Aw Diddums

I don’t accept that there is any need to hunt whales. I can’t possibly say it better than a friend of mine did:

We will rue the day when these wonderful, intelligent animals have been hunted to extinction. I will always back any group trying to stop man’s horrendous progress in destroying either other species or their habitat – we have no right to do this.

Please sign the petition.

I hate banks.

I’m not an Egg customer myself, but I didn’t know whether or not I was surprised when I saw this piece of news on the television last night. I stared at it with horror, thinking to myself “that can’t have done anybody’s self-esteem much good. It’s the last thing we need in this world, which is hard enough.”

“Stupid bank!” I said out loud.
“Stupid guinea pigs,” said Mum.

I have friends who smoke, and my father also smoked, so I’m careful how I express myself on this subject. When it comes down to it, though, my feeling is that the smokers have had their way for long enough and now it’s our turn.

I went to a huge cat show once, and though people mustn’t smoke amongst the cats, they were allowed to smoke in the rest area at the side of the hall. Eventually the smoke drifted into the Siamese cat section. At first I didn’t pay a lot of attention, but after a while I realized I was having trouble breathing. And in the next moment I realized it was because of the drifting smoke, which always seems to affect me that way.

When I got home, I sent an email to the show manager, saying it was a good show and very well managed, but the one niggle I had was the smoke. In her response she said it wasn’t a problem as they weren’t smoking anywhere near the cats.

Ha! I was standing in the middle of the Siamese section and there was plenty of smoke drifting around. It wouldn’t have affected me otherwise, as I never sat in the rest area. The smokers, the non-smokers and the cats were trapped together in the same hall all day, and there wasn’t really anywhere else for any of us to go. Not good.

Well now there’s a smoking ban in Scotland. There are those who agree with it, and those who disagree. There are those whose horizons have broadened and whose profits have increased, and those whose scope has narrowed and whose profits have shrunk, and there is very little middle ground. Probably because you either need smoke or you can’t stand it. There IS no middle ground.

Even if there was, the smoke would drift across it and permeate everybody.

Remembering that my father was a smoker (though he never smoked in the house, and quit a short time before he died) I don’t like to throw my weight around. But the other day I was in our usual café and noticed smoke. I was puzzled. When I investigated, I realized it was someone sitting at a table outside the door. He’s allowed to smoke there, but his fumes blew right into the shop.

I couldn’t help smiling slightly when I read this article from The Scotsman: MSPs look at calls to extend smoking ban. There is all the usual anger from smokers who feel hard done by, but I understand the reasons for people wanting the smoking ban to go a little bit further yet. It’s not walking through or past the smoke that bothers me so much – it just seems futile to have a smoking ban and then sit in a smoky café anyway.

When I reached the end of my blog post, I suddenly realized I had a fascinated audience – see photo below.

Peeping out of the bookcase behind my hairy reader is a red book with a green dustjacket. There’s only one reason why I kept it – it belonged to my father, and has his name on the flyleaf, in small neat capitals. And it doesn’t smell of smoke – it smells of book.

Edit Feb 2008: Comments to this post when it was on Blogigo:

1. Iain wrote at Sep 27, 2006 at 23:55:
The inevitable question: what’s the book?

2. Diddums wrote at Sep 28, 2006 at 00:05:
‘The New Beginners Please: for those who want to invest profitably’ published by the Investors Chronicle. I don’t dip into it very much.

3. Pacian wrote at Sep 28, 2006 at 13:18:
I want one!

The sloth I mean.

I found this Scotsman article (with lots of comments from its readers) and thought “why has this started up again?”

Cumming hits out at Jack’s ‘racist’ own goal

I like Alan Cumming as an actor and first noticed him in Bernard and the Genie (a much-mourned film that we never see in the UK anymore). He’s also the evil hacker in the James Bond film Goldeneye – the one who shouts “I am invincible!” and then something happens… Yes, him.

Anyway, it sounds to me as though he got onto this topic when he was discussing what it means to be an expatriate Scot on the prowl for work. The media, as usual, blows everything out of proportion; Alan Cumming’s part in the discussion as much as Jack McConnell’s own personal stance. Granted, the politician could have expressed himself more carefully, though who asked them these questions in the first place? If we don’t want to have to deal with their replies, or are only expecting a bland “may the best team win,” why ask politicians (or actors) where they stand in a football match – and then publish their responses widely?

