Fetes and the beauty that comes from them

Now by reputation I have never been a large fete attender in the past but today has really opened my eyes to the prospects of such a social activity. To summarise, my wife, bless her!!, had been burning the candles at both ends the night before the fete, getting all her cakes in order for the big day and to say she was pooped was a distinct understatement. Sleep came easy to her last night and then this morning she was up with the lark, applying the finishing touches to her mesmeric creations and you know it proved a big hit with all the fete attenders. By the time she had registered all her eateries for purchase within the confines of the little church nestling on the green in Shifnal, the sun was out and the marquee and stalls were going up rapidly. Even before the fete had officially started her cakes had already drawn gasps from the watching tea/beverage ladies in the church and eager and greedy eyes were already surveying which delicacies were going to be gobbled up in one go. " These are amazing" said one parishioner and soon most of the cake pops had been earmarked by the refreshment brigade as they presided over who had what....even before the general public had arrived on the scene. It was like a possee already instructed as to the task in hand. My wife's culinary attributes often raise emotions to record levels and therefore it was little surprise to me but there we are...half the cakes already spoken for by the helpers. utterly amazing. Such is the power of such a talent and my wife has it in droves, sickeningly so, but what a talent.
The people arrived and the gasps of pleasure became more and more praiseworthy as the cakes started to dwindle but my wife's resolve was steadfast and true.
For my part in the supporting role as her husband, I picked up bargains in the video and furniture department and came to realise that I was a natural at bidding in the pressure cooker situation of an auction, but it was all in a good cause, the local churches.As for the auctioneer, he was more like a benevolent uncle and we picked up 4 items that would have cost a great deal more in any department store so together we had a really good day. One thing is readily evident, when you have a talent you must visibly flaunt it, and my wife did that admirably to the tune of picking up more orders from people to enhance and establish her expertise in the local community as a cake specialist. Bravo to her, and for my part, I'm just glad I was able to help in some small way, but I know that even with my small contribution it was appreciated it by the woman of the moment or should that be , " of the fete " whatever; hats off to my wife for her sterling contribution and her continued place at the very heart of our community.

The perfect car

As some of you may well know and have experienced, the loss of a car can either have no meaning or significant loss in the life history of an individual. It may be that emotionally the womenfolk are affected badly by such losses, however men are not exempt from this process of emotional wringing of emotions especially as a car can extract emotions not otherwise noticeable on a daily basis. So it was on the first day of August of this year 2011 when I set off for work on an otherwise mundane day.The weather was rainy but nothing of any great note; then, about a quarter of an hour into the journey, disaster reared its ugly head and the prized MG with low mileage and a new cambelt was lost to the insurance loss adjusters as the remorseful and upset business magnate from a local firm sliced into the back of the MG with some relish as he had, prematurely felt that I was taking too long to enter the roundabout system, ah the sad irony of it all. After all the shananigans of the insurance company, the repair centre and the solicitors looking after my personal interests finally coming to the inevitable business conclusion that the damage would have cost more to repair than the value of the car, it was time to move and look for a replacement.
Hard bull nosed decisions but in retrospect it may well have done us some good. The first hired car we received from the accident repair centre was an absolutely incredible and stunning BMW 520d Auto Sport with satnav and an amazing array of gadgets that quite frankly I could not take in. I was so in awe of this car that I felt, if I touched any button in the cockpit, a rotisserie might appear to cook my dinner, such was its opulence and prestige that it literally blew me away. As my wife also liked it, it was an idea that started to germinate in our minds of thinking of a used approved BMW as a replacement car for our beloved MG. What if we could actually afford a bimmer ? Not the hired car of course, all £34000 of this car would be just too much for us to handle but a previous incarnation of it. The reviews led us to the most perfect of cars, a series 5 BMW 2002 with satnav, phone and computer console along with a very beefy 3 litre engine. It is well known that BMW engines go on and on provided that they are well serviced and maintained and with a diesel engine, fuel costs can be reduced to a degree, saving fuel money. Research is always the key when looking for a new car and we duly did this in a methodical and progressive fashion. After some deliberation and consideration, I eyed a car that looked ideal for us, the only issue was that it was based in East Yorkshire, east of Hull, near to the eastern seaside resort of Withernsea. However we decided to go for the day and risk the chance that this car would not be for us, we were not disappointed, far from disappointed and on arriving in the bracing flat lands of East Yorkshire we met the garage owner and then met the car. I almost knew immediately that this car would provide an adequate replacement for our old MG. It was clean and tidy and the cockpit was spacious and well set out. It also had the ubiquitous satnav and front and rear parking sensors( especially for my benefit) lol but the leather seats and comfort was the aspects that impressed my wife and as we headed home we both knew that this was the car we wanted, opulence, luxury and a little bit of class. This car oozed all of those attributes and we loved it.
Automatic gearboxes are more the domain of my good lady wife but I am learning quickly about the advantages of a good automatic gearbox as opposed to manuals and having diesel on board gives us more cost effective fuel options. Sometimes you need to let the past go in order to move on with your life, and if this is an example of letting go then I say bravo.Life is far too short to morosely reminisce on what might have been, as time never stops and we should all be enjoying our present lifestyle than to remember what could or might have been, because often things are never the same when brought back to provide a second chance. I am now smitten with the BMW range and I'm sure in time my wife will share my enthusiasm on this subject.

