Have to fly now

No not unaided, by plane in four hours time. Changing base so next blog will be in about 72 hours from the U.K. and not Canary Islands. See you then. Patrick

Confessions of a Magician

Several people who have bought any of my books have asked, are you a pagan – it seems that if you favour magicians you must be a pagan. A pagan is someone who professes a religion other that Christianity, Judaism, or Islam. It doesn’t mean you are irreligious, or without belief. I do not judge other religions.
If they follow reasonable doctrines then they have my support.

However I am a magician – not for children’s parties – no rabbits out of a hat. A magician is believed to be a wise and knowledgeable person who listens to all, and uses the knowledge for good. So that means I can join any religious sect or creed and still remain a magician. All religions are open to me.

I happen to belong to A.N.O.D or to give it its full title The Ancient and Noble Order of Dendara. For many years it was the Noble Order of Tentyra but time has meant that its name has kept up with modern place names. As you can see the Disciplines refer to an even earlier name


The Disciplines of Enet-te-ntr

1. Honour and respect your Gods
2. Do not yourself kill or bear the sword against your fellow man.
3. You must give respect to your fellow man of that to which he is entitled.
4. You must not lie, or make false accusation.
5. Do not take that which is not yours or given.
6. You must not be guilty of envy.
7. Do not commit adultery.
8. Honour your Father and Mother, and your family.
9. Seek knowledge for the betterment of your fellow man.
10. Observe equality between woman and man.
11. Observe the holy days.
12. Keep private that which is best unsaid.

If your faith, the one you follow, can say it follows the same disciplines then yours must be an honourable faith. I would not call you a pagan or heathen if you do not hold one of the principle religions. And yes, the magicians of our order do follow varied faiths. They do follow Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In addition some members follow Non - Abrahamic faiths including Dhamic faiths.

The question often asked is can you join? Unfortunately that is not possible, you don’t actually join; you must be invited by the Grand Council, and their requirements are not easy to meet. Am I a pagan? The question is what is a pagan?

May the power go with you, and guard against sinners.

The way forward

We complain about the way our politician’s fail, in our opinion, to lead us on the golden path to prosperity but do we suggest anything to help!

The current problems are down to them, they were the cause because they didn’t follow our words of wisdom. O.K let’s see if they can sort it out! But what of the future? What people have they will be loathe to give up, take what you can back but don’t expect much cooperation. The answer is don’t give away anything more.

To start with. Government departments are overloaded. So don’t recruit anymore staff, redeploy that which you have. Retire everybody at the same age. In the U.K. that is 65 at the moment, it should apply to all workers – private or civil service. They won’t agree to that! Why not, if it’s a new retirement age, or out on your ear then they will have to listen. Strike – go on then strike, but we should make sure it’s without pay.

The biggest problem is too many people. True we cannot go in for mass extermination of sections of the people. But why keep producing more than we need! The world wide increase in population over the last century has been from 1,650 Million to 6,707 million. True the fertility rate in the developed countries is 1-2 children, but even in the U.S.A. it is 2-3 children. This fertility rate should reduce the numbers that draw on those nations resources. But Sub Saharan Africa and some Middle East countries have a fertility rate of 5-6 children and in some areas 7-8 children. And now with the ease of movement from one country to another, immigration is having a drastic effect on some of the indigenous populations.

As much as one country would like to assist another, we cannot support a massive explosion of population in other countries. And that is exactly what we are trying to do. Our governments must stop giving our money away and spend it more wisely at home. We should reduce any form of benefit that encourages more than a fertility of 1-2 children. I didn’t say stop having more children than two. But taxation after two children would stop much of the unbalance that is occurring in some developed countries by the immigrant population taking advantage of the child benefit allowances.

The use of the motor car draws on the petroleum industry; in the first place the design of electric cars should have greater emphasis. We can produce electricity from nuclear power; thereby our reliance on petroleum will be reduced. Something that will take our power supply needs away from external influence which should be seriously considered. It will also help to reduce climate change by less pollution.

I can think of other ways forward, but maybe your comments may have some?

'May the sun shine on the righteous?'

The recession is over! We shall soon be once again in the land of plenty, and the sun will shine on the righteous. I don’t think so! Fortunately we won’t be leaving it all up to our leaders; many of us are beginning to think that the gravy train has run its course. Look around, the shops with the luxuries are complaining that the customers are not rushing to buy. Certainly they are buying the basics, things to eat, and to try and keep us warm, without turning the heaters to high. The price of utilities, like electricity, gas, and petrol is rocketing.

We need to take stock and consolidate. But for younger people that is hard. Those of an older generation are thinking back to the times when rationing was part of our life. For example when you washed virtually anything you used in soda crystals. Now we need special and costly alternatives to remove stains from cottons and linens, to degrease cookers, additions to the washing load, de-scaling kettles, additives for the toilet – washing paintwork they all have special products.

Then there are the essential requirements for health. There are now gymnasiums, a multitude of vitamin pills, special clubs for walking or cycling, all with expensive equipment for participating.

Let’s go and watch the football, or the baseball, in fact to be involved in any sport is expensive, we thought about taking up golf until we found out the cost of just one golf club.

Then the cost of clothes, makeup, hairdressers, manicurist, pedicurists, and I am not talking just about women!

Have you been to the fish and chip shop, the burger kiosk, any fast food shop? No they are not a cheap way out nowadays. Restaurants were something you went to on special occasions, now the high streets are lined with them. Though I have noticed a few of them have closed, and ‘For Rent’ signs have appeared in the window.

The problem is when you are used to the soft way of living you expect it to go on forever. However the up and coming so called underdeveloped countries now want a slice of the cake, and you can only bake what you have the ingredients for. Possibly a little bigger than before; but not enough to keep the same soft living.

Cars, when I was young were for the lucky ones, youngsters would go out in the street and play ‘Please Mr crocodile can I cross your river’. You can’t now, there are cars parked everywhere. The road was the river, but now it’s full of obstacles. Play hop scotch on the pavement! Only if supervised; you need special, and costly, play areas in case of accidents.

The righteous, where are they? Actually they are out there enjoying the sunshine (climate change permitting), but their pursuits are more simple. They are taking time to look at the world, which is beautiful. And not trying to fill it with costly adult toys.