What is not explained here, exactly, is why Alan Cumming was given advice to pretend he wasn’t Scottish if he wanted a job. Why should any of us have to pretend to be something we’re not because of other people’s prejudices or expectations? I can’t believe it was purely because of one man’s comments about a football game – in fact I doubt it, which makes me wonder if this is a much larger issue than it’s being presented as.

As for tourists in Scotland – I’ve blogged recently about falling ill again with agoraphobia because of the sheer numbers of holidaymakers in town. Mum reported hearing plenty of English accents – not because we were discussing whether or not they liked us enough to come over here, but because she was trying to identify who the tourists were and what sort of holiday they were having. If a few decided on the strength of World Cup clashes not to visit Scotland… I have to say we really didn’t notice! There are a lot of forgiving, intelligent, broad-minded people out there, so thank you. You are really very welcome.

Edit Feb 2008: Comments to this entry when it was hosted on Blogigo:

1. Diddums wrote at Sep 17, 2006 at 16:25:
PS The Google ads on that news article are advertising Scottish holiday cottages, which is ironic. And I didn’t realize Alan Cummings was exactly my age – hmm!

2. drifting wrote at Sep 18, 2006 at 07:11:
Golly – what a to-do about nothing! (the ‘anti-English’ comments). McConnell was simply stating his preference for football teams surely. Anyone who takes offence and decides either to leave Scotland or not holiday there as a result is totally overreacting!

My brother is an avid football fan and will always barrack for the ‘other’ side – ie the country he’s not currently living in – so while in Germany he never supported German teams – while in New Zealand, he doesn’t support NZ teams – it’s one of his contrary ways – probably more to annoy the locals than anything. I must admit – I enjoy supporting Australia if there’s a NZ vs Aust rugby match and am forced to watch it. Love the reactions from the patriotic All Black supporters. Hehehehe.

3. Diddums wrote at Sep 18, 2006 at 20:12:
Absolutely right – I agree with the ones who say it’s about rivalry, not racism. On both sides there are always those who go over the top, but that doesn’t mean the heart of the entire nation is in the wrong place. Someone suggested (in the comments to the news article) that it exposed a flaw in the politician, that he was anti-English – but he was actually quite careful to say it was about the sport, not politics.

Mood: Angry
Listening to: My sap rising

I’ve just realized that I’ve been in a bit of a cynical frame of mind today. Maybe for a few days in fact. Yes, definitely for a few days. Maybe even a few years, or a decade or two.

This must be something that catches up with all bloggers eventually. Or maybe it has nothing to do with blogging at all.

For the past few days when reading online news articles, my only reaction was to snort to myself. “12 year old runs off to Pakistan without leave? Her poor mother. 18 year old resurfaces in Austria and won’t have her family round her? Well I’ll try to understand… but her poor mother! Councils want to be allowed to charge for non-recyclable rubbish – they say its purely so we are galvanized into recycling more. Well, I’ve been trying to recycle my paper for months but they only come round every two weeks at 07:00 hours, and I never remember in time. I don’t put my bin out the night before because I don’t want it to block the pavement. Council in Edinburgh tries to pinch people’s residential parking bays and sell them back to them? I don’t trust councils or bureaucrats. It’s very sad.”

And then there are all the people who post rubbish and insults at the foot of news articles and don’t seem to have anything sensible to say.

I get a letter from my gas company saying “oops – we put the price up without telling you.” All I can think is “what am I still doing with them anyway?”

Royal Mail decides to charge by size as well as weight, throwing everything into disarray and causing confusion. I don’t want to use Royal Mail again – how can I avoid it? It’s just the way I feel. I want nothing to do with them now! Maybe I’m too old and set in my ways.

Seem to remember reading …. oh, it was in Ask Mamma by R.S. Surtees – that people were horrified at the idea of pre-paid postage, and did everything in their power to avoid using the postal service at all. Well, now I know how they felt.

On TV, an airport employee was chasing away a cloud of starlings because they were dangerous to planes. The planes were delayed till the birds were gone. The Chief Bird Scarer said “every second that the planes stay on the ground costs thousands.” The whole idea tires me. Why not let the starlings fly where they like and ban these expensive metal and fuel things? Why can’t we all stay were we live and make the best of it? If we have to go anywhere, it should be by foot or by hoof.

