Month: October 2014
I’ve never seen anyone enjoy mopping so much
Yay, spin-mop bucket! Best 10 francs ever spent (not the bucket, that was more expensive, but the Bean’s wages).
Bean, listening to ragtime on BBC Radio 2: “I like this song, this is cleaning music!”
Conservative fatigue
I hold two passports, one Canadian, one British. These days, I’m wondering how long it’ll be before I can apply for a Swiss one. I’m profoundly ashamed of the government in both countries.
Harper has been pissing away Canada’s international reputation and his tenure has been marked by one scandal after another. Human rights, native rights, natural resource management, voter fraud, patronage, you name it…
Meanwhile, David Cameron is so afraid of losing ground to UKIP, the UK equivalent of the Tea Party, that he’s going even more to the right to try an reign in the defectors. UKIP’s platform is built on two propositions – that it would be better if we returned to the 1950s and that all that is bad in the UK emanates from the European Union. The two latest gems from Cameron’s government:
Under proposals to be included in the party’s general election manifesto, the Tories would reverse more than half a century’s tradition of human rights authority residing in Europe by giving parliament the right to veto judgments from the European Court of Human Rights. The authority of the court in Strasbourg would be severely curtailed, with parliament given the final say in deciding whether or not to adopt ECHR decisions.
And my favourite:
Schools should teach pupils mainly in imperial and not metric measurements, David Cameron has said. Four decades since metres and litres replaced yards and pints on the curriculum, the prime minister suggested he would prefer to see a return to the old system.
Welcome to England, the most retrograde country in the West.
See? This is what I mean
In reference only yesterday’s post about not knowing what’s happening and getting mixed messages, the head of plastics had a look through the grafts the morning and declared that the failed one had apparently taken at 80% and Katy could come home tomorrow. Apparently, they changed how they were dressing it yesterday and it had a chance to dry up an seems to look quite positive, enough to the point of releasing her to home care. A nurse is going to come on a daily basis for dressing changes and she’ll need to go in for a weekly checkup.
That explains the Bean
At night, there’s more cuddly toys than humans in the child’s bed.
Well, biochemistry, but close enough
For my wifey
Those cat seeds really worked!
I didn’t have much hope after that big frost, but our cat crop for this year isn’t a total loss!
It’s not the waiting, it’s the uncertainty
Katy has been in the hospital for close to 3 weeks now, and we’re still not sure when she’s coming home. Every time she talks with a doctor or nurse, she gets a different, partially overlapping bit of information. The left graft completely failed. You’ll need to have another operation. We’re not sure when. It’s infected. No, it’s not infected. Oh, it’s partially taken so we’ll keep you in to try and save it. You might not need to have another operation. But you probably will need one. We’ll reassess on Monday. Or maybe Friday.
God damn it, try and give a consistent message. I get that it’s an inexact process, and you do need to wait and see, but don’t jerk us around like this. We need to try and make plans around all of this.
Council removes Banksy artwork after complaints of racism
Banksy has struck again – but an Essex council has struck back, removing his artwork that it said contained “offensive and racist remarks”.
The latest mural by the controversial graffiti artist, whose real identity is not widely publicised, was painted overnight in Clacton-on-Sea, a week away from a byelection in the town triggered by the decision of local Conservative MP, Douglas Carswell, to defect to Ukip.
The work showed five grey pigeons holding up signs including one stating “go back to Africa” towards a more colourful migratory swallow. One of the pigeons’ signs read “migrants not welcome”, while another held a placard that read “keep off our worms”.
Nigel Brown, communications manager for Tendring district council, said it had received a complaint on Tuesday that “offensive and racist remarks” had been painted on a seafront building. “The site was inspected by staff who agreed that it could be seen as offensive and it was removed this morning in line with our policy to remove this type of material within 48 hours,” he said.
“We would obviously welcome an appropriate Banksy original on any of our seafronts and would be delighted if he returned in the future.”
It has been suggested that the council did not realise that Banksy was responsible for the work before scrubbing it off the wall. Other pieces he has painted have been valued in six figures.