AN HONOURABLE LIFE

I have not really been much in the mood for writing lately, for several reasons:

I haven’t felt inspired

I have been doing other stuff

My eyes were going all blurry every time I used the computer.

My eye problem has been resolved and I now have a brand spanking new pair of glasses/spectacles, which cost me £189!! This was an expense I could have done without, but then these things always happen when you are looking for money. I am still getting used to them and keep forgetting that I can’t walk around wearing them, as the floor disconcertingly appears to be waving and bubbling as I walk - they are only for reading and the computer. Hurray, I can read without squinting!!

The other stuff I have been doing is, trying and failing to do a Car Boot Sale with my Mum, delivering junk mail – in the pouring rain, still clearing out my attic (It’s a big attic!!) and spending quality time with my boyfriend. The boyfriend has been driving around members of the Saudi Royal Family for the past month. These people don’t expect anyone in their employ to have a normal family life and have you at their beck and call 24 hours a day. Sorry this is just not my thing and you couldn’t pay me enough to not want to spend time with my family – well maybe if I knew it was for a short time, like a month and they paid me a cool million, I might……???? Well I am only human!!

I have been an utter bitch to the boyfriend recently and thought that I should make amends and be extra nice to him. Don’t ask me why I treat him this way, I just do. These bitchy moods don’t last long and he must really love me, because he always forgets that I have treated him badly. ……until the next time. Ha Ha!!

I have been reading my brother’s blog (LONDON CABBY) today and I suppose it was reading his blog, which inspired me to write something.

He writes about one of his passengers a young Asian woman.

“ I picked up a very pretty lady of Asian origin. It looked like she had been out on the town and had a great evening. She had on very trendy and modern clothes and had make-up on although she probably never needed it. By the time we got to her destination a totally different girl got out of the cab and paid me at the window. Gone were all the trendy clothes and gone was all the make-up. In front of me stood a fully kitted out Muslim woman with mask who was probably going into a very strict house where her Muslim parents or a Muslim husband awaited her”

Britain is proud of it’s multi-cultural population and embraces the differences. This is all well and good, but when the differences oppress the rights of women, their rights to make choices and to live their lives without fear of violence or of being ostracized or even murdered, by their families then those differences are to be criticised and something should be done to educate/punish those involved. These so called ‘Honour Killings’ are nothing to do with honour and everything to do with oppression and taking away the right to choose.

People that come to this country want everything good this country has to offer, education, health service and housing. They send their children, boys and girls, to school to be educated in the Western way and to learn about Western customs. These children struggle with their desires to learn about their adopted country and to intergrate themselves with their peers and they also battle with their desire to make their parents/family proud and preserve the customs and culture from their native countries. Suddenly, when their children reach a marriagable age, these very same people go against everything they have let them learn and demand that they suddenly embrace a way of life, which has become alien to them.

The liberal do-gooders in positions of power, in this country, are frightened to do anything about this problem for fear of upsetting a minority of the population who are committing legalised murder. There is nothing honourable in murder!!

LIFE LAUNDRY # 2

It’s been a funny old week – I am still in my Life Laundry mode i.e. cleaning out unnecessary items from my house/life. The attic is looking a whole lot better and I have now managed to clear out at least 10 black bin bags full of clutter, old newspapers and magazines, broken dolls, teddy bears and jigsaw puzzles with bits missing out of the box.

I came across some of the elder son’s schoolbooks from when he was 4 years old; in one of them he had written a story about Michael Jackson. My son absolutely adored Michael Jackson and sang all his songs and watched all his videos. He even got to see him in one of his Concerts in Wembley in 1988!! I thought I would take a picture of his story - who would have known what would happen 20 odd years later!!!







Still up in the attic I came across a Dinky Toy of an Eagle Transporter, which was one of the spacecraft in Space 1999 and series, which I loved to watch in the 70’s. It was a bit battered, so I thought no one is going to want to buy this – how wrong I was – I looked on eBay (flavour of the moment) and found to my astonishment, that these items are quite sought after and even in the state mine was in I could still get around £10 for it!!



