Untethered - Day 16

Noooooo! He knows what's coming, and he's scared!

This actually wasn't the best picture to illustrate this, but the other one wouldn't display. Technology!

Untethered - Day 15

Words fail me.

Untethered - Day 14

If he was on top of me, he could wear any expression he wanted.

Untethered - Day 13

Ooh, what a look! Didn't some idiot once say Vincent only had one expression? Like to see them on the receiving end of this one!

Quality!

That's what we have at Universal Channel UK. I wrote to them about the old "bitch gone in the teeth" quote, and have just received their answer.

No use of "bitch" regardless of context and meaning. Who decides it might be unsuitable and cause offence?

As for "It looks like you was watching..." well, if they can't employ people with knowledge of basic English grammar to answer viewer queries, they must not value us very much.

Dear Valerie

Thanks for getting in touch and apologies for the delayed response.

I’ve checked the schedule, and from the time you sent the email, it looks like you was watching Criminal Intent Season 2. Ep 3.

As it’s on at 7pm we have broadcast the daytime playable version. The use of the word ‘bitch’, regardless of the context, could be considered unsuitable and likely to cause offense within this daypart. However, we do take viewer feedback very seriously so please rest assured that I have passed your comments on to our compliance team.

Best regards

Lindsay

Viewer Enquiries

Untethered - Day 12

How strong do you have to be to resist a truth serum?

Double Birthday

When I got Jaspa and Amber, I estimated that Jaspa was probably a week or so older than Amber, so I gave them birthdays a week apart. This made Amber's birthday the same as mine.

Unlike Jaspa, Amber has not fared well in her 18 years. As a naughtie tortie, she has been pretty grumpy, and has devoured every morsel of food she could find. She was overweight until old age, when thyroid and kidney problems led to considerable weight loss and poor condition. She rarely grooms any part of herself (even busier sleeping than the average cat) and she won't let me do it for her, so her coat is matted and lumpy, unlike this photo of a few years ago Nevertheless, she loves life (and food, still) and her face is as cute and pretty as it ever was.

Untethered - Day 11

Tethered. What wouldn't I do to him if I had him in chains...

Best Prime Minister we never had, worst one we did

After "13 years of Tory misrule" in 1964 Britain finally elected a Labour government under Harold Wilson. People didn't like or trust him, but he was a brilliant man and an exceptional politician.

One of his greatest assets was Barbara Castle, a red-headed firebrand who said what she meant and meant what she said.



You can imagine how men took it when this petite non-driver, as Minster for Transport, introduced the breathalyser test. Obviously it was their right to drink, drive and kill the innocent. Then as Secretary of State for Health and Social Security, she introduced the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) which, in a ministerial broadcast on TV - I can still see and hear her - she introduced thus: "We're going to do away with poverty in old age".

I was barely a teen, but I was impressed (see how I remember her words to this day) and she seemed to me to be someone who would make an excellent PM.

But women were not considered for party leadership till more than a decade later, when we were unfortunate enough to acquire Margaret Thatcher in that role, then as PM.

We're still suffering from what she did to our society. Well, actually, she said there was no such thing as society. Greed was good, every man for himself. Sounds a lot like the philoshophy of today's bankers, doesn't it?

She sold off every asset and resource we owned to her pals in the private sector, just as the current bunch intend with their NHS bill. She sold off the railways, Cameron wants to sell off the roads. She decided to break the unions and the miners, and she did, so now workers have relatively few rights and almost no one to help them protect those they still have. She sold our gas, water and electricity companies (I think she would have sold off the air if she could have found a way) and she even sold our North Sea gas and oil reserves. We might be as rich as the Arab states otherwise.

One person can really make a difference. Thatcher did so for the bad; Castle might have changed things for the good. She's long gone. We'll never know.

Untethered - Day 10

Psychotic break complete.

Reverse Robin Hood

You have to hand it to our wonderful Government - they insist we are "all in this together" (ie. the recession) in spite of evidence to the contrary - and only evidence to the contary.

