santa exists

This is a true story. Sadly I cannot recollect the year, but think it was around the mid 1980’s. The date is however known and the  events that follow took place on the evening of 24 December. I have recounted this story several times so thought it was about time I put pen to paper, so to speak.

My witness to back me up is my good friend Graham Johns. He recollects the night as vividly as I do.

Graham and I started fishing on Newquay headland around 8pm in the evening. We both enjoyed fishing then as we would always be on our own. We settled into a favoured spot, rigged up and chatted away like good friends do. On a fishing front, it was a busy night. We fished with 6 rods and the rod tips rattled away all night. Small whiting and coddling were to blame, sadly none of them were “keepers”.

If you have ever shore fished at night, you will know it can be a noisy place. The wind comes and goes, waves crash around the rocks so the background noise is always there. But not this night. It was eerily silent. No wind. There must have been a big high pressure zone above us as the sea was flat as a pancake. Consequently there were no waves, just a subtle lapping away to the rocks below us. It was also one of those clear nights. Once your eyes had adjusted to the darkness, a million stars were out on display.

As the evening wore on you could clearly hear revellers in Newquay singing away and generally making noise. I would estimate we were at least a mile away. If you have ever been out at night in the countryside, you will know just how far sound carries. It was just one of those rare quite nights on the shoreland.

The clock chimes of Newquay were crystal clear, so you just had the pay attention to know what the time was.

I should add that Newquay headland is pitch black as you are looking out to sea. The brightly lit town centre is pretty much straight behind you. So, as we were fishing, it was important to keep eyes peeled into the blackness. A mere glance at the town lights would ruin your darkness vision for a good 5 minutes or so.

So, the clock countdown was on and it started to chime its tune for midnight. Then the first dong rang out. Just at that very moment, way up in the sky out to sea, a bright light appeared. If you have ever seen a shooting star, it was just like that. But a lot brighter. Needless to say, you just automatically looked at it, mesmerised. It made a clear track towards Graham and myself, getting brighter all the time. The town centre clock continued to dong away the midnight countdown.

The bright light passed over our heads and arced straight into Newquay Town centre bang on the 12th chime. Graham and I just stood there watching in amazement. What a grand way for Santa to arrive on his sleigh.

With that, we packed up and made our way to our respective homes. We still grin and give one another a knowing wink at Christmas time. We have seen him. End of.

A month in My Life – November 09

The random happenings in my life during November 2009. The names of the guilty have been changed. But they should know who they are. I might even be subject to some retribution…….

Well what can I say? My birthday passed by. It was a four day celebration of sport, food and general enjoyment. Thanks to everyone, especially the PALS tribe. What would I do without you? Um, er, pass!

A young me...........just where did it all go wrong????

And now time for a moan. Yes, another one. Christmas stuff in the shops before Halloween. I can just about live with that, but don’t like it. But it got worse. Yes, really. I read that there were Christmas jingles on the radio on 15 November. In Peru mind. Just WTF? I will be having words with Paddington Bear next time I’m at the station. I’m sure he had an influence on the matter.

Council Tax wise, I am in the remit of South Gloucestershire. These guys have no idea that there is a recession on. Perfectly functioning street lights have been taken down and replaced by new “light pollution” energy efficient ones. So I can see the night sky better. Oh crap, I’ve paid for that. Why replace perfectly good working ones en mass? Apart from buying them, there is the workman’s wages for the installation. Lordy me. I’m going purple with rage. Grrrrr

And now onto South Glos – part 2. Local side road is closed and diversion in place. I duly wander around to see what’s happening and find a solitary workman. The road is being re-surfaced. But they are digging down about 18″. Is this a bodge job? And it’s a road I regularly cycle down and I didn’t think it was too bad. As for the awful bit of road on the main drag….well, yes you have correctly guessed it is untouched.

As you may well know, I’m a useless salesman. Couldn’t even sell a box of matches for a gas hob. But I do know a good thing when I see it and I have no reservations in plugging something. Being brought up in Cornwall taught me about rural life. And as I get older, I come across people who have had heart attacks. So when I came across AED Locator, I just had to find out more.. They provide public access defibrillators in cabinets. They are available to everyone and are required when a cardiac arrest is suspected. Saving lives HAS to be good! www.aedlocator.org

Young Whits commenced her paramedic training with a couple of night shifts. I’m pleased to report she thoroughly enjoyed it. She had the baptism of fire with a fatality on her first “shout”. Top marks m’gal.

