Blitz: The Bombing of Coventry October 18, 2009

 

Admittedly this is a late blog about the BBC programme that was on about 2 weeks ago. But it was darn good and I’m procrastinating.

Obviously coming from Coventry and having a geeky cool interest in history I already knew a fair amount about the blitz. Indeed, my Nan kept the newspapers from that time which I still have today. I also have my Grandad’s firemans’ badge from when he was a firefighter in the war. He would have fought fires in Coventry during the war, pretty cool. But what I didn’t know, what objective sources couldn’t show me, was how it affected the real people of Coventry. This programme did that. Eye witnesses from that night, the 14th November 1940 were interviewed and gave their stories. It was so emotional. A man who had been a police man recalled how he tried to help a woman find her husband, eventually finding him buried under some rubble. He cleared some of this rubble and pulled him out. Only the top half came. Another man recalled how he had been in an Anderson shelter, his father keeping an eye on things outside, a mine dropped and his father pressed himself to the doorway of the shelter to stop the blast from killing his family. He saved them, but was killed. A woman remembered when they found out the cathedral had been bombed, she began to cry. As she recalled cowering in her cellar her mind transported her back to that time, she began to shake and cry. It was heartbreaking to see. The real emotional impact of the war.

From an intellectual side, seeing the video footage from German aircraft and from the city was also heartbreaking. To see the city being bombed to ruins. But what was heartening was the spirit that came out of Coventry. First there was mass panic, of course there was. But everyone pulled through together. Production from the factories increased. How amazing. The RAF studied how the German bombers had planned and executed the attack and coined the term “coventrate” which is basically bombing a city to nothing. They did this on multiple German cities…”for Coventry.” I don’t agree with either bombing of course. Sadly that’s war.

Meet Jess October 3, 2009

Our new naughty puppy.

What do you mean I haven’t blogged in ages? August 14, 2009

I have done half of my blog about Warwick Castle, the other half will get done, but photo blogs always take time and effort that I don’t have right now.

This week started well and has gradually got worse. Mind asked me to do the young children’s anger management groups on a Monday for the next 6 weeks. Amazing. What an opportunity, not only to help those children improve their lives and make them feel better but also to learn so much more about how to do these things. Invaluable expereience. And the woman I did it with on Monday said I handled everything really well. Wicked. Then on Wednesday, I got terrible news. Sad times. I was horrendously hurt, crying for ages. My nephew kindly asked me if I needed some melon to help cheer me up. And gave me apple pips to plant. It didn’t really help me feel better, but I appreciated the sentiment. Then Thursday evening my eldest nephew, 11 years of age, got taken into hospital with appendicitis. Turns out his appendix had burst completely, his gut was filled with pus. He was in surgery for 2 hours and is going to be in hosptial for the next few days. He’s the bravest guy I know.

Swine Flu July 15, 2009

I’ve got swine flu. Fact. It was diagnosed this morning. I now have Tamiflu and a sad face.

I have to stay away from my Dad ‘cos of all of his underlying health problems and stay in and do nothing. I’m bored already. And feeling pretty rubbish too obviously. And slightly amused/bemused at the whole thing.

Hope Not Hate June 13, 2009

In addition to the post below:

http://action.hopenothate.org.uk/index.php/content/bnp-wins-seats/

Poser.

BNP – Babbling Nasty People June 12, 2009

I’ve always disliked the BNP, what they stand for just enrages me. However, this quote, although said in 1998, has completely passed me by, until now, and I am furious. How can anyone vote these people??

“I am well aware that the orthodox opinion is that 6 million Jews were gassed and cremated and turned into lampshades. Orthodox opinion also also once held that the Earth was flat… I have reached the conclusion that the “extermination” tale is a mixture of Allied wartime propaganda, extremely profitable lie, and latter witch-hysteria.”

Excuse me? What? Can he really be serious? He referred to it as the “holohoax”.

Maybe his teeny tiny racist pea brain can’t deal with the enormity and horror of the Holocaust and all those who died. Maybe he uses that argument to justify his nazi-esque policies and party.

It’s finally here… May 19, 2009

Green Day 21st Century Breakdown review. Track by track…thought by thought. As I listened, I typed. So if it makes no sense in places, that will be why.

Song of the Century – Alright for an intro, Billie’s voice is very melodic…a hint for the rest of the album?

