Soft Top Cars

It's been hot and sunny for the past few days and the soft top car owners have been out in force, car hoods down, designer sunglasses perched on noses and hair streaming in the breeze.

Where are they when the weather is not so good? Certainly not out on the roads - presumably cocooned in a garage somewhere waiting for the next fine day when they can be brought out into the open once again!

See ya

This US slang expression is just one of many which travel across the waters to our country and become common phrases for some inexplicable reason. It's used by numerous people as a general parting shot, although considering it means 'see you later' I'll never understand why telephone conversations with complete strangers are often finished with the phrase.

A DJ on the radio ended a phone in competition yesterday by saying to the contestant over the air 'see ya'. How stupid is that considering they've never seen them in the first place and the chances of them ever seeing them are exceedingly remote? We're like sheep ... pathetic!

Skips

I think it must be the breeding season for skips. They seem to be appearing everywhere, often deposited on the roadside outside a house which can often be a surprise when you come across one in the dark.
No wonder we've problems on a small island trying to find somewhere to dispose of all this rubbish. One guy has recently been in the courts for just tipping the rubbish he collected on any old spare piece of land, and he's not the only one. Old mattresses, baths, beds etc etc can be seen on any trip that's a little off the beaten track.

Coal Dealers

I can't believe that today I actually saw a lorry laden with sacks full of either coal or coke. Can't remember the last one I saw, yet at one time they were always in the area delivering their loads of coal into houses' coal cellars. There are still some properties with coal cellars but they're not used for storing coal or coke anymore. More often than not they've been converted into another room or a useful storage area.

Wonder how lucrative a business it is now ......

Preachermen

It must be the season for preaching the gospel in the big outdoors. There was a guy standing on a street corner in the town yesterday holding forth, no-one taking any notice. The last time I saw him there he had a group of people with him, this time he was down to what looked like his son & his father. Maybe the street preachers are losing their congregations as fast as most other religions are.

Today I was approached in the street by firstly a guy with his wife and young daughter who wanted to know if I would like to chat in my free time, his religion was almost written all over him. A little further up the road there was the backup party who wanted me to take a leaflet to read. At least they took no for an answer fairly gracefully, sometimes when they're on door to door expeditions it's difficult to get rid of them!

Car boot sales

It's that time of year again, the car boot sale season. Our local one has just started, it is held every Sunday in a huge field. Passed a few punters this morning, walking along clutching their purchases.

A neighbour regularly trips off on a Sunday morning to a car boot sale somewhere in the county (Sunday being the popular day for them). They can often be seen unloading their goodies when they return and giving them a thorough inspection ... a bit late by that time I would have thought!

blackbirds

Blackbirds are quite friendly creatures but their intelligence has to be questioned. We have two pairs nesting in the garden, both have diligently built nests, one in a hedge which is no more than six foot high and one in a conifer which is slightly higher. There are cats in the vicinity and some magpies nesting in some conifers nearby (at least they've nested high enough to be safe, pity the blackbirds don't show the same mentality).

I've watched the signs of alarm from the male blackbird frequently in the last couple of weeks because he's watched a magpie go searching for the nest, a cat perched on top of the hedge, someone parking their car within feet of the hedge and some other smaller birds showing interest in the site.

At least it's entertaining but I fear they could be doomed!