This is our third visit to Iceland and today has been a long one due to us travelling for the most part of it. However I’d like to share these little snippets with you.
Last night was special we witnessed the Aurora Borealis right over our heads in the centre of the city. Quite a spectacular show. Aurora Borealis – Northern lights, Iceland
We also did a few touristy things and here is some of what we saw and did.
A bicycle for four
Some fantastic paintings
The old parliament buildings looking out towards the mountains. Looks so different without the snow that normally adorns the area
We popped in a local bar to watch a game of football and to grab something to eat and drink. The beer – local IPA was nice, the brand name was questionable though 😂
And I don’t mean Carlsberg 😂
And did you know what the third most popular tourist attraction in Reykjavik is? it’s probably not what you think but it is, the Icelandic Phallological Museum otherwise known as the museum of the Penis. Stay with me now…it’s quite an experience.
The museum is a collection of “Penis’s” from animals around the globe and every mammal on the island is represented. It all stems from the curators fascination with the form from an early age and this collection was formed as a result. That said there are also “representative” examples of creatures from folklore such as “Trolls”. Just have a look at the link I posted above to find out more yourself.
However the cafeteria and bar area is quite something itself with tee shirts, gifts and food a plenty all in keeping with the subject of the museum.
Phallic shaped wafflesPhallic shaped wine decantersEntry sign into the museumThe Big Cock ale was a nice pint….believe me.
The food and drink is of a very good standard, the surprising fact is that a massive 60% of all visitors are female. That is the very hing that strikes you as you walk in, just how many women work there and are also there as visitors. You do hear an awful lot of laughing and it is all mostly tongue in cheek fun. A day out. It’s worth popping your head in the door and having a visit though. I’ll save pictures of the exhibits for another day, as waking up to a barrage of penis pictures doesn’t feature high on everyone’s daily agenda.
I’d be a liar if I said no. And so would a large percentage of everyone else.
The Uk is full of laws. Bye laws, little sub laws that we all fall foul of from time to time. Whether it be parking on a kerb in a hurry, accidentally dropping litter, allowing your dog to foul in a public area we are all guilty.
Come to Leicester and the quality of driving will shock you. There are probably third world countries (I don’t like that term) who have better road behaviours than what you witness up here. No one pays any attention to traffic lights, and by the way, Leicester have more traffic lights per mile than any other town and city in the Uk! Thanks for that you town planners.
Red lights here just mean go faster, you really do take your own life in your hands attempting to cross a road up here. Add to that everyone’s journey is more important than yours, and then that’s what adds to all the speeding and racing on open public roads. It really is utter madness.
Petty theft is high up here, shop owners lose an absolute fortune, however this seems to be a trend across the whole Uk as certain members of the general public decide, “ Damn, why should I pay? Nothing is going to happen to me anyway.” So under the coat it goes and then it’s away. The Police forces here are struggling to address this epidemic that is spreading across our entire country.
Personally it’s something I’ve never knowingly done, but if I did get away with not paying with something for some obscure reason, i very much doubt I’d go back to correct the situation. They’d have been a time when I would have, but I probably would not now. How times and attitudes have changed.
And this is it. It seems that petty crime, the breeding ground for more advanced crime has not been nipped in the bud and the consensus is, if they can get away with it then why can’t I?
Bang – there’s the problem. It needs addressing urgently.
So yes I have broken the law unintentionally on many occasions and I guess that’s the way it will be for the foreseeable future.
Attitudes and perceptions of right and wrong have changed, and in the good old fashioned way of following each other like sheep, that’s the way it will continue going. We lack guidance from the authorities, we have no shepherd to guide us anymore.
We have no law makers or politicians that have the necessary backbone anymore. And without good leaders you will never have committed followers.
Right, I’m off to probably break some unknown law or bye law. And I haven’t even risen from my bed yet. It’s a crime to be awake at this time.
If there was a biography about you, what would the title be?
Mañana man
Procrastination, thats me to a tee, or should i really say it used to be. I don’t know, ill tell you what, ask me tomorrow.
That’s me that is 👆
I used to always work in the future, always putting off until tomorrow something that could be done today. Even my bosses knew that i could be relied on to do a job, they just didn’t know when though.
They tried getting me to do daily to do lists, this worked for a while until i turned them into daily tomorrow lists. They gave up in the end and just subtracted 24 hrs off my weekly schedule to make it look like i was being productive on a daily basis. It made them feel as if they’d achieved something. Losers.
It’s probably why i loved visiting our friends in Cyprus so much. The procrastination levels there are through the roof and i thought i fitted in well. My mate would tell me he had a Plumber coming Wednesday, however the key thing he omitted to find out was just on what Wednesday they would be arriving! The levels of procrastination were skill level 2000, these guys were ultra professional.
Over time i have gotten better, but do you know what? It’s never really caused any issues and on many occasions my putting off doing things has fitted in extremely well when there have been changes made to plans along the way…I hadn’t wasted any time, unlike others.
And as for my wife and her numerous 6 monthly reminders..
Ill do it tomorrow
I always tell her it will be done tomorrow. And we all know that never comes.
