29/05/2008 by PeterJohnson.

Alison and Phil are the proud parents of a son born this morning at 11.31am. He weighed in at 9lbs 7oz and is called Edward Terrence. Edward, obviously a Talbot family name, and Terrence after Ali’s Dad. Mother and baby are both well, I’m not sure about Daddy! William is very pleased, and had been saying he wanted a brother, so I dread to think of his reaction if it had been a girl! Ali and Phil did not know the sex of the baby until it arrived. We are travelling to Manchester tomorrow (Fri) to see them all. We will post some photos asap.
Love to you all Barbara and Peter xxxx

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29/05/2008 by Peter.

Web1 is looking across Morecambe Bay towards the Fylde Coast. The wind was a
strong easterly and I watched this cloud formation build up. It looked that
it might be a twister in the making, and it would be a big one.We see small
ones over the sea,but this would have been big. Thankfully, as it made its
way to the Irish Sea it unfurled itself!

Web2 was taken just over an hour later looking wnw. The colours and cloud
formation was superb and very dramatic. Love to everyone.

Peter

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21/05/2008 by Ted.

Shouldn’t have let fly-on-the-wall loose on the blog.  What he wanted to do sounded a good idea at the time, but our sad country, our deluded government and the oppressed people suffering at its misguided hands need prayer rather than another mocker of the bad things going on.

I think fly-on-the-wall just wanted to scream and shout to release all his frustration and despair at what is going on. But he couldn’t change anything, so what the heck.

Anyway, we have had a chat and decided that we are going to be much more constructive and positive.

You may not know it - you may not believe it - you may not even want to know it - but there is a God in heaven who knows what is going on here and who cares about us.  He knows all about the frustrations and the injustice and he has provided an antidote which revives our hope even when everything is hopeless.That antidote is himself as revealed in the Holy Bible.So fly-on-the-wall and myself are going to share that antidote with you. 

We have found that it really does help in these sad times - and we believe that you can find there, as it were, a glass of refreshing pure water to revive you just when you need it.  Have a go!

You don’t have to be religious.  Religious people don’t cut much ice with God.  He just wants you to allow him to step into your life and walk along with you.  You’ll chat to each other as as you walk and gradually get to know each other.

These little bits from the Holy Bible - read them slowly, thoughtfully - will hopefully help day by day as you walk. And you will find that they stand the test.

The first one is from Psalm 1.

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked’

Or stand in the way with sinners

Or sit in the seat of mockers.

But his delight is in the Law of the Lord,

And on his law he meditates day and night 

He is like a tree planted by streams of water,

Which yields his fruit in season,

And whose leaf does not wither

Whatever he does prospers.

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20/05/2008 by Fly-on-the-wall.

The Daily Mail 20 May 2008.

Millenia of moral, religious and scientific belief were defied last night by MPs who voted to allow the creation of human/animal embryos.

In a landmark move which isolates Britain in the western world, they backed Government proposals which herald the dawn of a new era of experimentation. Despite fierce objections, politicians placed the need for greater medical understanding above the dangers of tinkering with the essence of life  -  even though many leading scientists argue that hybrid embryos are unlikely to bring promised cures.

Opponents warned that the decision had made Britain a ‘rogue state’ and pointed to 21 other countries where such moves had been banned. Catholic Church leaders have condemned the use of hybrid embryos as ‘monstrous’ and say tinkering in such a way is immoral.

Even fertility expert Lord Winston  -  who supports the Government’s Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill  -  has said it would not greatly matter if scientists were not allowed to engineer human/animal embryos for medical experiments.

But Gordon Brown urged MPs to back the work, saying it is a ‘moral endeavour’ which could save thousands of lives by producing treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

And Gordon Brown knows better than the experts. Having already made the UK the laughing stock of the world by their handling of immigration and the like, and having already made us the abortion capital of Europe, this government now force through this dubious thing which 21 decent nations have already rejected to make us the horror capital of the world - even though UK public opinion - “we will listen to what the people want” - was emphatically against it.

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19/05/2008 by Fly-on-the-wall.

Daily Mail 3 February 2008 

Husbands living in a “harem” with multiple wives have been cleared to claim state benefits for all their different partners.

A Muslim man with four spouses - which is permitted under Islamic law - could receive £10,000 a year in income support alone. He could also be entitled to more generous housing and council tax benefit, to reflect the fact his household needs a bigger property.

Ministers have decided that, even though bigamy is a crime in Britain, polygamous marriages can be recognised formally by the state - provided they took place overseas, in countries where they are legal.

Daily Mail 26 September 2007

One of Britain’s most infamous Islamist extremists is seeking three more wives through the internet.Omar Brooks, who described the 7/7 suicide bombers as “completely praiseworthy” and heckled Home Secretary John Reid in a high-profile confrontation last week, has signed up to a Muslim marriage website.

Although already married with three children and reportedly living off £700 a month in state benefits, the 31-year-old is seeking more wives, with the intention of fathering more than nine children.

And still this so called government cannot understand why the whole electorate is absolutely sickened by what they are seeing happen in this country. It isn’t just about their 10p tax cockup - its about almost everything!

