For three or four months now I have found it very hard to find the motivation, time and excuse to do some form of exercise and this is no good. One can’t keep saying that tomorrow is the day.

It is time for action and find my way again.

I do not know where my “MoJo has gone. Hopefully it just on holiday and not lost for good. I pray to God its not because I am lapsing back into depression as that is the last place anyone wants to find themselves in.

Yes I could free up some space so I can get to my bicycle or go for a jog instead of watching a film but I don’t and that my friends is very sad.

Its not that I am depressed it is just that life seems to be getting in the way, it is raining or (as at present) I am struck down by hayfever.

I also know that leaving things so long will mean there is a lot of pain and uncomfort to come. However, some reports say that exercising regularly is fine but as soon as one stops then the problems occur.

This has go me thinking as without exercise I am putting weight on. So maybe changing my diet would be better that trying to kid myself I can still run, cycle and do the gym thing. But there lays the rub. I am crap at producing healthy food options and even when I do I am left feeling more hungry than I was without having a meal in the first place.

Anyhow, without exercise the body will decay and become a useless husk.

I know I walk many miles at work but experts say that it is virtually meaningless unless I go at a pace where I am out of breath and my heart rate increases. I cannot do this whilst reading addresses, stopping to undo gates and knocking on doors. However, after work I feel shattered both physically and mentally and the idea of exercising then is just too much and would probably cause me more problems. See, yet another excuse!

I hate being fat, I loath the symptoms of hayfever, I abhor my love of food without the skill to make it healthy and I have disdain for all the aches and pains that ensue with age.

“So get up and do something about it you arse!”

One possibility is to take the initiative and go to a local gym and take advantage of some low impact routines and fit it in, whatever, around work and sleep. The staff are there to help motivate and set suitable plans too.

I have to do something as clothes are getting a little tight and that is just not good as I am not funding a new wardrobe around a bigger me. I must fit around what I have.

This must be the case for many others out there and I can only say this. We are not alone and for the vast majority there is a cure.

Put down the TV remote and game console controller, resist buying the crisps, chocolate and cakes, change your routine and look for others in the same position for support. This is my aim and I certainly will strive to do so.

I do not want to have the body of an old wreck of a man with a young mind so changes must be put into place and a plan of action put down.

I wish myself and all the very best of luck and I hope to have some positive feedback very soon. September heralds my 52nd year so I am setting my goal for then to see a new Frog.

….Think Positive and Attain the Results….

We live surrounded by technology and gadgets so is it right that they are taking centre stage in our lives?

The planet has increased in population dramatically and some areas have become very densely covered that traditional games and activities are being lost to our children due to social safety.

Parents have a busier life today and often both parents have to work to make ends meet. It is little wonder that iPads, game consoles, computers and phones are being used as surrogate parents as they keep the kids occupied and quiet.

The downside is that these children can grow up with a lack of social interaction and can be very withdrawn to the point of being unable to contribute to the work-places of the future or peer groups of interest.

Of course this modern technology can be used sensibly and can enhance a child’s learning and knowledge skills but it has to be balanced with traditional activities and parental guidance.

I hear so many of the older generation bemoaning modern technology but they do not stop and reflect on their own hypocrisy.

Take the car for example. It made journey times shorter but that in itself took away from the adventure and experience of the journey. It also made us into lazy people who use the car for even the most basic journeys like going a few hundred yards to the shops. Television was the same. Prior to this families listened to the radio, chatted, played games and read in the evenings and had adventures in the open air by day.

So each generation is guilty of being sucked into technological advances and the electronic and Ai age is just today’s example. Used carefully these advanced toys are fun and fulfilling but beware of the pitfalls and vices that can trip you up.

There are many who are trapped into the modern day inventions, some who will reject them totally and then there are the ones who will use these tools in a balanced and enhancing way.

I like my phone, music assistant, tablet and computer but also like the outdoors (when the pollen count is low), face to face chats, museums and other stimulus to fill my days. The biggest crime is that everything costs so much now and stupid health and safety laws stop us from doing what we could a generation ago.

The magic is though how far and how much one interprets what is best; so how will you manage our next generations future?

