Rubbish

When you place something in the disposal at a water point It may be useful to someone else, so its a good idea to leave it accessible for others. If it is broken, old, worn it should be in the bins, and likewise if hasn't been taken in two weeks it should go in the bin.

Its been about two weeks now since I put a broken storage box, a tatty grass woven basket, and a broken washing up bowl in the skip since it had not been removed. Every time I go there with my rubbish the said items have been removed and left beside the bins.

Essentially these items are crap. Old, broken, worn! No one wants them. Now add to this a number of old batteries (not allowed) a dozen old oil containers all full (not allowed) piles of books, an old cage generator, Loads of old shoes and bedding all left out of the bins 'in case they can be of use' and what you have is not enough fucking room to get in the storage area to put your rubbish in the bins.

I don't know who is doing this, taking the rubbish out of the bins, but it is bloody annoying. And they need to get a life. The disposal point is for the collection of rubbish for disposal, not for the storage of your crap! STOP IT!

Thats so cool

We are now up to just over £65. Thank you everyone for your clicks. I am sure Trevi House will be most pleased. If you are interested you can read about them here.

Grotesques

 

These seabird statues lining the wall of a cathedral in Ecuador are called grotesques, the architectural term for statues found on the side of buildings for ornamental purposes. But hang on… don't we call them gargoyles? Not exactly. Gargoyles are a particular type of grotesque with a handy feature: spouts that carry rainwater away from the building.

Grotesques often live up to their off-putting name, depicting demons or monsters (the word 'gargoyle' comes from 'gargouille', an evil creature from French legend). But the Basílica del Voto Nacional's grotesques celebrate the beautiful fauna of Ecuador: not only seabirds but iguanas, crocodiles, armadillos and more. Although the Basílica is one of the main tourist attractions in Ecuador’s capital Quito, it's been under construction since 1892 and technically remains unfinished. Legend has it that the world will end when it's complete, so no one's really been rushing the job.

Thank you

It seems my post about the ad has produced a further 10 quid. Thankyou everyone, only another £4.06 to go. I have to send Trevi House £40 after I retrieved my lost wallet (I always give half of the contents). So £60 from the ad will bring that total to £100. If you have been and clicked, it can be done every day if you have more time to spare. 

How cool!

Those of you that know me are aware that in the last two years I have been involved with Susan Chavagnon. Susan is the the wife of the late Andre Chavagnon owner of restaurants  'Le Sorbonne' 'Rouge Blanc Bleu', 'Le Rendezvous' and 'Ma Cuisine', all in Oxford. He was a Master chef, three star Michelin. One of the two best chefs in Oxford. Andre taught many of the good chefs in Oxford  during the 60s and 70s, including Raymond Blanc.

Andre died in August 2017 following a long period of Dementia. He left his wife Susan well cared for. Susan has a Restaurant on the Cowley Road and the flat above, also a house in Roanne France. Its at the bottom of the LOIRE VALLEY. Its not palatial, but it is somewhere to live. Its a two bed bungalow. I think it is the only one on the street. The rest of the houses are 2-3 stories.

However this is not the story I want to tell, read on. 

We visit the French house two times a year, except since Covid. 

During an early visit one March we stopped of at the canal basin, yes Roanne has canal basin! I had no idea!  The basin is only about one mile from Susan's house.

We spoke to an English couple, painting their boat, who were overwintering there. They said we should come to the wine bar on Thursday when all the over wintering boaters get together for a few beers/wines.

Well I was ill the next Thursday so we arrived a week later. It was a typical French wine bar.  On entrance we passed a table of  the French boaters, a table of German & Dutch boaters, and next was the British boaters.

As we arrived we said hello to the people we met at the basin. A chap stood up and said, "Fuck me, it's Maffi!" Well you may think I would have been stunned having travelled 600 miles, I was, but Susan was beside herself. She just could not believe that after all this traveling we met some one who knew the Maffster! The chap was Roger who used to own NB 'Fizzical Attraction'. I met Roger some years ago in Loughborough and all of a sudden he was here in Roanne. What a coincidence!

We had a good night! Plenty of good French wine and plates of chips thrown in.

Now that doesn't happen very often!

We were going to return in March but C-19 got in the way and again in September, no joy! Yet again we were looking for the NEW Year but its looking iffy. I don't know how the British boaters are getting on out there, but I do hope the French are treating them right.

