30 September 2016

Updates

The beloved daughter got an emergency locksmith in to fit a new Yale lock (£115). The designer bag with the designer purse (circa £250) contained a ring from a friend in Leeds (£200). It was going to have a new ruby fitted. She cancelled all her cards straight away and her boss was able to loan her his last i-phone for free. So apart from the bitter memory of this robbery and the sick feeling of violation, she's moving on.

Financially, her boyfriend's loss was bigger - a brand new i-pad costing about £600.

Did you know that if you lose an i-phone, it is possible to track it down on a map? The beloved daughter did this and located her phone in a  block of flats two streets away but apparently the police were not interested. I guess the location was too imprecise. They could hardly go ransacking twenty apartments to find her phone.
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Meanwhile in Bolton, Lancashire a greedy beast called Sam Allardyce crept out of his luxury home complaining of entrapment and that he was only "helping out a friend". He was ensnared by "The Daily Telegraph", his greed exposed for all to see. He was the manager of England's national football team for just two months, on a reported £3 million a year salary and yet old habits die hard. He wanted more and he still couldn't find it in himself to deliver a true, heartfelt apology to this football loving country. This will live with him till he is shovelled into his grave. It is obvious that "The Daily Telegraph" didn't target him randomly. They knew what this big-headed man was about. Not so big now are you Big Sam? More like Pig Sam...
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Here in Blogworld, some of us bees are making honey. Regular bloggers like Earl Gray, Steve J. Reed MP, Meike, Tamborine Lee and Red Deer Red leave offerings for their fans quite frequently. But some bloggers have completely dried up or gone away. They may be under the illusion that this is a free world and they can do what they want. They can't. I still miss Daphne Franks, and Friday's Web, Brad the Gorilla and now Tom at "A Hippo on the Lawn". Even garrulous Helen from Brisbane is unproductive these days and old timer Adrian still hasn't sorted out his connectivity. Over in the leafy suburbs of Manchester-on-Irwell, Ian has returned from extinction to resurrect his "Shooting Parrots" blog. I love his witty and thoughtfully constructed "Sunday Round-Up" every week. Please check the last one out here. How come I am the only idiot who has so far left a comment? All that great work deserves many more visitors. STP! Save The Parrot!
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In eastern Aleppo, a four year old child is trapped in the bombsite  rubble. Russian MIGs swoop overhead dropping their costly payloads. "It wasn't us! It wasn't us!" turnip-faced Russian spokesmen declare on behalf of Donald J. Putin. The four year old child's dusty right  arm reaches up through a little hole in the mess of concrete. For a moment, it stretches for the sun or perhaps for help but no one comes. Not even Bashar Hafez al-Assad to save his people so of course he doesn't see that thin arm fall in slow motion as the small child's subterranean heart stops beating. He never learnt the words to "All You Need Is Love".

29 comments:

  1. I confess that I haven't read the Telegraph articles, that would be too depressing, but I was amazed that molst commentators thought Big Sam was simply guilty of naivety, rather than knavery which is what it was. And more revelations to come by all accounts. You'd think with all the money in football, all those involved would have their greed sated, but it only seems to make it worse.

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    1. I have heard that the same sort of greed is present in the daily lives of health service consultancies and administrators.

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  2. Yes, I'm still blogging. I hope to put up my latest ramblings tomorrow, which will be Friday here in the land Down Under. I've got it half finished, or half unfinished...

    I'm glad things have settled down a bit for your daughter (I wrote a further response in your post below).

    What is happening in Aleppo is beyond imagination....the behaviour of some humans is beyond imagination...

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    1. "beyond imagination" - Yes. Aleppo makes my daughter's recent experience seem like a puff of wind.

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  3. So much heartache. Great post and please continue.

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    1. Thank you Krayolarkis and thanks for dropping by this humble blog.

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  4. What a pretty woman your daughter is, and what a nice looking couple! I'm glad this experience is about over for them.

    I would really love to hear from Hippo, but have about given up on that happening. Glad to see Lee is still around!

    I wish I had more time for blogging and commenting on my friends blogs, but a busy work life makes it difficult. I fear I'm a really boring blogger because I rarely have time for writing anything other than quick updates or sharing a photo or two. Such is life, eh? :)

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    1. I like following your blog Jennifer. It is a pity that work gets in the way most weeks.

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  5. No comment is necessary on your last paragraph YP - it absolutely says it all.

