YesBut how can I speed up my computer?

One of my pastimes is to visit message boards especially those devoted to technical forums. I admit at the onset, I’m very much a dummy rather than a geek. But I like reading about Firebox extensions and Plugins, don’t understand a word of what I’m reading, but I admire people’s ingenuity and technical skills.

One of the main questions asked on message boards is “how can I speed up my computer?”

I have had YesBut’s computer boffins to address the problem, with the additional requirement it must be easily applied even by the most inept and computer illiterate person (i.e. me).

Edward de Bono, the pioneer of “lateral thinking” tackled a similar problem some years ago. The problem he had to address was:

For the fifteen minutes before the start of the workday at a large office block, and again at the end of the working day, large queues formed for the lifts (elevators). There was no room to install additional lifts, nor any method of speeding up the existing lifts. How could the congestion be relieved?

Phasing the starting times was one option, but it would have unacceptable disruptive effects on interdepartmental activities. The solution was simple and inexpensive. Mirrors were installed in all the lift lobbies. People were so busy looking at themselves in the mirror; they no longer noticed the time taken waiting for a lift.

So back to the speeding up a computer problem.

It takes about a minute from the time I switch on the computer to the time the Windows XP bing bong sounds and I can click to open my account. It then takes another three minutes to (I think the jargon is) boot-up, and I can surf the internet. So applying the mirror solution. I start up the computer, go into the kitchen fill the electric kettle and switch it on. Go back to the computer, click to open my account. Return to the kitchen and make my breakfast. Return to the computer which by then is up and running and ready to go.

That solution is OK at the start of the day, but what about during the day? There you are up and running wanting to post your blog, and your computer has sneaked off to its private dreamland. No problem, have a book of Sudoku puzzles at hand. Direct your attention to finding the missing numbers and forget about the computer. Or get yourself one of those executive desk toys - click your Newton’s Balls. Simple

Another thing you can do is click here see today’s YesBut’s Images, then when your computer has its little siesta, think about a caption.

YesBut what's the local news?

Last Monday I shared with you a few stories from around the world reported in local papers. I asked you to let me know of any interesting or amusing stories from your local newspaper. The response was overwhelmingly underwhelming. But YesBut isn’t so easily put off, so I’ve done another troll of the internet.

From the Northern Territory News, Australia - “Naked snaps wake teen”. “A TERRITORY woman is scared to be alone in her home after a man poked his arm through her window and took photos of her naked as she slept.”

The Ashley News Observer, Arkansas. “Four members of family arrested in for-day period” .“The Ashley County Sheriff's Department, the Arkansas State Police and the Crossett Police Department recently arrested four members of one family in four days."

The Evening Times - Scotlands top selling evening paper. “My new kitchen collapsed on my head”. “A WOMAN had a lucky escape when her newly-fitted kitchen units collapsed on her head and knocked her to the floor."

The Agassiz-Harrison Observer, British Columbia. “Village buys inflatable dikes”. The Village of Harrison Hot Springs is the proud new owner of 1.7 kilometres worth of inflatable dikes called Aqua Dams“.

Bournemouth Daily Echo, Dorset, England. "Drivers subjected to tirade of abuse by car park man.” CUSTOMERS of a Bournemouth car park were shocked when an attrndant unleashed a barrage of insults and expletives at them."

Apologies for the thought that flashed across my mind at reading the Agassiz-Harrison Observer’s headline.

Click here to leave your suggested caption for YesBut’s Image of the day.

YesBut nothing remains the same.

In my 11th May blog “Tag that” I made reference to how the City of London skyline is changing so quickly. As I looked out of my window I could see 29 tower cranes, busy demolishing and replacing buildings built in the 1960s.





The two photographs were taken nine months apart, on the 12th August 2006 and 12th May 2007. Can you spot the difference - apart from it being sunnier in May? (Click on the photographs to have an enlarged view).