Phew! have you seen the games they show on the computers? Whoops – can I keep my laptop please it’s absolutely essential.

Tantra - and the ultimate sexual experience.

I have often felt the approach to a relationship between partners is often reduced to a very basic level. I think a full relationship requires Love – Tenderness – Respect – Dignity to be achieved normally between two people in a constant relationship. The Yoga of Sex with Love can achieve this. Sexual experience when limited to a basic mechanical action can never be truly fulfilling. Many individuals when making love; note the word love has again been introduced, often find they fantasize during the mechanical action to heighten the pleasure realised. Tantriks conscious of the psycho-sexual energy surrounding the sexual act, the act which has been recognised as the ultimate means of enjoyment, have wanted to make the enjoyment prolonged and further heightened. So they have stressed the need for Love – Tenderness – Respect – Dignity to be more important than the purely mechanical act which is dependent on just physical attributes.

So we should treasure all aspects of love making, not just the mechanical, but the scent, taste, sound, surroundings and the colour. This way you can attain true fulfilment with your partner. Eventually you will find the foreplay dominating your union. Preparation of your surroundings becomes very important. The use of scents, lighting, possibly with candles, soothing music, and a comfortable situation. You become conscious of the cosmic forces that surround you. Slowly, over time, the need for actual mechanical union becomes secondary; the pleasure of just lying close to one another becomes paramount. Now you are entering the many higher aspects of love making; you are realising that much is dependent on thought, desire, companionship, intimacy. Certainly physical copulation is not to be excluded, but we are considering coition without contact, something that the West finds hard to accept as they still regard sexual intercourse as the act of copulation.

So need we become a member of the Tantra thinking sect? No, there are many aspects and doctrines which might not be welcome. This short thesis is only to suggest that the sexual act should be taken to its highest level where LOVE – TENDERNESS – RESPECT – DIGNITY is important, and lust takes a back seat. Sex without physical contact!

I hope that this short thesis has been received with regard.

Education

One of the most discussed and controversial subjects you could think of is education. I think I’ll sling in my sixpenneth. (A sixpence? An out of date coin worth about 2 ½ new pence).

I missed two years of schooling just when I should have been learning ‘joined up writing!’ the result was I could never read my own written word. Therefore I didn’t start writing books until I had a laptop, then I could read ‘that what I had wrote’.

I failed to pass exams as a teenager. But did get geography ‘O’ level, which I don’t think counts really. I did travel a lot, maybe that helped with the geography, and I learnt to be polite, always a good thing. Also I was possibly overconfident, so I found it hard to worry when told to do something, just be polite, and then get on with my own thing.

The school rang my parents one spring. ‘Has Patrick got over his illness yet?’ Illness? My mother was confused, I’m not sure what she said but they seemed satisfied. I returned to the classroom after three months of doing my own thing during the day. Well I had learnt how to amuse myself for two years when I was 9/10 years of age, so it was easier at sixteen years of age.

I joined the army at eighteen and got married five months later. Then after three years in the army I was demobbed. It had been a pleasant three years, mostly based in Germany where I had lived for a little time as a youngster. In the Army I had quickly found a niche that suited, I was responsible for organizing the extra food purchases, and drink for the officer’s mess as I could speak a little German; I also ran three mess bars. I had found how to keep out of the way, be well fed, and have sufficient to drink. It wasn’t very satisfying, and they didn’t allow married quarters until you were twenty one. Get killed as a soldier, but not old enough for married quarters!

Then I went into industry working for other people. Four years of that and I’d had enough, so I started my first company. Education did I ever study? Yes, night classes in French, sculpture, and careful attention to good wines. Also to plumbing, electrical installation, farming, the last three by experience and books; and when I was sixty one years old I wanted to pass an exam in General Horticulture with the Royal Horticultural Society for my personal satisfaction,. After three years study I passed.

My mother used to read classics to us as children, and we learnt to read very early, so I enjoyed books. Conversing with adults was easy, in my teens I had had only adults to talk to for almost two years when living in mainland Europe. Spelling and grammar sometimes confuses me.

School teachers I always seemed to get on with. I didn’t pass the exam to go to the grammar school, but because of having missed two years schooling they gave me an interview. My forte, talking to adults, I was in. I do remember encountering the two headmasters from my grammar school (they changed over halfway through my time at the school). It was just before I started my own company and by then I was a Senior Security Advisor to a national company, and frequently gave talks on security. Therefore as a young man I also was an after dinner speaker on the subject of commercial security. On this occasion before me were about forty senior local business men. Normally I don’t dry on these occasions, but I was into full throttle when for a second I did. Well two ex-headmasters, who had been the very serious and strict, listening intently to you and looking straight at you, can almost put you off.

Education, yes you do need it but what sort of education. Education is the act or process of acquiring knowledge. To be educated is to display culture, taste, and knowledge, cultivated on experience or information. But be careful when you educate somebody, careful just how much emphasise you allow to be put on indoctrination when you educate.

You should allow learning to be a pleasure, and that is not always achieved in the lecture room.

Sundowners

Often, where we live you get invited in for sundowners. An excuse to drink, the trouble is my drinking habits have slowed down and I ask for coke! Now that puts a spoke in it. ‘But you drink red wine’ is the reply.

‘Yes but first I’d like a soft drink if you have one?’

‘ A diet coke O.K?’

‘No I drink my coke straight.’ I never could see how they were supposed to taste the same, ‘cause they don’t.

‘Oh, how about red wine?’

So red wine it is, and to slow it down I ask. ‘Could I have a glass of water as well, still water please, not sparkling?’

‘Not sparkling!’

‘No still, and not from the tap.’ On Tenerife the calc in the tap water is horrific, and you can get gallstones easily. Well over a number of years anyway.

‘If you’re worried about gallstones you needn’t. It takes quite a few years, and you’re well over seventy!’

Now! it seems I’m a grumpy old man, over fussy and difficult. My wife can see invitation books having our name scrubbed out throughout the neighbourhood. ‘He’ll have sparkling water.’

So its red wine and sparkling water, thank goodness we don’t have to drive home.

I do like wine especially red wine, Beaujolais is a favourite and one day I’ll tell you about the Feté Raclet that is held the first weekend in October.

