A Conservative Peer has said today ( http://news.sky.com/story/1122219/lord-howell-frack-in-desolate-north-east ) that fracking ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_fracturing ) should be carried out in desolate areas like the North East to avoid any kind of threat to the rural environment.
Now last time I looked I am living in a rural environment which is one of the loveliest places I know, surrounded by countryside less that 3 miles from a glorious beach and within 20 minutes drive of the Northumberland National Park and Lindisfarne. Castles, country walks, beaches, lovely small market towns abound in what must be one of the finest places to live in the UK if not the World.
For example:
Look here: http://www.northumberlandnationalpark.org.uk/
Or here: http://www.visithadrianswall.co.uk/
How about here: http://www.lindisfarne.org.uk/
Or perhaps here: http://www.alnwickcastle.com/
Then of course there's here: http://www.alnwickgarden.com/
Not to mention here, the first house in the world to be lit by electricity: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/cragside/
and that is just Northumberland. For brevity I have not linked to Durham Castle and Cathedral, the Wear and Tees Valleys, The North Yorkshire Dales, The Pennines, Whitby, Scarborough, need I go on?
I hope I have I made my point.
Finallly; I will forbear from making any comment on the Noble Lord who made this statement in case my anger at what he has said should lead me into choppy waters. I think following the links above should dispel any misapprehensions anyone may harbour as to the desolation or otherwise of the North East of England.
ttfn
Update 3 August 2013: apparently he meant the North West. So that's all right then!
Tuesday 30 July 2013
Monday 29 July 2013
When alls said and done...
...I still like America and most of the Americans I have met have been kind and welcoming. I am not going to allow my recent experience to sour my opinion since the vast majority of the interactions I have had with Americans have been positive. I am not talking politics here, I am talking on a one-to-one basis they have been fine and the country itself is in the most part much like anywhere else I've been, it has its good, bad and dangerous areas. You just need to be sensible and don't do anything silly or visit the dodgy parts just like you would at home.
I hope to be able to continue to visit the States when finances allow and visit some places I've never been to. I'm thinking of going to either Savannah GA of San Francisco CA for a week in November. I'll procrastinate for a while longer then decide once I work out how much it will all cost when spending money and kitty kennels are factored in. I am a little wary of going on my own but I travel a lot alone anyway and have been abroad alone before so it really shouldn't be too bad. I just hope I can come home with a Southern Belle or a California Girl, who knows? Stranger things happen at sea.
Anyway, off for a glass of wine now to wash down my Cincinnati Chilli, so ttfn.
I hope to be able to continue to visit the States when finances allow and visit some places I've never been to. I'm thinking of going to either Savannah GA of San Francisco CA for a week in November. I'll procrastinate for a while longer then decide once I work out how much it will all cost when spending money and kitty kennels are factored in. I am a little wary of going on my own but I travel a lot alone anyway and have been abroad alone before so it really shouldn't be too bad. I just hope I can come home with a Southern Belle or a California Girl, who knows? Stranger things happen at sea.
Anyway, off for a glass of wine now to wash down my Cincinnati Chilli, so ttfn.
I am trying really hard....
...to be positive and move on with my life. I moved from the old place, albeit under duress and am really doing my best to make a new life for myself and to put the past behind me. This is proving more difficult than I hoped. There is something in my nature which will not allow me to let go when I feel that something has ended which could have been saved.
The problem I have is that I still feel that the mistake we made was to continue with the counsellor at relate who took sides rather than ask for a different person to deal with. She reinforced Madame's arguments and rather than try to come to a compromise which we could have built upon she allowed Madame to use this validation of her arguments as a stepping stone to getting out of the marriage.
I really should move on and get on with my life, it is hard as I have said to do that when I feel that an injustice has been done.
I give up.
The problem I have is that I still feel that the mistake we made was to continue with the counsellor at relate who took sides rather than ask for a different person to deal with. She reinforced Madame's arguments and rather than try to come to a compromise which we could have built upon she allowed Madame to use this validation of her arguments as a stepping stone to getting out of the marriage.
I really should move on and get on with my life, it is hard as I have said to do that when I feel that an injustice has been done.
I give up.
Sunday 28 July 2013
How much rain?
It is absolutely throwing it down with rain just now so I have decided to put my gym and storage jaunt on hold. I am not getting drenched for the sake of a bit of sweating and sorting.
