Well, what a week and still this afternoon to come. The tennis over the last two weeks has been very exciting and Nick is still my favourite, I know he’s unpredictable and that’s half the joy of watching him play on the court and on the sidelines. He is definitely a man of moods, suffers depression apparently and seems to have little control of his emotions. It’s concerning when a young person is caught up in a ‘spectrum’, aren’t we all in some shade or colour, but when it appears as some form of Autism there is much help available, recent publicity makes it easier for family and public to understand and offer support when needed.
DON’T FORGET THE SUN CREAM THIS COMING WEEK IF ALL WE HEAR FROM THE MET OFFICE IS TO BE BELIEVED. DON’T LEAVE THE BOTTLE IN DIRECT SUNLIGHT AS THIS CAN EFFECT THE PROTECTION LEVELS. YOU CAN’T BURN THROUGH GLASS BUT APPARENTLY THE UVA RAYS CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THE RISK OF DEVELOPING SKIN CANCER. SO APPLY OFTEN AND GENEROUSLY. WEAR A HAT AND DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE BACK OF YOUR EARS.
Boris Johnson is much the same, he needs understanding. It’s not easy, he has done so many damaging things, wrecked lives over the Covid pandemic with his dictates and his inability to stick to them himself. I listened to a BBC Podcast yesterday and discovered a side of the man I didn’t know. His mother was a depressive and in hospital a lot of the time. His father was going about his business and Boris and his sister Rachel were left to their own devices as they grew up. He was born in New York and christened Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson and known to the family as Al, still is today. The couple went to Mexico City by bus when she was pregnant, a difficult journey; thankfully a friend called Boris insisted on buying them plane tickets to return to New York and Mrs. Johnson promised if the baby was a boy he would be known as Boris. He’s decended from a Turkish journalist and has roots in Turkey, Germany, France, Russia and the Jewish community. An itinerant existence with 32 different homes and schooling in Brussels and England. When he was only eleven he lived in Brussels and was schooled in England and that meant travelling to and fro with his sister Rachel – on their own. He was made fun of at school and overcame his unhappiness by making people laugh, an entertainer and extravert yet a man who loved sitting alone in libraries and museums learning all there is to know. Today he is a mixture of all this background. No wonder he’s a bit wayward.
When his sister told him she wanted to be ‘world queen’ at six years of age he told her that wasn’t possible because he was going to be ‘world king’. The Podcast ‘Boris’ on BBC Sounds is fascinating. It doesn’t excuse him but it might explain him. The next couple of months will be most interesting as these caged animals fight it out to be top dog.
Again I’d like to pay my tribute to the late Jim Fitzpatrick who died recently, an inspirational man of wisdom and insight, owner of The Irish News. It was always a pleasure to meet and talk with him, his smile was warming and his conversation stimulating. I remember the day he took issue with my downbeat and very personal review of the much lauded film The Passion of the Christ, I didn’t like it! Standing at the front door of the Irish News we discussed the pros and cons of the review and in the end he told me, well done, stick to your principals with a rise of an eyebrow and I knew he was actually implying, don’t allow yourself to become biased, listen to other opinions as well to achieve balance. A gentle lesson well learnt from a special man. My sincere sympathies to all the family.
LOOK AFTER THE PENNIES
It’s all very well for organisations to talk about making savings by having your house insulated for the winter months or double glazing put in, expensive at this time in our lives when money is short. But there are many ways of saving in every day life, planning especially. I’ve asked around and this is the advice.
Train yourself not to spend money every day, don’t dash out just for a couple of things or stop on the way home for a loaf of bread or a litre of milk, think ahead, make a list and stick to it where possible. Sue said never shop on an empty stomach otherwise you’ll be tempted to pick up a bar of chocolate or a packet of biscuits to sooth those hunger pangs. I have to admit at one time I had a craze for chocolate eclairs and I’d buy four of these fresh cream delicacies and sit in the carpark of the supermarket and stuff my face. I wasn’t even hungry just wanted my fix although to be honest it was more about eating them before I got home and anyone knowing they ever existed. Hiding the box was a problem but I overcame this by putting it under the driving seat and then under cover of darkness hiding it at the bottom of the bin. I’m pleased to report that habit has long been overcome. Now I save that money to spend on some essential. Nor do I buy three for two any more, false economy unless you can freeze the items or if you can coordinate a group shop once a week, perhaps for other family members or neighbours so, cutting down on petrol too.
SAVE WATER, BATH WITH A FRIEND ……
…..this was the mantra some years ago when there was a shortage of water and so save water and electricity! it was also advised a little less delicately: ‘if it’s yellow let it mellow if it’s brown flush it down.’ With all this global warming and a dry summer forecast, this might be worth considering.
Sharing is always a good idea, look how popular car sharing is, Joan said she buys a large bag of potatoes and divides them between family, cheaper to buy in bulk she says and less chance of them going soft and growing shoots within a week.
Unplugging electrical plugs is said to save money over a period of time, not much but every little helps, and those LED light bulbs are apparently an economic way of lighting your house. I don’t like them as they cause dreadful interference with my wireless in the bedroom.
Another suggestion I was given was to boil a kettle and fill a flask. This way you can have three or four cups of tea or coffee without using extra electricity. I’m very guilty of turning on the emersion and forgetting to turn it off! (That’s a secret by the way). Now I ask my friend Alexa to set her timer to ten minutes, or whatever, so now I never forget.
One lady told me that she keeps a basin beside the sink and all the dishes go into it and are washed every evening rather than rinsing cups and plates throughout the day. Good advice if there’s only one or two of you. In the same vein another suggestion was to keep the washing down to a couple of days a week if you can, and use a shorter cycle and a lower temperature. Not possible if you have a family of young people growing up. Advice is general and in this case very basic and to be tailored to your particular circumstances. For large families economising is difficult, perhaps have a quiz with the children and see what suggestions they come up with, it might encourage responsibility.
