Day fifteen in Sri Lanka. Shopping.

Today is our last full day in Sri Lanka.

So, it was time for some last minute shopping in Colombo and packing.  As usual I had let my family pack at home, which meant that I was able to maximise space today.

My son loved a Japanese shop that we visited and got a neck cushion for the trip home.  In addition to his we went out to a great ice cream place in Colombo.

Anyway, it is time to stop as I have to continue to pack, and we are to go out one last time to a restaurant.  We are to return, but I do not know when this will be.

Day fourteen in Sri Lanka. Another day in paradise.

We are back in Colombo.  I am making this post before the end of today as we are to attend an engagement party later tonight.

We left our hotel, but again some drama had to take place.  We were meant to get a large taxi to take us as we have a bit of luggage.  I can condense it so that it is not as bulky, but my wife told me this would not be needed.

But the receptionist who this has been discussed with yesterday did not tell the whole truth.  Yes large taxi’s are available but they either have to be booked, or taken up in the early morning as otherwise, they leave on excursions.  Which is what happened.  We were lucky enough to get a taxi that was able to fit in the cases, but we had to carry items on our laps and with three in the back, it was a tight fit.  And our taxi driver did not know where we were to go, so we had to direct him.

We got back in time for a trip to a temple.  Two years ago, we obtained blessings for my son for the eleven plus.  While he did not pass, I hope that the path he is to follow is a good one and that he can become the person he is meant to be.  And we returned there to give thanks.

But we are now back at Hotel Janaki.  My wife at this moment is getting her hair done and as my son who has no clean trousers, his grandmother has taken him out shopping for some.

Day thirteen in Sri Lanka. Lucky for some.

The good news is that my wife is feeling better with her back.  The bad news is that my son is unwell with what looks like a viral sore throat.

Her cousin has left and we have had to change rooms.  There was a slight issue in that we have two children and only bed space for one.  A ‘discussion’ ensued and we now have the right number of beds.

Tonight is our last night here and once we could, we spent the time in the pool, or in the case of my daughter and I, in the sea.

Day twelve in Sri Lanka. Back pain.

Today started off well.

Before breakfast, I had a quick swim in the pool outside our room and afterwards we all got together around the pool.  My wife enjoyed swimming in the pool and my two children enjoyed looking after their little cousins.

After lunch, we went to the local town to get a few things, and my son got a Vans backpack.  Afterwards we played pool (I won through luck) and my son appeared to enjoy it.  Later, my daughter and I went to the beach and had fun in the sea.

Sadly though, my wife has had an attack of back pain which we hope will improve tomorrow.

Day eleven in Sri Lanka. On the road.

We are now in Bentota.  It was a bit of a journey to get here from Kandy, the trip taking us through traffic jam after traffic jam.  One thing is apparent, which is that the driving here has got worse compared to two years ago.  Back then, my wife and I would have been happy to drive as we were surprised then to see how everyone obeyed the traffic laws.  Now they appear to be more advisory again.  And neither of us would be happy to drive here now.

I am hoping to relax by the pool and go for walks along the beach over the next few days.

Day ten in Sri Lanka. Shopping.

Today was not just about shopping.  After breakfast with the family of my wife’s cousin, we met up in the hotel playground.  My son was eager to play and look after their two sons.  While my daughter wanted to swim, she also helped to play and look after them.

Their mother went for a walk while her husband and I talked while making sure my kids looked after his properly.  We talked about a range of issues, including our children and of course, I got the chance to say how amazing both mine are.  My son loves being an older brother to the two younger boys and my daughter enjoyed mocking after and playing with them.

Later we went into Kandy to eat in the food court and then some of us had a go on the virtual reality machines.  My kids loved the one they went on and later, after eating some ice cream, I went on the other.  And it was terrifying.  When it comes to rides, the thing that scares me most is the g-force as you accelerate to the ground.  And this machine terrified me.  My daughter had a laugh watching me on it as well as apparently, I screamed.  Which I am sure that I did not do.  Afterwards it was a shop for some clothes and then later we split up.

