Sunday 31 May 2015

Wembley

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The last bank holiday weekend was special. For four days my beloved home city was the centre of the universe. It started on Friday the 22th. The Norwich City of Ale Festival 2015 had started and I popped down the pub the enjoy a pint or three. It's now one of Europe's biggest real ale events. 273 ales from forty five local breweries served in forty different venues in Norwich. In fact it's so unique there isn't much else in the world to match it.






Then on Saturday and Sunday the 23rd and 24th the BBC Radio One Big Weekend visited Earlham Park in Norwich. This is Europe's biggest free music festival with 50,000 people dancing and swaying to the world's biggest pop stars. From Taylor Swift to Snoop Dogg, to the Foo Fighters. The list goes on, and on, and the event is listened or watched by tens of millions of people all around the world. It was absolutely mind blowing, and one of the most enjoyable live events I have watched.





Monday the 25th was a bank holiday and the long weekend was reaching it's final climax. I have been a life long Norwich City fan, and my children are now the fourth generation of #NCFC supporters, and on Monday they were playing at Wembley Stadium in the Championship Play Off Final. Alongside 40,000 other Norwich supporters we headed down to London to one of the world's most iconic venues. Were we sat was just a sea of Yellow, and the singing could bring a tear to the eye of any grown man. Norwich won 2.0 against Middlesborough a team for the north east of England, and as I celebrated the win with all my family I can honestly say it was one of the best experiences of my life.  










To say I celebrated would be an understatement, but then again I had been celebrating since Friday afternoon. When I crawled into bed about eleven that night I was knackered. You can now see why I didn't post any blog last week on Always-hanging-around! It took me until this Thursday to feel like a normal human being once again, and then I only had another 24 hours to go before the weekend started all again.

Regards

Mark


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Monday 18 May 2015

Mockery of democracy

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It was nine in the evening on Thursday, and the baby sitter arrived on time. By 9.30 pm I was inside St Andrew's Hall a historic setting, and the place where the counting of votes was to take place for the 2015 U.K general election that had been held that very day. 








I was going to do my bit for democracy by helping with the vote counting that would start once the ballet boxes came in after the polls closed at ten o clock that night. My wife was doing her bit as well. She had left the house at six in the morning to work in one of the polling stations that open at seven. It's a long day for her as she wouldn't get home until half ten in the evening, and it's a long night for me as I wouldn't be home to at least six o clock Friday Morning. We have both done it before, although this was my first general election. I have counted votes for the local elections, European elections, Police Commissioners election and a referendum, but never the most important of them all, the general election.

 When I arrived there was a seat saved for me by fellow counters that I have got to know over the last few years, and when the first black boxes started to arrival the place just started to buzz. The candidates, and all their party workers were milling about, and at one stage there was nearly a fight as someone from the labour Party mocked someone else from Class War Party. This small motley crew from Class War looked like something from the seventies, and were in mood for polite mockery. I presume it was their leader who reared up at the labourite, and soon there was a melee of bodies pushing each other right in front of my table.

 Once the boxes were open everyone went back to their corners and the counting began.









By four thirty Friday morning the count was finished, and now the final throws of democracy were working their magic as the eager hopefuls waited for the final results. It's a strange way to make a living being a member of parliament because you could be very good at your job locally, but if your party is out of favour nationally then you get sacked, and this is just what happened for the Norwich South M.P during the night. When the results were released the Liberal Democrat who had been the M.P lost his job to the Labour candidate. As the Labour winner got to the podium to make a speech a load cheer filled the hall.






When I got home I turned on the television to see the national results, and even though there were still dozens of seats to declare it was obvious the Conservatives had caused the shock of the year by winning the election outright. It was a disaster for the Liberals and for labour, but the biggest winners of the night seemed to be the SNP.

It was when the final vote tally came that it hit me what a mockery the British voting system is. The Scottish National Party and Sinn Fein are two organisations whose ultimate aim is to see the end of the United Kingdom, and they polled 1,600,000 votes which gave them 62 Members of Parliament. The United Kingdom Independence Party polled 3,800,000 votes and only got one Member of Parliament!

Now some of my readers around the world may not be able to enjoy Democratic freedom at all, but for most of you in the western world that does; I think you must agree we British do seem to have a very undemocratic way of voting our leaders into power?

