Friday 20 February 2009

The ostrich

'What's happened to your blogging?' I'm asked. 'And what about the robin?' Well, I've not shot him. I'm afraid he's still at it. In fact he started a bit earlier last night. But we just have a live-and-let-live relationship. I suppose I've just run out of things to write about - which might be worrying since I intend to write seriously....

Thinking about it, I guess the news is so generally depressing I don't much feel like pontificating about it. I mean England lost the rugby, and in the cricket they didn't manage to close out the Test they had in the bag. And talking of cricket, the sugar-daddy of the English game, Mr Stanford, seems to have pulled off a massive scam and then done a runner - just another piece in the jigsaw which is the global financial crisis. In this area, BMW have laid off hundreds of workers at the Mini plant in Oxford, Honda have stopped production until June in Swindon, and Oxford Instruments are laying off dozens just up the road.

A long time ago, when the Trustee Savings Bank was denationalised, we bought a few of their shares. They'd be a useful form of savings, we thought. Lloyds took TSB over - which was good news. Then Lloyds TSB 'rescued' HBOS last year - which has been bad news. Last time I heard they were worth about 50p. So much for treasures on earth. I can understand how worried people with private pensions are.

But it's tempting to be an ostrich. Perhaps that's why I've been not had much to say.

5 comments:

  1. I think I may have met your robin (or one very like him). He is called Randy.

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  2. Call for him, and see if he answers?

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  3. Are you really suggesting I shout into the peace of a sleeping Grove, 'Randy! Randy!'? Do you want me to lose all credibility within a month?

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  4. Are you really suggesting I shout into the peace of a sleeping Grove, 'Randy! Randy!'? Do you want me to lose all credibility within a month?

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  5. you think you have got problems with a robin Michael, we took a walk round the dockland waterways of London today with Stuart who we came down to nurse, had he gone in for an operation on varicose veins as planned. In the event the op. was cancelled.

    Back to our feathered friends - the courtship antics of coots and mallards left little to the imagination! It must be a hard life being a bird, particularly a female one!

    Rob

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