Brit & Grit

Even more celebrity reality madness

2007-01-10T12:14:00.000-08:00

While the list from Briton is impressive, it misses the American celebrity real life content. Just today I noticed a new one, Armed and Famous, where famous actors are given a police training course, guns, and the chance to arrest people. We also have, Hogan Knows Best, which follows the real life trials and tribulations of the famous wrestler and his family. Also, The Surreal Life, where half a dozen famous types live in a mansion together for a month under constant camera scrutiny. There's another one about the children of a Mafia Boss called, Growing Up Gotti. Of course, the one that seemed to start this madness has to be mentioned, The Osbournes, showing the home life of the rocker Ozzy Osbourne.

the Grit

Can we stop celebrity Reality please?

2007-01-10T02:11:00.000-08:00

Celebrity Reality has gone too far!!!

Maybe it is not right to start the new year with a bit of a moan, but over the past month from mid December to now, I have become very weary of reality - entertainment programmes that is. Whatever television channel one tunes into, reality programmes seem to be bombarding us. Here in the UK I have lost count of the numbers, but here are just a few.

1) I'm a Celebrity - get me out of here.

Deep in the wilds of Australia (so they say!), a dozen or so celebrites from the D-list had to battle it out for survival. During the course of their three week stay, they did bungee jumping, had to eat Kangaroo anus and Crocodile penis, amongst a host of other equally unpleasant tasks. The only highlight of this series was the way that David Gest (of Liza Minelli fame) was able to make fools of everyone, turning most into his servants.

2) Celebrity strictly dancing.

A host of so-called celebrities joined in partnership with professional dancers to show how they can master the art of ballroom dancing, or not is a more accurate description. We had to witness two weeks or so of tangos (or tangles), Rumba's (or bungles) and waltz (or wally's) moving round the dance floor like cart horses in a frisky mood. A cricketer won this event, but then I guess all the others were stumped.

3) Just the two of Us

This is a programme where celebrities sing duets with "famous" singers, all trying to beat each other to the prize of the week, a glass plaque. In general, the only highlight of this show was the singing of Marti Pello and Beverley knight. As for the celebrity wannabe's, apart from Cricketer
Mark Butcher, they were all best listened to with the sound turned off.

4) Soapstar - Superstar

For those who do not come from the UK or Australia, the celebrities taking part in this show will be totally unknown. The idea of the show is that these people are supposed to exchange their acting talents for musical fame. Of course, as you can guess, most of them have about as much musical talent a cat being scalded on a hot tin roof.

5) Celebrity Big Brother

In a specially constructed house somewhere in the UK, a TV channel has gathered twelve people, ostensibly celebrities, to expose their everyday lives to the viewing public for a little over three weeks, some of whom have been paid up to £500,000 ($1,000,000) to appear. So what are we being treated too?

1) Donny - Lead singer of a hardly heard of band called "Tower of London", who was so fed up with the thought of having to act as a servant to others that he legged it over the wall of the house on day two.
2) Ken Russell - an 80 year old film director (of "Women in love" fame) who, after subjecting the whole house to a snoring crescendo, which led to sleepless nights, and breaching the rules by helping himself to cheese and biscuits, decided that it was all beneath him and demanded to be released, so he left on day three.
3) Jermaine Jackson - looking as if his smile is fixed by plastic surgery, Jermaine is the quietest person in the house, and the least disruptive. However, he is sporting jeans that look like advertising hoardings for America's celebrity elite.
4) Leo Sayer - (a 1970's pop idol) who was so dismayed at the conditions he was forced to live in that he started f*****g and blinding all over the place and demanded to see a copy of his contract. Having read the contract he then crawled humbly back into the house with his tail between his legs. One has to ask why he signed up without reading the small print.
5) Dirk Benedict - (of A-Team fame) who has become infatuated with bollywood star Shilpa and is bemoaning the fact that age stops him from entering into a meaningful relationship with her.

Do the television media really have nothing else of value to put on for their viewers? Whatever happened to the days of drama and entertainment?

Of course, this is all generated by profit. The elimination process on all of these shows is down to a public vote. With average call costs of between 50 pence and £1, and the response ostensibly being up to millions per night, it is not difficult to work out how much money the networks and sponsoring communication companies are earning out of all these shows.

the Brit

The end of a year draws near

2006-12-27T17:11:00.000-08:00

Three days to go - 2007 approaches

We near the end of another year. Individually and as a whole people it is a time to reflect on the events of the past 362 days, and to look forward to a new chapter.

Individually, I the brit look back over 2006 with a mixuture of emotions. There are a few tears for the few ocassions when things did not go right, or I said something I should not have. There are the smiles for the many happy memories that have been made during the year. There is love for the people close to me, the family present and those who are no longer here. There has been laughter and a new kind of friendship forged with all the new people I have met in the corridors of www.helium.com. Perhaps the three most precious gifts I have from this year are: -

1) The deepening love for the one person who is special to me.

2) Meeting and befriending the Grit, with whom I have travelled a special journey of fun, laughter, satire, indignation and wit over the past few months. And with whom I am enjoying a unique friendship. I look forward to this continuing into the future. Thank you Grit.

3) The new friends I have made this year. I thank you one and all for sharing with me.

Globally, the world has seen a lot of turmoil over the past twelve months, although this seems to be a regular annual occurence. We wait to see whether in 2007 those who threaten our world will find the good sense to raise a hand in friendship and hope rather than anger and hate.

Resolution, for me the brit in 2007 my resolution is to live like I did in 2006. To find more tears, love, happiness, peace and above all laughter.

We hope that all of you out there can find peace, love and happiness as the new year dawns, and may all your individual and global wishes be granted.

Thank you for sharing 2006 with us, we hope you will share 2007 with us as well.

the Brit and Grit

Christmas Day is dawning

2006-12-24T05:16:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas

Christmas day is dawning around the world, starting with Australia. The brit and grit would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you, wherever you are, on this special day.

A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS

May all your wishes come true today, but most of all may you find peace and happiness with the ones you love this day.

Have a great time. Thank you for visiting with us. We will raise a glass to all our friends and hope to see you again soon as we continue our journey.

the

Brit and Grit

We thought we would leave you with a tune that epitomises what Christmas is about, particularly the politicians.

Its Christmas time, theres no need to be afraid

at christmas time, we live in light and we banish shade
but in our world of plenty, we should spread a smile of joy!

Throw your arms around the world at christmas time

but say a prayer - pray for the other ones

at christmas time, its hard but when your having fun

theres a world outside your window

and its a world of dreaded fear

where the only water flowing is a bitter sting of tears

And the christmas bells that ring there are the clanging chimes of doom

Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you

and there wont be snow in africa this christmas time

the greatest gift they'll get this year is life

where nothing ever grows

no rain or rivers flow
Do they know it's christmas time at all?

heres to you raise a glass for everyone

underneath that sadness

do they know its christmas time at all?

feed the world

let them know its christmas time

Christmas around the world 12

2006-12-22T00:10:00.000-08:00

The twelve days of Christmas

We would like to thank Megan, Erik, Jayne, Maia, Vicky and Marlis, who with the brit and the grit have provided us with experiences of Christmas around the world over the past few months. For those of you who have not yet decided what presents to buy, here are some ideas for you.

On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me
a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me
two Turtle Doves and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me
three French Hens, two Turtle Doves and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
four Calling Birds, three French Hens, two Turtle Doves and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
five Golden Rings, four Calling Birds, three French Hens, two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
six Geese a Laying, five Golden Rings, four Calling Birds, three French Hens,
two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me
seven Swans a Swimming, six Geese a Laying, five Golden Rings, four Calling Birds,
Three French Hens, two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
eight Maids a Milking, seven Swans a Swimming, six Geese a Laying,
five Golden Rings, four Calling Birds, three French Hens, two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the ninth day of Christmasmy true love sent to me
nine Ladies Dancing, eight Maids a Milking, seven Swans a Swimming, six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings, four Calling Birds, three French Hens, two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
ten Lords a Leaping, nine Ladies Dancing, eight Maids a Milking, seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying, five Golden Rings, four Calling Birds
three French Hens, two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me
eleven Pipers Piping, ten Lords a Leaping, nine Ladies Dancing, eight Maids a Milking
Seven Swans a Swimming, six Geese a Laying, five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds, three French Hens, two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the twelfth day of Christmasmy true love sent to me
12 Drummers Drumming, eleven Pipers Piping, ten Lords a Leaping, nine Ladies Dancing
Eight Maids a Milking, seven Swans a Swimming, six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings, four Calling Birds, three French Hens, two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

Christmas around the world 11

2006-12-17T13:06:00.000-08:00

Whatever They Are Called

by Vicky

When I think about Christmas recipes, the most memorable ones contain sugar. Not surprising since I remember both grandmothers and my own mother starting their Christmas baking just after Thanksgiving, and each day when I arrived back home from school, the whole house was permeated by wonderful smells. Pleading and begging might wrestle one tiny morsel off a cookie tray, or a single item out of the dozens of 5 lb coffee cans used to store the Christmas stash, but the majority of the goodies were meant for gifts or special occasions through the holidays.

There was fudge, date loaf roll, gingerbread men with cherry noses, and the proverbial fruitcakes (soaked in bourbon so no child in their right mind ever went near them). My most favorite of all was a little cookie my mother called Russian teacakes.

When I grew up, I found that these little melt in your mouth morsels were also called Mexican wedding cakes, Italian butterballs, Southern pecan balls, snowdrops, Viennese sugar balls, and even snowballs. How we down on the Texas/Arkansas border ever got the Russian version is beyond me since we’re Irish and Indian for the most part of our heritage, and we were in the height of the Cold War and were supposed to hate and fear everything Russian. Regardless of where the name came from, they were and are still my absolute favorites.

The recipe is quite simple and foolproof if you don’t try to substitute anything imitation …like cheap imitation vanilla instead of the pure stuff or margarine instead of the best butter you can buy. Insofar as the nuts, pecans are the best choice although I’ll admit the best batch ever made contained hickory nuts. As a seven year old, I sat for most of an afternoon hammering hickory nuts on a stone, and then carefully picking out the tiny bits until there were enough to take into the kitchen. This may well have been another grandmotherly tactic to keep my fingers away from the cookie tins, but the taste was unforgettable.

Any of this recipe is possible to do with a food processor, but the best way is the old-fashioned way ... by hand.

Russian Tea Cakes

1 cup lightly toasted, chopped pecan
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
¼ cup confectioner’s sugar (sifted)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt

Topping: 1 cup sifted confectioner’s sugar

Cream the butter and ¼ cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the extract and then add the flour and salt and beat until well blended. Stir in the nuts, and then place the bowl (covered) in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Make one inch round balls by rolling them between your hands and place the balls about an inch or so apart on the cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes until browning on the edges. Cool for no more than five minutes and then roll each ball in the sifted sugar.

This recipe makes about three dozen but that isn’t allowing for how many you or your children eat while putting them away. Oh, and these were the first cookies I ever learned to make, and I still make them!

Christmas around the world 10

2006-12-16T14:42:00.000-08:00

The Carol that silenced war

90 years ago on Christmas Eve, when the guns of were were silenced, the enemies of World War I joined together with one voice to celebrate the birth of Jesus. For a few hours all animosity and anger was forgotten as the only sound on the battlefields of Europe was an English and German Choir, united in one carol -

Silent Night

English - German

Silent night, holy night
All is calm all is bright
'Round yon virgin Mother and Child
Holy infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,
Alles schläft; einsam wacht
Nur das traute hochheilige Paar.
Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar,
Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!
Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!

