The story of the Starfish

Good morning!! *air kiss on both cheeks* How are you!? You're looking fabulous this morning. I love what you're wearing! Have you lost weight? Anyway, come in! come in! Do find yourself a comfy chair, (No no! Not the comfy chair!) a giant cosy bean bag or a large soft cushion. (No!! Not the soft cushion! With all the stuffing jammed into one corner!) Just flop yourself down, I'll bring you all your Teas, fresh coffees, Ovaltines, or hot chocolates shortly. Does anyone want a sticky bun? No!? Too early perhaps? I do have some giant double chocolate cookies if you prefer, or perhaps a hot buttered croissant? Still do just make yourself at home and sit where you like.

Well good morning everyone. I'm so glad you could all join me here this morning, for today's little Friday Eve gathering. I wanted to share with you today the story of the starfish.

Not so long ago a man was taking a morning walk along the beach in Cornwall. He did this every morning, and had noticed that along with the morning tide each day, came hundreds of starfish. Then when the tide receded, the poor stricken starfish would be left behind and during the morning the sun would shine, and with no protection or enough speed to make it back to the water, they would die.

At this moment though, the tide was still fresh and the starfish were alive. So the man took a few steps, bent down and carefully picked one up and threw it back into the water. He did this repeatedly. Over and over again he would pick up one of the starfish and throw it back into the safety of the sea.

Just then, an early morning jogger happened along the sand and noticed what the man was doing. He couldn't understand why this man was randomly throwing starfish back into the sea. He caught up to him and asked, "Excuse me mate, but I have to ask. What are you doing? There's hundreds of starfish along this beach. How many do you think you can you help? I mean what difference does it really make?"

The man did not reply, instead he took two more steps, gently picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the water, and then said, "Well, it makes a difference to this one."

So when you ask yourselves, in the grand scheme of things, what difference do I really make? Know this! Big or small, it doesn't really matter. If everyone makes a tiny difference, we'd end up with a whole big difference, wouldn't we?

Do look after yourselves, and each other.

Fanfare for Friday

Good morning, and welcome to, by far the greatest working day of them all. Ladies and gentlemen of all ages, (he says while twirling his moustache) I give to you . . . (more moutashe twirling) . . . your Friday. (large red velvet curtains sweep open revealing a rather damp grey day) Yes, it may be wetter than hippo's undercarriage out there, and have more of a nip in the air than Spearmint Rhino on a Saturday evening, but still Friday it is, and joy it will bring. You may well be looking out the window this morning and thinking to yourself 'Euurgh, it looks 'orrible out there' and in part you may be right. But dear fellow traveler of bumpy road of life, it IS still Friday . . . 'ahem' . . . let me tell you what I mean . . .

Friday is certainly the greatest day,
The reasons for this, are too many to say,
It really don’t matter, if there’s sunshine or rain,
It’s really quite simple, so let me explain.

On Friday you see, you can work with a smile.
We may be toiling, but it’s only a while.
There’s bubbles of joy, for the weekend is near.
When we can switch off, relax, and have beer.

Everyone’s happier on a Friday,
Knowing that soon, we can skip off and play,
Friday’s a day when we should give in to fun,
There’s no point in hiding, there’s nowhere to run.

With a bounce in our step, and a dance in our heart,
There’s hugs to be had, and jokes to impart,
When afternoon comes there’s the slowing of time,
But we will get through it, it'll all be just fine.

So just join with me, with a laugh and cheer,
The work week is ending, the weekend is near,
So stand up and sing, and give praise to this day,
Fridays are awesome, that’s all there's to say.

*(Carl does a low bow using his top hat for more emphasis, then disappears off into the horizon. Doing a sort of cross between a march and a dance, as he leads the marching band, who appeared at the end of verse 2, and the dancers, who were once just passers by, but are currently back-flipping alongside the band)*

Love, Love me Brew!

Morning all! Now it's a little known fact that The Beatles hauntingly beautiful song 'Yesterday' was originally called 'Scrabbled Eggs'. No really! It was! Now I like to think that the Beatles draw in my brain is pretty full, but I must admit I didn't know this fact until just the other day, when it was brought up on 'Pointless'.

