Post 329. SHADOW SOLDIERS ON.

A SHADOW OF HIMSELF.

The cat Shadow 

The old boy struggles to resist elderly impairment but sadly is no longer the indomitable lad seen in the picture. We keep him going with decent food and drink and a lot of affection. 

He has been part of our family for many years so, come what may, we'll not let him down now. 

Ah! Mistake! 

He caught a glimpse of the above and insisted I add the following contribution of his own: 

Cats need people? 

I'm Shadow, I'm the poetry cat. 

Quite handy with a verse. 

Ready, perhaps, for the knacker's yard. 

But not yet for the hearse. 

My eating habits are becoming erratic. 

I like being cuddled: 

But spend too much time static. 

And my two people pets 

Seem to give not a rap, 

So long as I gets 

To that bloody cat flap. 

As for cats needing people? 

Well, maybe it's true. 

Though never as much 

As their daft pet dogs do. 

So perhaps you'll remember 

When I finally go: 

I'm the cat who did doggerel. 

Not that nice guy below. 

(With apologies to Benjamin Zephaniah.) 

IOW FESTIVAL 2019. 

It's with us again. 

A long weekend of loud music, strobe lighting, traffic juggling, wind, and rain. Roz and Ellis have been. Neither stayed late, but they enjoyed the acts they saw. 

They'll be back there today to see Madness.

 Biffy Clyro are top group tonight. Mo and I won't go. We like Madness and I (in company with the cat Shadow) enjoy Biffy Clyro, but we'll watch them on television. 

We saw about ten minutes of Fatboy Slim's set on the box last night. My conclusion was that those in his audience who did not have an epileptic fit, would be stricken by acute deafness or, at best, a lifetime of recurrent headaches. 

We heard much of it from here and that's some three miles away. Roz assures me the fans enjoyed every moment of it. So clearly I'm not festival fan material. Nothing new there then. 

POLITICS. 

There are lies, damned lies, statistics, and politics. 

In the early days of this blog I seem to remember saying I would avoid politics. That turned out to be about as truthful as the words of most of the contenders in the current bunfight to become Prime Minister of the UK.

Leading the field right now is England's prize liar Boris Johnson, who seems to be favoured by America's prize liar Donald Trump. I think that says it all. 

SO...WHAT? 

So...many people are doing it, that's what. 

Starting a sentence with the word 'so' has become for many people the latest alternative to the insertion of the word 'like' (or the pointless effin' and blindin' spouted by many stand-up comedians) to support every point they make. 

It is an irksome affectation so it will probably go on for longer than I remain alive to swear under my breath when I hear it. 

TELEVISION. 

My Leader and I 

Have been watching The Looming Tower. 
No wonder the world is in such a shambles. What a shower of weird egotistical nutcases. 
And that's only the CIA and FBI. 

I have been watching Years and Years, the Russell T. Davies version of 1984. 

Every bit as frightening as Orwell. 

AND FINALLY. 

Our Roz - pictured below with her daemon, Buddy – (see Philip Pullman's Dark Materials) is making steady progress and it shows. We like the blonde look.