The World We Live In

How often do you say ‘I don’t understand?’ I seem to say it dozens of times every day. I switch on the news in the morning and before long I am absolutely bewildered by what is reported. Today in Britain we are told that three former Cabinet Ministers are suspended for actively seeking work with companies, and to be paid cash if they lobby senior politicians.

We are talking about Ministers who were elected to look after and safeguard our interests. They are now intending to try and influence expenditure of our money (which we are told we haven’t got) for commercial interests. They do so because of their previous employment on our behalf when they made contacts and friends. This is offensive.

Also it’s the amounts I don’t understand, they wanted between £3,000 and £5,000 A DAY. I can’t work that out in dollars as the pound is rapidly falling in value under the guidance of Mr Brown our Prime Minister! These former Ministers are to receive a hefty pension and a golden handshake after this coming election.

‘I don’t understand’ how they think the British pensioner can exist for a year with less than what they consider is two days extra pay. These were the people who have been elected into power to look after the people – fat lot they cared.

Now I commend the Healthcare Programme the USA is going for. Those that didn’t have health care will now be able to be attended to. Some 32 million Americans. However the cost of insurance will now go up and the STate control of insurance might have drawbacks. But the basic idea must be good. But ‘I don’t understand’ where the money comes from for this extra medical attention, I thought the world has just been (or is still going) through a recession and we need to tighten our belts. A great idea but where is the cash?

‘I don’t understand’ Climate Change. I’m sure they are right (the experts that know). It seems we have a problem. But why do we keep increasing the population? Surely less people would mean less pollution. Fewer cars, less power stations, less chopping down of trees, less medical care, less everything. But we keep paying out more and more benefits for people to produce more offspring. Very commendable I suppose, but we are in debt, so we are told. Who pays?

I think the world is a wonderful place; it’s exciting, beautiful, and full of tranquillity; but only when I get away from the maddening crowd.

We elect politicians to administrate, but they are the curse of civilization; they are the ugly side of the world. We elect them to keep everything on an even keel, but they seem to ignore the job they were elected for, and just have their snouts in the trough

‘I just don’t understand!’

Kick boxing inThailand

Have you ever been a tourist? So everybody has, and you may have noticed wherever you go there is a dance troupe who come to entertain you. Maybe you indulged yourself and went to see a special show. Somehow they seem to be false, not quite genuine.

We went to the Rose gardens just outside Bangkok to see typical Thai dancing – cock fighting – Thai kick boxing. The kick boxing was very elegant, almost like a ballet, I couldn’t understand why it was considered to be so brutal.

Next stop was Pattaya. Now this was over thirty years ago and I was still interested to see what genuine Thai kick boxing was all about. After much cajoling the tour guide agreed to take my wife and I, and two other gentlemen from our hotel, to a kick boxing match on the outskirts of what was then a village.

We entered a large shed with a corrugated roof and it was hot and crowded. We were very privileged and sat with the local bookmakers. Behind us and keeping the excited audience back was a barbed wire fence, and in front of us the ring. We were at eye level with the ring and close, so close you could see the countless insects bouncing up and down on the floor of the ring. By this time we were perspiring with the heat and humidity. Finally the first bets had been laid, a whistle blew and the first two very young contestants entered the ring. Now I never did work out who decided when each round came to an end. To me it seemed it was decided by how many teeth had landed on the floor. I watched in horrified fascination as the contestants sat on their stools, the blood dripping from their faces. Then a bucket of ice was produced and a couple of handfuls were pushed into their groin box. These boxers were hot; perspiration was dripping from them and mixing with the blood. But what that ice felt like I can’t imagine but they certainly sat upright.

Back at the hotel the guide asked if we found our visit interesting. The answer was ‘Yes’ interesting, but I felt that in future, he should always check before visit that the tourists had stomachs as strong as ours. Fortunately I am also assured that conditions have improved, although from what is shown on the silver screen nowadays I’m not too sure!

One thing I am sure about life has many facets.

Pleased you all liked Venice, thank you.

Venice is Exotic

I like to travel to other countries but don't often make repeat visits to the places I go to. So as a I had,as a nine year old boy visited Venice just after World War Two, it was no surprise that I hadn't made a return visit. Finally I went with my wife and was enchanted. Now I dream of one day buying an apartment and spending loads and loads of time there. I was also tempted to write about visiting Venice. So if you feel like it, make yourself comfortable and sit back with a drink and read on

Going for a short break? 'Have you ever been to Venice', a silly question, but you have started reading so you’ve fancied the idea, but then … it is not so silly a question because like many you haven’t. The grandeur, culture, spectacular building, piazzas, and the maze of canals weaving amongst the buildings and under the bridges; if you’re not tempted by them, then you are not a traveller, not an aficionado of the beauty of beautiful cities. If you haven’t been then you should go, it should not be missed, it should be top of the list for your next break away from mediocrity.

This is a city to be savoured by the fortunate, with its exotic culture. The allure of so much beauty contained in one place should not be neglected. An over the top introduction, yes, but justified. Often you, the reader, will leave it for the next time, don’t.

So where should you start. Book your flight to the ‘Marco Polo’ airport; you land right on the water front. Then take the taxi or ‘vaporetto’ to the Zaccaria or San Marco jetty, walk

through St Marks Square and into the sestriere, the area, of Castello Ovest. Select a hotel somewhere within a stone’s throw of the Piazza San Marco, possibly halfway between the Piazza and the Rialto Bridge.

Find a small hotel, of which there are myriads. Many are hundreds of years old but wonderfully modernised. The question is how do you find such a hotel; before you leave for Venice look on the internet, and if you haven’t a computer then go to a computer café and ask somebody how, there are several excellent web sites that will give you plenty of details. Most hotels in the Castello Ovest district are nestled amongst the craft shops that crowd the old calle’s, the narrow lanes that abound with wonderful restaurants serving good food, all within walking distance. You are about to have your senses assailed with so much history that you need to become part of it, to literally drink and eat a fascinating culture of love and beauty; to stay outside the center is to miss part of the cities heartbeat.

Everything is changing, the ‘serenissima’ loved by the Venetians will disappear as they leave to make way for the tourists. Hurry, there is still time to take a ‘gondola’ trip early in the evening with your loved one, to have ‘Casanovas’ house pointed out to you, and imagine him leaping from his gondola and vaulting over the balustrade into his home pursued by an irate husband.