Silent night, holy night,
Shepherds quake at the sight.
Glories stream from heaven afar,
Heav'nly hosts sing Alleluia;
Christ the Savior is born
Christ the Savior is born

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,
Hirten erst kundgemacht
Durch der Engel Halleluja,
Tönt es laut von fern und nah:
Christ, der Retter ist da!
Christ, der Retter ist da!

Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love's pure light.
Radiant beams from Thy holy face,
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,
Gottes Sohn, o wie lacht
Lieb' aus deinem göttlichen Mund,
Da uns schlägt die rettende Stund'.
Christ, in deiner Geburt!
Christ, in deiner Geburt!

Even in the darkest moments, the people of the world can join together in celebration. This must have been one of the most special Christmas moments ever.

Christmas around the world 9

2006-12-14T12:29:00.000-08:00

Christmas at home with the Brit

It is time for me to invite you into my home for a UK Christmas - brit style. This year, Christmas celebrations started earlier than usual. I was able to do something that reminds me of my sister and father who died a number of years ago around Christmas time. Two days ago I was able to play Santa Claus at a local children's nursery, giving presents to around 50 children. It reminded me of two of the best Christmas times ever.

1967

My family (all 7 of us) lived in a large detached house in the Kent countryside. It was nearing Christmas. On the second Saturday in December my parents were busy cooking, mostly sweet items, for what seemed like the 5,000 and all of us kids were tasked with wrapping up 20 or so toys, each one with a gift tag and a name unknown to us. At two o'clock in the afternoon, a minibus pulled up in the driveway and unloaded what seemed like a never-ending stream of children, some shy, some loud and shouting, some looking puzzled. They were shepherded into the house, we were asked to organise games, and fun things to do until, while the parents and minders organised the tea area. By the end of the afternoon, the house looked like a bomb had hit it. We sat them all down for tea with siblings and me acting as waiters. Every child just dug in and it was not long before the table was just a mess of cake, jelly, ice cream and Christmas cake.

After tea, all the kids gathered in the large lounge and my father picked up a small quiet African lad and sat him on his knee. Then he told them a story of Christmas, one that he had made up especially for the day.

What we did not find out until later was that he had been to a local Children's home and arranged this some weeks earlier. It was one of the most magical Christmases of my life.

1984

My sister died on the 20th December. All looked bleak for Christmas day. In some ways it was. However, as for every time of darkness there is some light, it had its good points. By this time, all of the family members had left home, were married and had their families to spend Christmas with. However, that Christmas day every son, (6 in all) was encouraged by their partners to join our mother on our own for Christmas dinner (and we did the cooking!) and rejoin them later in the day.

We spent four hours together as a family for the first time in over a decade. Those four hours saw some tears, but also saw a great number of smiles as we talked and laughed about Christmas times we spent with our sister and father. It was literally, one of the most memorable Christmases of my life.

What these two Christmases have proved to me is that every Christmas is different and every one has its unique and special times. Christmas is not all about commercial things, it is about giving and the greatest gift is love. I try to wrap that up every year and give it to those close to me.

I hope that you all have a special and unique Christmas this year.

the Brit

Christmas around the world 8

2006-12-13T12:29:00.000-08:00

A peek at Christmas in Manila

by Maria Sheila Chou

Christmas is just around the corner. In our part of the world, no Christmas decor is complete without the Belen - the Nativity scene. This would range from miniatures to life size, from the simple and humble to priceless heirlooms from several generations of Christmas past. We also have our Parol - Christmas lanterns shaped like four and six-pointed stars - to remember the bright star that the Three Wise Men from the East followed in search of the infant King of Kings. Made from indigenous materials and elaborate light circuits, some Christmas lanterns are made from a variety of materials - paper, plastic, seashells, recycled materials you name it. My personal favorite are the ones that are made of Capiz - seashells from the outside and elaborate and multicolored tiny bulbs from the inside. You plug it and watch the dazzle of lights.

In the early morning of December 16, churches and the faithful celebrate the start of the Misa de Gallo - early morning masses that culminate in a grand midnight mass on Christmas Eve. This tradition goes back a long way. It is a test of piety and determination to rise early on cold December mornings to attend 4 am mass for nine consecutive days. It is considered a blessing to be able to attend and complete the masses. After the mass, we have bibingka and puto bungbong - native delicacies - for breakfast. These are prepared by vendors outside the churches only for the season. Perfect with hot chocolate.

There is no better proof of the Filipinos love of music than from the children and adults alike who serenade houses with Christmas carols starting on the night of December 16. These would include my six year-old neighbors in search for additional pocket money to the angelic voices of local church choirs who go out each night until Christmas Eve for the benefit of their communities. All children do their rounds of caroling and I do have my fair share of memories. I stopped doing the rounds when I realized that my singing did nothing to encourage the Christmas spirit. (To my utter disappointment, joining the choir is beyond my musical abilities)

On midnight of Christmas Eve, whole families attend Midnight Mass and go home to the grand Noche Buena - the Christmas Eve Feast. The traditional Hamon - ham and Queso de Bola are the main entries so are our favorite dishes such as Pinaupong Manok, Afritada, Relyenong Bangus, and Carbonara. Sweet desserts such as Leche Flan and Fruit salad plus Mercedez D' Brazo, my Mother's favorite cake flavor. Noche Buena is always a treat to our family's sweet tooth. Christmas day is for visiting godparents, exchanging gifts and partying.

The days after Christmas are mostly for the family. We get to attend family reunions, visit with the whole clan and get to catch up on quality family time. Christmas and New Year Holidays end at January 6th which is the Feast of the Three Kings.

Here's wishing you all a very merry and peaceful Christmas!

Christmas around the world 7

2006-12-13T01:05:00.000-08:00

My favorite Christmas recipe

Australia - by Megan

Given that Australian Christmas is about entertaining copious family and creating volumes of food to feed the familial masses, I love recipes that serve two purposes: 1) as gifts, and 2) loans a tropical reminder to a hot Christmas lunch. What better then than bottled green mango chutney. Topped with red or green circles of material and tied around the neck with a white ribbon, bottled Mango Chutney makes useful homemade Christmas gifts. As a marinade, spread lavishly on any of the cooked and sliced Christmas meat roasts before serving, or placed in a bowl as a condiment, the Mango Chutney jollies up Christmas by adding a true tropical flavor to a traditional Aussie meat meal.

Annette's custom green mango chutney.

Creator: Annette McFarlane from ABC Gardening Talkback http://www.abc.net.au/brisbane/stories/s1302055.htm

You need:
1.5kg of green mango flesh (6-8 fruit)
1 tablespoon salt1 cup sugar (more if you like it really sweet)
2 cups white vinegar
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup chopped & pitted dates
3/4 cup dried sultanas
2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 teaspoon ground chilli powder (or two small, fresh minced chillies)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cumin

Method

Peel and remove stone from mangoes and place flesh in a large bowl, sprinkle with the salt, cover with water and leave to stand for at least 4 hours.

Drain mangoes and rinse.

Dissolve the sugar and vinegar over a low heat. Add mangoes and remaining ingredients. Bring to the boil and then simmer for about 45 minutes or until the mixture thickens. If you prefer smooth chutney, use a potato masher as the mix softens. Pour hot mixture into clean, hot jars and seal. Jars can be kept in a cool cupboard until opened, after which they should be refrigerated.

YUM! I eat it by the spoonful at any time of the year.

Christmas around the world 6

2006-12-10T16:45:00.000-08:00

Spain – triple Christmas treat

by Marlis

Although Christmas in Spain is rapidly becoming the same as in places like the UK retains its old traditions, especially inland. Here they will celebrate Christmas in three ways.

Christmas Eve (Noche Buena)

Christmas Eve is more important than the day itself and is very much a family occasion. During the day in the smaller villages and towns, the mayor of the town will visit every household and present the lady of the house with a small red plant or flower.

In the evening there will be the traditional family meal and then open presents. However, unlike the UK, the children will only be given 1 present. Once that is over, the children will be sent to bed whilst the adults go out and party, which normally means for most of the night.

Christmas Day

Spain in general is a very religious country, so Christmas day is centred on the Church. There are very few businesses open, and this includes the bars and restaurants.

Three Kings Day (Los Reyes)

The most important day for the Spanish is the 5th of January, three kings day. Children write to the three kings for their presents rather than Santa Claus. On the day, the three Kings move through the villages and towns, throwing out sweets for all. They also deliver the gifts that the children have asked for. The costumes and displays are fantastic.

Now, in honour of our Spanish readers, we will try to repeat this post in Spanish. Please forgive any misinterpretations.

Ex-pat Marlis

Ahora, en honor a nuestros lectores españoles, nosotros trataremos de repetir este poste en español. Perdone por favor cualquier mala interpretación.

España – el triple de Navidad

Marlis

Aunque Navidad en España llegue a ser rápidamente el mismo como en lugares como el RU retiene sus tradiciones viejas, especialmente interior. Aquí ellos celebrarán Navidad en tres maneras.

La Nochebuena (Christmas Eve)

la Nochebuena es más importante que el día él mismo y es tanto una ocasión de familia. Durante el día en las aldeas y pueblos más pequeños, el alcalde del pueblo visitará cada casa y presentará a la dama de la casa con una pequeña planta rojas o la flor.

Habrá por la tarde la comida tradicional de la familia y entonces abrirá los presentes. Sin embargo, a diferencia del RU, los niños sólo serán dados 1 presente. Una vez que eso está sobre, los niños serán mandados a la cama mientras los adultos salgan y el partido, que significa normalmente para la mayor parte de la noche.

El Día de Navidad

España es en general un país muy religioso, de modo que el día de Navidad es cifrado en la Iglesia. Hay muy pocos negocios abren, y esto incluye las barras y los restaurantes.

Tres Día de Reyes (Three Kings)

el día más importante para el español es el 5 de enero, tres día de reyes. Los niños escriben a los tres reyes para sus presentes antes que Papá noel. En el día, los tres Reyes mueven por las aldeas y pueblos, echando dulces para todo. Ellos entregan también los regalos que los niños han pedido. Los disfraces y los despliegues son fantásticos.

Christmas around the world 5

2006-12-09T12:06:00.000-08:00

Christmas with the Grit

Right off, you need to know that I am another one of those people who would have every available surface of our house covered completely in Christmas decorations, preferably sparkle lights. This, I believe, stems from my Mother marring Scrooge during my formative years. Until I left home, Christmas consisted of opening up the Xmas Tree Kit, assembling the horrid thing, hanging the 12 identical ball decorations, and turning on the illumination. The Tree Kit tree was metallic silver, and consisted of a trunk with a folding tripod stand and 24 branches that were test tube cleaners spray painted silver. The illumination was a 100 watt bulb in a holder with a plastic disk, colored red, green, and blue, that slowly rotated to change the color. This was placed at the base of the tree. Whee!

Thus, I do tend to go a bit overboard with Christmas stuff. At one point, I owned 20 50 foot strings of chaser lights, 500 feet of red and green tinsel garland, and too many regular Christmas lights to count. Those were my office decorations. Fortunately, with counseling, some minor drug therapy, and a firm "I'll decorate from now on" by my wife, that phase of my life is past. Now, I concentrate on the cooking.

Of which there is a lot to do, this time of year. When we first moved here, my wife's parents, her Uncle, and her Aunt lived within walking distance. That solved many of the problems associated with Christmas. Since there was such a concentration of family here, no one expected the festivities to be held anywhere else. Unfortunately, those people have passed on.

Now, our remaining family is so scattered and with competing obligations from their spouses' families, we rarely get together. So, we throw parties. Some people go on vacation to distant places; we have Christmas parties. Heck, I generally hate traveling anyway :)

The weekend before Christmas, we host two large gatherings. There is a pot luck dinner for the church my wife attends on Friday. On Saturday, we have our party for friends, special clients, and family. That one is usually more fun, and I get to do all the cooking. Last year there were 40 for the church party, and 70 for ours. Fortunately, the winery down the road cuts us a good price on bulk purchases, and we have 60 acres of field for parking.

