tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32267012979224512722024-03-13T23:17:41.026+00:00Chronicle of a Croydon BoyA diary of a nobody, but on the turf and under it all men are equal, so I'll carry on regardless!PhilipHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06811831703263176415noreply@blogger.comBlogger167125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226701297922451272.post-47212914227581906402022-09-08T15:49:00.005+01:002022-09-08T15:49:35.153+01:00Queen Elizabeth II - Very Poorly. The End of Her Long Reign?The Queen's family are all joining her at her home in Balmoral, Scotland. Her Majesty's doctors have issued a statement regarding her health and well-being and the BBC are watching and waiting at the gates of Balmoral Castle for the arrivals of the many family members, all en route via aircraft to be at the Queen's side.It will be a sad day in Great Britain, the Commonwealth and many PhilipHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06811831703263176415noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226701297922451272.post-46117627276569451272022-09-04T15:50:00.001+01:002022-09-04T15:57:03.471+01:00Plain and Simple Words "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me." True? or not?NOT TRUE.This old adage was often used by many in response to those who said something that may have upset them. Sometimes used to answer a hurtful comment or remark. School-kids mainly, not always.Why am I rambling on about 'words'? It's because they can mean so much in so many ways.Yes, PhilipHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06811831703263176415noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226701297922451272.post-81078842397935115952021-04-10T13:11:00.002+01:002021-04-10T13:11:19.745+01:00Duke of Edinburgh Died Peacefully The Queen's husband has died, peacefully in his sleep. He had a long and full life, just short of a century-long by a couple of months. Well done, Sir, may you rest in peace.But WHY was it necessary to have the BBC TV broadcast hours of exactly the same details of his life on BOTH channels? The ITV also did virtually the same, all day and night. Why? He was of PhilipHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06811831703263176415noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226701297922451272.post-23670159661144782712021-01-07T21:04:00.002+00:002021-01-07T21:10:12.945+00:00USA - Ugly States of AmericaPlaying the Trump game has proved the truism that "Power corrupts. Absolute Power corrupts absolutely". The destruction, death and flag-waving in Washington yesterday afternoon, January 6th 2021, was reminiscent of the Reichstag fire in the early 1930s. Adolf Hitler was leading the Nazi Party and had recruited a group of thugs (Stormtroopers) and Hitler used the Reichstag fire PhilipHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06811831703263176415noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226701297922451272.post-50167430729664214792019-02-12T19:56:00.000+00:002019-02-12T20:02:59.618+00:00This Be the Verse by Philip Larkin (read by Larkin)
This is probably one of Philip Larkin's best-known poems. Short and to the point. He was, in my opinion, one of a kind in the truest sense. I cannot write poetry but in so many other ways I feel that this man was my inner-self. I am now reading as much as I can about him. I absolutely love to hear the readings of his poetry and listening to interviews and articles on YouTube PhilipHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06811831703263176415noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226701297922451272.post-6615087987141216042019-01-19T11:44:00.001+00:002019-01-19T11:44:05.572+00:00Aubade read by Philip LarkinPhilipHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06811831703263176415noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226701297922451272.post-73233195114484935842018-09-29T15:31:00.001+01:002020-08-21T22:38:38.344+01:00First Kiss,First Love...I'm learning the foxtrot at Jimmy Quinn's Dance School in, South Croydon. This is supposedly the most difficult of all the ballroom dances; it's definitely the best of the four main dances in my opinion, with the tango a close second.
Stella and Mavis are already in the hall waiting for the class to begin. Great evening, becoming wonderful.
The class ends later than usual PhilipHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06811831703263176415noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226701297922451272.post-54023352271826603082018-06-23T13:14:00.000+01:002018-06-25T20:15:04.828+01:00An Old Favourite - More Meaningful as Time Flies By.
Let's know what you think.
If anything...PhilipHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06811831703263176415noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226701297922451272.post-18439470967638084572017-11-07T11:39:00.000+00:002017-11-17T20:40:13.607+00:00My First Overseas Posting
January 1954.
I had requested an overseas posting, stating a preference for Hong Kong or other far-flung areas.
The request was granted: GERMANY.