Fortunately Wren’s St Paul’s Cathedral remains in place, as does Tower 42 (formerly known as the NatWest Tower) the tallest building in the City of London, and the Swiss Re Centre (known affectionately as “The Gherkin”. And Blackfriars Bridge still spans the Thames. So what has changed?

Let me give you some close-up views.






















At least two buildings have been demolished and a new one under construction. And a lot more tower cranes!!









Fortunately, even in a dynamic bustling city there are still peaceful locations to be found. Click here to see such a place in London.

YesBut what’s the news today?

I love a good rant, what would life be without them? I was pleased when YesBut’s Wales correspondent drew my attention to the article in this weeks Llanelli Star newspaper. The headline is:“Childish Ranting”. It’s a letter from Councillor John Jenkins and starts

“There’s going to be a shortage of crayons in Llanelli if Councillor Eric Smith is going to keep writing his ridiculous, childish ranting letters to the Llanelli Star. At the risk of incurring Eric’s wrath, I feel the need to respond to his letter”.

Isn't that a great rant against ranting? The rest of the letter is about local politics and only of interest to the two Councillors

We have all sat in front of our computers and thought “what can I blog about today?” no problem if nothing comes to mind. But each week the editors of local newspapers, such as the Llanelli Star, have to fill their pages. A challenge in a small town where nothing much happens. The only exciting story I recall the Star reporting this year is, during the night someone climbed up the sign in a garage forecourt and altered the price of petrol! Exciting or what?

I thought I would surf the net and see what other thrilling stories were being reported in local papers.

The Mercury - the voice of Tasmania reported under the headline “Gentle tug and its free” - a tug boat stranded on a beach at Burnie has been freed. That’s a relief; I was really worried it might be stuck there permanently.

The Burlington Hawk Eye - Iowa’s oldest daily newspaper had the headline “Couple sues Wal-Mart over slip in vomit”. Yes well that’s enough of that story.

The Evening Mail - reporting on events in North-West England under the headline “Bin Collections To Stay Weekly”.

”Barrow town hall chiefs are set to bin plans to pick up rubbish every fortnight. Much to the relief of residents, Barrow Borough Council looks likely to continue with its once-a-week collections”.

Collection of household rubbish has been a national story in the UK. Councils are proposing to make fortnightly collections with limits set on how much rubbish each household will be allowed to put in their bins.

The Daily News, Fairbanks - the voice of Interior Alaska since 1903, had the headline “Grizzly killed off Farmers Loop”. The report states:

“A Fairbanks man shot and killed a grizzly bear early Thursday morning off Farmers Loop, just a mile or two north of town, when the bear and its siblings expressed an interest in his backyard farm“.

B.T Bear who frequently visits this site will be upset by the story; but I bet the editor of the Llanelli Star would love to report on the shooting of a grizzly!

If you have an interesting or amusing story in your local newspaper, please let me know.

Enough excitement for today. If you want a little more click here and post your caption entry on YesBut’s Image.

YesBut which one?

How do you choose which computer or camera to purchase?
The idea for this blog came to me earlier in the week, when I saw litter bins full of discarded self-destructing folding umbrellas. You know the type, made in China, one gust of wind and they turn inside out with the spokes buckled.

The choice is between buying a cheap umbrella for a £1 or a good quality folding umbrella for £30. Which one would you buy and why?
In the winter a cheap umbrella might last a month. So for a six month winter period you’ll have to buy six umbrellas. That means you could buy 5 years worth of cheap umbrellas for the cost of one good one. However that has to be offset by the annoyance of an umbrella junking itself in the middle of a rain storm. So it’s a question of balance between cost and satisfaction of usage.

The choice of umbrellas is simple and a low cost investment. But how do you choose a computer, or some other piece of technical kit?

I took for ages, (and I really mean ages and ages, measured in years rather than months) to decide which computer to buy. It was like trying to run up a down coming escallator. New computers with improved specifications were being released weekly. My eyes glazed over and my mind went into comatose state on reading:

Intel Celeron-M 370 1.5G Hz chip

1 GB DDR2 RAM, 60 GB hard drive

Multiformat DL DVD +-R/+- RW

What in the name of sanity did it all mean?

