Sunday, January 02, 2011

snow



We adapt to changes in a surprisingly fast manner and new habits can be learned quickly, an example being that when coming in from the snow we now bang our boots on the wall on both sides of the door to knock the excess snow off of them. Because the pavements are frozen and as slippery as ice-rinks we walk in the road, as they have been cleared of snow and ice and are actually safer to walk on, even with the close proximity of the traffic. Our false economy says that it is better to have pedestrians in the road or slipping over and ending up in hospital than it is to spread some sand, grit or salt on the pavements.

Our chancellor George "We're all in this together" Gideon Oliver Osborne, is taking a luxury break at Prince Charles’s favourite ski resort, Klosters in Switzerland where chalets can cost as much as £10,000 per night. Osborne is part of the old Anglo-Irish aristocracy, known in Ireland as the Ascendancy. He is the heir to the Osborne baronetcy, so has been born into a family that has been lording it over us since at least 1620.

Tory MP Frank Zacharias Robin "Zac" Goldsmith is on holiday at an £8,000-a-week villa in the Caribbean over the New Year but then he does have about 300 million quid of his fathers to fritter away.

I'm not exactly sure what George means when he says "We're all in this together" but then maybe my invitation to go to Klosters with him has just not turned up here yet for some reason. Goldsmith speaks and writes about environmental causes in Britain but can see nothing strange or contradictory about flying himself all the way round the world for a short holiday. It's funny how the rich are happy to spout all sorts of twaddle about how other people must cut back on their already meagre existences just as long as their own extravagant and opulent lifestyles remain unquestioned and unchallenged.

A good game that I play is that whenever a politician starts talking I imagine that the opposite of what they are saying is actually the truth. This works surprisingly well for a lot of their pronouncements and at least gives me some small amount of entertainment as well.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hallo John

Dies sind ganz ganz super Bilder,
mit fantastischen Farben.

These are very very super pictures,
with fantastic colors.


greetings
patrick

john said...

Hallo Patrick und vielen Dank.

Ich bin froh, dass Sie genießen die Bilder und ja, es ist ein gutes Stück von Farbe ist nicht da. Hoffe, du bist Warmhalten wo Sie sind. Alles Gute für Sie für das neue Jahr, und dass Sie eine sehr gute. Jubel für heute.

john said...

Ich hoffe, das macht Sinn

Anonymous said...

Hallo John

Das macht Sinn.
Google übersetzer ist interessant.
Es ist sehr spannend zu sehen, dass Menschen mit einer anderen Sprache, wirklich haben andere Bilder haben für Gedanken.
Das macht die Welt schön
Das es so viele verschiedene Menschen gibt
So viele Wege zu denken
In jeder Sprache wieder anders

liebe Grüsse
patrick

Hi John

That makes sense.
Google translate is interesting.
It is very exciting to see that people with a different language, really have any other pictures for ideas.
That makes the world beautiful
That there are so many different people
To think so many ways
In each language, different again

greetings
patrick

reem said...

hi , john ,so beautifull photos , I think ,you've chosen differant places this time , it's something about the life there , the houses ,people , even the roofs , I like the boats , thay seem at rest on the beach, olso ,that narrow road ,

your yew tree wears white dress this time ,

it's nice beginning for the new year ,all best for you .

oh .......did you make the snowman ? red nose ? I guess ?yes .

enjoy winter ,john .have good time .

john said...

Nice one Patrick und vielen Dank für Ihren Kommentar. Ich bin damit einverstanden, dass wir offenbar unterschiedliche Bilder verwenden zu denken mit noch können wir übersetzen und verstehen einander mit solchen Dingen wie Google Translate. Einige dieser Bilder können archetypische oder einige können persönlich, wie das Innere Bild, das wir bekommen, wenn wir das Wort Stuhl glaube aber ja es macht die Welt schöner, nicht wahr.

Ich sehe aus Ihrem Profil, dass Sie Steiner gelesen. Das Buch das ich von ihm am meisten genossen, habe das Beste aus war die Erkenntnisse der höheren Welten, die ich gefunden viel einfacher, als viele seiner Werke zu verstehen.

Nochmals vielen Dank und Beifall für heute

john said...

Hi Evat and thank you very much

Yes the photographs were taken around the town and in nearby parks as the snow made it very difficult to move too far or get out of town. The buses here stopped running for about three days.

'The yew tree wears white dress' is a very nice way of putting it Evat. She does seem to be wearing a white dress, yes I like that.

I didn't make a snowman so far but the winter, like the new year, is still young here and I have a feeling we should be getting more snow before the season is over.

I like snowmen though and once a long time ago my brother and myself made an igloo which was fun. It was big enough for both of us to get inside of and was warm with drips of water coming from the inside middle of the roof. It was also very quiet inside and blocked out sound from the outside very effectively.

All the best to you too Evat

reem said...

hi ,john,it's nice quiet town ,I think ,there are many interesting things to do there .

winter, you have long one ,and you have time to enjoy makeing snowman ,when we were children,we wanted to grow fast and fast ,but now ,sometimes , we want to be children again .

do you ?

hopefully to see more photos soon

have good time .

john said...

Choukrane Evat and apologies for getting to your comment so late. I have not been on the internet much lately, my father died last Sunday so I have had a busy time.

I have a feeling that we are going to get more snow this winter, February and March maybe, and if it snows again I will build a snowman somewhere. I enjoyed being young and I think if we are wise we still contain that child with its sense of wonder and look after them.

I hope to get back to the blog soon and get more pictures up.

All the best to you Evat and to all the other readers here too.

reem said...

Hi ,john ,I'm so sorry ,even I don't know what I've to say .

hopefully ,everything is ok ,and your family too .

life is life ,still going fast .

sorry again , all the best for you .

nobody said...

Hullo John, I'm late to pop in here. Very nice, these. I particularly liked the snow-topped rocks. If only you'd had a crane handy to dangle you above it so you could shoot straight down and fill the frame as a textural piece. But as they say, there's never a crane about when you need one.

And you're such a polyglot John. English, German, and Devonian! Not bad mate.

Otherwise, I hope you and the maid are well. I'm well enough apart from the usual geriatric monkey business. Yoroshiku, n.

nina said...

John, please accept my condolences on the passing of your father.

Your work is exciting and growing more so each time I visit.

nina

john said...

Thanks Evat Nobody and Nina. It's been a tough time recently and I thank you all for your kind words and thoughts, it is very much appreciated.