I have been a bit obsessed with eBay lately, this is mainly due to having a cash flow problem – no cash is flowing anywhere in my life at the moment. Some cash is coming in from some sales of items, especially some Star Wars toys, which I was hoping to keep for my old age – well obviously this is my old age at 46!! I always thought things got easier the older you get, but maybe I read it in one of my fantasy books, which I love to read – escapism don’t you know!!

Talking about reading – I haven’t done that much of it lately – this is due to the fact that I can’t seem to focus on the writing on the page. I realised about two weeks ago that my eyesight was deteriorating; of course I was in denial for the whole of those two weeks, when I suddenly had an epiphany. If I couldn’t do the thing that I love most (well apart from eating and having sex) would my life be worth living. NO!! So I made an appointment for the optician, and I am, as I write this post waiting for my glasses to be made/prepared, so that I can pick up a book and read it without getting all frustrated and headachy. I am going to look like a proper librarian now, with my pile of books and my specs.



Today I had a very pleasant afternoon at a friend’s house in Harrow. Her daughter is off to the U.S.A to study American Studies for one year at a University - I am not quite sure which one it is although they did tell me. My friend had a farewell bbq for her and there were loads of her friends from Uni there, including her housemates who were all hungover from a heavy night out, last night. The bbq was stupendous and as usual I have eaten too much, although I didn’t try everything. Only the things in red:

Burgers
Sausages
Spare Ribs
Veggie Kebabs (for the vegetarians)
Chicken Kebabs
Salad
Baked Stuffed potatoes with cheese & butter
Roasted Rosemary & Olive Oil new potatoes
Dips and Crisps

For dessert:

Chocolate Fudge Cake
Profiteroles
Strawberries and Cream
Baked Bananas with Chocolate

The last item Baked Bananas, were absolutely scrumptious – very simple recipe:

Take one Banana
Keeping the skin on, split it lengthways – don’t cut all the way through
Stuff the split with pieces of chocolate, whichever kind you like
Wrap in tin foil
Put on bbq for about 10 minutes
Open carefully (very hot!!) put on a plate
Eat with a bit of cream

OH MY GOD – I THINK I HAVE DIED AND GONE TO HEAVEN!!!

What a lovely way to end the day.

Jo xx

MAYBE IT'S BECAUSE I'M A LONDONER

Yesterday I spent several hours trudging around Bayswater, Queensway and Westbourne Grove delivering silly little cards!! It was drizzly and humid - my feet were aching, and my back was aching and my arm was aching and it was a bloody long morning!!




Today – well this morning actually – I have spent a pleasant hour or so, browsing other people’s blogs. I know I have mentioned in the past how much I really love the city I live in London – so I have been looking at blogs about London, with all its beauties and all its quirkiness.

I have added the following to my Blogroll:

Londondailyphoto.blogspot
Londonunderground.blogspot


And to my Links:

Londonist.com

Check these out if you want to find out loads more about London and its inhabitants. I especially enjoyed the candid shots of people on the Underground/tube and their fashion faux pas – great stuff!!

Looking at these blogs has inspired me to get out and do a bit of sightseeing this week, hopefully the weather will improve somewhat. It’s not so much the rain as the lack of light, which is depressing. I hope at least the sun peeps out - everything looks so much better with a bit of sunlight.



Not really in the mood for much today, although I might try giving my bedroom a bit of a makeover. The carpet needs ripping up and the walls need a lick of paint – what I really need is a new bed – I’ve had this one since 1979 and the springs are beginning to fight their way out – this is probably the reason my back is aching most of the time!!

OK, I’m not really much in a mood for posting either so this has been a short one.

See ya!!

Jo xx

LIFE' S RICH TAPESTRY

Someone up there sure doesn’t like me at the moment and just to put a cap on his or her disapproval, the heavens opened and I was drenched!!

This morning I got up at 5am, having gone to bed around midnight – I had been washing and ironing and folding and packing stuff to take to the car boot sale today – I may as well not have bothered. The grand total for the morning’s takings was £7.00!! I kid you not – my mum and I arrived at Aldenham Country Park around 6.30am and by 9am I was back at home feeling just a bit sorry for myself (boo hoo).