Then (in another programme which I forget the name of) there was the guy who says you have to prove to your would-be employers that you’re a peach, not a lemon. Why? And is there really anybody who’s completely one thing or the other? There are so many grey areas… and when the sober suited executive says “we are looking for employees with self-confidence,” you wonder what happens to all the people who have very little self-confidence or different ways of looking at things? Don’t tell me that they have to pull their socks up and catch up with the others – life is far more complicated than that, and self-confidence… well it’s hard to measure. Being a confident salesman is one thing, out there making good money for yourself and your company, in some cases making other people’s lives a misery. Being confident in the way you think about life and what you see as its real needs and priorities is something else. Not everything is about money, and not everything is about being peaches and extroverts. That’s not a world worth living in.

I did get a bit of joy when the ‘peach or lemon’ presenter suggested to a boy (who probably wasn’t particularly wealthy) that he pay someone to listen to his tape, and if they didn’t like it, they keep the money; but if they did like it, they give him a recording contract or something of the kind. And the boy said with astonishment “but they’ll cash the cheque and not listen to the tape!” and marched off with his eyebrows beetling. Of course they will. Jeez.

It’s not just everybody else you’re questioning. You look around your own home and think sadly about the things you took for granted when younger and the things you bought that you didn’t need. The things you thought you wanted that you never used. The things you meant to do but instead you sit watching TV shows about how the very birds are told where they can or can’t go. But it can be a hard routine to break, and sometimes all you feel like doing is hiding your head under a blanket and pretending you don’t exist and that nobody will come and demand that you post letters using a new system or pay increased gas bills or prove to them (preferably at own monetary and mental health risk) that you’re a peach and not a lemon.

I’m tired.

Edit Feb 2008: Comments to this post when it was hosted by Blogigo.

Tony wrote at Sep 2, 2006 at 04:07:
Hey there,That’s one hell of a rant.
I suppose we all feel like a bit of a black mood every now and again.
Good for you.

Thanks for including me in some rarified company (rebecca blood). Just noticed your blog — a tip of that hap to your regularity. That’s one hell of a run you’re on (almost daily for how long?)

Cheers and keep up the good work
Tony @ DJI (Deep Jive Interests)

Diddums wrote at Sep 2, 2006 at 10:10:
I dread to think :-). I take a break now and then.
It’s funny how much better you do feel after a big rant; it cleared the air in a way my last few posts didn’t. I suppose it was building up for a while, and at first it doesn’t really occur to you to share it.

Pete wrote at Sep 2, 2006 at 17:06:
I was cynical long before I was a blogger.
Diddums my dear you are always assured a few quacks from me

I met a gigantic worm a few days ago, thumping determinedly across the path in the hot sunshine. This creature was the General Woundwort of worms, as big as a small snake, and it wriggled so fast I believed it would make it into the grass at the other side of the path in minutes. It seemed to know where it was going. But people and dogs are even faster, and the next person round the corner (or a crow from the tree) might be less friendly to invertebrates than I am.

Therefore I moved it into the grass. How it fought! It lashed and squirmed angrily. Once in the grass, it lay coiled and raised its sharp snout, weaving warily, as though tasting our presence in the air. Thundercloud was so amazed she strained towards it, her ears pricked and paws scrabbling. I didn’t let her near it, but what a fighter that worm was – amongst its fellows it must have a name like Leafbane or Rootcleaver.

Battlestar Galactica is enjoyable so far, though it suffers from deliberate camera wobble – very annoying. It distracted me from something Apollo said at a key moment – it zoomed in on his face in three short, sharp bursts, and then he said…? I couldn’t remember.

One of those moments I hate: when I’m putting the top back on a screw-top jar or bottle, and it spins out of my hand and clatters onto the floor – inner side down.

Contradictions? When I was a child I thought (as children do) that everything was good or bad, black or white, and I didn’t realize people could change their minds and thrash about in grey areas. It seemed to me my mother was very contradictory and it confused me. Now of course, I’m just the same. Anyway, the other day I picked out a pair of minty green summer slacks, and she said “yes, that’s nice.” Then she said “no wait – they’re too short for you.”

A little surprised, as I tend not to worry much about the length of these things, I put them back and kept browsing. Mum approached with another minty green garment from the same range, except that this was a three-quarter length pair – summer crop.
“There – THESE will look nice on you,” she said.
I laughed at her – “you tell me the last ones are too short, then bring me a pair that’s even shorter!”
“Yes, I know, but I prefer these to full-length trousers which aren’t long enough.”

