This is the kind of thing I enjoy

I have a cold and cannot sleep. This cheered me up.

Age

Over at Tregar Vean the problems of ageing are mentioned. As I am now into my 60th year I have to say I am finding that my body and mind are changing. Here are a few changes.

1. As a youth I would not pass up a chance to go bell-ringing but I would much rather stay in the warm these days. This may improve in the summer.
2. My fingers are starting to get stiff and I cannot play fast pieces as well (not that I ever did do keyboard 'fireworks'). On Sunday it was so cold in church it was all I could do to play the hymns for the school service.
3. I am starting to worry about my legs. I forecast an issue with varicose veins in the not too distant future. I have to make sure I do not eat food too late before I go to be.
4. Once an 'owl' I now go to bed at 0930pm and listen to the radio to unwind. If I stay up too late I am irritable the next day (or two)
5. On the other hand, I am far more patient as a teacher than I used to be. I take the view that shit is always going to happen so one may as well weather the storm.
6. My eyes are not as good as they were, although my optician is very happy with them (oddly)
7. I have various aches and pains which come and go.
8. I get lonely (I live alone)
9. I never remember good things I have done: I easily recall (and they pop into my head) embarrassing things I would rather forget!
10. I want to retire soon but I fear I shall be bored.

Excuses

There is a major problem in the world which is to blame everything on a current issue when things go wrong. Obviously, the current scapegoat is Brexit which seems to be cited as the cause of problems which have not happened yet. Casting my mind back today I thought of these previous issues which have faded into the past. (In no particular order)

• Decimalisation (blamed for price rises)
• Margaret Thatcher (blamed for all that is bad in the UK)
• The BSE crisis
• The Y2K bug
• HIV
• Brexit

I wonder how long Brexit will be retained as an excuse for people not pulling their fingers out!

Sport in the 1970s

My years at secondary school were mainly in the 1970s (I left in 1976). I was not good at sport but there were good reasons which dated back to primary school in the 1960s.

1. When we played football at primary school, it was assumed we knew the rules because we were boys. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Yes, the concept that when the ball gets through the goal mouth of the opposition, one's side has scored - this was clear. However, how one tackles and where one is allowed to go on the field (or not) was never explained.
2. This continued at secondary school where we played rugby, hockey and cricket. The rules of rugby were never explained (except for the 1st lesson when we discovered that a forward pass is not allowed). How to tackle safely was never addressed.
3. As a musician I was always fearful of injury so I guess I was a bit of wimp, but I tried. Yes I tried. I ran when I could and got stuck in: nobody noticed.
4. I hated PE. What was the point of it back then? Climbing a rope was pointless as I did not have the upper body strength to do so. Again technique was never mentioned. I forget other stuff we did.
5. The main reason I hated sport was the communal showers; I doubt these are allowed now. If only the PE staff had realised.

I wish I could go and explain to the PE / sport staff why I did not do well at sport. I think they would be shocked and ashamed of themselves for their 'macho' attitude.

I do wish I was better at sport. I tried golf as a teenager (when I was 16-18) but I was never really shown how to play, even though Dad did his best.

A few years ago I took up croquet but found gripping the mallet gave me very stiff fingers the next day. I dallied briefly with badminton in my early days of teaching when a few of us met on a Friday evening.

In my teens I mainly kept fit by cycling.

Sport - not for everyone.

Letter to my MP

When I voted in favour of leaving the EU I was clear about my reasons.

1. I do not believe the UK should have decisions made on its behalf by an unelected body when many of those decisions seem to be instances of bureaucracy gone mad.
2. I do not feel it is right for the UK to part with vast sums of money which we hand to the EU.
3. Uncontrolled immigration is crippling the country and the NHS in particular. We are full up and good farm land is being destroyed to build housing.

My vote does not imply that I hold racist views. Indeed we do need many of the highly skilled people who do splendid work; many of whom took part in my recent hospital treatment. Conversely, there are plenty of “white” people who I feel we could do without. No, it is all the illegal immigrants and work-shy individuals* we need to discourage (and prevent) from coming here.

My wish for my country is that we stop being “politically correct” and we allow citizens to express views without fear of being branded as backward-looking, or worse. These day it seems that to hold views contrary to the masses is practically illegal. (*Dare I say “Scroungers”?)

Unfortunately, there are many incorrect facts posted on a daily basis on social media such as Facebook. Yet, it does seem to me that we have become a namby-pamby country – too afraid of upsetting people of faiths other than Christian. Do we really house recently-arrived foreigners in luxury hotels when our ex-servicemen struggle to survive?

Whilst I have little to add to the Brexit debate which has not been said already I do hope that you and like-minded MPs will strive to do the following:

1. Oppose the Brexit deal which will see us under EU control with no say in our own affairs and 39 million pounds poorer.
2. Avoid taking your eyes off the current trend to support all things Halal giving scant regard to animal welfare and the notion of the RSPCA – do something about it.
3. Remember the sacrifices made by servicemen in two world wars in order that our country could be free and a haven for right-minded people. Do not allow Brexit to do what two world wars did not.
4. Oppose the gradual introduction of Sharia law by stealth.
5. Do all you can to stop this country being a stupid place because we do not wish to offend the “snowflake” generation.

You will obviously be very busy at this important time. Were I eloquent enough, I should be happy to meet you and discuss the issues which concern ordinary folk such as myself. Failing that, I cling on to my hope that you share similar values to myself and, therefore, I am ably represented in Parliament.

Thank you for reading this.

Brexit

I found this and I will simply leave it here without comment. It will probably annoy somebody.

Why children cannot sing high

Fashions change. When I was young it was common for children to sing in their treble register. These days children dislike trying to sing correctly and are afraid to be heard singing high. Boys do not wish to be compared to girls.

Sadly much of the music they hear is pitched far too low which is fine if an adult is singing. Female vocalists particularly - when they are not really singing very high (say the B above middle C) - SOUND as if they are whacking out a note from the top of their range. (Watch the video below when she gets to her highest note)

Well, partly, they are at the top BUT at the top of their chest voice which they are unable to take any higher. Singers like Adele, who may be genuine altos have some excuse and there is nothing wrong with a female singer having a song which falls within their range. It is sensible. However, many people (and I include school teachers) think young children should emulate the commercial sounds they hear.

Luckily there are enlightened school and plenty of girl choristers who sing high.

Just having a rant.