On a different note it's an interesting thing that now I'm considering whether to search out the third Mrs Hall (have I given up all hope of reconciling with Madame? I don't know, the jury is still out on that I think) I'm still hoping to come across another American, or perhaps a Canadian. I don't know what it is about American women that attracts me, they just seem to be that little bit different and I can't quite put my finger on what it is. Anyway, this train of thought will probably end up with me wandering through a minefield of sexism so suffice to say I don't know if I can ever find one but another American wife would suit me just fine. I'll have to make sure I travel to America as often as I can and have my charm transmitters turned to full.
Of course, just to clarify, I have no illusions about my attractiveness and I'm not saying women will fall at my feet, far from it. I'm just expressing the hope that Mrs Hall III will be from North America. And although I very much doubt it, I wouldn't rule out Madame being both Mrs Hall II and III, stranger things happen. But don't worry, I'm not hanging my hat on that unlikely eventuality, it is just another figment of my fevered imagination. Also bear in mind that there was nearly 20 years between the first two Mrs Hs so as I'm currently 54 there may not be a number 3 if that form continues.
Anyway, enough of that, as the rain flings itself down and the wind gets up I'm off to get some breakfast. Well that was lovely, you can't beat a fried egg sandwich on a Sunday morning, well you can but I wouldn't recommend it, think of the mess.
The rain isn't easing up any which means a stay-indoors day is definitely on the agenda. Research into farming in 1860's Ohio looks a good bet for later after the papers have been read. So off to the paper reading and research, ttfn.
On a different note it's an interesting thing that now I'm considering whether to search out the third Mrs Hall (have I given up all hope of reconciling with Madame? I don't know, the jury is still out on that I think) I'm still hoping to come across another American, or perhaps a Canadian. I don't know what it is about American women that attracts me, they just seem to be that little bit different and I can't quite put my finger on what it is. Anyway, this train of thought will probably end up with me wandering through a minefield of sexism so suffice to say I don't know if I can ever find one but another American wife would suit me just fine. I'll have to make sure I travel to America as often as I can and have my charm transmitters turned to full.
Of course, just to clarify, I have no illusions about my attractiveness and I'm not saying women will fall at my feet, far from it. I'm just expressing the hope that Mrs Hall III will be from North America. And although I very much doubt it, I wouldn't rule out Madame being both Mrs Hall II and III, stranger things happen. But don't worry, I'm not hanging my hat on that unlikely eventuality, it is just another figment of my fevered imagination. Also bear in mind that there was nearly 20 years between the first two Mrs Hs so as I'm currently 54 there may not be a number 3 if that form continues.
Anyway, enough of that, as the rain flings itself down and the wind gets up I'm off to get some breakfast. Well that was lovely, you can't beat a fried egg sandwich on a Sunday morning, well you can but I wouldn't recommend it, think of the mess.
The rain isn't easing up any which means a stay-indoors day is definitely on the agenda. Research into farming in 1860's Ohio looks a good bet for later after the papers have been read. So off to the paper reading and research, ttfn.
Saturday 27 July 2013
Saturday.
I was going to cut the grass today. I'm not now because I had a look and with the warm weather it has hardly grown so I'll leave it for a bit and maybe do it one night in the week. I did pick some new potatoes which I'll have for Sunday dinner with whatever I can find in the freezer.
I have moved The Story on by another 600 words this morning. Bob and Helen are now married and about to start farming near Cleveland OH. I need to have a think about how to make this interesting until they move further West. Some research into the trials and tribulations of Ohio farmers in the 1860's is on the cards I think.
I may have a stroll over the road for an hour in a bit to have a restorative beer or two, come back for tea and then go out again. I don't want to drink too much because I want to go the gym early tomorrow and also to the storage unit to see if I can bring some of the stuff out either to use or dispose of. It's costing me money so I need to start emptying it so that I can relinquish it sooner rather than later.
Anyway, off for an ice lolly now to help cool me down.
ttfn
I have moved The Story on by another 600 words this morning. Bob and Helen are now married and about to start farming near Cleveland OH. I need to have a think about how to make this interesting until they move further West. Some research into the trials and tribulations of Ohio farmers in the 1860's is on the cards I think.
I may have a stroll over the road for an hour in a bit to have a restorative beer or two, come back for tea and then go out again. I don't want to drink too much because I want to go the gym early tomorrow and also to the storage unit to see if I can bring some of the stuff out either to use or dispose of. It's costing me money so I need to start emptying it so that I can relinquish it sooner rather than later.
Anyway, off for an ice lolly now to help cool me down.
ttfn
Friday 26 July 2013
It's still Warmsville man...
Another day of lovely warmth and sunshine. The trouble is a chap could get used to this and it's going to be difficult when the inevitable happens and we return to the cold and damp of Winter.