Just now I was watching something about water shortage (on Tonight with Trevor McDonald). When the grim thing was over, I got up and went into the kitchen and suddenly noticed… rain on the window! I rushed over and opened the door, and it had been coming down in sheets for a wee while, judging by the level of dampness. The smell of the wet earth rose up around me, and cool drops splashed on my face.

Anybody else notice this news item from The Scotsman about Scots losing business because of the sides they take (or don’t take) in the World Cup? I wonder if it is happening anywhere else? It’s a hot topic… when I read that news article there were at least 98 comments at the foot of it.

What I see is a company taking business away from another company who, as far as I’m aware, have said nothing at all about which teams they are supporting in the World Cup (and it’s probably a fair mixture). That seems a shame to me.

As a child I was clueless when it came to supporting one’s own nation. We were watching It’s a Knockout! – a wacky obstacle-course sports thing with different countries participating. My sister said “I support the team with GB on their backs.”

I was too young to know that GB stood for Great Britain, or what the other letters meant – all I knew was that my sister supported GB, so I had to find a team of my own to support. That way it was more fun and maybe I could beat her. I thought the letters CZ looked nice, so I chose that. CZ and their small Scottish supporter didn’t do particularly well, as far as I remember. But that’s the name of the game.

Edit Feb 2008: Comments to this post when it was on Blogigo:

kateblogs wrote at Jun 12, 2006 at 20:37:
There are 237 comments now – it has certainly got people talking. Unfortunately, bigots from both sides have also crawled out of the woodwork, but I suppose that was to be expected. It is a shame that we are still having these petty arguments, we are neighbours for goodness sake!

I think the programme you were watching was It’s a Knockout! Well, if I am remembering correctly.

Diddums wrote at Jun 13, 2006 at 01:04:
And now there are 315! Many that should have been reported – some of the ones I saw before have probably been removed already.

Thanks, that’s right! Oddly, when I looked up It’s a Knockout, I found a bit about it on a page with the heading I love 1966. That’s a year that gets mentioned a lot in the football argument.

drifting wrote at Jun 13, 2006 at 07:20:
My brother, although married to a German and having lived in Germany, refuses to back the German team. He was disappointed they won their first game. Instead he likes to support the underdog. Similarly I don’t want to support NZ or Australia (we’re a contrary lot). I’ll probably go for the Brits!

Diddums wrote at Jun 13, 2006 at 12:52:
Yes, it’s strange – you like your neighbour or resident country, work with them, trade with them, but when you’re used to having your own separate side, it doesn’t seem quite right to support the other side when your own side isn’t playing. As some of the people commented in the news article, it boils down to a normal spirit of rivalry. In this case though, I’m not taking sides as I’m not following the football.

kateblogs wrote at Jun 13, 2006 at 17:04:
“I found a bit about it on a page with the heading “I love 1966.” That’s a year that gets mentioned a lot in the football argument.”

Well, 1966 was a very important year – I was born! I believe some English team won something too, but my birth was obviously the thing everyone was celebrating. What else could it be? LOL

It is curious the way people decide which team they will support. I do it myself, teams with players from Liverpool FC are my top choice, followed by teams from countries where I have had a nice holiday. Those are followed by teams from countries I would like to visit.

BTW Pete at http://thequacksoflife.blogspot.com has mentioned your post!

Diddums wrote at Jun 13, 2006 at 23:00:
Ah, that explains why 1966 kept popping up :-).

Rushed hotfoot to read Pete’s blog post on the football. It led me to think that the thing that’s interesting about the difference between sports and the Eurovision Song Contest (cough) is that we get rapped over the knuckles (particularly by Terry Wogan) if we vote for neighbours. In our case, people might say “they gave 12 points to Ireland – of course they would!” I suppose it’s not at all the same, except that I stocked up on snacks and soft drinks for the Eurovision while others stocked up on beer and crisps for the World Cup. Yes I know, I’m sad, don’t tell me… LOL.

kateblogs wrote at Jun 15, 2006 at 21:46:
LOL yes that’s true. Britain always votes for Ireland in Eurovision, and that is seen as cheating, but at any other time we are expected to support each other. It’s very odd. Having said that I did notice both groups of fans supporting each other durng the last World Cup.

Mr Blogs bought some beer for the match earlier, I stuck to a glass of wine. Beer gives me hiccups. I don’t blame you for stocking up on snacks and drinks, it makes it more of an event.