A GAS TIME !

About month ago our twenty-three year old gas cooker finally gave up the ghost and died. It was no real surprise to us for the grill stopped working last year. We were not too bothered at the time because the oven and the top burners were still working efficiently. 

Sooner or later we would need a new cooker so we visited various retailers to find a good replacement.

In the middle of January we made our choice.

I particularly told the shop to ensure that the cooker was fitted with burner jets suitable for LPG  bottled gas (Butane) which is used here in the countryside as there is no piped gas supply.

I was informed that all of their cookers ran on ‘country gas’ and we arranged the delivery date.

The New Gas COOKER

The new cooker arrived, the defunct cooker was taken away to be scrapped and all that remained was to make the connection to the gas bottle. I had done this a great many times in the past and it had not been an obstacle.  I intended to do the same again, to the chagrin of the retailer, who said I needed a gas fitter to obtain a certificate. 

I competently made the connection without any leaks. Next job was to  the plug cooker into the electricity supply for the oven illumination and the six igniters.

Then came the first test, igniting the rings.

There were long yellow tips to the flames and the same phenomena also occurred in the oven.

Very clearly there was a problem. The burner jets were for the piped natural gas which is supplied to cities and towns.

Next morning I rang my supplier and informed him of my discovery. 

As I listened to his utter nonsense he tried to blind me with suggestions such as having fitted a bottle of ‘dirty gas’ which I totally refuted. Finally I was informed that the cooker had a kit with alternative burner jets, so I agreed to engage a Gas Fitter to replace them. 

 TOP OFF

The fitter arrived and then the real fun started. I don’t think he had ever changed burner jets before or even remove the various cooker parts, such as the top and front access panels. I ended up working alongside him, sometimes advising him on how to do his job. 

FRONT PANEL - OFF

Re-assembly was even more humorous than taking it apart. We did achieve a sense of order eventually and used all of the screws that we had removed without having any left over. 

Then came the first test. Yes, the four top rings had blue coloured flames, as did the oven.

BACK PANEL - OFF

We then ignited the grill. Damn and blast! 

The igniter worked, we could see it sparking. The gas was coming through, we could smell it. But no ignition, we had a banjaxed grill.

I said “ Xxxk it !..... Disconnect the xxxxing thing! ........ The retailer can have it back.”

Our gas fitter was with us for three and half hours, a job that should only have taken an hour.

One week later (last week) a replacement stove arrived along with the Gas Fitter.

More fun ensued, a lot more fun this time. There were gas leaks at the connection and he was mystified. I explained that at the pipe connection union, where there was a fibre washer it had a tapered thread and that it did not need any PTFE tape. So he stripped off the tape and guess what ?  No leakage of gas - Heron was right. I did though ask him for a certificate of worthiness and it is my belief that I had earned it!

The Noble Toby & Garden Workers

Toby keeping watch .

Looking after my people

Is That Biscuits ?

Garden workers from the UK moving the logs

At play with Granny

No Silence !

© hdimagelib.com

When I first moved here all those years ago it was the stillness which washed over me and the peacefulness of my surroundings that drew me here.  Then, as now, I simply stand outside  my small front door and consciously absorb the peace, looking up into the sky at the birds.

The swallows are still here, swooping down collecting their last meal of midges before sunset. 

Will they still be here tomorrow? Ah’ who knows.

At the time I arrived here there was no phone, no computer and no TV, still no TV. 

My only entertainment was a Bush music centre which connected me to the events going on in the world. At other times I was able to play my CD’s one in particular is still a favourite, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 Pastoral.

When I first played the piece the cattle in the field next to me, galloped up to the fence and stood listening to the music. Seemingly entranced, they stayed until the end then walked away. 

During the times of not working on the cottage I would read what ever books my friends would loan me. One kind friend was a retired missionary priest who had spent most of his working life in Kenya. Like me he was an avid reader, unlike me he was an Irish Scholar having been educated at Blackrock College, Dublin. He encouraged me to use and adopt the Irish-English idiom and from him came the loan of books about the history of Ireland. I learnt about Ireland’s past from the late 1800’s to the founding of the State and on to 1948.

My other friends supplied me with lighter reading matter such as the books of Walter Macken whose work I devoured.

On nights when I was not reading I would in sit in silence alongside the stove, sometimes writing letters or poetry or even planning the next days work. It was during these times of inactivity that I would hear the sound of the electric meter humming away to it’s self. It still makes a hum and a whirr which ultimately is the sound of my money burning away.