My daughter wanted to swim in the pool, but her chest has been an issue as she has a cold.  While the air was warm when we got back, it was not hot enough for her to swim while I’ll, so instead I packed for the next leg of our journey.  My wife and son continued to shop and had both good and bad experiences doing so.

Day nine in Sri Lanka. A sunny Christmas.

Christmas in the sun is an experience the family enjoy.  And we did.  Breakfast came with a glass of bubbly for my wife and I then afterwards, while my wife caught up on sleep, the children and I went to swim in the pool.

It was amazing to get into a pool and dry off using the heat of the sun.  It was not just me that noticed this, both kids did, and later, thanks to the relaxation that we had, my daughter said that this was the best day so far of the holiday.  I am not sure I agree, but a day where we could just do nothing was certainly appreciated.

As it started to drizzle, we returned to our room and read and relaxed there while waiting for a cousin of my wife to join us.  When he did, it was great to see his wife and children and when they had to go into Kandy for some items, my children and I joined them.

It took some time to get into the centre of Kandy and get back for dinner but we did and enjoyed a meal together.  And this allowed us to catch up on how his two sons are doing as well as chat to his lovely wife.

Tomorrow may invoke some shopping or walking about, but essentially we have the option to do nothing as well.

And the last picture is of some art on the wall of our room while the first is the view from our balcony.

Day eight in Sri Lanka. Attack of the monkey!

Today required an early morning start as we were to return to the Safari Park.  When we had done this two years ago, we were further out from the park and required a longer drive to it.  Here it was much shorter, and while in Yala, there was a huge queue of vehicles to enter, the wait here was far quicker.

We entered the park soon after dawn and saw peacocks and hens in trees, which was surprising as I had assumed that they could not fly.  We also saw some buffalo, some more deer and the jungle fowl, the national bird of Sri Lanka.  And then our driver was told about a leopard sighting.  Sadly there was no leopard, and we stopped by one of the parks many lakes for lunch.  My wife did not feel too confident getting out of our vehicle, not being as sure footed as our children who love to climb at every opportunity.  So she and my son stayed on board and as I went to attend a call of nature, they started on lunch.

As this was the place in the park where tourists could get down and walk about, there were numerous monkeys about, waiting to be fed.  My wife warned the children not to feed the monkeys as she knew that this would just attract more.  But one decided to attack my son.  As it charged him, murder in its eyes, he threw the only weapon he had at it.  A banana.  The monkey stoped in its tracks, obviously fearful of the wrath of my son, and instead took the banana.  But his meant, that for some strange reason, that the other monkeys felt that they would be fed as well!

I returned to find them under siege.  Fortunately the monkeys listened to me telling them off.  Well most did.  One youngster kept jumping onto the roof and even got into the interior on one occasion.  But while I had no chance of catching it, it did not was to tangle with me and instead fled each time it tried to steal food.  Two mothers also considered jumping onto the vehicle but thought better of it after I told them off.

Later, once the food was put away, my daughter and I went down to the lake and I tried to climb a tree, but did not do that much.  While my daughter called me a coward for not going further, I did more than she did!

The journey back to our tent was serene as we went past more beautiful sights, but then we were lucky to see a leopard walking along the dirt track we were using.  Quickly, there was a queue of vehicles trying to get pictures and the leopard was kind enough to stop and pose for us.  This was closer than we had been before and we had a much better view.  And while we also saw a warthog, which we had not seen on the island before this was the reason that we had come.

Afterwards, we returned to our tent and set off for Kandy where are to rest for a few nights.  The hotel here is amazing and the room fantastic.  They were kind enough to upgrade us, just as had happened when we went to the camp.