Hospital duties

Earlier this month I had to take my trouble and strife to the hospital for a little bit of plumbing but the whole environment brought back to me the different aromas and fragrances one finds in such places, you remember the invigorating smells of dettol based substances and the whole concept of bacterial products to ward off the nasty infections that are so prevalent in such places.
However on this occasion in the 21st century, the seeking of such comfortable and memorable smells seemed sadly lacking, the whole environment established a far more clinical and sterile area devoid of those somewhat friendly if not noxious substances of yesteryear.
The staff were pleasantly affable ahead of the busy day ahead of them as they kept themselves busy with paperwork and pre-operative assessments, and my wife; well to say she was a consummate patient would be understated, her behaviour was more applicable with someone that was totally at peace with her life and that by being in for day surgery was merely a blip in her already busy daily agenda. The serenity afforded by her in that time leading up to her operation was not only commendable but strangely bizarre in the extreme, her manner and calmness was a lesson for all of us that would be scared by the very nature of our predicament.
When I had left her on that hospital trolley being wheeled to her fate and headed for a lunch date, my mind started playing cruel tricks on me and the only thing I could ask myself was " why? " if my best friend and partner could cope with the event about to happen to her in that aseptic room down the corridor, then where was my belief? Yes it makes the individual wonder where there own courage has gone to, evaporation into the ether not that far away!!! It is a sobering thought that my wife and life partner can treat both fear and happiness in the same manner whereas her spouse has enough trouble believing that tomorrow will be a far more successful day than the current one, it teaches people like me the benefit and need to deal positively with every obstacle confronting us rather than seeing a scenario as a insurmountable hurdle that is far too difficult to achieve a major success from it. Constructive food for thought I think and I have my lovely wife to thank me for the lesson in maturity.

The aftermath of trauma

Recently I was in the unfortunate situation when I was shunted from behind in my car coming off a motorway near to where I live by a man in a business car with trade insurance. Apart from the initial shock and delayed trauma it made me think about the whole concept of road accident collision scenarios and the rule of law that states that any rear shunt is attributable to the perpetrator behind the shunted car. It is unfortunate for the man behind, but my sense of justness would lead me to believe that maybe his perception of my driving off instead of stopping at the bottom of the motorway exit road was distinctly flawed by his position behind me.
In the 21st century there are still some people that rush from one appointment to another at breakneck speed as if there lives depended upon it, and the only question I can come up with is " why?" because point A and the destination point B are not going to change positions and the intent to rush like maniacs down a motorway would appear to be insane. Is it speed that is their fuel for adrenaline or the joy of speeding rapidly down these roads for a sense of excitement would again appear to be a flawed argument for doing so. As my friend in the car behind me on that fateful day reflects upon his behaviour, it must be a sobering thought for him to realise that even at low speed, his car came off worst in this scenario and for that I am truly sorry for him, however this is what life is all about, making wise or unwise decisions and for this unfortunate motorist, he can reflect on what was a very sad and stupid decision in retrospect which leaves him with being penalised by his insurance company and two rather less than perfect vehicles now needing repairs to both, causing unfortunate and in reality unnecessary inconvenience to both parties but then, that is what makes us all humans ......flawed judgement from time to time. C'est la vie !!!!

