All the fun of the fair

Good evening.

At last a sunny day to go out. I caught the 1 o clock bus to town and walked back home. So what did I see. Always have the camera ready.

I have never seen this shop before. Was quite surprised to see a big corner shop in a prominent position trading as a tattoo artist. They are usually in out of the way places in a back room. I went into the jewelers shop opposite and asked how long they had been there. The lady inside said they moved in just before Christmas. She said they are from Mary Street, a much smaller shop, and they are doing quite well since they came here. As I walked through the town I saw a man with trousers cut off at the knees. The whole of his lower legs were covered in tattoos. Maybe we will see more of these shops opening up, if  covering yourself in ink is becoming popular.  

Good to see that other volunteers are tidying up their local area. 

Oh dear. Leaving the town behind along a busy road. 

I caught sight of a poster advertising a FunFair, on a telegraph pole. 

And a bit further along I saw them setting it up. Good opportunity to take some photo's. I went through the gate and asked permission. They were a friendly bunch. It's a huge amount of work to get these fairgrounds set up. 

Of course it was an opportunity to talk trucks. They certainly looked very tidy and well looked after. 

For a 57 that looks like it has had a new paint job. It was first registered in 2007, and is plated for 44000kg. In the back it's got the generator for the ride, and lots of equipment.  

You don't see many ERF's about now. My favourite truck. 

Fodens have all but disappeared from our roads as well. A lot of our old trucks have been shipped out to Malta, they love them there. 

The clouds started coming over so it's time I made tracks for home. 

By the time I was crossing the last of the turf fields the sun made one last attempt to show it's face. This is my favourite tree. The top of it looks a bit chopped about and is missing a limb or two. 

I am turning into a tree hugger. 

I really enjoyed that walk. Didn't expect to see a FunFair. That was a bonus. Get yourself out there if you can. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Don't want one.

 Aye up, me again. Here comes trouble. 

 "An annual standard colour TV licence currently costs £174.50/year and since 2020 most over-75s no longer get their Licences for free. "However, there are a few exceptions, including if you're claiming Pension Credit (either Guarantee or Savings credit), in which case you're entitled to a free TV Licence each year." And it comes as it's just been announced the cost will rise to £180.

Article in Birmingham Live.  Don't bother to read it. It's full of adverts. 

This is just another one of their tricks to reel people in. They are telling you that you may get the licence free if you are on pension credits. So, people apply for pension credits in case they qualify. By doing that they are admitting that they watch the telly. Aha, let's see if this person is already watching the telly, let's see if they are paying for a licence. 

It's a roundabout way of getting you to admit you have a telly and that you are watching it. Offer something free and you've got them. 

I have no need to claim for pension credits, and even if they give me a TV licence I wouldn't want one. For those who are struggling to cover their costs, claim if you need to. 

Catch ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona

I refuse

Good morning. 

I have tried but it has all fallen on deaf ears. The Humber Bridge have moved over to a new system. No toll booths, set up an account, top it up with credit electronically, and they will deduct the price of your crossings. Or something like that. You get the gist. 

They say the occasional user can pay with cash at designated Paypoints, which are usually in shops. My nearest one is four miles away so that is a detour I am not willing to do. Four miles to the shop, then three miles to the bridge. No, not doing it. 

The bridge opened in 1981. They said once it has been paid for from people paying to cross, they would drop the toll charge. They haven't. For a long time it was £3 to cross, I didn't use it very often then. They next dropped it to £1.50 so I started to use it a lot more often. 

Their web site. 

My latest comment on their faceboook page. 

 Well done Humber Bridge. I am not going to read any more posts from you, it's obvious what this is all about. It's about gathering data, because data is the new currency. It's not about making it convenient for us the customer, it's about stealing our freedom to move about whenever we feel like it. You can see all the problems that people are having . You can see the confusion this is causing, yet you push ahead with it. This is happening all over the country. Putting obstacles in the way to disrupt freedom of movement. Putting barriers across roads, and extending cycle tracks when no cyclists are using them. Crossing the bridge should be free, it's part of the national road network.

Have a good day. Toodle pip.   ilona

No self scanning for me

 Good evening.

A quick reminder. I often speak to people about this when I am out. It's good to see that not everybody wants to self scan, and not everybody is paying with a plastic card or phone. I think people are gradually getting the message. 