Here in Bristol it continues to be warm, albeit very wet and windy. My rule is to wear shorts for as longer time as possible. So I’m still wearing them. Luverly jubbly.

I realised that I continue to suffer from the disease of oddness. Just why is it that I do my grocery shopping, stuff the fridge full of goodies – and then get a take-a-way. Just what is that all about?

This month’s overseas news comes from The Engineer. He moved to Thailand recently and is still sorting his house out. Thai builders really do multi-task to levels of astonishment. They do a motorbike taxi service in the evenings. And then drive busses at the weekend. And they might even run a weekend market trader stall as well. And they might even do all this whilst getting drunk on the local brew. Can your builder do all this?

I’ve had many long and enjoyable phone calls this month with Man from Lydney. We put the world to rights big time. Put us together and the world ducks in terror. Fantastic stuff.

I was moved enough to sign my very first e-petition. So I was obviously a bit riled then! The UK Government wants to cut off internet access to those who illegally download copyrighted files. No bad thing BUT the flaw is if someone hacks your connection – you get cut off. Not fair. Surely the law should be used to protect the innocent? http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/dontdisconnectus

Are you sat comfortably? Good. I have a major revelation. My back garden is sorted. Yes, I’m as shocked as you are. Bulbs, primroses, lily’s the whole works. Even a dedicated herb section. Marvellous! So what brought that on then I hear you cry. Ok, Ok, the fabulous AA took control and did it. Me garden? Pha, tish and tosh.

The month ended with the closure of Masters Snooker Club. The Tiler and I have played there for many years. Mike ran the club for 25 years. The lease expired and as he was 65, retirement called. We believe the landlord will develop the premises, but what into? It’s a prime location but surely too noisy for re-development into flats?

Burger boy joined in for the final snooker session. For reasons that left me baffled, he spent an inordinate amount of time fiddling with his belt and trousers. And not a girl in sight either. Should I be worried?

And the late breaking news is that the L of PALS lost her first tooth. Apart from the usual money under the pillow, the Tooth Fairy left a letter. L insists the writing looks familiar, but cannot remember whose it is. A classic example of being (almost) too smart for your own good!

Having not had a serious bike ride for ages, I picked a hard one to start with. Only 12 miles, but very “lumpy”. Best guess is that only 2 mile on the flat with a couple of tough hills to climb. To give you an idea of steepness, I hit 30 mph on the two big downhills. I managed the trip effortlessly. Just how did I do that? Genuinely surprised at how I kept my fitness level up. And then it rained none stop. Sometimes there was a gale to go with it as well. Confined to quarters.

A different question to end on this month. Lots of people seem to have forgotten the word “no”. I’ve said “no” loads of times this year and it hasn’t done me any harm. Go on, give it a whirl…….

General Randomness

I’ve found time to do a bit of writing this month and the articles are:

Overkill https://smarty09.wordpress.com/2009/11/14/overkill/

Simple Photography Tips https://smarty09.wordpress.com/2009/11/13/simple-photography-tips/

Football Clubs and Tax Debts https://smarty09.wordpress.com/2009/11/03/football-clubs-and-tax-debts/

IR35 Revenge Time https://smarty09.wordpress.com/2009/11/03/ir35-revenge-time/

Technology https://smarty09.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/technology/

Sports News

Not much sport watched this month. On the football side, there was a break for the International games. And then the league fixtures were not kind. Clashes everywhere. Oh well, stuff happens.

And the quality of the Rugby was pretty bad. Oh dear England, just what is going on?

Well, as far as I am concerned, there was just one important football story. Thierry Henry, the French football captain deliberately handled the ball and a goal was scored. That meant the French qualified for next summers World Cup. Officials did not see the incident, but cameras did. After a huge public outcry Henry apologised for his lack of sportsmanship. You cheat! The world will view you differently now sunny jim.

Gosh, have just read that motorbike racing is to go “green”. There are to be four electric motorbike races in 2010. FIM said “as the governing body of motorcycle sport, we must take into account current environmental problems”. Yes well done. You are being seen to do good. Did you mention the MotoGP circus takes up 2.5 jumbo jets of room per race? No!?????