Category — Current Affairs

It’s been a good week so far, one of those special weeks that  conjures up so much that is English. The start of  Wimbledon with fabulous tennis and new records being broken, the epic saga that culminated in the longest ever match and the most aces served in beautiful sunny weather with high temperatures, so perfect with the abundant strawberries and cream being served  and a real battle for the contestants and their ten hours of tennis!  The special visit of our dear Queen to Wimbledon, for the first time in thirty three years.  She looked marvellous in turquoise blue and matching Edwardian style hat, just incredible at eighty four years ! God Bless you Ma’am.

More fun with England redeeming themselves at football in South Africa with a win at last! Hamada enjoying every match he can manage to watch between his long periods of sleep. Perhaps I will keep my flag  flying at  “Hemingway” a little longer!

Days are so precious and making them special  is a constant joy, little  things that make someone who is very poorly enjoy these days is so important. The Family all came-up for the weekend with Sunday being Fathers day. “Hemingway” was filled with laughter and chatter, just as it should be and just as we like it. We enjoyed good meals together, watched more football and enjoyed a game or two of Scrabble. We finished our lovely weekend with a good Roast Beef Lunch at the Village Pub. Hamada enjoyed all this too.

Now back to reality today with a consultation at Lincoln  to see whether Hamada is well enough to start Revlimid another Chemotherapy drug,  after the disappointing  three month course of Velcade which did nothing to reduce the Myeloma load in his blood M-Spike (PP) now at 14!   I pray that he is well enough to continue to try.

So many days are important not just the ones that are life changing or life saving but all the ones in between.  These wonderful warm sunny days of June, yes every single one…

The Power Within can be purchased from:

http://www.susiehemingway.com/books/

How pleased I was to hear the news, that the very brilliant poet Carol Ann Duffy has been chosen to be our new Poet Laureate. I have been a devotee of  her wonderful poems for sometime now, especially her wonderful book “Rapture” which is essential reading for those of us,  lucky to understand that  poems can help us, even during the most painful episodes in our lives.  Her poems are really profound, humane longings of passion, they can and do speak for so many of us. Well done Carol Ann Duffy who is also the  very  first woman Poet.

From my window across the fields, the leaves are nearly gone, it is chilly and  starting to look  somewhat bleak already. Still my little firs give some  colour to the view now that Winter approaches.

It is Remembrance Sunday tomorrow and our thoughts  return to those who gave their lives for us in the first and second World Wars. We also remember the brave men who have been lost, in the Falklands War,  in Iraq and Afghanistan.  In our little village, at the service tomorrow, we shall wear our poppies with pride as we remember these brave and courageous men

They shall not grow old, as we who are left grow old. Age shall  not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun We Will Remember Them…                                     

Being a great fan of the group “Elbow” I was so delighted to see them win the  Mercury Awards this week for their fabulous Album  “Seldom Seen Kid”  A group that has been together for almost eighteen years, so this prestigious award is really well deserved.  I love  the simply wonderful lyrics to all their songs which manage to take you on a private  journey.  The amazingly clever and oh! so romantic lyrics of  “The Bones Of You”  stirs my heart.  Each track  with it’s unique story, allows the listener to escape from reality for a while.  Try listening  to “The Loneliness Of  A Tower Crane Driver ” which Guy Garvey sings with such great passion and heart wrenching pain.

Elbow seemed truly amazed that they had won this award but for me the pleasure from listening daily to their music, I felt it was not before time, to be really recognised as one of our great British groups . Long may they continue to produce music of this caliber.

Well I like the sound of this, seems there is a London dentist now using Laser instead of the dreaded drill in the preparation for filling teeth. No more drilling and no pain from injections. Wow! now that seems the way to go. It appears that the laser is capable of killing bacteria located deep in a cavity which leads to better long term restorations, so it works well if you have a very small amount of tooth left and need restorative crowns. It does have limitations as it cannot it seems, remove silver amalgam fillings and most of us over fifty have those. Still anything that helps with a trip to the dentist gets my seal of approval.

It’s not enough, it’s just not enough!  how disappointing when the chance was there or so I thought, to bring into play, the very much stronger laws needed to fight against the carrying of  ‘weapon’ knives.  What a “half-baked” piecemeal idea Jacqi Smith talks about!  To even consider taking these hooligans around our hospitals to see the damage done after the wielding  of these knives. Could this ever make these perfectly ignorant people see the pain and damage inflicted, I really don’t think so. Tell me, do they care?  Taking  them to the morgues could possible be better!

The intensification and severity of  the increased knife crime  over this past weekend is showing a trend that will continue  if our government do not get a grip on this appalling situation. It will for sure, escalate even more. This wonderfully  ‘clobbered  together’ plan, our government has managed to come up with. To try to involve the parents of these young people, is too similar to a plan put in place in the states that didn’t  work. So it’s hardly likely that it will succeed here.  This latest government scheme is a waste of money and in no way severe enough. How these criminals must be laughing at the mindless thought that went into this latest ingenious idea! For they know this will not stop them in their pursuit of gang glory.

Build a ‘camp’ in a deserted part of the UK and incarcerate anyone found carrying a knife, no television , no MP3 players,  no computer games and basic food only, take away their freedom, as they are taking from others. Now, that will stop the problem and if they manage to take their precious knives with them! – the ones that make them feel so brave – they can stab each other!  Make them think, before leaving home, that the penalties are so severe and  then, and only then, will they stop carrying knives. Take away their liberty, it is the only way for the rest of  the young people to walk our streets  freely and safely.  Only then Jacqi Smith, will these most appalling crimes stop.

Perhaps a too emotive subject for me to tackle but how can any of us standby watching this terrible affliction take over  the lives of our young people. How can we stand back and not demand that something be done, to curb this need to kill and maim your fellow man.  How sad to think  in our beloved London and so many of our cities it is no longer safe to walk. How can it be allowed to continue? when on every news program and in every newspaper, we hear or read of yet another young man or woman who has been stabbed to death!  How ever hard the groups of distressed parents and friends – of these daily tragedies – try to  make these stupid and moronic  people see some sense, nothing seems to change. Why should these  criminals be allowed to do what ever they feel like in a country that belongs to us all and to the rest of us who hold it so dear. It seems they will go on slaying each other, while we all standby watching!  Why will our government not  bring in a five year mandatory sentence for anyone found carrying a knife that is not ‘tools of their trade’  How many more young people will die before, it is realised that our laws are inofficious  and therefore without moral duty, these idiots will not stop, until our laws become  punitive. I  would no longer walk alone at night in my own country for fear of  being attacked and there are many who feel the same, how sad is that? How dare they spoil this beautiful country!  The time is now, to make this small minority of ruthless criminals understand that it must stop. This is the time to bring in much stronger laws. Without these laws I believe it will not end.

What the rest of the world must think of  us and the uncivilised way we live I cannot bear to dwell on, it is beyond my imagination. There are times I feel ashamed to be British.