To cheer/warm myself up I made myself a nice Bacon, Tomato and Mayonnaise toasted sandwich and a big mug of Coffee – DELIGHTFUL!! Just what a body needs when the endorphin levels are down – a good chunk of Chocolate can help too – but I didn’t have any of that in the house, so I had to make do.

When I am feeling a bit peed off, I tend to pick up a book to read or do a crossword puzzle, today I have done both. I tried doing the Cryptic Puzzle in the Evening Standard, which isn’t really that difficult, but my brain wasn’t really in cryptic mode, so I thought I would read my book instead.

I have already mentioned that I started to read ‘Bend Sinister’ by Nabokov – I am still finding it a little difficult to get into, so I also have ‘My Name is Red’ by Orhan Pamuk and ‘Acorna’s Rebels’ by Anne McCaffrey & Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, on the go.

The former is to read in my bed and the latter to read in my living room. The Anne McCaffrey book is one in the ‘Acorna’ series about a girl who is a mixture of unicorn and humanoid with special powers – I have mentioned before, that I really enjoy this author’s work as she is very descriptive and I find her style of writing very easy to read – Sometimes you don’t want anything too heavy.

I forgot to tell you that last Saturday ‘The Boyfriend’ finally wrenched himself away from work and took me out for a meal. We went to a Turkish restaurant in 80-82 Great Titchfield Street, London, W1, called ‘Efes’. It also has a takeaway section right next door to the restaurant, which is popular with the London Cabbies. I am sure my brother London Cabby knows this place really well - they make great kebabs and as you might know if you read his blog HE SURE DOES LOVE A KEBAB!!

We ate exceedingly well and had the following:

STARTERS/MEZE:

Prawn Cocktail
Hummus
Tzatziki (or whatever the Turkish equivalent is)
Taramosalata
Some other Fishy dip
Hot Cheesey pastries
Hot Liver in a crunchy coating (I DON’T LIKE LIVER)

MAIN COURSE

Lamb Cutlets
Mixed Kebab – Lamb Cutlets, Kofta Kebab, Doner Kebab & Shish Kebab (Boyfriend’s meal)
Rice
Salad

DESSERT

Baklava (sticky pastries with honey and walnut filling)

I also had three dry Martini and Lemonades!! I don’t normally drink as it goes straight to my head, but as I had eaten so much it didn’t affect me in the normal way.

All the above including drinks for ‘The Boyfriend’ came to £50!! Not bad for Central London.

I LOVE GOING TO EAT AND NOT HAVING TO PAY MY WAY.

Gosh talking about all this food has made me hungry again.

Got to go and eat something.

Auf Wiedersehen

Jo xx

LIFE IS FOR LIVING # 2

Yesterday was a bit of mad day here in London Town. It started off with all the airports suddenly closing down – no flights going anywhere and hardly any flights coming in.

Terror Attack – plot foiled!! That was the word from the TV and Newspapers.

I am preaching peace and love today check out this website for information on The International Day of Peace - 21 September 2006.

What I don’t understand is the hysteria that accompanies these events – not the ordinary people, but the security forces.

You can only carry the following onto a plane:

Your keys
Your passport and tickets
A small change purse or loose money
Sanitary items for women (not boxed)

All this must be carried in a clear plastic bag.

If you have a baby and wish to take on their bottle, you must taste the milk in front of the security people to prove that it is milk – you may also take wipes and nappies (which are probably not checked for explosives).

Women are going hysterical because they cannot take on their handbags with all their make-up and other weird and wonderful things that women carry in their capacious sacks - poor dears (she said dripping with sarcasm).

MI5 is our country’s security service, they received information that a terror attempt was imminent and that the explosives would be in a liquid form, so anything resembling a liquid item is barred from being carried through the security checkpoints, but who is to say that when you have passed through the security gates that these explosive cannot be bought in a Duty Free Shop or Pharmacy or any other shop in the airport – how much checking can be done and for how long are these measures going to be in place?

I do applaud and appreciate everything that is implemented for our safety, but believe that no matter how much security is put in place, it will always be the random element that perpetrates the atrocity. No one can work out the random element, because if we could, then most of the suicide bombers/bombers would not have been successful and many people who have lost their lives would have been saved.

What happens when one of these events occur is that suddenly everyone is a suspect, especially if your skin is a darker shade of pale – white people can be Muslim too you know – is our life to be governed by fear and suspicion - I hope not.