Dinner was a Christmas buffet, with non-Christmas items also available.  My daughter, being tired, retired early with my wife who escorted her, while my son, who wanted to know the outcome of the raffle, and I stayed.  First there was a prize raffle for the best table.  But by the time this was carried out, many people had retired to bed, for the tables had been abducted by aliens (I preferred this explanation).  But the prize raffle was drawn later and we were excited when the first two numbers matched our room, only for the last one to be two numbers down the corridor from where we are staying!

Any, time for bed and the last sleep before Christmas!

Day seven in Sri Lanka. Wilpattu National Park

In the morning we bid good day to our generous and kind hosts and journeyed to Wilpattu National Park.  Two years ago, when in Sri Lanka, we had been on a tour of Yala National Park.  On our first day we saw an elephant as we were leaving the park, but no leopard was seen on either of the two days that we visited it.

This time it looked to be worse,  we saw some amazing birds, including peacocks and pea hens, but after several hours, no leopard.  They hunt nocturnally and do not like the rain, and it had been drizzling over this time.  While being in the park was amazing, there was a tinge of disappointment as we had not seen any of the big attractions.  And then, before we left, a leopard was spotted.  It did not look fully grown, but it was amazing to see it.

And considering we are to wake early tomorrow, we may even get to see more!

Day six in Sri Lanka. Nainativu

Our host took us to Islands of the north of Sri Lanka.  The drive took us along some poorly maintained roads, but nothing too bad.  Being Sinhalese, Buddhist and having connections from his previous job where his ability took him far, we got to meet a senior priest in the Buddhist temple on Nainativu after we had been shown around.  My son, daughter and I also went to the Hindu temple, but as he was expected to take his top off to enter, he declined so instead my daughter and I entered, me with no top and a reminder of my beer belly.

Afterwards we were taken to a small fort and shown around it, including the cells which were of use until the end of the civil war.  Atrocities were committed on both sides and the use of torture was not discussed, so I have so idea if this also took place on the island in addition to being held in cramped cells.

On the journey back to our base, we stopped at a Buddhist temple devoted to the landing of Sanghamitta on the Island.  My daughter and I went along for that tour and then it was back to rest, and then later an evening function.

Day five in Sri Lanka. Jaffna.

An early start to the day for the children meant having eaten and getting on our way by 1000.  We are in the care of three welcoming hosts and they took us into Jaffna.  We got to see the library (from a distance) and explored the fort.  Also we heard about it’s more recent history, from when it was involved in the Civil war.

I have learned a lot about this from the Tamil side, but it was interesting and moving hearing the Sinhalese side of things.  Bear in mind that during our trip we also saw victims of the war.  Seeing amputees begging is a remnant of the war that cost too many Sri Lankan lives.  Yes, this cost was mostly Tamil, but the murder of civilians is never right, be that in the Sri Lankan civil war or on the streets of London when terrorists kill civilians in ‘revenge’ attacks.

Day four in Sri Lanka. Rain, rain and more rain.

Our trip to the north of the island has been and interesting one.

My wife had to continue her mysterious visits away and had to leave the hotel early.  After the children had woken, we had breakfast and then, as we thought that our trip to Jaffna had to be cancelled, we nipped out for a bit.  It literally was a quick shop in Majestic City, but leaving Hotel Janaki brought a smile to the two children, who otherwise would have been trapped for a few hours.

My wife returned though and the trip to Jaffna was back on.  A detour was needed, but we got on the road and began the long drive to Jaffna.  During the trip, we stopped for breaks, an accident with a truck and encountered several areas where the road had become almost impassable.  While it was an inconvenience for us, it must have been devastating for those who lived in the flooded houses.

But we are here at last.  Tired and looking forwards to tomorrow.

Day three in Sri Lanka

Remember those sandals that I bought yesterday? They are already broken!  I woke up early and went for a walk.  It was raining lightly which was no big deal with it being warm.  On my way back to Hotel Janaki, I noted an issue with my right one.  The sole was no longer attached properly.  It lasted until I got back to the hotel room, but my receipt states that there are no returns!