The trials and traumas of house renovation

Isn't it surprising how work of a structural and aesthetic nature around your house can go on for what seems an indeterminate period and also how generally it is invariably under budget. Well bloggers it has happened to us now. You may recall I started talking on this subject in the early part of 2011 with the optimistic view that within two good months of hard work from our builder the project would be nearing its end........how wrong could I have been!! As house owners we have endured every humanly conceivable situation that we legislated could go wrong and yet it was something else that thwarted our aspirations to start showing off our finished product for the summer months. Yes readers it was, absolutely, our builder's wedding and cut price honeymoon where his guests pay for the 7 nights in romantic Cleckheaton and Liversedge in deepest West Yorkshire. OK it wasn't those two mentioned towns but it might as well have been so.

       Let me explain, first we had the health and safety week off due to an update course which he had to fulfil, but of course this put the work back a week, then we were treated to more time away from the hub of the working environment for window installation in another property which he was trying to finish, (eyebrows started to rise at this point in Roger Moore fashion ) then of course we had the amazing story of the honeymoon fund and wedding to his long time partner. I am beginning to think that this man was taking us for a ride especially when he was asking his congregation not for the ubiquitous wedding gifts but , wait for it , money to fund the honeymoon. Eyes rolling outside our heads at this point !!! It just makes us doubly determined to monitor what our friendly builder is going to throw at us next to delay the work further, tea at the Ritz perhaps or possibly an audience with a Papal Nuncio, now that would be intriguing ? My religious name might be Benedict but I am not , by any stretch of the imagination, that daft to think that he is about to engage in an audience with me!!!!!! The summer rolls on and so does the work, but by Xmas of 2011 we may finally be able to start unpacking all our furniture in the newly appointed conservatory, just in time for that momentous time of year ; the snows of January and February.......ah the good old builder, one of life's greats.........!!!!!!

Events that can cause angst and trauma

It is at times like this that the whole fabric of your psyche can be challenged remorselessly when the economic climate is particularly taxing and you are in the midst of a house that looks like it is in the centre of the Blitz. Stalingrad is not that far away and the fact that the very nature of the living areas are resembling rubble and dust suggest that the future can only get better, but as I write this blog, that is the situation that I find myself in currently.
     Yes it's that time of year when house improvements get the go ahead and the weather insists on remaining lovely, balmy even, so that the workload continues unabated into those months of late spring when the world is at peace with itself apart from the house half standing at no 4 Acacia Avenue ( this of course is a fictitious address to protect the incumbents )
     There are certain niceties to address in such situations, you still have to make yourself look respectable within the household as the scaffolding and converted erections begin to take shape albeit in a very primitive way and the daily routines tend to go out of the window, not literally but certainly metaphorically. The ubiquitous builder, for that is what he has become, becomes more chummy as he drinks more and eats more of your hard earned pantry and emerges from his latest skirmish with the roof to refer to you as " mate" and gives you a good slap on the back in a friendly way. Ah yes, the British artisan, always a treasure and in most cases need to be given a good burial but in our case, we wouldn't be without him. Well certainly not during the working process. He is a consummate professional in his job but his skills at clearing up after himself have surely deserted him many years ago. I have to say finding a mug of tea lying on its side under his Black and Decker drill did not do much for my understanding of his mentality or common sense sensibilities but he is good at what he does, and I dare say that if the roles were reversed I would indeed find his technique of telling all my patients to pull themselves together would not be out of place!!! if not somewhat amusing. As the victims of building work we accept the mess and disruption that follows such cratsmen in their normal daily rituals but we do hope that in the weeks to come, their presence will fade away into that time when most sane people might just choose to forget that they were there and treat it as a blot on their lifestyle. Roll on the conclusion to this difficult time for us and to realise that we don't always need to display white hair and dusty clothing to be referred to as "old timers".

