Is it just me ?

We all know about the financial madness that is/was sweeping the world, but have you noticed that there are other weird things going on. Now these weird things do not get a great deal of publicity, but they do indicate that there is a growing number of happenings around the world givings signs of change and unrest - for example - down in sunny Wales.............

Dispute between Neighbours - this a true story

A town councillor in Wales - Mark Easton, had a beautiful view of the mountains until a new neighbour purchased the land below his house and built a new home. The new home was 18 inches higher than the planning department had approved, so Mark, mad about his lost view, went to the local council to make sure they enforced the roof line height. The new neighbour had to drop the roof height at great expense to himself.

Recently Mark called the planning department and informed them that his new neighbour had installed some vents on the side of his new property.

Mark did not like the look of these new vents and asked the planning department to investigate. When they went to Mark's home this is what they found

The local authority said the vents can stay as there is no planning law referring to vents

And then yesterday in Benoni ( where the h..ll is that you may ask ?)

Now can anyone explain how Afghanistan managed to get a cricket team together ? where do they play ? and how do they get the cricket helmets over the towels they wrap around their heads ? and if they have to prey to Mecca four/five times a day, does that mean they have prayer breaks instead of tea and lunch breaks ?- Oh and just for the record earlier this week they beat Ireland - next thing it will be the Afghanistan curling team !

As an aside details of the Afghanistan Cricket board can be found at http://www.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/NATIONAL/ICC_MEMBERS/AFG/

and it is interesting to note one of the boards aims in promoting cricket in Afghanistan is , and I quote "The aim of the ACB is to get all Afghanistan Men to choose cricket bats instead of guns" to which I am sure the Scottish team must be eternally grateful - just think what the score would have been if they had chosen guns !!

Now we all know that there are some weird place names in the world, but this one has to be near the top of the unreal list


Now for those of you expecting updates on the goings on in Riga, then as you might gather not a lot is going on. Last weekend saw a feast of good Rugby and reasonable weather which permitted me for the first time this year to sit in the park, and quietly read a book, and as I write the weather is bright and sunny if a just a little chilly.

The outdoor bars and cafes are springing up all over the place , and just opposite to where I live a new Italian restaurant has opened. In a previous incarnation it as know as The Diplomat, then The Chez Bar, but now it is Rossini's. Not exactly the best time to be opening a restaurant, but I can butt wish them luck, as they have spent the last two months seriously refurbishing the interior.

Still no sign of life from the trees, no buds - no blossom, at least not in Riga.

On bit of news re the village lounge, in the very near future, the rear of the building, both upstairs and downstairs will be torn down, likewise the very rear of the building, which housed offices. The reason I am told is that the owners have permission to remove the rear buildings, as it is only the "front" of the building which is protected. So presumably at some time they will build a new building, but for this summer it would appear there will be huge open courtyard, bearing a close resemblance to a building site I suspect - but we shall see.

Of course this now means that there will be no toilets on the ground and first floor, but as I write new toilets are being built on the second floor, previously sealed behind the red door. So for anyone using the ground floor bar, they had better give themselves plenty of time to climb two flights of stairs !! - I suspect we might well see a few "accidents" on route.

And finally it is my birthday next Sunday so all charitable donations will be gratefully accepted, ,and I am totally open to surrender my pride and let you buy me a drink ( or two !)

The "B...." is back in town

It must be spring !! - the outdoor bars are opening - the sun is shining and young B....(English - teacher of language) is back in town or at least for a few days. Now a resident of Newcastle and apparently teaching Arabic youths to speak English or is it Geordie ? He is looking surprisingly well but is obviously determined to pack as much into his brief stay as is possible - and not just alcohol !

This is the earliest that I can remember for the outdoor bars to open, but in Livi square there at least four open, with the biggie under construction, and in Dome square 13 chairs has suddenly become 113 chairs. So hopefully the sunshine will last through until the Easter weekend.

Now you may wondering why I am not showing pictures of these happenings - well unfortunately some months ago I was "burgled" and apart from taking my wallet. mobile phone, they also took my camera - so no pictures until I replace, as the one phone I have left takes only low quality pics.

As ever it is kind of weird to be talking about Easter, when there is not one sign of Spring to be seen, the trees are still bare, there is spring flowers in the gardens, and the grass is still a dirty brown colour. But no doubt before April is out we will catch sight of the first blossoms appearing.

A small but significant step was made in recent weeks with the discovery that we can indeed watch the UK tv channels, albeit via your computer - by registering with www.ukproxyserver.com (sorry it costs money £9.99 per month) one can obtain an UK IP address, which then permits you to watch a number of UK channels. So for at least one technically challenged individual P..... (English - king of waste management) he can now keep uptodate with Eastenders (sad I know) as well as watch his beloved horse racing. For those of you already in the UK then all you have to do is point your web browser at www.tvcatchup.com and voila tv on the pc !! - and to think the whole purpose of the revelution of compuetrs in business and at home was to make us more productive in our work and private lives. So now we can watch tv on our PC's - whatever would John Logie Baird think.

On the same subject why do cable & satelllite TV broadcasters insist on making available radio stations as one of the channel selections ?? - Do you know anyone who switches on their Television and listens to the radio ??

PC's to watch TV
TV's to listen to the radio

The world is going mad !!

In this age of the internet suddenly we have become addicted to sending to all and sundry our latest in jokes. Well I am indebted to a lovely lady in Wales A....(Welsh - long suffering wife of never to be forgotten cat flap maker) for sending me this gem. Personally I think this should be issued to all cretins arriving from UK (or anywhere for that matter) and that they obliged to where them thoughout there stay in Riga. They no doubt will think that they are being amazingly funny and original whilst we as onlookers can see what they really are P....s !!


Now just for the record whilst my disdain for many of the visiting brits is well known, it only fair to say that in recent times they have noticable by their absence, and even those who I come across seem "reasonably" well behaved, but then again what happens in Riga after 8.00pm is and always has been a complete mystery to me.

And finally I am delighted to olet you know that the British Embassy in Riga has finally admitted that I exist. I have received an invitation to attend the embassy to celebrate St. georges day on april 26th !!!!!! - what happened to St. Andrews Day ?? - or should we simply rename the embassy as the ENGLISH EMBASSY

So to all of you there have enjoyable easter - not to many chocolate eggs