See you next year.

Christmas is always a busy time for me. As well as all of the seasonal frippery, it is a time that I am able to indulge in some of my favourite pastimes, catch up with old friends and visit family over the Christmas period. This is possible as the winter  is my least active time work wise. So from now until January I'll be game shooting, rough shooting and doing a bit of predator fishing; locally and hopefully in the fens, as well as the requisite drinking and smoking that goes with it. In essence, I'll be living life as it should be lived - without interference.

The blog will be on hold until then, but when it's back I'm intending to make a few changes.
Until then I hope that all who happen to visit this blog have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Olympian security efforts..............

As the news breaks that we are to be subject to a form of Olympic martial law, I wonder what the real agenda is here? Last nights news made the point that we would have more fully armed soldiers on 'security duties' during the Olympics, than are currently serving in Afghanistan.

This will involve more than 13000 personnel and include warships on the Thames and jet fighters in the sky. Because we are told that the Olympics are a terrorist target we are supposed to accept this without a murmur, on the basis that the government knows best and is doing everything that it can to 'keep us safe'.

Bucko makes some good points at his place, so I'm not going to rehash all of that. I will make the following points though.

We live in a society that has an artificial negative view of guns, we are told that they are unnecessary and that people who have them are either criminals or potential criminals. Britain has some of the most draconian gun laws in the world.

The Olympic facilities built for the shooting disciplines will be demolished after the event, the government does not want to seen to encourage shooting.
Shooting sports were excluded from the schools ticket allocation, the government does not want to seen to encourage shooting.
TV reporting of shooting will be minimal and probably only feature medal ceremonies,  the government does not want to seen to encourage shooting.
Contestants weapons will be transported to the facilities under an armed escort, the government does not want to seen to encourage shooting.

Contrast with this;

Armed police will be present at all the Olympic events.
Armed soldiers will share security operations with the police.
The military will be under police command.
If you are visiting the Olympics, you will effectively be searched at gunpoint.
If you are found to have the wrong brand of drink or the wrong logo on clothes they will be removed at gunpoint.
If you object you may be ejected at gunpoint.
You will be controlled at gunpoint.


The government does not want to seen to encourage shooting. It is encouraging the use of firearms to control the population. It is encouraging the acceptance of policing by force with the support of the military. Do they know something we don't? I don't believe that this is just about security at the Olympics. I think it is practise for something else.

Chavton Murder!

If you decide that you will not do something then it is surprising how often your attention will be forced on the very thing that you are trying to avoid. So my efforts to avoid the news and focus on other things have been thwarted by someone managing to get themselves killed not too far away from my front door.

A dad was stabbed to death during a street brawl outside anoff-licence. Liam Mearns, who was 21, of Sillet Close, Clacton, diedfollowing the fight involving two groups in Wellesley Road. Tenpeople were later arrested in connection with the murderinvestigation.

OK so it's not that close, but still close enough to muck up the traffic for the last two days, a minor inconvenience compared to being stabbed of course.

More information will emerge over the next few days, but I am willing to make a few predictions based on my own knowledge of the area.

The dead man will:

Have a criminal record, mainly petty crime.

Be the father of one or more illegitimate children.

Have had no meaningful employment record.

Be in receipt of various benefits.

Have achieved little or no success at school.

Own an extensive wardrobe of tracksuits and trainers – designer or course.

Excel at computer games.

I suspect that we will tick a few of the above list off over the next few days. None of which is a justification for being murdered of course. As we watch the floral displays pile up and listen to the comments from friends and family that Mearns was a 'diamond' and 'the room lit up when he entered ', as various rent seekers and professional whingers demand tougher sentencing for almost anything, we forget that Mearns was not just the victim of an assault that took his life he was the victim of a society that has accepted and glorified under achievement. A society that rails against financial poverty and provides generous benefits to alleviate that, but fails to address the poverty of ambition and self respect that goes with it.

For the last 30 years or more society has made excuses for its failings and put in place a social care system that strips away any drive or enthusiasm that the younger population may have had. We have created an underclass that is valueless, to itself and everyone else.

Liam Mearns was 21, his life dribbled away into the gutter in front of a shabby off-licence in a grubby seaside town on a cold night in December. The reason for the altercation is not known, but when we do find out what it was I'll wager that is a pathetic argument about a trivial matter.

UPDATE: He's fathered three brats!!

Thinking................

I've been somewhat out of the loop this week. Most of my time has been spent between gardening, shooting and wood cutting with a fair bit of socialising thrown in too. I have to say I've enjoyed it.

It's been a relief to be away away from the constant stream of hectoring, scaremongering shite that is flung at us every day. Now, I may not take much notice of any of it anyway; but some do, and some not only believe any scare story that appears in the press, they obsess about.

If the news consisted of just news and was devoid of PR pieces, scare stories, examples of overreaction to minor incidents and the vilification of the politically incorrect, would be better off?
Would we able to make better decisions based on our own experience? Would we happier if we were not constantly be encouraged, cajoled and threatened to change our lifestyles, and left to live with the consequences?