The gondolas painted in traditional colours weave their way along the canals, the houses standing in the water, the foundations in many places are frayed by the tides of centuries. The facades are sometimes faded, the surface crumbling, others have been recently painted and the evening sun paints a glorious technicolour picture as you turn each corner, your gondolier calling out a warning to traffic coming from the other direction. If you agreed a fair price your gondolier will usually take you out onto the Grand Canal where you can see the ‘Ponte di Rialto’. Designed by Antonio Ponte in the sixteenth century it is a bridge of souvenir shops and in the peak season is packed with tourists.

The next day when back on foot exploring the many narrow lanes, and crossing back and forth over the small bridges, do take the opportunity to cross over the Rialto, and then go to the market and shop like a Venetian in the fruit and vegetable market, or buy some flowers, look at the fish stalls but possibly not a good choice of purchase to take back to your hotel room.

Remember this was the central harbour of old Venice and is alive with the exotic history of the streets. Stop for tapas at one of the ‘bacari’, the local bars, try the plump prawns or bite into a ‘panino’ of ham or cheese

Later you can shop for your souvenir, leave your hotel a little earlier than you need and look for the mask shops in the narrow lanes, the ‘maschere e costumi’.

Go in and talk with the owner, learn how the shop has been with the family for generations, how his mother designed this mask, and his aunt another, admire the multitude of masks, fascinating designs and colours, the black and white mask that covers half the face and is called a ‘baúta’, then you can buy your souvenir from the family that made it.

Next stop the restaurants for your evening meal, these will offer a range to suit all tastes. Antipasti! you will never taste antipasti to rival the restaurants of Venice, now you will understand why the fish market was so varied: thin slices of tuna, monkfish, scampi with a dressing of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, this is antipasti to dream about. Then the pastas of Italy, but such pastas, and the Parmesan cheese to grate on them.

Onto the wild duck, and the Carpaccio, thin slice of raw beef also with Parmesan, it’s a gastronomic adventure, be bold. Your visit has started with the vibrant heart of the city, the living part of the Venetian people. Dinner served by candlelight on a waterside terrace or in a secluded passageway, at the top of quaint iron steps on a small balcony looking down into a charming little square, a campiello. Now you are beginning to feel the pulse of Venice.

Next day, early, take the ‘vaporetto’, the local water bus, a No1 will take you the length of the Grand Canal and you can see Venice from the water for a few euros. The bustle of this waterway will take your breath away. If you are there for the first Sunday in September then you will have to take your place on the canal terraces, find a good place to watch as the Historical Regatta takes over the Grand Canal starting at the Bacino di San Marco. The Palaces hang banners from their windows and balconies and the gondoliers wear magnificent costumes, the procession is a splendid sight. There are other processions on other days, but if you miss them don’t worry the Grand Canal is always a grand procession.

You can pass under the ‘Bridge of Sighs’ on a gondola trip, but if you didn’t, and it’s normal not to go in that direction? Then remember when you visit the ‘Palazzo Ducale’ the Doges Palace; and the ‘Palazzo Ducale’ is one place you must not miss, half price if you are over that certain age, but you must ask. So remember when you visit the ‘Palazzo,’ then make sure you cross over it.

The Bridge of Sighs that is, and then visit the dungeons. Not a pleasant place, different to the Palace, but even Casanova spent some time there as a resident. Viewed from the lagoon it is impressive, viewed from the Riva Degli Schiavoni or the Piazzetta its outstanding Gothic architecture, with its graceful loggia and arcade supporting the towering upper levels is overpowering but you have to go inside to find the real splendour of the palace Again the question, ‘where to start’, well go up the ‘Scala d’Oro an impressive staircase leading to the ‘Doges Apartments’, rooms devoted to paintings by the Venetian School, and if you don’t like art, and not everybody does, then keep going. Be impressed by the ceilings, by the room of the maps of the world, but keep going until the armoury, surely the amazing pieces on display must cause some excitement

Bridge of Sighs in the background

Then when you’ve had your fill of the arts for one day come out into the Piazza San Marco. Push through the bustle of the crowds that throng the square during the day. Let’s try something different, we can go to the Basilica tomorrow, so we turn our back on it and head off down the right side of the square, half way down we turn into the side streets and soon come to another museum, and here we find the secret libertine side of the ‘serenissima’, the Museo D’Arte Erotica. Half price for students, and after a bit of persuading, half price for grey haired oldies, you will have found a little window into the life of Casanova and the courtesans of years gone by.

Venice is not expensive; true you can pay exorbitant prices for everything but you can everywhere in the world it’s just a case of avoiding the tourists traps. But one trap is hard to avoid, you must have coffee or drinks in San Marco square, it’s traditional. Here you can sit and listen to the music in the evening sipping a coffee. There are always plenty of seats even at the Caffe Florian, and plenty of beautiful people, all listening to the music.

Now the square is not crowded but pleasantly busy, most strolling between the cafés, standing to listen to the music.

We were innocents and sat down; two coffees at 7.80 euros each were a bit steep but then it’s a tradition to visit the cafés. The bill puzzled me at first, 26.60 euros; then the reason for standing became apparent, 5.50 euros each for the music. But we went back another evening and sat down again, I do hate standing. But as I said it’s a case of avoiding the tourist traps, you’re welcome to stand.

Souvenirs are always a must wherever you go in the world, and earlier I tried pushing you into buying masks, but there are other traditional buys. Near our hotel the company of Pauly & C. were demonstrating the famous Murano glass of Venice; I hasten to add, recently of Venice. The last of the workshops has moved out to Murano a group of islands nearby which are easily reached by vaporetto or water taxi.

Now they will only be selling their glass products in what originally were their workshops. The glass manufactures of Venice were in 1291 told to move out of Venice following another devastating fire started in the glass works. They still

shipped their glass through, what was then, the main harbour at Rialto hence it often still being referred to as Venetian glass. It’s been a slow process moving out, very slow, and now Venetian glass is really Murano glass but it is a worthy souvenir.

Have I wetted your desire to visit Venice, I hope so, did I leave anything out! Actually I never got started; the city has so much to show you, so much to give that I would be egotistical to attempt to describe everything, there is so much. YOU MUST GO.