With that in mind I'm planning to take a trip in November to somewhere warm, probably San Francisco if I can get my lazy butt in gear. This will be the first proper break I've had since I don't know when because all of my holidays have been taken up this year with moving house and getting rid of junk from the old place before I moved out and into my new abode.
The warm sunny weather is certainly a mood lifter and although I do still hanker occasionally for Madame to come home I am certainly nearer to coming to terms with moving on without her. When I think about her now it is with an ambivalent attitude, I liked her company but she wasn't the easiest person to live with at times. Nor was I mind you but we seemed less and less able to compromise over the last couple of years of our marriage and I still think that going to Relate was a bad move in that I felt the counsellor was partial towards Madame and seemed not to be as disinterested as she should have been.
That of course is all in the past now and I am currently trying to make a new life for myself either alone or with a new partner depending upon what fate decides my future should hold.
I am also going to make a concerted effort over the next few weekends to go to the storage unit each Sunday and clear out at least two boxes per trip and bring to the shed any residual gardening gear that is still down there. I must get into a position soon that means I can store what remains here and relinquish the unit which is costing money I shouldn't need to spend.
I am going to go back to the gym from Sunday, bad foot or not so that I can kick-start my weight loss programme which has stalled badly over the last couple of months. I need to lose three or four stones by next April and sitting on my rear drinking beer won't allow that to happen. My mid-year resolution, less beer, more exercise and 13 stone by April.
So on that note I will stop and have a cool drink (not beer).
ttfn.
With that in mind I'm planning to take a trip in November to somewhere warm, probably San Francisco if I can get my lazy butt in gear. This will be the first proper break I've had since I don't know when because all of my holidays have been taken up this year with moving house and getting rid of junk from the old place before I moved out and into my new abode.
The warm sunny weather is certainly a mood lifter and although I do still hanker occasionally for Madame to come home I am certainly nearer to coming to terms with moving on without her. When I think about her now it is with an ambivalent attitude, I liked her company but she wasn't the easiest person to live with at times. Nor was I mind you but we seemed less and less able to compromise over the last couple of years of our marriage and I still think that going to Relate was a bad move in that I felt the counsellor was partial towards Madame and seemed not to be as disinterested as she should have been.
That of course is all in the past now and I am currently trying to make a new life for myself either alone or with a new partner depending upon what fate decides my future should hold.
I am also going to make a concerted effort over the next few weekends to go to the storage unit each Sunday and clear out at least two boxes per trip and bring to the shed any residual gardening gear that is still down there. I must get into a position soon that means I can store what remains here and relinquish the unit which is costing money I shouldn't need to spend.
I am going to go back to the gym from Sunday, bad foot or not so that I can kick-start my weight loss programme which has stalled badly over the last couple of months. I need to lose three or four stones by next April and sitting on my rear drinking beer won't allow that to happen. My mid-year resolution, less beer, more exercise and 13 stone by April.
So on that note I will stop and have a cool drink (not beer).
ttfn.
Thursday 25 July 2013
It's warmsville man...
This has been a splendid month weather-wise. We have had consistent warmth and a good amount of sun. July should be like this. I can't believe it is only a couple of months ago that I was sitting in front of a roaring fire swaddled in a blanket whilst eating porridge (in May!). That time will come again no doubt as winter draws on but really we should enjoy this July weather and hope for more like it in August. There's an Ashes series to be won and we need fine dry weather for that to happen.
I'm 'working at home' today although in reality I'm merely staring blankly at page after page of training material whilst gently cooking in the humid air in my front room.
I'm also going to spend half my life at the Health Centre in August, well about an hour and a half what with a physio appointment for my bad foot and a blood pressure test. I hope that my foot can be sorted and that my blood pressure is low enough to allow me to come off the blood pressure tablets. I take so many pills these days what with blood pressure, gout and cholesterol I rattle when I walk (or limp currently)!
I've been having some really good interactions with the folks in Toggy Club plus my Twitter and Facebook contacts lately which has helped me through the mood dip brought on by Madame's marriage news. I'll probably have another when the event takes place, if it hasn't already, but at least I know who my friends are.
Most of those I 'speak to' on Twitter and Facebook I actually know and have met so I know there are real people out there who care about my welfare, which is very gratifying and helps my mood no end, even though I rarely see most of them from one year's end to the next.
Having to sell up and move was the best thing to happen to me for a long, long time and although I was unwilling to do it at first I now realise that it was the right thing to do and my mood has improved as a consequence. So thanks to Madame I hope to be able to move onwards and upwards, taking each day as it comes.