After that, we wind down with a formal dinner on Christmas Eve. Sometimes we have out of town family, sometimes not. Usually, we know enough people without family to fill up the table, which seats twelve. Actually, comparing Xmas dinners of old with what we have now, I like the variety of guests we get these days.

A side benefit of all that cooking is I rarely have to touch a pan until New Years. That makes Christmas day very relaxed. Just us - immediate family, 4 dogs, 3 cats - enjoying some peace and quiet, and lots of left overs.

Merry Christmas,
the Grit

Christmas around the world 4

2006-12-08T13:23:00.000-08:00

Christmas Trees in the UK

Although the Christmas tree has been around in Europe for several hundred years, Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert was the first guy to actually bring it into the home around 1830. The tradition has continued ever since and fir trees are popularly used here.

Nowadays, as a result of the mess that the pine needles cause many people prefer to use artificial trees, but one can't beat the sight or smell of a real tree standing by the fire and decorated with lights, tinsels, crackers and small gifts. Most people with top the tree with a star or angel (fairy), which links it to the Christian meaning of Christmas. The Christmas tree is the focal point of Christmas activities within the home, especially with the presents that are piled around it.

Trafalgar Square, London, at Christmas.

The most famous Christmas tree in the UK is the one that is erected in Trafalgar Square. This tree has been donated to the British nation by Norway, as a thank you for the help that we gave to them during the Second World War, in both allowing the set up of an exiled Norwegian government and helping the resistance. They have never forgotten that time, and the tree has become a symbol of friendship.

The Norwegian tree, around 70 feet high, is cut from the forest in Norway in November, an event which in itself is celebrated with members of the Norwegian and British governments present. It is then transported to London where it is erected in a special place in Trafalgar Square. Surprising, there is no external support for the tree, it is simply lowered four foot into the ground and wedged in place. The lights on the tree are usually lit up on the first Thursday in December. In respect to the Norwegian tradition, all of the lights are white.

Around the Country

Many towns and villages across the UK have followed the tradition of having a Christmas in a prominent position. It has become the central focus for Church and Carol services. Similarly, it is often used by charities as a place where people might be encouraged to give. The symbol of the Christmas tree is used extensively over a range of products, including cards and wrapping paper.

In the UK today, the tree has become synonymous with Christmas, the Christian Christmas message, love and friendship and giving. This applies from the individual home through to the nation as a whole.

Long may the Christmas tree reign.

The brit

Christmas around the world 3

2006-12-07T10:38:00.000-08:00

A ZAMBIAN CHRISTMAS - By Jayne

Forget the snow and the mistletoe; Christmas in Zambia is marked by the arrival of the beautiful orange/red flamboyant trees, bright red poinsettias and flame lilies. If we’re lucky the ‘rains’ will have arrived and the country will be covered with a fresh carpet of green grass. All the traditional colours of Christmas under a blazing azure blue sky with a glint of raindrops and rainbows!

Zambia is such a melting pot of different nationalities and traditions that Christmas can be an excitingly different experience depending on who you visit! We have many English, Danish, Swedish, South African and Australian friends here and each family brings some unique Christmas tradition with them from their own background. I have eaten Danish roasted pork over one Christmas and had South African ‘braai’ with ‘potjiekos’ and ‘beer bread’ over another. I have sat down to traditional English turkey and ham lunch on the day after consuming Scottish roast lamb on Christmas Eve followed by a traditional braai on Boxing Day!

Added to this is the ever evolving local ‘traditions’. Christmas for local Zambians is marked by feasting and beer drinking! Families living the village life would pool their resources together, the main course consisting of a freshly slaughtered pig or goat and homemade traditional beer made from fermented maize and millet. Christmas lunch in town would more likely be chicken and rice and shop bought beer! Vegetables and relish would consist of whatever fresh produce is available at the time; a favourite is pumpkin leaves and flowers – very tasty!

Over the years, my family have built up many of our own traditions. Most are based on traditional English ideas brought by our parents when they immigrated to Africa. We always have a Christmas tree but not always traditional. One year I might use an interestingly shaped branch and get very ‘designer’ African. Another I might go full out and have the big green fir tree with traditional decorations. One thing we always have is vases full of beautiful bright red flame lilies, these are our Christmas flowers and my children could not imagine Christmas without them. We always have a hot Christmas lunch with glazed ham, savoury sausage stuffed chicken (not turkey) and apricot stuffed medallions of roasted pork. I try different combinations of vegetables every year but we always have carrots in a nutmeg white sauce and roasted butternut – a new family tradition since coming to Zambia! As my baking skills are not that good, we make the traditional Christmas cake (laced with port) do for pudding (with custard and thick clotted cream) and also for general munching later in the day. Very nice for mid morning tea on Boxing Day (with a chunk of cheese!) and an ‘anytime I’m starving’ treat with ice-cream!

Father Christmas still visits Zambia! It does feel a little odd to see a large ‘fat’ man, dressed in traditional red suit and beard sitting under a tree in the blazing sun. He doesn’t usually arrive with his reindeer, I have seen him come in a helicopter, land with a parachute after jumping out of a plane, arrive on a horse and climb out of a land rover! He certainly has to be pretty versatile and fairly agile over here!

For my family, Christmas is a time to spend together, to laze around the house, listen to loud Christmas carols and overeat! It is a time for laughter and fun and a good excuse to open the port bottle and have a few too many while we remember the many family members living elsewhere or no longer with us. Christmas, to us, means family!

Christmas around the world 2

2006-12-05T13:14:00.000-08:00

Different Christmases - By Vicky

When I was 18, my family stopped celebrating Christmas because of a tragedy. What had been a joyous, traditional family time ceased to exist and it was no longer a holiday when family gathered. Over the years, I spent Christmases skiing or working in some foreign country where Christmas might be barely acknowledged, or going to a movie to avoid the Day. Oh, the parties were fine but I usually skipped the Day.

Then, about ten years ago, a new tradition established itself. It was quite by accident too. A confirmed Manhattanite, I bought a 1762 weekend house in Connecticut and loved the country so much that I began to spend more and more of my time there. The house in winter was straight out of Currier and Ives, there was usually snow, and it screamed for Christmas trees, wreaths on the front gate, and welcome lights in all the windows. However, to decorate a house and not entertain is not only no fun but a waste not to share so I decided I would have a Christmas Day open house.

My thought was that I’d get a few strays with nothing else to do, a few people on their way to or from family get togethers, and my close friends. We would all eat too much, drink too much with the intention of just getting through the Day.

My theory on parties is to serve a lot of good meats, breads and cheeses along with copious amounts of booze. To hell with the veggie platters and boring things because no one really likes eating them anyway. And, with great ham, seafood, beef and relishes, who needs them? So, it was an easy enough party to plan for and do on my own.

The first year, invitations went out that the hours were 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. At precisely 1 p.m., people started arriving and, surprisingly, most stayed for the duration. That year there were about thirty in total. Every year after, the numbers grew …and they grew.
It seemed a lot of people didn’t ‘do’ Christmas either, but now they did it at my house.
People brought their dogs, which was fine because it’s the country and that’s what people do. People brought relatives. People brought friends. It was a tiny little house and many a time the only place to sit was on the staircase. Some wore velvet and some wore jeans, and it didn’t matter. Odd Bob, the handy man, did manage clean jeans but he never ever took off his fur hat with the flaps down. He kept the fires going downstairs and made a mean shrimp dip too. That was the year he met a famous orchestra conductor’s wife in the kitchen and fell in love. It was unrequited but I think they both had a rather good time flirting too. There was the year with no snow until mid-afternoon when a mini-blizzard started. The dogs were out on the lawn leaping into the air catching snowflakes. It was also about the time I fell in love with Christmas.

I sold the house, and last year I found myself living in Scotland where invites came to not one but three parties exactly as I’d given in Connecticut. The decorations were a little different as was the food, but it had the same feeling, and I finally learned that wherever you are in the world, Christmas can be a special time. Some of us aren’t blessed with a family to share it with, but it doesn’t mean we can’t share Christmas at all.

I’m not certain what this year will bring yet, but I know one thing …somewhere there will be a party and Christmas will be just fine.

By Vicky

Christmas Receipe - US - Memphis style - the Grit

Alright, I should point out from the start that this isn't my favorite recipe. However, I make it every year for our huge Christmas party, and it's the first thing to run out. It's so popular, I make a double batch and we put it out in two places to cut down on the crowding. This started as a Martha Stewart recipe from her Hors D'Oeuvres cookbook. If you have parties, or just like to eat finger food, I highly recommend this book. Of course, since my wife hates Martha with a passion, I had to take the dust jacket off and burn it. Sorry Martha.

A word of warning.
This dish is so fattening, just reading the recipe may raise your cholesterol level.

What you need:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small sweet onion (or 2 shallots) minced
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more to taste, or hot sauce, or anything with the heat you like)
1/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning (I usually put in a bit more, but that's what I wrote down)
1 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 cup heavy cream (you should have some more on hand in case you want to thin the dip a bit)
8 ounces whipped cream cheese
4 ounces sharp white Cheddar cheese shredded (you can use any color you want, but white keeps the color more attractive)
3 tablespoons lemon juice (fresh is great, but bottled will do)
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (don't skimp on this, use a name brand)
10 ounces lump crab meat (or whatever comes close, don't forget to pick it over for cartilage)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (if you can't get fresh in the winter, use fine chopped green onion)
2 crust less slices of white bread torn into bits (you can also use bread crumbs, or just leave this out)
1/2 teaspoon paprika (don't skimp on this either, use a good quality paprika, if you can't get that add a tad bit more hot spice)

OK, honestly I don't measure all those spices out. I've made this stuff often enough that I just shake it out directly into the pot. You've got a lot of leeway because the cheese and cream are the center of the dish.

Now let us cook.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees (F) and get your serving bowl out, which should be oven proof. It's nice if you have one that goes over a candle, although this stuff is usually gone before it has a chance to get cold.

Melt the butter in the appropriate sized sauce pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook it until it's soft. Add in the dry spices and stir it up good. Add the cream and stir it some more.

Next, you're going to slowly mix in the cream cheese, and then the Cheddar cheese until it's all nice and melted together. Keep an eye on the heat setting, it may need to be adjusted.
When it's nicely combined, add most of the parsley and the wet spices. Turn off the heat. Mix it really good. Gently fold in the crab meat. The point here is not to break it up too much.

Get it into your baking dish. Sprinkle the bread bits on top, with maybe a few dots of butter. Bake it for 20 minutes or so, until the top is lightly brown and its hot all the way through. You can get to this point up to an hour before party time, and let it rest in the warm oven.
Put the rest of the parsley on top, with a shake or two of paprika before serving. I put out bagel chips, baked pita chips, and some toast points to go with it. It's also wise to leave some spoons next to this as a hint not to double dip :)

This is a great basic recipe. I've tried several variants: different cheese, different spices, added some shrimp, and such. As long as you follow the melting cheese into milk central theme, it's hard to go too far wrong.

Enjoy (but don't blame me for your weight gain),
the Grit

Christmas Tradition – UK - the Brit

Despite the fact that most of the commercial organisations over here are trying to start Christmas earlier than ever, it really starts in earnest in the UK early in December.

Firstly step in the tradition, is the buying of the decorations, streamers, baubles and lights. Of course, there is also a lot of holly to give the natural look. These are all liberally spread around the house to give a good Christmas feel. With this, one also needs to buy the tree, which usually takes pride of place in the lounge, adorned with crackers, tinsel, lights and little packets, usually of chocolate.

