I love wild animals when they are in their own environment or failing that, in a well run zoo especially when they are working to protect endangered species.
What I don’t understand is why private individuals feel the need to keep dangerous animals as pets !!
And I find the stats published in my local paper somewhat troubling.
Among the creatures kept in the Portsmouth area are Suphan Cobras, White Lipped Vipers, and a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake.
In Havant, there are, apparently, 37 Chinese Alligators !!!
And these are only the ones that are being kept legally with the proper Dangerous Wild Animal licenses.
Portsmouth City Council purchases houses that are already occupied. In so doing, they become responsible for the management and maintenance of 747 properties.
Has anyone asked why Clarion was getting rid of these properties?
Equally puzzling, to me, is why Portsmouth City Council wants to responsible for housing and tenants spread throughout Hampshire.
The majority of the new buildings are in Portsmouth, with others situated in Gosport, Havant, Fareham and Winchester.
How does this help with the existing shortfall of available properties to house those who are already on the local waiting list for social housing ?
Wouldn’t the money have been better spent on new build properties, which would be empty and could, therefore, have a direct impact on the waiting lists.
We are the Wrinklies. A small group of friends and their partners, who, at one time or another, worked together and are all retirees.
Today was the first of, I hope, many social lunches in 2024. It was certainly our first gathering since before Christmas due to most, if not all, of us contracting some kind of flu, which basically knocked us out of commission, in some cases for weeks.
The selected venue for our inaugural gathering was The Ferryboat Inn, situated on the easterly tip of Hayling Island.
I have been visiting this pub for over fifty years. My first visit was while I was an apprentice in Portsmouth Dockyard. Many subsequent visits were made on my return from boat fishing trips, disembarking at the nearby jetty. And then there are these purely social gatherings.
So it was not our first time at this pub, but it has been a while, certainly pre-covid.
There were seven of us in our group and all enjoyed their meals with the exception of me.
My wife had the Hunters Chicken, while Eric had Steak and Venison Pie, Mary had Scampi while the remaining four had Fish n Chips.
As I said earlier, all the others enjoyed their meals, with at least one declaring “best fish n chips ever”.
Unfortunately, my meal was sub standard. The batter was ultra crisp, just shattering when I cut into my fillet, the batter would not stay with the fish. And the fish, instead of being flaky and moist was dry.
So, I drew the short straw.
I didn’t complain as I didn’t want a replacement meal, meaning I would be eating when everyone else was finished. And it wasn’t inedible.
Will I go back ?
Yes. I never write a place off on the basis of a single meal.
One other negative comment. I ordered bread and butter to go with my meal, having noted that they were going to charge £1 per slice. There was I thinking it would be a nice crusty bread, maybe granary, ciabatta or something special. Nope, two slices of slightly dry sandwich bread from a loaf that probably cost £1.50 That’s not a bad profit.
I’ll end this on a positive note. The apple and ginger crumble dessert served with a jug of custard was lovely.
Overall, a very pleasant couple of hours were spent with friends in a great location. Had the winds been a little quieter and the temperatures a bit higher, we might have been tempted to go for a walk along the shoreline.
Looking forward to the next Wrinklies gathering and discovering the next venue.
My experience with items ordered via Amazon has, until now, been faultless.
A few days ago, I ordered two T-shirts with a scheduled delivery of some time on Friday.
The due date arrived, as did an email confirming the imminent delivery. In the email was a tracking link, which I selected.
Up popped a map showing the delivery van was less than a mile away and that I was the 3rd delivery. And, a few minutes later, it showed that I was next, so I prepared myself to go answer the door.
Time passed, no sign of the driver. It was gone eight in the evening, so dark outside. We have a hedge that blocks our view of the driveway, but I could see the van headlights. I could hear the thumps as doors were opened and closed. Then, through the trees, I spotted a van driving away.
I checked the app, and much to my surprise, it indicated that my goods had been delivered. It further stated that my goods had been stuffed through my letterbox.
How could that be ?
As I said, it was dark outside, but anyone coming to my door would have triggered my Ring doorbell/camera and also the sensor controlled floodlight. No such trigger occurred.
I checked with my immediate neighbours but nobody had erroneously received my delivery.
So I contacted Amazon, thinking they could contact the driver, and as it had only been a few minutes, he would still be in the area.
Apparently, once the driver leaves the depot, there is no way to contact them !!!
The guy I was talking to was very good and he raised a complaint for me. Arranged a refund for the goods and sent me a confirmation email.
However, that is hardly the point. I actually wanted the T-shirts. I had wasted my time, and his.
It’s been two days now, so I would hope that if he had actually delivered my goods a bit further afield, then the recipient would have walked them round to my house.
The driver is either very lazy or a thief.
This is the first time I have had any issues with Amazon and I hope it’s the last.
Just a short while ago, I posted about attending my ex son-in-laws funeral.
And just this week, we attended another. This time, for a friend and colleague of my wife’s, from her days working at the Kenwood site in Havant.
Two funerals in quick succession, a dark start to 2024, had me thinking that, given my age, I shouldn’t be surprised. After all, I will be 72 this year, God willing.
But that’s not right. Yes, as we get older, we start to say goodbye to others in our age group however, neither Dave nor Ali are in my age group. Dave was 56 while Ali was not yet 55. Too young by any measure, showing that cancer does not respect age.
RIP Ali, my condolences to Martin and Cameron.
Alison “Ali” Davis 12th August 1969 – 20th January 2024
My personal favourite is Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Lightning Seeds,
closely followed by Led Zeppelins Immigrant Song
I chose the YouTube links based on their reference to the shows that used the tunes.
Other versions are available.
Do you have a favourite classic track that has been given a new lease of life, or introduced to a new audience due to its appearance in a film or TV show ?
With its unique location, virtually on the beach, and magnificent views.
Overlooking the busy Solent with its everchanging maritime views the Osborne View was the ideal location to sit and absorb the action. Watching people on the beach, the ships, or the myriad sailing boats. Never boring.
Over many years, this pub was the venue for evening meals, lunches, and just for drinks with friends and family.
Around 12pm on Wednesday 14 February, a man entered the store, putting around £1,000 worth of sun cream products into a tote bag and leaving again without paying.
Officers have launched an investigation following the incident at the Boots store in Whiteley Shopping Centre this Wednesday (February 14). Police have released a CCTV image of a male as part of their enquiries.
What I want to know is where on earth he is headed that he needs that quantity of sun cream.
Is he off on his hollibobs ? If so is he going to the centre of the sun ?
Or perhaps he is concerned that the world is rushing headlong into WWIII and believes the sun slop will protect him from a thermonuclear flash.
By my calculation, at the expensive end of the scale £1000 could buy over 30 bottles of La Roche-Posay Anthelios Age Correction SPF50+, which is 1.5l of sun slop. Alternatively, at the cheaper end, over 285 bottles of Soltan Protect & Moisturise SPF50+ 75ml Mini Sun Cream Spray could be had. Which is over 21l of sun slop.
That’s enough to bathe in.
I know I’m taking the mickey, but shoplifting is no joke. There seems to be an epidemic in this country. Our papers are full of stories of shop staff being threatened when they confront these thieves.
My granddaughter was working a store where a shoplifter had grabbed a load of booze who then faced her and told her he was stealing it.
I, myself have witnessed a female clear a chiller cabinet of meat and then walk straight out of the store.
And it is the blatant manner of this thievery almost like it is becoming acceptable.
I can sort of understand stealing food to be able to feed your family.
But is there any nutritional value to sun tan lotion ?
WrAnTz 