Home Bargains have not yet brought in self scanning, neither has The Range. Aldi will open a person checkout if asked to do so. I always put my shopping on the conveyor belt with a green light above it. An assistant soon turns up, and I thank them and have a little chat. 

Let's keep the checkout assistants in a job. 

I've just put a video out on yoootooob but having trouble embedding it into a blog post. It has always been simple, but for some reason Blogger has changed the way they do things, and there is no direct link from one to the other. I shall have to play around with it tomorrow. I wish they would leave things along when they are working perfectly fine. In the meantime here is the video. 

Time for a Mayze cuddle. Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Ben meets Annalisa

Good evening.

Another quick blog post before I go to bed. I am really enjoying the Ben Fogle series of documentaries. There seems to be a lot of them. Enough to keep me entertained for a few more weeks. In this episode Annalisa goes skip diving for food.

Native Italian, Annalisa, chose a life on the streets of Europe as a teenager, and now is developing a forest hideaway on the fringes of Swedish society for her and her toddler.

See ya tomorrow. Have a good Sunday. Toodle pip. 

Recycled comments

Good afternoon. 

You may have noticed that I have deleted rather a lot of comments. It's a shame that people can't find anything better to do with their time. However, rather than throw all their efforts into the trash bin, I have recycled them. So let's admire all the wonderful colours. Pretty aren't they. 

😸😹😺😻😼😽😾🙀

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I think I need to confirm my ground rules for this blog. Those who have been reading for a while will know what I am about. This is my diary. I record what I do, what I think about, how I see things, and sometimes my opinions. I don't expect everyone to be on my side. If you are, that's great. I am happy to accept comments. I prefer to communicate with those of a similar mindset.

It is often said that I won't publish any comments which have opposing views to mine. That is true. This is not a debating platform. I suggest anyone falling into that category would do better to start their own blog, or find their niche on another blog, or join a social media site. 

I get to choose which comments I publish, and without explanation. You get to choose how best to use your time. 

As usual, you are most welcome to read my blog. Thanks for popping in. Have a good Saturday. 

Toodle pip.   ilona  

It's only words

Good morning. Still damp, still grey, still misty outside. 

Yesterday I went to the 20 21 Art Centre in town. I need to get out of the house at least once a day to check in with the real outside world. There is a new exhibition which has arrived from the Tate Gallery. These big installations do the rounds, and sometimes travel the world. Now it is our turn to host these particular artworks. Here is some blurb.

Jenny Holzer, Inflammatory Essays, 1979–82, lithograph on colored paper.

The text-based art of Jenny Holzer appears in places one wouldn't expect to find it. On t-shirts, billboards, parking meters and LED signs (Holzer's signature medium), her stark one-liners call attention to social injustice and shed light on dark corners of the human psyche. "PRIVATE PROPERTY CREATED CRIME," "ABUSE OF POWER COMES AS NO SURPRISE," and "PROTECT ME FROM WHAT I WANT" are intended to generate debate and make us think critically. A political activist as well as an artist.

Some close ups so you can read the words. Make of it what you will. Find your own meanings in these  essays. The short sentences are direct and straight to the point. It is often confrontational, and would be offensive to some. Some of it can be easily applied to life in 2026. 

There is a short video on yoootooob about Jenny and this particular artwork. 

Another video filmed at the Tate Modern. Jessye shares her views. 

It's interesting to see how other galleries have presented this installation. Some have mixed up the colours, here the curator has applied them with exact precision in vertical strips. 

It's Saturday. Enjoy your weekend. See you soon. Toodle pip.   ilona

Keeping my head above the water

 Good morning. 

Here we go again, another wet and miserable start to the day. Have they been mucking about with the cloud seeding again. Oh well, I have enough to do to keep me busy.

This is a photo of the swimming baths in Burton upon Trent, taken a long time ago. The building was demolished. It had some awful memories for me, trying to learn how to swim and being shit scared of the water. Once a week we were loaded on the bus and driven five miles to this place of torture. 

It was a Stevensons double decker, just like this one. Who would have thought that years later I would have a job driving them, when I got my PSV, Public Service Vehicle Licence. The baths were long gone by then. I did the school buses, morning and afternoon. 