I know this sounds like a stupid title for a post, it is really, it’s one of those impatient child like statements that we, so called adults make from time to time.
We’re off to Iceland again this weekend and it’s always been one of my dreams to be able to witness an erupting volcano. However not a massive one, a small inconspicuous non invasive one would do just fine.
Picture courtesy of Perlan
At the moment the weather in Iceland is actually warmer and better than it is here in the East Midlands, and that always confuses me due to their proximity to the arctic circle. I lay money on it, what usually happens is we head on home and then the land blisters and there is a new eruption for a few months. But when we plan to return the land seals up like a small surface cut and then scabs over.
It’s quite frustrating
Icelands volcano cams
I constantly check in with the local news streams, as well as looking at the large amount of Volcano cams that are online and providing live coverage of the most susceptible areas.
That said we are really looking forward to our break in the land of ice and fire, however at the moment there doesn’t seem to be much of either.
When my parents were at my current age it would have been 1986. They were probably doing their best to just get by, and they both had multiple jobs. I remember a few details from this period as there were some significant goings on around this time.
My mother would have been a shop worker in a local store as well as a cleaner at the company i worked for. I would have been in the photographic industry about four years at this time, i would have had a darkroom in the spare bedroom and would have probably been on my third computer at this point. I’d have ditched the Sinclair ZX81 and the Commodore Vic 20 and I’d probably be trying to master the Amstrad CPC464. I loved the start of the computer era, as did a lot of my friends at the time.
I had my first SLR camera around this time and that would have probably been a Praktika. I was saving as much as i could, to try and purchase my all time favourite camera at the time, and in fact it is still my favourite of all time to this very day. A jet black Canon A1.
I know that i was heavily into photography at This time, as i took one of the most iconic photos i have ever taken in my family history, of my father. I have it to this day. He was leaning on a coal bunker in the garden, it was a beautiful sunny day and i took it, and processed the film and enlarged the photos in my little darkroom in the spare bedroom, on a Gnome enlarger. It was a black and white photo and it represented a turning point in all of our lives.
He had just had a heart attack, and he suffered a deep immersive depression that he never really came out of. Please don’t misunderstand me he lived for another 21 years with no other medical issues, however he had changed and became highly abusive to my mum, my little sister and me. He was heavily into alcohol at this stage, and we were paying the price. I had to grow up quick as i became the protector of my Mother and sister, it was hard and i was not prepared. We were the only ones at home at the time as my two elder brothers and elder sister had all left at that point, and boy how we suffered big time. Our lives were changed the very day his heart attack occurred.
He was a very good electrician, he had been an aircraft electrician but was now working for a local building company, he was also a part time baker.
In the next few years my mother would lose all her brothers and sisters as time took its toll. Father would lose his mother and sister and the family began to dwindle in size.
But thats enough of the bad as its all in the past and though i never forget what happened, i have to move on with my own life for purposes of maintaining sanity.
I loved the 80”s as the world was opening up and starting to develop technologically, however i do believe the older generations did struggle. It’s strange really as it is a mirror image for us older generations today, with some of the things that are going on around us currently. Perhaps all generations have their own Groundhog Day periods.
Here are some points of interest that also occurred back in 1986
Plans were announced between the UK and France to build the channel tunnel
The space shuttle Challenger exploded just after its launch
Halley’s Comet makes a show
The Soviet Mir space station is launched
Microsoft goes on the stock market
The Chernobyl nuclear plant explodes
Argentina wins the World Cup
The M25 motorway – The UK’s biggest car park opens officially
A lot happened that year and these are just a small selection of them. However the dynamics of my family changed that year and what occurred from that point on will never be forgotten . WordPress really couldn’t have chosen a worse time line to talk about for me than this one I’m afraid, but then, it’s good to get it out there.
However, time moves on, wounds heal and we all learn. This is why it is important that we don’t erase our past, otherwise how will we ever learn to be better people and treat others with the mutual respect and belonging they all so rightly deserve.
If you had the power to change one law, what would it be and why?
I’m going to inject a little humour into this prompt and I’ll tell you why. People see prompts such as this and then go into full dive mode to dig out a law that they disagree with, some rightly so others just because they have fallen foul maybe, and the rest just because it doesn’t fit with how they think it should be.
And then the arguments begin.
Here in the Uk and probably in a lot of other countries around the world, we have a whole load of laws still in place going back to times long past. It’s just like that drawer full of junk you have at home, no one ever has the time to open it up and get rid of all the clutter.
British law is sometimes just like that.
I’m not going to suggest any changes to the law, I’m just going to highlight a small selection of the weird and wonderful ones still in force today.
Here are a few that made me smile. They are still on the statute books, however i suspect they are rarely acted upon these days.
It’s illegal to linger after a funeral – A chap buried his wife in 2015 and waited an extra 20 minutes after the funeral as he was in no rush to leave. He ended up with a £160 fine! Apparently the law is there to stop gravediggers being prevented from doing their work
It’s an offence to handle a Salmon and look suspicious – WTF! See what i mean about strange laws. Under section 32 of the Salmon act 1986 this covers the suspicious handling of fish, and was aimed at preventing people selling fish through illegal means.