Apparently Paul had already come up with the tune, but just couldn't find the right lyrics to go with it. So, just for a laugh, he came up with some working lyrics for the purpose of practicing the tune. So without further a do, ladies and gentlemen I give to you Paul McCartney’s original working lyrics for the song 'Yesterday':

Scrambled eggs
Have an omelette with some Muenster cheese
Put your dishes in the wash bin please
So I can clean the scrambled eggs

Join me do
There’s a lot of eggs for me and you
I’ve got ham and cheese and bacon too
So go get two and join me do

Fried or sunny side
Just aren’t right
The mix-bowl begs
Quick, go get a pan, and we’ll scramble up some eggs, eggs, eggs, eggs

Scrambled eggs
Good for breakfast, dinner time or brunch
Don’t buy six or twelve, just get a bunch
And we’ll have a lunch on scrambled eggs.

Helloooooo Friday!

There's a slight chill in the predawn air, aside from the distant murmur of the traffic on the busy A road and the trill of a lone blackbird, all is silent. The clear cobalt night sky now starting to pale into shades of powder blue and pink as the sun begins to rise from just below the horizon. Shuffling footsteps and the jangling of a set of keys causes a rabbit to scurry from it's dining spot on a small grassy mound and dart into the safety of it burrow. The world is waking up, all around life is preparing for the coming day.

"Hellooooooooooo Friday!"

Morning world! How is your belly off for spots? Not sure why, I'm feeling SO chipper this morning to be honest with you, having once again arrived at the arse crack of dawn. Yes I have been tirelessly ottering away here since about half five-ish this morning. (I would say 'beavering' but we don't have them in this country) Must be just the Friday feeling kicking in, well that or just a little bit of derangement over taking.

Yes it seems the great god of work tasks Beelzebag has bestowed upon me many many blessings once more. Still, mustn't grumble, I suppose it does mean today will 'fly by' like song from Blue. Plus there is milk in the work fridge and enough coffee to get me through the tricky patch at the beginning of the day.

So I suppose I shouldn't really be on here harping on about how busy I am, and how much work I have to do, as doing this doesn't really get and actual work done. In my defence, it is Friday and I can't let that go unchecked no can I?! Also, as I've already stated I have been here over an hour and a half already, so there's no harm in having a little escape for five minutes.

Do have yourselves a right rip roarer of a Friday, DO go around spreading smiles, and granting enormous hugs. We really do all need them, that's just a fact. Right, well, wish me luck I'm going back out there . . . I may be some time.

The Real 'YOLO'.

Well slap my buttocks with a warm tea tray and call me Lance, if it isn't 'Friday Eve' again already! Can't believe to speed that this week has rocketed through at. Well they do say that as you get older, you seem to perceive time traveling quicker than it did when you were younger. Although they do also say that time flies when you're having fun. So maybe it's just a fact that as we get older we just have more fun!?

I mean certainly true that as we get older we seem to care less and less about what people think, about us, about what we look like, about how we act, and about our opinions. We seem to acquire a kind of 'cloak of protection' to how other people see us, at least for the most part. It's only really those that matter to us the most that can get past that protective cloak we wear.

Generally speaking though I think we become a little freer as we get older because of this new outlook as well. Although that may be down to the fact, that we start to see things on a scale of how important they are to us and our happiness. So really it's down to the fact that all of a sudden, things that shouldn't really matter, start to actually not really matter. Well, there's got to a be a few plus points in getting older hasn't there and I think that not giving a hoot what people think about us is certainly one of the good ones. We very much adopt the (if you'll excuse me for using the term) YOLO approach to life! Sure, teenagers think they live like that, but we know they don't really! Almost everything they say, everything they do, and the way they act is generally about trying to impress someone at some level. Plus you won't find one of them that doesn't care about what other people think about the way they dress either!

Oh yes, I do believe the true YOLO outlook is reserved for all of us as we get older and meander on our own little section of life's stream. Do look after yourselves . . . and each other.