Pointless asking the “expert” in the shop or even a friend for advice. There explanations just flew straight over my head.

I finally did take the plunge and bought a computer. Based on that experience I discovered the Golden Rule of Buying:

If you can afford it buy the cheapest.

That’s it - If you can afford it buy the cheapest.

But you might say, the rule should be “buy the best you can afford”. Yes but what is the best?

Let me explain:

If you are buying your first computer or digital camera, friends and acquaintances can recommend the one they use. They can eulogise on speed, compatibility, functionality etc. But these are merely words. You will not know what piece of technical kit suits you until you try it for yourself.

What is the difference between a “Dummy” and an “Expert” - knowledge. The acquisition of knowledge costs time and money.

Hence the golden rule, buy the cheapest, use it become frustrated or satisfied by its functionality. Get to know, through experience what you consider to be essential, optional and unnecessary. Become aggravated or be contented on how long it takes to boot up, or how long it takes to do things. Learn about its limitations and importantly the reasons for those limitations.

For £250 ~ US$500 you can buy a very basic PC, £350 ~ $700 for a laptop. Even if within months you become dissatisfied with it, it will never be wasted money. You can always sell it, or keep it to back up (store) your files.

PC or laptop? If you are only going to use a computer in one location in your home, go for a PC. If you want mobility of use both in your home and at other locations then it has to be a laptop.

What about buying a digital camera? That will be the subject of tomorrows blog.

But in the mean time you can help me. Click here and suggest a caption for YesBut’s Image of the day.

Growing and nourishing blog traffic.

Yesterday I identified three key factors to be borne in mind when considered the content of your blog:

• Know your likely and your target readership
• Know what image of yourself you want to project
• Know your subject and tailor it to suite your targeted readership.

Once you have decided on the subject you want to blog about, even if it is a specialist subject, try to broaden the coverage to make it interesting to Europeans and Americans alike. Present yourself in an appropriate persona for the subject covered.

Now as promised the most important factor to consider - the hook.

Your blog must have a hook, to encourage readers to make repeat visits. It doesn’t matter how good the blog might be, it will not grow a readership without a hook.

It’s like trying to fill a bucket, with a hole in, with water using a cup. Even if it’s a gold cup it will not fill the bucket.

Once someone has visited your blog, you have to, not only get them to bookmark your blog, but give them something that will make them want to pay return visits. How can this be done?

When you are reading a novel, and you are about to get to the end of a chapter, you might decide to finish the chapter then put down the book and do something else. A good author writes into the last paragraph a hook which makes you want to keep on reading the next chapter.

If your blog is about your family, you must make the reader interested in each member and care about them. Don’t build a wall at the end of the blog. Leave a half open door, tantalisingly showing what might happen next, encourage the reader to return. All the better if you can start a dialogue using the comment facilities. If a reader makes an interesting point, then try to use that, (giving due credit to the reader), in your next entry.

If you are blogging on a specialist subject, provide relevant, accurate and up-to-date information. Make your blog a reference resource for your readers.

David McMahon has devised a novel hook for his blog, with his Aussiejourno’s Weekly Blog Awards, it encourages bloggers to visit the blog to see if their blog is ranked in the top 50.

The above and yesterday’s blog entry was provided in the hope it will assist dedicated bloggers increase traffic to their blog. But remember most bloggers blog to satisfy their creative urge. Enjoy the blogging process and let the number of hits be of secondary importance.

At this point I could gently slip in a hook, and say there is one guaranteed way of ensuring having a high hit rate to your blog. But I’m sure as a serious blogger you wouldn’t be interested in adopting the tactic.

Good luck with your blog - enjoy.

Click here to see YesBut’s Image of the day.