Anyway, my wife had to leave again to sort out her documents and I ended up sleeping loads.  The kids, who had been in bed until about ten themselves entertained each other.  Until I was woken up by my son claiming that his sister had punched him.  She denied it, and I was left with the dilemma of who told the truth and who lied.  When I was younger, I was a horrible sibling and frequently beat up the older of my two younger brothers.  He would bruise easily, and there was no point denying things as in general, I had hurt him.  But my kids are more subtle.  They know that I will not tolerate one being physically violent to the other.  Or telling lies.

Does anyone have any hints to solve this?

Day two in Sri Lanka, shopping and other things

My wife took my son with her when she went with her mother to get some official things sorted out.  I was expecting them to have a terrible day, and sadly I was proven right.  Due to a series of mishaps and errors, none on her part, she is probably to do the same tomorrow.

I went for a walk with my daughter instead as we were to head off to a shopping mall to get my son and I some sandals.  The kids now have the same sized feet, so essentially they are interchangeable.  We did not get far before the heat and humidity started to sap our energy.  So we returned to the hotel to change into something more appropriate before heading out again, this time by Tuk-Tuk courtesy of Uber.  The app makes life easy for people like me who cannot speak any Tamil or Sinhala as the destination pops up on the mobile of the driver.

When in the shopping mall, we found sandals for me, not my ideal ones to replace those that died in Rhodes.  But my daughter wanted to return home and I felt too unwell to argue.

We met her uncle and later her grandfather too us our for lunch.  She got to decide what kind of food we ate, which was Japanese.  I loved it, and would return, but it have to be without the other two who did not like the food there.

After falling asleep again, I went with her wife to her pedicure and then later we all went out for an amazing Chinese meal.  Anyway, time for bed before midnight (here).

Planes, trains and automobiles. Our first day in Sri Lanka

We are relaxing in Colombo.  Well, I am.  My daughter is freaked after encountering tropical wildlife, in her bed.  Or the bed that was going to be hers anyway.

We left yesterday flying from Stansted to Dubai, arriving there this morning.  On the way, I watched Toy Story 4.  We, by which I mean my wife and I, have watched Toy Story since before the kids were born.  As enjoyable as this was, it was not as good as the original and while a good film, not the masterpiece the others were.  After this, I watched the end of Yesterday.  My wife and I had watched it before, but she asked me to sort some things out while it was on, so I never actually got to watch the end of the film.  A lovely feel good film, one I would watch again if on the telly, possibly.

Arriving in Dubai, we relaxed ate food but left it a bit late to get to our flight,  in fact, when we got there, the flight had finished boarding!  Fortunately, it turned out that it was not our flight, but the down side was that we had a short time to get across to the other side of the airport to make our flight.  My daughter and I raced ahead and got there after it started to board having jumped onto trains and into lifts just before depths sliding doors closed. We let them know that my wife and son were on the way and was expecting them to be a while.  But my wife had managed to get some of the airport police to drive her and my son in a buggy and they took the airport shuttle bus to get to the flight.

Once we had all calmed down, it was them the next part of the flight and during this, I watched X Men, Dark Phoenix.  I had heard bad reviews of the film, but both I, and my daughter who was watching it at the same time as me, both liked it.  Much better than films like Wonder Woman!

Anyway, we are now in the Hotel and are to rest.  Good night!

Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want (December)

I am after high CP Pokémon.

And just to make it clear, just these ones in any lucky trades.  I am aware that I may not be able to get some of them, such as the Alola forms of the Meowth or Vulpix, or Klink, but I guess my view is if you do not ask, you do not get.  I do have some high CP forms of some of the Pokémon that are on the list but the actual statistics that they have are wanting. 

