Uni is almost out for summer now and Squeamish Sue, our resident mature student, will not be spending her freedom watching the World Cup, instead she will be trying to get an accurate recording of her neighbours...
Exams are almost over, three down and one to go and then I will have finished my second year. We have already had to attempt a subject choice so a mentor can be assigned to us, and in the first week of the September term we have to hand in a literature review, so that means a lot of work over the summer break.
Exams are almost over, three down and one to go and then I will have finished my second year. We have already had to attempt a subject choice so a mentor can be assigned to us, and in the first week of the September term we have to hand in a literature review, so that means a lot of work over the summer break.
At home our screaming kids next door have been testing their lung capacity, now that it has nearly stopped raining and they are able to run amok. All previous attempts to bring the noise levels to reasonable resonance failed miserably, so this week I have written to the ombudsman out of desperation. I have considered buying some decibel recording equipment, but they are ridiculously expensive - from a few hundred to a few thousand pounds. I have downloaded an app but it only registers up to 100 decibels and also it doesn't record the data, and I am after proof.
I took the day off from studying on Sunday. Every year we have a Street Market and a couple of beer festivals and nowadays a food market as well where you can buy local ostrich burgers or bison sausages, and wine from English vineyards at amazingly extortionate prices. However you can also buy a hot dog for £1 from the stall run by the local W.I. so you just need to have your wits about you, and you can be set for the day.
This year’s street market theme was the 40’s, and people were dressed in the most amazing outfits. There was a parade of entrants, which usually comprises a couple of boy scouts, a mismatch of morris men, a few also-rans of no particular persuasion, a couple of stragglers at the end who look as if they got dragged along in the parade by mistake, wearing a look of surprise and bewilderment but no costume, and a dog.
I took the day off from studying on Sunday. Every year we have a Street Market and a couple of beer festivals and nowadays a food market as well where you can buy local ostrich burgers or bison sausages, and wine from English vineyards at amazingly extortionate prices. However you can also buy a hot dog for £1 from the stall run by the local W.I. so you just need to have your wits about you, and you can be set for the day.
This year’s street market theme was the 40’s, and people were dressed in the most amazing outfits. There was a parade of entrants, which usually comprises a couple of boy scouts, a mismatch of morris men, a few also-rans of no particular persuasion, a couple of stragglers at the end who look as if they got dragged along in the parade by mistake, wearing a look of surprise and bewilderment but no costume, and a dog.
| This time however the quantity and quality of entrants was incredible. It seems likely the D Day anniversary celebrations had had an impact and there were soldiers and airmen. | Sandi Toksvig said it sounds like we might need a fungicidal pessary to cure a case of Sepp Blatter. |
Winston Churchill was there, Vera was there, belting out White Cliffs with gusto. There were land girls and kids with cardboard boxes on string with their gas mask in, and all the shop windows had an X of bomb blast tape on them. The sun shone the bands played and the beer flowed and it was a really lovely day and a fitting tribute to the fallen.
I couldn't help but snigger this evening. Many of you may be experiencing the same level of joy (not) as me at the fiasco that is the World Cup. One would be hard pushed to find something on such a large scale that is as immoral as hosting a World Cup in Rio, though I don't doubt there are probably plenty of examples.
How all associated parties live with themselves, including the supporters, is difficult to comprehend, but then I guess money speaks louder than poverty. It's simply beyond appalling. ITV have attempted a show of shame by having a Brazilian roving reporter reveal local levels of discontent. Just boycott the games! But no, they have flown over favelas with a host of reporters, gaining advertising and spin off rewards into the bargain, whilst on the ground protests still continue. The reason I sniggered was because we (well not me) have acquired a Sky HD Digibox to watch the footie.
Appropriate channel duly selected, chair moved closer to screen, hubbie settled down to watch the match, in HD, but no match starts. Plenty of pre match drivel and chats with players against a backdrop of the opening ceremony which was so loud you couldn't hear a word anyone was saying. Not that you would want to anyway, such nonsense is spouted despite the hairy caterpillar shoved in their face to catch every wonderful word. You know the type of thing. But still no actual football is being shown.
And then, this made my evening, it dawns on hubbie that perhaps it's on another ITV channel. And do you know, sure enough it was! So the Sky HD digibox is of no use whatsoever. The footie is being broadcast on normal ordinary terrestrial common or garden dull every day nothing out of the ordinary television. Made me laugh a great deal. Especially since he had missed nearly 30 minutes of the very first game.
All that money spent on carting reporters and players to Rio, all those television rights, the cost of accommodation for the teams, of building the accommodation in the first place, and the stadiums to play the damn thing in, makes my blood boil.
It's just so absurd and so unjust. And so wrong. On the News Quiz the other day Sandi Toksvig said it sounds like we might need a fungicidal pessary to cure a case of Sepp Blatter. Guess she loves the World Cup nearly as much as I do!
Squeamish Sue
I couldn't help but snigger this evening. Many of you may be experiencing the same level of joy (not) as me at the fiasco that is the World Cup. One would be hard pushed to find something on such a large scale that is as immoral as hosting a World Cup in Rio, though I don't doubt there are probably plenty of examples.
How all associated parties live with themselves, including the supporters, is difficult to comprehend, but then I guess money speaks louder than poverty. It's simply beyond appalling. ITV have attempted a show of shame by having a Brazilian roving reporter reveal local levels of discontent. Just boycott the games! But no, they have flown over favelas with a host of reporters, gaining advertising and spin off rewards into the bargain, whilst on the ground protests still continue. The reason I sniggered was because we (well not me) have acquired a Sky HD Digibox to watch the footie.
Appropriate channel duly selected, chair moved closer to screen, hubbie settled down to watch the match, in HD, but no match starts. Plenty of pre match drivel and chats with players against a backdrop of the opening ceremony which was so loud you couldn't hear a word anyone was saying. Not that you would want to anyway, such nonsense is spouted despite the hairy caterpillar shoved in their face to catch every wonderful word. You know the type of thing. But still no actual football is being shown.
And then, this made my evening, it dawns on hubbie that perhaps it's on another ITV channel. And do you know, sure enough it was! So the Sky HD digibox is of no use whatsoever. The footie is being broadcast on normal ordinary terrestrial common or garden dull every day nothing out of the ordinary television. Made me laugh a great deal. Especially since he had missed nearly 30 minutes of the very first game.
All that money spent on carting reporters and players to Rio, all those television rights, the cost of accommodation for the teams, of building the accommodation in the first place, and the stadiums to play the damn thing in, makes my blood boil.
It's just so absurd and so unjust. And so wrong. On the News Quiz the other day Sandi Toksvig said it sounds like we might need a fungicidal pessary to cure a case of Sepp Blatter. Guess she loves the World Cup nearly as much as I do!
Squeamish Sue
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