21^st Century Breakdown – Beginning repetitive…breaks out into melodic Green Day, seems to lean towards the “Warning” album era of songs at first. As it goes on moves into the American Idiot sound. Reminds me a bit of Jesus of Suburbia in that it changes throughout, not as long though. As the title suggests…still going along the political kind of lines. Lyrically it reminds me of the Living End’s 21^st Century (go figure?) Still, a good song, nice and energetic, you can definitely imagine it being played amongst songs from American Idiot.

Know Your Enemy – The single. Nice drum start. Really catchy. Still reminds me of American Idiot songs.

¡Viva La Gloria! – Piano?? Melodic piano start…..bit of violin in there as well, what?! Ahh here we go, the guitars and drums blast in, really energetic, quite catchy. I like.

Before The Lobotomy – Guitar to start, nice and slow. Just the guitar and Billie singing. Possibly a bit of violin/cello in the background too. Like one of those songs you’d sway to at the moment. Then come the guitars. Quite a catchy simple tune. Once the guitars set in, I’d say it learns slightly more towards the earlier stuff.

Christian’s Inferno – Ooooh heavier, I really like this. Billie’s not singing. Dare I say it’s slightly more punk sounding. Then it gets the more poppy sound for the chorus. Guitars are definitely heavier for this song. Back to the not singing for the next verse. I really love this song! ♥

Last Night On Earth – Piano start. It’s a really nice piano bit. Quite ballad-like. Nice lyrics. It’s just generally nice.

East Jesus Nowhere – Oooh catchy riff to being with. I’m liking it a lot. Really catchy, I’m getting the feeling it’s quite anti-religious, but then despite being a Christian myself, I’m quite anti-religion as it stands. Another nice heavier song, love it. ♥

Peacemaker – A more Latin-rocky feel too this one. Really catchy again, I really like it! Not particularly heavy or anything, but it’s good. It most definitely strays from the American Idiot feel. I think maybe it slightly reminds me of their song “Misery,” only faintly mind you!

Last Of The American Girls – Hmm, not thoughts so far. Fairly catchy, but quite generic Green Day material, could be found on either American Idiot, Warning or Nimrod quite easily. Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing.

Murder City – Bursts in with guitars and drums. Not particularly heavy, but not that poppy. It’s a grower. Nice guitar riff about half way through. Could be found on Nimrod though.

¿Viva La Gloria? [Little Girl] – Sounds like a harpsichord. Now this really does sound very very like Misery. Lucky it’s one of my favourite songs. Guitars and drums kick in. I really like it, it’s really catchy. ♥

Restless Heart Syndrome – Piano again. Unsurprising since Billie did state a lot of songs had started out on piano. Still surprises me they’ve kept so much piano in. Violin. Pop. Very poppy. Easy listening. I like it, it’s quite different to the usual. Nice riff towards the end.

(Oooh there was just some thunder and lightning, storms always excite me…sorry anyway…on with the review)

 Horseshoes and Handgrenades – Starts with a marching sound. Heavier guitars. Quite aggressive sounding I’d say. Still maintains the catchy side that Green Day do so well. Love it! There is a lot of the “F” word throughout….so if that offends you, maybe you should skip. ♥

 The Static Age – Fairly melodic, simple guitars and drums (more thunder yay!)   Quite simple,  a stereotypical Green Day song.

 21 Guns – Acoustic guitar start. Really nice. Billie’s voice is lovely. Sounds quite ballad like so far. Almost reminds me of Beverly Hills by Weezer as it gets to the chorus. Not hugely, but it’s there. Back to a ballad like verse. I actually really like this. ♥

American Eulogy: Mass Hysteria/Modern World – Melodic just Billie singing to begin with. In come the guitars and drums, lovely and catchy, classic Green Day. “I don’t want to live in the modern world,”  he sings, well neither do I sir, so that makes two of us.

See The Light – Last but not least. Simple start. It has me dancing, always a good thing. I think it’s another classic Green Day song. Which is never a bad thing. I like it well enough.  

If you’ve read all of that, well done to you! In conclusion, the main theme is of course being disenchanted with America (what else) and culture today. I like it, I like the songs that stand out and are different, especially the ones that don’t sound like American Idiot. Out of all of their albums, American Idiot was my least favourite. I still liked it (I’m a die-hard Green Day fan, makes me biased) but I have tried to be as objective as I could be! And with that, I’m going to go shout at my brother for listening to his music horrendously loudly and for generally annoying me greatly.