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  6. Sorry, YP, I missed your last post about the robbery. It must have been a truly horrible experience and I can only say, I hope she and her boyfriend will soon get back to their normal lives.

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    1. There are worse things aren't there Jenny? Thanks for your kind concern.

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    2. Yes of course, but having something like that happen to you is always unpleasant.

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  7. You are so right about your daughter's situation. Most things can be corrected or reorganized to get back in business but that weird feeling of some creepy stranger in your house is hard to shake. Why is it that some of the best bloggers retire?

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    1. Maybe it is the stress of blogging Red. Only the tough (like you and me) keep on keeping on.

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  8. Your daughter and her young man make a lovely couple - not only because they are very attractive, but because they look so comfortable around each other with their relaxed, unforced smiles.

    Strange that the police did not seem interested on tracking down the iphone. Even if it can't be pinpointed to one particular flat, they could still do a door-to-door and show the thief that they are on his or her track.

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    1. I am afraid that in East London the police have bigger fish to fry and human resources are very stretched. On a list of priorities it seems that yet another handbag and i-pad theft is pretty low down.

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  9. Good to hear that Frances and boyfriend are recovering after the theft. What a beautiful couple they are. He reminds me of someone…..an actor I think but can't place who. Oh, I know, he is a better looking version of a fellow who used to be in Eastenders…..Ronnie's beau for a time!
    Your last paragraph makes me feel very sad. All those poor innocent children who do not deserve any of it.

    I also miss The Hippo. I used to love finding a new post from him and followed his ups and downs with interest. Perhaps he is too busy with the new ( ish) baby, but if you read this Tom, there are many who would welcome you back. You are still on my bookmarks bar! I live in hope.

    I have had a quick look at your Mr. Parrot and will go back there when I have more time……dogs to walk, shopping to be done etc .etc. Have a good weekend.

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    1. All Franceses attract good-looking men.

      Sounds like you are a busy bunny today. Have a nice weekend and maybe start up your own blog - "Frankly Frances". I would visit it.

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    2. I don't think I would be very interesting…all I do is walk dogs and food shop, and help care for an old lady nearby ( that can be stressful at times !) I prefer poking my nose into other peoples lives and making friends with them virtually ! I am actually doing something nice on Monday ( my birthday, but that is incidental). I am going to London with 6 " girl friends". DLR to Island Gardens, walk through Thames tunnel to Greenwich, lunch and shops there, Thames Clipper back to Blackfriars for train home ( Harpenden). Husband at home to look after dog(s). Off now to Oxfam to do money from yesterday! Hey ho, as JG would say.

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  10. Such horrid things going on in our world and so many greedy, corrupt and evil people. It's good to know there are some nice people out there too.

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    1. Yes. It is easy to overlook the nice people even though they form the vast majority of humanity.

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  11. Anonymous10:19 am

    When I see videos from Aleppo I always think of Dresden or Cologne. Why don't we learn?

    Hope your daughter will be able to forget about the burglary quickly, sometimes those memories are persistent, whether we like it or not.

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    1. Though she wasn't physically hurt, I believe she will always remember the robbery. Dresden? Cologne? Maybe Coventry and Hull too? Yes Aleppo does look like that more than seventy five years later.

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  12. Poor Frances, an awful, but not so unusual, experience these days. Awful things happening in the world around us. I'm often made to realise how good my life is and how lucky I am where and when I was born.

    I am missing a lot of the old bloggers too. My reading list does not feature many that continue to blog these days. I find it hard to think what to write these days myself and philosophical posts just aren't me, or in-depth political posts either but you've prompted me back into action today. Let's hope I can keep it going !!

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    1. I am coming over to your place right away Helen. Get the kettle on lass!

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  13. All those non-bloggers, lazy, disorganised or maybe dead, have just been told!

    As a police-person once told me: opportunists abound and they go around looking for a theft of least resistance.

    Aleppo. All this death and destruction sickens me. And I can offer no solutions.

    Alphie

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    1. Death is not a good reason for not blogging. I have pre-prepared enough blogposts to cover sixty weeks if I get squashed by a bus this afternoon.

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  14. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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Mr Pudding welcomes all genuine comments - even those with which he disagrees. However, puerile or abusive comments from anonymous contributors will continue to be given the short shrift they deserve. Any spam comments that get through Google/Blogger defences will also be quickly deleted.

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