Last week our 12-year-old Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, announced a tremendously fair budget, in which the highest tax rate was reduced, giving a bonus to high earners (like himself and his fellow cabinet members), but froze the additional allowance to pensioners with a view to phasing it out.

It's true that he is increasing personal tax allowances next year, but the intermediate tax rate, which kicks in at a surprisingly small income, will be paid on an even smaller income.

Public servants such as social workers, teachers, nurses, doctors, etc, are going to have to retire later. We must pay more for a smaller pension for when we do manage to get old and decrepit enough to retire, and when we get there, we have to pay more tax on it.

Meanwhile, the rich can pay a quarter of a million pounds to influence policy and have a private dinner with our Prime Minister (which the tax payer will pay for).

Before they were elected, this bunch said they would be the "greenest government ever", and they proved this in the budget by giving huge sums to the oil and gas industries, while freezing funding for renewables.

They didn't have any policy on destroying or privatising the National Health Service either, but they've gone ahead with doing so despite huge protests from the public and from health professionals. After all, what do we know?

How do you know a politician is lying? He's speaking.

Untethered - Day 9

Thinks: "Where did this brick come from?"

Untethered - Day 8

Gratuitous butt shot.

Bargain!

Anyone in the UK with a branch of The Works near them who doesn't yet have Fires Within can get a reall bargain - it's on sale there for just £2.99 (2 for £5 if they have another film you fancy).

Untethered - Day 7

Bobby does his naughty little boy act. I suppose he didn't get much chance to do it when he really was a little boy.

The Importance of Being Furry

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten to give you the latest lion cub update.

With a 2-hour wait to get as far as to buy a ticket for the Hockney exhibition yesterday, my friend and I voted with our feet and went to check up on the girls:



Dad's scruffy mane is just visible behind them.

Meanwhile, little Mitzi has taken a shine to the toaster as a place to, well get toasty on chilly mornings. Or warm ones.



Fur on toast, anyone?

Most Perfect Piece of Music Ever?

It'a sublime. It speaks directly to your soul and your intellect. It satisfies every part of your mind and being. It calms the savage beast (OK, maybe that should be breast). Does anyone know a more perfect piece of music than the overture to Mozart's opera The Marriage of Figaro?

If you are unfortunate enough to have lived to your present age without ever having heard it, feast your ears. I'd wager you won't regret it.

And when you've feasted on every perfect note - try to imagine playing it!

Untethered - Day 6

I can't help thinking that after this outburst, Bobby was lucky Ross came to his rescue later on!

Civilisation - Gone in the Teeth

Remember Anti-Thesis?

Who could forget Bobby's first encounter with SWMNBN/Old Heart-in-a-box?

Then there's the confusion of Mark Bailey between Ezra Pound and T.S.Eliot that led the detectives to his door.

I'm sure that, like me, you've heard Bobby make the quote so many times it's permanently etched on your brains.

Well, it wouldn't have been if you'd only ever seen it pre-9pm on Universal Channel UK. Their ridiculous policy of blanking out words they think might be offensive has surpassed itself. And all because a). they have extremely dirty minds that see rude language where there is none and b). they are extremely ignorant of the English language.

Thus, this evening, I heard "Civilisation................gone in the teeth" where I should have heard "Civilisation - and old bitch gone in the teeth". Every time.



Obviously these idiot half-wits think that the word "bitch" is simply a swear word. They do not know that it has the perfectly legitimate meaning of a female dog.

It's a pity that they did this the day after reminding viewers of Bobby's top L&O detective award last year, on the same day they replied to my January (yes, it took them 2 months) email about Season 10 in which I mentioned the award. I feel I inspired the mention.

I just hope that now I can inspire a bit more common sense when it comes to removing what their dirty little minds regard as vulgarity and swearing.

Untethered - Day 5

Bobby looks distraught when he finds out the cause of the vulnerable inmate's death.

Birthday Girl

When I got Jaspa I identified her as a him, and called her Jasper. The vet had already given her a complete set of jabs before noticing, when she went in to be neutered, that she was a girl.