Several years later I had the phone installed and then came my first proper computer, a PC.  Proper because I had a very early one, a Commodore or a Sinclair, in the late 1970’s and nothing at all like the one that I sit at today. 

I became aware of a constant buzzing sound. I would go to bed believing that this sound had got into my memory somehow, that it wasn’t real just a memory of the PC noise.

Later I realised that I heard the buzzing on the days when the computer hadn’t been used. Perhaps it was something else?

Finally I understood that it was tinnitus and I have probably had it for years. 

I spoke to a doctor friend of mine and asked if there was a cure for it that he could recommend. He told me that he had it too and if I stumbled upon a cure to please tell him!

That leads me back to the title of this blog ‘No Silence’ and yet strangely beyond the buzzing there is silence.

Addendum

Walter Macken,  (born 1915, Galway, Ireland.—died April 22, 1967, Galway), Irish novelist and dramatist whose tales combine an honest and often harsh reflection of the realities of Irish life with a love of Ireland and a compassionate respect for its people.

Macken was an actor and stage manager in Galway, where he became actor-manager-director of the Gaelic Theatre. He was also connected with the famous Abbey Theatre in Dublin. Macken’s novel Rain on the Wind (1950), a story of Galway life, was popular in Europe and in the United States. He later wrote a trilogy of historical novels, including Seek the Fair Land (1959), set in Cromwellian Ireland; The Silent People(1962), depicting the great Irish potato famine; and The Scorching Wind(1964), which brought the story up to the present day. As a dramatist Macken is chiefly known for Mungo’s Mansion, performed in 1946 at the Abbey Theatre and in 1947 in London as Galway Handicap. Macken also wrote Home Is the Hero, which was produced by the Abbey Theatre in 1952, published in 1953, and filmed in 1959.

Ollie starts Formal Education

Today marks the start of our grandsons' formal education and he will attend his father's old school in Leamington Spa. I have been learning from his mother just how very different his first year at school will be from mine; it seems as if I was educated in the dark ages for so many things have changed. Gone is corporal punishment and just as well too. The teaching is very informal, through play, although the focus is still on the three R's and I hear that there is a mud kitchen ?

It seems no time at all since he was born and I made a wintery trip across to the UK to meet Ollie and his proud parents. I thought to mark his special day of starting school I would share a pictorial history of Ollie's first few years.

Ollie a few hours old.

The inquisitive imp

Enjoying the sea.

A few minutes later he was swamped by a wave

and Granny leapt to his rescue.

Father and Son

Ollie gives forth words of wisdom while Granny listens.

Toby gets in on the photo

We wonder if he is thinking about taking a trip to Ireland ?

Ollie's mum Helen

Master Oliver ready for school.

We are looking forward to hearing about his experiences and how he progresses

throughout the years.

Equality - Not There Yet !

Following on from the 2:1 Marriage Equality Win. There are other contentious issues to be dealt with,

one in particular is the State allowed ban on gay teachers in certain religious-run schools and the

strengthening up of transgender rights that citizen equality operates through all levels of society.

Thus senior officials from three key groups behind the yes campaign outlined the next steps in what they have stressed is an equality drive wider than same sex-marriage at a press conference in response to the decision to amend the Constitution.

Speaking to reporters in Dublin, representatives of Yes Equality, Marriage Equality, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, and the Gay and Lesbian Network expressed their gratitude to the entire country for the 62% yes vote.

However, with a general election just around the corner and political parties seeking to “reap the rewards”, they said now was the time to push for similar progress on other issues.

“I am very proud this campaign was headlined by equality, but we have unfinished business. We still have legalised discrimination of LGBT teachers in schools with a religious ethos, that needs to be amended,” said ICCL executive director Mark Kelly.

Section 37 of the Equal Status Acts allows for religious-run schools to effectively ban gay teachers if it is felt their personal life contradicts the facility’s ethos, a situation teacher unions have consistently warned is discriminatory.

The unrelated transgender recognition bill which is going through the Oireachtas is based on a warning Ireland is in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights as it does not recognise the new identities of people who have undergone gender reassignment. While campaigners say progress has been made, they believe the current wording will still discriminate.

Speaking at the same press conference, campaigners noted the “momentous” events of this weekend, with campaign co-director Brian Sheehan saying it has “reshaped forever the Republic in which we live”.

GLEN chair Kieran Rose said young gay people who may be “isolated or bullied” in school “now know 1.2m people have voted to back them up” and noted the view is not limited to “liberal” parts of Dublin.