MORNIN'!

Good mornin', Good mornin'! We've danced the whole night through, good mornin' good mornin' to you.

Well it's not often you can say you've woken up to Judy Garland now is it! Sadly, this is what was going through my head this morning as I tore my carcass from it's pit of slumber. Yet another fail in my manly music taste I know, but there it is! Plus of course it's Monday morning, for crying out loud to Betsy! (Who is Betsy exactly?) I shouldn't be having chirpy Judy Garland songs rampaging through my frontal lobe early on a Monday morning it's just not right! Surely a bit of Boomtown Rats would of been more appropriate, but NO, my brain immediately opts for the more than a little camp 1939 musical number instead! I really should just go and hang my head in shame somewhere I know. I don't even know what the song was doing in there in the first place, as I'm pretty sure I've never even seen the film! Ahh well, what's done is done, it's all water under the bridge now.

So yes, I'm afraid it is Monday once again, and already I've been beavering away like a little elfish shoe maker, (There's a guy who works down the chip shop swears he's elfish!) setting machines in motion, printing wallpaper and generally getting things done before the cobbler arrives at work to find that all of the stuff that's he's been worrying about over the weekend is already done. All this with only one coffee inside me as well, not bad ay!?

Right, well, I mustn't hold you up any longer you need to get a wriggle on and get busy with your own morning routine I suspect, can't lay around all morning reading my jibbering nonsense. Although, I will say, you are looking particularly lovely this morning if you don't mind me saying. So let's go grapple with this Monday without further a do, (What's a 'do' do?) (No it's not and famously extinct bird, before you say it!) breathe a deep cleansing breath in, and hold it . . . (do try not to cough it out at this point, that's never a good look) . . . and breathe out. Ahhhh.

Come on then Monday, let's be 'avin' you!

To the tune of Friday!

Well I can't help but notice that the blessed Friday has arrived. So with that in mind and because I'm feeling tuneful here's a little Friday ditty.

So, to the tune of the Queen classic, Don't Stop Me Now if you would please:

Tonight I'm gonna have myself a real good time,
I feel ali-i-i-ive, and all work, I’ll forget about, Yeah!
I'm floating around feeling plain silly,
‘Cause it’s Fri-day now . . . it’s Friday,
So let’s have a good time, let’s have a good time!

We’ll be stalking bars up the town like a tiger,
defying the laws of decency,
Just to buy a round costs way more than a fiver,
This I know so go,
There’s no stopping me!

I’ll be going out tonight, yeah!
In my trilby
That's why they call me Sergeant Batista
I’ll be dancing like the ‘Hit Man and Her’
I wanna have a supersonic night out with you

It’s Friday now
I'm having such a good time
I'm having a ball
It’s Friday now
If you wanna have a good time
Just give me a call

It’s Friday now ('cause I'm having a good time)
It’s Friday now (yes I'm having a good time)
I don't want to stop at all... yeah!

I'll be in a silly mood on my way to bars,
with a smile of course,
Then with a satellite and using me phone,
I’ll take some pictures, just for a laugh,
I love to photo bomb and then
Oh oh oh oh, oh upload!

I’ll be going out tonight, yeah!
In my trilby
That's why they call me Sergeant Batista
I’ll be dancing like the ‘Hit Man and Her’
I wanna have a supersonic night out with you

It’s Friday,
It’s Friday,
It’s Friday,
Hey hey hey!

It’s Friday,
It’s Friday,
Ooh ooh ooh (I like it)

It’s Friday,
It’s Friday,
Let’s have a good time, good time

It’s Friday,
It’s Friday,

Ooh ooh alright

Ooooh I’ll be going out tonight, yeah!
In my trilby
That's why they call me Sergeant Batista
I’ll be dancing like the ‘Hit Man and Her’
I wanna have a supersonic night out with you

It’s Friday now
I'm having such a good time
I'm having a ball
It’s Friday now
If you wanna have a good time
Just give me a call

It’s Friday now ('cause I'm having a good time)
It’s Friday now (yes I'm having a good time)
I don't wanna stop at all . . .