Most people gather all the presents around the base of the tree and in the two weeks coming up to Christmas Eve, this pile of multi-coloured presents grows almost daily. Of course, this is a test of temptation, especially for the children of the house and often a parent will catch one having a sneaky look during the night. The tension and expectation builds up through the month, with even adults hardly able to contain themselves sometimes.

Santa’s grottos start sprouting up in all of the shopping complexes and the air is filled with children’s noises. In the evening, the ritual of carol singers begin, some just a group of children wanting to make a few pounds for shopping, others more formal Church carol singers, some with bands. For the last two weeks before Christmas, everywhere you go comes the sounds of carols, accompanied with the sound of retail tills as present after present disappears from shop shelves.

The week before Christmas, the real reason for the celebrations begins to emerge, with Church services throughout the land. Christmas Eve sees all the Church doors open for midnight carol services. The tills are finally quiet and the air filled with joy and thanksgiving.

In some households, Dad usually dresses up as Santa and, once the children are asleep, creeps through the house with a stocking full of gifts for each of the children, leaving them at the foot of their beds. (Sometimes the adult children are included in this as well.)

Christmas morning starts with a flurry of present unwrapping activity and squeaks of joy as everyone discovers what they have been brought, then the kitchen becomes standing room only as a made cooking dash to get the Turkey dinner and Christmas pudding final preparations are made. Christmas dinner is accompanied with crackers being pulled and the participants wearing silly hats and telling even sillier “cracker” jokes. Then, after the 3:pm Queens speech has been watched, there is time for a couple of hours rest before the teatime marathon begins. This is a mix of sweet cakes, including the Christmas cakes, mince pies and a host of other goodies. Of alcohol is flowing most of the day as well.

The beauty of Christmas day is that it is the one occasion during the year when families in the main, get together and enjoy being with each other; when past differences are forgotten for a while at least.

We do try and remember our neighbours at Christmas, particularly those who might be on their own during this festive occasion and such people will often be asked to join with families during Christmas day.

the Brit

Christmas around the world 1

2006-12-03T10:38:00.000-08:00

How my family and I celebrate Christmas
By Megan - Australia

Christmas in Australia signals our longest school holiday of the year: Seven weeks of no fighting to pull childerbeast from their bed or homework fights of nuclear war magnitude. Instead, seven long weeks of Christmas sunshine.

Christmas in Australia lasts seven weeks for our lucky children. “Oh no,” I hear the mother’s cry. Seven weeks of Christmas sounds like hell on earth. Peace and goodwill to our fellow man is well and good, but the kids? I don’t think so. On the contrary, Australian kid Christmas is bliss. This year our bliss includes a two-week camping trip.

Our Christmas celebrations begin on December 2nd. We raise the tree, decorate the house and spend weeks cooking and making Christmas gifts for our extended family. We attend as many free pantomimes and Shopping Centre Christmas shows as we can. We swim, we picnic, we laugh and we have fun in the sun. We also together plot our hugely family oriented Christmas day at Grandma’s house.

Our tradition is to alternate Christmas between both family sides. Last year was his family, this year it is my family. The host of Christmas lunch generally falls to the most senior family member. Given both sets of parents are still living, we all trundle off to their homes on Christmas morning to prepare our shared family feast.

This Christmas heralds my married daughters first Christmas in her new house. We are breaking our own “senior abuse” tradition and my entire extended family will be converging upon my 24 year-old daughter’s abode for Christmas lunch.

We have split the food responsibility between the different families. Someone brings all the seafood, another all the red meat, another white meat, another dessert, another drinks, etc.

To extend our travel to my daughter’s home, we are taking the weeks either side of Christmas to camp out in the Australian bush. My son owns a piece of Australia, bordered by a crystal clear creek and shadowed by bush hugging mountains. It is off the beaten track, quiet and just waiting for us to set up the campfire and boil the billy. For five days we will camp on his block, return to my daughters for Christmas and then head off for another five-day camping trip in the opposite direction.

Such rebels we are, redesigning our Christmas tradition. As much as I am looking forward to it, I cannot shake the pull of convention. Christmas in Australia is very much a family affair. For the first time in my life I will not be at home preparing, stressing, caring for, and accommodating, those arriving from afar. Instead, I will be camping with two of my four children, having a ball, walking in the bush and experiencing a carefree Christmas period.
My daughter assures me that she wants it this way. She wants to create a new Christmas. She wants to make her mark as the Christmas guru of the family. She wants her extended family in her house. Married into a culture who celebrate Christmas differently to us, my daughter is establishing a novel Christmas behaviour: a bridge between the traditional and the contemporary. Who knows, this may just begin a new tradition: Christmas at the house with the most air conditioning.

CHRISTMAS IN BELGIUM

By Erik

Christmas is the celebrating of the birth of Jesus and the date of this event is 25th December. It is in fact an event of the Catholics but also other religions celebrate this event. In Belgium we have two Christmas Days, the 25th December, the original Christmas Day and first Christmas Day; the 26th December will be called the second Christmas Day.

A tradition of the Catholics is the Midnight Eucharist the day before Christmas but we see that this tradition become weaker the last years and more people go to the Eucharist on an earlier time 6p.m or 7p.m; or they go on Christmas Day.

Some usual Christmas signs are: the Christmas Star, the Christmas stable and of course the Christmas tree. All the families put many of their energy to find original Christmas decorations.

Very special are also the Christmas Markets, which are beginning in December. Very special is this one of Brussels. This year, the Christmas Market of Brussels is called the European Christmas Market of 2006 and will be hold from 2 December till the first of January on the place of St Catherina.. The Great Market of Brussels will be in atmosphere of light and magic with the traditional Christmas tree and a beautiful Christmas stable. You can have a look over more than 200 stalls from all over Europe to offer their traditional crafts, Jewellery, hand-made Christmas decorations and of course the Belgian Chocolate.If you want to walk around this Christmas Market it is a walk of about 3 km. Very special is the Big Wheel on the Marche aux Poisson.There is always the possibility of ice skating which offers fun for everyone. This year there will be a separate small skating ring for toddlers to enjoy this sport

Of course there are many other important Christmas Markets in Belgium. The Christmas Markets in Antwerp, Bruges, Gent, Ostend are surely a visit worth. Even the Christmas Markets in little towns like Lier, Mechelen and some others are nice but more commercial and in fact it is only a variety of stalls with some snacks and drinks and some other Christmas decorations.

A tradition of Christmas is of course Santa Claus. He brings presents for the whole family. In fact Santa Claus doesn’t exist but it is a belief for the children that he put some presents under the Christmas tree. In fact the parents buy presents for the children and put it there. But when they become older the tradition of giving presents is something that always stays. Children and parents buy presents for each other and it is always nice to receive some presents. Gifts are opened on Christmas Eve after a nice dinner with the family.

The problem is that we have 2 events in December with two persons who look almost the same: St. Nicholas and his Black Piets who give presents to the good children on the 6th of December and Santa Claus on Christmas. The name given on this person is “De kerstman” for the Dutch people and “Père Noël The time between the two events is so short and that gives some confusion for the children.

Christmas is an event that many people celebrate at home with an extensive Christmas Dinner but also a lot of families celebrate it in a restaurant. Popular dishes are chicken and turkey, something similar like the food served with Thanksgiving Day in America. And of course wine is the drink that can’t be missed on this special day.

Christmas is a nice time, even in a small country like Belgium, all the Christmas decorations, the beautiful Christmas Songs, the lights in the streets gives a warm atmosphere on this event.Enjoy it.

A TRADITIONAL ZAMBIAN BEER RECIPE FOR CHRISTMAS
By Jayne Scott

A local tradition in Zambia is the making of beer for any celebration. The beer is made from fermented maize and millet and is very alcoholic! This recipe comes by courtesy of James, my ever helpful house worker and friend.

The maize and millet are soaked in a bucket with water for three days until they start sprouting and fermenting. They are then hung in a sack overnight and spread in the sun to dry the following day. When dry, they are ground into a fine powder, added to maize meal and cooked into a fairly stiff porridge with added yeast. This mixture is then left covered for a further 24 hours to bubble and ferment. During this process it become like a thin gruel. Once again it is boiled and left to cool overnight, being now ready to drink. The beer develops a fairly bitter taste during the process and is extremely potent! Traditionally the process would be carried out in large homemade clay pots.

A children’s ‘cool drink’ version is made too! The process is similar, but the maize and millet are only soaked overnight and no yeast is added. The mixture is only boiled up once and retains its sweetness, apparently a great favourite with the children and completely non-alcoholic!

2006-12-01T14:37:00.000-08:00

WELCOME

It’s

Christmas month

Join us

Brit and Grit

And our friends world-wide

as we all take you around the globe to experience

CHRISTMAS

TRADITIONS

CHRISTMAS

WITH OUR FAMILIES

CHRISTMAS

RECEIPES

Starting this weekend

* * * * *

Winter in the UK

2006-11-27T11:34:00.000-08:00

Late November and we are at that time of year, the dawn of winter. As is usual in the UK, the sun has retreated several light years away from us, bring down temperatures to near fridge-like levels; the clouds have roused themselves from their summer softness, filled up to darkness with contaminated water and wandered across the world to rain it on my doorstep. In fact, some days the downfall is so heavy that one could tip shampoo on one’s head, stick it out the window and get a hair wash in seconds. If you walk to work with washing powder in your pocket the weather will wash clothes for you.

We are looking forward to those colder days when the dawn is greeted with those soft white coats of frost covering. Pretty as a postcard until you walk out of the front door and, not knowing that the rain has set in a sheet of ice, find yourself flying base over apex through the air to land in a heap in the front hedge.

Following this period of time, the snow will arrive, though doubtfully in time for Christmas. A time of snowball fights on blocked motorways; mobile orange and blue Christmas lights supplied courtesy of the many roadside assistance vehicles; train racing to nowhere at 70mph because of ice on the rails and Carol singing because she is stuck in a six foot snowdrift.

We know when winter is over because that is the time when the local authorities finally send out the snowploughs to clear non-existent drifts and the spring rains return again.

However nature provides relief from this with white grass blankets across ever garden, red-breasted Robins singing on the window sill; children’s laughter as they toboggan across the fields and carrot-nosed snowmen smiling at the world.

In winter every cloud has a silver (or should that be white) lining.

the brit

Winter!

2006-11-27T10:42:00.000-08:00

Ah yes, Winter. A glorious time of year that fills one's head with visions of snow covered vistas, icicles hanging from the roof's edge, and wonderful outdoor adventurous sports.

Snow skiing sounds like fun.

My personal preference would be tooling around on a snowmobile.

Of course, since we have a small lake on the farm, ice skating would fit in nicely.

However, as nature would have it, we don't get picture book winters. Snow covered ground is a rare and very temporary condition. We get this.

That's right, mud. Between short bouts of freezing temperature, we get lots of cold rain, which produces lots of cold mud. Oh, fun and joy.

Sometimes, we get rain even when the surface temperature is below freezing. That's called freezing rain and it produces a coating of ice on everything. Everything includes the power lines and trees, which snap from the extra weight. That produces power outages. One year, almost everyone for fifty miles in every direction was without electricity for up to a week.

Our winters suck.
the Grit

2006-11-23T05:48:00.000-08:00

Family

They say that you can choose your friends, but cannot choose your family, but would you want to? Family is one of the most unique relationships a person can have.

Parents raise you from the day you are born, protecting and nurturing, guiding and leading. Often, especially when times are difficult, even as we become adults, they seem to be still acting in the same manner, stretching out a helping hand to get us through whatever problem has arisen.

