Journal Entries
Fact checking.
Posted Sep 24, 2019
Fact checking.
*Twinkle, twinkle Little Star…*
Actually Dad, stars don't twinkle, it's an optical effect due to the atmosphere…..and stars are anything but little!
*How I wonder what you are….*
Actually Mum, most stars are massive balls of superheated gases held together by their own immense mass, Google it Grandad!
*Up above the world so high…*
Just a matter of spatial perspective Man.
*Like a diamond in the sky…*
Nothing like a diamond and it's not in the sky!
*Suppose a story about three talking bears and a little blonde haired human discussing the thermal merits of porridge is out then
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Latest reply: Sep 24, 2019
Losing our marbles..
Posted Sep 5, 2019
4.
In the almost total darkness of the warm loft, motes of recently disturbed fibreglass strands gently floated downwards, illuminated rather prettily in the specks of sunlight bursting through the gaps in several chipped roof tiles.
In the far corner, next to half a roll of Kingfisher Contour and a 1950s television aerial, the box that contained a selection of old toys and broken bits of Action Man glowed, equally prettily.
The box crumpled slightly, causing the pretty glow to fracture as the ancient cardboard flattened under the unseen weight.
The pretty glow, not content in crushing the old games and bits of Action Man, expanded.
Joists creaked and plaster fell. Tiles slid noisily off the rapidly bowing roof, crashing noisily into hundreds of pieces as they smashed into the newly washed and gleaming motorcycle below.
The bellows of the occupants, thankfully clear of the house as it collapsed under the pretty weight, echoed off the dense cloud of what was left of the 1930s semi.
The dust cloud settled.
Bits of flattened furniture and house peeking out from under the massive marble sphere that now sat where number nine once stood.
Discuss this Journal entry [21]
Latest reply: Sep 5, 2019
Fear.
Posted Aug 18, 2019
Most people have, thankfully, never known fear.
Some have been frightened. True. Near misses on a freeway, the feeling on a roller coaster. Fright, but not fear.
Some have been scared. True. A stranger's footsteps behind you on a dark street, the door that rattles in the middle of the night. A scare, but not fear.
True fear makes you a child. Wishing to cover your eyes, find a safe place to hide, call out for Mom, or Daddy, or God. True. Fear makes babies of even the strongest.
Most of us will, naturally, flee from fear. True. Instinct kicks in, adrenaline pumps, fight, flight or freeze. Most will not choose to fight. Survival overrides the need to be macho.
Facing fear is unnatural. True. From an early age we cover our eyes, pull the bedsheets over our heads, hide behind the sofa, the brave risk a peep through trembling fingers, fear of the unknown as dreadful as the fear we witness.
Fear turns stomachs to ice-water. True. Panic a natural instinct, run, flee, escape, do not look! That sickening, stomach churning vertigo that most will thankfully never suffer. Shaking bodies, jangling nerves, the urge to vomit has a name. Fear.
Most will avoid situations that cause fear. True. Cross the street to avoid the drunken gang, get off the subway to escape the stranger's glare, back away when confronted by threat. Fear is an aide to survival. Vital if you want to see tomorrow, today, the next hour or minutes.
Some feel fear. True. The rare few feel the same gut-wrenching fear but cannot run or hide. They pray that training and experience will make the shakes stop, breathe away the sickness, icy sweat forms rivulets of fear but can be ignored, for the right reasons, a just cause.
Most say they would sacrifice themselves for family or loved ones. True. Fear awaits, a test most pray they will never have to pass, even for family. The fear of failing that test a dreadful prospect.
Some, a very few, have a choice. True. Do nothing, give in to fear, run, hide, survive. These, for a few, are not options.
Putting one's life on the line, one's future, your family's happiness, defeating that all-consuming fear, to help another, protect a stranger, save someone unknown, no matter what fear is faced, is alien to most.
Some have a choice. True. Some choose to run towards danger, put themselves in harm's way, still feeling that horrible, terrible fear, but choosing to control it.
Some, a rare few, but a few too many, pay the ultimate price.True.
For all those who face down fear every time they go to work, thank you.
For those who have given their lives to keep others safe, we are forever grateful, may your eternity be free of fear and full of Grace.
RIP Constable Andrew Harper.
Discuss this Journal entry [18]
Latest reply: Aug 18, 2019
Save the airfare, use the M6.
Posted Aug 11, 2019
It always amazes me how much a visit to s foreign country is improved by learning a few words in the local language.
I am sadly, not a natural linguist. (English is hard enough as the grammar police frequently witness.)
A few words in varying languages, probably spoken badly or mispronounced, but, everywhere I've been, my efforts have been warmly received.
Please, thank you, hello, goodbye, very nice etc etc. Whether it's Swahili or Spanish. Every little helps.
Speaking to someone the other day about what a fabulous holiday (vacation...see I speak American too!) we had enjoyed in Turkey.
Turns out he'd been going to the country for the last two decades. Different area than us.
I was telling him about asking the staff to teach my family and me a different Turkish word each day, and the fact that a few simple phrases stood us in good stead several times, and the locals seemed to appreciate the effort.
Blank looks.
"Why bother? You should go to the more touristy places; they all speak English!"
Twenty years...not one word. Twenty years!
Blackpool in the sun syndrome strikes again.
Discuss this Journal entry [5]
Latest reply: Aug 11, 2019
The Exorkit
Posted Jul 22, 2019
Forget the serpent, the dragon, the goat - disregard the horns and the pitchfork, laugh off the idea of a fallen, black-wing'd angel.
Hollywood stereotypes of suave, handsome men and women tempting you into depravity and lakes of fire, pah! Just nerds with too much time, and way too many special effects toys to play with!
Instead, look closer to home, probably inside your homes for many of you, and you may find the merest glimmer of the slightest shred of the beginnings of real, actual Truth.
My name is Legion…..(just kidding!)
My name is Bagpuss, and I am the Devil!
Discuss this Journal entry [18]
Latest reply: Jul 22, 2019
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