YesBut no more UN

There’s been a gradual build up of internal pressure since I posted my blog “YesBut the United Nations is the pits” on 12th May. As is the way of such things, uncontrolled it could have manifested itself as a fart, but harnessing the energy its become a rant.

Do you know what the United Nations annual budget is? Unfortunately one click on Google doesn’t give the answer. But the current operating budget is estimated at $4.19 billion. There are three budgets:

• The UN regular budget covers among other things the cost of the General Assembly, Security Council and the Secretariat.
• The “Voluntary funding” pays for UN Development Program, World Food Program and the UN Children’s Fund(UNICEF).
• The UN peacekeeping budget.

It’s unnecessary to get bogged down in too much detail; because it’s universally accepted that the United Nations has ceased to function - doubt if it ever did.

Why if there is such unanimous agreement is it allowed to continue? There are only two parties with sufficient power to instigate change: the USA and the European Union (EU).

France and the United Kingdom will stop the EU doing anything. Why? Their veto in the UN Security Council is the only vestige they have of their former “World Power” status. They know in any reorganised UN or replacement organization they will be ranked among the minnows. The USA makes a whopping $423 million (22%) contribution to the UN Regular Budget, why doesn’t it do something to get its money’s worth? Simply, it doesn’t have the moral authority to propose change. All it can do is withhold payments.

The United Nations will proceed in its usual corrupt inept dysfunctional manner, until there is a USA President with enough courage and moral gravitas to call a halt.

The World does need a forum, where hopefully arguments between nations can be settled, through discussion not war, unfortunately the Security Council and before that the League of Nations have failed. For it to function it must operate above the influence of individual countries or power blocks. It must also have the power to enforce its decisions - without that its merely a talking shop. Though people would be happy with “jaw, jaw, jaw rather than war, war, war”.

It would be perverse to say everything about the UN is wrong! There is one arm of the UN which does function - the International Court of Justice. As for the rest, scrap the lot. You might protest: what about the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, the UN Environmental Program or the UN Development Fund and UNICEF. Undeniably their objectives are sound and desirable, but in practice their implementation is bogged down in corrupt inefficient bureaucracy - they function primarily on who you know rather that what you know.

YesBut's hard life, pressure build-up on the inside, rain on the outside, click here to see.

YesBut I blog on in hope

I was nearly on the point of deciding to put this blog on ice, switch off my radio and TV and go on silent retreat in a Trappist monastery for seven weeks. Anything to get away from seeing Gordon Brown trying to convince the British populace he is going to be a touchy feely empathetic Prime Minister. Of course he’ll never achieve it, he looks too sinister.

Tragically as a child he lost an eye in a rugby football accident. Also he has the habit of pushing out his jaw as if he is trying to dislodge a piece of gristle stuck between his teeth after eating a small baby. Using the good Scottish word he is “dour”. He literally is and looks to be the child of the manse - someone who is suffering, having sat through too many hell and damnation sermons. He is a suit and tie man, not for him casual wear.

In the mean time the lying slimy toerag Blair is going to spend the next seven weeks flying around the world. He will be trying to improve the image of the “Blair Legacy”. He wants to be seen as a bringer of peace and understanding. The only thing his trips will achieve is to increase global warming. Even if in the next seven weeks he manages to walk on water and change water into wine; he and Bush will always be remembered for being responsible for one the biggest foreigner policy blunders of all time, and being the architect of suffering, death and destruction in Iraq.

Click here to see even the London sky feels depressed about the thought of the next seven weeks.

YesBut blog on blog on with hope in your heart and you’ll never blog alone.

YesBut it's Sunday

Have I gone deaf? No, it’s Sunday and the City streets are quiet. Commuters are in their homes, performing their Sunday rituals: sex with the wife, reading the Sunday newspapers, washing the car and then a gentle stroll to the pub for a pint, then home for lunch. Another typical English Sunday.