Since the Law has changed to stop unwanted messages being sent and e-mails landing in my “Nice Stuff” Inbox I am now receiving more than ever from sources I have never heard of.

Am I the only person who is experiencing this?

I thought the whole idea of this Law being passed was to limit companies from The UK and Overseas but was it in fact the reverse. Has it been changed that it is now easier for these Muppets to send out their crass and annoying requests and advertising?

I heard yesterday on the radio that nuisance calls and over-zealous advertising is going to be met with fines of up to half a million pounds and these fines are to be aimed at the owners and directors rather than the companies as a whole.

Well all I can say to that is good luck. All that these villains will do is put their business interests in another’s name and then declare bankruptcy. The law will see not a penny and will probably be out of pocket over it so once again the taxpayer will foot the bill.

The only way of stopping this is for software firms to write code to stop phones, computers and tablets from receiving such trash and the culprits to be fined and imprisoned and the assets  of their ill-got-gains (even if in another’s name, and they should also be arrested for aiding and abetting) to be confiscated and given back to the hoodwinked innocents.

In the modern world we live in is it impossible to establish new rules and laws that are not just ignored? It appears so and the most prolific law-breakers are the ones who are in the positions of power and seem to instigate mall-practice.

So the question is was it worth the cost of introducing a law that seems to have little or no impact on our privacy and probably cost us a small fortune to set up?

I love food; I could eat it all day, every day and there is very little I do not enjoy. I guess one could call me an addict but I do try and resist and often fail.

I find one of the biggest problems is taste. Most of the very bad things taste so good. Like cake, sweets (candy), fish fingers and puddings and that doesn’t mention crisps and savoury treats. These are horrendous enemies to the human system and create vast build ups of fat, can cause heart problems, diabetes and a plethora of other such dangerous complaints which can lead to death or major disabilities. The good thing is that they are okay in very small quantities and we, as humans, have the choice of not to over-indulge or leave well alone.

Salad and good food groups are often so boring to the fat and sugar addict that it is hard to create a tasty and filling meal. It also costs more to buy fresh vegetables and fruit.

When visiting friends I find their fridges and cupboards bursting with healthy ingredients and the table comes alive with mouth watering offerings that my limited imagination and culinary skills would never have thought or be able to magic up. The truth of the matter is that I am lazy and do not take the time to investigate and learn or that is my perception.

I will find myself saying that from now on I will eat more healthily and guardedly but the lure of sugar and fat will make that a very short window and life goes back to the easy street.

One of my favourite groups is fish. I absolutely love fish and seafood but a lack of access to cheap and fresh is a problem. Take the humble prawn for example. Tasty and beautiful but one needs a king’s ransom  to live on them and the same goes for nearly all seafood. Its little wonder that so many of us turn to the ready prepared options.

Now here is a challenge to our illustrious leaders we call Government. Why not subsidise healthy fruit and vegetable along with seafood and fresh meat. In the long term the money saved on better health will reduce the Health Service bill. Tax the fast food and high sugar and fat foods. Try to boost the knowledge of the people by placing recipe cards in the food aisles alongside the ingredient groups so a better understanding of how to prepare a good meal is attained. Is it so hard or bad to want to have a better life free from some of the life-threatening diseases we are putting ourselves at risk of?

I know this sounds a bit “Nanny State” and if one wants to make a change then do it yourself but addicts sometimes need helping hands and a nudge in the right direction and then the tools to keep them steadfast.

Luckily I have a relatively active job and, although I am fat, I could be much, much worse. Sports like cycling and jogging also used to help but work and age are taking their toll and finding the time and energy is becoming so hard.

Please do not think this a black-mood moan as it is not. The above are observations and sad facts of modern lives that so many of us live in.

My heartfelt plan is to change a few things. I know I can’t change the world but I do have the ability to alter the balance of sugar/fat against more healthy options and hopefully the latter will win out.

There is no blame or shame just acceptance and change that will make a better future.

Sunny days are not just about bright light and warmth. Sunny days are so much more especially in areas where dull, cold and rain prevail.

I think the main  reason is that one can feel warm without having artificial help from fires and central heating and that warmth finds all areas. From that source of energy comes an easing on joints and aches and pains seem far less intense. The body also creates much needed vitamin D and E and it is the increase of these that makes us feel happier and less stressed.