Once again Per Ardua Ad Astra has proven to be very apposite.
TTFN
I'm 'working at home' today although in reality I'm merely staring blankly at page after page of training material whilst gently cooking in the humid air in my front room.
I'm also going to spend half my life at the Health Centre in August, well about an hour and a half what with a physio appointment for my bad foot and a blood pressure test. I hope that my foot can be sorted and that my blood pressure is low enough to allow me to come off the blood pressure tablets. I take so many pills these days what with blood pressure, gout and cholesterol I rattle when I walk (or limp currently)!
I've been having some really good interactions with the folks in Toggy Club plus my Twitter and Facebook contacts lately which has helped me through the mood dip brought on by Madame's marriage news. I'll probably have another when the event takes place, if it hasn't already, but at least I know who my friends are.
Most of those I 'speak to' on Twitter and Facebook I actually know and have met so I know there are real people out there who care about my welfare, which is very gratifying and helps my mood no end, even though I rarely see most of them from one year's end to the next.
Having to sell up and move was the best thing to happen to me for a long, long time and although I was unwilling to do it at first I now realise that it was the right thing to do and my mood has improved as a consequence. So thanks to Madame I hope to be able to move onwards and upwards, taking each day as it comes.
Once again Per Ardua Ad Astra has proven to be very apposite.
TTFN
Wednesday 17 July 2013
Is it only Wednesday?
This has been a long week. I'm in my hotel in Liverpool cogitating upon my lot in life with a couple of rum and cokes. It appears I am surrounded at every turn by happily married people or couples who seem to be getting along fine. I feel like a sad desperate old singleton cast adrift on a sea of solitude.
All I would like is a happy relationship with a partner whom I can share my time, someone to come home to after work and chew the fat with, someone to go down the pub with and to snuggle up with at bedtime. Not much to ask is it?
But here I am, feeling sorry for myself, alone in the world (mostly) with no-one special to do all the aforesaid things with. I had it for a while but now its gone and man, do I miss it.
Still, who knows what the future holds?
ttfn
All I would like is a happy relationship with a partner whom I can share my time, someone to come home to after work and chew the fat with, someone to go down the pub with and to snuggle up with at bedtime. Not much to ask is it?
But here I am, feeling sorry for myself, alone in the world (mostly) with no-one special to do all the aforesaid things with. I had it for a while but now its gone and man, do I miss it.
Still, who knows what the future holds?
ttfn
Tuesday 16 July 2013
A decision made.
A short note before I go off to work this morning.
My subconscious mind has been working on me overnight and has led me to the decision that I really should let Madame get on with her life and I should get on with mine. I cannot influence her to come home because she has made up her mind and is very stubborn once that has happened. The more I push her to give up her new plans, the more she will forge ahead with them. Any more arguments from me will only alienate her and whatever the situation I still care about her and don't want that to happen.
I hope she can be happy but I still harbour the desire that she could be happy with me. As I have said though that is not in my power to make happen just now so I have to let go. Any hope I have of her coming home will have to be put away and left to be achieved at her pace. I will keep her updated with news from home but apart from that will keep my distance and hope that time will heal.
Off to work now.
ttfn
My subconscious mind has been working on me overnight and has led me to the decision that I really should let Madame get on with her life and I should get on with mine. I cannot influence her to come home because she has made up her mind and is very stubborn once that has happened. The more I push her to give up her new plans, the more she will forge ahead with them. Any more arguments from me will only alienate her and whatever the situation I still care about her and don't want that to happen.
I hope she can be happy but I still harbour the desire that she could be happy with me. As I have said though that is not in my power to make happen just now so I have to let go. Any hope I have of her coming home will have to be put away and left to be achieved at her pace. I will keep her updated with news from home but apart from that will keep my distance and hope that time will heal.
Off to work now.
ttfn
Monday 15 July 2013
What am I going to do II, the sequel.
I still cannot believe that Madame is marrying again so soon especially as I have said before I thought this whole palaver was a temporary, if long term glitch which we could get past and eventually put behind us.
I suppose I must move on though, it isn't worth me spending any more time or emotion on what now looks to be a failed relationship. No matter how much I want it to be resurrected I cannot see it being so unless madame comes back after this latest foray into marital bliss fails. Not that I wish her ill, that is just my take on the whole saga.