Similarly, there is no bond that can compare with the one that exists between brothers and sisters. In most cases they will be there if you need them. There is also an honesty in this relationship which does not often exist elsewhere. A sibling will let you know if you are being unreasonable or acting out of character.

Even in the extended family there is a specialness about the relationship. It is something that cannot be replicated.

Therefore, although there are times when we all could possibly explode at the actions of a family member, these are few and far between.

Family is family and that means love.

the brit

Family

2006-11-22T12:13:00.000-08:00

Who loves you no matter what you do?
Your family.

Who cheers you up when you're sad and blue?
Your family.

Who'll take you in when you need a place to sleep?
Your family.

Who'll loan you money when your credit's bad?
Your family.

Who'll help you turn your life around?
Your family.

Who'll stick with you through thick and thin?
Your family.

Who'll drive all night just to visit?
Your family.

Who never thinks your house is clean?
Your family.

Who argues during the holiday meal
Your family.

Who never likes the guest room bed?
Your family.

Who knows how what makes you most annoyed?
Your family.

Still, who's here for you in your time of need?
Your family.

Happy Thanksgiving,
the Grit

2006-11-18T10:42:00.000-08:00

Environmental Taxes - UK

Well the grit has started the rant, so here is a view from across the pond. In respect of the UK government the whole term "Evironmental Taxes" is a misnomer. These are some of these taxes that we have

Automobiles
1) The City of London issues a £5 congestion charge for anyone who drives into the centre. This is set to increase by a multiple of 5 (to £25.).
2) Another council is charging citizens £300 a year to park luxury (so called gas guzzler) cars outside their own homes. This is to reduce the motor impact on global warming. How to avoid the tax? Drive the car around???
3) The government is discussing charging 1.34 pence per mile to beat congestion and pollution.

Household Energy
1) Environment charges are being added to water bill at the same time that water providers are leaking millions of gallons of water a day.
2) Electricity and gas bills are to attract environmental taxes, whilst at the same time prices for energy saving products are going through the roof.
3) Rubbish removal is to attract over £100 in environmental taxes. Re-cyclying disposal will be included in this project. So not only do they want us to re-cycle, they now want us to pay for it.

Where is the money being sent?
The above measures are bringing in billions in revenue to the government's coffers. But where is this money going? The UK accounts show no separate entry for environmental measures. There is no improvement to the country's infrastructure that could be seen to be helping reduce global warming measures. We are not meeting the levels of reductions that we promised the European Community we would achieve.

There is no transparency at all in this situation, which is looking increasingly like a stealth tax under a hidden agenda and false name. Honesty and truth in these issues is important. If I want my children to leave on a cleaner planet and am prepared to pay for it, I do not want someone to turn round in a couple of decades and say, "Sorry dear chap." we actually had to spend the "environmental" tax that you gave us on new chairs for our politicians.

At the moment it appears that all we are doing is paying more and more in taxes, with absolutely nothing to show for it except a less full wallet.

the brit

Environmental Taxes

2006-11-18T09:30:00.000-08:00

Environmental Taxes, that's the topic today. I'm strongly in favor of this idea. After all the environmentalist crazies have managed to cost all us lots of money over the years, and they show no signs of changing their ways, so they should be taxed. Heavily.

Take for example the environmentalist movement against nuclear power. Yeah, that was bright. It's why gas cost me $2.20 a gallon last time I pumped some into my truck, and my utility bill makes my blood pressure go up when I read it. It's also why there were rolling brownouts in California in the recent past. For that matter, the death of the nuclear industry in the US is a major contributing factor leading to the invasion of Iraq.

Speaking of my truck, several hundred dollars of the original purchase price, and another big fist full of cash for repairs over the years is thanks to the environmental loons and the stupid anti-pollution gadgets they've managed to inflict on the public. Oh, and you people who used to have cushy jobs with the US automotive industry can give a big shout out to your eco freak buddies for putting you out of work.

While we're at it, everyone who drives or buys anything that was shipped by truck, can give the tree hugging fanatics a hearty handshake and a big kiss of appreciation for keeping fuel prices artificially high by preventing oil production, limiting the number of refineries, and for giving us boutique gasoline. You can ponder how many billion dollars that's cost while you're stuck in traffic because the new highway you could have been zipping down wasn't built because some rare mouse might have been inconvenienced.

Oh, and if you happen to be heading to the grocery store, you can say a silent "Thanks!" to the environmentalists for upping all the prices on agricultural products by placing restrictions on farming practices. Heck, at least 2% of the price is due to the banning of DDT. If you happen to be worrying about genetically modified foods while you squeeze the produce, some of the thanks for that goes to the eco warriors as well and the lack of DDT. Extra thanks is due to the eco idiots if you happen to live in a third world country where you've contracted malaria. Yes, your suffering and lingering death is also due to the lack of DDT.

There is much, much more to thank the environmentalist movement for, but it occurs to me that action speaks louder than words. Thus, I'll leave this by agreeing once more with environmental taxes, before heading out to find a tree hugger to thank in person. Now, where did I put my baseball bat ...

the Grit

2006-11-15T12:13:00.000-08:00

It is that time of year again in the UK. Harvest festival. Actually, despite the modern trend to link this activity with the Church and Christianity, the origin of this festival goes back further into history.

In olden days, way before the Christian faith got involved, farmers use to offer the first of the crops to their Gods, so that a successful crop would be safeguarded for the following year. Of course, it did not always work, but the idea was that if the Gods blessed the crop one stood a chance of making money next year.

It is only since 1843 (a few decades before I was born) that Harvest Festival has become a religious event. Now at this time of year, when all the harvest has been collected, Churches are filled to overflowing with vegetables, fruit and, of course, sheaves of wheat, corn and barley. To be fair to the Churches, once the ceremony is over these produce are distributed, normally to the elderly or needy.

The one thing about this festival is that everyone attending will be thankful for something. For the drinker, the oat, yeast, and barley are the core of their drink’s make-up. For the diet conscious, fruit and vegetables provide the core to their staple diet. For the vegetarians, without the harvest they would not be able survive, as all that would be left is meat. Even for the carnivores amongst us, without the colour and flavour of these crops we would be lost and our food bland and uninviting. However, unlike your countrymen Grit, we do not place much emphasis on the meat. Thus turkey is not a traditional part of the UK festival.

In reality, the main element we should be thankful for, bearing in mind the poverty that exists in this world, is that the harvest puts food on our table and, hopefully, provides for all of those in need in less fortunate parts of the world.

The brit

Thanksgiving

2006-11-15T07:59:00.000-08:00

My how time flies. It's almost turkey day again.

No, not that turkey; this turkey. The one that Ben Franklin thought should be the National Bird. Although, some people have been known to celebrate the holiday with this turkey.

Yes, I'm talking about Thanksgiving, which is the harvest holiday in the US. It's based on a bit of history from the early days of European settlement in the New World. The condensed version is that a group of British colonists were taught the tricks of farming appropriate to their new environment by a tribe of Indians (now known as Native Americans,) which kept the colonists from starving. As a way of saying thanks, the colonists through a big feast and invited the Indians. Everyone ate and drank too much and parted friends.

The modern holiday is celebrated in the same way. We invite family and friends to a huge meal where a turkey is the center of attention. Traditional side dishes include dressing, mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, various casseroles, rolls, and cranberry sauce. Desert is often a pumpkin or pecan pie.

After the feast, the tradition is for the men to gather in front of the TV to watch football where they soon fall asleep. Turkey, as luck would have it, contains a chemical called "tryptophan," which causes drowsiness. The designated task of the women is to put away the left overs and gossip about the men.

And left overs there will be in plenty. Even a small turkey weighs 8 pounds, dressed, and most tip the scales at over 10 pounds. It's not too difficult to find a 20+ pounder. Add to that the inherent desire to show off by having a huge bird on the table, and it's easy to understand the massive amount of uneaten fowl remaining at the end of the meal. This explains the large volume of literature devoted to various ways of using leftover turkey in the days following Thanksgiving.

Oh, regarding the how to process of cooking a turkey, I wrote this for Helium.com: http://www.helium.com/tm/83969/while-i-am-somewhat-hesitant-to-share-this-what-the-heck-i-consider-good-food-an-important-part-of-s

Enjoy the Holidays,
the Grit

2006-11-11T10:14:00.000-08:00

Many Reasons

Many thanks

the Brit & the Grit

2006-11-08T22:59:00.000-08:00

Transatlantic politics in Limbo

The US election has had a lot of coverage over here in the UK yesterday (8 November). To us it seems at the moment that our two countries are like ships without captains. Both leaders have been weakened by issues that have rendered them virtually powerless. In the US it is the Iraq war. In the UK it is Iraq and the simmering "cash for honours" issue.

Here, Iraq has not become as prominent as in the US yet, but all sides are pressing Blair for an inquiry. His majority in debates are being whittled away gradually. As if that is not enough, he is now hiding behind the solid door of Number 10, trying to avoid being dragged into a formal police investigation into cash being paid to his party in exchange for knighthoods. If Blair can't avoid this he will be the first PM in seventy years to be the subject of a criminal inquiry. Add to this the fact that Gordon Brown (possibly the next PM) is already involved in the fringes of the investigation, and suddenly government in the hands of Labour does not look safe over the next three years.

What does this mean to us? It means that our voice in Europe will be weakened as Labour takes its eye of the ball. Our independence and strong stand against the power of the EU commission, a body that is not elected by the general public. For the first time in our existance it feels as if the "Mother of all Parliaments" may be move inexorably towards its demise.

Research has already shown that a "European" defence force is not capable of the unity and purpose needed to protect and intervene in global issues effectively. Remember the alliances that saved Kuwait; that gave those in the Baltics hope; that has tried to save Iraq? It appears that they are no more.

the Brit

Our election, the world's problem.

2006-11-08T09:04:00.000-08:00

Our topic for today is the effect of the US elections outside our boundaries. I'm afraid it's a gloomy picture. At best, our Legislature will be deadlocked, and things won't change for the worse. Of course, in that case, another million or so illegal aliens will cross our border, our national debt will go up a few hundred billion dollars, we'll be two years closer to Social Security collapsing, and our energy problems will be even larger. Fortunately for the rest of the world, y'all will hardly notice. Unless something important comes up that can't get through our Congress, like assistance after another big natural disaster or new trade agreements.

Now, if the Democrats get their way, we're in big trouble. Ignoring all the social issues, liberal positions are not exactly friendly to business. As business goes, so our economy goes. So, if our economy crumbles, considering how connected things are today, almost everyone else is going down with us. Beyond the obvious problems this will cause - unemployment, lower standards of living, civil unrest - several countries, currently hovering on the edge of stability, might fall off the brink into civil war. China, for instance, is really only stable because of support from its growing middle class. Any major disruption of trade with the US will hit that happy group right in the face. For that matter, the governments of several the Middle Eastern countries are only in power because they share the oil wealth. A bad world economy will seriously slash the money flow, making them easy targets for revolutions. From Europe's perspective, that would be bad, very bad.

Speaking of the Middle East, the Democrats don't really want to fool with that part of the world. It's too messy politically, they don't care all that much for Israel, and, as a general principle, they hate spending money on our military. Thus, if funding for US military operations in that area get blocked, someone will have to take up the slack. Since it's doubtful that Russia or China will send troops, the burden falls to the EU. By the way, besides the danger of getting shot, maintaining a large well equipped military is quite expensive; so get your checkbooks ready.