He said the public vote “is a fantastic beacon of hope to countries that are now what we were like in the 1970s and 1980s” and that Ireland can become a world leader on equal rights.

22nd May Referendum Day

On 22nd May Ireland will hold two Referenda on the same day. 

a, To change the minimum age of when an individual can become The President of Ireland from 35 to 21.

Personally I think that 21 is too young and that anyone who takes up this high office needs to have 'lived' and to have had life experiences.

b,The one that is upper most in the news is the Marriage Equality Referendum.

This referendum is being held to make a change in the Irish Constitution about the rights of the individual to marry a person of their choice- a person of the same sex as themselves.

Currently the word ‘marriage' in the Constitution refers only to the marriage between a male and a female, it fails to recognise the rights of the individual. The 1916 Proclamation guaranteed religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all of its citizens.

It is now time to put that right.

I have read the amendment and I have read the Children and Family Relationships Bill and am satisfied that the Marriage Equality amendment has nothing to do with children.

The state of being married does not mean that children will be produced by the couple, adopted or even fostered and being married does not give any couple a right to a family.

Nor does the Marriage Equality referendum have anything to do with religion.

Myself and Mrs H enjoy a very happy marriage and I see no reason why my gay friends in Ireland should not be allowed to do the same, especially as some of them have been partners for a lot longer than we have.

A Sunday Market

Several times a year, on warm, sunny Sundays, we visit the Clara Sunday Market & Car Boot Sale.

It’s a family run market which was set up in 1993 to sell new and second hand goods and takes place every week. Situated on the Moate Rd outside Clara, Co. Offaly, the market sits on on a 6 acre site and is only 

15 minutes drive from Tullamore.

We go there when we have something specific to buy but also enjoy a thorough browse amongst the stalls. 

This time we went to buy a garden hoe and I was lucky, for lying in amongst dozens of others was an old forged hoe with a brand new handle. To me this was ideal and far better than a modern pressed steel one which bends as soon as you give them any work. I always feel recycling tools, rather than buying new, is a good idea and better still I purchased it for small money.

You never know who you are going to meet at the market or what you are going to find there, depending on which travelling trader attends. In the past I have met traders from all over Europe selling their wares and friends who were also looking for a bargain. There is always the chance to chat and have a bit of craic, especially over a cup of tea from the small café.

We visit Clara Market with the goods we wish to buy in mind and have usually found what we are looking for, with a few extra bits and pieces we have discovered along the way thrown in. 

My finds so far have included a brand new heavy leather waistcoat, a 1950’s teapot, socks, boots, 

cushion covers, curtains, pottery bowls and other miscellaneous items - it really is a treasure trove.

Traders from all over the place come here.

White vans predominate the scene.

Tool for every job and use. 

I wonder what she is thinking ?

Making a sale involves a lot of chat

One lonely rooster!

Fresh fruit anyone ?

Local produce on old oil drums

Irish Valentines

©dreamtimes.com

Jimmy and Mary first met as teenagers working in the Whitegate oil refinery in Cork in 1957. Mary worked in the canteen and always made a point of serving Jimmy, and a relationship eventually blossomed.

Both subsequently emigrated to England - Jimmy to Oxford and Mary to Liverpool. The romance continued with Jimmy visiting Mary until a misunderstanding led to a breakdown in the relationship. They parted ways and didn’t hear from each other again, until a note was passed to Jimmy in a restaurant in Cork 54 years later.

The prayer
“I remember one night kneeling down and saying my prayers and I asked God because now I’m 74 years old and I’m alone and I don’t want to be alone anymore could he fix it to send me a female friend just for company,” says Jimmy. “And then I was cheeky…I said God - how about Mary Kelligar?”
Born on Saint Valentines Day 1939 in Mitchelstown, Co Cork, Jimmy uttered his prayer six weeks before making a planned holiday back to Ireland from the UK in May 2013. On that trip, his cousin approached him while out for a meal with family and asked for a quite word in private. She handed him a note.
The note