This is not a particularly recent picture of her (making herself at home in a drawer where there was a bag of catnip) but she still looks as trim and beautiful as she ever did.

Her birthday is my estimate of when she must have been born - 18 years ago. What a gorgeous old girl.

Untethered - Day 4

Bobby is so pleased to find he has a nephew.

Untethered - Day 3

There's those hands again.

Would someone help me understand why Frank would have kept their mother's ring and not sold it to get dope? He missed the funeral after all, so it wasn't for sentimental reasons.

That's Showbiz

Those of us who have reached a certain age will remember this lovely lady, a 1950s female crooner.
Others still will recognise her looking more like this, from her appearances on ER as a woman with dementia.

They may even know that she was married to this man (apparently, twice).

They are less likely to know that this man is their son.

He is Miguel Ferrer, actor, whom I was surprised to see turn up in NCIS Los Angeles this week. Looks a lot like his father, doesn't he? His father Jose Ferrer. Not good looking like his mother, Rosemary Clooney. Nor his uncle, Nick Clooney.

And certainly not like Nick's son, Rosemary's nephew, Miguel's cousin:

Yes, in case you hadn't put it together before, he is George Clooney's cousin.

George is pictured here with his father after his arrest for daring to be on the steps of the Sudanese embassy trying to prevent another humanitarian crisis in Sudan. And just a couple of days after dining with Obama and Cameron, and having Obama's ear in a private meeting about the Sudan situation.

How dare he defy the police like that? What's a few more deaths in Africa as long as they get to throw their weight around?

He may not be as sexy as our Vincent, but Clooney is an all-round good bloke.

Untethered - Day 2

Bobby's always got his brother's number, no matter how Frank tries to twist things. No wonder he gets angry with him.

Spare £9 million anyone?

St Cuthbert was the Bishop of Lindisfarne (Holy Island) in the 7th century, where he was buried after his death. Eleven years after his death his casket was opened to reveal his remains intact. This led to the movement to canonise him.

When the Danes invaded Lindisfarne in the 9th century, the monks took Cuthbert's remains across to the mainland, where they wandered for some years. Ultimately, in the 11th century, a new cathedral was built to house his shrine.

Sr Cuthbert's Cathedral, Durham

When his remains were transferred into his new shrine, this copy of St John's Gospel was found with his body:

The St Cuthbert Gospel ended up in the hands of the Jesuits after passing around various private owners following the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII in the 16th century. Thought to be the oldest European book still in existence, it has been on long loan to the British Library for many years, and has now been offered to them for a coll £9 million. It will then be displayed half of every year at the Library, half at the Cathedral.

Good to know religious groups are so generous. It would be so inappropriate for them to make money out of something holy...

Untethered - Day 1

Wonder what Bobby did with that brick between buying it off the homeless guy and using it to smash the car showroom window? Why would he even keep it when he had no idea he'd have a use for it?

iPad update

The video on my iPad post has been removed from YouTube, and I've replaced it there, and am posting it here as well for those who have not had the pleasure.

Sad Centenary

It's a hundred years ago today since Captain Lawrence Oates uttered the famous words, "I'm going outside and may be some time." He then went out into a blizzard from the tent on the Scott team's return from the Antarctic, thinking that sacrificing his own life might save the rest of the team. He had severe frostbite and knew he was slowing them down.

Sadly, as history relates, no one survived the expedition. But Captain Oates's courage, recorded by Scott in his journal which was later found with the rest of the team's bodies, will be remembered for as long as their are people to remember it. Oates's body was never found.

Self-Made - Day 12

It's been said before...Charley still has some anger issues with his father!

New Use for iPad + World's Worst Promotion

In case you haven't seen this, enjoy a humorous alternative to using modern technology:



There's also the funniest ever instore promotion doing the rounds, giving one possible reason why Tesco, Britain's most profitable supermarket, isn't doing as well as it was:

Self-Made - Day 11

That lucky book gets to rest in those hands on that lap.

