Book-worms in Ashgrove.

Bunty and I have succumbed to a closet life of books! Part of her regular gallivanting around various outlets in search of some antique gems has now extended to the written word.

Two such pearls of wisdom have been a delight to read.

Our eponymous flying hero Biggles has whisked me back to my days in the Air Training Corps (1138 Squadron in Ardrossan) aged 12 and a bit (you were supposed to be 13 on joining but I lied and must have looked keen enough).

The officer in charge was a Flight Lieutenant John Barbour and my abiding memory is of marching drill at the site on Ardrossan Academy and of meteorology.  John John (as he was affectionately known) drove a Triumph Renown which to a spotty faced ATC sprog looked to the world like a Rolls Royce. The Squadron must have been quite good at drill since we were regular winners at both area and national level.  My first flight taken in a chipmunk over at East Fortune airport and being taken for an aviator since the pilot did a loop such that the Bass Rock appeared above my head whilst I tried very hard to keep my stomach contents in place.

The wee cricket rules book has been a tiny gem insofar that some of the rules and expressions used have been very interesting.  This journey is just beginning, if only I could read without falling asleep.

The "Crown" is exposing the flaws in the Monarchy !

Even the Queen was shown in a pretty unfavourable light in this series, though in truth she is the only one to have any integrity. She has that in abundance but emotionally she has been constipated by the system.



For those of us who lived through the traumas of the 50's and 60's this series is a fairly accurate and well portrayed summary of the times.

The emotionally charged chapter on "Aberfan" was truly tear jerking and although I was serving in the RAF in Germany and not in the UK, the disaster which claimed 144 lives including 116 innocent children, rocked the whole of society both at home and abroad !



Harold Wilson's portrayal too, brought back memories of a strife ridden class system which frankly still exists today and some would argue has been exacerbated by unadulterated capitalism and Tory induced austerity, keeping the working classes in their place (which most assuredly is not at the top table).

Time for a change !

No winner in the "Election Debate" except perhaps Nicola Sturgeon

The much heralded General Election "Leaders" debate between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn turned out to be a bit of a non-event. Consensus shows that neither party leader scored a decisive victory, though it has to be said that the Tories did manage an extra time own goal with the exposing of their fake news account.

Arch clown Dominic Raab has claimed “no one gives a toss” about the fake Tory fact-checking service set up for the TV election debate, as the party faces calls for an official investigation.

The foreign secretary came under fire after the Conservative press office Twitter account – with more than 75,000 followers – changed its name to "factcheckUK", before pumping out support for Boris Johnson.

While the "Dynamic Duo" were verbally fencing with plastic swords the rest of the political leaders were forced onto the television equivalent of the cartoon section. This will come back to bite their arses in no uncertain terms. 

Whatever your political persuasion, the beacon of light in this dingy, austerity ridden "United Kingdom" has been the ascension of Nicola Sturgeon!

To quote archetypal establishment lickspittle Piers Morgan;

"Without passing any judgement on the content of what she says,

@NicolaSturgeon

is the most natural leader in British politics. So impressive in media interviews."

Praise from Caesar is praise indeed !  Though I have to say his opinion on our leader is; like him "irrelevant"

My affinity with Nicola may stem from the fact that we were both born in Irvine Central Hospital though in Nicola's case it was some 24 years later than me, and not just the fact that in political terms she is an Everest in a mountain range of ant hills from Westminster. 

Antique Roadshow and other distractions such as Bargain Hunt !

It's a hard life being a retired pensioner. The routine of lunch over daytime television and a daily dose of various Antiques programmes is almost soporific but at the same time stimulating to the search for the bargain of the century throughout the Highlands capital.

Bunty has taken on this arduous task with vigour. She has the scent of antique furniture in her nostrils as she ferrets round the various charity outlets here in Inverness and surrounds in search of the antique Nirvana. That said she has come up trumps today with a mahogany  occasional chair which is  early Georgian and circa 180 years old for a mere £30. This chair would have been on the go at the Battle of Culloden and before Nelson.

This is supplemented with an Edwardian revolving bookcase for the same price!

I think she's aiming for a "Golden Gavel" except these won't be for sale!

"No sweat" Andy is the epitome of cringeworthy television

Probably the least liked member of the house of "Saxe Coburg-Gotha" or Windsor (since they changed it in 1917 because of the Germanic connotation) has just performed a minor miracle insofar as he's managed to get another sycophantic tosspot (Piers Morgan) to describe his televised interview as;

quote "toe curling bullshit" unquote;

We republicans need all the help we can get to dispense with the whole family of spongers when the mother of the clown shown in the picture, finally severs her mortal coil.

In this particular case I propose a toast to the "Grand Old Puke of York" for his invaluable assistance in the Republican cause.

I trust our American cousins will call for him to be questioned under oath when the inevitable law suits in the USA come to fruition.

Madame Guillotine s'il vous plait !!!

Nine days of musical culture have Bunty and Toto in raptures

This all started with yours truly participating in Rossini's Stabat Mater and Vivaldi's Credo with Inverness Choral in the Eden Court on the 2nd November.  Bunty assures me it was pretty good and obviously I'll  take her word for it. For me it was a joy to participate in, with the Latin a throw back to an earlier time in St Peter's and St Michaels with convent schooling.

This was swiftly followed by a return to the Eden Court on the 9th to see Scottish Opera's rendition of "Tosca" by Puccini. Set in Rome during the reign of Benito Mussolini. Everything about this production was stellar. The set, the choral numbers, and in particular the role of the soloists. Bunty even got quite emotional with the role (and singing) of Floria Tosca which was played by Natalya Romaniw, a Welsh soprano despite the Ukrainian name. She was absolutely superb and has a voice to literally die for (especially when she jumps off the ramparts after she finds Cavaradossi has actually been shot by the firing squad instead of the supposed blanks)

Finally tonight, we've just come back from a piano recital that would have brought tears to a glass eye with the unadulterated quality of the next best thing to come out of Wales since I passed my HGV3 course at RAF St Athan, Llyr Williams, who specialises in the piano works of the worlds greatest composer Beethoven. Tonight we had the pleasure of four of his Piano Sonata's with the pinnacle being the final movement of his F minor sonata No 23.

The "Welsh Wizard's" digital dexterity was eye watering in its speed and the quality of playing had to be seen as well as heard which we could from the advantage of the seats in the Inverness Town House.  This is our third recital organised by Inverness Piano Recitals in the 18 months that we've been up here together and each has been a treat! The venue is divine and the playing of each of the players has been likewise! This Welsh Wizard though will take some beating with his magic of the maestro.

Who says you can't get too much of a good thing?

Bunty and I in tandem in the gymnasium

This new me is being supported with Bunty as I try to shift off about a stone from the sedentary lifestyle of retirement!

We've both got membership to the Best Western "Palace Hotel" gymnasium and being retired, can choose the time to participate as long as it doesn't coincide with the ladies aqua aerobics where the idea of matronly figures bouncing up and down in the pool is not my idea of heaven.

For the benefit of the short-sighted amongst you this is not Bunty and I; but two actors who for some reason or other are more suited to looking athletic.

Some gentle cycling and then a swim is closed off with a steam bath which had me sweating more than Boris Johnson with a paternity suit in his sticky mitts.

The new metal knees seem to be holding up so this looks to be the way forward, for both of us !

"Ceterus paribus et consilio et labore "