Mary visited Ireland frequently with her son, who works as a teacher in Liverpool. After a  trip back to Ireland in 2013, a chance conversation sparked between her son and the school secretary, who is originally from Cork, resulted in the two establishing a connection between Mary and Jimmy, who it turned out she knew. They conspired to draw up a note with Mary’s contact details, and somehow get it delivered to Jimmy.
Mary consented to the proposal but was sceptical about the note, suggesting in the unlikely event it found its way to Jimmy “he won’t want to bother”.
“I looked and I looked and I looked at the note and I thought, this is a wind up,” she says.
It took Jimmy a moment to get over the initial shock of receiving the note. His cousin explained how she had been the fifth person to handle it as it made its way from Liverpool. She asked him what he was going to do. He said: “Nothing.”
The reunion
But Jimmy did eventually call Mary. A meeting was arranged and Jimmy travelled to Liverpool to see her for the first time in 54 years.
On the coach journey, he was gripped by fear and doubt. “What will she be like? She’ll have changed. This won’t work out. I might not be the same as what she visualised me to be.”
But his fear dissipated when they met face to face, and walked and talked as they had all those years ago. Finishing each other’s sentences, both said they felt as if “we were never parted”.
The pair returned to Ireland on holiday two months after reuniting, and revisited all their old haunts. They are now in a relationship again. Jimmy still lives in Oxford, and Mary in Liverpool, but they visit each other about once a month.
Return to Ireland
Jimmy is no doubt now about the impact their reunion has had on him: “It rekindled that time… and I’m not ashamed to say it I’m like a teenager all over again.”
Jimmy and Mary are in the process of moving back to Ireland together permanently from the UK. They plan to spend their remaining years together in Midleton where they first met as teenagers.

“Life is too short, why not be happy,” Mary said.

© Irish Times

My birthday Jan 9th

A birthday cake

January 9th is my birthday. I was going to write up something about me and then, well we all know what occurred in Paris on that day. 
So I gave over my day and published something quite different to what I had planned. A reasonable amount of time has now passed and so I shall rekindle my thoughts.


On this birthday I became 72 years of age, although to be quite honest I am not convinced, of whether I am 27 or 72 because I actually feel like 35 and sometimes a bit younger. 


When I look in the mirror, which is not very often as I gave up shaving long ago, I wonder to which of my ancestors do I resemble. There is no answer and no photographs of either my father or his father at seventy-two for both died in their mid fifties. 
Their age of passing influenced me greatly, leading me to decide  in my early forties, to plan a life style change which would remove stress and give me the experience of total freedom. I chose this path in case I too had an early demise and so I retired early, in my forty-eighth year.


Life always throws up challenges and ironically within a few weeks of moving to my rural retreat, along came a entrepreneur who asked me to design an a piece of equipment for him - I stuck to my plan however and denied him, as did others and to my knowledge his idea never came to fruition. 


I did though make a return to employment - though not as a design engineer as I was previously, this time it was in Development Education as a Facilitator, a position that I greatly enjoyed and brought me into contact with some very interesting people. Folk who actually care and work towards improving the social and living conditions of people in our impoverished and mutilated world.


The above paragraph above brings me back as to why I published a comment from a former editor Philippe Val of Charlie Hebdo and why from time to time this blog highlights issues that disturb me greatly.

Please view

http://www.developmenteducation.ie

A message from Lin

© Jane Brideson 

"Winter Solstice Rebirth"

I received this message from a special friend and I have had her permission to share

this with You.

OLD HIPPY MAXIMS

As above.......so below,

Macrocosm.......microcosm,

Turn on... tune in... drop out

Heads...          Freaks..... Go with the flow

We get stoned, on crystals.....megaliths.....mother earth

Give peace a chance

Attitude gratitude......Devotion

.................................................................

Old hippies, were in recovery. the 60,s.... you know

We are now recovered

We have got our 2nd wind

Riding the post 2012....

Wave of light.

In aquarian age, ascension, party mode.

......................................................

Then, we dropped out

Of, world we saw

Greed, poverty, negative emotions, male domination, power over....

Poverty, hatred, war, toxic medications, hatred of mother earth,  and women

SO

We created a new one. Turned on, tuned in , created 

Organic farms, crystal healing, respect for mother earth and all our relations

Art, music fashion,, whole-foods shops, cnd, single mums, healers etc

Our musicians our prophets

Our inner voice, our guide

.................................

Cos we are aquarian age, ascension, forerunners

The crystal children, The rainbow warriors

hippies

Worked hard, to build the dream,

All our brothers , of fur feather and fin, joined in too.

Burnt out

.......................

Now we flow on the lightwave of 2012, ascending

We let the dying die,

Co-create, the new earth, the new body of light,

love, peace beauty truth, abundance,

Balanced in true love,

Soulmates of the inner flame

Ecstatic with joy, our dreams coming true

We turned the tide, earth is safe,

Still lots of light work to do

----------------------------------------------------------

Being shown, our Avalon phoenix,

is ready to take flight; she will be riding on the gentle

solstice dawn light, 

her wings tipped radiant. orange, gold

As she takes flight.

