Greedy, mad, swivel eyed loons
This week the share price of Lloyd’s Banking Group went over 60p and so the government has reached the break even price for it’s shares. Royal Bank of Scotland made some gains too, so the government could get it’s 66 billion back that it pumped into those banks.
A trip to Walsall
I went to the wonderful town of Walsall yesterday. I used to think Walsall was great. The market used to go up the hill nearly to the church and that street was lined with little interesting shops. Walsall is a shadow of it’s former self.
The farce is strong
George Osborne is claiming that it was his influence that is bringing Lucasfilm to the UK to make another episode of Star Wars. The Downing Street farce is strong and they’re bringing the film over to the dark side. (more…)
The midweek ramble
That’s Redhouse Park in the picture. It’s about 6 miles from here. I didn’t really want to drive that far, but I’m running out of things to photograph here. People seem fascinated by travelling. It must be some primitive instinct.
A bank holiday day out?
It’s Bank Holiday in the UK today. Traditionally people would have a day out, in the countryside or take a train to the seaside. Now they tend to go to bloody Ikea. People are obsessed with spending money. It’s a rat race, but is it healthy?
Spooky
I’ve used a spooky picture of the churchyard to begin today’s post. I think the original church was built about 700 years ago, replacing a castle and maybe some kind of pagan church. I can spend more time writing my Sunday ramble today, because I don’t have to cook Sunday lunch; it’s already cooked.
Am I getting paranoid?
I’ve used a picture of an English summer from 2011 today. Remember summer? Last year; it was rain, rain and more rain. There was a rumour that they were messing with the weather, trying to stop it raining on their Jubilee and Olympics.
Society today
“Wealthy elderly people who do not need benefit payments to help with fuel bills or free travel should voluntarily return the money to the authorities, the work and pensions secretary says.” (BBC News) I don’t know. Buckingham Palace is a big place to keep warm, they need their winter fuel payments. They hardly use their bus passes anyway…
Mid week moan | Who is to blame?
The building in the picture is the ‘Public’ on West Bromwich, High St. For the benefit of my American readers, we can build you one just like it if you have about a hundred million dollars to spare. It is very symbolic. It symbolises the Orwellian big brother society to me. Notice the CCTV camera on the right of the picture. Whose to blame? (more…)
The English eccentric
Today’s picture is of the River Tame, here in the Black Country. There are millions of flowers growing down the sides in Spring; this was last May. Only an English eccentric would know something like that. I shall check again this year and see if they grow along the Tame in Sandwell Valley.
A Englishmans home is his castle
Today’s picture is of the Manor House, West Bromwich, which has a St George’s Day Family Fun Day on today. There will also be a big St George’s Day parade in Stone Cross tomorrow.
Another midweek moan
Today I have used a picture of the churches overlooking the town where I live. When I’m out taking photographs, I often look at them and know I’m still close to home. They stand on a hill with steep sides on this side. A 1,000 years ago a castle stood there and Princess Ethelfreda fought the Viking invaders from there.
A Black Country ramble
The weather is still very changeable in England. I need sunshine! It was a long winter and then we had snow in Spring. I want to take some photos of this beautiful landscape that we have in the Black Country.
The mid-week moan, again
It would seem that Britain is more divided than ever today. It will be interesting to see whose side everyone is really on when it comes to the crunch. The elitists are having a funeral for their heroine. She saved Britain; gave us Google, Iphones, Windows 7, Tesco value beef-burgers and Wonga.
What class are you in?
Today’s picture is of the church just up the road from where I live. I took this photo yesterday, it was a little misty, it’s still quite cold. The church is said to date back over 700 years and is a landmark that can be seen for miles. For me it signifies where I grew up, my roots.
Weekend review from the heart of England
I get a few local readers at the weekend and so I’ll explain about today’s picture. I took this at Easter at Forge Mill Farm in Sandwell Valley Country Park. From Walsall take the Birmingham Road, turn right at the Scott Arms and go up the Newton Road then left into Forge Lane. Forge Mill Farm is on the left, take the second entrance. (more…)
Mid-week moan | Times are a changing
Do you remember hand carts? People used to sell flowers from hand carts years ago. They often grew the flowers in their gardens and they made a living out of selling them. (more…)
Easter Sunday sunshine
It’s Easter Sunday, the sun’s shining and I’m thinking about photography. I haven’t had a good Sunday afternoon taking pictures for some time. If you’re wondering about today’s picture, those are places around where I live. (more…)
Spring in the heart of England
Today’s photo is of Spring. No, not this Spring! This was last Spring, the sun was shining and the River Tame was lined with millions of flowers! There were bluebells in the woods, blossom on the trees and it was Spring. What do we have this year?
Spring at last
Yes, it’s the vernal equinox today, it begins at 11:02 in the UK. The picture is of Dartmouth golf course at the top of Sandwell Valley. Half of Sandwell Valley is golf courses for private members. That is a huge amount of land for the exclusive use of the privileged few. It’s good for mental health to get out there and experience nature. It is something we need to preserve and value. (more…)
Neodigital Art | Winter weather
This photograph was taken last weekend by Fei Ye, an International student from China who is studying at my local University in Wolverhampton. It was taken in Cambridge, where it rained all day. The shot wasn’t straight and so I straightened it a little and edited it to make it a little more artistic. It’s unusual and has lots of depth as the canal goes away from us.
Bullingdon Britain
It’s the Spring equinox on Wednesday and so there is something to look forward to. A lot of people are dreading the future though with new Housing Benefit rules about to make life very difficult for many of the poorest members of society. These are people whose children have perhaps left home or who have a child away from home at university.
The mid-week Moan
What can I write about today? I can always moan about something…. I was reminded of buying my first computer in the 1980’s this morning. I learned how to use a word processor and I learnt some B.A.S.I.C programming. Remember B.A.S.I.C? Then Windows came out and it all got complicated… (more…)
Easter 2013
I took this photo in March last year, the weather was warm and sunny, before the rains came. This year, my lawn is covered in snow. Is climate change to blame? That was the subject of one of my articles this week. The UK government will be cutting welfare this week too, the poor will get poorer.
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30, March 2013 | Categories: culture, NeoDigital Art, photography, psychology, Ramblings, Reviews | Tags: England, photography, reviews, social comment, Spring, UK | Leave A Comment »