Hot Cross Buns (Two weeks to go)

Good Friday is not far away and as usual my mind turns to something else I can eat. Hot Cross Buns, now there’s a thought. Hot and dripping in butter and honey; lent’s over and we can tuck in. Actually I never believe in fasting, and look forward to the chocolate eggs as well!

The bun must be crossed on the top with either pastry or flour and water mix. In England we like plenty of raisins and currants in the bun mix, and it should be leavened with yeast; in America they like to add some candied citron. And would you believe it, the Australians and New Zealanders can’t wait a couple of days for the chocolate eggs, and have started putting chocolate in the buns! Now there’s a thought – mmm.

So when did they originate? Crossed buns were eaten by the Saxons in honour of the goddess Eostre and symbolised the four quarters of the moon. Which is probably where the word Easter was derived from, Easter being almost the same as Eostre?

Christian countries traditionally eat them on Good Friday, the cross being a symbol of Jesus’ crucifixion. But Hot Cross Buns seemed to originate from the mid eighteenth century, sensible people. I might be the one who thought of butter and honey, I’ve always had a sweet tooth and honey is my favourite sweetener. Comes of having been a bee keeper I suppose.

Protestant England in the time of Queen Elizabeth tried to ban their sale as they were believed to take the place of communion wafers, as they were made from dough. They failed and settled for them only being baked at Easter and Christmas.

You should share a bun with your friends to make sure you remain friends for the coming year, and you should say ‘Half for you and half for me, and then between us goodwill will be.’ Bit of nonsense really, but at least you get another half of a Hot Cross Bun, honey might be a bit runny though. Still if it’s a loved one you can lick each other’s fingers.

So that’s it for Hot Cross Buns.

Tomorrow I shall blog about Venice Italy, back on my travels again!

The Calima (dust storm)

This one is a quickie blog

Today we have a Calima. It arrived yesterday, and it usually lasts for about three days. It starts in the Sahara, in what is called a Saharan Air Layer, and in the Sahara it is a large dust and sand storm that occurs in the spring and summer.

It is not very pleasant and is one of the few drawbacks of living on the Canary Islands, the other one is cucarachas (cockroaches) which also appear mostly during April/May. The cucarachas are about 25 – 30 mm long and you stamp on them, a bit like dancing a fandango I suppose.

The Calima is something you can do nothing about, and it is caused by high winds in the Sahara stirring up the fine sand and dust and sending them on high winds to the Canary Islands on south easterly winds. You end up with something like a thick fog which is overwhelming for the plants as it is extremely hot. At its worst you can end up with everything being coated with a reddish brown dust; very mucky. Keep the windows closed.

As I said we have one at the moment but it is very mild. Still I shall still be out in the garden later to water the plants, and give them a cooling wash down.

Not everything is perfect, but it is still fantastic living on the Canary Islands.

Queen Bees explained! Well one explanation.

I used to be an after dinner speaker, a free meal and a couple of glasses of wine to talk on a subject you were familiar with. Bees were always a good subject, and I wrote a short story on the subject. The following extract goes in a light hearted way to explain what happens on the arrival of a new Queen.

Extract Monica could not believe she had said it. ‘How interesting, you keep bees. I would love to see them.’ It had seemed an innocent enough comment. She had thought how rugged, how sort of out of doors he looked. And she didn’t expect something you say when striking up a conversation to be taken literally. She just hadn’t thought a singles bar was the place you would meet a bee keeper. Bees, well they really scared the life out of her and she lived in central London, she was safe!

‘Really, I’m surprised all the women I meet seem to be terrified of bees. Well their lovely and they rarely sting anybody,’ Frank positively glowed with pleasure as he regaled Monica with stories of the ladies in his life. Monica on the other hand was not sure she had said the right thing but kept smiling, He really was good looking and she did fancy him.

‘I’m not sure if I’ve got this right,’ she said. ‘Up to seventy thousand female bees in one miniature skyscraper and only a few hundred men, and the men are saving themselves for just one of them, this queen one. Well isn’t she the lucky one.’ The world thought Monica is just simply unjust, some girls have all the luck and the rest of us get very short shrift.

‘You do have a funny way of looking at things.’ Frank said. ‘Actually there is more than one queen, they raise several for mating, but the first one out of her cell goes around killing all the others.’

‘Well that’s the giddy limit, several hundred men. …’

Frank stopped her in mid sentence. ‘Drones, they’re called drones.’

‘I don’t care what they’re called, she got several hundred men just saving themselves for the queens and she wants the lot. No question of fair shares for all, I mean you already have seventy thousand frustrated females in this skyscraper …’

‘Hive, it’s called a hive and they’re not frustrated.’

‘How do you know? Anyway let’s forget about them, what about the new Queens who thought they were on a promise, now this murderous old biddy is going round giving them a hatchet job, just when they thought they were on to a good thing.’ Monica was warming to the subject, she had always thought the world was unjust and there weren’t enough men to go around, at least not the good looking ones. Now here was one man she really fancied and he was hell bent on warping Mother Nature and encouraging the birds and the bees to join in the one sided approach to relationships.

FIN

‘Well that was one approach to the subject, and I liked it.’ Oh! And the Lucky Drones? They died after mating.

St Patrick's Day

St Patrick's Day had to be today’s blog. So you are going to celebrate, and watch the parades? But what do you know about St Patrick? Here are a few facts.

He was born in Britain and taken to Ireland when he was sixteen by Irish raiders who had kidnapped him. His father was a churchman so naturally he was acquainted and knowledgeable about the Christian Church. Although he left Ireland he returned in 432 AD intending to convert all to the Christian religion. And he was successful, but other missions were sent by Rome, and these were equally as good, and often more successful. But St Patrick was held in the highest esteem by the church. He died on the 18^th March 461 AD and was buried at Downpatrick in County Down, just south of Belfast. His resting place is believed to be in the grounds of the Cathedral.

St Patrick’s Day is now celebrated on the 17^th March all over the world wherever Irish people are. The first parade was in Boston on the 17^th March 1737, held by the Irish Society of Boston. The dominant colour of the festivities is now traditionally green, although originally it was blue. It was very welcome occurring as it did during lent, and it gave an opportunity for a party. It is traditional to consume alcohol on that day!

