Curly's Capers

Grant Clan The above tartan belongs to the Grant Clan, which through a tenuous link on my Late Mother's side, I  am entitled to  wear. So, were I able to,  I would certainly vote YES in the Scottish  Referendum to gain Independence. Oh  to live the dream and taste the air of freedom. Independence is the only logical route onwards from devolution, to gain full control in the government of  your own country. Scotland has resources of oil,  gas and also water, which is becoming  an increasingly important commodity. It has a skilled workforce and an excellent export business  with whiskey, and jam  to name but two. What then will stop this leap of faith? The answer is fear and fear alone. The ' big hitters ' will be out in force to persuade the Scots of their folly. They will talk about debts ; currency values; of the ability to join the European Union and so on. They will parade the Scots sporting superstars; Sir Chris Hoy...

@ CTFCofficial Cheltenham Expects----- Newly promoted sides deserve respect; but not too much! Be the Boss. COYR RrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrR Last Monday afternoon, on a damp, wet, day, D. and I went to the cinema to see the film " Gravity." At the start of the film, white lettering over a black screen, proclaims the words: At 372 Miles Above The Earth. There Is Nothing To Carry Sound. No Air Pressure. No Oxygen. Life In Space Is Impossible. Dr. Ryan Stone ( Sandra Bullock) a Mission Specialist is accompanied on a space-walk by veteran Astronaut, Mark Kowalski ( George Clooney). Ryan repairing damage to the Explorer is hit by high speed debris from a Russian satellite. This damages the Explorer and worse than that, detaches Stone and flings her into deep space Eventually Kowalski rescues her and they both make it back to the Space Shuttle, only to find that it is damaged beyond use and furthermore all crew are dead. ...

" The human mind is capable of being excited without the application of gross and violent stimulants;………………. (the most effective of causes) the increasing accumulation of men in cities, where the uniformity of their occupations produces a craving for extraordinary incident which the rapid communication of intelligence hourly gratifies."  William Wordsworth, preface to ' Lyrical Ballads ' 1802.  So what would he make of today's crowded world, with telephone, video, computers and mobile devices all competing for our attention; which is rapidly becoming minute by minute ; as opposed to hourly? I think (said I,  using the keyboard) that there must be a place today for  sometimes,  stepping away from technology and soaking up the wonders of nature, which lie all around us, if we will,  but open our eyes to see. Enough said, I think. WwwwwwwwwwwW @ CTFCofficial Cheltenham Expects-- You may be a passenger on a bus, train or plane; but ...

I thought I'd  start this week's blog with a splash of colour. This picture was taken at the Mount Inn, in the village of Stanton, on the 10th September. A good complement to a pint of outstanding beer from the nearby Donnington Brewery. AaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaP On Thursday 7th November the Tony ' AP ' McCoy reached his 4,000  winner.  An impossible total, for a national hunt jockey.   I remember, not so long ago, when approaching a mere 2,000 winners; I suggested to my friend that when he reached the winning total matching the current calendar year; he should call it a day. But, of course Mr. Tony had other ideas and on he has pressed.  Certainly in my life-time; probably in yours, we will never see these scores again. AP a genuine one-off. However, in spire of these statistics, I would rather have Ruby Walsh  ride my horses, as I feel at times AP can be a little hard on horses. He may get a 'tune' out of them, but greedy me,...

" What- ho  World.                             Baxter reminded me I have been rather short recently, in the communication stakes. My last missile was dated in March of this year; quite a gap indeed. Little has happened since then, of any consequence. We had to forgo our usual holiday abroad, in order to change the car. The Jag was getting a little expensive and so we reluctantly  traded her in for a Lexus; which Baxter told me was ' The thinking man's Toyota.' Well whatever it is,  it's certainly bally quiet. Coming into our drive the other day, I ventured to exit the car; only to be restrained by Baxter, thinking it had stopped already. Baxter, of course loves all that techy stuff; including having a screen which shows you what you have bumped into, when reversing and sore teeth (or something) that allows him to speak commands to the vehicle. Naturally this involved some tuition in ...