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The following is an example of how illogical people can be when they are frightened, it is an exerpt from The Mirror Newspaper.

5 April 2006
AIR TERROR ALERT OVER CLASH HIT
By Jeremy Armstrong

AN ASIAN salesman was hauled off a plane as a suspected terrorist because he was listening to The Clash song London Calling.
Harraj Mann, 24, was quizzed for three hours by Special Branch after his taxi driver overheard the lyrics, which include the lines "war is declared and battle come down".
The mobile phone seller, from Hartlepool, said: "I got a taxi to Teesside Airport and it had one of those things that plugs into your music player.

"I played Procol Harum, Whiter Shade of Pale first, which the taxi man liked.
"I figured he liked the classics, so I put on Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song. Then, since I was going to London I played The Clash and finished up with Nowhere Man by The Beatles.
"He didn't like Led Zeppelin or The Clash but I don't think there was any need to tell the police."
Durham police said: "By the time it was established the man did not pose a security risk, the plane had taken off."

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Things are not completely back to normal today, but at least flights are getting out with some delays – better to be safe than sorry. I have been asked in the past by family members from Spain if I am frightened of travelling after these things have happened and I always reply ‘are you frightened of crossing the road or getting out of your bath/shower at home’, bad things can happen anywhere and at anytime and you can’t and shouldn’t live your life in fear of losing it.

Life is for living – enjoy it while you can.

There endeth the lesson.

Jo xx

STREET LIFE

I am in a bit of a slump at the moment – everything seems to be going wrong – my plans for World domination in the eBay category, have gone sadly awry. Out of 27 items I have put up for sale a grand total of two have actually sold!

Total income from sales:

£10.50

Total outgoings ie. eBay fees:

£14.30

Total Profit:

Minus £3.80

My banking situation is no better – for some reason, which I don’t understand – I have no money left in my account – this is not good – the bank has refused to honour several Direct Debits and has charged me a total of £156 in charges putting me further into the RED. WHY? WHY?

Never to be downhearted for too long, I hopefully will be doing a Car Boot Sale this weekend, which will make my Mum ecstatic as she has been begging me to do a Car Boot Sale with her for ages. I have so much stuff to get rid of I don’t know where to start, but I will probably just grab hold of the nearest stuff and shove it in my car boot – fingers and toes crossed for me please – I need to do well, otherwise selling my sad, saggy and tired old body could become a horrible option!!

Yesterday, I helped out an old friend delivering leaflets (junk mail) door to door – or ‘killing trees’, as my friend Steve calls it. I used to do this years ago, when my children were younger and still at school. It was a good way to socialise, keep-fit and earn a bit of cash. I worked with a couple of other people and we used to cover whole areas of London – some really nice parts, such as Belgravia, Knightsbridge, Chelsea and Kensington and some not so nice parts like Kilburn, Wembley and Harlesden. Yesterday was a nice part and we worked all around South Kensington and Knightsbridge, including around the back of Harrods, Trevor Square, which is a pretty little London square and Montpelier Square and adjoining mews, beautiful little streets. Although it was drizzling first thing in the morning and it was very humid, it was still enjoyable to walk through our lovely little back streets and see a bit of life.

This picture below is of one side of Trevor Square, there is a lovely garden in the middle of the square, which is not in the shot.

Whilst we were out yesterday I saw the Actor Michael Gambon famous for Professor Dumbledore in Harry Potter and The Singing Detective. He was strolling along Montpelier Square minding his own business – he is a very good actor – but he has got massive bags under his eyes!! I was shocked at his appearance and thought he looked completely worn-out – and no I didn’t speak to him or ask him for his autograph – I don’t do starstruck – even though I was a bit!!

We had a lovely tea break at Zanelli’s Sandwich Bar on the corner of Old Brompton Road and Gloucester Road. They only have one table to sit at – it is a tiny place – but they make the best sandwiches! I had a Chicken Escalope on brown bread, with cucumber and mayonnaise and a small latte – lovely coffee too! By the way if you are ever in London and near Harrods, there is a wonderful patisserie called ‘Valerie’s Patisserie’ which you should visit. They have a restaurant at the back, with great looking and polite waiters, who will serve you a variety of specials, sandwiches and best of all wonderful cakes. The prices are not too expensive and it’s a great place to go to for a nice lunch in genial surroundings. Have a look at their speciality cakes, they are fabulous!