The Royal Wedding 2011

It is indeed good to see a Royal wedding where the main participants are so poised and focused on their aim, it was, on the reverse side of the coin, particularly galling to see the crusty old grandmother scowling for much of the service, as if she had been sucking on a lemon. Now why should this be? There did seem the occasional smile but this seemed to be after the result of some dental surgery to correct the grimace that she had had fixed on her face throughout the whole panoply of the service.
      Mind you I am not here to discuss the aftermath of such facial expressions but to wish the young couple well and to hope that this will be a turn away from the old school of stiff and starchy behaviour that has so often permeated the lives of the older royals which is hardly a good example of current day authenticity. You see, like many older people there is a magnetic attraction to live in the past, it is after all what is familiar to them and has a sort of warm comforting feel about it. The issues that I feel need to be addressed are the insidious and somewhat disturbing levels of hypocrisy that the Crown have been accused of regarding throne succession. Back in the 1930's when Edward VIII decided to relinquish the throne for the woman he loved causing utter consternation to constitutional experts, it seemed to act as a tenet to any future divorcees being treated the same way. He was honourable in choosing the decision that he made realising that he could not rule without Wallis Simpson by his side however the same does not seem to apply in these times of modernity. The current incumbent of the " Prince of Wales " title seems to go against the grain as he has indeed married a divorcee, as he himself is, and still seems to be the next natural successor to the Crown. Now we have no way of knowing whether he will be bypassed or whether his accession to the throne will be rubber stamped on the demise of the current monarch. One thing seems clear, that Elizabeth Regina Mark 2 is in no mood to cede power over to her eldest son and it may be by the time Charles is ready to succeed her he will be getting quite elderly. It might then be deemed more appropriate for the power shift to veer towards the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, but that's for the future. The central point in all my rantings is that the open hypocrisy of the Crown is quite palpable and it does make some of us realise how dysfunctional they still are, and what a long way they have to go in order to attract the warmth and support of the British public again. A wedding is not really going to rectify their problems, just paper over the cracks of a long standing and dwindling dynasty that was once great but now.........? well that sentence must be completed by those of you reading this diatribe. William and Catherine are young and will have their own opinions as they get older and more experienced when doing the job but their rise to eventual power should be tempered with a sense of duty but also caution. Three of the Queen's current children are already divorced, this should be a lasting reflection of what is a very tenuous hold that they have on their desire for privacy and happiness, but I wish them both well in the circumstances.

Family additions

My life was somewhat turfed upside down last year when my wife arrived on these shores in tandem with her furry, hairy canine friends who had joined her in the immigration to be with me in this country of wealth and opulence. Now don't call me insensitive but at the outset I was rather disturbed at having to share my creature comforts with three small canines, as my previous experience with these vulpine typed animals had been with much larger breeds. I had no idea how they would take to me, or more's the point, how I would cope with them. Well if first experiences were anything to go by I would have thought that I had been dealt a triple whammy by earth's creator as three very small and noisy dogs emerged from the animal reception centre at Heathrow to launch themselves upon my wife and then unceremoniously licked me uncontrollably in the reception centre lounge. Not exactly the most auspicious beginning and I dread to think what would have happened if we were on our way to a Royal garden party with me displaying distinct elements of dog slobber all over my face. Ah from such ignominious beginnings are love affairs borne. I had already mentioned that my experience of small dogs was limited and my perception of them was pesky and somewhat difficult to handle but as the days wore on in a very languid way, my burgeoning affection for these pesky little creatures took on new heights. There was the two boys, same breed but different characters, and the small chipin, with the dainty legs and the porcelain styled body and the stubby tail that just melted a person's heart.The two boys bounded out of the reception centre in a playful mood until they reached the car where they proceeded to have a distinctly unsavoury disagreement which ended in a maelstrom of snarling and biting, and for what reason. It seemed that one of them took a dislike to the other wanting to travel in the front seat instead of him and so their Jekyll and Hyde personalities emerged at that point. One minute they were " mummy's little darlings " and the next, they were the devils incarnate sent to their " father " for correction but I was still reeling from the shock of their arrival and in no fit state to correct any misdemeanour at this time. Things did eventually improve  and we all became close buddies amidst all the fur flying and disgruntled egos that we had to put up with daily. The point of all this, is that at the time, I wasn't sure about their presence or what I had done, allowing them to come here too, but you know now I wouldn't be without any of them especially my wife who I can honestly say is one of the most caring, sweet and good neighbourly people I could ever hope to meet. These dogs are surely a gift from God and they have  taught me a great deal even if they are naughty to the n-th extreme and my love for them has deepened over the time they have been here. They provide us both with happiness, entertainment and humour which enriches and strengthens our lives and relationship. Dogs are such great social stabilisers and they instinctively know when to play up and when to act in a sympathetic way towards you. They are such great socialisers and are able to change a person's mood at the drop of a hat. If you ever get the urge for a challenge in life then give a dog a home. It will make you a better person and make you more aware of your own shortcomings which you can iron out. They never discriminate against anyone or anything and their love for you as a human being is unconditional and without reproach, they can be truly man's best friend if only man would behave appropriately too. We can learn from animals in so many ways so ensure that we take advantage of this in the future to enhance not only our lives but the lives of the followers ie the animals who love us and in some cases would lay their life on the line for us, truly the act of a noble and courageous spirit. I salute them all and give them the highest commendation.