It is a proven fact that a lack of decent sunlight can lead to depression, skin problems, bone growth and general illness. I guess, just like plants, we need the power of the sun to develop; after all we are living organisms too.

However, it is not all good.

Here in the UK we experience so few “hot” days and also infrequent “severe cold” days that there is a lack of investment in air conditioning outside the workplace and shopping sectors due to the costs. Likewise our Councils do not invest in snowploughs or heated pavements.

Skin cancers and other problems like allergies and sunburn are also major drawbacks from having sunny days and plant stimulation. Oh, and we must not forget that with the lack of air conditioning in our homes sleep becomes harder and harder and this can lead to short tempers and mistakes due to tiredness.

On the whole though I much prefer the summer warmth to the drab extended winter dross.

Simple things make the days so much more bearable. To hear the birds chattering away and the leaves of the trees brushing together to form a song from nature itself is enchanting and very relaxing. Drink tea and enjoying a picnic ease the pace of life when taken outside.

I know for many this will not be the case but to have a bank holiday weekend away from work and to have three days of glorious weather is almost unheard of. So it is a very, very welcome surprise and addition to one’s time off.

Now don’t get me wrong when I say what I am going to say as I love the sand, sea and sun but I cannot, for the life of me, understand why anyone would want to suffer the beach or park to be cramped in, jostled by raucous screams from wild kids and be assaulted by the modern version of the cheap, tinny transistor radio. But before that happens the there is the drive. The dreaded drive or extended motorway car park crawl to get to the desired location and when you get there prices are hiked up to take advantage of the masses. Not my bag thank you. Much prefer the out of season or out of school holiday times to take my recreation at these places.

One is better off staying at home and enjoying the peace and solitude with selected friends and family and as most of the hoards have migrated to the coasts and major parks, or are parked on the motorways, then the local areas are far more navigatable and accessible. Boom job done.

Sunny days also bring out the desire to get fit. Riding a bike, going for a swim, jogging or outdoor yoga become attractive options and it is all to do with the chemicals that the body makes in reaction to sunlight and the quantities produced and we must not forget that a tan gives us the illusion of wellbeing and health but whether this is true or not is not up to me to say. Science will tell us to cover up, stay indoors and avoid direct contact with intense sun but being bronzed makes the average person feel better and look less fat. Once again vanity plays her hand.

On the whole summer, don’t blink or you just might miss it, is good and the benefits in my mind far outweigh the drawbacks so long may it last. Wouldn’t it be grand if there was a thermostat to set in nature? No, no, no. It is bad enough in the home as two people always desire a different setting. Just imagine the arguments if we could all set the weather and air temperature. It is much better to let nature mix things up and randomise what we get. And she sure can do that. Just the other day we had frost, wind, driving rain, warm sunshine, cold rain mixed with hail and a miserable dank evening. We only needed fog and snow to complete the spectrum and that was in the space of half a day. What kind of mad mood was “Mother Nature” in that day?  Scroll forward two days and we experience mediterranean style weather. Mad, totally mad but very welcome.

The last thought I have before I sign off is that we can finally open our doors and windows and leave them open to allow the outside in and replace the stale with fresh and the bonus is that it is warmer out so our homes are heated for free.

Sunny Days are here again and it has certainly got its hat on.

i

Today we are very lucky to be able to speak freely about anything but one has to think about the ramifications of the subject matter.

It is so easy today to pen, voice or record one’s ideas and let those pieces wander through the ether.

Imagine a time when education was very limited and dominated by the church; to be brainwashed into what was thought was the right indoctorined philosophy. Anything that contradicted the learned in those days was seen as a slight and often carried harsh punishment.

I am not saying that we can go around shouting our mouths off about any topic we please. We still have very powerful Governments and leaders who will stop at nothing if the wrong information is leaked or an individual contradicts their actions in public but on the whole we are free to air our points of view.

The danger comes from speaking without factual knowledge. So to say all white girls from council estates are manipulators of the system to get a free house, benefits and Government handouts is wrong unless one has factual evidence to back this up but it is still a topic of worry, even if true, as it may embarrass some and evoke anger. Still, sometimes the truth hurts. In no way do I hold this statement as fact as I have not done a study into the possibility.