As usual I have digressed and diverted on to my favourite topic of food, but since some of my readers have expressed an interest in my eating habits I don’t think I will have too many complaints.

I am off now to do some tidying-up – I have a visitor coming over later at around 3pm and I like the house to look clean and tidy – he is an old work colleague who has come over from Ghana to visit family and friends and he asked if he could pop round for a quick visit – he is about the same age as my elder son and he is a lovely guy – a bit lazy sometimes – but that’s boys for you!!

I am a bit achey today after all the exercise yesterday, I am definitely getting old!!

Creak, creak (that’s my aching joints waving goodbye to you.

Jo xx

SUMMER TIME AND THE LIVING IS EASY

I am finally enjoying my holidays!

The weather has cooled down considerably, which for me is a gift from up above.

I have managed to clear out a load of crap from the house.

My elder son has decided that it is impossible for him to ever have enough money to put a deposit down on a house and has decided to spend money on the one he lives in here and now. This is great for me as I don’t have any money to spend on the house and loads of things need doing.

The first thing he has bought – not a necessity – but nonetheless wanted – is a Philips 32 inch, Flat Screen, LCD, HD ready TV – definitely a man thing! See image below.

I can’t get used the Wide screen function and am amazed at how huge it makes even the skinniest woman’s bottom seem. Elle (the body) McPherson is on an episode of ‘Friends’ and her bum looks massive!! I dread to think how big a normal woman’s behind would look on this and do all the models and film stars know about this, it would certainly make these frail insecure creatures even more self-conscious!!

My son said he would like to get the bathroom done first – we have really bad taps (faucets), which constantly drip and are really difficult to turn. He would like to buy a power shower or something similar – it would be lovely to have a normal shower instead of the dribble that flops out of the showerhead now.

I went to visit my Mum and Dad yesterday evening – my Dad is going in to have a small operation on Friday in Moorfield’s Eye Hospital in Central London, he is having his cataracts done and having a plastic drain (or something) removed from a previous op. My Dad has also been told that he will have to start Dialysis treatment soon as his kidneys are failing, so we had a bit of a chat about how he felt about this and I am glad to say that he was quite upbeat about it – but then considering what he has been through this past year I am not surprised that he takes everything in his stride.

Just as I was about to leave for home, my Mum gave me a mask, which she bought in a Car Boot Sale – for – you guessed it 50p!! She does love a bargain and this one is for me, as I have a small collection of masks from around the World, which I really enjoy finding in flea markets and boot sales. Here is a picture of it and some other pictures of masks around my home and even my garden!!

Today, my sister (Palmers Green) invited me and my son for lunch – she did invite another of my sisters, who wasn’t feeling well and my brother London Cabby, who was still asleep in bed at 1pm (well he was working during the night) – he was a bit miffed that he was missing out on a Lunch, which he didn’t have to cook. I am going to make him more jealous now and show you a couple of photos, which I took of part of the meal.

We had:

Delicious pasta made with minced beef and cherry tomatoes and a lovely sauce.

A beautiful Salad, made with Lettuce, Cucumber, Beef Tomatoes, Peppers, Hard Boiled Eggs, Tuna Fish and Olives.

A small but tasty potato omelette

Garlic Bread

Ciabatta Bread

We were going to have Chicken Fajitas, which my sister had already prepared, but we were so full that I took them home for our evening meal.

For dessert we had a favourite of mine, Pear and Chocolate Torte with whipped Cream. (Sorry about the empty plate, I had to eat it quickly before it got cold – honestly).

My eBay sales are not going too well – out of 21 items I have so far only sold one item, which will probably cover the spending for the insertion of the sales with a little bit left over. I am still optimistic that I will make some decent money as with further research on Star Wars items, I have discovered that I have several rare pieces, which could go for as much as £20 for one figure – I live in hope – well I live in Dollis Hill actually – but you know what I mean!

That’s enough for today.

Vaya con Dios amigos.

Jo xx