I see her watch the light at mount kailish

Then flowing with the earth grid, catching dawn at each site, through Carnac ; Giza, glaston, as the womblike cairns, gavanis, new-grange,As ancient ancestors built for us,  so in time to remind us

They were the abodes of immortals, the beings of light, built to remind us, which way to go, aligned to let in the winter solstice light, to touch the spiralled stones,

you know, incase we got lost

to recover true humanity, in a world gone blind

She sings the song of creation,

Her gift to us this season, 

to renew our humanity

In the ascension light, 

she will fly on to Mexico

 sit on the stone of the sun,, and sing the new creation, now

 being born

for mother earth, all our relations

....................................................

Lennon, song,                 

                                    Some say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one, 

One day you will join us, and the world will be as one

...................................

So with this wonderful, gentle, new ascension wave 

of winter-solstice light,

I wish you a 

HAPPY SOLSTICE 2014

Happy hippy Lin

Detroit supports Irish Water Protest

Loyal friends across the pond

Today, a delegation  from The Detroit Water Brigade arrived in Dublin to stand in solidarity with Ireland and people around the globe who are fighting for strong public water systems and water accessibility. The Detroit Water Brigade provides bottled water, water coolers, rainwater catchment barrels, and water filters, to people in need. They will be visiting residents across Ireland who have been fighting against the installation of  water meters

Over the summer the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department shut off water for over 3,000 household each week due to residents being behind on payments. And though half of Detroit’s residents live below the poverty line, the Detroit city council recently approved a significant increase in water charges, making a total increase of 119% over the last 10 years. The water charges in Detroit are nearly double the US national average.

“To take water away from those who cannot afford it by handing it to a private, for-profit company isn’t just irresponsible — it’s genocidal.” Says Detroit Water Brigade’s Political Director. “We know that from firsthand experience here in Detroit and we can’t allow it to happen to Ireland.”

Since protests began the Irish government has completely lost the trust of the people. It is now obvious that the government are not listening to the people who they claim to represent, and the dogs on the street know that the people are fed up. What will it take to convince the government that access to water is a human right and not a revenue stream for bailing out big banks? How many times must we say that we demand water charges abolished before they will abolish them? And how many hundreds of thousands of people marching to the Dáil will it take to convince them that  water charges will not be accepted that people know full well that they already pay for their water.  The world is about to find out.

The peaceful protest against water charges on Wednesday, 10 December will begin at 1pm at Leinster House, Merrion Square. Solidarity protests will also take place outside Belfast City Hall, and in London outside of the Irish Embassy.

Céad míle fáilte to the delegates from Detroit 

The 1997 Act that absolves the Irish people from paying

water charges

The EU Needs to Cop On!

Lyn Boylan MEP  SF

European Commission rep's 'patronising and arrogant' comments on water protesters.

»MARK MOLONEY

A REPRESENTATIVE of the European Commission clashed with Sinn Féin's Dublin MEP Lynn Boylan on Thursday after the Policy Officer made "patronising and arrogant" comments about Irish water protesters during a conference in Brussels – apparently unaware that an Irish MEP was present.

During the Aqua Publica Europea conference, a spokesperson for a private water operator claimed that water should be treated like any other utility and should not be considered a free resource.

Responding to the comment, the European Commission Policy Officer for the implementation of the Water Framework Directive, Lukasz Latala, said: 

"The Irish just don't seem to understand they need to pay for water."

The comment prompted an immediate response from Irish MEP Lynn Boylan - who has been appointed author of the European Citizens' Initiative Right to Water report – and was in the audience listening. 

Speaking from the floor, the Dublin MEP described the policy representative's comments as "patronising", telling him:

"The Irish people absolutely understand that water has to be paid for. But they don't understand why they are being asked to pay for it twice."

"We already pay for our water through general taxation and the wholly inept and shambolic entity that is Irish Water has also been funded by Irish taxpayers."

Speaking after the conference, Lynn Boylan said:

"The Irish Government alludes to conservation being a factor in the introduction of this tax. It is appalling that 40% of domestic water is being lost through leaking pipes. 

"Instead of the Government investing in the aged and decrepit infrastructure it has spent half a billion euro of the National Pension Reserve Fund in setting up a quango that is not fit for purpose and in the installation of water meters."

Danger Ahead for EU Countries !