Sadly, I do not have as many shiny Pokémon as I would like, and those that I have tend to be those that others have anyway.  Which means in general that I am after like for like trades.

Abra
Absol
Aipom
Burmy
Clefable
Drilbur
Duskull
Electabuzz
Foongus
Geodude (normal form)
Goldeen
Growlithe
Heracross
Horsea
Klink
Magmar
Mankey
Meowth Alola form
Murkrow
Nidoran♀
Nidoran♂
Oddish
Onix
Pidove
Ponyta
Porygon
Scyther
Shieldon
Squirtle 
Tanglea
Tentacool
Vulpix Alola form
Yamask
Yanma 

However, after the December Community Weekend, while I do not have many, I have a few evolved Pokémon with community day moves available to trade, some of them being shiny ones!

Arsenal need Chris Wilder

A quick post about Arsenal. We were terrible.  While Manchester City played well, their manager felt they could and should have played better.  Our defence was terrible with all three goals being scored by players who should have been under more pressure, one essentially being tapped into an open goal!

We need a manager who can organise the Arsenal defence.  And one manager who can do that is managing Sheffield United.  Though like many other managers, he may decide to stay away.

Was Brexit to blame for the worst defeat of Labour, or was it the Blairites?

It has been devastating to see the destruction of Labour at the ballot box.  Many though feel that this is not the fault of Jeremy Corbyn, and instead there are other reasons.  And this, despite direct evidence that more voters who switched from Labour citing Corbyn as the reason for the change rather than Brexit. 

One big reason stated my many on the left is that this is the fault of Blairites who caused a change in the position of Labour to back a second referendum.  This claim ignores the influence of unions in the change of this position.

While there is no doubt that the support for a second referendum, and therefore more delay contributed to the defeat of Labour in the North, there was an increase in votes for Labour which many will argue is due to this change.  The change in stance of Labour to back a second referendum occurred after Labour was beaten into third place behind the Liberal Democrats in the European Elections.  Both the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats were felt to be remain parties and both lost a share of the vote in the General Election.  Yes, part of this may be due to the system of voting where proportional representation was used, as opposed to the first past the post system, but after the change in stance, Labour gained from its 14.1% vote share in the EU elections to 32.1% in the general election.    

There is the failure of Labour to tackle antisemitism within its ranks promptly and also the failure of Corbyn to apologise quicker when challenged on this.  The worst thing about this, was that Corbyn has always been against anti-semitism, has always been in favour of fighting against discrimination and has advocated kinder gentler politics.  But too many of those who support him have engaged in abuse, this not just being on-line, but also driving MP's away from the party.   

To make things worse for Labour, this has happened while poverty for those in work has increased, while the Conservatives have pledged to increase police numbers but not to the levels they cut them to, while schools are facing huge funding shortfalls and of course NHS performance failing to meet targets, including ones that the government have changed.  As noted on a previous post, Labour came closer to re-election under Gordon Brown in 2010 despite the global credit crunch than it has under Corbyn with the Conservatives handing him an open goal with the mismanagement of the public services of the nation.

The Corbyn effect drove too many voters away.   Despite the Tories giving Labour so many open goals.

In summary, before the change in policy, Labour lost votes in Leave areas and the Brexit Party gained them.  After the change in the policy regarding Brexit while Labour gained a share in the vote from Remain parties, what happened was that the Conservatives made electoral gains in the leave areas instead.

Silver linings

Well, I knew things were going to be bad for Labour, but I did not expect things to be as bad.

First of all, due to the margin of the victory of Will Quince, tactical voting would have made no difference, so Labour and Lib Dem supporters can and should not blame the other, and instead work to getting him out, when it comes to the next election in five years time.  I had hoped that he would be voted out of office, this despite the way he had answered the letters that I have sent him.  But now, with over 50% of the electorate of Colchester voting for him, he can truly claim to represent the town.  Let me again emphasise, the silver lining here is that those who voted Green, Lib Dem, or Labour need not regret what would have happened if they had voted another way and some of the rancour that was present before the election should be forgiven and forgotten.

