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It went as well as a funeral can and was held in a pretty Church in Fordingbridge Hampshire. There was only his Daughter, Grandaughter, my wife and myself, plus four carers from the home where he spent the last twelve years of his life at the ceremony, he had far outlived his friends and relatives.

We went back to the home and thanked all of them for looking after him, they had become his family and he theirs.

It was nice to meet my cousin unfortunately it was her Mother’s Funeral the last time we met and that was many years ago. The way I judge time now is that it speeds up as we age and now I am eighty-one it passes 81 times faster than when I was born.

In the first year of life, a day lasts forever.

Pennies Husband Clive King wrote the children’s book Stig of the Dump and it is still very popular.

I hope we can keep in contact more often even if it is through the Internet.

Israel may prevail in the war in Gaza but Hamas represents an idea that will remain in the minds of many Palestinians and the only chance to change this concept is to offer them a future, this needs to be implemented now, not only by Israel but by the international community. As I posted previously Gaza needs to be rebuilt with new hospitals and universities. And possibly a land of their own.

Wars aren’t always won with weapons but sometimes with psychology.

My mom’s brother died this week at the age of 104, just missing his 105th birthday on the first of January. He always thought he would die at a young age, but perhaps he was hoping to live his life far beyond 104. He was still mobile until a few weeks ago but gradually dropped into a deep sleep before slipping away.

He achieved far more in his life than many people. Born in Balsall Heath, a slum area of Birmingham, in a back-to-back-house and one of fourteen children, of which only five survived.

George served as a medic in the army, then studied and became the principal of a major Hospitable in London.

So what do I remember most? Well, it was his voice. It was the sort that was easy to listen to and went well with his sense of humour.

But it was his party- trick that impressed me most because if you gave him a three-figure number, then a lower three-figure number he could take one from the other instantly without knowing how he did it.

Regarding the convention that has been formed to discuss the dangers that A Is may present in the future. It consists of diplomats, important people, and of course some of the world’s greatest brains.

It’s very comforting to think that they are taking precautions just in case A Is may present some type of threat.

It is quite possible that the conclusion when all the talking ends will be that there is no present danger.

Of course, if they had studied the small print at the bottom of the invite they would have realized that the invites were sent from an AI.

The New Beatles single

But there are some benefits from using the latest AI innovations because a new Beatles record has been produced and it sounds quite good. It is obvious that this system will also be used not just for musical reproduction but also for historical events. I wonder where this will lead the human race.

The conflict that is ongoing between the Palestinians in Gaza and the Jews reflects how little Humanity has progressed since the start of our journey of evolution and if history is a true reflection of this timeline then we have not changed the killer instinct that we once needed to survive.

Maturity does not always come with age and for many, it may never arrive. While the atrocities inflicted by Hamas are almost beyond belief so is the retaliation by the Jews.

This situation may never have happened if Israel had helped the Palestinians in Gaza to build innovative cities and workplaces, to fund proper education for the children. Of course, this lack of long-term planning is not restricted to the Middle East alone, in fact, this is the reason that the world has seen a dramatic rise in migration. If your prospects where you live are so dire then it makes sense to move to somewhere that offers a better life.

So we come back to the keyword which is one used so often in the UK by many politicians, Leveling Up, but of course, it’s only a word, and who in their right mind would want leveling up if it meant a lower standard of living for the people who already have the best things in life. But who in their right mind would want to endure the circumstances that are happening around the world.

Who would commission using concrete that has a lifespan of thirty years RAAC? Well like many problems that are only found out many years after implementation, we will never find out, but whoever it was I bet that they or the organization they represented have made vast profits from its use.

It will cost billions to trace and correct all the buildings it was used in and if a roof or wall collapses and kills whoever is underneath it no one will ever be brought to justice.

At the moment all attention is being focused on Schools and Hospitals but I wonder how many houses have this in their foundations. And don’t expect insurance companies to pick up the bill.

The pub known as the Crooked House was recently burnt to the ground in a suspected arsonist attack, If you do nothing else this weekend look on YouTube at the way a ball or coin appears to roll up a slope when inside it.

