I’m reluctant to post on WAMT on Christmas Day...lol. But..a few things have really annoyed me the past couple of days.
First-off the tosspot who lives further along the road but on the opposite side. Like most parts of the country we’ve had copious amounts of rain and he still drives his small van all four wheels onto the grass verge (on his near side -no houses that side just a large Green) . He mounts the verge about 35m before he gets opposite his house. I think he’s a lodger there. The ruts are now approximately 2” deep. They look awful but it’s not an offence. The council gave no powers to require him to desist. Is it criminal damage..reckless as to whether damage will be caused. ? A long shot ,I think. So, my wife used her phone to photograph the ruts with van in situ and contacted the company he works for..it’s written on the van. That was Monday. We’re waiting for the company’s HR dept to get back to us . We’ll try again in the New Year.
Next. The council now want plastics and tins in one green recycle box and glass bottles in another. We don’t have ‘another’,recycle bin. So..on Monday they emptied the black wheelie bin,the food bin and the paper/cardboard bin but left a full plastics bin because I put one wine bottle on the top as I didn’t want to leave it in view on the grass verge. In the box was a leaflet not pointing out by way of a tick box, why they didn’t empty it. ‘Your recycle bin was not emptied because of one or more of the following reasons.’ None of the tick boxes had been ticked but I assume it was the glass bottle. It was the same for my neighbour. I now know that we should have requested a second small recycle box. Yesterday, my good neighbour turned up at the front door with a new second box. He’d gone to,the depot.
Last WAMT...The constant update re Prince Philip’s hospital and discharge situation. The tv news reporters...BBC-ITV-Sky.. had reporters /photographers at the hospital when he was taken in and discharged and on his discharge at Sandringham where he’s staying. He left hospital by car to a helicopter then a car into the Sandgringham estate. Now, I’m pleased for him and his family that he’s ok and back ‘home’..one of them.. but when a reporter says “he looks well for a 92 year old“ I’m thinking most of us (a) Won’t get to,that age and (b) no doubt, achieving that age is, in no small part, due to being waited upon hand and foot all his life..He’s a member of the Greek/Danish Royal Family too. So..he’s at Sandringham and seems in reasonably good health considering.. so..great..that’s it. Maybe we can get back to the children killed in bombing raids in Idlib, Syria, the dreadful fires in Australia, the three children who drowned falling through thin pond ice, violent clashes between police and demonstrators in Lebanon and Hong Kong..brave people..etc etc...but no,that’s asking too much. I tune in to watch the news only to see a reporter in the grounds of Sandringham telling us which members of the royal Family will be visiting for Christmas. Charles seen with Andrew..to,show solidarity, I assume. We’re told that William and Kate plus children will be there but not ‘Harry,Meghan and baby Archie who have gone for a six week holiday in Canada where they’ll meet her mum and some friends.
Next up....who’ll be going to the Sandringham church and who won’t. Like many, I have no interest in the comings and goings of the RF but appreciate many do but my gripe is the amount of news time given to it. Charles Anson was,from 1990-97, the Queen’s Press Secretary and beyond that an advisor and the BBC,from the studio news desk, asked him what the RF will be doing over Christmas Answer ” On Christmas Eve they’ll be opening presents followed by a black-tie dinner..I’ve never tasted a black tie..lol.he goes on to say, re the present-opening, “Because it’s a European tradition”..He really means a German tradition but his experience as a diplomat kicked in too and thought it wiser not to bring to attention the German ancestry of the RF . Why not ? Most people know that King George V changed the name in 1917 re the anti-German sentiment during WW1 from Saxe - Coburg and Gotha to Windsor .It seems that William and Kate are keeping the childrens’ presents until today contrary to that tradition so, fair play to them.
I did a Google. Quite interesting how various countries celebrate Christmas throughout Europe including,of course Scandinavia. Quite an eye-opener.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/15790210