Second, Arsenal did not lose.  I had expected that to happen, and while going two goals down is never good, the team showed resilience to come back from that to earn a draw.  Hopefully, this will be reflected in league performances and the team will be able to pull together and produce the results that the ability that is in the squad deserves.

Labour will look at the reasons why this loss occurred, the question is if the right reasons for this loss will be identified and acted on.  Many are going to blame Brexit, and many are going to blame the leader of the party.  It was felt that Labour were going to be destroyed in the polls in 2017 but Jeremy Corbyn proved that there was an appetite for a fair Britain for all.  But, ultimately, he still lost and austerity continued (other than in Northern Ireland due to the deal with the DUP).  And to put things in perspective, despite Swine Flu and the global credit crunch, Gordon Brown came closer to being PM in 2010 that Corbyn did in 2017 or 2019, and that is when Corbyn had a failing NHS, police and education cuts giving people a reason not to vote for the Tories!

I am of the view that elections are won by getting voters who do not vote for you normally, to vote for you.  Boris Johnson has done that, getting Labour voters to either vote Conservative, or switch to the Brexit Party.  Labour can continue on a path away from appealing to voters of other parties, one which has resulted in one term stints in government, or Labour can learn from its most successful leader and bring about a government for the many which lasts longer than one parliamentary term.  But considering the calls to have a purge of Blairites (I am a Brownite), I suspect I know what is to happen.  And I fear that means more Conservative rule after the next General Election in 2024.  

Our nation is like a turkey voting for Christmas.

Today is the day that the nation is probably going to vote for another Conservative government that has ruined education for many, has run down the NHS, has cut police numbers and has increased in work poverty.

Needless to say, I am not happy with this.  The sad thing is that people are voting for a government that has done this, and is to vote for a Prime Minister who has been sacked more than once for lying and is not trusted by those who were political allies because he lied to them!  My wife cannot understand why people would vote Conservative considering what they have done to the nation, but many are.  And sadly, many have decided not to vote Labour due to Jeremy Corbyn, my wife being one, even though she ended up more left wing than me when it came to comparing the policies of different parties in this election.  I have friends who voted for him when it came to the Labour leadership election who have been driven out of Labour, being called Blairites (even though I am more of one than they are).  I also have other friends who used to vote Labour, but who feel that cannot due to the direction that the party has now taken. And I have friends who are natural Conservative voters who have voted Labour in the past who would never vote for Corbyn.

I do think that Corbyn has been great at inspiring young people to vote, I do admire his push for kinder gentler politics and at heart, I think that he is an honest man who despises racism and injustice.  But elections are won by getting people who normally vote for other parties to change.  Blair did this in 1997, 2001, and 2005 and while many in Labour despise him, they forget what he did for our nation. Sadly, Corbyn does not appear to have done this in parliament, though his performance was better than Blair in 2005.  And yes, part of this is due to the numerous smears that he has faced, by Labour overcame this in 1997, 2001 and 2005.  It is a shame that the lessons that had been learned then have been forgotten now.

All I can do is hope that Colchester, where I live, gets rid of Will Quince.  As an MP, despite blocking me on Twitter (for asking him if he voted for police cuts), he has been kind enough to respond to the letters that I have sent him.  But ultimately, he is a Tory and it would be great if Colchester could get rid of him.  My fear is that with an increased majority in the last election, this will not be possible, and conflicting messages have been sent about tactical voting.

So in the election today, I am not going to vote tactially, like I have done in the past.  I am not going to vote on personality (I have never done this in the past), but I am going to vote on policies.  And pray that the Conservatives are not returned into office, in Colchester and in Number 10.

Work is meant to pay, but not if you are poor in Conservative Britain

Tomorrow, it is time to vote.  And based on the opinion polls, it is going to be a victory for the Conservatives.