I am up and down like a hotel lift when I think about how, with a little more communication and flexibility on both sides we could have maybe steered the ship of our marriage away from the rocks of divorce. Still, that ship has sailed, the past has gone and all the 'what ifs' in the world can't change what has gone before. Forward is the only option; either into happiness or a lonely old age, who knows, the future is a foreign country into which we travel like a car driving through fog on the motorway, no-one knows what is ahead until they hit it. The trick is not to hit too hard and survive to enjoy the consequences.
The last two years have been dreadful and many times a combination of cowardice, the fact that I have the kitties to look after and the thought that Madame and I might reconcile has kept me on this earth. I saw a cartoon in a magazine the other day which brought home the fact that where there's life there's hope. A man had just kicked away the stool on which he had been standing with a rope around his neck when the telephone loudspeaker came on with his wife saying 'Darling, I've won the lotto and want to reconcile' That epitomises why I could never take that ultimate step, it only takes a second for things to improve and if you are gone there's no coming back.
On that happy note I will close and say that I plan to hang on in there and hope for things to improve. I've been through worse than this and have come through the other side so wish me luck and Per Ardua Ad Astra.
ttfn
I suppose I must move on though, it isn't worth me spending any more time or emotion on what now looks to be a failed relationship. No matter how much I want it to be resurrected I cannot see it being so unless madame comes back after this latest foray into marital bliss fails. Not that I wish her ill, that is just my take on the whole saga.
I am up and down like a hotel lift when I think about how, with a little more communication and flexibility on both sides we could have maybe steered the ship of our marriage away from the rocks of divorce. Still, that ship has sailed, the past has gone and all the 'what ifs' in the world can't change what has gone before. Forward is the only option; either into happiness or a lonely old age, who knows, the future is a foreign country into which we travel like a car driving through fog on the motorway, no-one knows what is ahead until they hit it. The trick is not to hit too hard and survive to enjoy the consequences.
The last two years have been dreadful and many times a combination of cowardice, the fact that I have the kitties to look after and the thought that Madame and I might reconcile has kept me on this earth. I saw a cartoon in a magazine the other day which brought home the fact that where there's life there's hope. A man had just kicked away the stool on which he had been standing with a rope around his neck when the telephone loudspeaker came on with his wife saying 'Darling, I've won the lotto and want to reconcile' That epitomises why I could never take that ultimate step, it only takes a second for things to improve and if you are gone there's no coming back.
On that happy note I will close and say that I plan to hang on in there and hope for things to improve. I've been through worse than this and have come through the other side so wish me luck and Per Ardua Ad Astra.
ttfn
Sunday 14 July 2013
What am I going to do?
I'm writing this in something of a state of shock. Madame has informed me that she is going to marry again. I'm shocked because I had thought that we were apart temporarily, maybe for a while, but temporarily until we could sort out our differences and reconcile. That would appear to be a non-starter and I have now to change focus and make a life without the hope of she and I getting back together.
It is going to be hard starting off again at 54 after 11 years of being with her. I know many people go through these kinds of situations all the time and I had half-reconciled myself to her never coming back, this new development though has really knocked me for six. It's difficult because I don't feel I have anyone to talk to about it all so I have to go out to the club and take comfort from the company available there. I can't really talk to anyone there though because I don't know anyone well enough to burden them with my problems.
I fear a fall back into a depression triggered by this turn of events and still have a storage unit plus a room here full of stuff, much of it hers which I was dealing with as I thought she would come back, but now what? It's all getting a bit much and I fear a relapse.
Maybe I will meet someone who can help me through this but I don't know who this mythical being will be or where I will meet them. Life really does have a way of smacking a chap in the chops. I really thought that when Madame and I married that was it and we would spend the rest of our lives together. What am I to do?
Anyway, I'm going to stop now before this turns into a ramble. ttfn
It is going to be hard starting off again at 54 after 11 years of being with her. I know many people go through these kinds of situations all the time and I had half-reconciled myself to her never coming back, this new development though has really knocked me for six. It's difficult because I don't feel I have anyone to talk to about it all so I have to go out to the club and take comfort from the company available there. I can't really talk to anyone there though because I don't know anyone well enough to burden them with my problems.
I fear a fall back into a depression triggered by this turn of events and still have a storage unit plus a room here full of stuff, much of it hers which I was dealing with as I thought she would come back, but now what? It's all getting a bit much and I fear a relapse.
Maybe I will meet someone who can help me through this but I don't know who this mythical being will be or where I will meet them. Life really does have a way of smacking a chap in the chops. I really thought that when Madame and I married that was it and we would spend the rest of our lives together. What am I to do?
Anyway, I'm going to stop now before this turns into a ramble. ttfn
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