoes, then peel your raw potatoes, cut into chip-shaped pieces, toss in oil and put in the oven on an oven tray. Will take slightly longer than frozen, but not much and costs far less. And it's healthier - tossing raw potato in oil uses far less fat than the processed version.

I'm currently cooking dried beans, which I soaked overnight. I pressure-cook them for around 20 minutes (depending on pressure cooker), cool, bag and freeze. Voila! Easy to use protein with no added fat, sugar, salt or anything else. Just add some to your next stew, curry, pie filling, etc to bulk it up healthily, or process with bread and flavourings such as a little stock powder/paste, chilli, curry powder, etc. to make burgers. You do need to cook the burgers carefully so they don't break up, but they'll do well in the oven with a very little oil on the tray. Remember to turn them halfway through cooking.

I'm vegetarian, which is far cheaper than using meat or fish, but you don't have to be if you don't like it. Just use cheaper cuts and make stew-type dishes. Stick all the ingredients in a large saucepan (or pressure cooker for speed) and simmer gently until done. Stews can be reheated several times if done thoroughly, although be careful with meat or fish as they can grow pathogens overnight. In medieval times, a stewpotwas kept simmering on the stove more or less permanently - new ingredients were added to top it up each day. I wouldn't suggest this now, but it certainly works once or even twice if you cool it after eating and put it in the fridge!

If you're interested in my kind of 'cooking on the cheap', comment on the blog and I'll try to answer questions, post recipes if needed, etc. It's daft to waste money on multinationals who are ruining your diet and bank account just to make profits. Cheat them by doing your own cooking. I can rustle up a hot meal in under half an hour, from scratch. Can you?




* Remember 'stew' doesn't necessarily mean something like a lamb hotpot. It also includes a curry, which is a stew with spices (gently fry them first with onions, then add the other ingredients and liquids), a chilli (pretty similar) a goulash, and so on. Look up recipes online, and don't be afraid to substitute ingredients. Use beans instead of meat to reduce the cost and make it healthier. But don't use ready-made sauces - make your own!