And while the Conservatives claim to make work pay, they do not.  Unemployment has fallen.  But in work poverty has increased under the Conservatives.  As has child poverty.  I am not one of those who faces such issues.  I do understand this as I grew up in a single parent household with a working mother and two younger siblings having had free school meals at times.  My mother worked hard to ensure that we could eat.  And now, other parents, are trying to do the same, but this uncaring Conservative government is making things harder for such parents to feed their children.

How anyone can justify this is beyond me.  I am of the view that a nation should be judged on how it treats those most in need.  But I suspect that those who do vote Conservative tomorrow will find an excuse.  And will ignore the despair of this group of society.

West Ham are so bad that even Arsenal can beat them!

First of all, Arsenal are top of the table.  This being the Women's Super League.  The Arsenal Men's team need to learn more about commitment, passion and how to defend as a team though.

I was sad when Unai Emery started to fail at Arsenal.  He had after all overseen an amazing unbeaten run.  But we lost Aaron Ramsey, a player that any team should be glad to have and a player who is going to be very hard to replace.  And our defence was 'strengthened' by a player who is no longer able to make it into the Chelski first team.  While we had bought Kieran Tierney, by the time he was fit enough to play for the first team, the confidence of our defence was destroyed.  I am in favour of the policy of Unai Emery to play football from the back, but there is a time and a place for this and if opposition teams know that you are always going to do this, they will not try to defend against a long ball from defence and put the Arsenal defence under pressure.

I had high hopes for Freddie Ljungberg, an Arsenal legend, but sadly he has not had that good a start.  I was dreading the game yesterday against West Ham as we started the game closer to being relegated than finishing in the top four.  But we won, West Ham being so bad that they could not even beat us!

If he is not able to make the job, that no other manager seems to want, his, then I think that we should approach Chris Wilder from Sheffield United to be manager.  He has risen through the leagues, and is able to ensure his teams can defend.  And that is something that Arsenal needs to do.

How I beat Giovanni in Pokémon GO (again)

I have managed to beat Giovanni again.  Learning from my last battle against him, I started with my Rhyperior to face his Persian, my Pokémon being able to last long enough to take down the shields of Giovanni which allowed my Kyogre to take down his Dugtrio.  However, this time I forgot that I would be facing a Zapdos as the final opponent and my Blaziken was pummelled.  But, using a Mewtwo with Icebeam, I was able to defeat him once more.  I just need to save up on the stardust to purify it as I was able to capture it afterwards.

I am after high CP Pokémon, but just these ones in any lucky trades.  I am aware that I may not be able to get some of them, such as the Alola forms of the Meowth or Vulpix, or a Burmy or Klink, but I guess my view is if you do not ask, you do not get.  I do have some high CP forms of many of the Pokémon that are on the list but the actual statistics that they have are wanting. 

Sadly, I do not have as many shiny Pokémon as I would like, and those that I have tend to be those that others have anyway!  Which means in general that I am after like for like trades.

Abra
Absol
Aipom
Burmy
Chikorita
Clefable
Drilbur
Duskull
Electabuzz
Foongus
Geodude (normal form)
Goldeen
Growlithe
Heracross
Horsea
Klink
Litwick
Magmar
Mankey
Meowth Alola form
Murkrow
Nidoran♀
Nidoran♂
Oddish
Onix
Pidove
Ponyta
Porygon
Scyther
Shieldon
Slowpoke
Squirtle 
Tanglea
Tentacool
Vulpix Alola form
Yamask
Yanma

Jumanji

Today involved a trip to the movies.  My son met up with an old school friend and watched Jumanji, the next level.  Which left my wife and I with the opportunity to leave my daughter at home and watch a film together.  And of all the films available until we had to collect my so, there was only one we both were happy to watch, that being Jumanji.  And on hearing this, my daughter decided to tag along as well.  A quick drive to Ipswich and we parked and watched it.  Ipswich has changed a bit since we were both in the town centre in daylight.  My wife used to work there before she was effectively sacked for daring to fall pregnant.  And a good friend used to live there as well.  But that is a tale for another time, possibly.

