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Tuesday 31 August 2021

The Brits Are Coming (The Con Is On)


My wife and I watched this last night.  She enjoyed it.  I cannot state that I did.  It was funny in places and had a twisted sense of humour which appeals to me.  I do wonder just how bad it would have been if not for the huge number of stars acting in this.  It cannot be too hard to write a film with a decent plot.  Over all, I would not have wanted to watch this in the cinema, and the best bit about watching this was doing so with my wife. 

Monday 30 August 2021

13 Reasons Why; The Good Person Is Indistinguishable from the Bad


This was a traumatic episode for my son to watch with me being with him. Not just the journey of self discovery, but the most graphic depiction of sex so far in the series (or the other two).  It did discuss some of the after effects of rape on the victim along with how they will want to move on with life and the difficulty to cross certain boundaries. 

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem

Watched this in between taking Leia out for a walk and working from home. I had tried to watch it before, but felt it was lacking a decent plot and switched off.


Watching it again, the lack of a decent plot did not put me off watching it.  The poor lighting in many parts was an issue though, but ultimately it was easy to work out that the Aliens were doing something at these times.  Now I have watched it, I never have to watch it again, and I doubt I ever will do so again.

I do have one big question though, the aliens were able to attack a whole load of creatures in the forest.  Why just humans in the town?

I am glad that I never watched it in the cinema and the only reason for someone to watch this is just to complete the film series.

Sunday 29 August 2021

Jungle Cruise

My wife, son and Leia went to the Brightlingsea earlier today for the food festival. We went with Michelle and while my wife and Michelle stuck together, my son, Leia and I explored the festival together.  He was happy as I promised to buy him food and Leia was ecstatic as she met loads of other dogs.  My daughter stayed at home as she did not feel too well.

Once at home, we tried to watch Jungle Cruise as a family, but my son declined to join us.  He said that he had heard bad things about it, but refused to elaborate on this when asked.


The rest of us enjoyed the film. We ignored its historical accuracy and the occasional use of Spanish in a Portuguese speaking nation along with other issues.  It was funny, and although the ending became obvious as the film progressed, however it did not progress in a very predictable manner.

Leia when she got home got stressed as she saw a fox in the garden and took to patrolling it amid scent marking it in anyway possible.  Hopefully it will work to ensure it does not return.

13 Reasons Why; If You're Breathing, You're a Liar


Another traumatic episode dealing with teenage pregnancy, the choices faced when it comes to this as well as discussing the consequences.

Things are different in the UK, in that we do not have any protestors outside clinics, but the consequences of continuing with a pregnancy when a teenager are the same.  A loss of earnings for the woman, restricted choices with employment and relationships as well.  For many, this is a choice that they are willing to take, and I firmly believe that women should be supported in the decision to keep a baby. That is why I consider the UK to have a pro-life alternative to terminations. The US may consider itself to have a pro-life movement, but with the lack of maternity pay, inadequate childcare support and a lack of decent gun controls, I consider them to be pro-birth instead.  

My son is keen on watching them as quickly as possible so I may watch another tomorrow.

Saturday 28 August 2021

Back home watching Predators


We are back home. We have been so for a few hours. It was a quick journey. When I say quick, there were a few traffic issues that resulted in a long detour at the end.

Back in Colchester, it has rained, and it is not as warm. But we are home.

The downside other than the cold is that Arsenal lost, and lost badly.  I have watched the highlights and we were awful, truly relegation form. 

Another plus of being home is being able to watch films, and I have just finished watching Predators. I enjoyed it. Not as much as the original film, or possibly Predator 2, but it was better then the last one in this series that I watched. I may watch the other film that I have missed now…

Friday 27 August 2021

Day Seven in Devon; The Pyne Arms


We have relaxed again today and prepared for our journey back tomorrow morning. Tonight we went out for dinner at The Pune Arms. My wife and I disagree as to if this was better, or almost as good as eating at The Black Venus Inn.  Our starters were all excellent.  Although my main course and dessert was just brilliant, my wife loved hers as did my daughter.  My son was not too keen on his, but I think that was him making a choice that did not suit him rather than the food being at fault.

We have talked about returning to Devon next year, and if we do, this is somewhere we are going to come back to.

