Wedding couple, a new name?

 I came across a new name for the bride and groom to be today, Sometimes called the Mr and Mrs to be, sometimes bride and groom, sometimes the wedded pair, sometimes even a set.  The new name I came across was combatants.... sounds about right sometimes.... 

Busy week

 Bit of a busy week this week.  Not only did I have an engagement shoot to sort out, I'm also spring cleaning and having a big sort out.  My mothers looking like going into a home soon so I'll need to make space for some of her stuff she wants to keep.

This week is also over the crematoriam time, we go over every year (covid excepted) and put flowers out.  It's 27 years since he died.  I still miss him.

 I suppose I was lucky with my parents, I wasn't abused or battered like some, and there was always food on the table.  Yes we went without some luxuries, money was tight in the 1950's, but we more or less always had a car, my dad needed one for his job so we went out a lot.

 My fathers was a bit like Spike Milligan, similar zany sense of humour, probably where my odd sense of humour comes from (that and a bit of "squaddie" humour thrown in) so he was a laugh, he also knew everybody, a walk around town took hours with stops to chat to everybody and anybody.

 We also knew all the big name celebs of the day, Peter Sellers, Harry Seacombe, Morcome and Wise, I spent a lot of time playing as a child with Eric Morcombes daughter Gail (my dad was in show business) so a good laugh.

 So once a year we go over to remember him and place flowers, although I think of him a lot. Happy Days!

Not a great day!

 

 Today hasn't been the best day I've ever had, that said it's far from the worst day either.

It started early with me not sleeping well (I'm a light sleeper anyway) so I gave up and got up, then I got on with editing yesterdays pictures. That done I started spring cleaning the house. After an hour or so I had to go shopping, thats when me least favorite job started!

 Yep it was clean the cooker time.  Now truth be told I totally HATE cleaning the cooker!  You see with three blokes living alone (now two most of the time) cleaning the house and being tidy is a little way down the list of stuff to do.  As I'm the only one who seems to actually do any work it's left to me to do.... so it gets put off as I'm fairly busy and out a lot.

 So cleaning the cooker.  None of us are the cleanest cooks in the world, fat gets spilled, my youngest son tips more food on the stove than he eats (or so it seems) By the time I find it it's dried on and hard work. After a while the job is just a bitch.  

My normal method is Mr Muscle over cleaner, it takes a little while on the baked on muck but it does the job.  The real problem is I seem to be allergic to the stuff!  One spray and I'm coughing like a covid ward, this effect last for days and makes it a miserable, hatefull bitch of a job for me... so I tend to put it off, which of course makes matters worse in the long run.

 Today while shooping, and buying Mr Muscle I wondered if there was anything less toxic I could use, I found Cillit Bang, so I bought both, if the Cillit stuff doesn't do the job it's back to a gas mask and Mr Muscle.  So did it work you ask?   

 I'm pleased to report it worked great, way better than Mr Muscle if I'm honest, it's way quicker or the dried on grease, it seems to go further (I've got a lot left) and best of all while it does have a slight smell, it's safe to me, no coughing fits and I was able to use it without a full hazmat suit and all the doors and windows open.

Gritty

 Gave this picture the "gritty" look with a photoshop plug-in.

Blacklight 2022 (film review)

 

" Travis Block, a shadowy government agent who specializes in removing operatives whose covers have been exposed, uncovers a deadly conspiracy within his own ranks that reaches the highest echelons of power." IMDb

 The movie stars Liam Neeson as Travis Block.  Emmy Raver-Lampman.  Aidan Quinn and Taylor John Smith.

 The blot is simple, Neeson who is a sort of shadowy FBI agent working for the FNI director Gabrial Robson  (Quinn), finds out theres something fishy going on with the FBI, indeed fishier than a Cods bathing costume.

 The films starts well with action more of less from the start, sadly it slows down a lot after that, there is action but the film is just slow compared to most of Neesons movies.

 The other issue for me was the actors, While Neeson and Quinn did a great job, the others less so. Raver-Lampman (the female lead) came across as wooden and didn't engage with me at all.  Frankly I didn't care much about the other cast, they might as well have not been there, they really added little to the story.