Jumanji was good.  Not as enjoyable as the remake, but close.  The development of the characters continued, not as much as in the remake, but it continued, but overall, it is an action film, and an enjoyable one.  Good special effects, a decent plot without too many plot holes and an enjoyable story with likeable characters. My wife and I disagree about how it compares with the original film, but as I found out on taking a quiz to see who we should vote for, that is not the only thing we disagree on!

How the Conservatives have made the NHS ‘better’

Yesterday morning I was listening to Radio Four and listened to Jeremy Hunt talking about the NHS.  The reason for this was the concern that the Conservatives are to sell the NHS to Donald Trump. He has denied any interest in this, despite having been interested before.  And considering the funding ‘challenges’ that the NHS faces, this is not surprising.  What is concerning is the risk of drug costs increasing, well those from the USA.  Despite the report that Jeremy Corbyn has obtained, I see no huge danger with that.  There is no doubt that the Conservatives have hidden the truth about negotiations from the public, and with an election coming up, it is a bit hard to work out why...

What angered me was how he talked about the NHS.  Jeremy Hunt oversaw the decline on the NHS which has taken place since 2010.  He has continually told those working in the NHS that while is black and that black is white.  Thanks to him, doctor vacancies have risen as have nursing vacancies.  He cut the numbers of medical students being taught and thanks to ending the nursing bursary, the numbers of nurses being trained has fallen.  Let alone how this is affecting others like physiotherapists, radiographers and the like.

Cancer waiting times have worsened.

The numbers of GP’s in the NHS have fallen. And this is despite a promise to increase numbers!

More operations have had to be cancelled.

More people are waiting in A&E than ever before

While the NHS has had more money spent on it, it has not had enough money spent on it. 

And of course, there is the issue with social care under-funding putting even more pressure on the NHS.

So, if you want these figures, and more importantly, patient care, to continue to get worse in the next few years, vote Conservative.

Cooking with my son

It has been a while since my last post, too long.  

Anyway, today I got to cook with my son.  A while ago, we bought a cookbook.  He loves noodles and Japanese food.  And when he found a cookbook which offered recipes for both, he was smitten.  So we bought it, on the proviso that we would use it.  Normally, I am meant to cook on a Wednesday, something that I did more before.  For one reason or another, I have hardly cooked, and when I have, I have enjoyed it most when doing so with the children.  

It was a bit touch and go as we did not have all the ingredients.  And we did make quite a bit of a mess.  But the good thing was that my wife and daughter loved it.  However the best thing was the bonding my son and I had.

Sadly I annoyed my daughter afterwards on a walk.  And has refused to cook with me. But I can live in hope.  Anyway, my son and I need to plan what we are making for next week. 

Gender and safe spaces

This is going to be a controversial post.

There has been, and will continue to be controversy over gender and the rights of those who identify as one gender, but were born as another to use safe spaces for another.  Such safe spaces are felt to include toilets, changing rooms, single sex prisons, schools and refuges.

Personally, I am against this.  I an in favour of safe spaces not being based on gender, but genitalia.

And my main reason for this is that it is now accepted by many that there is more than two genders.  I was a sceptic when it came to this, but after listening to Piers Morgan my views became clear.  His argument was an interesting one, but thanks to his rejection of there being more than the conventional two gender's, it allowed me to come off the fence (for that is where I sat) and the debate cleared doubt in my mind.

But, accepting that there is more than two genders means that safe spaces would have to accommodate all, if based on gender.  However, if safe spaces are based on genitalia, it makes life easier and such spaces become easier to define.  

Such a view no doubt will offend many, but that is my view at least for now) and it would be interesting to hear views on this.