Ugly bastard

You may or may not know what this is. I do only too well. Its the Scabies mite. It is an ugly little fucker. You don't want to meet it. It is not only annoying in that it makes you itch, it also 'bites'. I say bites I'm not sure that is the right word, but if you have ever had a wasp sting you will know what I mean. The pain level is only about half the intensity of a wasp sting. but it happens (in my case) about 40/50 times a day. And I cant even see it, its microscopic!

This is a contagious infestation. I have no idea where it came from!

Scientific name: Sarcoptes Scabiei var canis

This beast burrows under your skin.  It seems its purpose is eating, shitting, and procreation, which it does right there, under your skin. It neither paints, sings, nor fixes motor cars so it has no real purpose. Worse than that it cant even drive a narrowboat. I am more scared of this Oik than I am of C-19. It can cause my death from emphysema, sepsis, septicemia and god knows what else. Its eradication is supposed to take 2-4 weeks I have been suffering now for more than 16 weeks.

Biblical Quote: "God made ALL things in the heavens and on the firmament!" If this is the case he is a c**t. He cannot possibly have made this just to piss me off. What is the point?

Nothing Further To Report

I had half expected the police to call me today. If for no other reason than to check on details and see if I was OK after my altercation with Mr Angry, but no there was nothing. Their rapid response never came even though the STY is less than a mile away and we heard the siren.

It was nice to be there to help the girl out and somewhat calm the situation. Social distancing went by the by. Masks were definitely not worn, it just never occurred to me. Unlike most people in these situations, I never thought to turn my phone on. I could be trending on Twitter or You tube by now. 

I don't think he was ready to be let out of prison. I don't understand why she ever let him back in her house, after all he was in gaol because he had beaten the crap out of her. Girls today need to start learning to make smarter decisions. Parents need to teach them, not abandon them to the evils of bullies like Mr Angry.

NTFR!

Oh dear, Rambo rides again

An Old Age Pensioner, who had just picked up his lady friend, off the train, heard a scream near the Station. At first he was alarmed but not enough to seek out the screamer. Then another plaintiff scream and he had to go see what was happening. 

He walked down near to the station entrance where a young woman and a man were in a heated argument, very one sided. As the OAP approached the couple the guy said to him, "Stay away and keep out of it, you don't know what's going on here". OAP had seen enough bullying thugs to know exactly 'what was going on here'. 

Mr Angry started to yell at the old boy telling him to, "fuck off" and he "wasn't wanted", "don't poke your nose in!" The OAP said as cool as he could when he passed the guy, "I don't want to talk to you I just want to talk to her and see if she is OK". Angry man says, "You are going to get hurt if you don't fuck off, just leave". OAP ignored him, walked up to the girl and asked if she was OK. Mr Angry went of on one again. OAP turned and said, "I told you I don't want to talk to you".

She responded, "NO! I don't want him near my car". There was a bit of to-ing and fro-ing. 

I want my stuff. 

No go away. 

Give me my stuff. 

Get away from me.

Just give me my stuff.

Stay away from my car.

The guy shouting at the top of his voice told the OAP, "This is nothing to do with you. Fuck off and mind your own business or I am going to fuck you up". Sadly he didn't realise he was dealing with one of her majesty's military men and they don't give up. OAP had been threatened before and in an earlier time he may have walked away, but he was not going to back down now. 

The guy, about 25-30, wanted to get his stuff out of her car but he was just being an absolute arsehole! 

So the OAP says, "Calm down mate. Look why don't you wait here and I'll go with her and get your stuff out of her car and bring it to you". Well that wasn't good enough. 

By now there was a small crowd forming. He walked over to the girls car, everybody followed. Still shouting and threatening the OAP he said, "you are going to get hurt if you stay here! Just fuck off. You  don't know what's going on. This is none of your business. Get outta my fucking face" The tirade seemed endless. "Calm down Mate. Shouting is getting you nowhere," says the OAP, "I'm staying here until she is safe away, just stop shouting and we can sort this". Wasted breath!

She opened the boot of her car and took out his stuff and put it on the road and that should have been the end of it, but no, now he is complaining because he didn't want one of the bags on the ground and wanted it to go back in the car (probably thinking later he needed her to have the bag so he had an excuse to go back to her house).  When the girl said no he opened the back door of the car, still shouting, and got in.  OAP asked him to get out of the car, "If you want me out you will have to call the police, to which OAP said, "Fine by me sonny", and dialed 999.