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19/05/2008 by Fly-on-the-wall.

Daily Mail, 16th March 2008 

More prisoners could be let out early under emergency measures to tackle the jail overcrowding crisis, Jack Straw admitted last night.The Justice Secretary said he could not rule out agreeing to more early release plans.

It comes after a prisoner told Mr Straw that life in his jail was “like a holiday camp”.

Mr Straw said: “Nobody in my position can rule out emergency measures but, by God, I’m working very, very hard to avoid that because this is all about maintaining the confidence to the public.”

Yesterday, during a visit to Highdown prison in Surrey, Mr Straw smiled as he recalled his meeting with the inmate who also told him that prisoners should be locked up without access to luxury items such as televisions.He also insisted that community work was better than jail.Community punishments, he argued, “can work better” and should be used in “appropriate circumstances”.

Better thing again Mr. Justice Secretary Jack “by God” Straw. The convicts aren’t going to like being sent home early from their “holiday camps”. You are almost certain to be sued in respect of this breach of their human rights if you try to do so - all at our expense, of course!

When I were a lad prisons used to be unpleasant places so that if a person was sent there the unpleasant experience made them think, “Dont want any more of that. I will go straight from now on thank you”.

Incidentally, our local newspaper reports that an open prison close to where I live is to be made into a mixed sex prison containing male convicts and female convicts and young offenders.   I bet he won’t dare try to send anyone home early from that holiday camp.

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16/05/2008 by Fly-on-the-wall.

From the Daily Mail.

Prison bosses have been instructed to let pagan inmates keep twigs in their cells…to use as wands.

Officers have been told to allow prisoners to collect and decorate the twigs which they need for their rituals.It is the latest in a series of rulings to protect convicts’ rights and ensure equality among different faiths.Followers of other faiths are allowed items such as a prayer mat to allow them to worship.

The policy regarding pagans was announced by Justice Reform Minister Maria Eagle in a parliamentary answer. She said: “Prison service policy is to enable prisoners of different faith traditions, including paganism, to practise their religion.“Religious artefacts are allowed for relevant faiths within the constraints of good order and discipline. The religious artefacts for pagan prisoners include a flexible twig for a wand.”

Tory prisons spokesman Edward Garnier said: “This sounds like an April Fool’s Day joke. But there’s genuine concern prisoners are taking the system for a ride.”

Conservative MP Andrew Turner, who uncovered the new ruling, added: “This strikes me as bizarre. A lot of people would be worried about equating paganism with Christianity.”

This is a cunning plot …….. the pagans will obviously wave their magic wands and turn all the prison officers into little green frogs and then escape? Think it through Justice Reform Minister - before it is too late!

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16/05/2008 by Ted.

I found this wartime recipe for potato piglets

6 medium well-scrubbed potatoes

Cooked cabbage - lightly chopped

6 skinned sausages

Make a hole lengthwise through the centre of each potato, using an apple corer, and stuff the cavity with sausage meat. Bake in the usual way and arrange the piglets on a bed of cooked cabbage. (The potato removed from the centre is useful for soup.)

Enjoy!

Ted.

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12/05/2008 by Ted.

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11/05/2008 by Ted.

Address deleted to preserve privacy.

This after letter after letter explaining that I do not have a TV and following a visit from an inspector who came to see for himself!

I imagine my post lady wonders what I have been getting up to!

Which, I suppose, is the intention! To suitably publicly shame me for not having a television! Awwwwww!

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07/05/2008 by Ted.

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07/05/2008 by Ted.

Hello everyone. 

It has been a while since anything was written so I thought I would break the silence.

What lovely weather we have been having recently - perfect for being out and about in the garden.  I have a wonderful crop of dandelions this year.  Such beautiful flowers with their brilliant yellow petals.  They really do brighten the place up.

My display of spring flowers (daffodils, narcissi, tulips etc) are just starting to fade away, and in the woods there are carpets of bluebells.  It is a sign that the year is passing.  Next month is June and on the 21st is the longest day - ouch.

I have had a lovely couple of days watching my Mesembryanthemum seeds turn into tiny plants.  It is really amazing.  Two days after I had put the seeds into their container minute white plant growth was visible. I placed them outside on the lawn in the sunshine and gave them plenty of TLC (tender loving care) and had the joy of watching them emerge from the compost and produce their first two tiny leaves - in two days. Wow! The seed (really a fertilised plant egg consisting of millions of tiny cells) undergoes exactly the same transformation as a human egg does when it is fertilised.  The genes within each of the millions of cells stir into life and start their individual processes to create a new life and build a new flower - a beautiful Livingstone Daisy. I watched it happen and I was thrilled.

Mesembryanthemum seeds are tiny and it is difficult to sow them individually.  The seed packet instructions say that those in excess of one appearing in an individual container should be thinned out, ie. pulled out and disposed of - just like human abortion - so we even do it to baby plants.  I wont be doing that though.  For me every one of those little plants is exactly the same as every other one and deserves the chance to live and be beautiful just like the others. A container full of them in flower is absolutely beautiful.  Even though there are perhaps too many in each container they happily each get on with doing what they do best all together - just like families.

Right, must go now.

Love to all,

Ted.

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