I don't know, but I'm going to find out. I'm not going to take any notice of anything for a while. I won't read a paper or watch the news. I'll just get on with things that I need to do, I'll smoke when I like and I'll take a drink when I please. I'll eat the food that I enjoy.  I'll take the opportunities to shoot and fish as I find them.

I'll see if I feel more relaxed for it.

I'll post up a sort of log over the next week, so we'll see.

Tram women in slammer, muslim thugs walk free shock.

I'm not surprised at this, read in conjunction with this it makes you wonder exactly who decides how law is applied and by what standard.
Most of all it makes me wonder how shouting abuse can be adjudged more serious than a kick to the head.
If someone needs to be remanded, whilst unconvicted of any offence, for their own protection because they voiced a racist opinion, surely those who committed an unprovoked racist gang assault need imprisoning when actually convicted of that crime.

Sorry, I forgot that I was living in a surreal juxtaposed country where a few unpleasant words will cause more harm than a few kicks to head.

Christmas is coming, Clarksons getting fat!

Jeremy Clarkson woke up laughing this morning. His 'ill concieved' comments on a BBC magazine programme caused a whole range of pinched faced arse clenchers to have an outraged hissy fit, some even threatening police action, over a thow away comment.

Clarkson has found himself plastered over the newspapers, the subject of numerous opinion articles and the story featuring in prime time news slots.

I bet his books and DVDs are selling well.

Just in time for Christmas, funny that.

Ther's no bad publicity!

It's December the first.

Soon be time to go and cut the Christmas tree and drag it home. Smoking of course!

The bright stream of memory.

About this time of year, a long time ago when my hair was longer and my BMI was smaller, I sold a Land Rover fitted with a sprayer to a guy in Scotland. He wanted me to deliver it and since he was happy to pay the costs I drove it up and caught a train home. The train stopped a bit north of Newcastle and was taken out of service, with no choice but to wait until the morning, I eventually bedded down in a phone box - it was quite cold. Soon I was disturbed as a girl wanted to make a phone call, after explaining the situation she suggested that I stay at her flat rather than in the phone box.

She was a pretty girl with long brown hair and I caught the train south three days later. Although I had all good intentions of keeping in touch it was really too great a distance to maintain any sort of relationship and we never saw each other again.

Anyway, on the morning that I left to get the train home, this song was playing on the radio.

I still have to stop whatever I'm doing when I hear it.

Wimpish parent Outrage

Some over sensitive kids and their peculiar parents have been outraged by a duck shoot.
Full story here. Some of the comments make you despair.

Children were said to have returned home in tears after seeing wildfowl shot and dogs retrieving their lifeless bodies.



One dad, Ray Poolman, 49, told the Daily Mail that his horrified 10 year-old daughter was distraught after what she'd witnessed."She thought she was going to a bird-watching place but it turns out it was a shoot," he said.

I think she is quite old enough to handle a bit of reality

A letter had been sent home by the school informing parents that the 22 children would watch a "flight", but Mr Poolman said it did not say children would witness birds being shot:"I have since spoken to some of my friends who go shooting and they told me that 'flight' means 'shoot'. I thought the kids would be watching the birds coming into roost or migrating."My daughter came home absolutely distraught and in floods of tears. I was absolutely unaware that it was a shoot, otherwise she wouldn't have been there. There's no way it's an educational trip."It shouldn't have been arranged by teachers in school time. I can't believe they put children in that environment. What if something had gone wrong?"

Nothing went wrong. Grow a pair Tony! I think it is more educational than say, facebook and other crap.


Mrs Stapleton defended the trip, telling the newspaper: "This is an annual trip which has taken place for several years."It is not compulsory - it is entirely up to individuals and parents must return a signed permission slip before their child can go.


"All the children indicated at the end of the visit that they had thoroughly enjoyed it.

Just think of the outrage if those shooters were seen smoking or sipping from hip flasks as well!

Renewable resources not Eco friendly after all.

I noticed this story via a piece on Leg-Irons' blog.

Climate criminals at work some time ago.

Basically, those Eco- friendly stoves that burn renewable resources and waste wood are as filthy as diesel engines and damage the environment.

Take this quote from the linked article;
 
............... the report, funded by the Swedish government, found that emissions from burning wood to be a major factor in 'climate forcing'.

WTF! Sweden is one of the world leaders in the development of wood burning stoves and the use of forest residue as a bio-mass heating and power generating resource. Most of the Scandinavian countries as well as the Baltic states and northern Europe countries have huge forest resources and have used them to supply heating since, well, forever really. As  a result they have developed some of the best designed and well engineered products in the sector. Is the Swedish government really going to trash one of its most successful domestic and export markets?

Probably, anything can be sacrificed to great false god of climate change. Even as I'm writing this I suspect that some slack-jawed bureaucrat is working on a new raft of tax and regulation regarding the 'burning of wood and climate harm in domestic dwellings'.

Get your cheque books ready.

By the way, I haven't even lit the fire yet this winter, so climate change isn't that bad after all.