So this is summer

1. Summer - Yes summer definately arrived this week its been sunny & hot for a few days but no point us getting used to it cos the rain showers are on the way. At least I managed to get some gardening done although the lawn needs cutting.
Trouble is when its hot and humid its impossible to sleep at night, we are not really geared up like some countries with air conditioning in every home. All you can do is sleep naked and sling the covers off, I was gonna post a photo but why should I give you all a laugh.

2. Weight Loss - Don't think I've done too well in the last week or so, had a couple of extra nights out and just sort of feel full. I don't think I've eaten that well although not that badly either but think I need to start counting calories again.
Saying all that I've been doing a few TT training sessions in preparation for the coming season and its been going well I think. I've entered a Veterans summer tournament in Halifax in a couple of weeks so that will be a true test of how its going. I am pleased though cos no signs of the tennis elbow or gout in fact no aches & pains at all, feel as good as anytime in the last 3 seasons.

3. Idiots - The people who have reponsible jobs in our country have again let us down, apparently the Passport office have lost 12,000 blank passports, fantastic thats half of the third world that will be on its way to burdon our society.

4. Comedy Moment - We'll finish with a laugh again with another fantastic sitcom "The Good Life"
Created by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, The Good Life's four series from 1975-8 are remembered, according to the Britain's Greatest Sitcom poll, as our 9th favourite laugh.
Constantly available on UKTV, it's a must visit for anyone interested in British sitcom.
On his 40th birthday to be precise, Tom Good decides that he's had enough of the rat race and that he and wife Barbara will become self-sufficient.
The pair convert their garden into a farm, get in the pigs and chickens, grow their own crops and on one memorable occasion, try to dye their own wool with nettles.
Tom and Barbara would just be lone loons were it not for their neighbours, the henpecked Jerry Leadbetter and wife Margot, a social climber who cannot bear chickens wandering the back garden.
The Good Life attacked the middle class and the 'alternative' lifestyle at once, showing Margot's snobbishness as blindness, and Tom's fanatical self-sufficiency as going too far.
Examples of Tom's pursuit of natural alternatives leading down the wrong path include his attempts to make a methane-powered car that continually breaks down, as well as the problems Barbara and Tom have trying to kill their chicken, forcing them through pride to make a 'sumptuous feast' of a single egg.
The Good Life was remarkable for the consistent characterisation. Though initially dominated by Tom, Barbara was soon balancing his mad schemes with pragmatism and comforting his occasional lapses into depression. Jerry's mocking derision of Tom's step sideways become grudging respect, and even snobbish Margot was human and real.
The series showcased the talents of Richard Briers, Felicity Kendal, Penelope Keith and Paul Eddington and made all three of the latter into solo stars afterwards, with Kendal becoming a sex-symbol (still is, let’s face it), while Keith in To The Manor Born and Eddington in Yes Minister created roles that were to become even better known than their Good Life creations.
Briers went on to create possibly the saddest small-screen comic character of all time, Martin Brice in Ever Decreasing Circles.
The thirty episodes of The Good Life became household favourites, and are still enduring icons of their time.
In a good-natured, light-hearted way, they showed how hard it was, and is, to be different to those around you, and the kind of courage it takes to be so.

Here is some short clips to laugh at :-

Somebodys having a laugh !

1. Oil Price ? - Well I reckon somebody is having a laugh with the cost of Diesil for my car. Sad I know but when the cost of Oil rocketed recently I started to monitor the situation and compared with the price of fuel at the Pumps. I commented before that the government were taking the p**s because the higher the price went up the more they took in tax. As we pay 68% tax the amount they get is obviously more on a larger initial price so they could have cut the tax to motorists and still taken the same amount in actual money.
Anyway that not my complaint today but Oil has now come down on the World market. Well when it went up prices at the pumps went up at the same rate approximately so you would think when the World market dropped it would come down at the same rate, hell no so somebody is making a lot of money out of this.
Here are the figures - Oil peaked on the World market about 2 weeks ago at around $146 per barrel at that time the price at the pumps of filling stations near me were £1.31 per litre. Now since then Oil as dropped to about £128 per barrel a decrease of over 12%. Yet prices at the pumps have only dropped 5 pence to £1.26 a decrease of less than 4%.
If Oil had decreased the same way it went up we should be paying around £1.15 per litre.

2. Supermarket trip - Yesterday I had a couple of "run ins" at the supermarket. First was actually in the shop, I didn't need too much so I took a hand basket and got the items I wanted. When I got to the check outs I made my way to the "Hand Baskets" only till but as I arrived a women came flying in front of me with a Trolley basket and proceeded to put her shopping on the conveyor.
I thought about saying nothing but decided to point out the sign that said "Hand Baskets Only", the women started hurling abuse saying she had less than 10 items. I pointed out thats the rule in Tesco but we are in Morrisons and the sign clearly states "Hand Baskets Only". I was a bit disgusted none of the staff said anything and they actually served her. I think they just did it for a quiet life as she was really wound up. I just don't like ignorant people the rules are there for a reason, if she wanted serving quick and didn't have much stuff then she should have used a hand basket like everyone else in that queue.
Anyway that wasn't the only argument I got on that trip, as I walked out to cross the car park to my car I almost got run over by a bloke flying around dangerously in my opinion. He then wound me up by blasting his horn at me to which I pointed to the Zebra Crossing I was stood on. For those that don't know British law the pedestrian has right of way on a Zebra crossing. We exchanged a few choice words but he drove away when he saw I wasn't gonna back down, why should I when I was in the right.

3. American Hooligans - I see America as finally arrived in the World of Football (soccer) as news reports suggest a clash between English Supporters of West Ham and fans of Columbus Crew.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/2439908/West-Ham-fans-brawl-with-Columbus-Crew-as-football-hooliganism-hits-the-US.html

Had to laugh when I saw the videos on Youtube its more handbags at six paces been totally blown out of all proportion by the press.

4. Comedy - Just thought I'd do a comedy section of my post, my generation as been lucky to have lived through eras of fantastic sit coms on British TV so I reckon I'll show a clip and tell you all a bit about various one's each week for my blog friends to have a laugh at. Ok some of these clips are old but are quality. I'll start with one that everyone puts near the top of their list and start with "Only Fools and Horses" :-

"Only Fools' proved that you can set a show in a scruffy, violent working class Peckham Council Estate without getting all Ken Loach about it. It made cockneys out of everyone born within earshot of BBC1. And put Peckham on the map".
"'Only Fools' gave the world Derek Edward Trotter, the fast-talking, quick thinking whirlwind at the centre of the show who stirs up clouds of cash, sambuca, dodgy Russian video cameras and affection wherever he turns. A fool worthy of Dickens or Shakespeare".
"And it gave us Rodney Charlton Trotter, the ultimate sidekick, straight man and annoying kid brother. The voice of reason, yin to Del's yang. Two GCE's and not an ounce of sense".
"The show is chock full of family values, practical morality and workaday virtues. Family and friends, loyalty and decency, curry and chips. It handles the heavy stuff - thwarted dreams, miscarriage and even death. But can still turn this unpromising material into comedy gold sometimes in a single sentence".
"The show and the characters have grown with the audience in real time. Del's got older, milder, then richer. Rodders has grown some sense and jowls. And it's all 'real', not padding"!
"It has the single best sight gag on telly - Del falling through the bar, and the second best - the chandelier falling down".

Think I've gotta show both them clips (but there was so many more classics) :-