A tad disappointing - but at least it was to a foreign shore.
The "cold war" with Russia was still on. I would be 'on active service' as the RAF mentioned in my travel instructions, sailing on a noisy and very cramped troopship, sailing from PhilipHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06811831703263176415noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226701297922451272.post-8579243499062679722017-09-11T20:02:00.002+01:002017-09-11T20:30:13.758+01:00A Look Back in Pleasure and FriendshipI spend time thinking of all those I've known and loved, many of whom are long departed from this increasingly hazardous world of ours.
Sometimes I look back at some of my earlier posts and it's good to be able to remind myself of a few things about 'old friends'.
A chap called Alan Parkes was a man I read about in "The Times" Diary column some years ago. He and I met after I wrote to him via PhilipHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06811831703263176415noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226701297922451272.post-19639844412113186072017-07-29T18:38:00.002+01:002017-07-29T18:38:53.252+01:00Lara Fabian - Singer Most WonderfulThis lady is one of my absolute favourites. She's stunning.
Talented is not quite strong enough to describe her. She speaks quite a few languages, performs with such deep emotion it makes me well up as I watch and listen to her.
This song, Je suis Malade, needs no sub-titles to understand how bad she feels about what she's going through. I think it's truly fantastic the way she puts PhilipHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06811831703263176415noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226701297922451272.post-67150818088643243512017-03-17T12:11:00.000+00:002017-03-17T13:23:19.266+00:00Thieving Scumbags of Grimsby
Above snapshot is of our tiny front garden, after I had spent nigh on a grand having all the grotty weedy grass dug out and replaced by plastic stuff.
At my age I was fed up with trying to make the REAL grass look like grass, so I decided to make my gardening less strenuous.
We were pleased with the result. The two chaps who did the job were excellent. Well pleased and grateful for their goodPhilipHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06811831703263176415noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226701297922451272.post-9742782100856154402016-12-01T22:33:00.000+00:002016-12-01T22:38:34.969+00:00Long Ago and Far AwayAs this 'festive' season approaches, far too soon, I am frequently harking back to those days when love and excitement made life so precious.
I have so many memories and yet so few that are glued to my memory bank as strongly as music, dancing, and romance.
My first girl-friend is still ever-present in my mind, even though she no longer lives in this world. Her name was Stella.  PhilipHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06811831703263176415noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226701297922451272.post-13399431736359773592016-10-07T22:40:00.001+01:002016-10-07T22:40:38.571+01:00Stitched Up Eyes I'm worried. It's Clare, my artistic and hardworking young daughter. She has had major eye surgery on her left eye and minor surgery on her right eye, just over a week or so ago.
She had to go to Sheffield hospital for this operation as our more local hospitals don't cater for detached retina jobs apparently. Blindness is guaranteed if this type of eye problem is not speedily&PhilipHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06811831703263176415noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226701297922451272.post-53689154411957908742016-08-30T10:25:00.000+01:002016-08-30T10:25:09.626+01:00Holiday Nightmare for GranddaughterMy granddaughter, Sarah-Sophia, now lives in Mauritius with her husband Biljan, a barrister. They met during Sarah-Sophia's uni years at Cambridge and after their wedding in Manchester a year or so ago they left to live in Biljan's birthplace, the island of Mauritius.
They recently had a short holiday in Colombia but the homecoming was a real "Tales of the Unexpected". Here is her account of PhilipHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06811831703263176415noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226701297922451272.post-75893186885707528522016-04-22T15:50:00.000+01:002016-04-22T15:50:08.162+01:00Europe - In or Out?The USA is having a big vote soon, the Brits are also soon to have one: European referendum.
Each is an important vote. The US Presidential is important because some of the candidates seem, to me, to be uniquely 'odd' - no names, no pack-drill, eh Donald?
The UK's vote to stay in or leave the EU is a tricky one too.
Do we continue to be governed by Brussels or revert to the British PhilipHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06811831703263176415noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226701297922451272.post-43208319351026195652016-01-09T15:58:00.001+00:002016-01-09T16:32:41.892+00:00Books Wot I'm Trying to Read​
​​My poor old minces aint wot they used t' be, even wiv me new bins to 'elp me out. You may not understand as my vernacular is of the ducking and diving south London genre.
