TOLD YOU SO

We at THE CURMUDGEONS INC.ⓒ believe in keeping you informed with concise predictions and truthful commentaries. Other blogs groups like The Hexagram and The Dire Tribe (Robert's collection of blogs) will only provide you with witterings on filling a bin with garden rubbish, what a fictitious deity did over summer and how to write songs so that you can put them in a scrap book and forget them.

In a previous post HERE  The Curmudgeon predicted, against all the promises from the National Party, that Bill English would soon be gone. Well guess what? He's gone having announced his retirement today (I hope the stab wounds heal soon Bill).

What we at THE CURMUDGEONS INC.ⓒ are really looking forward to though is seeing that horrible Paula Bennett the unctuous ex Deputy PM get her marching orders.

"Please let me stay. I'll change and be good"

I'M ALL WHITE JACK*

* A bit of a double lawn bowls pun there - sorry.

I joined the local bowls club a few months back. I did it so as to have a few 'roll-ups' with mate Rod. I don't really intend to spend whole days playing the game. Give me some credit. Bowling clubs are still looked at as the holding pens for cemeteries.

Anyway, said friend Rod who has been a member for years signed me up (without my knowledge) for the club championships. Rod, fuck him bless him does this sort of thing and previously signed me up for the Citizens Association committee and for Civil Defence, again without telling me. Apparently I'm to play in the singles final match on Thursday. Wow! I've made the finals. On checking though this is the section for first year members and there are only two of us.

I'm going to play though and am pretty sure that I'll win unless my competitor is related to the Belliss family. The downside though is that as it's an official club event I have to wear whites.

I hate wearing uniforms of any description and bowling whites are really naff. They are symptomatic of all the stuffy old rules that bowling clubs have - do this, don't do that. Say 'Good Bowling" to other players etc. Crap.

It's not that I haven't worn whites before. When I was General Manager of Quill and Company a specialist wine, beer and spirits supplier we had a lot of sports clubs as customers and I was often asked to play to represent the company. Here's a pic of our winning team one year where we won, beating all the regular teams.

I don't have any whites so I'll have to go into town tomorrow and buy some - polo shirt, shorts (I'm not going to wear white longs), socks and shoes. Hopefully I can get some cheap as I don't think they'll get much wear.

NEW POST - THE MUSIC CURMUDGEON

The Music Curmudgeon had posted a link to one of David Byrne's songs from The Catherine wheel.

CONFESSION

I think that by the title he is challenging Robert and Richard to interpret this track.

Good luck with that I say.

AUGUST 20, 2018

Hey, I know that the dates are slightly different but I can just imagine this scenario in a few months when that old guy Richard has his family around for dinner tea tea at 5PM.

FUCK HE'S SO OLD HE'S FORGOTTEN HOW OLD HE IS

PRONTO!

Richard shared good news in his latest post that he is travelling to Italy in September this year (bad news is that he will return to Godzone).

We wish him well in his travels and wish we were going. It's a great time of year to go to Europe as it's after the hot summer and the crazy tourist season. Autumn weather will hopefully be more settled (although still very warm) and the colours of trees, grapevines, horticulture and pastures will be lovely.

Sunflowers in Tuscany - a great memory

Richard is going to spend time in Italy away from the tourist areas. Good luck with that I say and hope that his Italian "book learnin'" will be up to it and when he orders a ham and cheese sandwich for Shelley and him he doesn't get a calf's head on toast with a side order of tripe.

"At-a lasta. Somebody a-loves-a my favourite-a sandwich"

They are going to Bari (not the saxophone). Bari is South-East of Rome.
My dad was there with the 2nd New Zealand Division in 1943. Maybe he could look up any possible step-siblings I have there!

Richard used images of Verona in previous posts but doesn't say if they are going there. It's a pity if not as with shelley's theatrical experience I can imagine them doing a Romeo and Juliet scene at the famous balcony. I do hope that they go to Rome. You don't have to follow 'the tourist trail' in Italy and I'm sure that he could practice his Italian there as further South (see comment above about the ham and cheese sandwich).

Travelling about Italy by train is good and fast if Richard has concerns about flying (driving is not advised). That old fascist dictator Mussolini got the trains to run on time and, in my experience in Italy they seem to still do so - one good legacy from that old bastard I suppose.

"Ricardo, I do-a eet all-a for you-a"

What Ricardo, sorry, Richard needs to understand is that apart from Italy's Roman and fascist past at heart they are really anarchists. Politically, socially, romantically and culturally the Italians really don't give a shit for rules and just do their own things. Just look out for the 'no smoking' signs in any public places. There you will find the biggest gathering of smokers fuming away.

In buses, trains, cinemas, cafes etc. get used to the strident trilling of a mobile phone and the very, very loud 'Pronto!" answer followed by a very long conversation at full volume which comes along with expressive hand waving and gestures that make it dangerous for all in the vicinity.

Have a great trip you guys and take advantage of all on offer - museums, galleries, opera etc. There's nothing worse than returning home and saying "if only we'd ...."

MACI

It's blowing pretty bad up here at the moment. Like this:

Lots of rain as well. I've got to go catch the bus to Auckland soon which is a bummer as it's a bit of a walk from where I park the car to the bus station. Never mind, it'll give me a chance to wear my excellent Backhouse stockman's raincoat which looks real cool.

We are going to see 'The Scottish Play' at Pop Up Globe tonight (hence the Shakespearean theme) and it apparently is forecast to be an atrocious night in Auckland with heavy rain. The coat, which I haven't worn for years will be just the ticket.

YEAH, THEY'RE GONE

National Radio's Checkpoint report that the National MPs are 100% behind Bill English and Paula Bennett as leaders.

Yeah right.

Kind of like the way the Roman Senate were 100% behind Julius Caesar.

"When you guys said you were behind me I was thinking of something else" - JC

I kind of like old Bill and would like to see him survive. I don't give two cents for the horrible Bennett woman though. Good riddance when she goes (in a day or so).

Winston Peters: "But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you go now, without fuss, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you."

It's usually the way that when politicians all get together and profess loyalty that you know that the opposite is true.

NEW POST - THE DARKER CURMUDGEON

The Darker Curmudgeon's gone ga-ga.

ALIEN ENGINEERS

NEW POST - THE PHILOSOPHICAL CURMUDGEON

The Philosophical Curmudgeon posts on nostalgia.

PATHOS

NEW POST - THE MUSIC CURMUDGEON

The Music Curmudgeon's hankering on going to Spain.

I don't know if this has been triggered by Richard's declaration of going to Italy this year or by the images of flamenco dancers he's been looking at while The Old Girl's away.

NEVER BEEN TO SPAIN