Thursday 26 August 2021

Day Six in Devon; Crow Point


We had a very late breakfast though when I say a late breakfast, that was everyone else at a sea food shack. And then we went to Crow Point. We had been here last year and it is pretty and quiet at the same time. Leia obviously had not been here before and she loved it, not just for the walk, but meeting other dogs as well.

Tuesday 24 August 2021

Day Four in Devon; The Black Venus



We had the best meal of the holiday so far today. It was amazing. Lots of flavour in the food, lovely service. I would definitely return, and we hope to do so.

Monday 23 August 2021

Day Three in Devon; Fremington Quay


Leia woke me up once in the night and early in the morning. Her bowels are not back to normal and she has spent this evening gassing us out of the room!  The walk we had together was longer than that of yesterday and while the paths are not as soaked as yesterday, they still need to dry a bit more as they are still a bit slippery.

Later we went to Appledore and returned to the Royal George.  The view, as before was amazing, and while I lived my starter, I was not too keen on my main.  But that may have been because of the Coke that I drank with it.  We had planned to return on Friday, but I think that if we do return to Appledore, it will not be to eat here.

Later we went to Fremington Quay where we had ice cream and Leia and I went for a walk. 




Sunday 22 August 2021

Day Two in Devon


Leia woke me up several times last night as she had an upset stomach. She has a particular whine when she needs to attend a call of nature, but this meant that I did not sleep that well.

Because of this, my morning walk was not as long as I would have liked.  She loved it, knowing where she was and was keen to get moving.  With the rain that had taken place last night, the ground was slippery and I had to be careful that she did not throw me off balance.  

She was soaking when I got back and my wife and I washed the mud from her.  Later in the day we went to a meal that she had booked.  The place was behind a hidden door, well, not hidden, but a door with notices on it which made it look like it was not there when  you looked at it initially.  The servings were enormous and it certainly was value for money!

On the way home, we stopped at a military collection where I saw a T-34 up close.  I also saw armoured cars which I had learned about recently thanks to YouTube video. We also went to Fremington Quay.  We have been here before, but this time we arrived just too late to get anything. We will return later this holiday.

I am ending the day on a high note, this being despite the loss Arsenal had against Chelski.  Apparently COVID has been an issue for the team.  Unless we improve a lot, I do not see much hope this season.


Saturday 21 August 2021

Day one in Devon


We are back again! I got home late last night and we woke early to travel down and made good progress till we got close to Stonehenge when traffic started.

Travelling early was a good idea with traffic, but we have been so tired.  It has rained today and apparently has rained this week, but hopefully the weather is going to be better later this week. 

On getting here, or rather before, we stopped for lunch at The Stags Head.  We had considered visiting here earlier on this year when we came before.  I have to admit, I started to have doubts when I got here, but they were dispelled. Good pub food with friendly genuine service.  Not sure if we will make a detour to come here, but if we do return here, I would be more than happy to start our holiday here again.



Thursday 19 August 2021

13 Reasons Why; Yeah. I'm the New Girl


A new day and a new episode.  I have watched this series before, and I did not like it as much as the other two before.  Watching teenage melodrama is even less enjoyable now considering the two teenagers I live with.  But watching it means that I get to spend time with my son which is great.  

Getting home, my wife and daughter were watching Love Island and Leia went crazy on seeing me.  Once she calmed down, I ate my dinner while watching it with my son.  

Watching it the second time round is interesting.  Of course there is trauma from the previous episode from the last series, but the characters themselves are unaware of what happened.  One of the annoying issues of the last series, that being changing that happened was not noticed by me.  But I have to say, I enjoyed watching it the second time more than the first.  

Wednesday 18 August 2021

13 Reasons Why; Bye


What a traumatic episode.  I knew what was to happen, but this is still shocking to see it again.  Closure was present regarding Hannah Baker which was lovely.  The court case had an interesting outcome and did lead to an interesting discussion with my son.  Great disco


Monday 16 August 2021

13 Reasons Why; The Box of Polaroids


Redemption is an interesting topic.  That was the topic of this episode, but not everyone can be redeemed.  The outcome of the court case was an interesting one and led to a conversation about conviction rates with my son.  I identify most with Mr Porter out of all the characters, though I am a lot more honest about my own mistakes than he is.  One more episode to go...


