Up there with the best.

I'm just back in Scotland after a short holiday in Worthing, I was born in Worthing and still call it home.

I was a little concerned this time as I was taking my lady friend with me and on my last visit in 2001 I was very disappointed at what I saw in Worthing, looking very "run down" and forgotten, and I had prepared her for this.

This time, Worthing, you made me proud. The town looks like it is thriving, new and freshly painted buildings, the town feels alive, there is an air of a desire by the town to get back to the top.

Congratulations to all that are involved in this new Worthing.

The picture below is of a fishing boat that we watched leaving to fish at about 10.00 pm and watched as it returned with it's catch the following morning.

A night at sea in this small boat. Who would dare complain about the price of fresh fish.

When Lamps Are Lighted In the Town

1.
When lamps are lighted in the town,
The boats sail out to sea;
The fishers watch when night comes down,
They work for you and me.

2.
When little children go to rest,
Before they sleep, they pray
That God will bless the fishermen
And bring them back at day.

3.
The boats come in at early dawn,
When children wake in bed;
Upon the beach the boats are drawn,
And all the nets are spread.

4.
God hath watched o'er the fishermen
Far on the deep dark sea,
And brought them safely home again,
Where they are glad to be.

Just realised that from tomorrow, we in Scotland, thanks to those clowns in our Government and their love of Europe, have to move to the metric time system. There is now a formulae for this,

 (Difference in Star Clock time ) = (-0.5) x (Difference in British Summer Time)
and conversely ...

(Difference in British Summer time) = (-2) x (Difference in Star Clock time )
Now let's define some variables.

let ST1 and LT1 represent the Star Clock time and the local time respectively at a particular instant.

let ST2 and LT2 represent the Star Clock time and the local time respectively at another instant.

Then the two equations above can be rewritten as ...

ST2 - ST1 = (-0.5) x ( LT2 - LT1 )

and

LT2 - LT1 = (-2) X ( ST2 - ST1 )

respectively. ( No, I don't understand it either ).

We just don't need time to let it "bed in", I can tell you now, it is going to be a disaster, a major mess.

The twenty hour day may possibly work on some distant island in the middle of the Pacific, but, not in a country that has to work so closely to the rest of the world. Using the 72 minute hour may have a financial advantage for some, the minimum wage will be increased by 5% and it will be cheaper to hire labour by the hour, are these reasons enough for the changes.

Please support the fight to save our 24 hour clock .

As I get older I find that everyday life is much of a muchness, for me at least, that’s O K.

Some times something nice happens, a different day, and, very occasionally, a very very nice thing occurs.

It was last Wednesday, as usual I was at Hazels house, when she said, “Will you come over tomorrow?”.

Now that is unusual, Thursday is my day off, well, it gives time for my screwdrivers, gardening tools and paint brushes to cool down, “What for” I said.

“I have some friends coming for dinner, nothing fancy, and I would like you to be there”. She said.

“Who are they”?

“Old friends that now live in France, haven't seen them for years”

“Of course I will” says I.

Thursday at 2 o’ clock I arrive at Hazels, she is just back from the shops with bags of food, food and more food. Whilst I was trying to close the fridge door with my foot I said, “How many years since you saw them?”. “About 14” she says. “ Have they been starving since then?” I ask.

About 5 pm the door bell rings, “Will you answer it?” she says. “No” I say, “It’s your friends, they won’t know me from Adam”.

Hazel walks to the front door and I wait to be introduced at the end of the hall, she opens the door and in walks the lady, she and I are twenty foot away from each other, I think to myself, I know that face, I’ve met her before.

Of course I have, not for 5 years, it’s my sister.

June and her husband David, had, with the connivance of one of my daughters in law, Hazel and Hazel’s son who had brought them from their hotel decided to make a surprise visit from their home 450 miles away in Worthing.

As I say, occasionally a very very nice thing occurs and you realise that there are those that care about you.

Yes, sometimes life is wonderful.

Gordon Brown, you are a loser, in two years or whenever you have to call a general election, your gone.