Inside the baths it was freezing cold. There was an iron spiral staircase to get to the top deck of changing rooms. Quickly get your cozzie on and scramble down without slipping, and walk through the foot bath before getting into the pool. The smell of chlorine was overwhelming and took your breath away. 

I was in the beginners class. Mr Cotton was the teacher. He didn't care what we did, he was easy going. I just jumped up and down and splashed about to give the impression that I was actually trying to swim. I stood by the side rail not daring to let go.

One day as I remember, they swapped teachers about, and we got Miss Rasmussen, who was in fact Mrs Cotton, though we always called her by her maiden name. From that day the swimming lessons became more tortuous for me. She gave us exercises to do, like handstands in the water. There was no way I was going to put my head under the water. I gasped and choked. I tried but I just could not do it. 

Every week when it was baths day I was worrying about it. I told my mum, she asked dad to write an excuse note to say I couldn't go because of ear ache or tummy ache. This got me out of going for a couple of weeks. Dad was not very supportive and stopped writing the notes. So I wrote the notes myself and added his signature. My handwriting was neat and tidy and I could copy his. 

I handed the notes to the teacher at the start of every swimming lesson, and was told to sit in a classroom and read a book. I watched the bus drive out of the school gates with a sigh of relief. This went on every week and eventually Miss Rasmussen just naturally assumed I was not going, so she left me alone.    

I have never learnt how to swim. The thought of my head being underwater frightens me to this day. I need to see, I need to breath, and I need to hear. I will paddle in the sea up to my knees, but that's it.

I went shopping yesterday to the retail park. Spent £80 in the Range on cat supplies, food and litter. Spent £40 in Home Bargains on some cat food, and some food for me. I might go to town this afternoon because there is a new exhibition on at the Arts Centre, and I can pick up a few items from Aldi that I didn't get yesterday.

Have a good weekend everyone. Toodle pip.   ilona

Living off grid in Iceland.

Good evening.

Here is another recommendation from me.

Denni has had an interesting life, having spent many years in the US as a film maker. He is now back in his homeland living in a remote location in Iceland. If you fancy going on holiday there, he offers B & B to paying guests. A holiday with a difference.

Ben Fogle journeys to Iceland to stay with Denni Karlsson.

At the moment you can watch videos on yoootoob free of charge, but the BBC are looking into ways to change the rules. Because they are losing so much money by people not renewing their TV licence, they want to try and grab some of that back. 

I had a coffee with my friend at her house today. They sit in their big kitchen on easy chairs watching videos on a big screen on the wall. She said we don't watch any TV programmes because there is nothing interesting on. I said, stop paying for a licence then. 

That's all for now. Toodle pip.   ilona

Health matters (edited)

 Keir Starmer

@Keir_Starmer

I lost my brother to cancer. I was with him when he was told his diagnosis - a moment I will never forget. Throughout, the NHS respected and cared for him. When he passed away, it hit me like a bus - even though I knew it was coming. I'm determined that every person diagnosed with cancer gets the best possible chance of beating it. Our National Cancer Plan is the most ambitious in a generation. It means earlier diagnosis, slashing waiting lists and investing in cutting-edge technology to build an NHS fit for the future.

Read the comments here.

So Mr Starmer shares his own family health matters in the hope it will garner some sympathy and support for the NHS. Hospitals are struggling to treat everyone who asks for help. They are overwhelmed with patients, so the Government give contracts to private health care companies to take up the slack.

Just wondered. Have the scientists discovered what has caused this explosion of cancer? What age groups are most affected? Are they looking into this? Are there any figures?

I lost my brother to cancer, it was a long time ago. He hadn't been living in the UK for many years so I can't say what was the cause.

Now I must do a Billy dog walk. Catch ya later. Toodle pip. ilona

EDIT

And another. He can't help himself. More bollox

Keir Starmer

@Keir_Starmer

·

1h

I love this country. It is the greatest country in the world. We are tolerant, decent and respectful – and unity is our strength. But for too long, proud communities have been failed by politics and left powerless to do anything about it. Our Pride in Place programme changes that. We are giving people the power to build up their communities. We’ve already invested thousands into communities across Britain. Now, we are giving thousands more the opportunity to transform their local area. Putting local people in control and building a Britain that works for all.

Another edit