I love writing these blogs for instance. Not to show off my lack of skill or to impress on others my inane twitterings  but to unburden my small brain of the trivial subjects that could otherwise clog up the memory banks that could thus lead to mental complications and failures.

Also maybe one other person out there will enjoy the ramblings of a mad goose.

With this freedom comes responsibility and at times I think that the media has fallen short of the mark. False information or “fake news” is just as damaging as blatant lies. It can give false hope or empty despair. It is very much like being force fed information to a society of uneducated people who know no better about the facts or truths.

Let us not forget that one person with a differing view from the masses isn’t necessarily wrong and just because someone else says something is right doesn’t mean that it is. We all have free will and the ability to make up our own minds but we have to be given facts to debate not censured information.

I see so many young people ignoring their freedom of expression but complain when things don’t go their way.  On social media some think by copying and pasting anothers words it is in some way their expression. Why not rummage around inside their own minds and write down what they think or are we becoming a world of no imagination?

The point is one does not have to be able to write profoundly or with any genius but just have the ability to be honest and heartfelt. If one feels lonely, depressed, happy or frustrated then say so but don’t just regurgitate another’s prose just to appear intelligent or cool. Pen your own words and it might just surprise you how interesting and helpful it is, not just for you but for others too.

I am a great fan of social media if it is used the right way. I would love to create a Media website that forbid copy and paste, re-sharing, false news, inane photos and trolling. To be a free site advertisements would be a must to generate the income needed to run it and sadly that sucks but it would still be cool.

There is so much more to this topic than I have given credence to but touching the surface has left me happy for the time being and there is possibility to carry on with it in the future.

Feel free to add comments or express feelings as you feel fit but only the hardy reader will see this text line so I doubt any will.

One thing I will say is that we should grab this freedom with both hands as many folk around the world, even today, are still censured and limited in what the read, hear, watch and write.

Enjoy it while we can……

I meet quite a few people, as most of us do, and like to listen to their opinions about what they experience. Try it sometime.

Recently,  I have been trying to find people who actually like the job they are employed in and it is of little or no surprise that most do like their job but pressure, cutbacks and stupid unachievable targets cause them to dislike their positions. Politics!

This got me wondering why we have to live like this.

One answer is that middle management refuse to impart or ignore information that is bad for the company and workforce and make excuses for these failures and fudge figures.

Many people in more senior corporate positions say that they enjoy their jobs and work for great companies and I am convinced that the pictures that are painted for them are that everything is just fine and dandy.

For example; we have all experienced the announcement of an audit or a visit by an official. Just like magic all positions are covered, everything is where it should be or hidden away till after the visit and the image portrayed has little of no reality of what life is really like for a normal working day on the shop floor. As a result the findings from these visits recommends all is brilliant and the fuss and unrest is unjustified working-class hot air.

It is little wonder that nothing changes and even more cuts and savings are squeezed out of the already woefully inefficient coal face.

The middle management will never compromise their positions as they are the ones that assess themselves.  Okay we may hear or a few redundancies but these are often the troublemakers who actually want to make a better place  below them. Normally, however, it is the bully, inexperienced in doing the real job and incapable who are promoted, or moved to areas of least impact, that carry on in the company and it is these who give a totally wrong impression to the people at the top who could make the changes.

It is heartbreaking to watch and experience customer services continuing to be destroyed and the products and services becoming so poor that soon nothing will be fit for purpose. Don’t put the price up to mirror inflation but make products smaller, merge two jobs  into one, cut services back and use cheaper materials. This will be fine as the consumer will never know.

How about this as a concept? Make work lives a bit more comfortable by paying a bit more, employing enough staff to cope with demands, showing the reality rather than the “hiding under the carpet” policy and ditch some of the red-tape middle management that throttles our once prosperous businesses. Finally, does a CEO or Chairman actually need an income of one hundred times that of their coal-face staff?

A happy workforce, within reason, is a more productive one and the more efficient the production will result in higher standards and better services. This will equal higher profits.