Oh what an opportunity you know have Gordon. Two years to change the face of British politics, grab this chance, the ride may be bumpy but it could also be a great ride.

Back to basics Gordon, clear the decks, get rid of those ad visors that you have, their advice has very obviously been useless, kick out the present cabinet who's only interest appears to be self interest and replace them with young energetic members that can grab their departments by the scruff of the neck and shake out all of the old dead wood, tell them what you want and leave them to get on with it, working in the interests of the majority of the electorate.

Be the figurehead Gordon, you are not happy or suitable for the lime light, you have a great deal of experience that you can offer to your new department heads. Guide them, hold their hand, oversee what they are doing, caution them when required, but let them get on with it.

Who knows what will happen, you still may lose the next election, no change there, but, well, just who knows.

What am I saying, I'm still bloody ill. Started Friday when I woke up, skin hotter than hell, I was going to say hotter than Katie Melua, but nothing is as hot as she is, limbs shaking, joints aching, ignore showering or shaving, get down to the doctor.

Wait a blooming minute I says to myself, the tele ads say, "Ask your pharmacist first", that will save me sitting around in a waiting room, "Not booked, ah well, you'll just have to wait till there's a vacancy", "But I'm dying", "Well go and bloody do it outside".

"May I speak to the pharmacist?", Tell him my symptoms, he says, "Bad case of the flu, buy hundreds of expensive cocodamol tablets from my shop and go home and keep warm"

Friday, ten o'clock pm, no warning, and very soon I am digging out clean underpants and jeans.

From then until I can get the doctor to call on Monday morning, any journey further than 10 foot,sorry younger readers, that is 3 metres and 3 inches, from the toilet is a journey of great risk to my overburdened washing machine.

"Well your temperature is ok and the shakes have stopped" says the doctor, "It was probably ( probably? from the experts )a bug, seems like you are over the worst of it, the modern thinking is to let it run its course. Bye-bye".

Even if she had given me a prescription for a cork it would have been of some help.

I'm still dying, worse than that, I am out of cigarettes.

Is There An Answer.  from the website, http://wordscanhelp.co.uk

BEREAVEMENT. GRIEVING or MOURNING the LOSS OF A LOVED ONE. DEPRESSION from GRIEVING. How long should we grieve? Will we cope with GRIEF? How do we cope with GRIEF?.

IS THERE AN ANSWER TO THESE QUESTIONS?

Well, yes, there is. I have my answer and others have their answer, Which answer is right? None of them, because there is no one answer that fits all, we are all different so we must find our own way.

It upset me to read a website that suggested that it was right to grieve after the loss of a loved one for ever, maybe there are some folk that wish to do so, that is their decision, but encouraging that course, in my opinion, is wrong.

It is the most natural thing in the world to grieve over your loss, but, you are still alive and life must be lived. Of course your life has changed, of course everything will now be different, how could it not be.

Your loved one is still with you, not in a form that you will recognise, but within your memory, you will never forget. That memory of all the love that they gave you, all the things that they did for you, the things that you shared together, the good times and the bad times, these memories will remain until the day that you die, as inevitably, we all must, and, possibly, leave behind someone that is grieving for our passing.

Let us consider our own passing, would you wish that those that are left behind should devote their lives to your memory, maybe to the extent of giving up living their own lives, to be miserable, perhaps becoming depressed and the terrible consequences that can follow deep depression. Of course you would not.

Would your lost loved one wish you to be like that?

There will be a period of time when you will not want to be a part of the world, when you will not want to move on, and I am sure that is right. You will live in your own world and eventually notice that your actions, thoughts and ways are alien to the you that you used to know, that is very normal_ see My Story_and you will start to make decisions about your future life.

Don’t grieve for ever just because of what some others may think is right, unfortunately their are some that have made an industry out of the grieving of others. “Wordscanhelp” does want you to move on, believes that when the time is right for you, you should move on. Believes that your loved one would want you to move on.

Note. I am not a trained counsellor, I write what I believe to be right based on a personal experience of bereavement and speaking with others. I am not a believer in the after life but I do believe, should there be a God he/she would not be offended by my beliefs.