I drawback the bedroom curtains, dull grey day. The river Thames flows by green brown. Sunday Monday Tuesday, May June July, 2007 2008 2009, all the same for this historic river which has witnessed over a millennium the building of a city on its banks, passed by unconcerned as angry Members of Parliament have debated world events in the Palace of Westminster. Now tourist boats bob on its service where previously tramp steamers have brought goods from a far distant Empire.

Things are beginning to stir, a group of cyclists pass south over the bridge on a sponsored cycle ride - £1 may be £5 collected for charity for every bridge crossed. The walkway by the Thames is still tourist free; they are still ensconced in their Hotels and Bed & Breakfast establishments. Grease is wiped from chins dribbled there while eating their full English Breakfast of bacon, egg, sausage baked beans and to ensure their cholesterol gets a boost fried bread.

“Where shall we go?”. Too dull for a walk in Hyde Park,. The shops in Oxford Street don’t open until 11 o’clock. “How about Tate Modern or Petty Coat Lane Street market?”


May, it started so warm and sunny now it’s so dull. Let’s go back to bed.

At least one person is out and about. Click here to see more.

YesBut the United Nations is the pits

This morning I read that Zimbabwe has been elected to head the United Nations commission on Sustainable Economic Development (CSD). This I find obscene, an insult to Zimbabweans and a condemnation of the UN.

I have been examining the concept of morality in my blog YesBut Thinking Aloud. I felt compelled to deliberate on the subject, by the apparent decline over the past decade of a moral code in public life.

Inflation in Zimbabwe is currently running at 50% per month, the highest in the world. This means the price of a loaf of bread doubles every two months. Or put another way, the value of people’s wages halves every month. Despite reporting restrictions the outside world has seen the suffering of the populace.

At independence Zimbabwe was the Garden of Eden of Africa, with a flourishing export trade to Europe in fruit, flowers, vegetables and tobacco. Yes at the time of independence there were fast inequalities between the minority white farmers and their black workers, which had to be addressed. But Mugabe took the opportunity to transfer ownership of the farms to his friends and supporters who had no farming experience. Within a few years the farming sector and the economy had been decimated.

But the target of my indignation is the leadership of African nations. The majority of which are corrupt. When taking decisions they have two criteria the first: maximising the amount of money they can channel into their private bank accounts, the second not to be seen to be doing anything in support of former Colonial countries. This is particularly the case in the UN, African countries vote in block, irrespective of the rights and wrongs of the case.

The United Nations is a toothless talking shop devoid of all moral authority, a complete waste of money. Corruption and miss-management in the organisation is endemic, it is beyond hope and should be disbanded.

What is this man guarding?

YesBut its time to go home

Mrs YesBut is starting to pack her bag ready for the journey home tonight.

I’ve failed to acquire ear plugs, but remembered to buy an orange. So if a passenger starts snoring on the homeward journey, I’ll have a solution.

Because the coach starts from Amsterdam, it’s normally given extra special attention by the UK Customs and Immigration. Our passports will be examined by UK Immigration Officers based at Coquelles near Calais. Invariably most passengers don't hold European Union passports, so there is a lot of scrutiny. Last time we travelled, we were delayed for over an hour while a West African gentleman, searched through his luggage to find documents to prove the two year old child travelling with him was his son. Of course any delay means we miss the Eurotunnel shuttle, so the coach and passengers have to wait for the next train with free space. Fortunately this time of the year, the trains aren’t fully booked.

When we finally arrive at Folkestone, our passports will be examined yet again by UK Immigration. Then we will have to unload all our luggage, lug it into the Customs Hall. While it’s being examined sniffer dogs search the coach for drugs. I’m still waiting for some hippie type dude approaching me to ask “Help me out man, carry my guitar and this potted plant, I bought as a present for my dear old mother, through Customs for me”. It just goes to prove you shouldn’t judge a person by appearance. There I had assumed the long haired bearded individual was a drug smuggler, while all along he was a devoted son!