OK, most of that isn't all that likely. Hopefully. However, there is one thing the new Speaker of the House (probably Pelosi) has promised to do, investigate. Actually, it was more like investigate, investigate, investigate. They have plans to look into everything from various business leaders, assorted large companies, everything every Republican has done for the last 12 years, the War on Terror, all the way to the War in Iraq (which they don't include in the general fight against Muslim extremists.) All of this will conclude to an effort to impeach President Bush. Naturally, this won't pass the Senate, needing a two third vote. It will, however, tie up our Government for the next two years. So, for the rest of the world, don't count on us for anything. We're busy.

the Grit

2006-11-04T14:41:00.000-08:00

Election UK style

Unlike your homeland Grit, the UK election system, and its political make-up are strange phenomena.

According to your CIA website (Don’t they just get everywhere), we are a constitutional monarchy. That suggests that our Queen has a say in the running the country. However, in reality, the Monarch has no power at all. In addition, unlike the position that George Bush holds, we have no chance of becoming a Queen, or King for that matter, unless one of our parents has bedded a direct Royal descendent (Prince Charles is the favourite). Oh and they had to have done this around nine months before you were born. Step King or Queen is not allowed.

Below that Royal tier, we have the main government, which is split into two houses. The house of Lord’s does not allow itself to be voted on by us mere peasants, so elections are limited to the “old boy” network or by government gift (if you pay them enough that is). If you are a Lady or Lord, you are there for life. There are rumours that some have stayed in place for several months after their demise, but this has not been proven.

It is in the House of Commons and below where public voting decides who rule us. The only set term for a government is that they cannot exceed five years in power. Most parties start playing around with the date after about two and a half years. For example, the Labour party has had two elections since it came to power in 1997, the last one in 2006.

We do have local elections similar to the ones you are about to have, but ours are every year. The main difference is that the people we vote for at that time do not get to serve in the main government, just on local councils. Thus, the crazy part is that we could have all of our councils run by the Conservatives, whilst the government is Labour. Most of the time, these elections are less about what you want to happen in your local area and more related to kicking the ruling government in the pants. Not that it makes a lot of difference, because at the moment Tony Blair thinks he is a dictator, so he acts like one with little regard being paid to the public he is supposed to serve.

Compared to the US our way of voting for the general election is rather primitive. We still in most places have a box that we walk into and have to indicate our preference by hand. We obviously cannot be trusted with computers. Due to the massive cut backs in education the government is of the opinion that the majority of the population can’t write; therefore we all have to put a cross to indicate our choice.

Our voting system is also a bit of a lottery (or should that be mockery?). For example, last time Labour, with 35.2% of the votes won 55% of the seats in parliament. The Conservatives, who had 32.3% of the votes, only got 30% of the seats. We also allow a range of parties to stand for election. These have included the Liberal Democrats, the Raving Looney party and the independents, who will stand for anything they want at the time.

Still there is always the future to look forward to. Our government keeps giving away power to individual parts of the country. It started with Ireland, Scotland, Wales, but other places such as Cornwall now want that sort of independence. At this rate, in a few years, I will soon be able to become Prime Minister of my street and my family will be cabinet ministers.

And so the life of one of the world’s oldest democracy runs on.

The Brit

Election 2006, US

2006-11-04T11:54:00.000-08:00

It's election week in the United States of America! As I recall, the Brit said something about elections over there sometime soon. Who cares? Not our news media; that's for sure. That being said, I'm too caught up in ours to worry about what other countries are doing at the moment.

As you may or may not know, we have two legislative branches, the Senate - with six year terms, and the House of Representatives - with two year terms. This means that every two years, all of the Representatives and one third of the Senators are up for a vote. Since, effectively, we only have two political parties, control of the law making function can change hands in any election. Exciting stuff, even in normal times, and even more of a rush now that the country is so divided on so many important issues. Shucks, even some dead people are fired up enough to vote, but more on that later.

Modern voting machine

Dreaded hanging chad

First, let's talk about how we vote, as in the physical casting of ballots. I'm almost certain that everyone in the world knows about the Bush v Gore election and the hanging chads. Well, after that the Federal Government handed out baskets full of cash all over the country to update voting machines. Guess what, there are still chads hanging around polling places all over. Which is strange, considering that Shelby County (where I live and which includes the city of Memphis) had touch screen voting machines before the word "chad" was commonly known. Now, this area is not the wealthiest part of the US. As a matter of fact, we're down on the bottom half of that list. We have the latest voting technology. Places in Florida, many near the top of the wealthy list, are still going to use punch card ballots this week, even after vast flows of Federal dollars. Strange, but I guess someone has to keep the lawyers employed.

Speaking of lawyers, there are going to be roving gangs of them patrolling every polling place in the country. Not just to sue the hanging chads off reluctant ballots, but to protect everyone's right to vote. Dead, minority, handy capped, non-English speaking, illiterate, illegal alien, space alien, felon, comatose, or incontinent, every vote will be cast and counted or poll workers will spend the time until the next election in court. Oh, and the dead do rise, not on Halloween, but on election day. There are several districts (voting areas) that have more people on the voting roll than live there. Some investigative reporting has shown the cause of this to be corpses, still registered and voting.

Don't worry, more excitement awaits. Take for instance the race for an open Senate seat in my home state of Tennessee.
This man, Bob Corker,

is running against this man, Harold Ford,

because this man, Bill Frist,
kept his campaign promise to only serve two terms.

The Republican Party ran a TV spot in support of Corker. You can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWkrwENN5CQ&eurl Personally, I thought the ad was well done and entertaining, as it took some shots at Ford's political record. However, it did contain mention by this character, saying she met Ford at a Playboy party. The ad ends with her making the phone sign and saying "call me." The Democratic Party, through various members, and our rather liberal national news media, had fits trying to decry this ad as raciest, because it implies a black man may be dating a white woman. Of course, in all other recorded instances of party platform and personal opinion of Democrats, inter-racial dating is supposed to be absolutely OK.

Oh, there's more, much more. Far too much for this post. And, it's not over yet. The voting doesn't take place until Tuesday, leaving plenty of time for last minute dirty tricks, sudden revelations about the past of various candidates, and, with luck, perhaps even a fist fight or two between candidates. Good times, good times. And I get to enjoy it all, because I've already cast my ballot. Our state has a law permitting early voting two weeks prior to the elections. I picked a rainy, cool morning and, even though one of the poll workers said I looked dead, had my votes cast within 15 minutes. Unfortunately it was done on a touch screen, so I couldn't get a souvenir chad.

the Grit

2006-11-01T07:12:00.000-08:00

OK, I admit I'm jealous. Don't get me wrong; we have some great holidays in the US. The Fourth of July can be pretty spectacular, even though you can't touch off your own fireworks around here. Heck, what with all the terrorist fighting, it's a risk to make our own fireworks anymore.

This Guy Fawkes Day sounds much better. I do love a good bonfire. You don't get those over here, except on the beach and at pre-game pep rallies. That means I don't get them at all. Sure, I've got a grill and a fireplace, but that's not as thrilling as the big flames of a bonfire. I suppose I could build my own, but that's a lot of work for one person. Besides, there's probably a permit needed these over regulated days.

Beyond the lovely fires, the idea of burning effigies sounds like fun. Dragging a dummy Pope through the streets and flinging it into the flames, probably won't go over here, and I have strong suspicions no one knows who Guy Fawkes was. So, when I write my Government representatives about adopting this holiday in the States, I'm going to change a few things.

Of course, we'll keep the bonfires. That's a given. Although, in some of our drier regions, they may have to be contained. Also, in our more liberal areas, clean burning hydrogen may have to be substituted for wood. Since November fifth is so close to our elections, we can us effigies of political candidates instead of Guy and the Pope. Not only would this be more popular, but more people might even learn who's running for office. It could even be a boost to our economy.
Really, who's going to want a homemade Hillary effigies, if you can buy a well made commercial dummy? Maybe even one with a speaker thing so it says quotes from the politician's speeches? This being America, walking around dragging a dummy, probably isn't going to cut it. So, we'll drag ours around in the back of pickup trucks or convertibles.

While my version may be more expensive, the cost could be covered by selling advertising. There's lots of space on a truck to stick on signs; just look at NASCAR. And what company wouldn't want to be associated with the symbolic immolation of a politician who stuck it to them with some stupid law? Oh, and don't forget all the special interest groups. Most of them will probably be happy to kick in a few bucks to sponsor the combustion of the right candidate.

That just leaves picking a name. Obviously, we'll have to call it something besides Guy Fawkes Day. Cremate a Civil Servant Day is too long. Thanksgiving is already taken. Well, I'm stuck. Any ideas?

the Grit

2006-11-01T05:46:00.000-08:00

Tuesday 5 November 1605 was probably a cold crisp winter morning. It was still dark when Guido (Guy) Fawkes woke. However, he had a task to perform that, if successful, could change the face of democracy in the United Kingdom forever. Hurriedly he dressed and left his house, hurrying through the still sleeping streets of capital.

Six am found him scurrying around the basements of the Houses of Parliament, setting explosives. High above the clock of Big Ben ticked relentlessly on, moving time on towards one of the most momentous events in our history.

Guy was in haste; the King was due to attend at the house that morning. If he had his way, by midday the monarchy and government would be reduced to ashes; the Scots would ride triumphant into London.

The excitement made him nervous, every sound or light could betray his motives, so he worked on his task in near darkness, pausing every few minutes to listen for intrusions. It was as he was completing his task that Guy turned and found himself staring down the wrong end of a musket. He had been betrayed and the King’s men had found him. Overpowered with ease, the plot was foiled and Guy was tortured to reveal the name of co-conspirators, tried, hanged drawn and quartered, his body dragged through the streets of the city to the cheers of the gentlefolk. One wonders sometimes whether the same joyous reaction would be the case in modern times.

On Sunday evening in homes and open spaces throughout the United Kingdom, the 202nd anniversary of the “gunpowder plot,” the skies over the UK will be lit with a multitude of colourful fireworks in celebration of this historical occasion. Children and families will laugh and shriek with joys as a cacophony of sound fills the air. Millions of bonfires will be lit, upon which will be burned effigies of the man who nearly changed the face of English politics for good. Some of the more satirical of people have taken to turn the modern bonfire effigies into modern politicians. (No wonder Tony is getting out of the “Hot” seat.)

Ironically, if Gordon Brown (a Scotsman) succeeds Tony Blair, Guy’s intentions will have been fulfilled by methods that are more peaceful.

2006-10-28T12:27:00.000-07:00

Man about the house

We decided this time to concentrate on a man’s use around the house, though in my case you will not be thinking Super-Paul by end of this article. I look at the qualities of Super-Bob and think, whatever happened to this UK male?

Not that I am totally useless. I am good at cleaning and tidying up. The two qualities I really excel at are shopping and understanding instructions. With shopping I always have the right change ready for the checkout person before they ring the items through. Such is my number crunching ability that it automatically tally’s in my head. Similarly, I only have to read instructions once to have an understanding of them. However, it is at this stage that I begin to fail.

My cooking skills are reasonable, save for including treble the prescribed amount of baking powder in cakes. My gardening skills excellent for visitors who appreciate a colourful array of weeds. (How was I to know?) My washing skills are unique in creating a not appreciated multi-coloured wardrobe.

At DIY, I am a nightmare. My CV in this area includes the replacement of a door. The replacement was so large that I had to knock half of the wall away to rebuild the enlarged doorframe. It actually never occurred to me to exchange the door for a smaller size. Another task was to place a cabinet on the bathroom wall. Hitting my thumb instead of the nail resulted in me dropping the cabinet, which broke the cold water pipe, showering my partner (who was bathing at the time) with cold water.

However the crowning event was when I was asked to cut a net curtain rail for a window in the hallway. With there being no even surface I decided to sit on the stairs and use my knee as a bench. It was not until a small river of blood began to run down the stairs (and didn’t I get into trouble for that!) that the error occurred to me. At the point where my partner said “I can see your bone,” I left the conscious world only to be woken by the pain of a nurse sewing the limb on again.