It does make me think that next time I receive a letter asking if I'm still happy to volunteer with the vote counting at the next such event I might have to think twice about if I want to be part of a system that leaves so many people without a voice.

Regards

Mark.  


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Monday 11 May 2015

Roy Murry's view

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It has been a busy week especially with last weeks general election which I did my bit for democracy by helping with the vote count, but that is another story for another week. If you live in the U.K then you will be sick and tired with anything to do with the election so I will let things settle before I comment on it. 


 To lighten things up I have posted below a review that was published this week for Daniel Jones DOOM the sequel to FRENZY a Daniel Jones Story. Please do read and enjoy and I will speak to you again in my next post.

SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2015

Review of Daniel Jones - Doom


Daniel Jones – Doom

By Mark King

Reviewed by Author Roy Murry

Mr. King’s SiFi kept me on the edge of my seat as its first in the series FRENZY did. However, Daniel Jones – Doom can be read on its own. I had the enjoyment of reading both.

What one believes in and the real facts of life are in conflict in both books. Belief in “A God” and “A Here After,” are the crux of most religions. In Doom, this philosophy is what keeps the common man in line and leads them to their Doom.

Daniel and his friends know the real facts of their lives’ existence, which is so hideous the common man in his brainwashed state denies. Daniel’s group strives to help free them from their fate called Achievement Day which is a misnomer.   

In trying to save his father’s life from an Achievement Day function, Daniel and friends go through adventures that must be overcome to meet their goal - to live their lives free of an imposed deity whose origin is alien to earth. These detours will lead you to the end which maybe a beginning or not.

Fast pace and thrilling, Mr. King does his job by keeping you involved. He leaves you wanting to know: What will happen next? I do. How about you?

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Tuesday 5 May 2015

The Benny Hill Show

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The tickets were purchased, the children were excited and the family was set for a day out at Carrow Road to watch Norwich City F.C play Middlesbrough F.C. Packets of sweets were at hand and they were wearing their Green and Yellow. The club were on an unbeaten run and there was a full house. If they could win they would go top of the league, and the omens were looking good. Norwich always upped their game against what would be called top opposition, so what could go wrong!
The sun was out and the atmosphere was electric, but after ninety minutes of huffing and puffing everyone went home with a sense of dejection. Norwich lost one nil after an early goal, and once it went in you just had the feeling they weren’t going to win. Their luck seemed to have deserted them, with a referee and linesman who seemed to be seeing a totally different game to the twenty six thousand Norwich fans in the stadium.

The opposition players spent as much time as possible in wasting time by rolling about the pitch every time a Norwich player went near them, and it was not a good advert for professional sportsmanship. With parents trying so hard to install the right values into their young children professional football is not the best of role models.

The following week as other parents and I stood on the touch line for an under 7’s football tournament is was pleasing to see such effect by the little ones, but occasionally there was the odd incident that you knew they hadn’t learnt from the coaching staff, but from watching their hero’s on T.V. It’s a shame, but its life and as they grow up the more it will affect their behaviour.



But there were two things that happened which you won't ever see from professional footballers. The first was when one of the seven year old boys in the opposition team was substituted. He didn't want to leave the pitch, but wanted to play on. The team manager tried, and tried again, and then tried again, to get him to come off, but he just stayed on. The referee asked him nicely to leave the pitch and then asked again and again, but he still would not leave. In the end the manager went on the pitch after him, and the boy just ran off, chased by the manager all around the pitch. It was comical like the famous last scene in the Benny Hill television show when Benny Hill is being chased by a crowd. In the end the child ran off the pitch and across the other football pitches while his team manager chased after him.

 The second event happened when another young boy was swapped with another player. He hadn't been off the pitch very long when the ball was kicked out of play, and ended up at this boys feet. In the excitement he had forgotten he had just been substituted, and with the ball he ran back onto the pitch and headed for goal with the manager shouting after him to come back off. He didn't hear. He was so caught up in the game he just carried on playing, even when the referee realized our team had one more play on the pitch then the other team, and stopped the game, this young lad carried on playing.

 After the tournament as us parents walked back to our cars we couldn't help it. We all started to hum the Benny Hill tune which brought a smile to everyone's faces, well most people at least.

 Regards

 Mark 

   
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