Papal Merchandise
Thanks to Liz for pointing me at Ship of Fools and their alternative take on Papal Merchanise.
Liz said this
This website is actually a Christian one, but it pokes fun at some of the more outlandish aspects. Ridiculous gadgets and “decorative” items are one of its favourite, and it has done a very special page for the Pope’s visit.
I couldn’t possibly comment, as I haven’t seen any of the official merchandise.
Celebrity Punishment
George Michael’s sentence of eight weeks for his driving under the influence of cannabis is totally wrong. As he could have easily killed someone, the sentence is not over the top either.
The reason is that it costs the taxpayers a lot of money and actually makes a lot of people feel rather sorry for him.
He needs to be punished and perhaps the best way to do that with celebrities is to take their comfortable lifestyle away for a couple of months.
So perhaps for six months, we do the following.
- His passport is taken away.
- In that six months, he must either use public transport or be driven in something like a Mondeo, by an approved Court-appointed driver. There would definitely be no limos or luxury vehicles.
A punishment like this would be much cheaper on the taxpaper than prison and perhaps he might learn something!
To be fair to George Michael, though he’s probably done so much damage to his body with smoking, drugs and alcohol, that he might not live as long as he should! Now death is truly a punishment,but only when it is self-inflicted by a stupid lifestyle choice!
Thank Heavens For Sir Bobby!
I was hoping that I wouldn’t have to listen to the Popefest on the radio and it was a great relief when I found that Radio 5 Live, were doing a program on the cancer research centre that Sir Bobby Robson helped to fund!
What a refreshing and uplifting program and yet another reason to celebrate one of the finest Englishmen of the last few decades! He will certainly have or have had more effect on the lives of ordinary people all over Europe than the current Pope.
We can all learn a lot from how Sir Bobby carried on until the end.
He was a selfless man with true humanity, who probably never did anyone any harm! He certainly never meant it, if he did! And to say that about a man, who worked in one of the most ruthless professions is extraordinary.
We will never see his like again!
A Very Misguided Cardinal
It is a bit rich for Cardinal Kasper to call the UK a Third World country, because of our attitude to homosexuality, contraception, aggressive atheism, abortion and our multi-cultural society.
Especially, as the Catholic church does not allow the use of condoms to prevent disease and has done little to punish the known child abusers in the ranks of their priests. Every accusation of child abuse, no matter, who is thought to have performed it, should be fully investigated by the proper authorities. Internal investigations are not good enough!
By any stretch of the mind, our crimes are all very small compared to systematic child abuse. C would be ranting today, as she had dealt many times with the worst excesses of child abusers. None as I am aware, were priests of any denomination.
But then Cardinal Kasper is seventy-seven, so he should have advantage of wisdom! Where is it? Nowhere in my mind! We all decry elderly dictators like Robert Mugabe and Kim Il Yong, for holding on to power, but isn’t the Catholic church under the control of a self-serving group of elderly men, albeit with perhaps a better sense of morals. Where are the women at the highest level for a start?
I also have a personal beef against the Catholic Church. They discriminate against coeliacs and don’t allow them to be priests.
I shall not be watching anything to do with the Pope’s visit. I mean him no harm, but the sooner this circus and its associated cult of personality is over the better. I don’t pay my taxes for visits like this!
Would I Return to Great Yarmouth?
Obviously, I would! Great Yarmouth shows how with a bit of effort, you can tranform a working town with a good beach into an interesting place to spend a day.
There are lots of things I didn’t see in Great Yarmouth, like Nelson’s Monument and there are some museums to explore. I also want to see inside St. Nicholas and see the Lydia Eva under steam. Yesterday, too, I missed out the racecourse, as I know it well and that is always worth a visit on a nice day. I’ve probably been at least fifteen times and C had a winner there. But yesterday, was the first day, I’d explored the town. Shame on me!
I’ll go by train of course and let’s hope that when I do, the trains are bigger, better and more numerous. The station could do with a makeover too!
There is much to do in Great Yarmouth, before it becomes an important destination again It has the beaches, the arcades, the piers, but it also has a large number of more mundane things that bring joy to a decrepit tourist like myself.
Remember, it’s a fairly flat town, so walking is easy and the best way to get about.
There must be one, but I didn’t find a tourist office.
Perhaps too, for a comparison, I’ll go to Lowestoft before I move to London.
St. Nicholas Church, Great Yarmouth
St. Nicholas in Great Yarmouth, is the largest parish church in England. Sadly, it was closed when I arrived in the afternoon on the way back to the station, but I was still able to walk in the churchyard.
The Sea-Front, Great Yarmouth
As I was brought up partly in Felixstowe, I know how bad and decayed some of our old resorts can be. Here are a few pictures of the sea-front at Great Yarmouth.
It was clean and plesant and quite different to other old resorts, that I’ve visited recently.
Towards the Sea Front
Great Yarmouth lies on a spit of land, with the Quay on the River Yare at the back and the sea at the front. It was a pleasant walk between the two, although it was starting to get a bit cold.
There was this theatre, St. George’s.
St. George's Theatre, Great Yarmouth
I then walked through a very pleasant formal park.
St. George's Park, Great Yarmouth
Finally, I arrived at the sea-front after walking through pleasant streets and this late Victorian arcade.
Arcade, Great Yarmouth
I emerged by the Empire Theatre.
Empire Theatre, Great Yarmouth
Note the front of the arcade at the left. Sadly, it’s rather full of the sorts of things I don’t like, like a casino and slot machines.
A Working Quay, Great Yarmouth
The South Quay may be historic and it has a couple of museums, including one to Nelson, but it is also very much a working one.
I only walked from the Lydia Eva down the quay for perhaps a hundred metres, as the weather looked to be on the turn and I really didn’t want to get wet.
The signs were also upon the Quay for the Tour of Britain, as Thursday’s stage finishes in the town.
The Anonymous Widower 