Showing posts with label michael caine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label michael caine. Show all posts

Thursday, 23 January 2020

The Italian Job

We are half way through our short break in Barbados and up to now it has been anything but dull! The usual room rearrangement was interesting as initially one couple had a suite and the other had the spare box room but they were on different floors. The hotel then came up with a cunning plan to put us in a double suite with a sea view on the floor below. That sounded a good plan until we came back from breakfast find the door would not open. This was when it became necessary to paraphrase Michael Caine as angle grinders and power drills came to the fore. That didn't work so a ladder was brought in so the maintenance crew could get until the rooms via the balcony. After four hours we were back in the room, holiday back on track.

We were fortunate that Tuesday was a Bank Holiday here so the horse racing was moved accordingly. As a result of our room problems we we were guests of the hotel in their VIP tent. Two winners later and we were lined up for a free day. One jockey almost did a Frankie Dettori and had six of the eight winners. People in the known picket up an 800-1 accumulator in the quad forecast.

As can happen here, it dumped down with rain yesterday but it looks set fair for a bit of sea fishing tomorrow. No golf planned while Apes Hill is closed but the positive news is that it should reopen during 2021. Lets hope it is still affordable.

Coincidences still appear regularly. On this holiday I popped into the pavilion at Dover cricket club and there on the wall amongst pictures of famous West Indian cricketers was a presentation plaque from Old Parkonians, the local club to us in Oxton. They went in 1993. Continues to be a small world.

Friday, 9 April 2010

Take your own luv....

I have just spend the Easter weekend, and some, repairing the fence and refurbishing the front gates. As I was applying the third coat of wood stain, and wondering what Michael Caine must be thinking about (a) the Wood Preservation Society, and (b) his support for the Conservative Party, I cast my mind back to Easters past when I was a lad, and I was forced into that scouting tradition 'Bob a Job week.

In years gone past Bob a Job was one of the biggest events of the year for Scouts and Cubs and one which, in general, scouts hated! So what was a Bob? well it was a shilling in those days, five new pence in later times For the week of Easter scouts spent their school holidays going around door to door all over the area, walking miles, knocking on door and saying 'Hello, this is Bob a Job week, do you want any jobs done?' Scouts took on tasks like cleaning out garages, walking pets, gardening, car washing, shopping, and so on....and the charge? One Shilling.....a BOB!,

Newspapers always cashed in on the good stories and it was a great publicity week for scouts, people thought it was great for young boys (no girls back then) to earn money for scouting....through slavery!!! This Bob A Job week went on for years and years until someone decided that it should be changed to Scout Job Week as the shilling was consigned to history when decimalisation took over. Five pence a Job week just did not have the same ring to it!

As time went on the idea of any young child knocking on any strangers door became a no-no and the great Bob a Job week came crashing down! Bob A Job was phased out, but it had generated much needed funds for scouting, and the days were more innocent then...and perhaps....dare I say....a lot more fun.?

Some Scout and Cub packs continue to embrace the concept, although work is confined to family, friends and near neighbours. There must have been undesirable adults around when we did it, but I can't recall any incidents in our area.

Ah well, looks like the fence will have to last a few years until the grandkids are old enough to join up, then they can all have a dib dib dib at it.