Last time I flew into Heathrow Airport, I was minding my own business walking through the “Nothing to declare channel“, when the passenger in front of me was stopped by Customs. He completely lost his cool and accused the Officer, “The only reason you have stopped me is because I’m black. You wouldn’t have stopped me if I was white”. It was just my luck! As a gesture and to shut the complaining passenger up, I was stopped and asked, very apologetically, to open my cases. I have no problem with being stopped, the only annoying thing is, despite the combined efforts of Mrs YesBut and myself we can never seem to get all the contents back into the cases! It’s really embarrassing trying to pack your underwear and things in public. I suppose it’s even more embarrassing for passengers who have purchased items from Amsterdam sex shops.

So its going to be another sleepless night tonight

Click here to see today’s image - others making their way home.

YesBut what a journey.

I think Eurolines must have a group of highly trained individuals whose sole reason for existence is to make my life a misery.

Mrs YesBut and myself left London by coach last night to travel to Holland. As soon as the coach moved off from Victoria Coach Station, the woman seated in front of us started a series of phone conversations. I don’t know why she used a phone, because she was speaking so loud her relatives in the North of Scotland could have heard her. It was incessant yak yak until we reached the Channel Tunnel. Thank goodness phones don’t work in the tunnel.

I don’t particularly like travelling through the tunnel. It’s like being broiled in a cigar tube. I prefer when the coach crosses by ferry from Dover. OK sometimes the crossing can be rough, and in really bad conditions sailings are delayed. But at least on the ferry you can walk around, have a cup of tea, wander around the duty free shop and go to the toilet. But going by the Eurotunnel you just have to sit on the bus as it is transported by train.

As soon as we got into the tunnel, the snorers started. Why is it ever time we travel, there is a World Champion Snorer on the bus? They are normally fat men whose snore starts at their toes and gains in volume as it resonates up through their body, until it is finally expelled with gusto out of their cavernous wobbling foul smelling breath flabby mouth. The one we had on last nights coach was a real champion, he could simultaneously snore and whistle.

I sat there getting more annoyed devising ingenious plans to shut up the snorting pig. I could tap him on his shoulder to wake him up, and ask him politely not to snore. Or I could stuff an orange in his mouth, (I’ll have to remember to add an orange onto my list of essential requisites). Perhaps I could shout “stop”, the driver would break, and the snorer would be catapulted out of the bus.

Absolute torment sitting there for six hours feeling wretched, exhausted but unable to sleep because of that ##### snorer. What a relief when he got off the coach at Breda.

But would you believe it, the coach stopping at Breda woke up the woman in the seat before us. Suffering from withdrawal symptoms having not made a phone call for eight hours, she was immediately on the phone.

What dastardly act did I commit in the past that I am punished now?

For the return journey, as well as an orange I’ll need to put ear plugs on my must get list.

Click here to see today’s image - please sit here

YesBut pack up

Mrs YesBut and I are going to Holland tonight.

For a week Mrs YesBut has been rehearsing her packing. Every time we travel, she goes through the same ritual. Mrs YesBut collects, on the spare bedroom bed, all the cloths and things she thinks she will require. She then packs all the items. Then unpacks. Then repacks all the items in another case. Then unpacks. This cycle of activity continues until she is satisfied she has selected the most appropriate bag.

Then she asks me to put on the bed, all the things I want to take, with strict instructions to keep them to a minimum. Then she goes through the process of deciding whether one bag will be sufficient or whether we should have to take two separate cases. All very time consuming, that’s why she has to start a week before the departure date.

After she has finished I have a rummage through what she has packed. “Why do you want to take a box of salt?”. “And what’s this jar of Lemon Pickle doing here?”. ”Bananas!?”. All the contraband is removed.

After the final pack is completed I add the essentials: a box of Twinings Chai teabags, a jar of honey to sweeten my chai, a container of drinking chocolate for my bedtime drink, a box of coffee mate for the chocolate drink and finally a jar of peanut butter for breakfast - the absolute minimum essentials.