But I guess the feathering of bosses nests has obscured these facts and it is this that which blights work today.

Potholes. These holes in our roads and pavements are so called because our early roads were made from, amongst other things, clay. At night people would dig the surface cobbles and gravel away to reveal the clay. They would then remove some clay so it could be taken home and made into pots. Hence the nickname being given to the mysterious holes that appeared in the roads. This name has stuck and it is what we call them still to this day but I doubt very much that anyone digs the hole to find clay today.

However, the state of our roads, cycleways and pavements is shocking and woefully underfunded. It won’t be long before we all have to drive a tough 4×4 or tractor but then the councils will leave the problem even longer till even the struggle to cope.  As for cyclists it can cause serious personal damage or even death if one hits some of these cracks or craters in the road.

Councils whinge that they just don’t have the resources to tackle and pay for the repairs, which may be true, if they spend huge amounts of their budgets on “jollies” abroad, “gold-plated” handshakes, futile schemes, injury claims from accident victims and the installation of ridiculous signs telling us how far a city in France or Germany is or whether a town has won “The Bloom Best Town Award” or other such nonsense.

Even when there are repairs these are so often just a “sticking plaster” cure and within a few weeks the problem returns thus putting the public at risk once again.

Cars have to be tested to a high standard to meet the safety requirements to be deemed fit to drive on our roads but if the very roads we are driving on are not fit for purpose then surely this test is in part redundant? If one has to swerve to miss a hole or has to drive through a hole then its only a matter of time before some serious injury or death occurs.

I do realise that the repair bill is colossal but a lack of investment over the decades by sloppy councellors have caused this massive problem and it is these very people who should be brought to task to fix the issue. Does an insurance payout for the loss of a loved one really compensate when it could so easily have been avoided in the first place. A burst tyre or damaged vehicle can be repaired or replaced that is true but what about the impact on being late for work, missing an appointment or being late for a flight?

We have seen a big rise in the number of vehicles on our roads but sadly the roads have not seen the same rise for their maintenance.

It would be impossible to address every problem immediately but more has to be done to make our journeys safer and less stressful.

How far have we come over the last one hundred and fifty years when it comes to work and life?

It’s a big question and I think one has to put perspective on it too.

Victorian Britain saw rich business types, mostly men, lording it  over the  population and influencing government and the same can be said for today. The only major differences are that today the massive profits stay in the upper levels of society and very little is given back to the people and government representatives are paid handsomely for their time.

We may have more things and have more choices today but the reality is that many people and families face similar problems that our Victorian forebears had to deal with as those choices and things cost us dear and are a necessity today.

Jobs are hard to come by and for most of us the employer exploits this. I would bet my bottom dollar that most people who work towards the lower end of the food-chain and have experienced work over the last thirty years or more will be seeing a similar story with those in almost every job.

The employer demands a third more output for very little extra gain. Once the little perks and incentives have been chipped away and the costs of getting to work have risen then the actual net income is probably not much more than it was ten years ago.

Yet the Chief Executives have seen massive increases with eye-watering salaries and bonuses. Who do they think they are? Most of these soft-bellied business types couldn’t even do half the tasks that they expect their minions to do and their annual wages wouldn’t cover the wine bill for the fat-cat for a week.

Society may have been very unfair for the Victorians but the Chiefs of industry did put something back. They built beautiful municipal buildings and created huge parks and open spaces for the unwashed to enjoy. They built an affordable railway envied throughout the globe. They Built houses and villages for the workers, who toiled in the factories, to live in and they are just a few examples. What have the Big boys given us today? A crippled and costly railway laughed at throughout the globe, dwindling open spaces, roads unfit for tractors let alone cars, a health system that is broken and national debts beyond comprehension.

Okay there were slums and a lack of education (ummm, some may say “don’t we see this in some of our bigger cities today, what with all the homeless, feral kids and broken schools”?) Incomes were pitiful and health was poor.

However, with the rise of the Unions, Co-operatives, Compulsary Education, Better Health and the development of these slums then life did get better.