Sunday 15 August 2021

13 Reasons Why; Bryce and Chlöe


First of all, family.  I had wanted the children to take Leia for a walk this morning so I would have the energy to cycle to work, but they did not. This is despite the promises before we got her that they would walk the dog.  Saying that, I love walking with Leia, but I need to get back on my bike, and cycling in the morning means less traffic.  Instead, my wife decided to take her out, so I walked with her and Leia. What an amazing start to the day I have to say.

I still got to cycle to work, this being a round about trip to see if I am still able to cycle to my Wednesday job, where I have been working from home since the pandemic began.  I can do it, and I think that I may be better at doing so than I was back in 2020.  

My son and I watched one more episode of 13 Reasons Why, this touching on some of the reasons that women do not come forwards when it comes to rape and sexual assault, this being the awareness that others will judge them for this (among other reasons).  I did not get a chance to discuss this with him fully, but a big example is how Christine Blasey Ford was subject to abuse after speaking about her experiences. 

Later, the two of us watched What If...?  I love it.  Not sure that Hayley Atwell was drawn as well as she could be, but other than that minor issue, an awesome episode.  The two of us are going to be watching this later this week hopefully when the next episode comes out.


Saturday 14 August 2021

The Whalebone Inn, Fingringhoe



We went for an evening meal to celebrate my daughter and her grade 8 in her GCSE exam.  Other than that, I did not see much of the children.  My son did not get out of bed until three in the afternoon and I did see my daughter when we went for a driving trip to rent a roof box.  

Eating as a family was a special treat and we all seemed to like it, not one argument or bad word spoken during this celebration meal. 

Anyway, we are back now and am about to go to sleep having been for a long walk and mowed the lawn today.  

Friday 13 August 2021

13 Reasons Why; Smile, B1+ches!


Am watching the episode with my son while trying not to fall asleep.  I got home late, had an argument with my wife (I hope we sort it out because she is amazing) and am now watching this.  The episode is very interesting, but I am surprised that Justin Foley had not been let in on the secret clubhouse.  

It is a powerful episode though.  Similar themes are present to Roll Red Roll.  Not that I have watched it yet.


Thursday 12 August 2021

Eight


My daughter passed!  And she got an eight.  In old money, that is an A*, or as it would have been for me, an A.  I am really proud of her, but am worried that she will overtake my haul of GCSE results.  My wife states that is a certainty.  And while I will be annoyed if she does, I will also be proud.  But I have one year of being able to say I have better GCSE's than she does!


Wednesday 11 August 2021

13 Reasons Why; The Missing Page

First of all, family update.  My daughter has been a bit short with us today (and yesterday) as she is worried about her results tomorrow.  I say results, I mean result for her GCSE in Religious Studies.  

As for 13 Reasons Why, my son and I discussed suicide.  A patient I had looked after was found dead recently.  We discussed this a bit, but he preferred to not discuss why some boys do not consider all forms of rape to be rape.  We did not discuss how some women look the other way when it comes to sexual assault or take part in victim blaming.  He is frustrated at the pace at which we watch this, but he is still watching it with me and took time away from watching Friends to watch this with me.


Monday 9 August 2021

With regard to the Blair v Corbyn argument, my only comment is that I really miss the days when Labour won general elections...


I would love to take credit for the title, but it is not mine, but was posted on Twitter when it came to a discussion about the leadership of Keir Starmer

This has also been raised as an issue locally in the Labour Party in Colchester where one official resigned rather than fight for the principles he values.

Many do not like the move of Labour towards (but not to) the centre, when Labour was elected.  And many consider Labour not to have been left wing, or Conservative light when in power from 1997 till 2010.  So I think it is important to remember what Labour did in power.  And it is important to remember what has not been done while it is in opposition.  Back then, Labour was not viewed as a party that was antisemitic, and while Labour never was under Jeremy Corbyn, it was seen by many to be so, and the reaction of Jeremy Corbyn to the investigation of it in Labour has not helped.