No puppy November 2, 2008

Well. I know I said yesterday we were getting a puppy. And we were. My parents went today to get it. However, ever since last night I had been plagued with doubts about getting this puppy. They are lovely and cute and dogs are lovely when they grow up. But the idea of having a dog is far better than the reality of having one. They’re really expensive, they get ill, they die, they tear up the house and the garden (and our garden and house have just been done all really nice) so I asked my mother several times whether we were doing the right thing. I didn’t feel I could offer it the love, care it needed and take the responsibility of having a dog. My parents said that was fine, they would look after it. However when they left this morning, I had a terrible feeling about them getting the dog…it seemed a terrible idea. So I phoned them several times to tell them. Turns out the puppies weren’t ready to leave til December anyway. So we’re not getting one now. I am relieved. I have very fancy ideas, they’re never any good.

This article both amused me and horrified me at the same time. I’d hate for that to happen to me. I’m going to check public toilet seats now, just in case.

Must…do…work… October 31, 2008

Still only two slides to write. I’m getting there, honest.

I’ve started my second piece of coursework. I can’t say what it’s about just now, due to the fact some people I have recruited as participants may read this blog and know what it’s about, which they can’t. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who taken the time to participate so far. It’s very appreciated. This coursework has to be in in 4 weeks. We were only told what it was about on Monday. 3 days after that coursework is in, I have another piece of coursework to be in. And then about 6 days after that my fourth, final piece of coursework from the term has to be in. I’m going to be a busy bee.

I’m quite amused by this whole Russell Brand and Jonathon Ross furore. I don’t think it’s funny what they did to Andrew Sachs, he’s old and it wasn’t really fair. However, I do think the reaction to it is a bit over the top. Since the news and the papers have latched onto it, there have been even more complaints. There wouldn’t have been so many complaints had they just ignored it ‘cos people wouldn’t be hearing about it over and over again. I bet most of the people who have complained don’t even listen to Radio 2 and have heard about it from papers like The Sun, who are so obviously biased in their reporting it’s unbelievable. They absolutely condemn the actions of Jonathon Ross and Russell Brand and therefore most of their easily influenced readers also condemn it, despite not actually hearing it when it was broadcast. The prank may have been in poor taste, but people are making a mountain out of a mole hill. There are much more important things to be worrying about.

That turned into a bit of a rant, it wasn’t supposed to be one.

To end this blog, I’ll give the answer to the puzzle in my previous blog. A few people got it. Well done to them. “The Roman numeral IX stands for 9. Using only one line, change IX to look like 6.”….simply add one line to the front of IX….to make SIX. Ta-da.

The good ol’ days September 4, 2008

I read today that the education minister Ed Balls wants to “reform” school lunches. He wants to get rid of “prison style trays” and use china plates instead to encourage more people to eat school lunches. Now, if you’ll excuse me saying, Ed Balls talks a load of old balls. It’s not the fact you have to eat off a tray that bothers people, it’s the fact that most of the food served up in schools tastes bloody disgusting and you’d be sued for trying it serve it up anywhere else.

I remember my school dinners in Primary School. We had colourful plastic trays, which were wonderful. The best part of the meal. The food they served was terrible; lumpy, dry mashed potato served with some kind of greasy meat product, probably from some kind of mutant animal, with either soggy vegetables or rock hard ones. And you were expected to eat it all. Trying to shovel that sort of food down your throat was traumatising. That was classed as the “good” food as well. If you got there late, they’d run out of that sort of food and all that was on offer were sandwiches…either tinned meat flavour or peanut butter.

 I remember very clearly, getting to the dinner hall late and all there was left were peanut butter sandwiches. I informed the lunch lady I was allergic to them because I am. I was only about 7, I couldn’t remember what exactly happened to me when I ate peanut butter as the last time I had was when the FP made me a sandwich with it and I swelled up and had to go to hosptial, aged about 2. But I knew I wasn’t supposed to eat it. The conversation went like this:

Dinner lady: “We’ve only got peanut butter sandwiches left.”

Me: “Oh…well I can’t eat them, I’m allergic to them”

Dinner lady: “What happens when you eat them?”

Me: “I don’t know. But I am allergic.”

Dinner lady: “No you’re not, you mean you just don’t like them.”

She then proceeded to put some on my tray. I can’t remember the outcome, I don’t think I ate them.

School puddings were OK. If you were lucky. They had chocolate custard often with chocolate cake, which was awesome. I remember a variety of green custard though, that wasn’t so great as it looked like snot all over your pudding. Some days, it was obvious they couldn’t be bothered and the pudding on offer was an apple.

Secondary school was generally just chips and unhealthy food. On plates. Like a cafe. The chips were fine. Everything else wasn’t.

So, in short….Ed Balls…the problem isn’t with the dinner trays. It’s with the food. And the service. And the price. Everything apart from the dinner trays in fact.