Self-Made - Day 10

Just another excuse for a perfect picture.

Self-Made - Day 9

Bobby enjoys taunting as much as we enjoy watching him taunt.

Self-Made - Day 8

Lots of strong-arm stuff in this episode. Just as well Bobby has really strong arms.

Self-Made - Day 7

That expression speaks to me. You too? What does it say?

Self-Made - Day 6

Bobby looks like a naughty boy who's just been told off. I can think of some good ways to "discipline" him.

Who got the insurance money?

I've often wondered what happened to the insurance policy Declan took out on Frank with William Brady as the beneficiary.

Obviously, if Bobby had killed his brother, the policy would have been null and void. But he didn't.

There is no William Brady to inherit - but as Frank's only relative (assuming Donny wasn't eligible) surely Bobby should have inherited the money? But would he have wanted to touch what he must have seen as blood money, even though his financial situation was so dire?



Does anyone know the answer to the actuarial problem? Should we get his penpal on to it?

Self-Made - Day 5

I can think of better things he could use that mouth for. And those hands...

Self-Made - Day 4

Unfair! That should be me!

Zoo Baby

The lion cubs were around today, sleepy at first, then very naughty, driving their mother to near infanticide! Unfortunately they were doing this in a part of their enclosure behind a small mesh that made filming and photographing them pointless.

But the meerkats have had another addition to their group, just one baby on its own, just over a month old. Sadly, soon to be a meerkat without the end of its tail, if my eyes don't deceive me.

There were some Keeper-for-a-Day people throwing them some food, and the littl'un chased around trying to get mealworms ahead of the adults. It got a few, too.

Self-Made - Day 3

I love his big swagger. Among other things...

Blubbing for Britain

I cry very easily. I cry at sad stuff, at heart-warming stuff, at happy stuff. I choke up. I can hardly speak.

Take today. I found a wallet in the supermarket car park as I was on my way inside to do my "big shop". I waited at the Customer Service desk for an assistant to be free. She looked inside and found a name. It took her a while to register that it was the name of an employee (there are hundreds of them, it's a huge store) but they couldn't find him. I went off to do some shopping, but a vew minutes later they called my name over the tannoy.

They'd located him, and there was this young disabled man who walks with the aid of crutches. He hadn't even known his wallet was missing. He thanked me, but I was the one who was grateful. Grateful he hadn't been distresseed, glad he hadn't been deprived of his valuables. I could hardly speak 'cos I would have given my emotional state away.

I went for years without crying at all. I wonder why I didn't then, and I do now.

Self-Made - Day 2

A smell Bobby can recognise.

20 Years ago today - my first pet bereavement

When I was a child, we had pets that died. But Biggles was the first of my own pets to die.

He was not my first cat. That was Puddy, who was several years older than Biggles, but outlived him by 3 months.
Biggles was the kitten of a pregnant stray I took in for my mother. She was adopted by a neighbour, who called her Glenda, and had four sweeties under his bed. My then husband and I adopted Biggles, named after a fictional flying ace. He was born on 11th August 1976.

He was a little so-and-so from the start, constantly tormenting Puddy, who never became accustomed to him. He was also incredibly affectionate.

He developed kidney disease in his early teens, and was successfully treated with steroids. But these were not as effective as present-day treatments, and 18 months on, at the age of only 14-and-a-half, I had to have him put to sleep.

Biggles was wonderful, and losing him broke my heart. Shortly after losing him, and before Puddy died, I took on Shelley (who died in 2010 aged 19 years 5 months) and his brother Byron (who dies aged 5 after an unknown accident). Since Puddy's death I have always had at least 2 cats, and aside from the original 4, I still have them all, two aged 18, two nearly 16, one almost 15 and a nearly-14-year-old.

They really are like a family to me.

Self-Made - Day 1

Bobby's on to something. Pity's it's not me...

Depths - Day 12

The whole series of pictures this comes from is irresistible, but this one of his neck just spoke to me.