Click here to see today’s image - memories of wetter days

YesBut Passing moment, present moment

When I go out I carry a small digital camera with me. I’m not a good photographer because I miss the moment. As I walk along I see an image and think:

“That will make a good photo, YesBut”.

But that’s as far as it goes, I don’t convert the thought into action. If I was a goalkeeper I’d see the ball being kicked, but would stand still as it rolled by my feet into the goal.

If only I had stopped and taken the photo I would be a famous photographer by now. But invariably I see the image and walk on. Sometimes I would try to salvage the situation and go back, but “The moment” has past.

Same with topics for this blog. Have a thought in the middle of the night, instead of writing it down on a notepad, I scratch myself turnover and go back to sleep. Another literary masterpiece lost for ever!

Life is like that, a series of missed moments. The only comfort is the realisation if I had responded differently to any of those moments I wouldn’t be where I am now - and frankly I am very happy with this present moment typing this blog - its just as well that I am, because:

“Right here, right now things cannot be other than as they are”

Click here to see today’s image - a bridge to culture

YesBut time is nearly up.

On 2nd May, Tony Blair will celebrate being British Prime Minister for ten years. I guess he will be in a very small minority, the vast majority of the populace are just waiting for him to resign - its been a long time coming.

Blair will resign as Leader of the Labour Party later this week, or possibly as late as next. As soon as Labour elects a new Leader - which will take about five weeks - Blair will offer his resignation as Prime Minister to the Queen. She will then - though she doesn’t have to - invite the new Leader of the Labour Party to form a Government.

What will Blair do after he moves out of Downing Street? Undoubtedly write his memoirs - to remind everyone how great a Prime Minister he was. He will make a heap of money on the speaking circuit in the USA - justifying the invasion of Iraq. Then what?

A man with an ego the size of Blair’s will want to remain in the public eye. A career as a TV pundit is out of the question - it would guarantee the turn off of every TV in the UK. With a bit of luck, he’ll see his future lies across the water in the USA, and we will get rid of him - but I can’t see Cherie Blair giving up her carrier to live in the USA.

Its popular for ex US Presidents to set up their own Private Foundation. And let’s face it Blair has always thought of himself more as a President than Prime Minister. How ironic if the Prime Minister who has taken this country into more wars than any previous Prime Minister, establishes a Foundation for World Peace. Yes that could be the kind of thing he would do in keeping with his self-image of being a saint. No he will want to remain on the “World Stage”.

Lets think, working for the European Union? No way the French would veto that. The United Nations? The man who ignored the UN when with Bush he invaded Iraq. Nope

I don‘t care what he does, as long as we never hear or see him again.

YesBut click here to see today's YesBut's image

YesBut how about nice cup of Chai?

I have to eulogies the glory of Twinings Chai, described on the packet as “a tea with the mellow flavour of Indian spices”.

To say “drinking a cup of Chai“ is an understatement, it is a ritual. The boiling of the kettle with the puffs of steam. The selection of the cup. Pouring the boiling water into the mug. The gentle lowering of the teabag into the still steaming water. Then there is the wait as the black tea with the additional flavours of cinnamon, cloves, ginger and star anise infuse for five minutes - watching as the crystal clear water slowly turns into liquid gold. Removing the tea bag, allowing the last few drops to drain into the cup. Adding just a dash of milk, before finally stirring in three-quarter teaspoon of pure natural set honey. Initially taking just a sip and tasting the rich black tea, waiting as the taste buds slowly detect a hint of the added spices followed by the honey sweetness which mingles in the mouth.

Sweet Chai brew is also produced by Yogi Tea, but to my taste the drink is too dominated by the spice flavours and does not have the required sharp contrasting taste of black tea.

