This World, This Life

  2020. Where do I start with a review of this Godawful year?   I had high hopes at its start, plans to write, finish at least one book and publish the one that's been on the back burner for the past couple of years.  Write at least one post a week on here. I had a reading list.  My weight was going in the right direction (down) and I was feeling, in the words of one who clearly isn't, fit as butcher's dog. There was a new grandson due in May to look forward to, so trips back to England beckoned.  We were planning a summer holiday back at Mrzezyno, where we went last year.  My Beloved was happy in her job and the kids happy(ish) at school, as teenagers tend to be.  Money was a bit tight, but we were managing.  Everything in my garden was lovely. Then out of nowhere (well, Wuhan in China in point of fact) came news that thousands of people were critically ill or dead from this new virus that no-one had heard of before, and the entire city - an...

  Farewell, Diego Diego Armando Maradona was not only a footballer, he was a genius.  A midget.  Latterly, a junkie.  A national hero.  Front page news as well as back page.  Loved and despised - but loved more than despised (at least outside of England).  As unpredictable off the pitch as on it. The only other footballer I've seen with his level of ball control and sheer on-pitch genius was George Best - and the two were strikingly similar in the way they played their football and lived their lives.  Both had problems adjusting to normality once their playing days were over, and both went to an early grave (Best at 59, and now Diego at 60).  Both played in an era where most defenders could be brutal in their treatment of gifted attackers like them, and could not rely on protection from match officials.  Injuries, serious ones, were not uncommon and both suffered their share.  Pitches were often poor, mudheaps in winter and bumpy an...

  Or, at least, I'm increasingly sure I did.  Or have it..... It's not a 100% certainty because I haven't been tested.  This is because Poland is not big on testing, and is charging quite a chunk of money for it - no free tests here! - and also because in a health system that is creakier than the NHS, there are people who need it far more than I do.  I can get by, thank God. But since probably the end of March things have not been right. ------------------------------------------------------- I've not had all the symptoms, and those that I have had could easily be confused for those of a bad cold or flu.  Stuffy nose, sneezing - check.  Sore throat and a dry cough - check.  High temperature and fever - check.  Flu, cold, COVID - who knows! Then there are the other symptoms.  Bodily aches and pains?  Yep, very much so, but nothing new - I've had joint pains for years in both hips and both knees, and have been medicating for a good 10 year...

So here is a disclaimer: as an Englishman living in Poland I don't really care whether the President of the United States of America is a Democrat or a Republican.  Doesn't stop me from having and voicing an opinion on the incumbent, however, no matter which side of the aisle he represents.  All I care about is how his policies affect the direction of travel of the States, and how that might affect my life.  So with that in mind, I cannot wait for President Donald Trump to vacate his job and the White House in 60-odd days time. ------------------------------------------------------------- I've held off from writing this in the hope that in view of the Election result, he would do the first Presidential thing since his own elevation four years ago - namely, accept the result, concede defeat and offer his Administration's support to guarantee the peaceful transfer of power that is, according to most Americans of either stripe, his sacred duty. It is after all what was ...

This a re-post from last year.  The sentiments are unchanged and always will be, but I've updated it to take account of the passage of time and the Pandemic. Forget Hallowe'en.   Despite all the trick or treating, crazy costumes and horror movies on the telly, here in Poland it's no more than a sideshow.  Thankfully the American obsession with it hasn't reached us, at least not to the same extent.  Indeed, the Catholic Church here, whose priests and nuns provide religious instruction in schools, in a country where First Communion and Confirmation are taken much more seriously than in many places (certainly than back home in Britain) openly and happily denounce Hallowe'en as being Evil, and encourage parents to ignore it and punish kids who join in the fun.  Mind you, they say likewise about the Easter Bunny and Father Christmas.  Which says a lot about the the shape of things here right now..... No, the big day here is the next day, November 1st. ...

There are so many doubters still about this coronavirus pandemic, even after 10 months of unrelenting spread.  Many of them are in positions of power, and what could loosely be termed "populist politicians".  Think Boris Johnson, the darling of the Brexiteers.  Jaire Bolsonaro, the Brazilian strongman who has kept the economy open while the death count climbs to the second highest in the world.  Behind the US, where Donald Trump is the epitome of the populist politician, which is to say he is a loudmouthed, narcissistic incompetent whose primary concern is himself not his electorate (especially that portion that voted for someone else.  Here's another link between the Three Amigos: they have all caught the virus and been hospitalised, but have not changed their sceptic views one iota.  Perhaps that's because all three are also conspiracy theorists and proven liars. There are others: Jaroslaw Kaczynski in Poland, where the initial lockdown was quite successf...

  I I’ve had enough. I’m leaving LinkedIn, closing my account, and wandering off into the sunset. I’ll take a week to go through all the stuff on there – primarily the articles I’ve published over the last few years, to see if there is anything I can make use of on my blog or elsewhere – but then I’m off. I see nothing wrong with the site, despite the increasing number of complaints from other users. Sure, it’s not Facebook or Twitter, TikTok or Instagram – and thank Christ for that! - but I see no reason to complain about something that is not 100% business related appearing on a business networking site if it is current and in any way relevant. Example: some people complained to me a few years ago when I wrote posts critical of the Brexit referendum result. Others bitched about my complaints about the behaviour and incompetence of the current (and please God soon to be ex-) POTUS. Irrelevant, they wailed, this is a business network. So what, says I – both POTUS and Brexi...

  So.   After six months of being housebound because of this bloody COVID it's time to act, I decided.  Much as I enjoy being with My Beloved and our kids, the dog and the cat, much as I love living in Warsaw, eating good hearty food (Polish and my own English specials) and drinking decent Polish beer - such variety! - I need a change of scenery. Back in Blighty, I have my sisters, not getting any younger and, frankly, not in the best of health, to check up on.  I have My Three Sons, and their families to visit, and a lovely new grandson to meet.   Instead of looking out at apartment blocks and traffic jams, it will be nice to look out at trees and green fields and a huge variety of sparrows and tits and God knows what other birds feeding on the bird tables in my sister's Norfolk garden.  It will be lovely to wander the miles of clean sand at the nearby Holkham and Tichwell beaches.  Eat a good plate of freshly caught fish and chips in Wells-...