Richard the Third... and that's not rhyming slang....

but rather one of my favourite British (or fairly close to, anyway) monarchs, along with Canute, or Knut, Elizabeth I, and Macbeth, the last of whom deserves our sympathy simply for being married to someone called Gruach, which sounds like some archaic oat-based muesli.... but I digress.... today saw the Beard, along with the junior version, and a certain young lady paying our respects to the brave Duke of Gloucester, king for two years, and the last English King to die in battle so far.... as brave a man as one could wish to meet... and wouldn't history have been duifferent had he won....for a start we would have no Simnel cake at easter..... and that would apparently be a loss.... but it rounded off a fantastic weekend for all.... beginning at my second home (also known as the Scout Hut, for a car wash, during which the young lady's car became seen to be green, aa quick (or not so quick ) almost accidental fixing of the same car's cooling system, and the meeting of this beautiful person with the beard's parents over a carvery, the weekend wqs off to a good start.. and as to sunday, all I dare say is WOW!!! but yet again I digress... a strange encounter with the ex Mrs Beard and a lego brick was to follow, then a much appreciated trip to Wing Wah in Burton, that beloved all you can eatery.... and believe me, we ate! my usual behaviour in those places is simply to take a little bit of everything, and try it all... and sunday night was no disappointemnt.. the steak in red wine, although not seeming particualarly Chinese, was very tasty, and as usual, copious amounts of seaweed disappeared very quickly.... and the young lady herself was very impressed, despite the Beard becoming slightly distracted by the legs of another young lady sitting close by... but the hirsute one managed to pass it all off in the dubious name of research.. its all to do with novels, and the less said probably the better.... but today's bank holiday led us to the field of Bosworth, and the revamped visitor centre.... I remember going to it in the long agao, and sitting through old Billy's version of Bosworth fight, with larry Olivier doing his best crookback.... I must say the new film is far more accurate, and dare I say better acted.... and the CYL was very impressed, especially by the range of headgear available.... after a car-bound picnic (the Beard being proclaimed King of Tabbouleh) a stroll around the fields uncovered King Dick's well, and the alleged site of Good King Richard's death.... then a stroll around the canal, a discussion on the merits of the shewee, a cup of tea, and finally the drive home.... and a sorrowful parting.. but as I say, a great weekend..... and a few ideas.... the beard's plan for a kid's book is being well received in certain quarters, and several other possible publications are in the swimming around the head stage..... but of thsoe more later.... its time to hit the other pc (due it being severely uncooperative , and myself being a fan of the Regan method...)and get some of said ideas down in pixellated form.... so until we can all be brave in the thickest press of our enemies, Wisebeard salutes you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A sad week or so...

so, a bit of a sad last week or so.. first, we were saddened at school and scouts to hear of the sudden death of a good teacher, and wife of one of our best Scouters....our hearts go out to the family... then of course Paul Newman, not one of my favourite actors necessarily, but in one of my favourite films (clue.. its on one end of a bee...) has died... a taxi driver friend of my dad's, known as Shep went the way of all flesh... (interestingly, his Dad, also a taximan, was known as Shep's Dad.... which caused confusion when I was smaller, when I announced Shep as "Shep's dad's son...") and on top of this, a person who i always saw as a friend, despite everything, died a week ago.. I speak of Joe the Gorilla, long time resident of Twycross Zoo.... me and Joe had a very limited friendship, separated by glass.... but having been a visitor to the zoo for many years, and being fortunate enough to have a son who gets free admission to the zoo, I saw Joe often..... he would alweays stick his lower lip out at me, and I would reciprocate.... and on occasion, if there weren't many people around, he and i would "touch hands" through the glass... which astounded many other visitors... we would often just sit there, neither of us quite looking at each other.... its a gorilla thing... i think we understood each other... and i was going to launch into some observation about how sometimes such a friendship can bbe more rewarding than the usual standard sort of thing, but I'm not... instead, I hope everyone who has been bereaved recently or not so recently has the courage to cope with the loss, and the comfort of their close ones in their sorrow and grief.... time may not heal, but it does lessen the pain... and may all those who have passed from here to wherever find themselves where they hope or deserve to be... and until the rapture, the ragnarok, nirvana or whatever reunites us all, Wisebeard salutes you!!!!!