Matt Carthy MEP Sinn Féin

MARK MOLONEY

MIDLANDS NORTH WEST MEP Matt Carthy today launched a discussion document produced by Sinn Féin which outlines concerns in relation to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations currently taking place between the US and EU. 

TTIP is the most significant free trade agreement of modern times but elements of it have been shrouded in secrecy.

Speaking at the European Parliament Information Office in Dublin this morning, Matt Carthy said it is important that a comprehensive public debate takes place in relation to the impact TTIP will have on Irish interests. 

Criticising the lack of transparency surrounding the negotiations and highlighting how MEPs only became aware of the mandate for negotiations via a leaked document, he told An Phoblacht that his party has major concerns surrounding the establishment of an Investor State Dispute Settlement Procedure.

"It operates outside of the rule of law and allows investors to sue member states as a result of potential loss of revenue. It is the mechanism by which tobacco giants are currently suing Australia as a result of that country’s public health measures against smoking."

Representatives from a number of trade unions, NGOs and pressure groups attended the launch and outlined their concerns in the areas of employment, workers' rights, agriculture and the environment.

Matt Carthy called on more organisations to evaluate the potential consequences of TTIP and to raise their concerns with public representatives.

"It has become increasingly apparent that there is a clear need for public engagement and debate on the consequences of TTIP for Ireland, particularly as we have lost our veto to block this agreement as a result of the Lisbon treaty."

http://stop-ttip.org

also please view

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rh0InepmCwQ

 

: http://corporateeurope.org/international-trade/2014/09/ttip-covert-attacks-democracy-and-regulation

https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/page/s/eu-ttip-petition#petition

Ireland will Rise !

Please listen !

Making a Spectacle of Myself

On the 3rd January I had my two yearly eye sight examination. The optician asked if I had noticed any change and I told her that my left eye seems to have deteriorated slightly and sure enough this was confirmed.

There was also a check back into the records for previous history and reference was made to 2009 when they sent a letter to my GP with regards to my High BP & Cholesterol.
Today there is no sign of either and I was pleased to point out that the vanquishing of those two monsters was all down my own efforts, as I had refused to take the doctors medications.
A change of eating habits and a walk of two miles before breakfast was all that was required.
At the end of the examination a photograph of each eyeball was taken. I found them to be very interesting as they showed in great detail all of the small veins and their various pathways.  

Yesterday I re-visited the opticians to collect my new pairs of spectacles needed for driving & reading. The reading ones were immediately fine but when I put on the driving ones they felt quite odd and was informed that I would get used to the variance. On arriving home I tried them again and by using various tests I decided that the left lens was actually a identical copy of the left lens of my reading pair. So today I went back to the opticians where I told them of my suspicions.
After testing I was proved right and now it will be next week before I get the corrected pair - just as well I didn't attempt to drive home wearing them!

Words, words, words.

My first published book of poetry

During the time between writing the last blog and now, I have written, no, started composing many others in my head, none of which ever came to fruition. For on each occasion the desire for a slice of cake, a laced coffee or even a small tot of cherry liqueur slipped into my mind and as you probably know a well fed mind that has no hunger within loses its’ desire to create. 

The next day and thereafter the process was repeated; not though today. 
For last night into my mind came nine words - a metaphor - which is like a long lost solitary piece of a jigsaw puzzle and it is still echoing in the recesses of my being. As yet I have neither inspiration nor inclination to do anything with it. That line will be entered in a page of a notebook which has other lost lines and like the others it will grow neither fat nor slim, until one of them drops like magic into a rightful place. Hopefully I shall get started soon and start scribbling away.

At this time of the year, during mid winter we listen to the radio far more than at other times of the year (no TV by choice). 
During my late teenage years I realised that listening to the radio was far better than watching the attention seeking one eyed monster in the corner of the lounge, because at the very least I could paint or read a book at the same time.
So when I reached the age of maturity my decision was not to have a TV. 

Writing about that non-sensical box has revived memories of the letters that I would receive annually from the TV licensing authorities and of the great delight I had when making my polite replies. All of that altered [the politeness - that is] when they changed their previous format and started their letter with a threat to prosecute me, to which I replied with extreme vehemence.
I told them how dumb they were in not noting the contents of my previous sixteen letters and of how they needed to keep a register of non-conformers like myself which would save both of us the cost of postage etc.

Since becoming a pensioner however, the powers that be have granted me a free TV licence for life and I no longer get any letters. That too has its drawbacks as I can no longer vent my spleen annually and rid my self of my accumulated angst !