Thus it can be seen that I may not make the ideal addition to a household. However, I do have some uses….. honest.

The Brit

2006-10-28T06:16:00.000-07:00

Another day, another post. Someone left a comment, notice I'm not naming names here, wanting to see my truck's butt. Who am I to deny the simple pleasures of life to a fellow web surfer?

Now, down to business, which is really the Brit's area of expertize, but I at least try to hold up my end of the blog. Today's topic is men at home. I would guess that means, what it's like to work at home. Of course, in my case it means working at home, around the home, and, far too often, on the home.

To give a brief background on how I arrived at this situation, I'll start near the middle of the story, which is the pertinent part. A few years back, while I was in between jobs, the thought crossed my mind that writing things people can read would be more fun than writing stuff for consumption by computers. Working out the finances, it turned out that after taxes on my part of the family income, and if I did most of the things we paid other people to do so my wife and I could both work, it was a break even deal. So I became ...

Super Bob! At any moment in time I could shift identities and be: Chauffeur Bob, Janitor Bob, Handyman Bob, House Keeper Bob, Chef Bob (the one I'm best at,) Exterminator Bob, Shopper Bob, Lawn Care Bob, Errand Boy Bob, Auto-mechanic Bob, Interior Decorator Bob, and, last but far from least, Pet Care Bob. At least we didn't have a swimming pool. However, even though I had heard from women all my life just how difficult this multiple personality role is, through some joke by the Powers That Be, as it turns out, I'm good at it. I kept a reasonably clean house, a tidy lawn, dropped our food bill by half while improving the quality of our diet considerably, shepherded our son from seventh grade through high school, and still found time to write a big stack of short stories and a novel.

Life was good. Then a sudden death in the family left the farm down the road without a farmer, and the big old plantation house without a caretaker. In an ultra-secret, confidential, closed door meeting of all the important family members, to which my invitation arrived a day late, it was decided by unanimous vote that I would be promoted to farmer, in addition to my other duties.

What was not mentioned up front was that in addition to Farmer Bob, I now had to be Lumberjack Bob, Tractor Mechanic Bob, Tour Guide Bob (the old part of the house is very historic,) Game Warden Bob and Sheriff Bob (people keep sneaking onto our property to hunt and / or go off roading without permission,) and Caterer Bob (now that we have room, we throw some big parties.)

It took a year or four to get the hang of the extra powers, but they're under control now, for the most part. Thus, while I spent a couple of hours before dawn catching up on email and reading some blogs, did the shopping for the weekend meals, scrubbed the bath, kitchen, and living room in anticipation of my son's visit this evening (along with his future wife,) shopped for an elderly friend of the family who is just recovered from a broken hip, stacked some more firewood on the porch, and played care taker and referee to these monsters (and the three cats not shown), I still found time to get this post ready.

So, you can call me Bob, you can call me Farmer Bob, or you can call me Super Bob - the Wise, Lord and Master of My Domain and Domestic Duties and Pets, He Who (after cooking the evening meal, serving, stuffing the dirty dishes in the washer, all the while making small talk to entertain His guests) Shall Drink Heavily and Relax!

the Grit

2006-10-25T08:10:00.000-07:00

Halloweeeeeeen is coming!

About two thousand five hundred years ago (a little before my time), on the last day of October, all the disembodied spirits of the dead would rise up from the afterlife and seek out living bodies that they could possess. Of course, the Celtic people from the UK soon got wise to the annual event. They decided that the best way to protect themselves was to dress up in scary and ghoulish costumes, wait behind the tombstones, and jump out when the spirits came, scaring the living daylights (or should that be dying nightlights) out of them. The ceremony has continued to this day.

Traditionally, we have children roaming the streets in ghostly attire, yelling “trick or treat” at anyone who they could find. If not happily satisfied with the odd coin or handful of sweets there was certainly a trick in store, but it was all in good fun. Farmers danced happily danced in their fields as the sale of pumpkins soared, even though most of them were to be transformed into scary orange heads, with flickering candles bringing them to life, and placed in the window to scare the “treaters” away. Even the cooking for the day was made to resemble the kind of food that ghouls would feast upon, and houses transformed into afterlife caves.

Of course, the fun bit when one was older came last thing on that night, just before the clock struck twelve. I would slip into bed beside my partner and roll towards her, only to find myself confronted with a scary mask (at least I think it was a mask!).

Alas, although the custom continues here, the pleasure has been somewhat dimmed for children of today, because of the dangers that young children face in this modern world. Why can’t the world allow children the freedom of childhood to enjoy these adventures the way we did Grit?

The Brit

2006-10-25T05:58:00.000-07:00

BOO!

Guess what we're writing about now ;)

Halloween, the lost holiday of my youth. Ah, the giant bags of candy that found their way into my childish fingers. Armed with nothing more than a paper sack, a cheap costume, a few aging eggs, a bar of soap, and some shaving cream, one could run wild for one glorious night looting and pillaging. Even in the small town where I grew up, it was a simple matter to extort enough sweet treasure from the cowering residents to stay sick from sugar abuse for days.

Then some *&*^&% started putting razor blades in apples. As if one sick individual wasn't bad enough, there were so many others that considered maiming children a fun hobby, that we've lost Halloween. Sure, it's still marked on the calender, and Big Candy still uses it as a marketing tool, but the spirit is gone. In these modern times, it's all safety coated and sanitized for your protection. There's no edge, no adventure, no fun. Parents can't stand on the corner and chat while their progeny hit up a block. Now they have to tag along to every single house, and then they have to inspect your loot!

Of course, that's also the reason the offerings are so poor. With your parents watching over your shoulder, how can you and the horde get the message across to the health Nazis who hand out tiny boxes of raisins instead of huge chocolate bars? Face it, adult supervision tends to cut down on your chances of egging this type of spoil sport into understanding the true meaning of Halloween. Trick or treat. That battle cry held power in my day. Now, it translates as , "Treat please." Our children have been reduced from conquering warriors, to trembling beggars, and it breaks my heart.

the Grit

2006-10-22T05:13:00.000-07:00

Next on the hit parade is to rag about health care. Sorry Brit, but I don't really have any complaints. I know, everyone is supposed to have some pet peeve about HMO's or some Big Evil Drug Company, but I really don't. Not that I am complaining about not having any complaints, at least I don't think I am?

So let us delve into this a bit deeper. I've heard much over the past few years about how great the socialized health care system of our Northern neighbors is. Actually, my wife and I spent a couple of years in Canada, and the health care was, for us, great. Of course, that was because we didn't get sick and weren't making much money. Considering the waiting time for any advanced service in The Great White North - like MRIs, surgery, chemo therapy, transplants, and the like - if we had needed any of this, we would have been back home in the States before we got them. If we had been making even a modest amount of money, we would have paid for those services through the exorbitant tax rate, for who ever was lucky enough to be at the top of the list.

Here, in the good old US of A, instead of letting the government have control of this complicated, and very personal, process, we figure most people can do better making their own decisions. Of course, this leaves the poor and stupid in a bad spot, as proponents of Big Brother Health Care are quick to point out, although not in those exact terms. To which I say, all the more reason not to be poor and/or stupid.

Allow me to phrase this in personal terms. My wife and I are not wealthy, in monetary terms anyway. Still, we manage to pay for our health insurance, an HMO plan by the way. I will admit that it's not cheep, costing roughly what the payments on a new car would. This is why we are driving older vehicles, like my truck shown here. Of course, I know people who don't have health insurance and bitch about why the government isn't doing anything to help, but who are driving fancy new cars. While they are obviously not poor, I believe I mentioned stupid? This is because they have, not only made a stupid choice of where to spend their money, but also because they haven't thought about what it would cost them, personally, to have government provided health care.

Really people, who do you honestly think is going to give you the best service for your medical dollar, your doctor or the Government? Last time I visited my doctor, I arrived ten minutes early (traffic was better than I expected) and had to wait five minutes to get into the examination room. There I was seen by a nurse immediately, to take a blood sample and my blood pressure. The Doc came by in another ten minutes, checked me out, and spent several minutes advising me about what I needed to do to improve my general health. We even took time to exchange family gossip and a joke or two. My last dealing with the Government was to renew my driver's license. Picking an off day of the week, at a time most people are working (one of the benefits of farming), I spent 20 minutes standing in line to find out which line I needed to stand in for several hours to have my picture taken.

While my experience with the Department of Motor Vehicles is what people in the US who either can't, or won't, afford medical insurance face if they get sick and have to seek treatment at an Emergency Room, I see absolutely no reason to inflict it on the rest of us.

the Grit

2006-10-22T01:31:00.000-07:00

National Health Service

How about this free National Health Service Grit? In the early 1900’s the Labour (Socialist) party introduced a National Health Service with the premise that healthcare should be freely available to all, regardless of social class, creed or ethnic origin. This idea worked reasonably well for decades, despite attempts by consecutive governments to erode this ethos.

One would have thought that, when Labour returned to power in 1997, they would work to restore the NHS back to its founding principles. No, in their wisdom they decided that it should be run along the lines of a private business. So they formed each area and hospital into trusts, gave them independence of management and annual budgets, and said “there we are people, now make it work.” The result was an immediate increase in the “Chief to Indian’s” ratio and a statistical analysis of the cost of every operation and procedure. For example if, like in my case a few years ago, one needed stitches for a serious leg wound, that would cost X amount, a cold would cost Y and a heart transplant Z plus seven. Of course, all these calculations were budgeted based on averages.

Thus, they claimed to have the perfect system (you know I always worry when someone uses the word perfect in connection with financial systems). What happened? Well from year one over ninety percent of these trusts started to record significant deficits, and so it has continued. Their reaction of course has been to take the business approach and close loss making facilities. Hospital beds and wards started disappearing and services reduced.

I have worked it out that, had I sustained my leg injury today, I would only have been allocated 11 of the 16 stitches that were required. No doubt, the remaining part of the wound could be adequately dealt with by the use of parcel tape.

As expected, the government have taken a rational approach to addressing these deficits. They have reacted by reducing the amount of funds allocated (one hospital’s budget has been reduced by £15 million).

Oh Whoopee! Now you not only have to queue on a waiting list for hospital attention, you have to queue to get onto the queue that is waiting to get onto the waiting list. Perhaps this explains why the UK NHS is the envy of the world’s health services???

The Brit

2006-10-20T14:19:00.000-07:00

Next up for discussion is royalty, as in people who are. Since we don't have any actual royals over here, I've had to expand the subject to include, "and people who get treated like." That would be our ever growing group of celebrities. These days the American public is so desperate for people to fawn over, that anyone who is, or has been, involved in any facet of the entertainment industry is treated like a born noble.

They get all sorts of perks ranging from not needing reservations at restaurants to not getting beaten by the police. That last bit comes from the recent arrest of rapper 50 Cent. There are so many things about this story that prove my point that I feel compelled to go into detail.

Let's start with some background on rap. This is a musical form in which the vocalist talks instead of sings, and which often uses a turn table as an instrument. As best I can tell, it is a spin off of square dancing, although, in the performances I've glimpsed, the groups haven't gotten the dancing part down yet.

Back to Mr. Cent and his brush with the law. It appears that, while out for a ride in his silver Lamborghini, he violated a traffic law and was pulled over by New York's finest. As it turns out (as I recall from the press reports), he had no driver's license, no proof of insurance, and no proof that he owned the car. At this point, if I had been behind the wheel, the cops would have beaten me unconscious, thrown me in jail, and impounded the car. Of course, the only way I would be driving a Lamborghini is if I had stolen it, so this reaction would be justified. However, Mr. Cent was allowed to call someone who brought proof of ownership and drove 50 away.