It’s illegal to be drunk in a pub – well I’m a convicted felon if this is the case. I must admit i have managed to get away with being arrested for many years now so i suspect this is one of those laws that are pretty much defunct now. The law that covers this is the Metropolitan act of 1839.
It’s an offence to be drunk in charge of a cow – the licensing act of 1872 forbids anyone to be in charge of a cow in an intoxicated state on any highway. (I have not been found guilty of this yet, Cows are hard to find in the city)
And the list could go on and on, there are literally hundreds of these old outdated laws still on the statute books today.
But i doubt anyone really falls foul of them nowadays.
Hope this shaped your wonderful faces into a smile…
My optimistic side would say i’d love to live somewhere warm, who wouldn’t? I’d probably live in my favourite destination and that is the Western side of Cyprus. The people are friendly, the weather is warm and even the winter months can allow you the freedom of still being able to wear shorts. Yes, my old aching bones say that, that is the place for me.
However my realistic side thinks different.
I live in an old 1930’s house that did not have an ounce of insulation in its core fabric. Was it warmer back then? I think not. I am in a most fortunate position that our little old creaking, cold and demanding abode is ours. We are very fortunate.
I sit here writing about dream homes, when some people are dreaming for just a home, thats the problem, realising a dream. Sometimes its just out of reach. And here i am now thinking just what an idiot i am when in theory i have it all. Well, I don’t actually have it all, but in the eyes of many I’m well off. But i would have to disagree with that, comfortable yes, wealthy definitely not. What we have has taken a lot of self sacrifice, a lot of effort and more downs than there has been ups. We are nothing if not survivors, as are many others out there. We are bordering on retirement. It’s been a struggle to say the least.
So let’s approach this subject again probably from the angle i should have done in the first place.
I have an old house, it’s comfortable but cold in winter, and i love it. I wouldn’t ever want to be anywhere else and i am thankful for what i have and for those i have around me. I’m thankful to those who come into our little home and share the good and not so good times with us. Why would i ever wish to live abroad when i already live in my dream home. A new location does not fulfil the dream, those around you, the familiar landmarks and all those memories that we are creating on a daily basis are what make that thing of beauty. The bad times we learn from, we move on and become wiser.
This is my dream home. even though it’s bloody chilly.
You get some great, amazingly fantastic news. What’s the first thing you do?
That’s depends on who breaks the news. Being naturally very cautious, I’d always seek clarification first before sharing it with my nearest and dearest. There is nothing worse than building someone’s hopes up and then knocking them back down like a lane of bowling skittles.
Fact checking always comes first.
Did your parents ever say, “ If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is?”
That ties in with what is written in the first paragraph.
Just like you protect yourself from all that’s bad, and always try to avoid trouble, it’s as plain as night and day that trouble will find you and affect you at some point in your life. And sometimes those occasions come in the shape of good news as misinformation.
You are not now protecting yourself, but all that you love in your life, your family, your friends. Well, it is in my case.
So to cut a long story short.
Fact check, get it confirmed. Check that the news is for you to give. Tell your loved ones. Spread the news far and wide.
And then bloody celebrate like it’s your last day on this earth.
This is just one of those quick posts, i had to post as it made me giggle.
Store fronts such as EBay and others, are sometimes places where descriptions of items are at times questionable to say the least. However every once in a while a listing has a description that makes you smile. Today is one of those days.
A post on EBay today, the description is the seller for me 😂
This caught my eye and I thought I’d dig in a little deeper to read the description.
In a nut shell
I just love the part where it states the label translates for “Knackered” in German .
Made me giggle.
I think the label says something like “ Defect, Tailor in Oststeinbek. A region of Germany, however I may be wrong as my translation is basic at best.
However I know it dosen’t say Knackered as I believe that is “ Beschadigt” or “Geschlaucht” and that only translates as damaged! Which doesn’t quite fit the scenario does it?. Or maybe it does!
I have already thanked everyone on 26th January this year for your kind support on getting me up to 100 subscribers on this site. It really is appreciated and today I need to thank you again on getting me to a 10k views notification.
Thank you 🙏
I’m not a consistent blogger as my posts vary greatly, I know there is quite a range in quality but I make no apologies for that. I’ve always suffered with quite severe mood swings due to a number of factors that I won’t dwell on here, and this site was created as an extension of the journal I used to write at home. That journal had some extremely worrying matter in it and I always encouraged my wife to read it, (As I’m a bloke who doesn’t openly talk) and as a result she pulled me out of some deep ravines and I am eternally grateful to her for that. That said I decided to take the Journal one step further and it is now online for all my family as well as you good souls to see. As a result you will see the good and the not so good, but believe me I am in a much better place for having you all around me.
Thanks for just being there, you will never understand just how much it helps.
And yes, I do talk more and I suggest everyone who is suffering in silence breaks that mould, and talks to someone. Do not please suffer in silence. And I’m always here to lend a listening ear.
Foxes Den 
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