 The title is also a bit of an odd choice, a blacklight is another name for an ultraviolet light, it had nothing at all to do with the story.

Not Leeson best film by a fair margin but not terrible either.

 Waynes Rating 6/10  Watch if your a Neeson fan, give it a miss otherwise

Reading the news.

 

Reading the news, no I'm not talking about Carol Barnes or John Suchet, I'm talking about my friends and family.

 For some reason the people around me feel the need to read me the news.  It's not that I can't read, I read very well and I read a lot of books, I just have people who think I should hear the latest news from them, rather than someone paid by the BBC or whoever.

 The real problem is I don't watch the TV news, because I don't really care about the politically biased crap we're spoon fed by the various channels, maybe biased isn't the right word, censored lying shit is more accurate.  Thats the reason I don't bother watching it in the first place.

 So why people feel the need to tell me the TV lies I can only guess.  Because they do bugger all and have nothing to talk about is one guess. Trying to look important with their finer on the pulse of the world is another guess. Whatever the reason it pisses me off.

 To make it worse it's not the normal "did you see that plane crash in Mexico?" Oh no it's the full story with their opinion on it and what our feeble minded bottom of pond crwling politicians think and arn't they wonderfull...    No They are brain dead morons I wouldn't trust to blow up my airbed, sadly that answer doesn't go down well, as true as it is.

 So heres a suggestion. Don't read the news to me, if I cared I'd read or watch it myself.  But I don't care, and I don't watch it for a reason.  

 So please don't make me suffer it from you, your not making me happy and you wont like me when I'm grumpy.  I hear the news I need to hear, and I probably get a better truer version than your getting from the biased broadcasting comperation or worse still the Daily Mail the joking newspaper (the old sunday sport lied less, and they found Elvis on the moon) most of the news channels have their own agenda too so none are reliable for the truth.

Saint davids day pictures

 Saint David is the patron Saint of Wales, Saint Davids day or the feast of Saint David, falls on the 1st of march each year.  Saint David died in 589AD but wasn't officially made a Saint untill the 12th century.

 Daffodils and leeks are the popular symbols, girls (young ones) tend to dress in tradition Welsh costume and boys (young ones) favor coal miners or rugby player costume.

 As a former press photographer Saint Davids day tended to be looked at with dread.  The norm back then was to go around the various schools and photograph the chilrdens classes dressed in their costumes.  This is huge fun if you love young children dressed in silly costumes all having a fun day, sadly most photographers (like me hated it).

 You see the children see it at a day off school work, while for us photographers it's a ton of work, we have to go to the school, wait around while the teachers get the children out, then we have to set up usually around 30 children in a group.  Trouble is the children want to play, not line up, the teachers are a waste of space (usually) and time is tight for us.

 Back then I was working on film, we had to develop our own films in a darkroom, and print and caption out own prints all by hand (and dry them) it got to the point I was using X-ray film developer to save time as it developed a roll of film in I think 45 seconds.  That sounds quick but you have to load the film on a spiral, develop it, fix it again with X-ray filer (say a minute) wash it and dry the film before printing, and theres no X-ray cheat with the prints (the normal developer/fixer could take say 5 minutes each so a fair saving on time) Plus i'd be shooting a few rools of film at each school, and you had to know each class and school for the captons.

 My records for one Saint Davids day was 27 schools, thats every class in 27 schools spread over 3 or 4  towns in different valleys during the school hours.  Trust me it's not fun!  It works out to probably a minute a class without traveling time.  I was like a Waffen SS comandant, "Rouse Rouse!!" I'd be shouting... well ok it wasn't actually rouse (german for hurrymake or quick) but I'd be like a demented idiot rushing to line them up and go to the next school.  Little suzi missing?, tough shit, don't have time to wait. Click click. follwed by tyres screeching.

 Dont get me wrong I like children... in much the same way Adolf Hitler liked smokers, gypsies and Jews.  Well I like my own children to be honest, others... no.

 So here are todays Saint Davids pics, no children (thank fuck) I went for simple and easy daffodils.