Twenty or thirty years ago double or triple an average income for one person would have bought a two or three bedroom house in most areas. Those same jobs today would have to be multiplied by ten or twelve to realise the same homes. Individual space is becoming ever more cramped and we are now being forced to live cheek-by-jowl in our ever growing towns and cities in homes that are poor quality, small and inefficient.  The rich don’t care as they either live abroad or buy up cheep piles in the countryside and then turn them into gin palaces for themselves and their tacky mates.

Everyone I meet and talk to relates the same story and I do find it difficult to imagine or find anyone who isn’t in this situation. There must be as our society cannot be full of doom-and-gloom members. What I am saying is “are there any people out there who honestly and truly love their jobs and lives to the full and have a healthy work-life balance”?

Surely all most of us want is to be paid a reasonable income and be expected to do eight hours work for eight hours pay. Not ten hours work squeezed into an eight hour day.

If the senior management wanted to see real efficiency brought into their companies and corporations then they would look inwards to the waste that “Middle-Management” creates and the billshit jobs that come from it. Put a request in for equipment or services and its worse than the army. The request bounces around about a dozen departments who all seem to answer a different way before it lands on the desk of where it should originally be placed. By which time, when the item does turn up,  it is redundant but can’t be sent back as it would cost too much so it’s thrown away as rubbish. Trying to get the basic tools to do the job well is almost impossible due to the cut-backs and parring down of essential funds. Oh but there is always enough to pay for a boozy fact-finding jolly abroad, or a bonus for just doing the job that they are paid for. It is disgusting and very sad that society seems utterly unable to do anything about the destruction of our very being.

Soon there will be no full or part-time jobs and a zero hour contract will be the only option for the masses and then the power and lust of the few in charge will have no bounds. You may laugh and snigger but be warned.

Automation and Artificial Intelligence is on the rise and this in turn will mean fewer human jobs and the fight for what is left will get even harsher but just think how much more profit the shareholders and leaders in business will enjoy. It so warms my heart to image this.

We did learn from our mistakes and many of the issues were addressed for the good of all but sadly the last ten of fifteen years have seen all this washed away and what gains we did see for the better have been washed away and we are now back to suppression, oppression and exploitation.

These, once again, are my observations and opinions and they are not meant to be fact.

Music; we hear it everywhere we go and almost constantly if we wish to but have you ever stopped and thought how or who creates these sounds that fill our lives?

It is not like cooking a roast dinner or learning how to drive a car. It is hard and one has to follow rules and formulae or it just doesn’t sound right or sit well.

Yes it is very hard but new songs and pieces of music are written every minute. Without these masters of entertainment our lives would be so much duller and unfulfilled. Image a world of no dancing, no songs and no catchy tunes. Okay for some no dancing or singing would be bliss but even they like listening to other’s work.

It is relatively easy to write a poem or air one’s thoughts via a blog but to work a song or write a story is another world of talent. Being able to play an instrument by interpreting one’s rambles from the mind to the strings or keys is probably the first step but having the ability to write musical notes and understand and imagine their sound is the next but harder step. Adding words then is a walk in the park. However, if the former two steps are beyond your capability can a song still be written? I guess so. Singing the tune and accompanying lines would work but it is setting out the layering and structure of the whole piece of work that is hard. Yes, one can churn out mindless and meaningless pop trash but they hold no emotion to the individual singing or the audience that they subject this tripe to.

Of course the above is only my opinion and should be taken with a pinch of salt. All music will be loathed by some and loved by others.  Personal taste and influences will dictate what or how one interprets a score just as the pallet of food and ingredients will develop the dishes of cultures and countries around the world.

It is wonderful to listen to the workings and creations of songs as they are formed by the artists to become some of the most renowned tunes of all time. Equally, when a friend sends a sample as and attachment or you listen to a sound-bite of a song on their phone, it is  brilliant and exciting.

It is a God-send that we can record our workings so easily in our modern times so others can experience and enjoy those tunes at later times. Before this once a song was sung, a guitar was strummed or a piano was tinkled the sound was lost forever. We had to live every sound in the moment and any mistake was washed away with the river of truth.

Have a go at it and see how you fair. Then some respect for the art will be gained. I do not state this as a patronism but just as a bit of fun.

“I will see you at the crossroads to meet the devil for a swap meet”.

Ha ha ha……But beware the Devil will want payment……