 1. Longest period of sustained low inflation since the 60s. (While it started under the Conservative, this continued under Labour)
 4. Over 14,000 more police in England and Wales. As opposed to the way the Conservatives have Defunded the Police.
 5. Cut overall crime by 32 per cent as opposed to the increase in violent crime under the Conservatives.
 6. Record levels of literacy and numeracy in schools. 
 7. Young people achieving some of the best ever results at 14, 16, and 18. 
 9. Employment is at its highest level ever. 
 10. Written off up to 100 per cent of debt owed by poorest countries. 
 11. 85,000 more nurses. 
 14. Devolved power to the Scottish Parliament
 15. Devolved power to the Welsh Assembly
 16. Dads now get paternity leave of 2 weeks for the first time. 
 17. NHS Direct offering free convenient patient advice. 
 18. Gift aid was worth £828 million to charities last year. 
 20. Record number of students in higher education. 
 21. Child benefit up 26 per cent since 1997.  Compare that to how child poverty is higher under the Conservatives.
 22. Delivered 2,200 Sure Start Children’s Centres.
 23. Introduced the Equality and Human Rights Commission. 
 24. £200 winter fuel payment to pensioners & up to £300 for over-80s. 
 25. On course to exceed our Kyoto target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 
 27. Over 36,000 more teachers in England and 274,000 more support staff and teaching assistants. 
 28. All full time workers now have a right to 24 days paid holiday. 
 33. Brought over 1 million social homes up to standard. 
 34. Inpatient waiting lists down by over half a million since 1997. 
 36. Cleanest rivers, beaches, drinking water and air since before the industrial revolution. 
 39. Free breast cancer screening for all women aged between 50-70. 
 40. Free off peak local bus travel for over-60s. 
 41. New Deal – helped over 1.8 million people into work. 
 42. Over 3 million child trust funds have been started. 
 43. Free eye test for over 60s. 
 44. More than doubled the number of apprenticeships. 
 45. Free entry to national museums and galleries. 
 47. Heart disease deaths down by 150,000 and cancer deaths down by 50,000. 
 48. Cut long-term youth unemployment by 75 per cent. 
 49. Free nursery places for every three and four-year-olds. 
 50. Free fruit for most four to six-year-olds at school.

Yes, Starmer did not do well in the local elections earlier this year, but the incumbents did well including Labour in Wales.  However, Labour have a lot to do to convince the electorate that the brand is different.  Labour did that in 1997 with the New Labour brand.   It look the Conservatives thirteen years to change things after the debacle of the Major years and Tory Corruption.  The question is if Jeremy Corbyn has made things better or worse for the brand of Labour.   If the man who lost Scotland (after winning it in 2017) again has harmed the brand, it will take a while for Labour to make progress.

Sunday 8 August 2021

13 Reasons Why; The Little Girl


Family update first.  We had Nick, Lyndsay and Hamish round yesterday. A great night but I had to go to bed before the night ended.  Just as well considering that I had to walk Leia this morning.  I had intended to go into work, but we ended up going out to The Whalebone for lunch.  Afterwards I worked from home before my wife and I went to the Brightlingsea music festival. We saw a friend of ours play and also listened to the Filthy Lounge Band. The ABBA tribute duo were great but we had to leave early to beat the traffic rush as people left.

As for 13 Reasons Why, the issues my son and I discussed were that of drug abuse.  The episode had two errors, a man who had little money in the first series was having an affair in the second.  (My son did point out that the lady may have paid, but accepted this was unlikely.)  The next issue was that Bryce encountered students listening to a recording of his confession to Clay, which should have told him where the recording came from as it was not part of the original tapes.

Saturday 7 August 2021

13 Reasons Why; The Third Polaroid


First of all, things got worse with my son, and then better.  We had a discussion about what had happened and in hindsight his anger was predictable.  Things looked quite bleak, but then when my wife and daughter were out getting our dog groomed, he came down and we had another talk.  We watched Bad Batch and then this episode of 13 Reasons Why.

We talked about how one person wanting to do the right thing can be the wrong thing, and although intentions may be pure, consequences are real.  Needless to say, my son dislikes Bryce Walker even more than before,

Have to go now, we have friends coming round soon.

Friday 6 August 2021

AWOL




My son has decided yesterday to go absent without leave.

