Poor Man About Town

This seems to be an improvement on the 2012 Olympics. I am sure everyone will approve - the theme music is quite apt too.

Labels: 2012 Olympics Logo

This is a frequently asked question to search engines and lo! people find their way onto this blog. See earlier entries about the fun I had when living in a bedsit.

Now here's the response:

Bedsits are rooms in a house where the owner or landlord has decided to let out his / her rooms to individuals (supposedly). One has to share facilities such as kitchen, bathroom and bog. Bedsits are relatively cheap, but like all privately rented accommodation the tenants have very few rights - whether you keep up with your rent does not secure you a home for life, oh no - the Landlord can get you out at a month's notice. He can also hassle you over this and that, if you want to keep your room for the foreseeable future it is best to be acquiescent, otherwise you will be trudging the streets again.

Conditions within a house may vary - I was living in a house that was cockroach infested and I had hours of fun gunning them down with a spray loaded with Dettol. The cooker was constantly filthy and the surrounding area around the cooker was as slippery as an ice rink. The bath was rarely clean, likewise the bog.

Your fellow residents can be quite varied - noisy Albanians coming in at all hours to the smouldering axe murderers.

You have to a strong stomach and high degree of tolerance to live in such an environment.

It is a few steps removed from living in a doss house or sleeping on the street. It's no fun at all.

Of course, giving that we live in a situation where we are free to choose - we can always hope to buy affordable accommodation on offer for a quarter of a million quid by some benevolent property developer - he is obviously going through extremes of poverty to offer you the place at such a paltry price, all because he loves you and he cares.

Labels: accommodation, bedsit, property, property developers;, rent

I was in the doctor's surgery today and found one of those horrid celebrity magazines to leaf through while waiting to see the doctor. The magazine consisted of all these dolls dressed up to the nines at some function or another looking completely really important but doing absolutely nothing but stand in front of photographs looking celeb. Such is the meaning of this.

Then I saw this article on Chantelle of Big Brother fame, showing her and boyfriend returning from shopping trip at Sainsbury's; boyfriend was shown carrying the shopping while Chantelle was carrying these two small dogs that had been obviously designed to kick around a football stadium. Chantelle, I believe, bases her entire life on Paris Hilton - she has yet to get a drink-driving offence and some time in one of Her Majesty's Hotels to complete the image.

Our culture is becoming so celebrity saturated.

Labels: Chantelle, culture, Paris Hilton; celebrity

I was on another bus journey yesterday, I was travelling through a rather middle class area. Several women boarded the bus, two of whom had the pushchair equivalent of a four wheel drive vehicle, the contents of these vehicles were their highly articulate brats who sported middle class accents. These women blocked the central part of the bus with their massive contraptions and their contents. Being ecologically minded, I guess that these women left their four wheel drive, they did not appear to give a shit for the other passengers - just cluttering up the space to which they are entitled. They were babbling at each other and the contents of the four wheel drive pushchairs, one woman pointing to the contents that "we are on a bus, this bus has an upstairs just like at home", I obviously deduced that she was broadcasting the fact to the rest of us plebs on the bus that they don't live in a council flat, housing estate or in rented accommodation!

Labels: attitude, brats, buses, four wheel drive, middle class, selfishness

I was sitting peacefully on a bus yesterday, I was in peaceful reverie until Mr Machismo boarded the bus. Mr Machismo stormed his way down the aisle nearly treading on my feet. If this berk could have made a public display of his bollocks he would have done. He was wearing a baseball cap to conceal his bald head. He sat down, quietly snorting like a bull in the last moments of a bullfight, next to an elderly passenger. I thought "what the fuck?". As the journey progessed, his elderly seat mate wanted to get off the bus, Mr Machismo made a flamboyant gesture, swinging around with his feet and his bag - his feet nearly treading on my toes and his bag nearly swinging into my face. Elderly passenger got off the bus, Mr Machism sat down on the outside of the two seats, thus taking up the "two for one option". Next stop, an elderly couple boarded the bus. In another flamboyant and theatrical gesture, he rose from his seat (I thought that he was going to offer the elderly couple the two seats which he and his bag were occupying)and told two boys to give up their seats to these "two old people" (I loved this use of his language here). The two boys obliged. Mr Machismo returned to his seats, occupying them as before, looking quite pleased with himself, obviously thinking what a swell guy he is and how much he loves he loves his parents who are "two old people".

Labels: buses, Grumble, irritations, machismo, transport

I get a little fed up with moaning. I surf around Youtube to see what is around. Selected the keyword "Zen" - such a words distracts the mind to the state that really matters - nothing.

Then I came across these two clips which impressed me enough to include them here.

Here is a young musician playing a shamisen, and wow!



then we have some Shaolin monks demonstrating their fantastic art.



Yep, there is more to life than having moan, grump or groan

Labels: buddhism, peace of mind, Zen

Another overheard phone call, there was this African lady on the bus remonstrating with her estate agent for marketing her house at too high a price. She was really annoyed, she said that there is a one bed room flat being sold in her area for £150 000. Her three bed house, it seems, is on the market for £280 000. No one will buy. After much haggling with the estate agent, they agreed a new price of £210 000! That's some reduction. It just goes to show that sellers find it difficult to exert any control over the house they want to sell.

Labels: cartels, Estate Agents, Greedy Property Developers, Housing, housing market

This young woman passing me by the bus stop, she was babbling away into her mobile, this is what she said

"He's evil. Not only did he cheat on me but gave me chlamydia as well..."

Nothing seems to be private these days.

Labels: conversations, mobile phones, trends

I was listening to The Now Show on Listen Again and heard this little ditty that New Labour web site has been banned from Netauthority.org for the following reasons:

This website has been investigated by Net Authority, and has been found to be in violation of the Internet Acceptable Use Policy by posting the following kinds of content:

* Pornographic material
* Hateful material
* Blasphemy
* Offensive political material
* Bestiality and/or interracial relationships

Be cautioned! This website contains strongly offensive material and is not suitable for young children.

More info

http://www.netauthority.org/offenders/1661.shtml

Labels: New Labour, Radio 4, the now show, web sites

There was a great cartoon of political whizz kid, David Miliband, in today's Guardian. It was done by Martin Rowson - great likeness, great parody.

Labels: British Politics, David Miliband

I was listening to Jenny Eclair's programme on LBC today, she was talking about David Miliband with one of her guests - this appeared to trigger off Jenny Eclair into quoting "Politics is show business for ugly people". Quite a neat remark

Labels: British Politics, David Cameron, David Miliband, New Labour

I was on the bus the other day, there was this young woman around 17 - 18 (hair tied tightly back with a bright yellow ribbon and wearing the de-rigeur tracksuit) years she had baby in a pushchair with her. The young woman was remonstrating with her housing officer that she had just moved into her flat and that she had no gas.

"Yer, but I ain't got no gas...yer...what am I supposed for 'ot water...yer...I've got a six manf (month) old baybee what am I supposed wiv her?" It was as if the housing department had dumped the six manf old baybee on her.

The conversation continued

"Yer, but I've got a manf baybee [she said this repeatedly]...wot's an emersion 'eater?...no I don't know wot's an emersion 'eater..."

I felt like telling her, that this is not the housing department's responsibility, when she moves into a place she should contact the Gas Board - in all likelihood there will be no response from but this woman was clearly barking up the wrong tree.

Labels: Grumble, observation