Other things in this affair reek of royalty. How can someone who can't afford more than half a dollar for a name, come up with over $100,000 for a car? Why can't he afford car insurance? For that matter, why would anyone want an automobile with a top speed of better than 150 MPH in New York where, I've heard, the average speed of traffic is given in negative numbers?

One example doesn't prove my point, I suspect you're thinking. Then how about this woman? She just adopted an infant from some country in Africa. If there isn't a royalty factor at work, then explain how someone who dresses like that in public was allowed anywhere near a child, let alone given custody of said toddler. The woman doesn't even have two names! What's the child going to be called? Personally, I think that you should at least be able to provide a last name for your adopted child, and no one who wasn't expecting the royal treatment would even dare apply.

Allow me to close this out by dropping two other bits of evidence that don't even need explanation: O.J. Simpson, Michael Jackson.

the Grit

2006-10-20T12:43:00.000-07:00

Royalty in the UK

The Royal family in the UK have no real power, although the government pays lip services to its historical role as titular head of the democracy. In today’s world, our Royalty is considered to of more value as a brand image, that being the public image of UK plc

However, the Queen and her family hold a unique position in the hearts and minds of the public. Whether we support them or not, there must be something in our genes that makes Royalty an integral part of our lives, despite the criticism and difficulties that have surrounded them in the past decade or so. Of course, they are the subject of a lot of debate between those who support the institution and those who oppose it. But proponents from both side acknowledge that if the Royal family were to cease to exist, it would somehow leave a void in our lives that could not be replaced.

They are human, although often this is not acknowledged. We do tend to treat the Royal family as the only inmates of a human zoo at times, which cannot be easy for them. Mind you, I get the impression that they probably are thinking that they have the last laugh. I can see the Queen saying, “You humble citizens may ridicule our actions sometimes, but who has the wealth and acclaim?”

Of course, there have been moves by the media to elevate celebrities to royalty status. One thinks particularly of the Beckham’s, David (the ex-English national Football team captain) and Victoria, nicknaming their house “Beckingham Palace.” But can you imagine a royal family where the king is tattooed to resemble a world map, and the queen has had boob enhancements?

I am sure that even Tony Blair, with his yearning for Presidential status, would like to be considered as an icon equivalent to the Royals, but somehow the crown just doesn’t quite fit, does it?

Others may aspire to Royal status, but none are able to even come close to emulating this unique institution.

The Brit

2006-10-17T13:03:00.000-07:00

Well, since so many others are writing about Helium.com, the Brit and I figured this would be a good time to show off. I joined Helium in February, as Farmer Bob. Saying I've been an active member wouldn't be too great an exaggeration. Possibly, even too active if you're Jim Logan, Sr. Community Advocate. That means he has to read all the posts on the Helium Discussion Board, answer all our questions, keep track of all the requested software changes, and put up with our bad jokes. You should note that he is the Senior Advocate. Helium has at least three. That's the kind of site it is; the Community is so involved that it takes three people to keep up. While it might seem like a good business decision to just tell everyone to pipe down, they're too nice to do that. Everyone at Helium HQ either got their job because they are a pleasant person, or they like their job so much it makes them a pleasant person. Whichever, it's a great group of people.

That's not the only thing special about Helium. There's all the stuff about peer rating and knowledge bases and, well it's on their about page so read it at: http://www.helium.com/whatis/whatis However, that's not what I like about it. Helium is fun. It's fun to write short articles about things I happen to know about. Uninterrupted blocks of time to write longer pieces are hard to find, so writing on Helium fits my lifestyle perfectly. It's also fun to get paid for it ;) Besides, I like numbers and statistics, so watching the ranking of articles change is fun. It's a nice morning treat to see what's changed overnight.

Things happen a lot at night on Helium. That's the other fun thing I need to mention. There are members all over the world. Heck, the Brit is in Brittan, as you may have noticed. Besides him, I've made efriends in England, India, Pakistan, Germany, Zambia, Taiwan, Denmark, Scotland, Italy, and California (which I count as a foreign country :)

Which brings us to what is great about Helium.com; it's not just a web site, it's an experience. See for yourself: http://www.helium.com/

the Grit

2006-10-17T13:02:00.000-07:00

During chats with Grit, Helium often comes up, which is not surprising since that is where we met. Lately, we noticed people have been posting comments about the site, so we agreed it was time for us to throw in our comments, direct from the horse’s mouth so to speak.

Like Grit, I have been a member of Helium a year or so. However, it took me longer than him to become active in the discussion boards (but then, being a farmer he has the better equipment to be able to plough through things). Now get involved daily.

With Helium, you can write on a whole range of subjects, or get to know other peoples views. You also find out how cultures and customs differ in other parts of the world, which is a great bonus. Then there is the rating feedback on what others think of your words.

However, the most fun and enjoyment is found in the discussion boards. Like Grit, I have made friends with people from other lands and, of course, this blog and friendship developed from there as well (we think is a great bonus, says he blowing our respective trumpets) What I really like about this community is that we can discuss things openly and there is always respect for other views, even when we disagree. The humour is incredible and global as well.

Another unusual aspect is how the boys and girls at Helium react. They join in the fun and really make everyone feel at home. Not only that, they actually encourage us to get involved with the development of the site, ask us to tell us where it works or does not, what we would like to see, and ask for our ideas. What Jim and the others learnt very quickly is that “we aren’t backwards in coming forwards.”

It takes a real strong and likeable bunch of people to take a product that they think is great, stick it on a platform and say to several thousand people “this is the result of our efforts, what do you think?” and then get into calm discussion with us all. Jim Logan should be running for a government post, such is the diplomacy he possesses.

It really is a great way to spend time, and I enjoy being the resident night owl. (But, unlike the bird, I have yet to master the art of rotating my head 3600)

2006-10-14T12:47:00.000-07:00

Hello folks

Well we are up and running. The Brit and Grit wagon rolls. As Grit says, this week we are delving into politics, hence the picture of our Prime Minister and sidekick, and you can be forgiven for wondering which one is which.

Over the past month or so, instead of getting on with the job of governing the country, our Labour party has spent most of it’s time arguing about when Blair should resign. This led to MP’s then starting
to bitch amongst themselves about who should take over.

Most thought that the automatic choice would be George Brown, but now it is not so clear. Publicly, Blair and Brown are trying to appear supportive of each other, but in private, the knives are out. Brown is annoyed because apparently, when Labour first came to power, back in 1997, there was an agreement reached between him and Blair. The crux of the agreement was that Brown would allow Blair to become Prime Minister as long as he agreed to step down after a certain number of years and let Brown take over.

Whatever happened to the public vote? In the old days, which I can still remember, the Prime Minister was effectively voted for by the public, and this is how it should be. Now they have decided that it is too important an issue to be passed over to us mere mortals for a decision. I can imagine how Grit would react if George Bush was to turn round and say that he has decided to hand over the presidency to someone else, and by the way there will not be a vote.

What is worse of course is that, whilst all this infighting is going on, no one is keeping their eye on the ball in terms of running the country. George Brown is already in trouble with the IMF for overspending (and he wants to be PM?). In addition, there is talk about key parts of our National Health being sold to overseas operators to try to counteract the huge losses it is making.

We are one of the highest taxed countries in the world. Our highest rate of Income Tax is 40%. On top of this we have to pay a national insurance contribution which, when you add the employers contribution, comes to around 18% and, if that is not enough, we have to pay Value Added Tax (I think you would call that Sales tax) of 17.5% on virtually everything we buy.

So where is all this money going Mr Blair or Mr Brown, or whoever else currently has the keys to number ten?

Ah, I think I have discovered part of the answer – at least I know where £250,000 ($480,000) of it has gone. They have given it to scientists for research, and guess what they have come up with? ….

Cows' breaking wind and burping is contributing to global warming problems, says an expert.

It has been discovered that one cow emits sufficient methane gases from various orifices to fill four hundred litre bottles. The expert said that this was bad for the environment and, apparently, the gas rises into the sky and enlarges to the hole in the ozone layer. He says that the government needs to address this problem… Methinks they are too busy emitting their own gases to notice.

The Brit

2006-10-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

Hello again. As promised, there is the other side of my house.

And now, down to business. We've chosen as this week's subject, politics. It's a dangerous subject, I know, but neither the Brit nor I can afford the air fare needed to get into a physical confrontation. Besides, I suspect that the overlap in politics between the US and Brittan is slight. However, just to be safe, I've changed my part of this to talking about politicians and why I don't trust them.

The main reason for my feeling of distrust is their constant use of sneaky language. I suspect that the root cause of this behavior stems from most of them being lawyers. That fact does little to bolster my confidence in the good faith and truthfulness of anything that comes out of their collective mouth.

What set me to thinking about this was a news item, "Budget deficit shrinks." That was a cheerful bit of information, until I got to the details. It turns out that the real news was, "US Government spends $250,000,000,000 that we don't have." The shrinking part came, not from finding some extra money stashed in Washington somewhere, but only from comparing the amount they are going to borrow to the amount they were thinking about borrowing. That, by the way, was an additional 250 billion dollars.

The information in this sneaky story came from the Congressional Budget Office, which seems reasonable. Until you go to their web site. It's not an office, it's a whole floor of offices with over 200 employees. Beyond that, they don't just do budget stuff. The two publications they're touting are, "Alternatives for Future U.S. Space Launch Capabilities" and "Recruiting, Retention, and Future Levels of Military Personnel."

Of course, many of the other Government agencies have sneaky names as well. I fail to recall the Department of Transportation ever giving me a ride, or the Department of Housing and Urban Development ever painting my house.

It's not just the department names that are sneaky. They do it with laws too. Take COBRA for example. That stands for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. Actually, it's a law to let people keep their existing health insurance from one job (at full price) for a period of time after their employment is terminated. Or, how about the Earned Income Tax Credit? This is a good one. Sounds like just another thing you can write off on your tax form, doesn't it? Oh no. It's a refund to low income people of taxes they didn't pay!

The best example is SSI, Social Security Insurance. I've been paying this for years, and never needed to file a claim until a few days ago. We were at a party, and I had a little too much to drink, and, apparently, according to my wife, I may have said and done a few socially unacceptable things. Later, I was thinking that we weren't going to get any free food from those people again. Then, I remembered, I have insurance for that! So I called up the local SSI office and asked to file a claim. Turns out that it doesn't have anything to do with our social life at all, it's a retirement program! Sneaky politicians.

the Grit

2006-10-11T15:58:00.000-07:00

Hi world

I am the Brit half of this team, the sleepless one. As FB said, when we met we found that our differences of culture and location gave us a lot in common. This built a bond from which we decided to launch this blog.

To give you some idea about me, I live in the Midlands, UK, around an hour north of London straight up the M1. I spend a lot of time writing and, as FB has found out, number crunching. I do not cook much, but I have been known to visit the bottom of the odd cool beer glass, and I too smoke, though the cigarette version.

Join our journey
From here to there
Find the difference
And what we share

We’ll share our thoughts
From across the seas
And hope from where you are

Our words will please

2006-10-11T10:57:00.000-07:00

Hello World!

I'm the Grit in this team. My sleepless partner will be around soon. We were chatting on http://www.helium.com/ about differences in things over there and down here. It sounded like a good approach for a blog, so here we are.

As a reference for my point of view, y'all should know that I live just outside Memphis, Tennessee. I farm, cook, keep the house, do the shopping, write, smoke too many cigars, and drink too much Scotch. By the way, that is one side of my house. Come back later to see the other side.

Here's our blog,
welcome to it.
We'll post more,
there's nothing to it.

Come back often,
stay up late.
There's plenty of topics,
to debate.

What are "chips,"
both there and here?
Why is Blair ending
his career?

All this and more
we'll soon discuss.
So come on back;
don't miss too much.