So here we are with another brand new day to do with what we will. Of course we used to get them all the time when I was a lad and really we never thought about where they came from. Now, here we are sixty seven years on and still they keep on coming.

How does that work then?

One of the things that we didn't have to concern ourselves with as children were General Elections. I think that I had to wait until I was quite old before I was able to vote. Not like nowadays.

And another thing.

We had proper politicians in those days. Dedicated leaders and men of principal and substance who were respected by the whole country.

Or am I confusing them with doctors?

Never mind.

Since Tuesday of this week we have a new alliance, a co-operative, a coalition to save the economy, the country and the world.

We now have Ant and Dec!!!!

Hey, Hey, Hey.....It's a brand new day

I heard today that our government has come up with a brilliant scheme to deal with all the potholes that motorists are complaining about. This is to replace the "Adopt a Pothole" scheme that was first suggested by the Flying Yoghurt party with a brand new initiative.

What is going to happen is this:

All of the potholes in England are going to be collected together and used as a massive landfill site which eventualy will be used as building land for a new town called Ketterby which will be located in Ketteringshire which itself is just South of Scotland and slightly up from North Londonshire.

Ketterby will be re-marketed as the most Southerly Ski Resort in England in an attempt to woo visitors from all over the continent who will now be able to fly directly in to the new International airport at Sywell.

I don't believe it!

Watch this space.

A weekend away

Well, we just got back home from a long weekend in Thornham, Norfolk to celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary and my 67th birthday. Thornham is about five miles from Hunstanton on the A149 road to Sherringham and Cromer..

We arrived on Saturday afternoon at about 2pm having spent nearly two hours on the road from Kettering. After a sandwich and a pint at the Lifeboat Inn we picked up our keys and drove the 800 mtrs to the Old Coach House Inn where we were staying for two nights. After freshening up we went for a short drive along the coast road to Brancaster beach where we took a gentle stroll along the sand with the beautiful off shore wind farm just a series of specks on the horizon.

Then it was time to head back and tart ourselves up for our evening meal at the Lifeboat Inn. The food was delicious and the service was fast and efficient.

After dinner we went back to the Old Coach House for a couple of drinks before retiring for the night.

Sunday was a glorious sunny day so we set off for Sherringham and then worked our way back along the coast road stopping off at Wallsingham, Binham, Burnham Market and finaly Thornham. There are an awful lot of hams in Norfolk.

This time we decided to eat at the hotel where we were staying and it was another good experience with first class service and more good food followed by a nightcap or two before going up to our room to sample the delights of Freeserve T.V. What bliss. What joy.

Monday morning was not so good due largely to the rain so we abandoned our planned trips and headed for home.

Of course in the old days when I was a lad and no one had a car we used to go to the seaside by horse drawn bus which took three days to get there and another three days to get back.

Day trips were a bit of a problem, but we were happy.

You try telling that to the young people nowadays. They won't believe you......Ah well.

So anyway we stopped off at the Montagu Arms in Barnwell only to find that they were closed so we did a short detour to Tandees Nursery where Rossy was able to buy a few plants to compensate for the disappointment.

We then headed over to the Snooty Fox at Lowick but they were closed as well.

Next stop was the Green Dragon at Brigstock where they had sold out of Bishops Finger so we had to settle for John Smiths smooth and NO FOOD because they don't do food on Mondays or Tuesdays.

Welcome back home to the Rose Of The Shires, Northamptonshire, which is being promoted as a major tourist centre for the Midlands.

In fact there is talk of changing the name of Northamptonshire to....wait for it..... North Londonshire. This is not a joke.

See you soon.

So, why have I created this blog? Well for a start I like the idea of being able to keep in touch with family and friends without having to see what animals they keep on the farm and how many fish they have in their aquariums etc. etc.

Also, with 67 years behind me and maybe fewer than 67 years ahead of me I realise that I have more memories in the bank than I am likely to create in the future.

When I was a lad there was no Radio One or pirate radio ships. If you didn't want to listen to the BBC Light Programme playing "Nellie The Elephant" by Mandy Miller or "How Much is That Doggie in The Window" by Diana Decker, then you had to look elsewhere for your music.

Rock and Roll was beginning to make an impression after the Skiffle craze and we youngsters, "Teenagers" hadn't been invented then, were listening to a little continental radio station to keep up to date with the latest music from America.

Radio Luxembourg was broadcasting commercial radio sponsored by the big record companies such as Capitol, Philips and Decca.

Their massive transmitters beamed our "pop" music to us on 208 metres medium wave which we were able to pick up on our tiny transistor radios.

These radios were very simple receivers which had six transistors, one waveband [MW ], a PP3 battery and a three inch speaker although there was a single earpiece as well because stereo radio had not yet arrived.

And so we tuned in to Luxembourg and listened to young Elvis, Pat Boone, Ricky Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Connie Francis, Brenda Lee as well as their British copiers such as Tommy Steele, Marty Wilde, Billy Fury and Cliff Richard.

In fact Cliff was perhaps the closest that we got to our own home grown rocker at that time.

It was the dawn of a new era for us young rockers and things would never be the same again.