Still shouting and threatening to kill the OAP the yob, realizing OAP had called his bluff got out of the car and left the area. The girl moved her car to another part of the concourse and waited until it was safe to leave. Meanwhile the police had a rapid response vehicle on its way.

Angry man eventually came back to get his stuff. At this time while OAP was still talking to the police on the phone he was also moving 'said stuff' off the road onto the pavement. 

The guy didn't get closer than 25 yards when the siren sounded and he then hot footed it towards the rail bridge shouting he was going to commit suicide and chuck himself off the bridge. Well that would have been a good result! No one knows why, but the police rapid response car never turned up. The Station man made a radio call to stop all trains in and out of the station and the station Lady comforted the girl. The girl eventually drove off after someone said Angry man had left the area. 

Everything then calmed down. Everybody said thank you to each other for the support, the girl had left saying nothing and the Rail staff took Angry man's bags to the station. Everybody went home!

The Moral of this story is quite simple. I am not Rambo. I have got to stop poking my nose in where it isn't wanted. I think it was the fact that I kept calm that he was somewhat disarmed by that, that I didn't get hurt. One day a Mr Angry is gonna fuck me up bad and at 70 I don't think I will survive.

Oh well, Onwards and upwards!

Epilogue: Angry Man was recently released from prison. He was locked up because he had assaulted this girlfriend whilst high on drugs. She said the first week home was fine then he started with the drugs again and it all went south from there. She had, had enough and was throwing him out. She was pregnant! During their relationship he had isolated her from her family, a typical scenario for a buying moron with low self-esteem. What a fucking twat!

Portland Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty vehemently advocates for defunding the police in Portland Oregon. She says most calls to the police are not criminal cases. So you maybe surprised to hear that she called the police because the cab drive had the window open in accordance with local Covid-19 regulations.

However the police did attend the scene and brought with them another cab. Four days later she voted to reduce the police budget by $18 million!

So nice black lady but stupid, she's letting her people down!

Service with a smile

I don't want to moan, but you know I'm going to. Has customer service gone down the shit chute? Recently I was in a well known shopping emporium owned by a Mr Smith at a Rail station. I bought my self a can of coke for the journey.

The whole encounter took just a minute or two. During this time I said 'hello' and 'thank you'. The girl behind the counter never spoke a word! After she handed me my change I said, " Excuse me but we have just made a transaction here and you have not spoken one word".

Her response was, "No and I'm not going to".

I like going into restaurants and I always tip well for good service. The more known I become the better the service I get. I have noticed that in restaurants where a 12% service charge is added to the bill the service is not always up to standard. And anyway when did tipping/service charge rise from 10%, that kind crept up on us a few years ago. Catering is one of a few businesses where you are sold the goods for a stated price and then the overheads are added to the bottom of the bill after the goods have been consumed albeit by tipping or fixed service charge,. Why is that? Why is it that certain service industries work different to the rest? 

I remember as a kid, when out shopping with mummy, if the service in a shop was poor she would never go back there again and I mean never! Of course 60 odd years ago that would have happened very rarely.

What has happened? Why did it all change? What has happened in our society that makes it OK for some Service staff to think that service isn't important? Are we right to expect good service? 

I have worked in the service industry in a few face to face roles and I thoroughly enjoyed that connection. If I were to be put in a position where I had to go back to work again, that is what I would do. I know I moan a lot here, but I am also well aware that the man/woman/child who walks through the door with cash to spend is a very important part of my job. No customers no job!

A few years back I enquired about the salary paid on hotel boats, just for info I was curious. I was told I didn't have any customer skills. Well I found this laughable. 

A short time later those particular hotel boats came to our area to pick up their next troop of 'sailors'. The last to arrive was a dear old frail lady of over 80 who seemed rather bothered that it would be a good long walk down to where the hotel boat was moored.  She wasn't my customer but on hearing she was in a pickle I escorted her on to a day boat I had at my disposal and we cruised on down the canal to where the hotel boats were waiting. After gently transferring her to the hotel boat. I left saying tell XXXXXXX that Maffi says that's what he calls customer service. A Point well made I think!

I don't think every situation requires staff to go the extra mile, but a nice smile (difficult when you have been on your feet all day I know) is not much to ask. After  all it takes more muscles to frown that it does to smile. So smiling makes the job easier, Yes?