Why the traditional colour became green is uncertain, but it is commonly believed that this was because of the green shamrock. The shamrock? The shamrock is said to have been used by St Patrick to explain the Holy Trinity, and now the wearing of shamrock is another tradition. However the wearing of the shamrock was actually a more recent tradition and started in the late eighteenth century. The words ‘wearing of the green’ stems from an Irish street ballad sung on the streets during, and since, the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Shamrock would be worn, most noticeably fixed to the carbeen (hat), or anywhere on your clothing.

So now you know a little of St Patricks day, and today the celebration will be continued in the traditional manner. A lot of Irish Whisky and Guinness will be consumed. The fountain in front of the White House may turn green, as may some rivers, it will be:-

ST PATRICKS DAY

And in England a lot of Irish horses will win at Cheltenham Race Course this year, so if you’re a gambling man follow St Patrick and favour the Irish.

Bali - Temple of the Moon

Bali is the island everybody dreams about. An island out there in the Pacific full of dancing girls conjured up by ‘South Pacific’. When I went there with my wife, somewhere back in the seventies I was surprised that it was all part of Indonesia. Not a big island, but bigger than I thought it would be, and stuck down in the south of Indonesia.

Bali was still an adventure, Australians were plentiful, but Europeans and Americans were less evident, and most were there for the sun and beach. Certainly when we went to the pool I would be encircled by new Australians telling me what was wrong with the Poms. The pool at the Bali Grand Hyatt was big enough, but somehow I felt they couldn’t wait for me to justify their leaving the U.K. We quickly found an obliging taxi driver who realised we were happy to see anything that was local and different.

‘I will take you to the ‘Moon Festival,’ not many tourists go there but it is not far,’ was his first suggestion. He did find plenty of other festivities, but the ‘Moon Festival’ was the first.

It wasn’t that far to the Ubad area and as it was March we could see the principle ceremony of the year at the Moon Temple at Pejeng. The ‘Pumama’ the passing of the full moon sees the Balinese women of the village carrying enormous and elaborate bowls of fruit and food to offer at the temple. The temple, Pura Pentataran Sasih, has the ‘Moon of Pejeng’ as the centrepiece of its celebration; a large bronze gong kettle drum with the ancient statues of Gadjah and Siwa flanking it at the main offering grounds.

We found the whole ceremony fascinating but it was quite some time ago and now when I ask recent visitors what they thought of it, it definitely has changed. We were never asked to wear sarong or sashes, and the wearing of sashes only occurred at the tourist spots. The one thing nobody seems to see nowadays is the ‘headless chickens’ it would seem that has been stopped, certainly if any tourists are around. The ‘headless chickens’ you may ask, well they chopped the heads off the chickens, and what happens. The nerve system lets them run around without a head for a few seconds. Quite amazing, but not pleasant.

Next time I blog on Bali I’ll tell you about the cock fighting.

A Soothing Aromatherapy trip on the Nile

It was in the Eighties that we went in for making fragrant gifts. We had been to Florida and while there my wife had bought a fragrant rope for the kitchen made with cinnamon, we started making fragrant gifts based on the same idea, and we were very successful.

This led to an interest in aromatherapy and we looked into the subject with the possibility of selling different natural oils to soothe and relax. The answer to our questions seemed to be in the advertisement for a trip on the Nile studying oils and there usage. It was a more expensive trip than normal, three times more expensive! But we were to have a professor with us all the time, to give lectures and explain everything. To visit factories, and have business drinks meetings etc.

One day I will blog about the aromatherapy, but this is about being soothed? And studying and learning in a calm atmosphere. First the company we were going with went out of business, but we were saved by a major holiday company who took on the responsibility of four men and twenty seven women studying aromatherapy oils. Now I should have heard the warning bells at that point but I didn’t.

The trip started in Cairo at the Hilton - and we were to go to the Cairo Museum to view the Egyptian Artefacts on the first full day. For this trip we needed to have an 6:00am breakfast and be in the coach by 7:30am. I am interested in everything as well as oils but I didn’t quite see the link. By 8:30! We were assembled and in the coach. We were early for the museum and had to wait outside for twenty minutes for it to open at 9:00am. Possibly at this point you might be doing a little maths! Yes, the museum was ten minutes walk from the hotel. Actually we went around a square as the museum was next door – a keep us all together plan! – Needless to say we walked back. Again I should have heard the warning bells but I didn’t.

We had come to study aromatherapy oils so we flew to the Aswan Dam (a bit low on water – mentioned for a reason). One of its claims to fame was that the interior was used for a James Bond film, to create the inside of a volcano or something. Then embark for a cruise down the Nile visiting places of interest. This was to be very restful and informative, and we were on the very latest Nile Cruise Boat. We saw plenty of birds, Green Herons, Senegal Thick-knees, Black Kites, Egyptian Vultures, these last seemed to have an eye on me, A couple of stops to go ashore, and then through the Luxor locks.

Now when the water is low in the Nile and you are on the biggest and newest Nile boat things can go wrong! We got stuck. ‘Would everybody please go to the back of the boat,’ we obliged. ‘Will everybody now go to the front of the boat,’ everybody obliged. ‘Please don’t use the swimming pool as we are going to empty it!’ – ‘We are now filling the pool,’ the Nile does smell a bit and they used it to fill the pool. By now the crowds had gathered on the lock side giving helpful hints!

Eventually we got through and went to the quay at the river side; here we disembarked onto a coach. We were not sure why, and some of our ladies decided to remain on board, they joined us at the Luxor Hilton lounge. They announced. ‘The boat sank!’ That wasn’t exactly true, it had settled on a sand bank with the prop shaft leaking, and the lower decks were flooded. My wife and I were on a top deck so nothing was soaked in Nile water. But they put us all on another boat moored beside the Luxor Hilton to await our luggage the next day!

The next morning I was eventually told we would be sent to different hotels, however by this time the group had already gone on a trip to visit the Valley of the Kings and Queens. Fortunately by now I was learning more than the use oils. I had stayed in the hotel to check what was to come. By the time I had finished with the management our group was to remain in the Luxor Hilton. Margaret and I had a superior room, with Nile views, a large balcony with access to the garden and the river, also a large bowl of fresh fruit in our room, at no extra cost. Our luggage was finally delivered to our room. I resolved to go to the places we didn’t see the next day; done simply by going on our own tour of the sights of two days in one day. Quicker than a coach loaded with thirty odd people.