The kids returned on Wednesday and as my son had left his job of putting away the drying, we had left him it, along with more.  He had decided not to fully stack the dishwasher on Thursday morning despite refusing to unstack it the night before (the rule is that if the dishwasher is full because it has not been unstacked) leaving it for his mother.  I am not sure if he relented, but yesterday, despite not having permission to do so, he decided to meet up with friends.

To be honest, if he had asked, I would have let him go so long as he had done his chores.  But he had not.  Needless to say, I am not pleased.

Thursday 5 August 2021

Shadow in the Cloud


Not sure what to make of this film.  It was good in places, but not as good in others.  The best bit was the end credits, not because of signifying the end of the film, but the credits included film footage of the subject of the film.

Basically, I know that Sergeant Norman Jackson climbed onto a wing to tackle an engine fire in World War II, but I am not sure how a similar event was portrayed in this film.  It did show that women served in the war, though were forbidden from active combat roles outside espionage.

Overall, I would have to say that I would have been annoyed if I had spent time and money to watch this in the cinema.  

Wednesday 4 August 2021

The pack unite


Leia is ecstatic. She has the pack back again.  From being depressed and looking in the sitting room for the rest of them she now has the pack together.  She went crazy when she saw them.

Our journey back with the children was an interesting one.  We had decided to take them to COSTCO but the traffic there was terrible.  Several hours later, we got home having got close to the store, but giving up when we encountered yet more traffic.

One child has stepped up since being home, the other has not. Maybe they, or one, needs more time away from us.

Tuesday 3 August 2021

Bill & Ted Face The Music


Quite simply, this is nothing compared to the original two films.  However it is okay to watch and you have to remember that the original two films were amazing.  It has been one of the better films that I have watched recently and I probably would have been okay to watch this in the cinema as being a fan of the other two films, this was a must for me to watch.  While it fails to live up to the preceding two films, it does not fall flat on its face in the way all the sequels for Blade did.  I would not describe it as "most excellent" but it was great to see the potential for sequels/spin offs.  It is unusual, as for me, the best characters were not Bill and Ted, but I will not spoil it in case you watch it yourselves.  

If you are a fan of the franchise, this is a must watch film, and while it is not as excellent as the originals, you will not be left wanting. 

The best bit of the film was watching it with my wife, and our depressed dog.  I know that my children would not have liked this however.


Monday 2 August 2021

The Comeback Trail


Predictable, but enjoyable.  This was a tale with no real surprises, told well.  Though with the stars present, I would have been surprised otherwise.  I loved some of the characters, others were okay.  I have to say I did enjoy the film, but it was surprising that a film which mention that there should be more women directors, did not have one itself. 

Yesterday without the children was interesting.  The house does feel empty, but it is right that they are away.  Leia appeared depressed at times yesterday as she does not understand where half the pack have gone to.  But she will see them again on Wednesday.

Sunday 1 August 2021

Taking bribes



Tommy Corbyn has said it best.  I cannot believe that a prominent member of the anti-vaccination movement would take a bribe when the movement is alleging corruption amongst the medical profession for vaccinating people.  

There is no excuse for what Piers Corbyn did.  I am not allowed to take bribes in my job (which is quite right), in fact I cannot think of a job, or cause where it is right to take a bribe.  And while many will argue that this was a donation, it was not.     


Just a reminder if there is any doubt about COVID.

 1 - COVID kills. I have treated people who survived as well as too many who died. A nursing home I am involved in looking after has yet to become full again after COVID killed many of the residents there last year. I have seen nothing that killed so many so quickly before. 
 2 - Face masks save lives. Not just by reducing the risk of spreading it if you have no symptoms, but as seen by those working in healthcare, myself included, face masks prevented many from catching this when treating those with COVID. 
 3 - Funeral homes were overwhelmed over the wave of infections seen in the winter surge of infections. I know as I had to visit a few. One had issues coping despite the increased capacity that they had built. Speaking to someone who works in a funeral home, they said that they had never been busier during the winter wave. 
 4 - People with no symptoms can spread COVID. We saw that with the super spreader events held by President Trump last year
 5 - Just because Boris has dropped restrictions, this does not mean that we can act like we did in 2019. Our local hospital is under pressure again, though not let to the point like they were this winter when things were limited to life and death operations only. 
 6 - Vaccines work. We have seen that in the USA. The states where vaccination rates are lower have the highest numbers of COVID.