Final Blog 2024

Pat and I traditionally stay at home during the Christmas period but are quite happy to entertain any visitors, planned or otherwise. We had several surprise visitors this year even though our doorbell stopped working and my note taped to the front door suggesting they came down the chimney was ignored. It was really nice to have unexpected guests and we also had lots of telephone calls and emails from other family and friends. The festivities are now done and dusted and a New Year beckons. 2024 wasn’t a bad year but we are hoping that 2025 will be much better. It’s time to look forward.

I am considering what my New Year resolutions are going to be but I have already made my mind up to re-read more of the children’s classics that I grew up with: Robinson Crusoe, Ivanhoe, Kidnapped and Treasure Island amongst others.

This year I re-read The Black Arrow, and The Three  Musketeers and am about to start on Robinson Crusoe. Having mentioned on a previous blog post that I have become the pupil as opposed to the teacher to my son and grandchildren I think I am going full circle and morphing into my second childhood. There’s nothing wrong in a little bit of nostalgia.

Unfortunately I have just learned of some really bad news before 2025 has even arrived.  For months I have been trying to find a shop selling Haywards Piccalilli without success and now find through my network of spies (Google actually) that Haywards are no longer producing this wonderful delicacy.  WHAT !!!!  I’m sure that there are many, many people who prefer Branston but I DONT. People who loved Cadburys chocolate are now upset at Kraft because they have been messing about with the recipe. Why? What’s going on and what’s next I ask myself, H.P sauce, Heinz salad cream, Garners pickled onions? 

It seems to me that if a product doesn’t qualify, for whatever reason, to go on the Supermarkets ‘World Food’ aisle it is given the elbow. Not good enough. Why can’t we have a minorities and oldies aisle? Why should we be deprived of our lifetime favourites?

More to follow in 2025. Happy New Year to everyone and love to all my family especially my lovely wife who is my hero. 

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Day 129 - 24th December, 2024

Pat and I did the fund collection at Tesco, Elm Park and that appeared to go well although we won’t know the final figure collected until the Accounts Unit empty the collection buckets. This just leaves the last few walking days before the official end of the campaign on Dec 24th 2024.

This venture has been a wonderful experience for me and I have learnt so much about the workings of the internet and social media which I hope will continue to be of use to me. This along with the many lovely people I have met some of whom I can now count as friends.

I am not ready to join the “pipe and slipper” brigade just yet and feel there is much more I can do after I have had a bit of a break to recharge my batteries. My thinking cap is on already on. This may not be the last you hear of me.

The team and myself were aware that our target figure of £60,000 was ambitious to say the least so we have never taken the view that not reaching that figure is a failure. On the contrary every penny we have collected we consider to be a success. In addition every member of the team, regardless of their role, has given 100% effort and you can’t ask for more than that.

I feel that this is now the right time to say my thankyou’s to everyone who has been involved in the Terry Cancer Fund Collection:-

I take my hat off to those who have so generously donated to the fund and want you to know that your donation will have a worthwhile impact. The support from Tesco and the United Services Club has been very important and they deserve a special mention.

My wife Pat has been an ardent supporter both morally and physically and has had to put up with the project being the biggest talking point in the household by a wide margin for the last 4 months which has allowed me toput all my efforts into the venture. Her support has been unwavering.

Without Roy, my son, this venture would never have happened at all and he has been the quiet man behind the scenes doing all the necessary things with the social media platforms and posting my blogs etc. His efforts with the newspapers and other contacts brought us a wider audience and I can’t thank him enough for what he has done.

The Queen’s Charity Fund Unit, headed by Linda along with Debbie, Kyra (my new girlfriend), Torren and Michelle have supplied me with T-shirts, posters and collection boxes/buckets along with their contacts and their general wisdom and experience which has also been invaluable.

Lastly I want to thank my legs for their support although it’s been touch and go on a few occasions. I’ve been attached to them for many years now and, because of the people at Queen’s Hospital, hopefully many more yearsto come.

We will keep the Blog and the “Just Giving” page open for a few extradays in case, and in the hope of, any late donations. There is still time to make a difference.