I note that the Russian president has hosted the leader of North Korea in an attempt to obtain an arms deal. Kim Jong Un chose to use a bulletproof train for his journey and not a plane. A very wise decision and I hope he continues to use this type of transport because we all know what happens to most couples after the honeymoon period.

While out walking last week I met a friend who I had not seen for many years, He was a great Badminton player and I rarely won a match against him, while it was nice to see him again I remember him as a young man and as you age its sometimes nice to retain those distant memories.

His name was Graham Bell, and His nickname was Ding, There was a lad at school with the name Littlewood, we called him Splinter, A friend at work had the surname of Bates, you will have to work out what his nickname was.

So, the leader of the Wagner group has died in a plane crash with preliminary evidence pointing to an explosive device integrated into a crate of wine. This is a terrible thing to do; how could anyone waste a crate of wine, Prigozhin would never have considered looking for an explosive in such a sacred place. Still being Putin’s chief he must have noticed the Russian leader only drank cans of Lager.

Sir Michael Parkinson died recently and although it’s many years since he last presented his talk shows I will miss them. He attracted many interesting people and it was always a must to watch to see people with different lifestyles.

The leaves on one of my clematis have started to fade a sure sign that winter isn’t far away. I really hate winter as the finger on my left hand which was partially straightened turns black due to reduced blood flow. Hope it doesn’t drop off like the leaves.

The Kiss

Such a shame that after the Spanish women’s team won the World Cup Mr. Rubiales appeared to forcibly kiss Ms. Hermoso one of the players. Of course, there may be other factors involved which at this present time are not publicly known, but the way he put both hands around her head preventing any resistance was quite shocking.

I found the mug shot of Donald Trump quite amusing and I believe there are high volumes of mugs imprinted with this picture being sold, I am seriously considering buying a batch. I would hang one on the front door of my house, one on the dashboard of my car, and one around my neck if I go into a rough neighborhood. Working on the principle that such a mean look would scare even a hardened criminal away. But do I want to promote his return to the Whitehouse? Perhaps I won’t buy them after all.

I have a picture of my mother directly in front of my computer, how I wish I could ask her all the things I forgot too when she was alive.

It’s a universal thought, whatever planet you are on.

I must have been about seventeen so the year was 1959, just two years into my apprenticeship as a toolmaker and as part of my education, I attended Erdington Technical College one day a week in an effort to further my education.

I can’t remember many of the teachers or their names but the one who consistently told me that I was a cert to fail my maths exam is locked into my memory. And to be fair, initially, I wasn’t very good at that particular subject. But by spending many hours locked in my bedroom I somehow scraped enough marks to move on to the next year of a six-year course, the teacher Mr. Clifford congratulated me when I saw him the following term, and perhaps it was his bluntness that was a stimulus to push my limited abilities much farther than they were designed for but at the time I would have preferred to be encouraged.

It’s strange that I can’t remember the name of one of the nicest teachers there or what subject he taught but can still picture what he looked like. I would class him as a gentle giant because he had a very calming disposition and was quite laid back about teaching and never criticized anyone. Most mornings he would arrive after the last pupils sat down, still wearing a crash helmet having traveled to the college on a very old motorbike that matched his frame size. It would take him another ten minutes to remove the helmet and leather jacket as he was close to retirement age and struggling with arthritis.

It’s only July but the yellow leaves on some of my Acers are tinged with pink and that is quite disturbing as it usually means the start of a different season.

I feel sorry for Philip Schofield, I doubt anyone goes through life without telling a lie but usually no one finds out, and most of us class our lies as white lies and necessary. I am not religious but I remember a quote from the bible, He who is without sin throw the first stone, it never said if someone did. Surely it wasn’t Borris or Trump.

I was sorry to hear about the death of Tina Turner, another icon of the music scene who has left us but at least her music will remain with us perhaps forever.

Most people who die are soon forgotten but not if you have an association with certain sectors of life such as artists, musicians, or actors, I bet no one remembers Harry Licett the electrician with one hand who worked at a small factory on the Tyburne Road, Birmingham. But I do.