I should say we had very attentive staff from then on. I’ll blog more another time.

The Butler is available

If you have a butler then you can never do without one. The trouble is they are expensive and so you never find out the attention they can give you. Unless you happen to come across one on your travels, as we did once.

We had arrived in Brisbane – Australia, and had pre-booked at the Heritage Hotel. Now called The Stamford Plaza, I prefer the original name, so much more up market. Well I think so.

Now when you have been travelling you just want to pig out and relax. We did just that. First, we had a shower while admiring the very little TV in the bathroom. We found it very convenient when you go to the toilet. . Pulled on the thick dressing gown (hotel supplied), put on the local news on the big TV, looked at the view of the river – fantastic view – and crashed out on the bed.

‘What time shall we go down for dinner?’ the usual question once you have sorted yourself out. ‘Oh! Have we got to get dressed again? I think it might be easier to have something to snack on in the room. You order and have it sent up.’

Half an hour later after we had ordered there was a knock at the door. We had in fact ordered quite liberally. Well it was a very good menu and we were hungry. Opening the door we let the very smart young man wheel in the laden trolley. Now we were pigging out, but if you have a Butler pigging out it seems is not permitted.

‘Good evening sir, my name is Ian and I am your butler. Err, I think we should dine by the window.’ The trolley went straight across the room to be unpacked – the only word for it – and the window table was laid. Including the central candle which was lit for effect, and we watched.

‘The TV madam, I think not.’ Click gone was the picture. ‘Some suitable music perhaps I think is better.’ Click, we had suitable music, subdued and romantic. ‘I think the lighting is a bit bright.’ Click we had subdued lighting. The effect was to transform the room into a candle lit dinner for two, romantic music, subdued lighting, and a fantastic view of the river. What can you do but behave, and sit dutifully down by the window. ‘Will that be all sir?’

‘No that’s fine thank you’ what else can you say.

By this time Ian was by the door. ‘If there is anything else you require please ring I’m on duty all tonight. Please leave your shoes outside the door for cleaning and any laundry that needs attending to. Perhaps some letters you would like posting, anything at all.’ And he was gone. We did give him some postcards to post when he cleared the table a little later.

Yes I think I could cope with a butler, but I still like to pig out sometimes!

Bondi Beach - Sydney

Bondi Beach – Sydney

Being a strong swimmer I have tried most beaches of fame and enjoyed the pleasure of swimming further out than the crowd, and then a gentle swim back to shore. So my wife and I on a sales trip to Australia made a visit to Bondi Beach. All work and no play makes one a dull boy!

It is a lovely beach and stretches for one kilometre to the north and south, and is a favourite place for swimmers and surf boards. We decided to sit fairly central; well there were fewer people there as the swimmers and surfers had gone to either end of the beach.

My wife settled down on the beach and generously said, ‘You have the first swim, but don’t be too long it’s a warm day and I fancy cooling off as well.’

The water looked very inviting and there were not a lot of swimmers where we were. In I went, and it seemed a fairly easy swim out then as I seemed to have gone out more than I intended I turned back. Or that was the intention, nobody had explained about rip tides. It’s where two currents head towards the beach, and then where they meet the shore they turn into each other, and head out again together. As I said at the beginning I am a strong swimmer, but not strong enough. I continued to go out to sea despite swimming with all my strength. Looking over my shoulder I could see this dark triangle in the water behind me.

Now I am a logical person, not prone to panic, but I was close to it now. To my left were the surfers, who seemed to be having no trouble further in shore. I needed a rest and the idea of hanging onto a surf board had a compelling attraction. I swam to the left rather than the shore. Suddenly my efforts were rewarded by being able to make progress in their direction. I was out of the rip tide, no need for the boards and I headed for the shore.

‘Where have you been, you’ve missed the excitement. The life guard’s dragged two swimmers out on the sea in front of me, and put up that sign!’ Danger strong rip tide. I flaked out onto the beach. ‘Pity they didn’t look a bit further out’ was all I could say.

An English Knot Garden

Gardening is something I have always loved and spent hours pursuing. In my younger days I regularly rose at 5:30am so I could have a couple of hours in the garden before work. Just before I retired I studied for three years to take the Royal Horticultural Society’s exam in General Horticulture, and in 2001 passed their exam, that was just to make sure I knew my subject. I have designed several gardens, but the one that gave me the most pleasure was an English Knot Garden.

The ground in front of the farmhouse was a mess. Part was planted out with potatoes and overgrown. Part had been a chicken run which had fallen down and was hidden by the weeds etc. First it needed clearing, then levelling and finally turned over and prepared for the Knot Garden.

But this was to be a knot garden with a difference. Well not that much of a difference but I felt it was. First the hedging was laid out, but with a fairly open design. My intention was not a close intricate design with a variety of hedging plants giving different colours and fragrances; but a pattern for a vegetable bed. Each species of vegetable was to be contained within its own hedge. But a Knot Garden it was, and with a small circular bed in the centre with a contorted willow to give it elegance!

The hedges were kept trimmed and low. And if you are to try the same idea Dwarf Box is the easiest, but hellishly expensive. The seeds were sown, and as the soil was very fertile everything grew to order. Visitors would look with curiosity as the garden was laid out, from what was now a long gravelled drive at the front of the house,

‘Err; you’ve got cabbages in your flower bed? - Did you know that there is some asparagus in that plot?’ Strange when you have a plot of vegetables growing in your front garden that your guests seem to think you may not have noticed!

But I was more than happy – by the way did you know how to cook asparagus? You walk slowly down to the asparagus bed, study it closely – decide which stalks to pick. Then pick them quickly run back to the house and cook them. That last bit is very important as you want them as fresh as possible.

So I had an English Knot Garden that I could eat as well as look at.

Why are we in Afghanistan?

I think of myself as being a logical person, and I do not agree with taking violence against another. To me it seems futile. So why are we in Afghanistan – to stop the opium production? You could have fooled me. The United Nations drug officials say that we have failed – this year there are 90,000 hectares under production ($1 Billion dollars worth) and they predict that next year there will be an even greater production. Amounts exceeding the production that existed before we started stopping it!