I wish I could be as enthusiastic about other Twinings infusions, but regrettably I cannot. Its Lemon & Ginger tea is a misnomer. Undoubtedly to comply with the Trades Description Act it must contain some ginger, but in such small quantities it is hardly detectable. The same can be said of its Ginger, Orange & Honey infusion, which tastes like very diluted hot apple cider, with an orange peel tang - I’m being polite. I could compare it to cat’s pee. But having never drunk cat’s pee I would be doing it a disservice in comparing it to Ginger, Orange & Honey infusion.

But for now I sip my Chai, perfection - and all is well with the World. And I can concentrate on writing my blog.

Today's Image - Heatwave

It must be true if the newspapers say so, click here to see.

YesBut it was acceptable language then.

I endevour to avoid offensive language in my blogs. It is used only when unavoidable in the context of the subject of the blog. Today’s blog does contain very offensive racist language. To enable you to choose whether to read the offensive passage, a further warning is given immediately prior to the offending four lines in the blog.

At the weekend I came across an autograph book given to my maiden aunt on her 17th birthday in 1919. The pages are filled with messages, sketches but mainly poems written there by her friends. All very innocent. Her own entry was the verse:

The eye that never shed a tear
A now rusty sawing needle is threaded through the page.

On another page, IR in July 1920, stuck an envelope on a page, outside is written “For Ladies Only”, lift up the flap and inside is written “Aren’t Men Inquisitive?”

On the last page Elsie Davies on 4th August 1919 wrote:

By hook or by crook I will be the last To write in your book.

D. Jones wrote:

Smile awhile
And while you smile, another smiles
And soon, there’s miles and miles of smiles
And life is worth while
While you smile.

All very innocent, which makes turning the page and reading the next verse written by A. Williams, even more shocking and offensive:

God made the niggers
He made them in the night
He made them in a hurry
And forgot to make them white.

Let me place the verse in the context of the time and the people who wrote in the book. My Aunt was born in 1902 into a Welsh devout protestant (non-conformist) Christian working class family. The family members and her friends would have worshipped at a Welsh Methodist Chapel at least twice on Sundays and in addition attended two Bible Study / Pray meetings each week.

Each week they would have made a financial contribution to the Methodist Missionary Society to “help the poor little blacks in Africa and the little slant-eye yellow children in far off China”. The money would have been given, to compensate for God’s failure to have ensured that these poor children hadn’t been born Christian, and in gratitude that they had been born not only into a Christian family but also Welsh - and everybody knows they only speak Welsh in heaven.

Unlike today, the verse would not have attracted any undue attention - “poor little black children they deserve our love and sympathy”.

YesBut they are true heroes

So, seven hours after the start, the London Marathon is over for another year, no it’s not. Yes most of the spectators have gone home, the workers are removing the crowd control barriers and the road sweepers are cleaning the roads, but there are a few runners still out on the course, making their agonising way towards the finish.

Over five hours after Martin Lel won the men’s race and Zhou Chunxiu the women’s, the true heroes are digging deep to find the last ounce of energy to carry their weary painful body to the finish line on their rubbery legs.

Enough words, I give you the men and women of courage:



































Click here to see more photograhes taken during the day

YesBut run on

Londoners are not in favour of hosting the 2012 Olympics, mainly because they resent having to make a contribution to the estimated £9.3 billion costs. (Yes £9,300,000,000 that's US$18,600,000,000 a lot of ‘0s’).

But their attitude to today’s London Marathon is so different, maybe because it is sponsored by Flora and is not a burden on the tax payers!No they love it because it's such a great event. Londoners will join with tourists to cheer on and encourage the runners. They do not care who wins the race, every runner is treated as a winner, their attention is on the fun runners who through sponsorship will collect millions of pounds for charities. It claims to be the largest annual fund raising event in the World; last year £41.5 million was raised for charity.

Families will be there shouting encouragement, “come on dad only two miles to go”, “go Mom go we are proud of you”. Runners drained of all energy will be revitalised by the love and warmth radiating from the spectators.

And now it’s time for me to go to join the crowds and shout my encouragement, “your nearly there, go go go, you can do it”.