Rüstige Rentner

Not "rostig" as in rusty but "rüstig" as in spry.

First thing this morning, set off to collect some fizzy calcium tablets from the chemist which I had ordered yesterday. I got these on prescription although they are not normally prescribable, i.e. you pay for them yourself. Adding calcium to your innards doesn't seem like a good idea if you are over producing kidney stones but in my case it actually helps to reduce them - Seems I tick a bit differently!

Had parked next to the Bliped shop, with a bit of a "Hope of Spring" theme and lots of the rusty garden signs that are so popular nowadays and shown by Tochterpleach our alpine Bliper who has disappeared up a mountain for Lent and has no WLAN. Back in January she put a link on her entry to a business making and selling them. When I hit the link, my McAfee virus scanner went haywire and wouldn't let me go there. I got in contact with the shop to tell them about it and they said it only happened with McAfee Virus Scanner and though they had tried on numerous occasions over a year or so to get it corrected, they had had no response. So I sent off an email to McAfee, written in my rather tongue in cheek style and Bobs your uncle, within a week the site was given the green light. The business order was very pleased. Will try to visit them one day.

The car on the right has a number with "55" - lots of people choose a plate number that may include their initials and or date of birth. Today is [url=https://www.blipfoto.com/entry/2156916819946900374]MrTBays[/url] 60th birthday, not a Bliper but an officially appointed supplier of material for the TractorTuesday Bliper group. Happy Birthday MrTBay.

On the walk we then did in the forest to get away from the biting north east wind we got snowed on from the stuff falling off the trees but with the sun shining made the 0°C temperature feel almost pleasant. During the entire walk I was thinking about the generation born in the 50s, like myself. Had been a bit peeved seeing people like me on TV last night spouting off about getting out of EU and thinking we should all have our right to vote in the referendum taken away and those born before 1950 given two votes - they know what a war torn Europe was, they are the orphans from when their Mums and Dads sacrificed their lives to free mainland Europe of tyranny when they could have simply put up a big wall and sat on the sofa looking over the channel. We 50ers were born in to a carefree booming world, hanging on the coat tails and music of the swinging sixties and then when we got to have influence in the late 80s and 90s we gave the world a rat race of multinational, law of the jungle culture. And now we want to tell our children how they will live after we have one or two feet in the grave.

Naturally the above is rubbish - every generation makes a mess of it. But it made me smile later listening to the Budget speech and hearing my namesake mention the "next Generation" time after time. Ihope very much he is right and really wants to do something for them.

In the morning, the countryside looked wonderful, entirely covered in snow. By late afternoon the sun that had appeared had melted it all. Thursday and Friday we may get in to double figures and have sun all day. Weekend cloudy, a bit cooler but at least dry.

PS The Budget seems to be very complicated nowadays. Back in my time it was only Income Tax rate, Road Fund Licence, tax on booze and fags and then getting annoyed at the pipe smoking Labour leaders not putting an extra 1p on pipe tobacco.