Oops, think I let the mantle slip a bit, it’s been oh let’s see about 4 weeks since I wrote anything, but amazingly people from all the world are still reading this blog. Only yesterday there were two visits from Thailand, although I have a feeling that was someone I know!

Well a lot has happened since the ‘Drum and Bass weekend’.  For a start we’ve been away on holiday, and had a lovely weekend in Kent with relatives, it’s all go you know!  On the news front, it’s a been a bit quiet, but then that’s what happens when it’s the summer, the news seems to  centre around insignificant scandals and horror stories that ordinarily wouldn’t get a look in, except of  course the Duchess of Cambridge story, which I’m not going to comment on, except to say that the French just love to try to destroy the Royal Family in some way don’t they?  First Diana in that tunnel and now Kate in the mountains.  It’s as if they are jealous; if that’s the case maybe they shouldn’t have got rid of Marie Antoinette and the rest of the French Royal family.  Those republicans can say what they want about privilege and silver spoons but in my opinion you can’t beat a monarchy (if they are the right sort) to create stability in a country. I suppose the exception to this would be places like Albania who gave monarchy a bad name, treating the population like dirt and living high on the hog.  Eventually it all comes crashing down, and exile is the only way out.  But I digress, would you like to vote for President Blair, Prescott or God forbid President Clegg? No I didn’t think so, the Americans have got it sewn up in the democracy stakes and Presidents but even they dote on our Royal family and deep down probably would like to return to being ruled by us. Only joking chaps, we wouldn’t want to really.

No the Royal family is the best thing about this country despite the cost, which years ago no-one complained about, but then these days everything is money driven, in fact it’s taken over as the new religion, I mean who cares about God these days?  OK, deeply committed Christians yes, but the majority of us have some sort of ‘religion’ which we have to put down on some application forms, mine for example is ‘C of E’ which is meaningless, it just says I was baptised and read the bible a bit as a kid, it means nothing now, although I have to say I believe in Higher Being, but the picture of a bloke in a white gown with a white beard is not in my mind for that.  I recognise that people have got to have a belief system and go to pray every week to an imaginary higher being, who no-one has ever seen nor shown anything his word has actually achieved. It’s all in the mind really.  Did Jesus exist? Discuss.  Someone like him may have done all those things 000’s of years ago, but the stories got distorted as they were written down, change and enhanced, so his ‘miracles’ started out as ‘send reinforcement we’re going to advance’, and ended up as ‘send 3 and 4 pence were going to a dance’.  No religion jokes please.

The good feeling started by the  Olympics and the Paralympics didn’t last long did it, the unions soon spoilt the party with their proposed winter of strikes and demands.  But that doesn’t matter because the feel good factor lasted all of 10 minutes after the final athlete’s parade on Sept 10th, which I went to in my Games Maker uniform.  We stood around in Trafalgar Square for 4 hours and watched all the goings on of the parade of the stars going down the Strand and the Mall, then the Red Arrows flew over and it was all over, feeling a bit deflated actually because it was the last time I shall wear the uniform.  But the Games Maker spirit still lived on, people asked me directions, when the parade was coming through, is this right entrance for Charing Cross?  Nothing changes. It hasn’t necessarily made me want to do more volunteering, I did enough of that when I was a Parish Councillor, but I’m still considering my options for Rio 2016.  Before the parade we went to the Cotswolds, ostensibly to take the balloon flight our girls had bought us for our wedding anniversary, but that didn’t happen on two occasions due to the weather both times, oh well that will have to be next year now.  But we did see some lovely places and all in the best week of the late summer.  We went to Stratford-on-Avon, a place we’ve been to on many occasions but this time we just enjoyed the atmosphere of the place and went on a boat trip up the river. On the Wednesday we went to Warwick castle, a fabulous to visit, a couple of NT houses on the other days and Blenheim palace on the Friday. All in all a great week and all recommended.  The we had a weekend in Kent, I went to the Royal Engineers Museum in Chatham and Fran went to Howlett’s Zoo near Canterbury.  We also saw a look-alike, sound-alike Pink Floyd band in Sandwich in of all places a disused church, which is still consecrated but has been a community venue since 1956!  Plus bought some fresh fish back from Whitstable dockside.  Great weekend, thanks Steve and Bev.

I was going to put some pictures in this blog, but in any case I’ve got some more blogs in progress, so will add some pictures to those.  I’m going to my writers group again this Friday so hopefully some of them will have read my blogs and comment on them, good or bad, we’ll see.