We are there to bring peace to Afghanistan? – Really! - it doesn’t sound very peaceful!

To control terrorism, the Taliban train in Afghanistan. Therefore we need to stop their training programme. Now this is where my logic starts to take over – if they are training to terrorise Afghanistan then they need to train in Afghanistan. They need to understand the territory they plan to terrorise. But it’s European and American troops that are in Afghanistan; surely these troops should be in their home country stopping terrorists training there. So bring them home to check on possible terrorist training programmes, where we personally are most concerned. For the citizens of the U.K. that means bring them back to the U.K. For the Americans return them back to America.

One problem for our troops seem to be IED’s (improvised explosive devices) this is the indiscriminate laying of land mines where they can disrupt the normal flow of vehicle traffic. In Afghanistan they are taught how to place them where troop carriers or foot patrols are likely to go. And having trained in Afghanistan they then know which dusty road or track to dig up, and how to camouflage an IED. But I can not imagine the technique they learn in Afghanistan will be much use in the U.K.

I have this scenario of three young men walking along the hard shoulder of the M1.

Abdul turns to his companions, Aasim and Aymaan. ‘I think this might be a good spot, seems to be plenty of traffic.’ Carefully he takes the pack off his back and lays it on the ground. ‘Right you two nip out into the fast lane, dig a hole while I prime this mine.’

Now I would be tempted to call out and say ‘Hey! You’ll get killed if you walk into that traffic.’ Bang – possibly, goes all that training on dusty roads and tracks.

I think the training grounds that we should logically worry about are here in the U.K or America. We need our uniformed personnel at the ports checking who is coming into our countries; we need them at the underground stations checking who is coming and going. WE NEED THEM HERE.

To be a farmers boy - great

So I became a farmer! Well that is incorrect. The farm existed (17^th Century) and I renovated it with my wife and with the help of two young lads (17 years old). The farm renovation came first, and the father of one of the lads owned quite a lot of land around the farm. Well, we bought it off of him, the farm that is, so it followed he would own some of the land. Well he was renting the land to a large farm nearby. They sold up and we had the possibility of taking on the land he owned. At first he was dubious, he said, ‘You know nothing about farming? ‘I knew nothing about renovation, and with your sons help we have renovated a farmhouse and turned some pig sties into a cottage,’ was my reply. ‘O.K you can rent the land, what are you going to do with it?’

Actually I was quite disillusioned as to a farmer’s lot. No rising before the cockerel for me. It was all book work. The seed merchant arrived and said what crop they wanted each year, tested the soil and said what fertilizer I needed. The contractor was hired to till the ground, put on the fertilizer, and sow the seed. I had to lean of the fence and watch the crops grow – exhausting work leaning on a fence. That’s it – well not quite, weeds appeared as well as the crop, so back came the contractor with the weed killer, and then back to fence leaning. Well not quite, I had to keep an eye on the weather, nothing I could do about it but one has to watch the weather. I was never sure why as it was beyond my control until the crop was ready to be harvested, it had rained on time, and the sun had appeared to order. Great but then a problem – rain. Now we wanted it to make the crop grow but now it was harvest time, time for it to stop. But it kept going, not a lot, but enough to keep the crop damp. ‘Need to dry it’. That was John the contractor. ‘You can use my barn and dryers – cost a bit but it has to be dry!’ So it cost a bit, in fact I made very little money after they had all been paid. But I was a FARMER, and I was expert at leaning on the fence – Oh yes and drawing money out of the bank! Still I showed a profit each year – well apart from the bullocks I decided might be more profitable! Oh and the tick beans. But that can wait for another blog.

Correction to blog Tantra

Already I have been contacted with reference to my last blog - it should read thirteen thousand years ago. Sorry I will preview with more care in future. Big difference!

TANTRA

So for my second blog I open with a question. I did say I would be diverse in the subjects I blogged about and I have listed Tantra - The Yoga of Sex, as one subject I shall include. The art of sex without physical contact, but not today as I have only just started blogging and this is an important subject. In say a weeks time! Todays subject is the weather. Now I live on an Island of Eternal Spring - Tenerife - Canary Islands, and I find this business of climate change perplexing. Are we really concerned with a couple of degrees rise in temperature, well we should be. The foreword of one of my books mentioned the 'Big Bang' alluding to the start of the universe, or at least our part of it. I went on to mention that thirteen years ago the northern hemisphere of the world had a rise of eight degrees over ten years. The result was the great floods from the melting layer of ice which in some cases was 3,000 metres thick; the figures extreme in comparison to the present day problems but have we got the same problem. And as then do we need another Noah's Ark to save the populace? It would have to be larger than before. Is there an answer? There is an answer to all the current problems - reduce the population! No I don't want to bring in mass extermination - just stop producing too many people in future - a gradual slowing down of the consumption of the worlds resources by requiring less. Which brings us back to Tantra - Sex without Contact, practice that more often and the result should be less people. Another blog later this weekend.

So I have to start somewhere

I suppose my profile should give an indication of what I shall write about, but it doesn't. To start with writing is not just a hobby but where I spend most of my time, writing books and short stories. But enough of that for the moment. I spend my time between two countries - England and Spain. Well Spain is a bit misleading, I live for most of the time on Tenerife - Canary Islands, which is about the same distance from Southern Spain as Southern Spain is from England. So I live in the land of eternal Spring, been raining a lot recently, maybe that's what they call Spring. So let's pick a subject; how about bee-keeping. I kept bees once upon a time, and I shall never know why. They sting you, and when they do and you are near the hive they give off a smell that makes all the other bees want to sting you. So you get stung hundreds of times all at once. I don't react much to bee stings but you should see me run from the apiary, down across the paddocks and into the farmhouse slamming the door behind me. Went to a lesson on beekeeping to improve my knowledge! We looked into some hives which the instructor said were a bit hot! They were very hot so we left then alone and went to the lecture hut,then time to leave and my wife and I started to put on our gloves nets etc as everybody else just filed out. 'Why are you doing that enquired one student'? 'Because' was the answer so she did the same. Then we went outside, WOW! can some people run fast when chased by angry bees. 'Now I understand,' said our companion as we watched the chaos outside! Here ends the first blog