So at the end of the day, what's it all about then . . . And wallpaper

Last night as I sat chilling watching Stargazing Live on the BBC, I got a phone call asking if it was possible for me to visit a member of my family to hang wallpaper on one wall in order to create a feature. Caught slightly on the hop so to speak I did not have time to make up a cunning and brilliant excuse so in a sort of mad babble I agreed and was told that it was easy and would only take an hour of my time. I mean it’s wallpapering and therefore dead easy. Well that is sort of true except there is a strange black art to really good wallpaper hanging, which I do have, only it has been a while since I did an entire walls worth of it.

On my arrival I did find that one of the reasons that they had asked me was due to a bit of a disaster the evening before when they had attempted to hang the first piece themselves. Then the painter who is doing the rest of the room and putting together some large flat pack wardrobes for them said  . . . . . Oooooooo I don’t do wallpaper hanging far too dodgy and it can take ages.  . . . . I did agree with that, it is indeed a fickle thing to do well.

So three hours later the task was complete and all were pleased looking at the wall and saying well that is a good job done. . . .But how come it took three hours. . . . . Well of course it does take time to line up each drop and ensure nice clean edges top and bottom making sure that the paper is square to the wall so the pattern does not run up the wall at an angle and the like. And I do like to do a job well once I start one.

Anyway that was earlier and I have just watched Stargazing Live again where I discovered I did not discover a pulsar, but two small children did. It can be tough trying to make a small impact in the world. It would be nice to know that every now and again someone would say . . . You know that thing, you Know that thing that Rob Z Tobor did, wrote, discovered, sat on, ate, created, he was a cool chap . . .  I guess I will have to keep working on it for now and write more poetry and make more cardboard stuff and the like.

It is why I have mixed feeling about the sadness and shock that so many express about the likes of Lemmy, David Bowie and sadly today Alan Rickman. It is indeed very sad but in many respects they have been lucky enough to have left their mark on the world when so many live and die and are remembered by so few. It was after all the very sad death of a very talented twenty one year old called Svetlana who never got the chance to truly achieve what she might have  that first made me think I should write a blog. At least I know that in years to come when folk read my blog and I am off in another universe or what ever,  they will stop and think. . . . . Ooooo I just fancy a decent curry now. . . .    

Poetry for Man and the Fickle Finger of Fate

The Fickle Finger of Fate

Dances in the Fire

As Man chases his dreams

And the things he does Desire

But all these many dreams

Put man in conflict with his fellow Man

And Fate quietly waits and smiles

As the flames of hate,

Are blown stronger by the Fan

And as Fates Fickle Finger

Watches mans wars and mans Rage

The hands of time slowly

Turn another Page

And History keeps repeating

All the Errors man has made

But man never learns

As the memories

All gently fade

And sometimes there is hope

And sometimes there is not

And sometimes we can’t understand

Why Fate dealt us the hand we’ve got

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The Strange World of Harry Potter, Sinks and Fate

Only the other day I mentioned that a trip to IKEA was needed in order to replace the sink as our old sink had sort of fallen apart (I know it’s a sink?) and I also mentioned that my car had issues. Not as in it does not like pink and is refusing to enter the garage until the wallpaper is removed sort of issues, but as in a bit faulty. Anyway as a result of all this plans changed a bit today and my sights were set on nearer locations for sinks, in particular B & Q in Shrewsbury. Well fate is an odd critter indeed and can create many a coincidence, because as you know my blog is in JK Rowling mode at present so as I looked at a wall of sinks (no really it was a wall of sinks?) and we pinned the choice down to three it became clear which one was the right choice when I looked at the names. You do loads of research and in the end it comes down to the fact one of the sinks was from the World of Harry Potter, by that I mean it was called a Sirius Black sink.

Then I thought maybe this sink is named after Sirius Black or to give him his full name which we now know, Sirius Sid (Sink) Black or just Sink to his close mates. I can see why he has kept this a secret over the years I can imagine folk saying stuff like . . . Who the hell is doing all that tapping . . . . . or . . . . WHO’S turn is it to do the washing up then SIRIUS . . . or even . . . Stick a Plug in it Sirius . . .

Interestingly having just heard the Midland news on the tele, it appears that had I tried to go to IKEA it would not have been very easy as the main road was closed due to an accident involving several vehicles. It just goes to show that life is a very very twisty road indeed (no pun intended) and that you just can’t tell what is for the best, which it seems in my case was my car having problems and requiring a trip to the garage the other day. Maybe the car knew more than it was telling and thought I am not going there.

With luck (well who can tell what luck is) the new Harry Potter based Sink will be fitted into the new worktop tomorrow and will look dead posh, the new kitchen will then be one stop closer to completion . . . . . It has been a long time now since it was started and I am flagging

Ooooooo I also got my car back in the late afternoon and it is happy and smiling again. 

The Predictability of our own Future, Fate and other Things . . . . . The Big Question

I was quietly minding my own business as I do When I was asked Are you the chap who answers those Big Questions and my answer was Maybe or Maybe not Why and they said well I was wondering about stuff, sort of what's it all about How come I'M here now and not sat on a hot beach, just how do we end up being us and STUFF.

Don’t you just hate it when strangers ask you questions like that but to be fair they do have a point because what we are and what we do are rather fragile things indeed. Many of us may think we are in control of our destiny but are we.  Starting back at the beginning we are born, a genetic throw of the dice by two people who may or may not have plans to produce children. And once in the world we are in the hands of others who may or may not help kick start us on our way to fame fortune and adventure. Here in the West we have the advantage of school, but a personality clash with a teacher or another pupil or any number of things can change what we learn and what qualifications we get. Which in turn can send us on any number of unknown options and lock us out of many many more.  What we do can depend on if we live in a town or in the country and that can be down to family and all sorts of things.

So at what point do we finally get to take total control of our destiny, well I’m afraid we never really do. It may appear that some do but the fact is even those right at the top are there due to thousands if not millions of interlinked events that have created the world around us.  Some of these events are things done by others, some are things that happen by accidents of fate, like winning the lottery, meeting someone in a shop or café or the zoo.

Of course we can do some things to steer our lives in the general direction we wish to go and sometimes it can work out as planned a bit like leaping about in front of the very nice Steven Spielberg’s bedroom window naked shouting Hello Handsome . . . Although sometimes these little things we do to steer our lives in the direction we wish to go have unforeseen side effects that lead down new unpredicted paths. Such as running down a road naked pursued by large dogs and several police cars, leading to the theft a bicycle which by a stroke of luck has a friend of Mr Jones the Alien Hunter in the basket and for twenty five pounds and the use of a mobile makes the bike fly over a small forest to safety.   Strangely national governments try and do stuff to steer things in the direction they wish things to go and have very similar problems, but are seldom saved by aliens on bicycles who are friends of Mr Jones.

So just remember we all start equal for about 10 seconds then it is 85% luck and 15% our own efforts, so be as nice as you can to everyone because who is to say that but for the hand of  fate you could be them and they could be you.