'Minces = mince pies = eyes. Bins=short for binoculars=glasses.
Recently finished "A Staffordshire Lad" written by Harry Titley. I bought this because of his RAF spell at West Kirby PhilipHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06811831703263176415noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226701297922451272.post-88442777797071397082015-11-17T20:49:00.001+00:002015-11-17T20:49:47.843+00:00Jacques Brel-Ne me quitte pas (eng. subtitles)PhilipHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06811831703263176415noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226701297922451272.post-89439904456170770732015-10-27T20:58:00.002+00:002015-10-27T20:59:29.405+00:00My Favourite and Saddest SongI dunno what's got me so reflective of late. Getting older I guess.
Whilst hopping through Twitter this evening I came across an item asking what was a favourite song of parting. I had no hesitation in putting my details and choice onto this site.
This song is very old (like me) and tells the story of someone dying in hospital who has written a note to his beloved ... saying that he couldPhilipHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06811831703263176415noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226701297922451272.post-15765270746393237872015-10-17T14:03:00.004+01:002015-10-17T14:08:44.611+01:00My Previous HomeOnly three years ago we, Pat and I, were living in a stunningly beautiful area of Britain - the Scottish Borders.
We moved to take up a post in Mellerstain House, the home of the 13th Earl of Haddington and his family.
Our home was in the east wing of this stately home, which was built in 1725 by William Adam. The west wing housed the Earl and family.
The main central house wasn't built PhilipHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06811831703263176415noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226701297922451272.post-85407979224132365072015-09-09T12:46:00.001+01:002015-09-09T12:46:30.848+01:00Gardeners Question Time???Hello there, if you ARE there.
As you may or may not know I am the supreme Champion of Gardening Club International, but even we experts are, now and then, seeking help and advice.
OK ... can ANYBODY tell me what these are?
Yes, I know they're some sort of FLOWER. Why wouldn't I, the Champion, know this ... err, well, maybe, perhaps, or possibly I might be embellishing the truth to sayPhilipHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06811831703263176415noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226701297922451272.post-9680848914838525952015-09-07T16:54:00.000+01:002015-09-07T17:04:09.472+01:00Emotional Memorial Day at WickenbySunday, 6th September 2015. A beautiful sunny day. Perfect for a day of remembrance at Wickenby Airfield in Lincolnshire.
Lincolnshire: Bomber county during WW2. Bomber Command created RAF aerodromes in this historic county of England.
Huge swathes of farmland turned into concrete runways, huts for airmen, control towers, hangars and all the necessities for the RAF to prosecute the PhilipHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06811831703263176415noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226701297922451272.post-5063872028921601832015-09-02T10:29:00.003+01:002015-09-02T10:34:43.328+01:00A Look Back to 2009A link to the past.
http://chroniclesofacroydonboy.blogspot.co.uk/search?updated-max=2009-09-03T16:13:00%2B01:00&max-results=20
Hope it works!PhilipHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06811831703263176415noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226701297922451272.post-57296030693290320522015-08-29T12:39:00.002+01:002015-08-29T13:04:46.121+01:00The Kray Twins and Others I've Met
It is now early 1960-ish
I've moved on from Arthur Horton's bookie office and gone to Albert Cook and Son, 801 Wandsworth Road, then later into betting shop work.
Along the way I met quite a few 'interesting' characters, the most famous, or infamous, being Reggie and Ronnie Kray, known by most simply as 'The Twins'.
I'll start with these two chaps; it was some time PhilipHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06811831703263176415noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3226701297922451272.post-7257102090436976962015-08-25T20:09:00.001+01:002015-08-25T20:55:04.155+01:00Beautiful Woman, Wonderful Voice. Lara Fabian. A vision of beauty. Beyond compare.
This is something I posted a few years ago and think another outing and listen is due.
The song is highly emotional. Not to watch if you're in a sad mood, unless you're very brave.
At one point she sings with NO orchestral backing and if you don't have a tear in your eye as she takes the huge applause then you're PhilipHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06811831703263176415noreply@blogger.com3