FORGOTTEN SOLDIERS

Down by the wall there’s a man dressed in rags.

His worldly possessions in two plastic bags.

And despite his great age he stands tall and true.

Touching the names of the men he once knew.

Then after a while he fades back to the streets.

Where he sleeps in the park and begs food to eat.

And sometimes he wonders, "What was it all for?"

If we can’t honour veterans why send them to war?

Down at the graveyard the grass is not mown.

The weeds run amok and the plots overgrown.

Gone now the gardener ashamed that it is

Now home to the drunks and the derelicts.

How soon we forget all those who did fall.

Forgotten old soldiers, just names on a wall.

If we no longer honour who answered the call.

We no longer have any honour at all!

                                                    Jerry A Banks

I got this message on my laptop today.

Are we in Communist China now?

National Honour

 

Advertising!

You will notice as you view this page that there is a small advert on the left of the page. I have no idea from one day to another what this ad will be, but I do know it will be there. It seems you don't! That one ad generates money which I give to a charity. In order to raise money you guys have to click on the ad. That's all just click on the ad. In about the last five years clicking has 'earned' £45.75. OK so the charity has benefitted by £45.75, well no! The advertiser only pays out when the figure reaches £60. So I need another £14.25 in order to donate to charity. Now I am not allowed to tell you this but you could click when you come here. Don't say I said!

Hoorah!

Black Lives Matter protester faces JAIL after trying to BURN Union Jack on Cenotaph in London

Astrophel Sang, 19, was filmed flicking a lighter in a bid to torch the flag, unaware it is flame-proof.

Westminster JPs heard he had been hostile and aggressive and enjoyed the attention as a crowd egged him on at the London war memorial.

Sang told cops in June: “I didn’t rip it. I tried to set fire to it.”

Protesters defaced Winston Churchill’s statue the same day.  

Sang, of Birmingham, admitted attempted arson, was bailed and will be sentenced later.

His girlfriend claimed he didn’t know it was the Cenotaph.

His lawyer added: “He wants to apologise.”

The Presidential Election

What I see is a corrupt Democratic push to oust a president that is not of the ruling class. The whole point of a democracy is the politicians work for us not rule us! Yes Trump is a fecking clown, but even so  he has done more for America in 4 years than the Pedophile Joe Biden has done in 47 years. I don't see what the problem is!

Joe Biden the well known pedophile has done more to fuck Black Americans than any politician in modern history. More Black Americans are in prison because of Biden's corrupt legislation than ever before, yet the fuckers keep voting for him! Are they stupid?

Who?

I don't know about you but, if I have only met you once or twice I am not likely to recognize you without your boat and if I recognize your boat as far as I am concerned you are the person I know on that boat. I bring this up because I find my self sometimes talking to boat owners who I have never met before but I know the boat. I open a conversation and remind the boater, who I am sure I know, that I am Maffi. This information is often met with a blank stare as I haven't been keeping up with the blogs I am unaware that many of my friends and acquaintances have sold up! A resent encounter with NB 'Parisien Star' ended this way. The guy had absolutely no idea who I was and I was left on the bankside feeling a bit like Scott-no-mates. Ho-hum!

Grammar

No not Grandma, but Grammar. I found this blog today and it is right up my street. Grammar Grandma. If you have any interest in using English correctly you may like to take a visit.

I love the English language and using it correctly. I am not an expert by a long chalk but, I do enjoy finding out. Having said that there are some mistakes I make on purpose. 'Licence' (noun) & 'License' (verb). I always use Licence even if License is the correct word e.g. 

Correct: CRT license me to keep my boat on the canals. They issue me a licence to put in my window. 

My take: CRT licence me to keep my boat on the canals. They issue me a licence to put in my window. 

'Licence' does not exist in American English, 'license' is both noun and verb.

Anyway pop along to Grammar Grandma if you have any interest in grammar. It is written in very simple English so people like me can understand.

The trouble with @FaceBook.....

..... is it is not connected to reality. People have opinions and that is their right. There are times when people over step the bounds of propriety and rightly should be taken to task, (notice I didn't say 'punished'), It is not for @FaceBook to punish people. They are not a court of law. To argue that it is their site and they make the rules is pointless! It is not their site, they may have originally set it up, but they sold it to the advertisers. In doing that they gave it to the users to whom the adverts are pointed.