Please make a Donation if you can. Thank you to all the above.

Have a wonderful Christmasand a Healthy, Happy and Prosperous New Year.

P.S. The two mattresses dumped by those morons have now been collected but within 24 hours have been replaced by 2 more. I assume these people are now getting replacements to sleep on and at this rate of turnover it may be a good investment to purchase shares in a mattress company.

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Day 123 - 19th December, 2024

Bargain Hunt, Antiques Roadshow, Antiques Road Trip, The Bidding Room,  Deal or No Deal etc., why are there so many of these shows which have now become mind numbingly boring? I’m sure the first one, whatever it was, was entertaining and enlightening but that is no longer the case especially where Bargain Hunt is concerned. Watching a repeat of each episode 26,000 times (I accept that that is an exaggeration but only a slight one) and some of those episodes themselves are now antique is taking things too far. They are not even honest in that they no longer mention the auction costs of buying and selling. Many of the lots which are classified as making a profit have not in fact done so. Some of the so called experts seem to have forgotten that they are there to advise the contestants not to assert their opinion and take over especially as their favoured items often lose more money than the competitors choice.

I can hear you saying ‘if you don’t like it turn it off’ but the remote control appears to be stuck with Super Glue in Pat’s hand even when she has nodded off and I then have to endure the recording being rewound back to the bit she has missed which can happen about 4 times per programme. I even got bored with Naked Attraction after the first 700 episodes but at least it has been moved away from a prime time channel.

And then there is the Repair Shop………….

Come on you programmers get something new and refreshing on to watch. 

Good job I don’t have any friends otherwise I would be shedding them just like the trees in the Manor House grounds are shedding their leaves.

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Day 120 - 16th December, 2024

Well, we got through the Barking, Tesco fund raiser but it was a tough six hours for Pat and myself to do on our own. Pat’s effort was particularly heroic given that she has suffered with her legs, especially her knees, for several years now. She’s a tough old bird, not necessarily good for eating on your Christmas dinner plate but certainly someone you would want beside you when your back is up against the wall. My legs held up quite well but, not surprisingly, I went to bed early and missed the the end of the recording Pat had made of Dalglish. What a shame. Does Dalglish have any facial muscles? I have to confess that we replayed part of it several times because I thought that I saw a slight upturn of an eyebrow. Jury is out on that one. We both suffered the following day although I still did my walk albeit a bit slower than normal. Fortunately the Tesco customers were very generous and very nice and it was certainly worth our effort.

We are now getting close to the end of this campaign but we will continue to give it 100% effort until the final whistle blows, the fat lady finally sings and Elvis leaves the building.

During this morning’s walk I noted that there is now a second mattress discarded on top of the one that has been there for, at least, a week. These are now accompanied by a chair so pedestrians can now choose to sit or lie down if they feel the need. A child’s car baby seat has now joined the general litter and that’s a first as far as I know. The only surprise was that the baby was not in it. If much more gets added I think it may be worth the Council having a sort of car boot sale.

I have received a comment from Roy about the ‘toilet seat’ issue which concludes with his view that he would ‘rather put his head down the toilet than watch Bargain Hunt’.  He did not say whether he would flush first but I expect not. That’s my boy. I feel another contentious issue is rising to the surface and I will come back to this in due course.

I’m starting to relish the back and forth comments so please join in because I’m not used to having the last word in my household on any subject.

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Day 118 - 14th December, 2024

A debate that has always puzzled me is, should the toilet seat be up or down? This is a nationwide conundrum including in my own household from day one.

Ladies are adamant that the toilet seat should be down and are very vocal with regard to this. Men, generally, don’t care either way and rarely comment.

The answer is so blindingly obvious that it surprises me that a debate even occurs let alone has carried on for umpteen years.

Every toilet has, or should have, a SEAT and a LID. The LID is there for a reason but is rarely used except to put the towel on to use after having a shower.

Whoever uses the toilet, male or female, after use the LID should be put down which means the SEAT has to follow suit.

The result is that a female has to lift the lid before using the toilet and a man has to lift both the LID and the SEAT before use. The reverse after use is the same.

The extra 5 seconds this takes all genders is a drop in the ocean so to speak.

Problem solved?

Pat and I will be in the foyer area of the Barking Tesco on Saturday 14th December for a fund raising session from 10a.m until 4p.m. and would like to thank Tesco for allowing access to their premises both in Barking and Elm Park. Their motto is “Helping the Community” and they are certainly doing that.

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Day 112 - 8th December, 2024

Where were we? Oh yes, what to do about anti-social rubbish dumpers who are staining the fabric of our society. I’m a believer that every problem has a solution but that it is often the lack of willingness to implement the solution that prevents improvements. What steps could be taken?

Q.    More CCTV cameras?

A.    It would certainly help to record and identify the perpetrators but there would have to be the presumption that the incidents would be followed up. Too expensive  and perhaps smacking too much of Big Brother? Fors and against.

Q.   Bigger fines?

A.   If you can’t identify the culprits you can’t fine them.

Q.   Neighbours to get together and report incidents.

A.   Nobody likes a snitch. Does neighbourhood watch work?

Q.   Improve social awareness?

A.   This starts with adults who need to pass this onto their children and the younger generation but it’s the adults who are causing the problem in the first place.

 

Some years ago I visited relatives who live in a small town called Altoona in Pennsylvania, USA. They instituted a voluntary system whereby each classroom of children had a designated area of the town and designated dates to go out as a group and pick up litter. In this way they learnt that dropping litter was frowned upon by their elders. The children were supervised by volunteers of both teachers and parents and as a result the town was spotless.

Would it work here? It needs the adult population to get on board and politicians to think outside the box. No hope then.

Gripe over.

On a cheerier note, I had a telephone call early this morning from Kylie Minogue who asked me to have dinner with her one evening. Obviously I said yes but I made it clear I do not kiss on a first date. She was a bit pouty about this but I’ve got principles and stood firm. What a bad time to wake up. If you’re reading this blog, Kylie, I was joking about first date kissing.

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Day 105 - 1st December, 2024

December. Sometimes it seems such a long time ago that I took the first steps of my Charity Walk on that sunny morning in August cheered on by some of my neighbours and the Queen’s Hospital charity volunteers. Other days it seems like only yesterday. I feel like I am now in the “home straight” of my journey which will end on the 24th (I may go on until the end of the year if only to walk off the excess food and drink which I will, almost certainly, ingest over Christmas).

I live on the west side of Eastbury Square and under normal circumstances I would only see the northern side when I walk to the bus stop or the tube station. I rarely have need to visit the east and south sides. Walking three circuits of  the square every day has opened my eyes as to what goes on around the whole of the square that I hadn’t been aware of previously to any degree.

There is rarely a day goes by that another mattress or other piece of household furniture or general debris is not propped up against the railings of the Manor House grounds. It could be cardboard boxes, car parts and car licence plates along with clothes, either in bags or not, along with a myriad of other items that people are simply too lazy to get rid of using the proper channels. Plastic carrier bags are often hung on the railings containing empty drink cans and take-away receptacles along with some of their contents and other random rubbish. A few days later these contents end up strewn across the pavement and roadway creating an ugly mess. Why is this described as ‘fly tipping’? Why not call it by a name that more aptly describes this  behaviour such ‘as anti-social rubbish disposal’?

Oh, and let us not forget the dog poo that is deposited every day often by the same animal whose walker or walkers cannot be bothered to pick up these droppings to avoid unsuspecting pedestrians from treading on it.

Pity our street hygienist Errol who has to constantly clear up the mess, he must despair.

What sort of people are these who are prepared to defile the locality they live in, or are passing through, and spoil it for the rest of the residents? Are these the same people endowed with those other social graces of putting their feet on the seats of buses and trains that they are travelling on?

From what I hear and read this is a nation wide problem and not just confined to urban areas. What can be done about it?

I will continue this topic in my next blog post soon after I have clambered over this discarded push chair. In the meantime answers on a post card please.

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